#ju haknyeon fic

[blizzardfluffykpop]

Safety

Summary: Haknyeon comes home to find you a shaking mess of tears. 

Drabble 

Fluff/Comfort, Established Relationship au

TW: Deals with anxiety/the negative thoughts associated with said feeling/briefly mentions what caused the flare up

Word Count: 551

Haknyeon X Reader

------

You find yourself shaking after grocery shopping, barely able to put away the groceries, when you feel arms wrap around you. You hear Haknyeon whisper, “What’s wrong, dove?” You shake your head, barely able to lift the milk, and he takes it out of your hands. Still holding you, he moves it into the fridge before closing it, “Why don’t you let me take care of this?” You give him a meager nod and refuse to leave his side, holding onto his shirt, and he looks back at you, “That bad, huh?” You nod, giving him a sniffle. And he grabs your hand in his, “Is this better?” You give him another nod, holding his hand tightly as he handles the rest of the groceries. When he puts the last can of corn away, he goes, “What happened?” You wrinkle up your nose and whisper, “I just felt useless. I was picking out groceries and trying to help someone, and it backfired. And I just… I don’t know… Well, I do. But…” He pulls you into his chest as you whisper, “Please don’t let me go.” You beg into his arms, tears falling from your eyes as Haknyeon wraps himself tighter around you. 

When your cries turn to sniffles, he moves both of you over to sit down. He sits you on top of his lap, letting you bury yourself into his chest as you calm down. “Why… Why isn’t it easy?” He hums and waits for you to continue, “Why can’t I just be like everyone else? And be able to go on adventures and see things without worry. Without fearing every second of my life outside of these four walls… Outside of your arms.” He runs his hand over your arm, slowly tracing it, “You’re not like everyone else. And it’s not a bad thing. You just have a different way of navigating the world.” You sniffle, “But why?” And he sighs, “I’m not sure. But it doesn’t mean you can’t have adventures.” You groan, “Yes, it does.” He lifts your chin up with the hand he was stroking your arm with, “No, it doesn’t. And y’know why?” You shake your head, not knowing why. And he gently tells you, “Because in a way you said I bring you safety. So, if I’m with you on your adventures, you can turn to me. And I promise to keep you safe.” You search his eyes and ask, “You mean it?” He hums, “For you? Always.” You sniffle, “Okay.” 

He smiles and kisses your cheeks, “I got you. I won’t let you fall between the cracks when I’m beside you. And even when we’re apart, okay?” You nod, and he wraps his arms tightly around your waist, keeping you grounded. While you focus on calming your heartrate by lying on his chest, he finds his phone ordering something as he softly sings you a song, “I ordered your favorite for later.” You hum, and he realizes you’re starting to fall asleep in his arms. He picks you up and takes you to your king-sized mattress, wrapping himself around you so you feel safe in his arms while you sleep. You two can safely tackle your adventures together sometime later. For now, a good rest and a delicious meal after would suffice.

[daisyvisions]

The Boyz - NSFW Links Edition (Pt.4)

Warnings: 18+, minors DNI because as the title literally states… NSFW links! (all links are afab! reader and are sourced from twitter!)

A/N: Happy Anniversary TBZ! And what better way than to post some spicy videos of our lovely boyz? 😏 (and with extra spice included if you know what I mean 😘) As always, if there are links that don’t work or don’t exist please let me know! Enjoy 💕

Bully!Sangyeon begging you to do this to him after having a dream about you

You and Roommate!Jacob can never get enough of each other after that one night

Returning Enemy!Younghoon another favor you owe him after helping you out again

Classmate!Hyunjae always making your study sessions a little more interesting than the last

Brother’s best friend!Juyeon joining you during your morning shower when he sleeps over

Agreeing with classmate!Kevin your favorite thing to do together when you hookup

What Spoiled Rich Kid!Chanhee dreams about at night if he had you as his

Going back to Ex’s rival!Changmin’s house for some more fun after the party

Fratboy!Haknyeon letting you take the lead to help you practice your skills more

CEO!Sunwoo calling you into his office for some “disciplining”

Trying out more things Boyfriend!Eric after he get so turned on by that side of you

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

[momhwa-agenda]

Office playground | Octoberfest Day 5

Pairing - co-worker!Haknyeon x fem!reader

Drink - Mule with a hint of triple sec (aka Co-workers & Clothed Sex)

Summary - Who said coffee breaks with your work friend couldn't be exciting?

Word Count - 930

Warnings - SMUT (Minors 18+ DNI!!!), sneaking around, semi public sex, heavy kissing, dry humping, thigh riding, masturbation (m! receiving), hickeys, biting, petnames ("babe"), Haknyeon and Y/N are dancing around each other with this romantic office fling

Author’s note - It's how I thought I had it all figured out last month only to do a major edit help. Really fumbled with the title for this one. I don't care if this version I went with might sound a little too cliché, point still stands that Haknyeon deserves more fics. I hope Ally and Gab appreciate me despite how short this is ashdsd.

Taglist - @midnightfantasiez @kitschun @daisyvisions @snowflakewhispers @nyu-topia @jaminthemiddle

⇀ OctoberFest Masterlist

“This isn’t right,” he murmured against your lips, though his hands said otherwise, moving with a purpose, gripping your waist and pulling you closer.

“I know…” you managed between kisses, your breath hitching as his fingers trailed up to grope your breasts. “But…When has that ever stopped us?”

