WARNINGS: Mentions of death, descriptions of fire, mentions of hell
SUMMARY: After a human is reborn into hellhound, the first human it sees stays in its memory forever. You may not remember him, but Mingi never forgot. He has made himself your guardian angel, and he won't let you die so easily.
When the world burned around him, he thought that this was exactly what hell was supposed to look like.
The flames licked at his skin and the smoke got into his lungs. He thought that it was not supposed to hurt him â there was never any damage, his skin barely ashy and sweaty, and that was it. But it hurt. It hurt every time, over and over again, and he felt like he was dying until the fire grew into him, and until he felt nothing else but pain. Somehow, that helped. Somehow, that meant he could get used to it.
Infernos like that werenât the easiest to get through. He couldnât see too far into the fire, he couldnât hear beyond the sound of it, the smoke filled the air so thick that any other smells were dulled out. But he had his mission to complete, so he had to work his way through it.
The floor creaked under his feet, signaling that the construction would soon give out. He would survive the fall, easily, but he could not rest at ease despite that. Because, far ahead of him, there was someone who wouldnât, and that was why he needed to hurry up.
 You were curled up under a desk, holding a wet cloth against your mouth. He silently appreciated that you survived this long â the wet cloth did a solid job filtering the smoke from the air. If you didnât, heâs certain he wouldnât have made it on time.
Your eyes found him despite the smoke, eyebrows furrowed, not understanding, not knowing why heâs there. Yet, your hand shakily reached forward.
âHelp, pleaseâ you whimpered.
You didnât recognize him. He knew you wouldnât. You only met once â one night, when he was pulled out of his misery and put in another one, in the role of a hellhound that he wielded until today.
He remembered you because you were the first person he saw. And the first person a hellhound sees after its first death is forever ingrained in its memory. Like first love turning eternal, the bane of its existence.
You must have forgot him. But Mingi never did. He always looked out for you â as much as his duties allowed. He sometimes wished he was free from his Master, so that he could chase after you and spend the rest of his second life with you. Maybe it was a bit creepy; maybe he was stalking you to get there. He just never really had a better option.
Right now, just like he did all those years ago, you stood at the brink of death and the opposite of you, stood Mingi, covered in flames that stuck to him without damaging, like a second skin.
He extended his hand to you and you flinched away, seeing as it was covered in fire.
âI can save you if you hold my handâ he spoke.
You hesitated, looking at his hand. It was cruel of him, he knew. It was the best he could do, really. He could save you â he could get you out of here. But it would hurt you, and you needed to know that. You needed to make that choice yourself.
And you did.
You let out a scream, and it died when he pulled you to him and held against his chest. The fire that covered him wouldnât burn you â just like it didnât burn him. It was a special kind of fire, the one that only lived when ignited. The hellfire, his own weapon, his own attire, his own nature. Created to cause pain but never kill.
To his surprise, you didnât let go. He guided your hand to your mouth again, wordlessly commanding you to keep filtering the air coming in. You focused on that task, letting him pick you up and hold against him as he turned around. He would get you out of here. He promised he would never let you die. Not like this, at least.
He should take you to a hospital, he thought, as he laid you down on the long bench in the nearby park. The darkness of night was dispersed only by the faint glow of the orange sky. The smell of smoke clung to the two of you, but the fire was left far behind, and he noticed your poor, sweat-covered body shiver in the cold air.
The sirens echoed in the distance. They would be nearby soon and then he would take you there.
For now, just for this little bit, he wanted to take you in, to relish in your presence this one time that heâd been finally granted it. He deserved as much for saving you. And even if he didnât, even if it was a mistake on his part, he wanted to do it anyway.
He had never seen you as vulnerable as you were now.
Your eyes opened. You fainted for a bit when the two of you passed through the building, probably from pain. But you were awake now, only shivering like a leaf, like a wet puppy, too small and too fragile to warm yourself back up.
âWho⊠are you?â
Your lips form the question even though it must be the last thought on your poor, tormented mind.
He sat next to you, looking down at your face. You looked up at him, although weakly. His hands itched to reach out to you, to caress your face until you fell asleep again. Maybe you would let him â given your pitiful state, you wouldnât be able to tell him no. Maybe you wouldnât even think itâs inappropriate. But he couldnât do that to you. It wouldnât be right.
âIâm nobodyâ he finally replied. He hesitated for a moment. âYou probably wonât see me again.â
âYou saved me.â The words came out quiet, but certain. âI wonât ever be able to pay you back.â Your voice was strained. âWhatâs your name?â
He hesitated for just a moment.
âMingi. The nameâs Mingi.â
âHave I ever met you before? You look familiar.â
His breath hitched, lips parting, eyes staring. He didnât know what to say. He wondered how much you remembered. Or if you really remembered â or if you just saw someone familiar enough.
âDonât worry about itâ he finally whispered.
