hopelessromanticdeviant

[hopelessromanticdeviant]

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[hopelessromanticdeviant]

The Rise, The Fall

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 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.

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[hopelessromanticdeviant]

The Rise, The Fall

Chapter 5: Good Demons, Bad Demons

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-ssi,” 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-ssi. 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, Haru,” 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-ssi,” 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

Next Chapter->

[hopelessromanticdeviant]

The Rise, The Fall

Chapter 4: To Twilight or Not To Twilight

Chapter Summary:

“Okay, Jeongguk. I won’t argue with you on this one. I still want to live to be a hundred years old, you know.”

“Only 3-4% of humans live up to that age. But I don’t want to argue about it either. You’re free to have your own goals, as unrealistic as they may be.”

He was such an airhead; it was ridiculous. He simply didn’t know when to understand satire and when to joke, or have the tact to protect someone’s feelings for that matter.

Haru sighed and smiled, “Yeah well, I’m the bigger person here. I was the one who said they don’t want to argue about it.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Jeongguk laughed, and Haru noticed his little dimples forming in.

~this is smut

Hearing her say his name felt foreign, yet welcoming. It was like hearing his name in the dialect of a new language, like uttering a word repeatedly until it started to lose all meaning in your brain.

He’d have never thought that she’d be making herself comfortable in his mansion, let alone saying his name over and over whenever she’d wanted to ask him something.

It felt…different. If ‘different’ was the proper way to describe the warmth he felt in his abdomen when being in her presence – then it definitely felt different. There were always peculiar feelings involved with his human, the little enigma whose soul had no color.

When abruptly, half of the ‘name-taking’ attention was divided between him and Hyejin. Since she’d invited the girl to herself if she seemed to have any questions that needed quick, direct answers. Jeongguk and Taehyung seriously lacked the human tact and patience required to explain such complicated things to a human. Hyejin stepped up as a livesaver this time.

“It’s good to keep regular touch. We don’t know what will happen if your soul decides to dissipate again like that,” Hyejin said to Haru, “You can come visit us after your classes and make yourself comfortable in the study; if you just want to study or relax for a while.”

“That’d be great,” Haru said more to herself than Hyejin, what with the surreal way a demon was telling her, a human, to cozy up in their lair. They’d shown zero signs of hostility or slyness, reassuring her that they were mostly safe.

In a corner stood Jeongguk, a little annoyed at the fact that the girl had slowly began talking openly to Hyejin and Taehyung too. The latter had gone about his business and as per their agreement, and was going to show up after a week with an immediate plan of action.

Jeongguk slowly slid out the room without letting the women know and went into his room. He could use up this spare time to read up more about the girl’s ‘soul-no-soul’ situation.

“I’m sorry for talking like that about your feet,” Haru looked at the floor in guilt “But in my defense, I wasn’t even talking about you. I was talking about demons portrayed in the media I consume, just in general.”

“I got that after a while,” Hyejin replied, “after a few minutes of sobbing, that is,” smiling.

Haru seriously did not know if the woman in front of her was being satirical or that was just the way she talked. She stared at her for any hint of jest or spite, but couldn’t find either.

She didn’t know how to carry the conversation after that remark either.

“I’m a chimera,” Hyejin stated bluntly.

“What?” Haru asked, surprised, “like those hybrid people?”

“Yes. Except I was born out of a demon and beast mating. It’s an exceptionally rare occurrence.”

“Sounds so cool in theory,” Haru commented, “I thought only demons existed here from your realm but now you go talking about ‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’.”

Hyejin chuckled at that comment.

“Yes, well…that’s just the way it is. Us demons, beasts, and spirits have to follow the rules of the mortal realm to house-in safely. Otherwise, our council of elders can throw us back to actual hell. To Mr. Satan or Lucifer, that is. Any name you might acknowledge him with.”