In the quiet of the lounge room, your back against the wall as Haknyeon pressing into you, his lips crashing into yours in a flurry of pent-up desire. The taste of him was intoxicating, and you couldn’t help but gasp as his hands explored your body, fingers skimming over your curves, desperate to feel every inch of you.

His mouth found your neck, leaving a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses that made your knees weak. Each touch sent shivers down your spine, and you arched into him, craving more, always more. Haknyeon groaned, his breath ragged as he pressed harder into you, the tension between you threatening to snap.

“Fuck,” you moaned when you felt his lips brushing against your ear, “This is better than the dream I had last night.”

You felt him pause for a moment, curiosity flickering in his eyes. “A dream?” he asked, his voice low and teasing. “What happened in this dream of yours?”

You blushed, looking down for a second before meeting his gaze. “I might have dreamed you were under my desk, eating me out during work,” you confessed with a sly smile, your fingers toying with the buttons of his shirt. “It felt so real I woke up shaking.”

Haknyeon let out a shaky breath, his eyes darkened with lust as your words sank in. “Damn,” he breathed, his hands gripping your hips a little tighter. “That sounds so hot, babe. Maybe next time we can make that a reality.” His lips returned to your neck, leaving heated kisses, his voice dripping with need. “Besides, I could easily make you come undone…even with your clothes still on.”

A playful smirk tugged at your lips as you pulled back slightly, challenging him. “Oh really? I’d like to see you come undone with just your clothes on.”

Haknyeon’s expression shifted, his teasing smile replaced with something more intense. “You don’t think I can?” he whispered, his voice a low growl that sent a thrill through you. Without warning, he pushed his knee between your legs, his hands guiding your hips down onto his thigh.

A sharp gasp escaped you, your body reacting instantly to the pressure. The friction was delicious, and you bit your lip hard, trying to suppress a moan as he flexed his thigh beneath you, making you grind against him. The danger of being caught only heightened the thrill, and you clung to his shoulders, desperate to keep control.

“You have no idea…” he murmured, his lips brushing against your ear. “What effect you have on me.”

Your lips met again, the kiss messy, heated, full of raw need. Every movement, every touch, every kiss was driving you closer to the edge, your mind clouded with nothing but the need to feel him, to release all the tension building between you. You could feel his own restraint slipping as his erection pressed against your thigh, his desire just as palpable, his breath hot against your skin.

Your fingers dug into his shirt, desperate to hold on as your movements became more frantic. The friction, the heat, it was all too much, and you felt yourself teetering on the brink of release. Haknyeon’s hand slid up to your neck, his forehead pressing against yours, his breath mingling with yours as he whispered, “Want to…make you feel so…good.”

You gasped, your body trembling as you whispered back, “Not without you…” One of your hands slipped down between his legs, finding his throbbing bulge beneath his slacks, rubbing him to match the rhythm of your hips against his thigh. He groaned, his body shuddering as you both chased that sweet release.

It was fast, desperate, the need to finish before your break ended driving you both to the edge. You bit down on his shirt, muffling your cries as you felt the tension snap, waves of pleasure crashing over you as you came. Haknyeon wasn’t far behind, his body tensing before he groaned into your ear, his release spilling over as he clung to you.

For a moment, everything was still with the sound of your ragged breathing filling the room, as the two of you clung to each other as you came down from your high. You rested your head against his chest, your breath fanning his neck as you placed a quick kiss on his skin.

Slowly, you both pulled away, straightening your clothes and trying to look like you hadn’t just fucked each other in the office lounge. Haknyeon helped you fix your hair, his fingers brushing against your neck as he gathered your hair to hide the mark he’d left. You raised an eyebrow at him, smirking.

“You really suck for doing that, you know,” you teased him playfully.

“I told you,” he replied, a mischievous glint in his eyes, “I can’t help myself around you.”

With one last look, you both grabbed your coffees, a shared smile passing between you. As you headed back toward the office, you couldn’t help but throw him a final, cheeky remark.

“Well,” you said, your voice light, “at least now I’ve got a new excuse for being late to that meeting.”

Haknyeon chuckled, leaning in close enough to murmur in your ear, “Maybe next time we should just take that coffee break in my car.”

[jinkoh]

my scars on your skin

haknyeon x gn!reader

part of my soulmate series

tags: soulmate au (sharing bruises), kick boxer!hak, established relationship, hurt/comfort; warnings: mentions of injury

wc: 0.37k

series masterlist | tbz masterlist

Haknyeon watched you as you gently applied ointment to the cut on his lip. It stung, but it was nothing compared to the pain he felt when he saw the bruises on your face. With trembling fingers, he reached out to the red and blue on your cheekbone, carefully running his thumb over it. You didn’t even flinch at the touch.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. 

At his words you looked up, a frown etched onto your face. “You know it doesn’t hurt. It’s not a real bruise, so why are you apologizing? You should worry about yourself first.” As if to prove your point, you dabbed his lip with the cotton swab again, making him wince in pain.

“Still,” he pressed out. “You shouldn’t have to endure this.”

Your features softened a bit. “It doesn’t feel like enduring to me, Hak. You know that I don’t mind your job. You’re good at it too. Just look at you taking home all the wins despite being a rookie. Can't you see how amazing that is? Instead of apologizing you should be proud.”

“Proud?” He almost spat out the word. Maybe he’d felt proud of being a kick boxer before, but things had been different then. He hadn’t known you yet. “How could I feel pride if every hit I take leaves you bruised?”

