#demonbts

Chapter 9: Baby Don't Hurt Me

Chapter Summary:

“Think of Haru,” Taehyung tried again.

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

“Okay. What of it?” Jeongguk asked.

“Do you share the same characteristics of love as you do with me?”

“No. But it almost seems vaguely familiar when it’s her.”

“Do you wish for her to cover such characteristics, anytime soon?”

Jeongguk gave him a confused look. He had no idea where his brother was going with him. All he knew was that he was stepping into uncharted waters. He wanted him to stop talking but keep going at the same time. This was so foreign.

~this is smut

“I’m going to call her,” Hyejin practically grabbed Jeongguk’s attention away from his job.

He sat behind an oakwood desk, stamping a few scrolls and contracts.

“You’re actually calling her?” he asked in disbelief.

“What do you mean? I did say I was going to, wasn’t I?”

“No, I mean…nothing. Leave it.”

And they both knew that he meant calling Haru was much easier for Hyejin, than it was for Jeongguk.

He sighed and stared at her intently as she dialed Haru’s phone number, placing the phone near her ear.

A few seconds passed, then Hyejin suddenly grinned.

“Hey, Haru. Can we talk?”

It had been 4 days since Jeongguk had yelled at Haru to stop seeking them. He hadn’t been stalking (Hyejin’s words) her either. Something about the prospect of following her was scary to him now – now, that she was in his life; part of it.

“Put the phone on speaker,” Jeongguk ordered Hyejin.

Hyejin signed a cross at him, her face contorting to that of mild annoyance.

“Hyejin-”

“Give me a moment,” She spoke into the phone and muted it.

“Jeongguk-nim, I’m not listening to orders from you right now,” She hissed-yelled at him, “I’m not doing this for you. This is a personal conversation between two women. What you did is on you. Fix it yourself.”

Not even a little help, huh? Jeongguk frowned.

“Why are you whispering?” Jeongguk disregarded her demeanour, “You muted the phone.”

Hyejin huffed and went back to her call. Jeongguk heard a few strings of sentences here and there, and was glad Hyejin hadn’t decided to stroll around while talking on the phone, astonishingly.

Following her around to eavesdrop on their conversation; how would he look doing that?

“5 works for me!”, “Sure”, “Oh, he doesn’t know”, “You don’t have to!” was what he made out from their chat.

They were meeting? At 5? Jeongguk pondered what Haru was saying on the other line.

Hyejin then hung up, and stared at her phone for a while.

“Well?” Jeongguk started.

“We’re meeting at 5 pm at a café. She’s free after a group study session there,” Hyejin said.

Strangely enough, she looked like an excited little girl when she answered.

“Did she say anything about me?”

“And what of it?” Hyejin replied, “I don’t get it, Jeongguk-nim. Why you want to look like that in front of her.”

Jeongguk paused for a moment at her choice of words.

“Look like what?”

“Like you don’t care.”

“I have no knowledge of what you speak of. Didn’t know I was coming off as you say,” he replied, nonchalantly.

“See, you’re doing it again,” Hyejin laughed pointedly.

“I’m doing what?”

“Well, anyway. At this rate, you’re never speaking to your human again. She’s not coming back to the mansion, master.”

“You could’ve called her here, Hyejin. Why go to a café? Everything would’ve gone back to normal if you did that,” Jeongguk sighed, exasperatedly.

“Normal, huh? I told you, Jeongguk-nim. I’m not doing this for you. Haru is my friend. You have to solve your own problems. If you want me to help you apologize, I’m all ears. Other than that, I’m steering clear if you’re going to bet it all on my head and think things will go back to normal with the way you act when it comes to her,” Hyejin explained, then added, “Stop acting like you’re doing her a favor by having me call her back to the mansion, boss.”

Jeongguk clicked his tongue, staring daggers at Hyejin.

“Isn’t this insubordination?” Jeongguk stated, curtly.

Hyejin stood her ground, “Who will you complain to, Jeongguk-nim? The council?”

He clicked his tongue again. Why was Hyejin getting more and more insufferable by the day?

What would he tell the council? That his subordinate wasn’t helping him apologize to a human? They would stop listening by the middle of the sentence and he would be a laughingstock. Would he throw a tantrum like that?

“Well, then. What do you want me to do?” Jeongguk asked, maintaining his ignorance.

Hyejin placed both her palms on the desk and leaned forward.

“What do you think you should do in such a situation, Jeongguk-nim? The apology is common sense. But what would you do?”

Jeongguk leaned back in his armchair, mulling over Hyejin’s words as he stared at the ceiling.

Hyejin continued, “Besides, why do you need her at the mansion, anyway? Can’t you keep your end of the deal even if she doesn’t visit the mansion?”

Jeongguk sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“You said you’ll help me apologize. I will go with you to see her at the café,” was all Jeongguk replied.

Hyejin half smiled. She knew Jeongguk was a hard nut to crack.

“I take it you need her here so you don’t have to exert yourself too much by keeping tabs on her all time?” Hyejin did the job for Jeongguk.

“Yes, that.”

Hyejin laughed, much to Jeongguk’s annoyance.

“We’re taking my car though. I hate yours,” Hyejin said.

Jeongguk promptly swiveled his chair backwards and went back to staring at the ceiling, showing his back to Hyejin.

Hyejin was still grinning at his obvious annoyance.

.

She parked the maroon convertible at a parking lot behind a park, since the café skirted an intersection, with no parking space.

Hyejin was humming the whole ride. Jeongguk had offered to drive, but she’d declined; politely so.

Having friends was new to her, even though she was a long-term member of the brotherhood. Being friends with a girl did somethings to Hyejin, Jeongguk could tell.

He smiled inwardly. She deserved it. After all the girl had been through, she deserved real friendship, outside of Bangtan. He didn’t have a problem with Haru being her close friend, even with all the indefinite possibilities that lay in front of them in the future. Even if Haru was to disappear from their lives altogether; Hyejin deserved true friendship.

They had reached there half an hour earlier. Hyejin was being insufferable again, wanting to see Haru’s friends in real-time.

“Not everyone is a stalker like you, Guk-nim,” she said with an upturned nose, “I just want to see how she interacts with her schoolmates. You can come along separately if you want.”

“You’ve been awfully disrespectful ever since the human. I think some discipline is in action once we get back,” Jeongguk uttered.

“Again, go to the council, will you?” Hyejin reminded him, “See, master. I am your subordinate. You can behave like this with me; but you can’t do that to Haru. She is human, first and foremost. And she doesn’t serve you. Not everyone can be treated this way. You can’t use your subordinate as a pawn to manipulate Haru back to the mansion. I don’t want her to find out by herself and think any less of you. All I want is for my master to hold his head high and take responsibility for his actions.”

But why; she is a human!

Jeongguk could have said so himself, but then, the things he’d done for a mere human were beyond crazy. He had no defenses for himself. His hands balled into fists at his own situation. How stupid had he been?

“I am sure my master can keep his ego aside and think of it as a normal interaction; something you do when you’ve disrespected someone instead of blatant contempt for humans.”

It wasn’t contempt or ego for Jeongguk, that much he knew. He just didn’t know how to interact with Haru. Not after concluding that his human was gorgeous. It was like he wanted her to know that he was sorry, but he didn’t want to say it himself; if that made any sense.

“It’s not ego. It’s not even pride. I just don’t know how to interact with humans, let alone women. So it’s good you’re coming along with me.”

“Makes sense,” Hyejin agreed without doubt.

Jeongguk took a peek beyond the glass exterior, his human’s head visible among the side-booths.

She’d cut her hair; trimmed a little from below. Jeongguk sucked in a breath then promptly let it go after what he saw next.

It was obvious. She was way more bubbly and joyous with her hair bouncing like that. She was flaunting, subconsciously. Jeongguk almost smirked at how much he understood her. But he stopped himself when she grinned wide.

It had been a while. His human looked well. Did she worry over him as well? Did she not want to come back to his lair? Did she want to see him again, even? His mind ran rampant with a myriad of thoughts as he watched her pull at the seams of her sweater’s arms. Was she cold, or nervous?

Sitting in front of her were two boys her age. They were probably from her class because he recognized one of them from around their school perimeter, often chatting with Haru and her classmates.

She sat beside her other friend, the one he’d met earlier but couldn’t remember the name of.

They were upbeat and chatty, passing notes and stationery between each other. Haru looked so engrossed in her friends; it almost made Jeongguk want to stay and just watch her interact with them.

Until she handed her phone to the blond dude in front of her, showing her something they both shared a laugh at; fingers brushing at the exchange.

Jeongguk blinked, and blinked again. Clenching his jaw, he turned to Hyejin. She had a huge smile plastered across her face as she looked at Haru.

She gasped, “So this is school friendship!” It would’ve been comical how Hyejin was acting like an old outsider if Jeongguk wasn’t seeing red currently.

“Let’s just sit at a table away from her. We can wait up for her to finish her studies. Her study group was going to leave around 4:30.”

“Sure,” Jeongguk pursed his lips into a thin line, resisting the urge to punch the glass wall. Hyejin was too excited for Jeongguk to ruin the mood with unneeded violence.

They sat at a booth furthest away from Haru, Hyejin peeking at her study group from time to time.

“He’s dyed his hair blond,” Jeongguk stated, rudely.

“Who?” Hyejin asked, “Oh that boy with Haru? He looks like a sweet boy. I hope he’s good friends with her.”

“You hope for unwanted things sometimes, yes, that’s a habit of yours,” Jeongguk bit the inside of his cheek after saying so.

Hyejin gave him a poker face, because she didn’t understand a word he said.

“Lighten up a little, Jeongguk-nim. We asked to meet her here. You can’t just go and talk to her with a sour mood like that.”

“How long before her friends leave?”

“Around 20 minutes or so.”

“Fine. I’ll wait.”

Hyejin smiled by herself; her master was quite an impatient one when it came to his human. How was he even planning to apologize to Haru? She had a hard time envisioning him apologizing to anyone who wasn’t from Bangtan, her included.

Had he even practiced or rehearsed what he was going to say?

Their heads turned in the study group’s direction as the other girl stood up, probably to use the restroom.

The blond boy promptly got up and replaced himself in the girl’s seat, right beside Haru.

Jeongguk almost stood up and walked over to them. Almost.

His human wouldn’t like it. It would make her think less of him, he remembered.

He stared at them, kind of hoping Haru would be the one to move away or do something to break their contact. But she simply took his phone and laughed at a few stupid pictures.

They both exchanged familiar glances and smiled while Haru swiped at his phone.

How many minutes had passed? Because it was getting more and more annoying being in their presence.

Jeongguk chanced a glance at Hyejin, who was staring at Haru intently with a small smile on her face.

Jeongguk scoffed and looked back at them. The boy had put an arm around her shoulder, held her close and snapped a picture.

Jeongguk stood up.

“I’m leaving,” he stated with no explanations.

“But Haru-”

“I just remembered I have some business to attend to. Besides, wasting time waiting for a human isn’t my cup of tea. I came here for niceties, but I guess it’s of no use here.”

“Jeongguk-nim, you said you want to apologize,” Hyejin held a solemn gaze.

“I said I’ll come along with you, not that I’d apologize,” Jeongguk corrected, “I’ll smoke out in an alley. You can drive back home.”

And he immediately walked out of the café.

.

Jeongguk slumped into his bed, throwing his coat across the bedroom floor.

Of course.

He timidly ran a hand through his hair. He kicked his shoes off, almost flailing them away from him.

Of course.

Haru was a human. A normal human.

It was obvious she was a good human. An exceptionally good human too.

There was no way.

No way it could be.

She was obviously going to be a heaven-dweller after her time on earth.

It had to be acknowledged by him. There was no use circling around this blatant fact over and over again, hoping for a different outcome.

In all the three and a half years he’d been watching her, he’d been avoiding that simple obvious fact. He threw his head back against the headboard and closed his eyes.

Did she have to do that to him? Act all familiar with that guy right when he was watching her? Four days he hadn’t seen her, and this is what she first did when he finally saw her.

“You’re so pathetic.”

He didn’t know why he said that and who he was referring to.

Was he ready to talk to her? Not really. What would he say to her, anyway?

“I am sorry for throwing you on the couch even after knowing our power dynamics. I am just an ignorant man after all.”

He had a hard time believing Haru would buy that or even consider his apology.

Taehyung knocked on his bedroom door. The dude would just smoke himself in in any corridor of his mansion whenever he wanted. Jeongguk was fine with it, because Taehyung was his brother. As long as he avoided smoking into personal rooms, he was fine with it.

“Come in.”

They had a small chat about today’s gaffe and Taehyung was already done with him.

“I’m going to change the conversation topic to something else now, Guk-ah.”

He was that done with Jeongguk.

“Now Manshik knows about her. And he saw her in person,” Taehyung reminded him.

Jeongguk gave out an airy laugh at his own stupidity.

“I’m going to smack you,” Taehyung was serious, “You could’ve asked me for information on Park Doyun. I would’ve got it for you from Yoongi-hyung himself.”

“We know how that would work hyung,” Jeongguk sighed at the end of the sentence.

“Well, it worked well; because I did speak to him, dumbass,” Taehyung said proudly and Jeongguk immediately sat up, his eyes wide.

“Hyung-”

“Uh-uh-uh,” Taehyung clicked his fingers in front of Jeongguk’s face, “You have a serious apology to make, don’t you think?”

“Sorry, hyung. Please.”

“See how easy that was. Now do this with Haru as well!” Taehyung smiled victoriously.

“It’s not that easy.” Jeongguk was getting impatient, “Please, just tell me about Doyun. I really need that information.”

Jeongguk looked at Taehyung with pleading eyes, something Taehyung wasn’t used to. Yet, as much as he wanted to explain things to his younger brother; sometimes things were harder to explain than to understand. It was like muscle memory. Someone wouldn’t learn to drive a car if you just told them about it in theory. The older man’s eyes almost seemed distant as they looked at each other.

“Haha,” Taehyung chucked dryly, “how simple yet trivial but important.”

Taehyung sighed and turned his head away, looking through the stained glass window.

Before Jeongguk could plead again, he’d already started talking.

“We have love between us, right, Jeongguk?”

Jeongguk held his stare while Taehyung still looked into the distance. He knew Taehyung was going to drop a bomb on his head that he would understand much, much later.

“Hyung, I don’t understand.”

“Just answer the question, Guk-ah.”

“I think I don’t know what love is?” he replied, scratching his head.

“What is love, from what you’ve seen?” Taehyung asked, as he finally looked at Jeongguk.

“Spending time with each other?”

“And?”

“Being there for one another. Knowing someone is always ready to help you, no matter what it is?” Jeongguk thought intently, “A familiar feeling you get when you know someone is sharing the same level of understanding as you for something?”

Taehyung waited as Jeongguk pondered more; but when no other answers came, he replied, “That’s good. So by these definitions, do we have love between us?”

“I think there’s more to it,” Jeongguk answered immediately.

“Really? I think it’s as simple as that,” Taehyung didn’t miss a beat.

“How so?”

“Think of Haru,” Taehyung tried again.

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

“Okay. What of it?” Jeongguk asked.

“Do you share the same characteristics of love as you do with me?”