Tearing his gaze away from you came with difficulty. He stared at the park surrounding the two of you. The red hue covered the sky somewhere behind the trees, and the noise of sirens quieted down, implying that they had finally arrived. He stood up.
âCan you stand up? I will take you to the ambulance.â
âIâm fineâŠâ
âDonât be stupid. I saved you, you better not waste it.â He said it as a joke, but the worry was genuine. You cared too little about yourself â he had noticed it before already, staying up late, working late â the very reason you had been put in this predicament in the first place, most of other people already having left the office, and only you, poor thing, stuck on that floor without a way out. If only you didnât overwork yourself like a fool.
You let out a sigh, but pushed yourself up into a seat. Slowly, at first, your arms wobbling, your breath picking up at the strain. He watched as you placed your feet on the ground and then forced yourself up. Your knees almost gave out underneath you, but he quickly followed, wrapping his arm around your torso, keeping you up and helping you walk forward. He could carry you, he thought â but he didnât want you to fall asleep again.Â
âHow did you know Iâm there?â you suddenly asked.
He pressed his lips together. The reply didnât come for the next few moments.
âIs that the only thing you are curious about?â he tried to divert your attention.
âNo⊠I have a lot of questions.â
âBut we donât have that much time.â
The silhouette of the ambulance appeared in the distance, alongside some people rushing to help others. The pulse of blue and red lights. There shouldnât have been many victims, really, and he hoped you wonât have to wait for them to take care of you.
 The air shifted behind the two of you. It was subtle, almost unnoticeable â you most certainly didnât take note of it. But Mingi did, and he stopped in his tracks.
âSo this is her?â
He turned around.
His Master took a step forward, face nothing but curious as he took in the sight.
You, too, stared at him now, as if instinctively sensing heâs something otherworldly. Mingi felt you press into him with some form of plea. He sensed fear on you. He could smell it. A different kind of fear than before. Something more primal, more urgent. Something that he was taught to catch the whiff of from afar and follow, like the hound that he was.
Hongjoong often caused that in people.
âYou know you shouldnât be here, right?â His gaze shifted to Mingi now, a slight smile on his face. The smile was anything but warm, and Mingi cleared his throat.
âI-I know, but⊠she is⊠I couldnâtâŠâ His throat felt dry. He had no excuse. No explanation that Hongjoong already didnât know.
âI know, Mingi, Iâve heard it before. I donât blame you.â
The words were too sweet for the tone they were spoken with. It dripped with something â not with venom, no, it was more like⊠quicksilver. Beautiful and enticing, until you understood its lethality.
âPut the human in the ambulance and come back to meâ Hongjoong finally announced. âI have work for you.â
The words were final.
He knew that there was no other option than exactly this. Just a few moments that he allowed himself to share with you would eventually come to an end, and he would go back to his duties â far away, where he could not reach you, where he could barely sense your presence. Possibly, where he wouldnât be able to tell if you got yourself in trouble again. Hongjoong kept his houndsâ leashes long until he felt they run too freely. And Mingi, right now, had gone too far off.
âWho was that?â your voice trembled when he guided you to the ambulance and, moments later, you were sat down at the edge of the vehicleâs rear. Someone put an oxygen mask in your hand, and you were breathing it in, taking it away only to talk to him now.
âNobody you need to worry aboutâ Mingi replied quickly. âI need to go.â
âYou need to listen to him?â
It was so hard to leave you here. He really didnât want to. He hoped you will memorize his advice.
âI do. I donât think we will meet again.â
âSo how do I repay you?â
He pondered on it for a moment before gathering all his courage and putting his hand on top of your head. He patted it gently. Your eyes slipped closed. Maybe it was just from the fatigue, but he indulged himself a little, imagining that youâre feeling comfortable with him now.
âLive a good life so we donât have to meet again.â
âSo you donât want us to meet?â Your eyebrows furrowed.
âNot like this.â
You opened your eyes again.
âThen find a way to come back here. You owe me answers. If you donât, I will live a bad life.â
It must have sounded ridiculous even to yourself. It must have sounded even more to the paramedic at your side, reaching to check your pulse, although not really paying attention to Mingi.
But to Mingi himself, it sounded like a challenge. Like a dare to get out of his Masterâs grasp, to follow what he wanted instead. Did you know how much he would rather run off with you than follow Hongjoong back to hell? Did you know how much it hurt him to say it might be impossible?
When he turned around, Hongjoongâs eyes glistened in the darkness of the trees, like a catâs, outside of the range of light, but most definitely there, waiting. Watching. Patient â if only for now.
âI willâ he promised.
It came out so quiet he wasnât sure if you heard him. He hoped the wind didnât carry it further, the words that were never supposed to be spoken.
If Hongjoong heard them, he didnât show it.
It would only get harder from now on, Mingi knew. But he would find a way. Eventually.
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