“I can just cover them up.” You set aside the ointment and cotton swab to lay your hand over his that was still caressing your cheek. You turned your head and left a kiss on his palm. “It’s not a big deal.”

“But it is,” he whispered. “I chose this job at a time when I didn’t think I’d have a soulmate. Or maybe I just thought I wouldn’t care. I was a fool and I was selfish.” He let himself fall forward, forehead resting against your shoulder. “I wish I had chosen differently back then.”

You hugged him tight, pressing little kisses into his hair. “I don’t. Because all the choices we made until now led us to be here. And I like it here, Hak. I’m happy.”

His arms wrapped around you, pulling you impossibly closer. “Are you really?”

“I am. I promise. So, don’t beat yourself up about the details. Let’s be happy, okay?”

You thought you heard him sniff when he answered, “Okay.”

series masterlist | tbz masterlist

[from-izzy]

the boyz (maknae line) masterlist ♡

☂ - angst | ♡ - fluff | ➳ - hurt/comfort | ⋆⁺₊ - suggestive | ʚ/ɞ - external/internal challenges | personal favourite

Maknae Line

[~300 ☂/♡/➳/ʚ/ɞ] "what do you think of flowers/bouquets?"

Ju Haknyeon

generating...

Kim Sunwoo

[~5.6k ☂ ♡ ➳] you: my favourite scene [~1.9k ☂ ♡ ➳] [19:32] [~3.6k ☂ ➳ ʚ ɞ] [17:58] [~2.6k ♡ ⋆⁺₊] [06:36] [~5.6k ♡ (+ ♡)] double a decade [~1.6k ☂ ♡ ➳] [04:42] [~500 ☂ ♡ ➳ ʚ ɞ] [03:21] [~13k ☂ ♡ ➳ (+ ➳) ʚ ɞ] cupid's mistake [~1.8k ☂ ♡ ➳ (+ ➳) ʚ ɞ] [03:10] [~5k (slight ☂ ♡) ➳ ⋆⁺₊] show you the stars [☂ ♡ ➳ ʚ ɞ] love me unconditionally | teaser (~2.5k) 🤍 full [~2.5k ♡ ⋆⁺₊] sip and learn

Eric Sohn

generating...

navi/masterlist!! 🤍 the boyz full masterlist 🤍 nct dream masterlist 🤍 riize masterlist 🤍 other masterlist

[uriwoos2]

can't sleep... head full of best friend juhaknyeon, who is just so gentle and patient with you.. the situation doesn't matter tbh. like he's just so kind and warm and accepting no matter what. it could be the most stressful situation, in which he couldn't possibly keep calm and all the stress would get to him, putting him on edge but then, when he turns to you his words are coming out all gentle, his eyes holding a soft look, for you. or if you're struggling to do something, failing over and over, when by this point anyone else would've lost their patience but hakkie,, he'll delicately slip his hands over yours and show you how. softly whispering instructions into your ear, as kind to you as ever.. he'll always treat you like you're the most precious thing in the world, he just wants to protect you and have you next to him, safe and happy <3 he's just so perfect :'(

that being said, imagine being deathly afraid of the dark, so much so that you're trembling and visibly scared, and haknyeon taking notice of this, instantly rushing to comfort you in the way he knows how to. he'll just hold your hand, tapping his fingers on the back of yours rhythmically, in patterns. in hopes of distracting you from your fears :( <3 the sweet sweet boy that he is, he'll ask first if it's ok to hug you, and after you grant permission, he'll just wrap his arms around you in the most comfy bear–hug possible.. he's so so warm, and smells so very nice.. his entire presence takes over all your senses, leaving no room for fear. he's an angel, purely perfect..

sometimes he makes you think things that you shouldn't be thinking, like how you want him to hold you close and never let go.. or how you want him to never leave your side and take your hand in his when you need it.. or that the urge to kiss him is so overbearing and as time goes by it only gets more and more intense... but you couldn't ask for a better best friend, and what if he doesn't feel the same?.. that could ruin what you have now, and you don't know if it's worth the risk.. but for now you're just gonna take your time to bask in the warmth his body radiates, the comfort he provides through his gentle touches, rubbing circles on your back, arms tightening around you occasionally, signaling I'm here. here for you. so you close your eyes and hug him back just as tight, signaling back I love you. hoping that somehow he'll get it, miraculously he'll just know.. but the only tangible feeling you have currently is his tight embrace, and you're quite literally sinking into the warm, safe arms of your favorite person. he's your angel <3 sweet, kind angel <3

[dreamyzhou]

31st Alternate Universe by Elinor

To: @sanaxo-o who accompanied me since I opened this account, @from-izzy who sees the worth in me, and finally @quaissants who i can talk to almost about anything and the rest of @deoboyznet who I just realized helped me find joy in writing again. Seeing you all thrive makes me want to soar along with you.

"31st Alternate Universe" is an upcoming non-idol AU series filled with fluff and angsts for the members of TBZ. Below are the fic ideas for each member. Let me know in my ask box of you want a tag for one of them!

Lee Sangyeon: It was another day in the year of 2085. When your barista coworker crush Sangyeon was framed to diffuse a deadly gas in the train you took to go home, nobody was alive as the train stopped at Station 11. Yet, surveillance camera showed a girl and Sangyeon leaving the train.