Haru was so relieved at having a girl to talk to. She didn’t even need to ask questions, because her questions were being answered within the conversation itself. All thanks to Hyejin; because just an hour later Haru felt like she was about to cry from all the confusion.

“I can’t help but ask anyway, even though I know the answer.” Haru asked, her curiosity piquing more and more. Is Mr. Satan good-looking; like the way he is portrayed in most media series? And why are demons made to look like humans?”

“Umm, I think you already know this, but no, he’s not good-looking at all. In fact, he’s the worst-looking creature someone might ever see; you’re still a mortal who doesn't know any better. Our demon bodies have similar attributes as our previous human incarnations, reminding us of our humanity while we dwell in the current human society.”

“You know what? That makes lots of sense,” Haru spoke, “Do you all – demons, beasts, and spirits live together or do you have singular territories?”

“We live in different territories, but spirits can be found everywhere,” Haru answered, “My case is different though. I don’t belong in any of those categories.”

Hyejin looked at the floor and grimaced, having re-opened an unhealed wound all over again.

“Huh? What does that mean, Hyejin?”

“My feet, Haru. Look at them,” Hyejin’s voice was shaky as it went down an octave, “I have nobody. I’m neither a demon nor a beast.”

Hyejin looked like she was exhausted of having a conversation over and over that led to nowhere.

“Hey…Hyejin,” Haru stepped forward and slowly reached out her arms to the poor woman, and engulfed her into a warm embrace, “It’s okay. I don’t see you that way at all. You already have Jeongguk and that dude Taehyung with you. Don’t say you have nobody.”

“I know. It just…hurts when everyone decides to just bring it out around me time and time again. Besides, Jeongguk and his brotherhood are the only people that have accepted me for who I am. They don’t pay heed to those bullshit filthy remarks some other demons we clash with usually spew.”

Racism and untouchability was a recurring theme in the devil’s realm, especially in the middle world where it was difficult to properly divide their domains.

“Shhh, shh. It’s kay. I’m sure you have a good bunch of people at hand that will stick with you no matter what. Besides, now you have me too. I’d love it if we could be good friends,” Haru suggested, smiling.

“I’d love that, Haru,” Hyejin replied, wiping the lone tear from her right cheek, “I was going to say I’m used to all this and don’t really cry over it anymore. But having a human comfort me just makes me sadder.”

Hyejin was pretty sentimental for a demon, but having to fight for your existence your entire life would make anyone pass off racism with a scoff. Even so, having a human suddenly acknowledge the fact that she was bullied, made her feel pitiful.

It was as if she lost all power in front of someone who was theoretically weaker than her.

“Hey now, that hurt,” Haru, “I know I’m not one of you but you can still use my shoulder.”

“I know,” Hyejin gave a small smile, “I didn’t mean it like that. Besides, you don’t know the reputation humans have in our realm. Not every demon is like Jeongguk and me. You must be careful with who you decide to acknowledge.”

Haru nodded in understanding.

“So Jeongguk and his brothers are like Twilight then?” Haru asked, piquing Hyejin’s ‘humans are so weird’ senses.

“What’s a ‘Twilight’?”

“Are you serious? You don't know about Twilight? I have to let you in on so much, now that we’re friends,” Haru sighed.

Hyejin could only raise her brows in anticipation as Haru began to roll up her sleeves.

The rest of the evening was spent by Haru showing Hyejin the latest social media trends, memes, anime, and the most popular movies. She’d began learning words like ‘fandom’, ‘cult-classic’, ‘memes’, ‘Instagram’, and so much more.

“You know what? I’ll get you my Twilight Extended Edition DVD collection when I come back tomorrow,” Haru suggested, happy to have a new girl-friend.

“I’m pretty sure I can watch the series on one of those apps you recommended.”

“No no no, you have to watch the DVDs I give you. You’ll never find Haru’s secret Twilight Extended Edition anywhere else, that much I can promise.” Haru was practically jumping at wanting to show Hyejin her Twilight Extended Edition series.