“No. But it almost seems vaguely familiar when it’s her.”

“Do you wish for her to cover such characteristics, anytime soon?”

Jeongguk gave him a confused look. He had no idea where his brother was going with him. All he knew was that he was stepping into uncharted waters. He wanted him to stop talking but keep going at the same time. This was so foreign.

“Okay, do you feel she almost steps into a Venn diagram of these characteristics; or think she could easily encompass them if she wanted to?”

If she wanted to.

The answer to that made Jeongguk shiver in fear and uncertainty.

Did she want to?

“Yes,” Jeongguk half-whispered, half-said.

And Jeongguk suddenly ached for something like sand slipping between his fingers.

It was like he’d had this ache for eons.

Oh, he ached.

<-Previous Chapter

Next Chapter->

Chapter 8: Best Friends & Fiends

Chapter Summary:

“You did what!?”

Taehyung stared at the floor, dumbfounded.

“And Hyejin won’t speak to me now,” Jeongguk said.

“Neither is Haru! And nor will I if you don’t fucking fix this, Guk!” Taehyung was going crazy.

“What even led you to treat her that way? Have you lost your mind? You left her just like that, amidst all the danger she could get herself into?” Taehyung said again.

“He just goes around doing whatever he wants, without thinking how it’d affect the people around him,” Hyejin muttered, more to herself than anyone, as she came back into the room.

~this is smut

Jeongguk knew he was many things. Obsessed with a meager human though, wasn’t anywhere on his list. Sure, he definitely wanted her to be obsessed with him for some reason. He wanted to be the first person she thought of when she needed help, yes.

But his involvement with her solely lied on the fact that her soul had no color, and noting her life decisions and upbringing; it was obvious she was a good human. Then why was she different than anyone else? No demon, beast, or even God had occupied as much time on his mind as much as his human had.

Which had maybe, most probably, led him into making the worst decision in all his years of demonhood. Standing in front of him was the biggest enemy of his brotherhood, Manshik, a demon from an old rivalling brotherhood.

They were flesh-eaters, and often consumed humans as gourmet experts. Drinking blood was an every day occurrence for them, as if sipping a glass of store-labelled wine.

“Do you know what’s gonna happen if they find out?” Manshik gave a dry chuckle as his fangs peeked out a bit.

“I’ll be scolded by my hyungs for talking to a rival. You on the other hand,” Jeongguk’s eyes trailed to his mouth, gauging his sneer, “I don’t know what you lot do in such…cases.”

“I’d rather not find out,” Jeongguk added immediately.

Why would he care anyway? Manshik wasn’t obligated to be here, yet he came. Jeongguk had sent out a third-party messenger bird so there would be no breadcrumbs trailing back to them.

“Anyway, your Yoongi-hyung,” Manshik uttered, his voice bitter with venom, “he dabbled with us a bit, for a while.”

“Nonsense. Hyung would never-”

“Park Do-yun, wasn’t it? Could never forget that name,” Manshik cut him off.

“Yes. I think my hyung probably meddled with your brotherhood due to her involvement. He wouldn’t risk our brotherhood’s reputation like that,” Jeongguk explained, his voice cold and stern.

“Reputation, huh? Well, what are you doing right now then, Jeongguk?”

Jeongguk’s eyes widened momentarily but he regained composure instantly. This wasn’t the same thing. Jeongguk would ensure this was the first and last time he was seeing Manshik alone.

“Just so you know, I didn’t take the ‘reputation’ part well. Calling someone over then pretending to be above them. Classic Bangtan.”

“You could have said no. But you showed up anyway,” Jeongguk answered, holding his ground.

“Tch. Fair.”

“Just answer my damn questions, Manshik. And tell me what you want in return.”

“In return, I’ll have the same as before,” Manshik’s lips turned into a crooked smile, his left fang now in full view, “what your Min Yoongi refused to give us, then promptly lost his woman, twice.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jeongguk sensed the change in his tone and took one step forward, indicating he didn’t understand what the bargain meant.

“Your human girl; heard her soul’s got no color and no records of it. It’s not that much of a secret, but more a phenomenon everyone wants to see for themselves,” Manshik explained a bit.

Jeongguk’s hands balled up into fists. He needed to grip something. Of course, every demon was finding out about her. He didn’t understand why it had been so late though. They’d begun talking about his human. Yes, he’d been considering showing her to the council, but that didn’t mean he’d give her up that easily.

Snippets of him watching her came to his mind. It was a blur, as blood came rushing to his ears. Only one thing lay straight to him as her delicate form kept stepping forward in his mind, waist swaying left and right as she moved a few strands of hair from her forehead to the back of her ear; her nimble fingers tying up her hair into a braid while she wore a loose tank top, mounds rising and falling with each turn and pull; her body glistening in the evening sun as she hit a ball with her badminton racket, a wide smile plastered on her face.

His human was beautiful.

A very attractive woman at that. Jeongguk never wanted to admit it, but he always knew. He didn’t know why; he just dreaded that fact more than most of the things he was scared of.

But right now, as unrelated as it was, he couldn’t think of anything else to calm his seething rage. It’d worked for a bit, but seeing Manshik’s arrogant grin wasn’t helping.

Jeongguk blinked once, his eyes glistening while his knuckles turned white.

“Why does everyone want to see me?” the voice was solace and nuisance at the same time.

Manshik turned his head to her, and Jeongguk knew trouble had already been brewn. Jeongguk whipped his head to Haru, right as a smile broke out of Manshik’s reddish lips.

“Speak of the de-”

“What are you doing here? Who let you in?” Jeongguk was quick to interrupt with a flurry of sentences. He immediately closed the distance between him and Haru and grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the room.

“Jeongguk, you’re hurting me,” Haru opposed his hold on her and tried to break free.

Jeongguk flailed her to the drawing room’s couch in anger.

This was the first time Haru had seen him angry. And she didn’t like it.

“You didn’t answer my questions,” Jeongguk said with narrowed eyes, directing all his rage to the trembling woman in front of him.

“Hyejin let me in the mansion. I came to see you like usual,” Haru replied, rubbing her elbow that still hurt from his crazy grip.

Like usual.

All of a sudden, Jeongguk was reminded how Haru found everything that was happening to her.

“Do you think roaming around my mansion is like taking a walk in the park? Do you know what kind of situation you’re in? There are dangers lurking everywhere for you in your situation. How can you just go opening doors like everything is child’s play to you?”

Fuming was an understatement.

“Jeongguk, what-”

Everything about her hurt him. The way her eyes were glossing over at his rage as she tried to muster up the courage to say something; the way he knew he was targeting the entire bane of his angst over her for no reason; the way he’d hate himself after he calmed down; the way Taehyung and Hyejin had accused him, the way he could never bring himself to look at Haru in indifference. Everything.

“I don’t want to see you,” Oh, he knew he was going to hate himself, alright, “Don’t come here again.”

He turned on his heel and started walking but she called out to him again.

“Jeongguk, what do you mean? You’re making no sense-”

“I think I made it exactly clear, Haru. I don’t want you near the mansion again. You drive in too much attention. Your stupidity attracts danger and I have nothing to gain from you,” Jeongguk gulped down as he bit his tongue.

“You’re saying you won’t help me?” Haru asked, meekly.

“I’m saying I hate how you think everything and everyone in life surrounds you and others don’t have things to do or a life to live. The way you behave when you’re around us is annoying, so stop coming to us. Go to school, study; I’ll seek you out in case of any important information or send Hyejin or whatever. I said I’ll help you out and give you your old life back. That doesn’t mean you have to come around frolicking over here all the time.”

Jeongguk turned around to look at her again, just to see if she was hurt at what he’d spewed out. Just a little, and maybe he wouldn’t feel so empty yet filled with rage right now.

A tear rolled down her left cheek and Jeongguk sucked in a breath. That would do.

“What was all this then? You could’ve just said you don’t want me around. You didn’t have to be a hero, then treat me like a friend this whole time.”

Like a friend.

Jeongguk hadn’t even thought of that. She looked at them as friends. Friends who were helping her live.

Of course. He was so stupid. Nevertheless, he should’ve never allowed her to get close to them in first place. It was plain stupid; she was human after all.

“I’ll leave then,” Haru got up from the couch, clutching her elbow, “I hope you don’t have to be bothered by my situation next time. Thanks for everything.”

Haru picked up her slingbag and walked away. Leaving him seething still.

“Tch, tch, tch. Shouldn’t have treated her like that. Yoongi wouldn’t do this to Doyun,” Manshik appeared right as Haru left, “I was hoping you’d introduce me to her but I didn’t want to interrupt your little scuffle.”

“We don’t share a relationship like Yoongi-hyung and Doyun. As a matter of fact, we share nothing at all. She’s just a human that I accidently got involved with and have to take responsibility of.”

“Hmm. So you say,” Manshik clicked his tongue, “I believe you.”

Jeongguk hated it; the way Manshik acted and chose his words. But he wasn’t going to go ahead and try to prove anything. That would be like acknowledging his invisible challenge.

“Anyway, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about Yoongi and Park Doyun, if you give me your word that I’ll get a fair share of that girl’s blood.”

Jeongguk looked at him in disbelief. He huffed.

“You could add in a bit of flesh as tokens of gratitude too, if you like,” Manshik spoke as if this conversation was an everyday thing for him.

“Leave,” Jeongguk didn’t waste a second.

Manshik’s face immediately fell. After all, the demon was more used to successful blood and power deals.

“What?”

“We’re done here. I’m not giving her blood to you,” Jeongguk had calmed down by now, “You could’ve said it on the messenger that you wanted her blood in return. Then I wouldn’t have given you the pain of coming all the way here. What with meeting without being discovered and all.”

It was ridiculous; the way Manshik was behaving as if the girl was made for imminent doom. As if he was positive he’d get a piece of her, as if he was sure people were going to barter pieces of her in no time.

Jeongguk knew right then. He hated Manshik.

“I hope we never have to see each other again, my guy,” Jeongguk said as he closed the door, leaving Manshik staring at him from afar.

Jeongguk sighed and slumped into a nearby armchair.

Then, the regret came seeping in along with a peculiar feeling of impending doom.

He really, really hated himself the most.

.

It wasn’t fair.

Tears trailed down Haru’s cheeks as she wrote her science paper.

It was so unfair how Jeongguk treated her. No amount of explaining, or apologizing would ever make Jeongguk’s treatment of her okay. He decided it was okay to give her a look of disdain, and not only that; he manhandled her. He flung her across as she fell to a couch as if she were a mere thing to be toyed with as he pleased.

How foolish she had been. To think he’d started understanding her. But to be manhandled like a toddler like that; how humiliating.

A teardrop fell on the page in front of her, and Haru wiped it off.

That was it. She wasn’t going to cry anymore.

Not over a boy; or a man. Or whoever. God knew how old he was; and he was almost a stalker at that, asking if he can tap her windows and all. He could go and drop dead on the same couch he threw her in, for all she cared.

Her science test was more important. She'd look at him just like the way he deemed her; beneath everything else in her life. She'd do as he'd suggested - go to school and study.

Even then, it didn’t change the fact that she needed him more than he needed her. She was indebted to him too.

But the mistreatment and manhandling was going too far. Fine then, she’d answer when he beckoned her, but other than that, he wasn’t going to get a single word from her.

She only missed Hyejin; who hardly used her smartphone. She thought of texting her, but that would’ve been too desperate of her. Jeongguk had just shunned her. How clingy would she be if she went and talked to his subordinate right after that? Did she have any shame at all if she did that?

Disgruntled, she settled on calling her best friend; Raemi.

“Raemi, can I ask you something?” Haru asked, placing her feet against the bed’s headboard, her torso lying on the bed.

The science paper had been forgotten in lieu of talking to her best friend after a long weekend.

“No,” the other girl squeaked, huffing from her workout, “Of course, stupid. You can ask me anything.”

“Would you talk to a friend who manhandled you and yelled at you? I’m talking full-on furious yelling, showing your rage face kinda anger.”

“Uh, obviously not. What kinda friend mauls you and shows you that side of themselves?” Raemi answered, as a-matter-of-factly.

“No, not mauling. I mean like they’ve dragged you by your elbow and pushed you to a couch; would you talk to them then?” Haru asked, speaking way too fast.

“That’s oddly specific…” Raemi had caught on, “Spill it, Mae Haru. What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

“Nothing. I was just wondering what you would do in a situation like that…” Haru was definitely not good at lying with her best friend present.

“Sure, babe. Believe it. Totally.”

“Ugh, why am I even trying.”

“So you gonna spill or nah?”

“Jeongguk, that dude who saved me from an accident, kind of manhandled me into a couch and yelled at me, all furious. He said he doesn’t want to see me anymore.”

“Uh, he saved you from an accident, he’s not fucking Jesus. If he doesn’t want to talk to you, don’t. There’s nothing else to do.”

If only Haru could tell Raemi about the other details; how it was so complicated and how he was a demon.

“Right. Who am I to force him to talk to me if he doesn’t want to,” Haru agreed. After all, that much was correct.

“Besides, if he touches you like that again, you have every right to punch him. Nobody mauls my best friend.”

Haru’s giggle was audible on the line, “He just grabbed me; there was no mauling. Anyway, it won’t come to that. I just won’t see him again.”

“Good. And I don’t know what reason he had to grab you. But best be sure, I’ll punch him for you if you need me,” Raemi knew not to nudge Haru further. They had that much decency and respect between each other.

“I kinda hoped you’d have something going with him though,” Raemi added, and Haru could hear her frown even on the phone line.

“What? Me and him? Where’d you get that idea?”

“You look good together. Caught a whiff of that chemistry. Not gonna probe in. Let bygones be bygones. I just didn't know you were close enough for him to grab you.”

“Right. We don’t have any dynamic like that, anyway. So it’s ‘kay.”

“You prepared for the quiz tomorrow?”

.

“You did what!?”

Taehyung stared at the floor, dumbfounded.

“And Hyejin won’t speak to me now,” Jeongguk said.

“Neither is Haru! And nor will I if you don’t fucking fix this, Guk!” Taehyung was going crazy.

“What even led you to treat her that way? Have you lost your mind? You left her just like that, amidst all the danger she could get herself into?” Taehyung said again.

“He just goes around doing whatever he wants, without thinking how it’d affect the people around him,” Hyejin muttered, more to herself than anyone, as she came back into the room.

“What did that poor girl even do to you, Jeongguk-nim? Did she finally call you the ‘Jasper’ you are? Because you’re so unpredictable and creepy I just can’t stand it!” Hyejin was livid, “Did he tell you he’d been stalking her the whole time, Taehyung-nim?”

She'd just compared him to Jasper from Twilight. The day couldn't have gotten any worse.

“Dude, what the f-”

“Hyejin, wait. Hyung, I can explain.”

“I’m starting to doubt this thing called ‘love’ now…Are you sure you’re not just obsessed?” Taehyung was disheveled as he resigned himself to the sofa.

“Will you both just listen to me!?” Jeongguk had to literally yell at the both of them.

“Manshik was here,” Jeongguk was grateful for the shift in their facial expressions from insufferable to attentive, “he asked for Haru’s blood, right after he saw her.”

“Why did you let Manshik in here? What the actual fuck?” Taehyung was quick to indulge.