Bae Jacob: A comet was approaching. People were panicking here and there, performing their own chaos. So did Jacob by trying to find a safe bunker or anywhere to survive with you. Jacob found the train to the last bunker 15 minutes prior to the predicted time of impact… but it only lets 1 more person to go in.

Lee Hyunjae: When Eric said he will sit in Chair 16 in Chemistry, he knew you were about to come early to pull it before he gets to sit. And when you did, you realized it was a set up. "Lemme guess, you're trying to get onto my pants, so some friend set you up to pull my chair?" It's the way, you said "not exactly" with a tomato face that made him think you could be different.

Kim Younghoon: You didn't like small dogs, but when a poodle with a tagged collar named Bori slept in front of your gate cold and lost, you took her in and let her sleep with you. After missing posters were spread around the neighborhood, you thought the poodle was ready to go home. Not until she barked to her own owner, Younghoon, and bit him. He then suggested to visit Bori everyday to your house until Bori goes home, but now that she did, why did Younghoon felt like he was more at home with you than Bori was?

Lee Juyeon: You and Juyeon had to make a couple dance project. In your head, you asked the leader of your crew to set him up with you. In his head, the moment you choreographed suggestive moves, confirmed your feelings for him since he usually could tell when a girl had a crush on him. However, something about the way you tried to earn his trust and love was different. None of the girls who liked him even knew he loved dancing. It scared him a little… but excited him enough that he stayed to know more.

Moon Kevin: Kevin loved being an artist. What he hates is not being able to be one for a living. One day, you came up to him in front of an ice cream truck. You told him you know his works and you recognize the meaning. On the other hand, Kevin was too stunned to remember to ask for your phone number. As soon as her got a chance to exhibit his art, he submitted his artworks so that only you can get the hints.

Ji Changmin: Sci-Fi AU where humans are no longer the dominant species anymore. As clans of humans hide in futuristic domes that disguises as gigantic rocks, humans who reached adult age have to prove their worth by searching for food.  You were just doing so by trying to find spices and animals. What you didn't know is you took another clan's food by mistake. . and the only one from that clan who would help you escape was a guy named Changmin.

Choi Chanhee: Both of your parents are enemies. Your mother is a scientist who ditched her family for a theory, his mother is a mathemathician who is distant with her own family for her math theory to prove your mom's invalid. As you go to the same school, both of you gain each of your mother's loves in exchange that you both fight in an uneccesary academic battle. One day, you both realize that you didn't want any of this, and the only way to heal your wounds is to love each other.

Ju Haknyeon: Haknyeon and you were childhood friends, but Haknyeon befriended people who peer-pressured him into not treating girls right, and sadly it included you. One day, you cried at the way he treated you, but Haknyeon didn't know why hurting you hurt him more than it should.

Kim Sunwoo: You didn't know the spinning vision you see every day is a symptom of a life-threatening disease. So when there was a mail from the hospital to your house, Sunwoo opened it first and put it in the trash. That's how 15 minutes later, he got down on one knee.

Sohn Eric: Eric was frustrated when he felt like he wasn't talented enough to make you, his crush, impressed. But what he didn't know is that you listen to a soundcloud account with @/youngjae_sohn as their username.

All will be released before July (Not a promise, just in case I can't keep it)

Toodles,

Ellie

[kcake555]

Haknyeon cake 🍰

[sunfleursgarden]

THE BOYZ MASTERLIST! ☆

𓄹 ⊹   ᳝ ࣪⠀.  ִ  ་  ּ 𓄹 ⊹   ᳝ ࣪⠀.  ִ  ་  ּ 𓄹 ⊹   ᳝ ࣪⠀.  ִ  ་  ּ 𓄹 ⊹   ᳝ ࣪⠀.  ִ  ་  ּ 𓄹 ⊹ 

Lee Sangyeon

— nothing to see yet.

Jacob Bae

— nothing to see yet.

Kim Younghoon

— nothing to see yet.

Lee Jaehyun

— nothing to see yet.

Lee Juyeon

us against the world paring: ex! juyeon x fem! reader synopsis: After running away from his proposal, all Juyeon could ever think about was where it all went wrong. Showing up to your house with a heavy heart is something you weren’t ready for. But Juyeon is certain that he wants you in his life, you were simply hesitant.

Kevin Moon

— nothing to see yet.

Choi Chanhee

— nothing to see yet.

Ji Changmin

— nothing to see yet.

Ju Haknyeon

— nothing to see yet.

Kim Sunwoo

LOVE WITHOUT NOTICE (SERIES) — From fake dating to realizing that his heart was capable of being in love, this story will take you on a thrilling journey between two bestfriends who discovered that love is so much more than what people say. Will they find their happily ever after? (wanna be added to the taglist? click here)

Eric Sohn

— nothing to see yet.

[luumiinaa]

this was so sweet 🤭

best years – j. haknyeon

pairing: ju haknyeon x fem! reader

genre: early 00s au, established relationship au. fluff !!! sooo fluffy it makes ME feel single. casual engagement i guess ?? tamagotchi mention for all nostalgic girlies <3

warnings: honestly not sure some swearing i'm sure. other than that the reader has hair long enough to play with

word count: 2.5k

a/n: thank you best friend @csenke for beta reading this as always it means a lot to me i love you so bad. also tagging @okkotsu-simp kyuzu bc she told me to and @winterchimez because.. hak fic...