Hyejin laughed at the way Haru was so excitable when it came sharing the things she liked. It made her feel fond of Haru.

Just then, Jeongguk walked in, making a clicking noise with his automatic car keys, simultaneous with his car making a beeping noise outside at the parking area.

“It’s 7:30. Let me drop you home before it gets too late,” Jeongguk gave a firm look to Haru.

“Yes Haru, you should be back before it gets dark. Let Jeongguk-ssi drop you off. I’ll be eagerly waiting for your Twilight Extended Edition movies.”

Haru chuckled again at the last part, not in jest but in fondness.

Jeongguk suddenly looked at the both of them, out-of-the-loop.

“What’s a ‘Twilight’?”

The girls immediately looked at each other and chuckled.

.

The car ride was mostly peaceful. Jeongguk’s black Mercedes barely made a sound on the road. Even the revving engine was silent.

Jeongguk took a few small glances at the girl as he drove. The girl had managed to break the ice with Hyejin, unsurprisingly. Jeongguk suddenly tensed up, being in a confined space with her all alone made him uncomfortable in many ways. Although ‘discomfort’ was not a way to describe it, somehow it was uncomfortable for him.

“Can I turn the heat on? I’m freezing,” Haru asked and reached out to press the button, her hand softly clashing with Jeongguk as he reached out at the same time, sending shivers up Haru’s spine.

“Your skin is so cold, Jeongguk,” Haru immediately covered for herself. The man beside her was excruciatingly beautiful, and having touched him suddenly made her nervous.

“Just like a Twilight,” Jeongguk clicked his tongue as he turned on the heat and put his hand back on the steering.

“They’re called vampires, Jeongguk,” Haru chuckled, easing off her previous tension, “Your signature look is pretty similar to some of them. All black and cold, sparkly white skin.”

“Sparkly white skin?” Jeongguk droned in wonder and looked at Haru.

Haru had slipped again. It was always difficult around men who were beautiful and didn’t know it. ‘Airheads’, she and Raemi called such men ‘airheads’.

“I said it in a good way,” Haru covered again, “it’s good skin. Many girls my age would kill to have skin like you, Jeongguk.”

Jeongguk looked at her in surprise.

“Ah yes, I get it. But what’s the point of all the maintenance when you live only a feeble few decades.”

Haru was seriously stunned at his choice of words, so bold and simple. How did you explain to a demon something so basic and customary without blowing up at some point?

“Just like a Twilight,” Haru muttered under her breath.

“What’s that?” Jeongguk leaned in closer to hear her better, his breath fanning over the both of them in the cold, since the heat was just turned on.

“Well, you could say we’re just trying to make the most of our ‘feeble few decades’, Jeongguk. A few decades are enough for us to find contentment and joy in the little things,” Haru explained without being too bitter about his choice of words.

Why was the air so thin suddenly? There was no reason for them to argue over who was better or show contempt to human nature.

“Are you angry?” Jeongguk asked, holding a solemn face.

This dude seriously did not know how to hold normal conversations. He just insulted her existence and was asking her if she was angry.

Definitely a Twilight, she thought. Unaware of their own space as well as others. An airheaded one at that.

“No.” It was no use explaining something so trivial and simple to a demon. She’d just have to be sated with her previous answer and not go off on tangents like ‘how could you even say something like that, you asshole!’

Jeongguk pursed his lips and tried to gauge her current emotion, going nowhere with it. He continued to drive silently.

“Who else do you have with you – in your brotherhood, I mean – how many people do you have?” Haru decided to ask the questions herself.

Jeongguks lips curved into an unnoticeable smile, happy to be able to answer her questions again.

“We’re 7 brothers, with Hyejin as my subordinate. She’s not part of the brotherhood but an equally important member.”

“Will I get to see them in person?” Haru asked, “I’m still very disgruntled about the whole situation and can’t believe it all.”

“No. I really don’t think so, Haru.”