“I wanted to know more about Yoongi-hyung and Park Doyun,” Jeongguk didn’t explain any further except, “he asked for Haru’s blood in return; which I denied him.”

Taehyung and Hyejin knew he didn’t have to explain the denying part. Jeongguk wasn’t like that.

“I was just…so angry. It all happened so fast. She came into the meeting room and Manshik laid eyes on her…that bastard. And then I remembered all the pressure I had, when I don’t even understand what romance is,” Nobody interrupted Jeongguk as he went on, “And she was right there with her doe eyes, always coming to the wrong place at the wrong time; and she had to ask that stupid question-”

“That’s enough,” Hyejin picked up her smartphone as she asked Jeongguk to calm down.

“Poor girl, it was an awful day for her. I think I should contact her,” Hyejin stated, her voice gloomy.

“Don’t do that,” Jeongguk cut in, “I don’t know how to face her.”

“Jeongguk, you may be the maknae, but you should know when you should be apologizing,” Taehyung said, sternly, “Leave Haru alone for a while. It’s on us to apologize. I’m sure she won’t run into trouble in a single night.”

Hyejin blinked and stared at her phone, eager to call her best friend.

Her name was just Mae Haru with a star next to it.

Nothing special to it. Haru was just her best friend, who she’d met a month ago.

“I’ll text her tomorrow,” Hyejin stated.

<-Previous chapter

Next chapter->

Chapter 7: Open Secret for Two

Chapter Summary:

“What, you mean I love the human or something?” Jeongguk half-chuckled, half sighed, worry apparent in his voice.

“Precisely,” Taehyung replied and Hyejin folded her hands, as if she knew where this was going.

“I don’t love the human. What are you even saying, hyung?” Jeongguk was going to overexplain it, he knew it.

“You call her ‘my human’”, Hyejin accused.

“Yeah. So? She is a human that I’ve kept after all,” Jeongguk was definitely overexplaining, wasn’t he?

~this is smut

Jeongguk had a small inkling of it; it was small but could turn into reality if he didn’t stash it somehow before it went out of hand. Soon, there would be a gathering of bastards at his doorstep, asking for favors in return of keeping his human’s secret.

“What. do you want?” he almost growled at the half-wolf/half-ghoul in front of him.

Fray was never up to any good. Approximately 80% of demons weren’t.

Because they were demons, of course.

“Just a li’l ol’ give-and-take; not much,” Fray answered with a sneer, “I just want better food, that’s all there’s to it.”

Jeongguk’s lips pursed into a thin line.

“And how will I know you won’t be,” Jeongguk pretended to look for a word, then cut it to the chase, “blackmailing me with this information after you’ve gotten what you wanted?”

Fray raised his arms in the air up to his chest in defense.

“I don’t want nothing to do with a human, unless you’re offering her up as food,” Fray squinted his eyes a little as he said the last few words.

“Have you told anyone about her? About my human?” Jeongguk crossed his arms, without breaking eye contact.

“Your human? I guess she won’t get put up on my food menu anytime soon,” Fray sighed, as if showing defeat.

“But, no. I haven’t told a soul about it. They might find out on their own with the ways she’s been roaming around though,” Fray answered Jeongguk’s previous question.

The dude had knocked Jeongguk’s door early morning, yelling at him to just talk to him and pulled out a blackmail stint out of nowhere. Even before giving his word that he wouldn’t use the human’s condition against him.

“Just a small part, a few apartment blocks together. Not much,” Fray asked again, plastering a toothy grin on his wolf-like features.

Fray had seemingly threatened that he’d tell the council all about Jeongguk and Haru after discovering their secret. Condition being, he give the hybrid wolf control over a small portion of his domain, to influence all the wild animals within the area. He’d chosen a portion of land closer to the woods, that connected seamlessly with the city.

“Only the animals,” Jeongguk repeated.

“I can’t influence humans anyway,” Fray waved his hand in the air, “You lot eat so well. Your domain is like one of the best areas for food. I just want a taste of the animals’ souls. I know how to keep ‘em in check.”

“Sure,” Jeongguk feigned, “Are you doing this just for better quality food? Or is it something more devious?”

“No. After that mass-death snowball a few days ago, the surrounding areas are much more delicate, and frayed,” he grinned after using his name as a verb correctly, “naturally, making their souls easier to influence and consume. And again, naturally making the humans take it out on the animals and kids. These lots can’t handle their emotions, and where do you think they release their energy? The fucking kids and helpless animals.”

This was the way the demons had been conditioned. And there was no way around it. Whenever these bastards saw a chance to fulfil their greed, they’d act on it. No ifs, no buts, nothing. And it always started with small animals and children first; they’d then push their luck and see if they could gobble up bigger prey.

“Right. Cats, dogs, and the like,” Jeongguk muttered.

“And elks, mountain lions, geese,-” Fray tried to count the animals on his left hand but found only three hairy fingers.

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. I’ll give you two months tops.”

“I came here thinking you’ll give me a bargain of six. Two is just miserable-”

“Take it or leave it.”

“The council-”

“You cannot blackmail me into giving you more time than I can provide,” Jeongguk uttered through snared teeth, “the after-effects of that phenomenon will mostly wear out by two months.”

Fray huffed.

“Fine. But no one mediates or meddles while I am in charge-”

“While you are the sole holder of a small bargain of two months,” Jeongguk cut him off and corrected him.

Fray shrugged and sighed.

It was a good thing beasts like Fray were never up to clever conversations or exchanges. Full sentences and logical reasoning wasn’t their cup of tea.

Of course his human’s soul color would be discovered.

“How do I know you won’t meddle with us in the future?” Jeongguk questioned.

“Look, mate. I seriously don’t care. However, if anyone ever dares to drag me to the council, I’m gonna feign ignorance and bail. I’m not getting into the center of this by talking to anyone else except you. Not the human, not your brothers, not the tall lady with the cute-ass feet. No one.”

“That would be wise, for you,” Jeongguk agreed.

.

Sometimes Jeongguk wished he was an angel. They were the purest forms of energy. But no, Jeongguk didn’t wish to be an angel because of their status or purity. It was simply because they had no libido.

“Just a few more blocks, Jeongguk,” it felt like she was sighing his name into the phone.

Jeongguk hummed in discomfort. This was just so, so bad. The way his cock had sprung up while she was talking to him on the phone.

“I’m so sorry for calling you like this. I hope you weren’t busy,” Haru was panting into the phone while walking home. Apparently, she’d been walking the streets alone and felt like she was being watched; so she’d decided to call Jeongguk. Jeongguk, out of everyone else she knew.

Then he remembered the position she was in and almost sighed back to her. Of course, it was because he’d scared her with the stalker crow.

“Jeongguk-,” she made his cock twitch again.

“You don’t have to speak if you’re tired of walking, you know,” Jeongguk sounded almost rude, his impatience growing by the second with the tent in his pants.

Never in a million years would he have imagined himself in a situation like this.

Cock twitching with his human’s voice so close to his ear.

“Oh. I don’t think I should stop talking,” there was fear laced in her words now, “Please talk back, Jeongguk. Just for a little while.”

“You could have used your mark and called me, I don’t use smartphones that much. It was just luck I was around it,” Jeongguk lulled his head back and ground his hips forward into the armchair’s seat a little. It was so mild, that if someone was talking to him right now, they wouldn’t notice it at all. He could pass off a normal conversation without being caught.

“I don’t think I should use the mark for something so trivial as this. I don’t want to annoy you like a damsel,” Jeongguk knew she was reaching her house soon with the way her voice was huffing even more. Angering Jeongguk even further. He hated boners, but this one aggravated him so much because he didn’t seem to want to pull away from the phone.

They’d exchanged phone numbers and the like when she’d suggested it to Hyejin, him being laced into the conversation, like every time.

If only she could keep speaking into his ear like this, he wouldn’t mind it if she wasn’t breathless. It would be heavily inappropriate if he palmed himself just a little, right? Yeah, that would be perverted. Jeongguk groaned a little as he slightly bucked his knees apart, trying to decrease the friction.

“I can see my house now. Thanks for talking to me, I’ll hang up now,” he could feel her smile through the phone.

“Don’t hang up yet,” Jeongguk’s stated, his voice not giving off any straight indicators of emotion.

“Huh?” she said in a puzzled voice as she reached close to her home.

Her shoes squeaked as she walked through her driveway, and Jeongguk knew she was safe.

“Mom, I’m home,” her voice was a bit distant now, the phone held away from her ear.

She went back to speak to him again, but Jeongguk had promptly hung up, dial tone beeping in increments of three.

She looked at her phone and then his name on it in bewilderment.

-Jeongguk [apple emoji]-

She’d put an apple behind his name because of Twilight’s first book cover that displayed a half-eaten apple.

If she felt like she was being watched or followed, that wouldn’t be far from the truth. Himself being one of the watchers, after all. It wouldn’t be a surprise if she’d piqued someone else’s interest. And that damn crow could be watching her from anywhere, and no one would ever know.

He knew he had to do something about his…situation. His eyes zoned in on the bulge in his pants and he palmed it, finally.

It was so, so bad…what he was doing; and what she was doing to him. But just a little wouldn’t hurt. He got up from his chair in a huff and made way to the restroom in a hurry.

He wouldn’t be perverted, he promised more to himself than to the god of morals. Demon he may be, but he still had his reservations.

Just her face.

He would keep just her face in his thought cloud as he rubbed himself for relief. His thoughts would trace the sharp features of her face, a button nose, and glossy, pink lips that were begging to be caught between his own.

Just her face, that’s all. He wouldn’t go beneath that.

 .

“So what do we do?” Hyejin asked, sarcasm evident in her tone.

“We tell Yoongi-hyung-” the rest of his sentence was smacked away with a rolled up newspaper to his head. Jeongguk had done the honors.

“I knew you’d do this, hyung,” Jeongguk said as a matter-of-factly, “what with ‘we’ll have an official meeting and decide later.’ Why did I even trust you? Hyejin actually had something in mind and thought it over to say the least. And you bring me the most detrimental and suicidal suggestion ever.”

“Then why don’t we go with Hyejin’s plan?” Taehyung deadpanned, “Skirt around the subject with higher ranking demons without telling them about our juxtaposition!”

“That’s going to happen anyway, even if we don’t find a straighter solution. We’ll have to keep it in our peripherals all the time,” Hyejin said, explaining the outcomes and conditions of her plan.

“Taehyung-nim, I seriously don’t get it. I didn’t take you for an airhead like this,” Jeongguk and Taehyung gave her a confused look as she went on, “Me being Jeongguk-nim’s subordinate, I couldn’t dare question him or defy him, no matter how bad things are. You on the other hand, Taehyung-nim, why did you not say anything when Jeongguk-nim brought the girl in? You didn’t even ask for his reasons for doing so. You were simply ready to take on the council of elders and our entire community, just like that?”

Jeongguk took in a breath. She was saying worlds that always lingered between him and Taehyung but it was like a crack in a glass frame that would break with a single touch.

And it had just been touched.

Jeongguk held his breath.

“I know how you see me, Hyejin,” Taehyung replied, “I know I’m not seen as Jeongguk’s sidekick at all, at least not by you. Neither am I a kiss-ass or yes-man that agrees to whatever he says and does.”

“Then why, pray tell me, have you never questioned him about the girl, ever? It’s not that I don’t like her. Haru is an amazing person. I’m just mad that I got roped into this because I thought you both knew what you were doing. Jeongguk-nim is always speaking without giving away his thoughts, and Taehyung-nim is way too confident in whatever he does. I didn’t know we’d be stuck in a merry-go-round of questions, struggling like a plan-less kid,” Hyejin had finally went ahead and put everything against the line that kept the three of them from breaking down.

“Look-”

“I want to know too, hyung. Why trust me and not do anything about the girl yourself? You could’ve gone to the council and ratted on everything too. But you didn’t.” Jeongguk had interrupted Taehyung.

The air suddenly went quiet. Hyejin and Jeongguk zoned in on Taehyung, their eyes begging him to break the quiet.

“Have you seen Yoongi-hyung?” Taehyung almost whisper-said.

“Yea, what’s-”

Hyejing cut Jeongguk off, “Yes, you’ve caught the correct thread. It makes sense. He hasn’t been the same since.”

“What are you two on about?” Jeongguk questioned, looking at the both of them, again and again.

“It’s that thing, love,” Taehyung answered.

“Jeongguk-nim, as my master I think I should tell you what happened. Before the brotherhood, when my clan was in ties with Yoongi-nim, he went against the council to keep a human woman as his lover.”

“I know that, but what came of it?” Jeongguk took a few steps closer to Hyejin.

“It was a mess. Yoongi-nim was beaten up pretty badly. You could say he was broken in even. ‘Because the woman wouldn’t live as long as him anyway,’ and many other reasons were given to him that would call off his relationship. But what made the most sense to understand was, ‘Demons don’t deserve love, neither should they seek it. It is unnatural.’”

“He’s been a shallow husk of what he used to be since then. We don’t know the entire thing…except that her memories of Yoongi-hyung were erased and she married someone else later. She must be somewhere in hell right now, their love thing ain’t easy,” Taehyung added, “I don’t think she ever found it again, love, I mean, not Yoongi-hyung. Because Yoongi-hyung would still keep watching her every now and then, ‘like a person capable of love would,’ they say.”

“Long story short,” Taehyung changed the tone of the conversation, slightly, as the other two lifted their gazes to meet his, “I don’t want to lose another brother like that. A good percentage of me is sure that something could have been done back then. The council just otherwise doesn’t care about kids like us, this love thing is just something they don’t understand…no matter how much they look like they have it all together.”

A few seconds passed before Jeongguk broke the silence again.

“You won't lose another brother like that,” Jeongguk reassured.

“What, you mean I love the human or something?” Jeongguk half-chuckled, half sighed, worry apparent in his voice.

“Precisely,” Taehyung replied and Hyejin folded her hands, as if she knew where this was going.

“I don’t love the human. What are you even saying, hyung?” Jeongguk was going to overexplain it, he knew it.

“You call her ‘my human’”, Hyejin accused.

“Yeah. So? She is a human that I’ve kept after all,” Jeongguk was definitely overexplaining, wasn’t he?

“Leave him be, Hyejin. He won’t understand any of this now. Look at Yoongi-hyung. It’s no use fighting someone and pasting their own feelings on their forehead. We can just watch from the sidelines from our perspectives,” Taehyung said to Hyejin.

“Hello? I am still here, man? You’re talking about me like I’m stupid and don’t know any better, right in front of me.”

“You’ll soon know better, yourself, Jeongguk-sii.” Hyejin said.

Jeongguk gasp-accused at them both. Hyejin, fucking Hyejin was giving him attitude now! What a day to be alive it was.

“I saved her-”

“Precisely,” Taehyung repeated.

Jeongguk gasped and looked to the side, holding the sides of his wait while sucking in a breath.

“So this is how it’s going to be then? You’re both just going to be obnoxious brats who will use anything I say against me?”

“Precisely,” Hyejin replied this time.

God no, even Hyejin? If only Jeongguk could go a few minutes into the past and change that one stupid sentence that was making even Hyejin give him attitude, he’d leap in a heartbeat.