Most things with Haknyeon aren’t planned, grandiose or romantic. Sometimes, you just take a step forward together, holding each other tight, no questions asked. Much like today-- who would've thought that a Tamagotchi toy evolving would lead you to take the biggest step of your life?

this fic is a part of the @deoboyznet 'the love letter collective' event o:) oh and also a spin-off to my 90s au universe! (go read millennium bug and to. my first for 10 years of good luck!)

September 2007

A sweet strawberry is placed in between your lips as you lay on the blanket, the sun shining into your eyes making you squint and shield your vision from the scorching beams. You blindly bite into the juicy fruit, enjoying the freshness of it in your mouth, knowing that this might be the last time you can taste the red miracle this year, since fall is quickly approaching despite the warm days of early September.

Your ears are filled with the noises of the birds chirping in the distance, the occasional buzz of a bug flying by your face, and apart from the sounds of nature, also the occasional humming of your boyfriend’s voice and the tech noises of the toy in between his fingers.

“He finally evolved into an adult!” Haknyeon gasps and places the Tamagotchi into your point of vision, shielding you from the view of the cloudy, blue sky. Eyes falling onto the little device, you snicker at the man and nod, looking up from your position in his lap to meet his gaze.

“Stop gendering our child, Hak.”

“I’m pretty sure that when we named him John, we wordlessly agreed on it being a boy,” your boyfriend’s hand drops, the sharp sun once again piercing your gaze when there is nothing making a shadow fall over your face.

“For all we know, John can be a girl.” 

“Y/N-” the man sighs, the slightest tinge of irritation already in his voice. As if the fact that you were both fully grown adults taking care of a toy for children wasn’t strange enough, now you have to argue about the identity of your little animal.

“It’s an it,” you conclude. “I think we can agree on that, can’t we?”

Your boyfriend rolls his eyes, but doesn’t argue with you further. The view of him crossing his arms at his chest and averting his gaze from you has you burst out into laughter– he was clearly upset about something, and you’re fairly certain that this was not the matter.

“What?” you pry, letting out an airy laugh slip from between your lips.

“You didn’t even acknowledge that it evolved,” he peeps, sighing. “But if you don’t care, it’s okay, you can just go back to what you were doing before, which was nothing–”

Now it’s your turn to roll your eyes at the boy, humored with his childishness. Taking his palm into your hand and holding it up in front of your face again, you gaze at the toy in between his fingers and hum in acknowledgement. “It did!” you nod. “Good job. You finally didn’t let it die–”

“Now, that only happened twice–”

“Three times,” you correct him, watching with amusement as your boyfriend sighs again and chews on the inside of his lip, the sight of him from below more entertaining to you than watching the clouds. You know that by the logic of the Solar system, there’s only one sun allowed in this universe– but looking at the sky shielded by your boyfriend’s head, his tan skin glazed in the warm orange hues of the late afternoon, you think he’s the personification of the greatest star itself– for you that is, at least.

“Okay, well, three times. But I’ve got a hold of it now,” he says, nodding to himself. “So that means we can get a real kid now,” he says, face stoic and serious, as if he really meant what just came out of his mouth.

Laughing to yourself, you shake your head in disbelief. “I’m sorry, get what now?” you grin. “I wasn’t aware that I was a part of this deal.”

“You agreed to it, though,” Haknyeon nods, flicking your forehead. “You must have not paid attention again, but we definitely shook hands on it.”

“Wait,” you say, sarcastically humming and brushing your chin, a playful act of being lost deep in thought, “no. I still don’t remember any of that. So as long as you don’t have a written proof with my signature and the date on the bottom, I don’t think we can proceed with this arrangement, Mr Ju. We can, however, settle on getting a dog–”

“So you don’t want children with me?” he asks, looking down at you with big eyes. Thinking that it’s all a part of a joke, you try to play along– going as far as even shaking your head in disapproval.

“Hell no,” you drag out, furrowing your brows in deep unsettlement. “To have a clone of you running around our flat in a few years? That sounds like my worst nightmare,” you hum, snickering to yourself. “Besides, we forgot to buy toilet paper last week. What makes you believe we can take care of another human? Hell, that damn thing died 3 times before it grew into an adult, Hak…” you sigh, the tone of a know-it-all you like to use on him so much whenever you joke around not quite hitting the boy in the right way this time.

“Ah,” he hums, fingers suddenly playing with the strands of your hair sprawled out like the beams of the sun in his lap, his face now shielded with a cloud. Haknyeon chews on the inside of his cheek for a second before a bashful voice reaches your ears, making you look up to meet his eye. “I think it wouldn’t hurt to at least try…”

Noticing the playful sparkle in his eye completely gone, your heart stammers, skipping a beat. Stomach dropping, you jump to rescue. “Wait… you thought I was being serious?” 

Haknyeon shrugs, pouting for a second before a rosy tint flashes over his cheeks. “You sounded convincing…” he says, laughing. “Besides, it’s completely up to you if you wanna have kids or not, I was just a little taken aback–”

“Stop being silly,” you say, shaking your head. “I should stop being sarcastic all the time, it’s doing a lot of damage recently.”

“Like when MB!Y/N thought you were being serious when you told her it was embarrassing to cry on her wedding day?” Haknyeon laughs, remembering the memory from only a few weeks ago.

“Exactly!” you agree. “I still feel bad for that, by the way. Now I know why nobody liked me in high school–”

“That’s not true,” Haknyeon denies. “You keep forgetting the fact that I had the hugest crush on you, Y/N.”