That was the first time Jeongguk had taken her name in front of her. It was just like any other word he had spoken, but he liked uttering it nonetheless.

Haru’s eyes slightly widened when she heard her name, but then she frowned.

“Oh, why? Is there a problem?” Scared was an understatement.

“You’re in a pretty uncertain position here, Haru. Nobody except Taehyung and Hyejin know about you. If word gets out about you, we’ll be held accountable at the council. I can’t risk getting my brothers in on this. The more people who know, the riskier it will be.”

That was the first time Haru had heard him speak for so long, altogether. Hearing him explain things to her like she was a docile little being felt familiar, a trait all airheaded men shared. One of them being her own father.

“Okay, Jeongguk. I won’t argue with you on this one. I still want to live to be a hundred years old, you know.”

Jeongguk chuckled at the sudden declaration.

“Only 3-4% of humans live up to that age. But I don’t want to argue about it either. You’re free to have your own goals, as unrealistic as they may be.”

He was such an airhead; it was ridiculous. He simply didn’t know when to understand satire and when to joke, or have the tact to protect someone’s feelings for that matter.

Haru sighed and smiled, “Yeah well, I’m the bigger person here. I was the one who said they don’t want to argue about it.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Jeongguk laughed, and Haru noticed his little dimples forming in when he smiled wide enough.

She stared at him holding his expression for a bit longer, eyes traversing to the chisel of his jaw, his shapely nose, and beautiful, clear skin. She felt heat bubble up her cheeks as she tried to hold herself in her seat.

It’s a demon, she reminded herself. Not a beautiful man, but a demon.

Jeongguk parked the car in front of her house; her neighborhood had a quaint little parkway for him to position his car. A few kids were playing with a football around the block.

Haru got out of the car and hurried to the driver’s seat.

“Jeongguk, wait. I have to lend Hyejin my Twilight Extended Edition series!” she was panting as she ran inside her house, “I’ll be back in a minute, just wait for me!”

Jeongguk sighed and waited, but then decided to wait outside the car.

Abruptly, a football came hurtling his way. He swiftly kicked it into a distance before it could collide with his body.

A boy with transparent-framed glasses came running to him, annoyed.

“Hey, dewd. You just kicked our ball into Mrs. Cho’s backyard. How are we supposed to get it back? She’ll kill us if a single blade of grass is put off in her lawn.”

Jeongguk hated kids. No, he really despised them. They came after you with their slimy hands, snotty noses and looked at you as if you were responsible for everything around them.

“Yeah well, you shouldn’t have kicked your ball at me then. You can tell your Mrs. Cho to suck it.”

“Hey, that’s going over the line!” Another ball came crashing at Jeongguk which he kicked it into Mrs. Cho’s backyard, yet again…

“What the fuck, Dan-ah” Kid One spat at Kid Two, “You just saw him kick the ball at Mrs. Cho’s lawn and you threw it at him again?”

Kid Two laughed nervously, “I kinda, too, wanted to target practice at him. He really is wearing all-black. Wow. And he has a Mercedes.”

How far would Jeongguk have to punt the kids for them reach the Sun? It seemed easy enough. He could just whip his leg on one without a sound and no one would ever know Kid Two just went on a one-time trip to the Sun.

“What did you just say?” He picked both the kids by their collars and stared daggers at them.

Just then, Haru ran out the house and Jeongguk put the kids down.

“What’s going on here? Jeongguk, why were you holding my cousin hostage?” Haru asked.

“It was Sungho’s idea! He wanted to check if he could score a goal on this dude in all-black. Then this dude kicked both our balls in Mrs. Cho’s backyard,” Kid Two hurriedly said, and ran home.

“Sungho, what is this? Mom told you not to scare off visitors. You’re at it again?”

“I was just doing some target practice-”

“No excuses, Mom’s not going to listen to any of it. You better go and apologize to Mrs. Cho before she complains to mom.”