“We’ll leave you alone for now,” Taehyung said to Jeongguk and looked at Hyejin, “Just think it over. You don’t have all the time in the world.”

They both promptly left as Jeongguk bit the inside of his cheek.

His hands went straight for his smartphone on the end table, an item he would touch only once every few days, sometimes even weeks.

He looked at her name saved in his contacts.

Ha Ru/…;.;.

He’d accidentally typed random signs at the end of her name due to his nervousness.

During those few minutes his mind had wandered into several directions. Some being, ‘his human had iterated into words that he could contact her in a more human way with a phone call, instead of tapping on her window’, ‘she had implied he’d be the first one to get a call whenever she senses any mortal danger, what with perverted crows and all’.

And that’s how her name was ‘Ha Ru/…;.;.’ on his phone.

Goddamn, he was so stupid. But he wasn’t going to change the name either. That would be giving too much thought to a mere human.

He’d surely be able to show his two friends that they’d had a misunderstanding. His human had just piqued his curiosity, that was all. She was, as a matter of fact, more interesting to him than other humans. Which meant she was competing with literal fleas.

That was all. He’d do something about the situation at hand soon. The way he was being accused by Taehyung and Hyejin… would it be alright if he handed Haru over to the council?

Jeongguk’s eyebrows squirmed at the thought. He didn’t know if he was getting the eerie feeling at the thought of losing his human, or because his head would be on the line too because of such a gaffe, that too, he’d be informing them too late.

He wouldn’t be surprised if they bound him to literal Hell forever.

Nevertheless, he didn’t know if their meeting brought him a positive or negative outcome.

<-Previous Chapter

Next Chapter->

Chapter 6: There's No Going Black

Chapter Summary:

“You have a nice house, Mrs. Mae” Jeongguk spoke casually, “I like the doilies,” a little too casually.

“Why, thank you. What a gentleman,” Haru’s mother feigned, considering his casual tone. She smiled as she poured the tea into three teacups.

The next few minutes were spent prodding Jeongguk for more information about himself.

“A Mercedes at your age, huh. Just makes one wonder what you do for a living,” Haru’s mother remarked, much to Haru’s annoyance.

“He’s not a shady guy, mom.” Haru gave Jeongguk time to think a fake profession.

~this is smut

“The lot that requested this hearing, step to the front,” Ryka, the elder heading lost souls in the middle-world stated.

He was simply an apparition, similar to a demon, but in the form of a ghost.

Taehyung, Jeongguk and Hyejin looked around for kindred faces, but found none. The demons that’d promised to stand by them had all betrayed them; not a single one made eye contact.

“Told you they’d bail,” Taehyung shifted close to Jeongguk and whispered.

Their hyungs were somewhere in the back. They’d taken time out of their schedule to witness the hearing.

Jeongguk nudged both his accomplices forward, scared of making the council heads wait.

“Well, go on then!” Lucas, the one in charge of middle-world beasts was an impatient one, “Don’t keep us waiting.”

Lucas had strewn fur, showing his years of service at the council. The lines around his eyes were deep-set, letting one know all about his rigorous experiences in the demon realm. His head consisted of a wolf’s face with a majestic mane, while his body was muscular; but showed his years. His legs resembled that of a mountain lion, with sharp talons, similar to his hands.

Jeongguk decided to take initiative as Taehyung shivered behind him.

“Uh-”

“We’re the ones they’re looking for answers from, sir. It’s about the rare event  that occurred on Friday,” he was immediately cut off by the council’s attendant.

“Well, it’s utter blasphemy then!” Lucas yelled, “How dare they decide to question the council? Do the younglings not know that we are the ones who decide their fate? I swear on Iblis, these young brats don’t have a single ounce of respect for our time.”

The air within the jury was so thin, Hyejin could swear she saw someone choking in the back.

“May I speak, sir?” Hyejin spoke softly, and all heads whipped in her direction. She might have not known court etiquette but someone had to speak up among them before Lucas decided to have their heads rolling.

“You may speak,” Juwon, head of middle-world demons, interrupted Lucas’ yelling with a single hand. He had an air of refined elegance about him that Hyejin had never seen in another demon, ever. Juwon looked like any other demon, but his eyes told you about his power. He could set anyone off running with a single look. He had platinum blonde hair and upturned eyes.

“We wanted to know about Friday’s event. So many souls were crossing at the same time, so it was concerning to us,” Hyejin spoke as firmly as she could, so as not to displease the council elders.

“Why keep a hearing for this? Any attendant could have answered your questions,” Juwon sounded tired as he dusted his robes.

Before Hyejin could reply, an attendant interrupted her.

“It was Lucas, sir.”

“The youngsters have to respect-”

“Yes, yes. We all know how much you like to keep hearings and put the younglings in a spot. Don’t get yours in a bunch,” Ryka said, cornering Lucas.

“Well, it’s better they hear it from us instead of half-assed information from other demons,” Lucas said, firmly.

“So much for blasphemy,” Juwon shook his head and sighed.

Imagine requesting a hearing and berating the people who stepped up for it first.

Juwon recollected his refined appearance and smiled at Hyejin.

“It was a bunch of war veterans cheating death. They made covenants during the war and failed to fulfill them, all alcoholics and old failures. That is all,” Juwon explained.

“Thank you, sir. That explains a lot,” Hyejin was so, so thankful for Juwon.

“Is that it, then? Damn, younglings-”

“You forced them to have a hearing, Lucas. Shut your trap before I smack it off,” Ryka interrupted, clearly tired of Lucas.

“You’re a ghost, you idjit. You can’t even touch me,” Lucas fought back.

“Want me to stay on top of you all the time? It’ll shut you up right away,” Ryka apparated right on top of Lucas, clearly annoying him.

“Hey, get off!” Lucas flailed his arms around, trying to shake Ryka off.

Everyone watched in awe. The air was completely different than before.

“Sir Lucas,” an attendant came running in, “Dylan from Chicago just called you a **** on CS:GO.”

“What the-” Lucas ran across the court to get Ryka off of him, “Pause the game. Fucking Dylan; I’ll be right there! We’re done here! Hearing closed.”

Lucas ran out, with Ryka rushing after him. This left only Juwon on the podium.

“But you can’t pause an online game, sir!” the attendant ran after Lucas.

The attendant then turned to the jury and gave a nervous smile, “He’s new to online games.”

“A bunch of kids, I tell you,” Juwon pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

He clapped his hands and announced, “Well then, I think we’re done here. Friday’s event was a rare occurrence. If you have any more questions, you may ask our attendants. I doubt there will be more occurrences like Friday in the future,” Juwon looked at the jury again, “Dismissed.”

The entire court started whispering and talking while heads shifted. The court was soon empty.

Taehyung decided to break the silence outside once they reached outside the court, “Well that was…”

“Intense,” Hyejin completed for him.

.

There are many memorable experiences a person anticipates in their school life. Having your first kiss within the school campus, planning a trip with your closest friends being some of them.

Haru, too, had a bucket list of memory-making in her mind. What she didn’t anticipate was a handsome, air-headed, older man waiting for her outside the school gate in a shiny black Mercedes.

Every; mind you, every head turned in his direction when they passed by. A man in all-black in a black Mercedes; nothing weird about it.

“Jeongguk,” Haru whisper-yelled and swiftly walked to him, “What are you doing here? This is my school, you can’t come here like this.”

Jeongguk gave himself a once-over and gave her a questioning look, “Like what?”

The clothes were a completely different story, but an older man waiting for her outside her school sounded so shady.

“Who’s this, Haru?” Raemi sounded worried, “are you in trouble or something?”

The only person she didn’t want knowing about Jeongguk had already seen him waiting for her. Haru didn’t even know when Raemi got there.

“Wait, is it drugs?” Raemi went on when there was no reply, “Damn, Haru.”

Raemi fake-gasped, still wondering about all the possibilities why this man would be waiting for her.

“He saved me from an accident,” Haru blurted out without thought, “We’ve been talking since then. Just that. He’s older, you know.”

“What accident?” Raemi actually gasped this time, “Excuse me, no one told me about any accident! Are you okay, Haru?”

Raemi hugged Haru while Haru said whispered into her ear, “Don’t let anyone know about this. I don’t want to make a scene.”

Raemi suddenly stopped acting flamboyant, “Alright, but I think everyone has already seen him. You better think of an excuse. Why don’t you introduce me to him? He’s good-looking; I was hoping it would be more than an accident between you two.”

“Jeongguk, this is Raemi. She’s my best friend,” Haru motioned to Raemi, “Raemi, this is Jeongguk. He saved me from a road accident while crossing the street. We’ve become friends since then.”

“Hello, Jeongguk,” Raemi held out her hand for a handshake which Jeongguk gladly shook.

“You came to pick her up from school?” Raemi continued the conversation, “You’re that close? You brought a Merc too; what a way to show off.”

There was a hint of possessiveness in Raemi’s eyes.

Jeongguk looked at her as if he didn’t understand a word of what she’d said. He looked back at his car and stared at himself up and down, not finding anything amiss.

What was the girl implying?

“Yeah, he’s an airhead like that. Can’t keep a low profile, whatsoever,” Haru gave a pointed look to Jeongguk then turned to Raemi, “I’ll tell you everything later, okay? I have to leave right now.”

“Fine,” Raemi huffed, “But you better let me in on everything. What kind of friend doesn’t know when their friend has had an accident? Ridiculous.”

Haru hugged Raemi and nodded, answering her question. Raemi smiled at her and walked away, waving at her again from a distance. Haru waved back and turned to Jeongguk.

“Will you tell me what the hell you’re doing here?” Haru was seriously shocked he’d do something like this, “I can’t believe you.”

“Way to be grateful to someone who saved your life and has brought you important information from our realm,” Jeongguk scoffed.

“I am grateful,” Haru reminded, “But you stand out too much, Jeongguk. Can’t you keep a low profile? You’re literally signing omens of death with your appearance, right outside my school.”

“Because I wear all black-”

“And you have a black car,” Haru interrupted.

“-and don’t talk a lot?”

“You want me to change my appearance for you?” Jeongguk was in disbelief.

“No, but you could really benefit from a low profile,” Haru replied, already tired.

“I don’t need a low profile,” Jeongguk bit back, “When I don’t want to be seen I just go invisible. We don’t need to blend in when we can just disappear.”

Haru sighed, “Why are you so difficult? You can go invisible; I can’t. You are drawing attention to me right now, while waiting for me.”

“Alright then,” Jeongguk was tired too, “You could’ve just said that. I just had to get information about your situation to you as soon as possible.”

“What information? You found a solution?” Haru immediately perked up.

“Get in the car. I’ll drop you home,” Jeongguk motioned to his car, signifying he’d let her know everything on the ride home.

Haru immediately got in the car as Jeongguk followed suit.

.

“We recently had a reaping kind of thing,” Jeongguk began, “It happened right as you fainted.”

“What’s a reaping?” Haru was listening keenly.

“A large number of souls crossing – no, dying at the same time in this world,” Jeongguk explained.

“Oh,” was all Haru could muster, scared of what was coming.

“Many war veterans had almost exceeded their time on earth, so they were taken away together. Minutes between each other,” Jeongguk went on, “It means they were supposed to die either within the war’s time-frame or they would die in a reaping. It’s really painful; not a thing to boast about.”

“Huh? Did they cheat death or something?”

“It’s complicated…you know how people say their earnest prayers in hospitals and during calamities? Well, sometimes people end up making covenants with their prayers. A huge number of soldiers must’ve made some deals with demons, without knowing so. It’s laying out a condition such as ‘giving up on cheese sandwiches if I survive this war’ kind of thing, but much more complicated.”

“Makes sense now. That’s scary. Wish I didn’t know that,” Haru’s voice made her feeling apparent.

“They mostly forget about their deals, once they get what they want. This happens because they don’t really believe in gods, so they think they survived by fluke, and not because of their prayers. War will bring anyone to God’s doorstep. Basically, the prayer is made to both heaven and hell – if the condition is met, good will happen. If they disrespect the deal, bad will happen. Which is why; the reaping.”

“Man, I wonder if I’ve ever made such a deal,” Haru began thinking of all the times she’d said a prayer. But no, she hadn’t ever asked for something from the gods. She only remembered one time when she’d asked for Sungho’s wellness after his mother’s death.

“Yes, us heaven and hell-dwellers both, don’t take disrespect very well,” Jeongguk stated plainly. It was believable.

“How does this correlate with me though?”

“It definitely correlates to you. You fainted right as the reaping started. We almost lost you, Haru.”

There it was, the way he said her name as if patting her head like she knew nothing.

“Do you know anything about the 1950s?” Jeongguk continued.

“Why would I know anything about that era?” Haru immediately replied.

“I guess we’ll have to find out more about this phenomenon then. The council has already explained everything we asked them. I don’t know how long we can keep your existence from them…” Jeongguk said.

“What will they do if they find out?” Haru questioned.

“For starters, they’ll ask why I decided to save you.”

“Right. We’re toast on the first question itself. Nobody knows jackshit. Great. Understood,” Haru flailed her arms up in the air, giving up promptly.

Haru was quiet and reserved as Jeongguk pulled up in her neighborhood’s driveway.

“This is why you should be careful of your words and thoughts, all the time,” Jeongguk got out of the car and shut the car door after parking the car, “It doesn’t just happen in prayer. If you ask earnestly, someone will listen. Someone is always, always listening.”

Haru, too slid out of her seat and got out of the car.

Abruptly, a crow decided to let loose on Jeongguk’s black Merc.

“What the fuck- that asshole. I swear that stupid crow is following me everywhere,” Jeongguk muttered, to himself more than Haru.

“Well you’re very easy to spot and follow if you choose to show yourself…” Haru clicked her tongue.

“No, that crow is a fucking grown dude. It’s a fucking demon,” Jeongguk was getting angrier by the minute.

Haru promptly took out some pocket tissues from her satchel and wiped his car roof.

“There you go. All shiny again.”

That calmed Jeongguk a bit.

“How is the crow a grown person? And why’s it following-”

“Huh? What do we have here? Haru has brought home a handsome young man!” Haru’s mother, Chaerin came to the porch.

She gasped as she took in the sight, wiping her rimmed glasses.

“He’s so good-looking! And he has a Mercedes. You’ve hit the jackpot, finally. I’m so proud of you, my baby.”

“It’s not what you think-”

“Why don’t you come inside, young man? I’ve got some tea brewing and biscuits ready,” Chaerin’s voice was all flowery with Jeongguk.

Jeongguk stood stunned between the two women, and decided to let Haru speak for him.

“He’s a friend, mom,” was all Haru said.

“A friend with a Mercedes,” Chaerin corrected, “If not today, then some other day.”

Chaerin winked at Haru.

Haru sighed.

“I’m sorry about my mom. She’s quite animated when I bring new people,” Haru turned to Jeongguk, slowly shifting the conversation, “Let’s just have the tea and get it moving.”

Chaerin grinned brightly, making light out of her daughter’s words and welcomed Jeongguk inside.

There was a lot of doily in the living room. A doily rug, doily cloth on the tv shelf, doily coffee table and doily covers on the couches. It matched Haru’s mother’s personality, Jeongguk thought.