“Well, you were always very subtle about it.”

“I was shy.”

“I think you were just trying to be cool,” you say, poking the inside of your cheek with your tongue, taunting the boy.

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” he laughs, moving his hand up to your head and cradling it, going as far as gently scratching your scalp. “Back to the topic at hand, though. Do you… Have you ever thought of us having kids together?”

Looking up at the man you’ve been dating for the last 4 years, watching as his face morphs into pure wonder, your heart sores when you stare at his features for long enough– even after all this time. You bet you see a hint of sunlight reflecting in his orbs whenever he pays you a look, and the apples of his cheeks catch a light strawberry color whenever you compliment him still, even after so many years. It’s kind of adorable, really– you two have always been an open book, honest with each other– but neither of you were really big on romantic gestures or big confessions.

You two do everything casually. You don’t tend to make a big deal out of things. Somehow, your relationship naturally progresses through all the crucial stages without paying it a second thought. Sure, you two have been on dates– the title wasn’t established for a long time when you first started going out, though. For you and Haknyeon, you were just two people hanging out and enjoying each other’s company. 

The title of your relationship gained an official name as naturally as the seasons change– after many afternoons spent together doing various things, Haknyeon just asked you if you wanted to be his girlfriend. You agreed, no questions asked. It felt casual– it fit like a puzzle to the dynamic of your energies. You didn’t need big words or gestures. In the mundane reality of your lives, you two always had each other– without taking each other for granted, you both somehow always knew you were a given to each other. Both of you always knew you had the other person to fall back on– your security, your other half. There was no need for big words in a connection like yours. It just felt right. 

And yes, you do talk about everything. Most things, at least. But somehow, the topic of having children together hasn’t really come up seriously until now– only in passing, mentioning it as a matter of course for most relationships. You don’t blame Haknyeon for getting so serious at this moment.

“Yeah,” you say, voice soft and gentle. “Come on, Hak. I imagine spending the rest of my life with you, what makes you think having children isn’t in the equation?” you say, choosing to be serious with him for once. 

“I dunno,” he shrugs. “I mean, you were kinda right about the toilet paper thing, though–”

“I know, I know…” you sigh, “but I bet the oxytocin will get the job done.”

“Look at you using big biology words so suddenly,” Haknyeon jokes, making you roll your eyes and flick his chin.

“Be serious for once!” you laugh out, making the boy grin at your little outburst.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Haknyeon says, the pad of his thumb suddenly glazing over your cheekbone. The touch is tender, managing to cross the words always somehow left unsaid, yet always somehow understood– your brains and hearts on the same wavelength, buzzing at the same frequency– before your boyfriend casually drags out: “That’s good to hear, babe, ‘cause we’d make the prettiest babies. Would be a shame to let the good genes go to waste.”

“Tell me that,” you confidentially whisper. “They’d be mega smart too. They’d get that after me, obviously–”

“Hey!”

“I’m joking, I’m joking,” you laugh, shielding yourself from the hands of your boyfriend already reaching to give you a playful flick to your forehead again. “I do think we should wait a while before having children, though.”

“Not that I don’t agree with you, but why?” 

Hands blindly reaching for another strawberry to chew on, you watch your boyfriend easily pluck the fruit out of the basket and hold it up against your lips, helping you with your task. Thinking over your answer, picking out your words carefully, you chew and stare at the boy as he helps himself to a strawberry himself, the two of you gazing at each other in a fond silence.

“I think we skipped a few steps. We live together already, so that’s a start, but I’d like to get married before having kids,” you shrug, licking your lips off the watery sweetness, watching your boyfriend take in the new information.

Haknyeon hums, nodding to himself. “Makes sense,” he admits. “And when do you see us doing that?” he asks, genuine interest coating his saccharine voice.

“Not really sure,” you admit, snickering. “I haven’t thought about it much until now.”

“Hm,” Haknyeon hums in thought, the two of you staring at each other, chewing on your strawberries. There isn’t much contemplating behind your boyfriend’s words before he says them, but nonetheless, it doesn’t even catch you off guard– much like not many things do in your relationship. Somehow, you’re always perfectly synced. “Now seems like a good time, doesn’t it?”

“I mean… it doesn’t seem like a bad time, that’s for sure,” you shrug.

“We’ve been dating for a long time,” Haknyeon says, as if to further strengthen his argument. “Hell, I can’t believe Eric managed to get married before me.”

“Are you only saying this because your younger friend got married last month?”

“No,” Haknyeon says, although he sounds a little unconvincing. “But it certainly was a wake up call, in a way.”

“A wake up call?” you repeat, big eyes staring into your boyfriend’s soul.

“Yeah,” he agrees, “kinda realized when I didn’t see you catch the bouquet. A part of me was secretly hoping you would.”

“Stop being cheesy, Hak. That’s not like you,” you say, although there is something sweet, thick like honey, swirling in your stomach at his unusually rich wording. The male laughs in your face, enjoying the way he has you flustered with his confession.

“Would you do it, though?” he asks, grinning.

“What? Marry you?” you ask, raising your brows at him. “As in… right now?” you clarify, watching as the male purses his lips at you, seemingly thinking about it for a heartbeat.

“I mean, not right now, because we’d have to arrange the wedding and all, but yeah. Like, as soon as we can, is what I mean,” he says, dragging a stray hair out of your forehead.