Sungho nodded while pouting his lower lip, then walked to Mrs. Cho’s house, looking back and poking his tongue out at Jeongguk while Haru wasn’t watching.

Sonofa-

“I'm sorry about my cousin," Haru said, holding out a pair of DVDs, "Here’s Twilight, Extended Edition. Please give this to Hyejin.”

Jeongguk slowly held out his hands as Haru placed the DVDs in his hands. Their fingertips brushed at the exchange, shooting rays of warmth at Jeongguk’s chest.

It felt different. All over again.

Haru peered up through her lashes at him and smiled, yet again, giving Jeongguk that distinct and unfamiliar feeling in the pits of his chest.

So…different.

Haru said her goodbyes and began walking inside when suddenly-

“Can I watch it too? The Twilight Extended Edition?” Jeongguk called from behind.

Haru’s eyes widened at first, surprised Jeongguk would even consider watching the series. Then, her lips slowly curved and a bright grin broke out from her lips, showing her pearl whites.

“You can borrow it from Hyejin after she’s watched it.”

All Jeongguk could make out from their evening together was – the different was a good kind of different. It wasn’t a problem talking to her; she wasn’t as much a nuisance that humans were reputed to be.

“Thanks, Haru,”Jeongguk took her name again to ensure he had said her name before.

“You’re welcome, Jeongguk,”Haru matched Jeongguk’s tone in emphasizing each others’ name during conversation.

It was…different.

<-Previous Chapter

Next Chapter->

[hopelessromanticdeviant]

The Rise, The Fall

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-ssi, 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

Next Chapter->

[hopelessromanticdeviant]

The Rise, The Fall

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-shi, 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-shi 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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[hopelessromanticdeviant]

The Rise, The Fall

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 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-shi, 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 will 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 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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[hopelessromanticdeviant]

The Rise, The Fall - Masterlist

Summary:

He aches to take her away to the shadows. Fate finally gave him the chance. She will do anything to live. He will do anything to keep her in this world.Jeon Jungkook x OC- Slow build, slow burn. Mature themes (will notify before sexual themes) -

Pairing: Demon!Jeon Jungkook x Reader/OC

~this is smut

Prologue

Chapter 1 - Bound, Until When?

Chapter 2 - When Life Gives You Demons

Chapter 3 - Three Quiet Accomplices

Chapter 4 - To Twilight or Not To Twilight

Chapter 5 - Good Demons, Bad Demons

Chapter 6 - There's No Going Black

[hopelessromanticdeviant]

The Rise, The Fall - Prologue

Summary:

He aches to take her away to the shadows. Fate finally gave him the chance. She will do anything to live. He will do anything to keep her in this world.Jeon Jungkook x OC- Slow build, slow burn. Mature themes (will notify before sexual themes) -

Pairing: Demon!Jeon Jungkook x Reader/OC

~this is smut

Prologue

Her hand instinctively flew to the back of her head. It hurt like hell. She knew there was blood as soon as she felt the stickiness. Daring to bring her hand back in front of her face, she gasped. Blood was always a surprise.

She gazed at the marble ceiling, it was so high that it looked like it was ages away. Where was she, exactly? She bleakly sat up on the couch she was laying on.

"You're awake." A deep yet shallow male voice intoned, giving her a reprieve from the confusion.

The voice had a certain charm to it, like a manifestation of comfort itself.

She didn't say anything. She knew she had met an accident. He was probably the Samaritan who helped her. Although common sense told her that he should've taken her to a hospital, she couldn't help but feel grateful.

She looked at the man on the adjacent armchair. Her puzzled eyes met the gaze of fiery, yet warm brown eyes. The man had porcelain skin, not a single feature out of place. He was wearing all black - a black dress shirt, and black trousers.

She couldn't be bothered to ponder over who he was right now.

"I need to go home." Her voice was shaky and coarse.

"You had an ac-" the man was cut off. He looked displeased.

"I need to go home," she immediately got up from the couch. Ultimately, she felt dizzy, but determination had already took over.