“I’m Chaerin, by the way. Haru has told me a lot about you,” Chaerin continued.

“He knows I haven’t said a word about him, mom,” Haru immediately topped with a poker face.

“Well I’m sure you’re good company if Haru chose to be your accomplice,” Chaerin plastered a smile on her face.

Haru sighed, knowing what she meant.

“I’ll bring the tea and snacks,” Chaerin announced, softly clapping her hands, “Why don’t you help me, Haru?”

Haru nodded, anticipating what was coming. She looked at Jeongguk, basically signalling him to make himself comfortable while she helped Chaerin.

Chaerin spoke softly, “I hope it’s not something I should be concerned about,” as she poured the tea in a porcelain teapot.

“Before you start,” Haru prepared a tray from a cabinet, “It’s not drugs. Jeongguk saved me from an accident.”

“Jeongguk,” Haru’s mom clicked her tongue, “We’re on first name basis then? How’s it gonna be, after this?”

“We’re not going to be a thing, mom. We began talking, and found some things common. That’s all. He’s much older, y’know.” Haru was tired.

“Well then, I hope I’ll know in case of any developments?” her mom always made things complicated before they actually started becoming complicated.

“There will be no developments,” Haru decided to not argue this time, “but you’ll know when there are any.”

She just had to assure her mother that she wouldn’t get into any trouble.

Chaerin was happy with that, and simply hummed in response.

“You have a nice house, Mrs. Mae” Jeongguk spoke casually, “I like the doilies,” a little too casually.

“Why, thank you. What a gentleman,” Haru’s mother feigned, considering his casual tone. She smiled as she poured the tea into three teacups.

The next few minutes were spent prodding Jeongguk for more information about himself.

“A Mercedes at your age, huh. Just makes one wonder what you do for a living,” Haru’s mother remarked, much to Haru’s annoyance.

“He’s not a shady guy, mom.” Haru gave Jeongguk time to think a fake profession.

“My family owns an automobile company. It’s led by my dad and a few of his siblings. That is all for the Mercedes.” Jeongguk didn’t like the flow of the conversation anymore, given he had to mull over every sentence before speaking them into existence.

“Ah. Wonderful,” Haru’s mother beamed, “I know I’m being a total detective here. But I hope you can understand what this looks to people in general. No worries on you both hanging out though. I’m fine with it.”

Haru breathed a sigh of relief as she finished her tea. Jeongguk hadn’t touched a single biscuit, much to Chaerin’s dismay.

“But you’re to keep your room’s door open if you take him upstairs,” Haru’s mother motioned at her.

“Fine, mom,” Haru said in a robotic voice as she rolled her eyes, tired.

“You haven’t touched any snacks, dear. Don’t like biscuits? Should I get you something else?” Chaerin turned to Jeongguk again, always being the hospitable one.

“I actually ate before coming here,” Jeongguk excused himself, “So I’m already full.”

“Ah. No worries about that,” Chaerin assured.

“We’ll go upstairs then, Mom?” Haru cut in between.

“Off you go. Don’t give the handsome lad any trouble, if you can,” Chaerin grinned.

Haru gave her a look of ‘ugh’ and motioned Jeongguk to follow her.

Jeongguk gave Haru’s mom a small bow and smiled politely, and then followed Haru upstairs.

Haru’s room was pretty clean. Jeongguk had already seen it before, while loitering on the tree outside her window. She’d probably run away forever if she ever came to know that.

Jeongguk sighed.

Her room was a lot of yellow and pink. Pink pillows with yellow bedsheets, a yellow-cream wallpaper, and a light wooden desk in the corner. He felt pretty familiar in her house.

It was…warm.

“I can apparate inside your house now that I’ve been here once,” Jeongguk stated plainly.

“But you’re not doing that,” Haru said, without missing a beat, “This is my private space. You can’t barge in whenever you want, Jeongguk.”

She’d decided to explain, because hanging out with Jeongguk had made her realise how much of an airhead he was. The dude simply didn’t know a lot human gestures and emotions. So it was important to know where he was coming from, and also letting him know the reasons for things he didn’t understand.

“Right, I won’t,” Jeongguk nodded and surrendered his hands in the air, “I can still tap on your bedroom window from outside, if I ever need to talk to you.”

Jeongguk motioned at the window, and promptly, his demeanour changed.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now? He followed me here too?” Jeongguk picked an eraser from Haru’s desk and threw it outside, shooing the damned crow that had been following him.

“What the hell, Jeongguk. Don’t throw my things like that,” Haru scolded when she saw Jeongguk looking for something else to throw.

“That asshole crow. I can’t believe this. He actually followed me here too. He’s staring at us from that tree!” Jeongguk had completely lost it.

“Calm down, Jeongguk. It’s just-“

“That’s a grown-ass demon, Haru! It’s not some unintelligible bird. It’s a pervert!” Jeongguk cut off explained, annoyed.

He decided to apparate to the branch the crow was sitting on, but the crow flew away before Jeongguk could grab it. Jeongguk re-apparated into her room.

“Sonofa-”

“A pervert, you say?” Haru repeated.

“Close the blinds when you’re changing and don’t let any strangers inside your house. I’ve got one more hellish issue to take care of now.”

Haru nodded, putting her trust in Jeongguk.

“If it’s following you, then it’s something to be concerned about. It might not be just a silly dude poking fun at you,” Haru said, understanding what was happening.

“It probably saw you, Haru. I mean, your soul’s color. I need to get my hands on it. If word gets out about you, we’ll be in lots of trouble. I’ll have to trade him something, like hush money of sorts,” Jeongguk explained.

“I’m sorry for putting you through so much, Jeongguk,” Haru peered at the floor.

“It’s been following me for a long time. Before you came. It’s not you. I don’t know what he wants. All the crows are in on it too.”

“What does that mean now?”

“They gossip a lot.”

Jeongguk picked up a notebook from her desk and opened a page, handing it to Haru.

“Draw a bird, any bird.”

Haru was puzzled for a moment, but grabbed a pencil anyway.

The sheer dumbfounded look of disbelief Jeongguk gave her was indescribable. She’d drawn a ‘V’ for a crow, the way kids drew in their mountain scenery with a sun and a house.

He snatched the book from her and drew a random bird.

“Which bird is this?” Jeongguk pointed at the drawing and asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe a sparrow?”

Jeongguk then proceeded to scribble on the page, coloring the bird all black.

“Now which bird is this?”

Haru gasped, “It’s a crow.”

“Draw another bird,” Jeongguk said, then changed his mind because of her previous show of talent, “Wait, give the book here.”

He drew three more birds and showed them to Haru in outline. Then, he proceeded to fill them in black granite.

“Crows!” Haru gasped, yet again.

“Any bird is a crow in all black.”

Haru coughed, as she painted a mental picture of Jeongguk with his car…

“Jeongguk…you’re always in all-black too.”

“Well, this isn’t about me. It’s about the damn crows!” Jeongguk was quick to counter, “They’re signature arch demons when it comes to birds. All crows, Haru. All of them are grown-ass demons. They’re not birds, but demons. I hate them.”

He made it sound like he was looking for accomplices in his hate parade for crows.

“Okay, they’re perverts. I get it. But it’s really weird how every bird looks like a crow when painted black. So weird.”

“I know. The crows are all jerks. I don’t know where to start from about this stalker crow,” Jeongguk said, exhausted.

“Have you told Hyejin? She might be able to help,” Haru suggested.

“Yes, she knows. But today is just too much. Fucking pervert. I bet it’s an old bastard too.”

“I’m gonna go talk to Taehyung. You, keep the blinds closed. You see any stupid activity among those bastards, you let me know. Anything amiss? Use your mark and give me a call.”

Haru nodded as Jeongguk instructed her like a little girl.

He promptly disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

That was the first time she’d talked to with Jeongguk for such a long time. He was so on edge the entire time after that crow had decided to loose his bearings on his car.

If Jeongguk was showing this much concern, it was definitely serious.

<-Previous Chapter

Next Chapter->

Chapter 5: Good Lemons, Bad Lemons

Chapter Summary:

“Your taste in movies is shit.”

“Hey, that was uncalled for!” Hyejin defended from the other part of the kitchen.

“Hahahahahaha, gotchya,” Haru beamed, satisfied with having annoyed him, “I used to be obsessed with it as a teen, and just recently realized how shit it is.”

“Well, I liked it. It’s decent. I would go and join the fandom, for the sake of having at least watched and enjoyed it,” Hyejin defended her own taste this time.

“You know what this means?” Haru said.

“It means you’re seriously emotionally-deprived and have no interest in the area of romance, if you’ve enjoyed this piece of garbage, that is,” Jeongguk answered without queue.

~this is smut

They were in fact, a ‘Twilight.’

There was no doubting it. Dark colored clothes, tall-ass teenage-looking people, fair skin, and expensive cars. It was the worst B-grade supernatural fiction Jeongguk had ever watched. It catered to the fantasy of young girls and left no space to imagine with the most mundane vampires ever.

And, the worst part of it all was…

They were, in fact, a Twilight.

Jeongguk regretted having seen the movie at all. He wasn’t actually going to watch it before, but it piqued his curiosity anyway. He’d just glimpsed through a few parts because it was lying innocently in his study room. Just a few frames of the movie had made him anxious and annoyed.

The characters barely had any character, were all fucking aloof-ass cunts and only cared about themselves and their romantic interest.

Haru had spent the last two days sharing her favorite works of media with Hyejin. He’d overheard some strings of media like Harry Potter, Blade Runner, iCarly, and more.

“Your taste in movies is shit.”

“Hey, that was uncalled for!” Hyejin defended from the other part of the kitchen.

“Hahahahahaha, gotchya,” Haru beamed, satisfied with having annoyed him, “I used to be obsessed with it as a teen, and just recently realized how shit it is.”

“Well, I liked it. It’s decent. I would go and join the fandom, for the sake of having at least watched and enjoyed it,” Hyejin defended her own taste this time.

“You know what this means?” Haru said.

“It means you’re seriously emotionally-deprived and have no interest in the area of romance, if you’ve enjoyed this piece of garbage, that is,” Jeongguk answered without queue.

“I was going to say something similar. But you sound more like an asshole when you say it,” Haru laughed, with all her stomach this time while Hyejin blushed in agony.

Haru was suddenly taken away, staring off into the distance. There was no way Jeongguk was inexperienced with romance. He must’ve had his fair share of gorgeous women; which went well with their apparent profile of mystery and wealth.

“You guys are so mean, and all while you were the one who lent this ‘garbage’!” Hyejin pointed an accusatory finger at Haru, “Besides you both have no experience in the field of romance either so go laugh somewhere else.”

There was a sudden silence as Haru and Jeongguk exchanged glances.

Did romance exist in the demon world? Haru couldn’t help her curiosity anymore; she had to know. There was no way, no way that Jeongguk had no romantic experiences. He was literally a walking, talking Twilight waiting to happen.

Consequently, the topic was changed.

“Give me short-”

“You can’t change the topic when I’m no longer the butt of the joke-”

“books. You know, the ones around 100 to 150 pages that make you go ‘huh.’

“Huh? After you called my taste in movies ‘garbage’? If you’re seriously up to it, I’ll get you a list from one of my friends who reads a lot. I’m not a reader, to be honest.”

It was comical how they began ignoring Hyejin all of a sudden.

“I know you’re not a reader, that’s why I asked you for books,” Jeongguk chuckled.

There was a sudden silence again.

“Well…how do you know that?” Haru egged further because there was no answer the first few seconds, “didn’t we just meet?”

Jeongguk’s face was frozen in his previous chuckle. Haru’s eyes bore into him, and found a grin that basically said that he’d known her since forever.

It was Hyejin’s turn to look away this time. She immediately began looking out the window as she put her cookies into the baking tray, guilt apparent in her eyes.

Jeongguk’s voice immediately became small as he covered, “I could tell. You’d only recommend movies and tv series to Hyejin. Not a single book mentioned.”

“Ah. Okay. The way you looked at me all smug kinda scared me.”

Hyejin gave a pointed look to Jeongguk that basically screamed at him to show some guilt. Jeongguk decided to ignore Hyejin’s looks for the time being; it was overbearing as it is waiting for Taehyung to come back around – and remembering how much they were hiding from the girl made it even worse. Would his human ever trust him again after he told her the truth? Not that he cared about her trusting him, but somehow, somewhere, her candor towards his persona and her image of him had began affecting him.

Before her, he didn’t use many words to relay his actions. Now though, he’d started being more expressive with his choice of words and was also more responsive with his facial expressions. He found himself grinning to himself more often, and beaming at others during light conversations that would make both parties chuckle.

It was a good enough change of pace, with all the tension about their Friday meet coming up.

Haru decided to continue the conversation from before, giving him a much-needed reprieve from his own words of folly.

“Do you not love? In the demon world?” Haru looked at Hyejin, then Jeongguk.

She pressed further when there was no reaction from either, “Seriously, no romance at all?”

Hyejin decided to answer her, meekly – egging at Jeongguk for some reason Jeongguk didn’t know.

“We have ‘relationships’. No romance, though. They’re mostly mutually benefitting situationships.”

Haru didn’t want to ask what a situationship meant in their context. She damn well knew what it meant having those relationships. She wasn’t going to criticize something like that without knowing how it actually worked in their realm. That was like spouting bullshit about someone when you were hanging onto them for dear life, for chrissakes.

“Yeah, I’m fine with that much. No need to explain more.” Haru stopped her from explaining further. There was no need to delve that deep into the demon realm; she stared at Jeongguk in wonder.

Seriously, no romances whatsoever, huh?

She thought Jeongguk shared her gaze, for a mere moment. But blamed it on her imagination later. The air between them had turned much sharper than before. Someone had to intervene to break the ice all over again.

“Before you maul me, we still have two days left before the meeting,” Taehyung abruptly apparated out of thin air, a black cloud of smoke forming and dissipating at the same time.

Haru gasped.

“Taehyung-nim,” Hyejin acknowledged, “You’re here before time.”

“What the-” Haru pointed between Jeongguk and Taehyung, to and fro, while gasping, “you people can teleport? Like out of thin air?”

These bastards had a horrible habit of going silent when she asked the most important questions. Every conversation led Haru to snowball into huge balls of annoyance. The longer the conversations went on, the more annoyed she would get, waiting for answers.

“Why the hell are you driving cars then?” She pointed at Jeongguk in particular this time, “you could have teleported me home instead of dropping me home in your car.”

 “We have specific rules, when to use our powers and when not to. It’s ingrained in our instincts so it’s hard to explain, human,” Taehyung was the first one to explain.

“You could say teleporting is for emergencies or something exclusive to demon-business only. It’s still very hard to put into words,” Hyejin added.

“We have to be very careful when using our powers, especially when we’ve chosen to show ourselves as human to your kind. I couldn’t have teleported you home. Public places are a no-go, and we can’t apparate to places we haven’t been to before, so inside your house is out of question too.”

“Is this going to be how it is all the time? She’ll keep asking trivial questions every time I’m here?” Taehyung was visibly annoyed.

Before Haru could say anything, Hyejin interrupted.

“Something seems to be bothering you, Taehyung-nim. Is everything okay?”

“Nothing is okay,” Jeongguk said in a quiet tone as he put his hand to his ear suddenly.