Staring at him for a second, contemplating your next words, you feel your heart squeezing with something akin to excitement, your fingertips tingling with the reality upon you. “Ju Haknyeon… is this you asking me to marry you?”

“Yeah,” Haknyeon nods, shrugging. The whole situation is absurd– no one is down on their knee, no ring is present, no big events or confessions are taking place. Yet, the moment still feels perfect– it flows naturally into the trajectory of your life, makes total sense in the grand scheme of your relationship, happens unexpectedly, but doesn’t quite shock you in the tiniest way. It’s just another afternoon for the both of you– doesn’t matter that you’re taking perhaps the biggest decision of your whole life.

You don’t contemplate for even a second.

“Okay,” you say, watching the boy’s eyes light up.

“Okay,” he repeats, nodding. “Let’s do it, then.”

“Let’s do it,” you say, watching the boy beam down at you just like the sun, something in the air changing, yet, the two of you still stay the same.

Haknyeon takes your hand into his, opening your fist before he slips the keyring off the Tamagotchi onto your ring finger like it’s a promise, pressing the toy into the palm of your hand and making you hold it tight. His hand stays on yours when he leans down, lips crashing against yours, offering you all his love in the simple action. He tastes like strawberries and the past 4 years of joy. 

Faces close to each other when you pull away, Haknyeon talks confidentially into your ear. “We can go ring shopping tomorrow.”

“You better buy me a very expensive one–” you joke, cut off by your own laughter as the male gently bites into the tip of your nose, teasing you and making you frown, pushing him away with gentle force against his chest, right where his heart is.

Most things with Haknyeon aren’t planned, grandiose or romantic. Sometimes, you just take a step forward together, holding each other tight. You love each other in a casual way– the same way you know that when you wake up, there will be sun, and when you go to sleep at night, there will always be stars– you know that as long as you're alive, you and Haknyeon will always have each other. That’s the calm way in which you two love.

[daisyvisions]

Drive Me Crazy - (j.hn)

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. Pairing: inexperienced boyfriend!Hakyneon x experienced afab!reader

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. Word Count: 1.5K

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. Warnings: Smut (18+, minors DNI), pwp (minimal plot) me thinks, car sex, mentions of fingering, dry humping, blowjobs, oral (f! receiving). Handjob, unprotected sex (with multiple creampies), lots of making out and kissing, a lot of curse words (sorry), pet names (sweetheart, baby), virginity loss

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. A/N: Original idea was loosely inspired by an actual experience I had (but took the liberty of making it smuttier hehe 😈) Dedicating this one to you @winterchimez / @midnightfantasiez. Proofread once.

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. Network: @deoboyznet

“Fuck, are you sure about this?”

“I’ve never been more sure about anything else in my life-”

You pant into his mouth as you take a breather from making out for god knows how long. It’s been over eight months since you and Haknyeon have officially started dating and safe to say, it was like you two were still in some wild honeymoon phase.

Every chance you found yourselves alone together, you two wasted no time being in each other’s arms and letting out all the pent up tension you had on one another. Sneaking off into storage closets to make out, held back moans as he fingered you in bathrooms, and now? Dry humping the hell out of each other at the back of his car.

And all you had to do was give him one look across the room of this birthday party and he knew what you wanted. It’s those damn eyes, he smirks to himself before subtly motioning you to meet him outside.

It must’ve been the alcohol and the way he looked tonight because all you were thinking about as soon as he picked you up was to get him alone and finally ride him into sunrise.

You hastily got off his lap and flipped your hair to the side, hands eagerly finding their way to his crotch and trying to unbuckle his belt as fast as you could.

You could practically feel yourself salivating seeing his hard on tenting beneath his jeans. As you’re about to unzip his pants, he holds your wrists and stops you from going any further.

“W-wait-” He stutters.

“Ugh, Hak… again?” You let out a frustrated sigh.

This wouldn’t be the first time he stopped you from touching him despite allowing him to freely touch any part of your body. At first, you thought he wanted to take things slow, especially after you confessed to him that you have never been in a slow-paced relationship.

Every guy you’ve been with always wanted to get in your pants immediately and not enjoy the subtle touches and slow kisses here and there of a new relationship. So when Haknyeon asked you to be his girlfriend he promised you that he would give that to you.

But you didn't know he would take the term “slow” that seriously.

Yes, a relationship shouldn’t just be based on the sexual aspect, you knew that. You would still love Haknyeon even if he turned into a small little worm. But you’re just a girl after all. A girl with needs. You were horny as hell… and fingers and pussy eating were not going to make you last long.

You wanted his dick and you wanted it now.

“I don’t understand-” You pull away from him. “Is it me? Am I too much for you? Am I not attractive enough?” You started to feel a slight pain in your chest on the latter thought.

“No! No. You’re practically a goddess-”

“Then why don’t you want me to touch you then?” You pout. “I’m sorry Hak, I know we wanted to take things slow-” You huff out air you’ve been keeping in your lungs. “But- it’s not fair.”

“Not fair? What do you mean?” He looks at you with worried eyes.

“You get to touch me but I don’t get to touch you! Is there something wrong?” You patiently wait for his answer as Haknyeon closes his eyes and lets out a big sigh.

“You might laugh at me…” He could feel his cheeks warming up by the second.

“I've… I’ve never done this before…” He glances at you quickly before looking back at his hands.