She didn't know where she was, and she had been unconscious on a couch with the supervision of a stranger. Definitely not ideal. She had to go back to her family immediately.

She began walking briskly to the large set of dark wooden doors at the front of the room. She didn't hear any footsteps following her. Realization struck as soon as she passed the doorway. She didn't know where she was!

There was a literal acre for a front yard with green hedges all over. There was no entrance or exit to be seen anywhere. Where was she?

Think, Haru, think!

Her head gave her another jab of pain as she started feeling dizzy. She began walking back inside to look for the man.

"Would you-"

"I'll take you home," the man read her mind.

She saw him swiftly put on his black coat. He ushered her through a hidden door from the front lawn, and clicked his car keys.

"Get in," he stated curtly. She was starting to feel like a nuisance.

He didn't ask her name through the entire ride, nor did he try to small talk. Their only interaction was her giving him directions to her place in one-word sentences.

She breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she began seeing familiar houses. Ready to jump out of the car, she was agigtated as he finally pulled into her household lane.

She got out of the car and said, "Thanks for the help."

She began running, almost, but returned back to the car to say, "Thanks for looking out for me too."

With an almost unnoticeable nod, he revved his engine, leaving without a trace.

She was aching to see her family. Mom would definitely take her to the ER after taking a look at her. Dad would probably be home by now too. Getting scolded was a definite possibility, but having them beside her right now would give her the required peace of mind.

She entered the open house door with loud footsteps, letting them know she'd returned home. However, there was no reaction; her dad was busy watching the TV while her mom was setting the dinner table.

She bellowed with all her strength, "Mom, Dad!"

She ran in front of the TV, to have her father have a look at her.

But, there was no reaction from him. Thinking it was a mood thing, she said loudly for both her parents to hear, "I hurt my head in an accident!"

But neither parent even flinched.

Something dropped into the pits of her stomach.

Her parents weren't acknowledging her presence, they weren't reacting at all!

She waved her hands in front of her dad. She ran left and right in front of the TV, to no avail.

Walking towards her mother, she yelled into her ear. As loud as she could.

Her jaw went slack. With scared and quivering hands, she reached her hand out to touch her mom. Only to see it pass right through her body.

Her eyes widened. Her breath hitched. This was a nightmare. This had to be a nightmare.

This is a nightmare! Wake up!

Pinching herself as hard as she could, she covered her arm in red blemishes.

This was impossible!

Why was nobody able to see her? She felt faint. Several questions ran through her head.

Why was she invisible?

How would she go on living like this?

How could she go back to normal?

And why was the man in black able to see her?

Wait, he could see her! He could see her! She immediately ran outside, panting when she reached the asphalt pathway.

She looked around, slouching as she rested her hands on her knees. He had left!

Her eyes began glistening. She was scared. And on came the tears.

"Please, please come back," she sniffled into her sleeves.

She began crying, louder and louder.

"Please come back!" she cried into nothingness.

Dropping onto her knees and covering her face with her palms, she whispered, "Please come back."

She stayed like that for a while, when suddenly a pair of large hands reached out to her shoulders. He was picking her body up to bring it to a stand.

He was here! He hadn't left. She smiled weakly through her tears.

"You can see me!" she cried, elated. "My parents can't-"

"We need to get out of here," he stated, turning around and tugging at her elbow to tag her with him.

"What? Wait, I-"

"There's no time. I can help you. Only I can help you. You have to trust me," the man stated, impatiently.

She stared at him, dumbfounded.

It was either this, or live invisibly forever.

"Let's go," the man repeated.

She didn't wipe her tears. She recalled not asking his name.

"I am Haru. Who are you? I only trust people I know."

He stopped tugging her along for a moment and looked back at her, as if contemplating something.

Why could only he see her? There was something amiss.

She sucked in her breath. "What are you?"

What am I?

He gritted his teeth, then opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm Jeon Jeongguk, an arch demon."

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