“Why are they crossing so fast?” Jeongguk asked Taehyung.

Hyejin joined in on queue, holding her palm to her ear.

“So many deaths in a single day? It’s like a reaping,” Hyejin commented softly.

“They’re not answering us,” Taehyung said, “Oldies have fortified themselves in the citadel. Nobody can teleport there either. They’ve likely formed a circle and are summoning something. We literally don’t know what’s happening.”

The oven dinged, and Hyejin immediately opened the glass-case. The aroma of fresh cookies filled the room and Haru breathed in deeply. It was already overstimulating, hearing them in such a panicked frenzy. She decided to focus on the smell of the cookies, but found herself getting lightheaded. Deeper and deeper, she tried to breathe in but found no air getting inside her lungs.

She collapsed.

Asphyxiation written on her face as three heads whipped in her direction on the floor.

“Haru!” Jeongguk reached out in an instant and held her body before her head collided with the floor.

.

“Her presence is faint,” Hyejin said to Jeongguk and Taehyung, “It’s getting fainter by the minute.”

This couldn’t be happening. Jeongguk’s little human was getting weaker and weaker.

“Hyung, quick. We have to get to Keumi’s.”

“Have you lost it, Guk-ah?” Taehyung looked at him in disbelief.

“Well, do you have any other option? Both of you?! The way things stand, we can’t take her anywhere, can we now?” Jeongguk was dreading it more, minute by minute.

“Fine. Fast.” Taehyung shared a look with Jeongguk and Hyejin as the three of them disappeared with the human in a puff of black smoke.

“Ho…didn’t notice you coming,” a man with a small stature and rigid features said.

“Off with the chit-chat. This girl right here -,” Taehyung motioned at the girl and stepped away from Jeongguk, worried he might end up touching the human, “-she died and came to life the past week. She fainted and her soul is feeling fainter, as time ticks by. Fuck off with the whys and hows and tell us what we can do, stat.”

“A little respect for an old man, that’s all I ask. Although we’re all old here. Why am I the only one who looks old?”

Taehyung knew this bastard was going to be tricky and waste their time. He sighed in exasperation.

“Well, then, give the girl a few drops of ambrosia. I can’t believe I’m selling my wares for a filthy human.”

Hyejin was used to such conversations, but the way she’d taken a liking to Haru just made her hold the motionless girl's hand in Jeongguk’s arms harder.

“Come on, asshole. Name your price,” Jeongguk said hurriedly.

“Are you sure you’re up to pay? It might be something you’re not ready to hear,” the shriveled man gave a crooked smile and rubbed his palms together.

“Fucking say it already,” Taehyung grabbed the old man by the cloth on his chest as he spat in his face.

“A day of your time on Earth. Exchange it with me. My time’s running out and I have too many wares.”

“What the fuck?” Taehyung was in disbelief. Keumi was never up to any good, and his deals sounded as ridiculous and stupid as his ugly face.

Hyejin placed two fingers near Haru’s nose and felt her faint breath. She stepped up, without wasting time, “I’ll give a day of mine, if you guys are just going to waste time.”

“Wait wait wait, Hyejin,” Jeongguk interrupted, “You have to listen to all his conditions first. He’ll get you in trouble within seconds otherwise.”

“You come to my workshop and dare insult my craft. You will pay-”

“Yeah, yeah. We will pay dearly; we already told you to name your price. We’ll let you mooch off a day from us, alright?”

The shrewd old man went quiet for a second, then said with a straight face, “A day from all three of you.” He held out three fingers in front of them just in case.

Taehyung was already reaching out to grab the man, when Jeongguk stopped him by holding his arm. Taehyung noticed he’d already laid the girl down.

“Wait, hyung,” Jeongguk said to Taehyung then shifted his attention to Keumi, “Three days from only my time on earth. It’s the same amount, is it not?”

Keumi smiled. The frail old man liked seeing people in anguish. The chaos Jeongguk’s words had caused was the best example of his favorite kind of chaos. Both deals were good as they were – the first one made them argue, while the second one put a significant toll on one of them.

A day off their time on earth meant leaving earth sooner than they were meant to, having less time to complete their earthen duties when the time came. It could mean a lot of different things, but it could work if they handled their time well – when it came.

“I’ll barter a day of mine too,” Hyejin joined in.

“Hyejin-”

“Haru was my friend first, Jeongguk-nim,” Hyejin stated, curtly. It was her only few instances of showing impoliteness with Jeongguk. And needless to say, Jeongguk was startled.

The way Haru was sharing all her belongings, including toys from her childhood had awakened the teenager in Hyejin. She’d shared the most memorable moments of her life with Hyejin within a few days’ time, and Hyejin had always wanted a friend like Haru. Human she may be, but Hyejin’s negative experiences with society and the differences in Haru’s human nature just made her like Haru more.

“Well then. Don’t leave me out, brother,” Taehyung clapped Jeongguk’s shoulder, “A day from me too, old man.”

Jeongguk was relieved that they were all on the same page. He didn’t need to question Taehyung’s motives. His older brother always had his back in things like these.

“Heh,” Keumi scoffed. He wanted them to argue or waste more time but they were pretty quick to decide.

He held out a vial in front of them which Jeongguk immediately grabbed.

“Sign these.” Keumi held out a scroll which he brought out from between his sleeves.

All three demons placed their personal markings on the paper after giving it a once-over.

“If this comes to bite us back in the ass,” Taehyung said to Keumi, in a deeper voice, “you’re dead meat.”

Keumi gulped.

“Yeah, well I already told you the conditions,” he explained nervously, “mix it with something so that the ambrosia’s taste is indiscernible. Humans aren’t supposed to know what it tastes like.”

“I have tea ready at home; let’s go,” Hyejin was quick to say.

They returned back to the mansion’s kitchen the same way they’d gone to Keumi.

Hyejin quickly poured some black tea in a cup and emptied the vial into it. It was a mere 3-4 drops but it managed to change the color of the tea into a dark creamy color.

Jeongguk settled the girl between her arms and held her head still while Hyejin fed her the tea, slowly, gulp by gulp. Jeongguk would straighten her head after every sip to ensure it reached her stomach.

He laid the girl on the couch in the main hall, where demons who came for business usually waited for him.

“Is she okay? Can you check?” Taehyung said to Hyejin with a look that said, I’m not touching her, you do it.

Hyejin placed two fingers in front of her nose to check her breathing. It was even, and was turning normal.

“Her breathing’s getting normal,” Hyejin said, relieving Jeongguk.

Jeongguk sighed and took a seat at the adjacent armchair.

Taehyung and Hyejin too, took respective seats in the couches.

“This is scary shit, man. First the council goes crazy, then the girl decides to die again…”

It didn’t hit until a few seconds of Taehyung saying the last line had passed.

“Wait…”Hyejin gave a look that said Are you thinking what I’m thinking?, “Was it consequent with that event? Like the reaping? The elders weren’t answering.”

“No doubt about it.” Jeongguk stated firmly.

“Jeongguk, you’ve been saving a dead girl. I hope you’re aware,” Taehyung said.

Hyejin sighed, rubbing her temples. What did they get themselves into?

Just then, Haru began coming to.

The girl slowly opened her eyes and gauged her surroundings. She looked at the familiar faces and began to sit up.

“Relax. Keep lying down if you want to,” Hyejin immediately got up and sat beside Haru.

“Why was I unconscious?” Disheveled was an understatement. Haru held her head, keeping herself steady.

“Again with the questions,” Taehyung said, holding a poker face.

.

“Jeongguk, can you please, please help me find out-“

“I’m already looking into it,” Jeongguk interrupted, knowing what was coming, “I’m looking into your case, Haru.”

“Two days later, we’re having a proper meeting about this,” Hyejin notified Haru and reminded the other two, “Let’s hope we have something worth moving forward.”

Haru nodded at Hyejin.

Jeongguk took solace in the fact that his name was the first one to come out of her mouth when she needed help. That would do, for now.

“Hyejin, do you think I’ll live?” Haru turned to Hyejin.

Jeongguk was unsure about having to share such attention with Hyejin. Although, it wasn’t an actual problem for him.

“Let’s hope for the best, Haru. I sure as hell am not losing my only female friend ever. I’ll do all I can to help you.”

That was reassurance on a lot of levels. Haru was thankful, truly; it showed on her face.

“I’ll check in with the council now,” Taehyung said, “Seems like they’re taking calls again.”

“Till then, you take care, Haru,” Taehyung gave an upward nod to Haru when he said her name; acknowledging her by name for the first time. He promptly smoked out.

“They better have an actual answer for this. Whatever this was, a reaping or sudden outburst – they will have to answer this time. They’ve been getting away with way too much just because of their authority. It correlates with our current situation, so I’m not letting this go.”

Jeongguk was truly outraged.

Haru wanted to tear up due to all the concern she was getting. What would she have done had she fell into the wrong hands? Thank goodness for these three good demons.

“Will you let me know once you find out what’s happening?” Haru looked at Jeongguk, then Hyejin.

“You can count on it,” Hyejin replied for the both of them.

<-Previous Chapter

Chapter 3: Three Quiet Accomplices

Chapter Summary:

“He’s stuck with you,” Taehyung was direct with his answers, “Your soul was leaving your body and he instinctively put it back inside your body – don’t fucking ask me how – and now he doesn’t know what to do. We have a council of elders that don’t approve of this, most probably. But we don’t know how to let them know because we might be reprimanded.”

‘Thank the fucking lord,’ Haru thought. At least someone was straightforward with their answers and didn’t have her jumping through hoops for a single yes or no.

~this is smut

“What do you mean you put her soul back in her body?”

Jeongguk could only deadpan at Taehyung’s question. Because he seriously did not know how that happened. Everyone would do it if it was possible to revive humans. This was an enigma.

“I mean…I just…put it back. Into her body,’’ Jeongguk knew Taehyung was having none of it.

“Yes, but how?” Taehyung furrowed his brows and placed his fingers over his chin like a tick mark.

How could he just explain it when what he said was all that was there to it.

“Her soul was floating away, so I caught it with my hand and pulled it back into her body. Seriously, man, I can’t believe it either,” Jungkook pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb.

It wouldn’t be surprising for someone out-of-the-loop to think there was something seriously wrong with Jeongguk.

“So, like a balloon then? Her soul was floating away so you just pulled it back,” Taehyung was seriously in disbelief. Part of him wanted to check Jeongguk’s mental calibrations for spouting such bullshit.

“Kind of. It was more like pulling a domain of energy. Like vibrations within a certain area,” Jeongguk tried his hardest to explain how he felt it occur.

“That makes more sense,” Taehyung showed him his signature poker face while putting his hands on his hips.

“Doesn’t seem legal…I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this before. In fact, I don’t think anyone I know has. This is a legendary checkpoint, man. The council is going to have a field-day with this.” Taehyung sounded worried for Jeongguk.

“I don’t think the council is ready for this,” Jeongguk was hinting to something Taehyung already had an inkling of, “I think we should keep this to ourselves for a while.”

Hyejin entered the room with a few scrolls and began sifting through them.

“Jeongguk, our brotherhood already has a bad rapport with the council. If you delay too much, we’re going to be in serious trouble. We can’t keep that girl here if it means disbanding our brethren.”

Jeongguk knew it would come to this. One single difference in opinion or decision could make the whole brotherhood fall apart. Which was part of the reason he didn’t tell about this gaffe to anyone else other than Taehyung. And Hyejin, being the loyal subordinate that she was, would never open her mouth.

“We can keep her here,” Taehyung’s head perked up to hear Jeongguk’s possibility of a condition, “if we keep this shit to ourselves. Just you, me, and Hyejin.”

Utter disbelief.

Taehyung gave out a nervous, airy laugh as he got ready to take his case.

“You’re seriously gonna risk 80 years of brotherhood for a human girl?”

Hyejin piped in, “Jeongguk-nim, this doesn’t seem permissible by our laws. That girl could spell serious trouble for all of us.”

“It’s a human, Jeongguk,” Taehyung said, exasperatedly, “I’m just glad we don’t have to touch them, let alone interact with them. Next thing you know, you’ll say that you touched her – already putting my disbandment theory into practice.”

“I touched her.” There was guilt in his voice, as if he betrayed someone.

Taehyung let out an audible gasp, “You what-He touched her-“

Taehyung immediately turned to Hyejin, “He fucking touched her.”

Not that Hyejin had the same qualms with humans as Taehyung, she repeated after him in a flurry of confusion, “He touched her.”

“Are you fucking serious right now? I need a moment.”

Taehyung immediately plopped down the plush red couch and started breathing heavily.

Jeongguk, exhausted from all the useless explanations, made himself comfortable in the armchair opposite his hyung. He reached out to open Taehyung’s briefcase when suddenly-

“Nonononononono. You’re not touching my stuff no more, filthy human-toucher!” Taehyung quickly pulled his briefcase away, looking at Jeongguk as if he was a criminal.

“Hey man, come on now. You’re making me feel like one of those pedophiles. I hope this ‘human-toucher’ thing is not something that’s going to stay.”

“Well, what dO YOU EXPECT WHEN YOU KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO KEEP TOUCHING A HUMAN ANYWAY, YOU BASTARD. I HAVE TO SANITIZE MY BRIEFCASE NOW.”

Hyejin was staring to-and-from at Jeongguk and Taehyung, growing increasingly worried as every second ticked by.

It was very Taehyung-like. And he was right in his own place, and perspective. As much as they were making light of a serious event, they seriously did not know what lay before them. Taehyung still hadn’t asked why Jeongguk wanted to keep the girl from everyone, even going as far as risking it in front of the council.

He'd lose his status, reputation, and have to live as one of the lower-demon forms. Something suitable for a demon after making such a gaffe, what with it being wrong to meddle in human society and not respecting their own domains.

“You still haven’t asked why I am going to such lengths for a human yet, hyung,” Jeongguk decided to put it out there, since it was laying out as bare as a human skeleton. You guessed it right – all you had to do was peel off the skin and gouge out a few core organs. That’s how bare it was.

“It’s the same as Yoongi, right?” Taehyung suddenly opened his briefcase as if he meant business and began sorting a few documents.

“What do you mean the same as Yoongi-hyung? What the actual fuck?”

Total confusion.

Jeongguk’s head was going out in all sorts of tangents, wondering what his hyung meant. Taehyung however was kind enough to put his racing thoughts to a stop.

“He meddled with a human woman’s life before. You were the last to become a part of our assembly, but I thought one of us must’ve already told you this at some point. It’s fucking ridiculous…”

“What in the- Are you fucking with me right now? 80 years of me joining the assembly? Besides, Yoongi-hyung doesn’t even seem like the type of dude who’d do something like that. In fact, he seems like the last of our group to even think of it.” Jeongguk had never felt such infuriation before. Never in his life had he heard of something like this among the demon society, LET ALONE HIS OWN BROTHERHOOD!

“Hey fuck off, man. Give me a break. First of all, you’re still a filthy ‘human-toucher’ and second of all, I don’t run a helpdesk that says ‘human-touchers’ association’.

This day seemed like it was never going to end. Everything was toppling on each other like a domino-chain of ‘haha, let me fuck your mind and existence up at every level possible’.

“Fine. And what do you mean by ‘same as Yoongi’? What was his reason for meddling with the woman’s life?” Jeongguk could’ve planned not to ask something he didn’t want to know the answer for. He seriously could’ve, but all the thoughts revving up in his brain made him spew out something he wished he didn’t speak out loud.

Taehyung blinked at him a few times.

“They call it ‘love,’ right? We may be intelligent enough to process several emotions but love might not be one of them.”

Jeongguk agreed with Taehyung in many ways. Even their brotherhood stemmed from ‘loyalty’ to a specific domain of demons, sorting themselves into groups to maintain order and regulate lower-level demons. Members had to stick together with their kin and maintain their rapport in front of the council, which in turn, gave them many benefits while existing in the middle-world. One of them being able to visit to-and-fro from hell and the middle-world itself. Their loyalty, on the most basic level, stemmed from wanting to save their own skin and reap these middle-world benefits, in turn, giving them a pace of existence for their long livelihoods.

When Jeongguk didn’t reply, Taehyung continued, “Well then? Is ‘love’ the reason you’ve kept this girl all to yourself?”

“I haven’t kept her all to myself. Hyejin just met her,” Jeongguk explained hurriedly, “And no, love is not the reason. Really.”

Taehyung titled his head to the side in contemplation and stared at Jeongguk as if trying to gauge something.

Jeongguk quickly shifted the focus from himself to Yoongi, “Do you think Yoongi-hyung was in love with that woman?”

Taehyung broke eye contact and immediately whipped a document in front of his face after picking it up from the table.

“Park Doyun; age:24 in 1921; currently:dead,” Taehyung read from the paper, matter-of-factly.

This was fucking ancient, that’s all Jeongguk thought.

“And seriously, none of you thought it was important to tell me all this. I joined in fucking 1940. 20 years were fucking enough for him to sulk all the time? Makes sense why he is the way he is.”

“Whatever, man. If the reason you were led to this girl is because of ‘love’, ‘infatuation’, or any other variation, then I suggest you abandon asap. It got Yoongi-hyung nowhere. Your case is not even related to love, as you’ve explained.” Taehyung reasoned.

“And how do you I suggest I abandon? What do I abandon?” The situation was infuriating enough, and Taehyung’s vague remarks and answers didn’t help at all.

“The girl. Abandon her.”

A vein popped on Jeongguk’s forehead.

“I cannot do that, hyung” Jeongguk sneered in annoyance, particularly hinting that Taehyung was the older brother in their relationship, “I can’t seem to get her death records to know more ‘final destination’ shit won’t happen to her. And she’s basically hanging by a lone thread – me – because her soul is like fucking melting icecream – all over the place in my hands. You never know when it decides to float out of her body and get me in trouble. I can’t leave her to her own devices either; if word got out about this – I’m toast.”

Hearing Jeongguk’s reasoning made Taehyung scared for his own hide as well, since knowing about it made him an accomplice. The council would have none of their bullshit.

And after all, demons were demons. Nobody knew what punishment they would get. Not everybody was lucky enough as Yoongi to get 5 levels of demotion and societal contempt. He got away with that much because he used to have a good standing with the council with commendable conduct concerning lower-level demons.

“What happened to the woman then? The one Yoongi-hyung fell in love with?” Jeongguk asked, his curiosity piping up again.

“Her memories were erased. Hyung had to watch her live on and create a livelihood with 3 children. And she’s been damned to hell forever.”

“Damned to hell? Why?”

Why did this conversation keep getting scarier and scarier? Not that Jeongguk cared about the girl, Haru, in question. He didn’t think what he felt for her was love. But the punishment for Yoongi-hyung himself was debilitating. What would happen to Jeongguk and Haru then?

“It’s not easy getting to heaven, man. Even after achieving love, it’s hardly ever enough. It’s just too strict. Funny you’d ask me, no demon cares or even wants to know.”

“If only I wasn’t in a toast-or-bread situation right now, hyung,” Jeongguk laughed. It was surreal how they managed to make light out the situation at hand. I guess that’s what happened when you didn’t know the actual consequences that your actions lead to. He knew something was definitely amiss, but not knowing what made him feel like a teenage boy left in a lone school building all on his own.

“Fine, what we can do right now is – you, me and Hyejin” Taehyung waved at Hyejin who immediately perked up and nodded, “We can give the situation a week, tops. Watch the girl for a week and find a solution to the problem, understand the nature of the situation and what we can do to protect ourselves. Then have another meet like this, and choose what our next course of action will be. Sound like a plan?”

Jeongguk immediately nodded at both of them in unison to show his acceptance.

“I’m fine with it, Hyejin frowned as she spoke, “but can’t we do something about insurance? With the council? This doesn’t seem safe at all. It’s just like three friends planning for a walk in the park or something.”

“I’ll talk to the council and try to know more about any such events, and make them spill about Yoongi-hyung’s case. Fucking oldies’ skin is getting everywhere like chalk. I won’t be surprised if they’ve set up demons after us and already know about the girl…”

Hearing that gave Jeongguk goosebumps. Because he sure as shit knew something was up with the council elders and what Taehyung suggested wasn’t surprising at all.

“I wouldn’t be either,” Hyejin repeated after Taehyung and looked at Jeongguk for further inkling to the conversation.

“Fine, hyung. Just please pull some strings and let us know what we can do. I know brotherhood is about loyalty and we’re seriously crossing every line here, but I can’t just abandon the girl anymore. Letting Seokjin or Hoseok know will just lead them to the council, first and foremost.”

“I know. Makes sense,” Taehyung agreed.

As much as Taehyung just wanted to let the brotherhood know it all, the brother in him refused to betray Jeongguk. Even if it meant that he was making a huge mistake and, there was a possibility that he was betraying his brotherhood too. Jeongguk had always been there when he’d gotten into trouble with opposing demon brethrens, their domain levels always being the issue. It was no wonder Taehyung would repay the gesture in kind. Besides, the dude had nothing to lose except a few demotions. He’d already been in hell twice and was used to their tactics.

There was a knock on the door.

Jeongguk, Taehyung, and Hyejin, all looked at each other in a sequenced triangle.

.

Hyejin walked towards the door and opened it slowly.

It was the girl.

“It’s getting too cold out here. There’s no AC remote in this room,” Haru said to Hyejin as she stepped inside the room. She looked at the stranger in the room with wary eyes and then at Jeongguk.

“Jeongguk, can you please just talk to me and answer my questions?” Haru asked Jeongguk, exhausted from all the confusion. She’d fucking died and come back to life for chrissakes.

“How about I answer all of your questions?” Taehyung smiled, content in talking in mysterious tones. He smiled.

“Who is he, Jeongguk?” Haru slowly shifted to Jeongguk’s right flank but kept her distance from all the three.

“This is Taehyung; a friend. You can relax when it’s just the three of us.” Jeongguk answered her, giving her a small reprieve from all her uncertainty.

“What questions do you have, then? Let’s begin, shall we?”

Suffice to say, when actually asked if she had any questions, she couldn’t remember any. After a few “uhhhs” and “umms”, she came up with something.

“Why is a demon helping me, a human?”

That was a good question, encompassing many elements that led her to this juxtaposition.

“He’s stuck with you,” Taehyung was direct with his answers, “Your soul was leaving your body and he instinctively put it back inside your body – don’t fucking ask me how – and now he doesn’t know what to do. We have a council of elders that don’t approve of this, most probably. But we don’t know how to let them know because we might be reprimanded.”

‘Thank the fucking lord,’ Haru thought. At least someone was straightforward with their answers and didn’t have her jumping through hoops for a single yes or no.

Jeongguk chimed in, “We don’t know if you died untimely or on time because there is no record of your death. So we’re uncertain if there will be a series of events that come together to get you killed.”

“…Okay,” the way Jeongguk said something so scary so easily frightened Haru. So this was how demons were. This was the first time something so terrifying was said to her so casually, as if a common business deal involving usual deaths and killings.

She’d seriously plummeted into the world of demons after a bright sunny human day and would be hearing things like this on a regular basis, and would actually start talking like this after a little while too.

“I just want to let you guys know that this is all very new to me, even if it might be hard for you to grasp it since it’s common nature for you to talk about death.” Haru looked at the ground, joining both her thumbs and twirling them together in sync.

Realization dawned on Jeongguk’s face and he looked at the other two to find common ground. The girl was seriously new to all this. They’d have to be watchful of their words when talking around her.

Taehyung nodded down in agreement, while Hyejin decided to take initiative, “How about I answer your questions from now?”

Hyejin gave her a reassuring smile as Haru sighed in relief.

“That would be wonderful!” Haru replied. Hyejin definitely seemed like she would be milder and more in control with her words than Jeongguk and Taehyung.

Taehyung and Jeongguk, both too, breathed a sigh of relief, not having to bear the brunt of scrutiny from a human. The fact that she was a girl made things worse.

“This is Taehyung, by the way” Jeongguk waved at Taehyung, “Hyejin has already healed your head wound. We’re going to pull some strings to understand your situation. Till then, you’re fine to go home and be casual about your life. But don’t tell anyone about any of this, or us for that matter. Although only an idiot would believe you.”

“I can go home, thank God,” this was Haru’s second sigh of relief the entire evening after so many scary afterthoughts, “and what do I do if I have to reach out to you? Just in case something happens and I need to?”

“Stretch your arm,” Jeongguk said.

She held out her hand to Jeongguk, showing him her wrist. He took hold of it, and touched her wrist, as if stamping it. It left a small identation of a mark and Haru felt a small tinge of electricity shooting up her arm to her spine. In turn, making her already cold body shiver.

She stared at his eyes for honesty, since having a demon’s mark just spelled trouble in every way.

Jeongguk blinked slowly in reaction, an unspoken word of trust.

“Touch the mark with your other hand and say my name earnestly to call me telepathically. I will come to your rescue when there is an emergency or something requires my attention.”

Something about the exchange left Haru speechless as she tried to contain her puzzling emotions. This was a demon, no wonder, she felt such a frenzy talking to him.

“That’s convenient. Thanks, Jeongguk.”

Jeongguk pursed his lips and said, “Only during emergencies.”

Haru repeated after him with a small smile, “Only during emergencies.”

<-Previous Chapter

Chapter 2: When Life Gives You Demons

Chapter Summary:

He’d first laid eyes on her at a gathering of mixed emotions, a funeral. Her soul had no color. He didn’t understand why he couldn't stop watching her. Curiosity was one thing, the thought of not knowing what she was up to made him wince. He still called it only curiosity though. There was no business for it being something else.

~this is smut

He’d first laid eyes on her at a gathering of mixed emotions, a funeral. It was a breeding ground for low-level demon life forms with no intelligence. He had visited the cemetery to regulate the demons due to too many impressionable souls.

Anyone would’ve spared her at least a glance, what with her copper brown hair in a sea of black suits and black hairstyles. But that wasn’t what had got his attention to begin with.

Her soul had no color.

Each soul on earth had an inherent color that changed over time, determining whether the person is good or bad. The colors were incoherent to human eyes, not that they could even begin to imagine or see them. Only high-level demons such as himself could gauge a person’s karma with the color of their soul.

Yet, this was the first time he’d seen a colorless soul. In the midst of solemn and glum faces, her childlike and innocent face finally caught his gaze after he’d tried to gauge her soul.

He couldn’t come up with a single explanation for it. There was nothing that could do justice to this enigma. He slouched against the tree and sighed.

‘Is she even human?’ he thought.

But no, she definitely had a soul, albeit without color. He’d never heard of such a soul, neither read about them – and that was saying something - since he’d practically read almost every demon lore, from ancient to modern.

He saw her frown; long lashes peered up at him.

Wait, she could see him? But just as quick as she looked at him, she’d turned away.

She was probably just gazing listlessly, Jeongguk reasoned.

He saw her pass right by himself, holding the hand of an older woman who was wiping her tears with a handkerchief. He sucked in a breath when she got close to him.

He couldn’t shake off the sense of novelty when he came close to her in person. He watched her leave as all the visitors left in their grey, black, and white cars, his gaze never leaving her ride. He followed her back to her home, not wanting to lose her trail, should he feel the need to study her again.

What is she?

It was probably something he wasn’t supposed to get involved in. It was probably His will in a way.

But curiosity had got the better of him. He began asking every demon he knew about such a phenomenon. Without letting them know about her existence, of course.

Taehyung had laughed at him. Suga-hyung had looked at him in disbelief, as if he was making things up. Hyejin was curious; she’d asked if he’d seen a soul like that. Of course, he answered no. Jin-hyung was curious too, but he’d taken it with a grain of salt.

He’d decided to visit the The Great Den of Wisdom, the most ancient library with every record of demon copy and written text. He’d cracked his head trying to find even a silver of semblance to her situation, but there wasn’t a single such recorded event.

He simply decided he was losing it. He would visit her once; just once and then never think of her again. That would be him closing her case.

He saw her drawing something on the sand, while her friends chatted around her.

She’d worn a pink tank top with knee-length blue jeans.

“You can liven up now, Haru,” a girl close to her age said to her.

Haru.

That was her name. It adorned her well with her bright brown eyes and copper brown hair. Her small face definitely seemed like a Haru.

“Yeah, I just…” Haru started, “I guess I’m just not over Aunt Chaewon’s death.”

“We’re only 15. We’re allowed to not give things much thought. We’re allowed to move on, Haru.” Her friend had uttered with maturity.

 Haru nodded.

He’d gone back to the mansion. When he sat on his bed, he began to feel an itch at the back of his mind.

“Haru,” he said her name out loud, in the privacy of his room. As if it was a secret only he was allowed to be in on.

He then said her name along with her last name, “Mae Haru.”

She was 15. She lived in Seoul, Jamsil.

But her soul had no color. So how was he to know whether her soul was good or bad? As far as he knew, there was no neutral place for dead souls.

He was twirling his thumbs against each other. To gauge whether she was good or bad, he’d have to watch over her, know more about her, and understand her personality. Maybe doing so would also open the doors to the secret of her soul’s mystery.

And so his quest had begun, he’d started studying her – every action and reaction.

He came to know a lot about her within a span of a few months. Her family included her parents, and a boy called Sungho who was the son of her deceased aunt, Chaewon. Sungho had begun to live with Haru after his mother’s untimely death.

Haru did pretty well in school, not a complete genius, but always in the top 10 of her class grades. She was as good at sports as any other 15-year-old, pretty decent. Sungho, the 4-year-old kid, was pretty smart for his age. His cognitive skills were better than average, he thought like an 8-year-old.

Through his continuous scrutiny, he’d come to know that she was a kind soul. It didn’t surprise him at all, what with her upbringing and the people that surrounded her. She had people who cared about her, and she, in turn, cared for them even more.

He’d noticed her kind gestures in the form of waiting out with a girl who’d got her period, mid-PE lecture. He’d noticed her warm smiles towards children younger than her, the kids who used to play with Sungho.

He’d watched her save two kids from a wild dog, by standing her ground in front of it, even when she was scared out of her mind.

Jeongguk deemed her a good person, from what he’d seen.

He jumped over the fig tree that stood right by her room window. Perching himself over a sturdy branch, he watched.

He gazed at her slender form, wearing yellow shorts and a light green tank top. She hadn’t pulled up the covers because of the summer heat.

How did it come to this? Two years had already passed.

He’d watched her grow out her clothes, seen her embarrass herself, and seen her during her sad times and happy ones too.

He watched her sleeping form, eyes travelling from her head to toe. His gaze stayed a little longer on her chest, as it rose and fell down – eyes zoning on the soft mounds that had developed with time, and quite beautifully even. His eyes then traveled to her lean legs, spotless and maintained with care. He knew she was developing into quite a splendid woman for a human.

He didn’t understand why he couldn't stop watching her. Curiosity was one thing, the thought of not knowing what she was up to made him wince. He still called it only curiosity though. There was no business for it being something else.

Her soul still never changed in color. The mystery didn’t solve itself, even after so much scrutiny.

The question of ‘what if’ would never leave his mind. What if there was something going on, that only He could gauge. What if there was something bound to her from previous lives? What if nothing she did in this life was being measured at all and she would be damned to hell anyway?

Jeongguk immediately sat up, breaking in a cold sweat. But, what if she was bound to heaven instead? That was what worried him the most. If she were to die, he wouldn’t come to know where she would end up, unless it was the underworld.

There was only one possible way for him to see her after death – and that was the underworld. The other path was her going to heaven – where he wouldn’t ever get to see her again. Or her soul perishing – again never getting to see her again. Or something unprecedented – something planned by Him – which again, meant he wouldn’t be able to see her.

So his only option to see her was her being alive and well. He couldn’t risk it; there was a very low chance of him being able to see her after death, i.e. in the underworld. The chances of him never seeing her again were far too great.

He scorned the fact that humans only lived so long. This meant even if she led a full life, his time with her would be very short. He wouldn’t admit it, but he’d lost sleep over it many a night.

But then came one ugly day, where his rage knew no bounds. He’d been sent to the underworld for some important business, for a meager 2 weeks.

A MEAGER TWO WEEKS!

And within that time period, she’d gone and started talking to a dirty brat named Jaewook. She hardly ever talked to boys!

All the glass windows had been broken in the mansion that day, just from the sheer vibrations of his animosity. Hyejin wouldn’t dare speak up; she was scared for her life. The main door had been lifted off its hinges and thrown across the front lawn. His bedroom was in shambles, the bed broken and all the pillow fur strewn across the room.

It truly was an ugly day. If only he hadn’t gone. Hyejin did ask the reason for his outburst, but he obviously didn’t say anything to her. She’d reasoned it being some mood swings, or some demon probably got on his nerves.

It took him quite a few days, 2 weeks actually, to fully grasp reality. And the first thing he did when he came back to his senses was making her leave the relationship.

He’d ordered a few lowly demons to stray Jaewook’s father’s path astray.

It wasn’t his fault, he told himself. Demons could only influence humans who already did have hints of doing bad deeds, such as bad thoughts and intrusive thinking.

This was bound to happen someday, he’d just sped it up, Jeongguk told himself.

Jaewook’s father had promptly cheated on his wife, Jaewook’s mother. And Jaewook’s mom had taken his custody and left town with her son, within the span of a week.

He hadn't meddled in her life directly, Jeongguk told himself. It was a direct stimulus for someone within her indirect vicinity. It was bound to happen.

Haru had cried a lot; and something in him churned at the sight of her in tears. A human would comfort another crying human, wouldn’t they? Was it the same urge he was feeling? He reasoned it being like that because he’d been watching her for quite some time, and it was foreign seeing someone cry who is mostly always smiling.

He couldn’t help the visual that popped into his head.

Him pulling her into his arms and her sniffling into his chest, holding him even tighter for comfort.

He would pat her head while she let it all out.

He thought of the vision for quite a while after returning to the mansion and lying in bed. He decided to shake it off, considering it nonsense. But the thought stayed at the corners of his thinking cloud with low opacity, never quite leaving.

She’d finally turned 18, and was in her final year of high school.

He watched her at the school ground through the fencing.

His eyes trailed to her lips, then her throat as she reached down to the faucet to gulp down some water. Some droplets fell astray and made their way down her throat to the front of her school uniform.

The fence rattled a little, as Jeongguk gripped on to it suddenly. Her eyes darted toward it, causing something in his heart to jump.

But she immediately looked away, probably blaming the wind.

Her body had developed spectacularly in the past year, maturity oozing out of every movement. It was surreal how women’s bodies could change within such short time spans.

Looking at her made him wonder if he actually had a liking for a body type. He shrugged the thought off immediately. It was only curiosity, he reminded himself.

It would be just like this, he would watch over her as she lived a full life. That’s what he’d thought.

Until that night.

He’d just been making his way to see her for the night. She’d been walking home alone.

She’d flown, as the car collided with her body. He’d just reached then. The asshole who hit her didn’t even bother to stop, he’d just slowed the car for a few seconds, then sped up and left.

Jeongguk had no time to chase after the bastard. She was in mortal danger.

Something in him triggered the fight or flight response. This was a human response, wasn't it?

She dies, you never see her again.

Jeongguk hurried to her, in a flurry of panic with sweaty hands. Her astral spirit was slowly stepping out of her body.

He didn’t know how he did it, but he’d caught her hand and pulled her back into her body. His eyes immediately widened in disbelief.

This was unheard of. No one in the world had the power to do that. Especially not a demon. He blinked, trying to wake up from what had just happened.

Did this really occur?

He rested his hand on her chest. Her heart was beating. Jeongguk let out a sigh of relief.

That was all that mattered. It could be a worldly glitch, it could be His will, it could be something that had happened before in history but was unheard of – all that mattered was that it worked. She was alive.

He carried her into his arms, and teleported back to the mansion in a puff of black smoke.

“Jeongguk-nim who is this?” Hyejin asked, panicking at the sight of an unconscious human girl.

“She had an accident,” was all Jeongguk said.

Hyejin was confused. Jeongguk would never - any demon would never save a human from anything, be it an accident, cancer, or dying of old age.

Realization had dawned on her, thanks to her quick wit.

She gasped, “Her soul is colorless!”

“Is this the human you were talking about that day? A human with a colorless soul. You told us all you were just creating a hypothetical situation!”

“Well, you see her now!” Jeongguk didn’t want to be part of this conversation, “What could you have possibly done had you known about her existence, anyway?”

Hyejin was taken aback; it was very, very rare for Jeongguk to act irrationally like this.

She stood there silently as Jeongguk laid the girl on the couch.

Jeongguk watched her unconscious body for a few seconds, and then reached out to her, straightening out a part of her skirt that had turned upward. He smoothed it out, and sighed.

“She is awfully pretty,” Hyejin decided to break the silence again.

Jeongguk didn’t say anything; he just stared at the girl’s body, as if contemplating something.

He’d done something really crazy, something that could turn out to be really ugly.

“I need you to call Taehyung.”

“Taehyung-nim must be bus-“ Hyejin was immediately cut off

“This is urgent, tell him that.”

Hyejin nodded in obedience and disappeared.

Seeing her up close and personal like this made his heart race. It was the thrill of seeing her so close, as well as the uncertainty of the future that kept him in frenzy.

He would take her home when she woke up, and everything would go back to normal. Or so he’d thought.

He’d stayed at her home’s vicinity after dropping her off, just in case something went awry.

He’d soon realized it wasn’t just something, everything had gone awry.

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Chapter 1: Bound, Until When?

Chapter Summary:

Plummeting into deep, dark demon-lore or turning invisible overnight - which is worse? Take your pick.

Haru is seriously wounded, and has hurt her only healer as an icing on the cake. But that's not all. She'd died, come back to life, and was stuck with a mysterious arch demon called 'Jeongguk' for God knows how long.

Pairing: Demon!Jeon Jungkook x Reader/OC

~this is smut

She hadn’t believed him. No one would. It wasn’t far-fetched to think she was being recorded live and her parents were in on the gag. But logically speaking, no one would use an actual accident for a comedy stint.

She didn’t utter a word. Whatever laid before her, this man, Jeon Jeongguk, was the key to it. She took shallow breaths, as if bracing for everything that was coming. There were so many questions in her mind, but asking them now was a bad idea.

She followed him with brisk steps into a huge hedge, with a gigantinc mansion on the opposite side.

A hideout?

She walked after him through a small maze of bushes, and found herself back at the doorway where she’d started.

“Hyejin,” Jungkook uttered firmly into nothingness.

Along came a buxom woman from the never-ending staircase. She walked like she meant business, yet grace fell between her footsteps.

“Jeongguk-nim, why is the girl still here?”

The woman looked in her early 20s, and was giving Haru a very concerned look.

“She is wounded. Heal her.”

“Issheademonlikeyou?” Haru spoke in a single breath, curious.

Without missing a beat, Jungkook replied, “Yes. She is my subordinate.” Yet, he spared Haru no glance.

Haru’s brain had finally cleared from the haze. And there was no way this could be real.

She felt a laugh break out of her lips. “You want me to believe you’re demons?”

“Demons are supposed to be beastly, with sharp nails, ugly feet, and scary faces. What’s happening over here?” She continued.

There was an awkward silence. She saw Jeongguk purse his lips, and heard little sniffles coming from the woman, Hyejin.

“My feet, are not ugly,” Hyejin sobbed.

Haru’s eyes immediately darted to her feet. Hyejin lifted her skirt for her to see well. Haru could only gasp.

Sharp talons, grey hair strewn around the nails, and rigid flesh urged her to run away.

Hyejin slowly let go the hem of her dress, the skirt pooling back at her feet. Hiding her face in her palms, she ran out of the main doorway, sobbing all the way.

What the hell is happening here?

“She won’t heal your head like this,” Jeongguk stated, curtly.

“Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on? Am I supposed to believe you’re a demon?

Jeongguk sighed and pressed the bridge of his nose. “This is always the hardest part with you humans.”

Haru was ready to give him an earful. But in the next instant, he had flicked his fingers, and Haru was taken aback, again.

The man was holding a small flame on his thumb and index finger.

She blinked. This could still be just a trick.

“Do you believe me now?” Jeongguk intoned.

“An-any B-grade magician could do that,” Haru stuttered, not wanting to believe his words.

Jeongguk’s jaw went slack, and he sighed again.

He whipped his gaze from the ground and looked straight into Haru’s light brown eyes.

Abruptly, every muscle in Haru’s body tensed up. Haru found her body moving against her will. She willed herself to stop, but the movement never halted. Haru was slowly walking towards him.

“Wh-what’s happening?” She pleaded, scared.

She tried to halt her movement with all the strength she had in her as she inched closer to his front. Stopping at just a hair’s width from his face, she closed her eyes.

Jeongguk reached up and held her elbows, causing her to open her eyes.

Eye-to-eye with her, Jeongguk whispered, “Do you believe me now?”

Haru was scared, more than she’d ever been in her life. She blinked a few times, trying to regain consciousness as if this was still just a dream.

Defeated, her eyes trailed to Jeongguk’s lips. How could he stay so calm while holding her so close?

“Yes,” she murmured weakly.

“Good,” Jeongguk let go, and she instantly landed on her backside with a soft thud.

“Now then, I’ll have to go find Hyejin,” he turned away from her and began walking to the door.

She crawled in frenzy and grabbed his leg. “Please wait! Jeongguk!”

Uttering his name made her wonder if his name was really Jeongguk.

She immediately let go of his leg when the possibility of him having similar feet to Hyejin dawned on her. But thankfully, his feet looked normal, size and all.

He turned around, giving her time to gather her bearings. Haru had to ask him a lot of things, even if it meant he’d turn her into a steak for angering him.

“Could you please, please tell me what is happening?” Haru felt tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. She couldn’t keep up with having a level-head all the time. Not in a situation like this.

“Why can’t anyone see me? Why did you save me?” Haru felt her words coming out in a panic-stricken frenzy.

Jeongguk was silent, as if contemplating something. He looked at Haru solemnly, and then opened his mouth to speak.

“You died today.”

Haru felt her soul leave out her body, ironically. She gaped at him.

“But I put your soul back in your body before it could dissipate.”

Why, how, what?

Jeongguk had his tongue in his cheek for a while.

“You weren’t supposed to die, so I saved you,” he answered her mental turmoil.

“But why, why did you save me? And why can no one see me still?” Her questions needed answers.

He sighed. “I didn’t think a good soul should die in vain,” he crooked his head a little to the side, “I think they’d be able to see you now. I’d just put your soul back in to your body, so that delayed your body’s apparition.”

She sighed in relief. She wasn’t dead, and would live a long, happy life. She wiped away her tears, aching to go back to her family.

But a question stung at the back of her mind.

“Are demons able to save human souls like that?”

Jeongguk’s pursed lips told her all she needed to know. He wasn’t going to answer her.

“You don’t understand what this means, do you?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“Your life is going to be in danger now. You didn’t die on the first incidence. But it won’t be the last.”

Fuck, this isn’t going to end?

“Wha-what do you mean, Jeongguk?”

His expression changed when Haru said his name, but he recovered immediately.

“Is there no solution to this? I died on accident, didn’t I?”

“I am ready to give you the protection you need, until we find a solution to this mishap of your untimely death.”

Was he really a demon? He was starting to seem like an angel.

“You’d do that? You’d help me with your demon magic to find a solution?”

“Yes,” Jeongguk coughed, “and don’t call it demon magic. I’m going to pull some strings to find answers.”

Her spirits had finally been lifted up.

He swiftly stepped in front of her, and pulled her toward his body. She could smell his cologne; it was a mix of cedar wood and rosemary. Was he sure he was a demon? He smelled divine.

She felt her body go slack at his touch, yet something told her it was wrong to trust him completely. He was a demon, didn’t he say so?

He pulled her head to his chest, and slowly touched the wound on the back of her head.

He is a man! I’m supposed to move away.

Could he not read the tension in the room? Was he oblivious to the atmosphere and what he was doing? She gathered up all the courage in her body, and pushed at his chest, stepping away from him. Jeongguk seemed unbothered by her actions. He brought his bloody hand to his face to look at it.

“The bleeding has stopped, but the wound needs attention.”

“I think I’ll take care of it at home.” She began walking back, but the doors suddenly snapped shut.

“No.” Jeongguk intoned.

“No?” All the hair at the back of her neck began standing up.

“I need you to be close to me, to protect you. Hyejin will heal you in a matter of minutes.”

“But I need to see my family now! Please, I have to leave.” Haru pleaded as she motioned to the door.

“Not until Hyejin heals you,” Jeongguk shook his head.

Haru sighed and admitted defeat.

“I’m saying this for your own good, but you’ll have to stick with me if you want to live.”

“If I don’t-“

“You’ll die. And this time I won’t be there to save you.” Jeongguk replied without hesitation.

She pursed her lips into silence. She could only nod in acceptance.

“I’ll go get Hyejin now.” Instead of walking through the door, Jeongguk disappeared into a cloud of black smoke, leaving no trace of his existence to her.

The smoke didn't help her disbelief at all. It was still unfathomable that demons were real!

She made her way to the large, lonely black couch and plummeted into the plush. She began surmising the events of the day to pass time until that woman returned.

She’d died, come back to life, hurt a female demon’s feelings, and had to stick with a demon for God knows how long.

Pretty unusual for a regular day.

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