“What do you mean you’ve never done this before?” Your eyebrows raise.

“I’ve never had sex okay? There I said it!” He exclaims, widened eyes looking back at you, waiting for your reaction.

“But, I’ve given you head before-”

“Yeah and I nearly came within the first thirty seconds. Had to breathe in deeply and bite my lip so you wouldn’t notice at all.” He looks down at his hands again, feeling ashamed.

“You probably think I’m a loser right now-”

“Hak- look at me.” You cup his face in your hands, leaning in to give him a kiss.

“That doesn’t matter to me. I just want to be with you, to feel you-” You kiss him again, but this time slipping in your tongue as Haknyeon lets out a tiny whimper.

“Would you let me feel you?” You whisper into his mouth. He hesitates for a moment, but as soon as he looks deep into your eyes he let go of his fear.

“Fuck- Please do…” He grabs you by the waist and pulls you into his lap once again, kissing your lips before leaning down to suck the sensitive skin on your neck.

You moan at his plump lips leaving their marks on you as your hands traveling from the back of his neck all the way down to finally unzip his jeans, freeing his aching cock from its confinements.

He suddenly stops kissing your neck and pulls away as you palm his erection, almost grabbing your wrists again out of impulse but you bring your hand to his cheek and caress him with your thumb.

“Shh It’s okay. Let me take care of you.” You slide your hand down his boxers, pulling out his member as you wrap your fingers around the warm skin.

Haknyeon hisses in pleasure, trying not to burst any second from how you’re slowly jerking him off. You smear his oozing precum around his length, gradually increasing the speed of your wrists as you kiss his neck.

“F-feels so good-” Haknyeon moans against your ear.

“Yeah? You think you can handle more?” you mumble against his neck.

“Please- I don’t think I’m gonna last long if you keep this up.” He feels you smirk against his skin as you stop your hand from fisting his length.

You lift your hips up and adjust your position as you pull your panties to the side, rubbing the tip of his cock against your folds before aligning it to your wet entrance and slowly sinking down.

“Fuck fuck fuck- wait a second.” Haknyeon whines out.

“What’s wrong?” You bite your lower lip, trying to hide your amusement at how he’s reacting.

“You’re really wet.” He closes his eyes and breathes in deeply.

“Well… that’s what you do to me.” You lean in to whisper in his ear.

Without warning you start to roll your hips, He deep groan comes out of his mouth as he tightens his grip on your waist.

“Oh that’s it, holy shit…” He moans as he guides your hips, “C’mere-”

He kisses you with much fervor as he gradually pulls your hips faster until you’re practically bouncing on his cock. You whimper against his mouth as you feel his thick length dragging within your velvety walls, finally feeling full inside because of him.

“Sweetheart t-think I’m gonna cu-oh!” His member twitches inside you.

“Give it to me baby, inside!” You try to bounce faster but Haknyeon suddenly wraps his arms around your waist, thrusting up quickly inside you like an animal in heat.

You feel a gush of warm fluid exploding inside you as he lets out grunting sounds. You think he’d stop at this point but he just keeps on thrusting into you, feeling his cum spilling out while the tip of his cock nudges that sweet spot deep within.

“Gonna- ah!” You shout, feeling your walls tighten as Haknyeon doesn't stop fucking up into you.

“C’mon, cum on me sweetheart. Can practically feel your walls choking my dick.” He groans into your mouth.

“Oh fuck, think I’m gonna cum again-”

“Cum with me Hak, please!” As soon as you utter those last words, he’s bursting inside of you once again. His load just as heavy as the last. You also reach your high at the same time, feeling yourself gush onto his member while seeing stars. You’re both moaning and panting into each other’s mouths. Kissing each other as if it was your only source of oxygen.

As you’re about to get off of him, he holds your hips down.

“C-can we uh… go again?” He shyly asks.

“You mean now?!” You gasp at the feeling of his member still hard and twitching inside you.

“Yeah…” You could practically see his cheeks turning red from asking. You let out a chuckle before kissing his forehead.

“Just, give me a moment okay?” You rest your head on his shoulder, keeping his cock plugged inside you til you’re ready to go again.

And boy, did you two go at it for hours and hours til the sun started to rise.

[jinkoh]

rat in the trap

haknyeon x fem!reader

summary: you knew haknyeon wasn’t coming to the bar for you. it was just for his job, to investigate. and yet, when he gave you that sweet smile of his, you couldn’t stop yourself from hoping for something more, for something real...

tags: undercover!haknyeon, suggestive, making out, angst, manipulation, mafia au type themes; warnings: alcohol, gun violence (non graphic), blood

wc: 10.6k

a/n: this was actually inspired by the convoyz episodes, specifically something sunwoo said (you'll see~), but the plot strayed very far from that. anyway i hope you'll enjoy this--it's been in my WIPs since february so i'm glad to finally have it done hehe

masterlist

You were pretty convinced your boss was entangled in something messy. For one he was paying you in cash—not exactly a common thing at a respectable business. Then again, by itself it wouldn't be strange enough to be alerted. The other thing though were the men with their black suits and slicked back hair that came in once or twice a month. There were usually two of them, younger than you'd think and definitely younger than your boss. They'd come right after closing time when you'd already be wiping down the counters. Most of the time they’d just head straight for the little office your boss had in one of the backrooms and leave just as quickly again. But once in a while they sat down in the corner booth, ordering a whiskey on ice and waiting for your boss to sit with them. You didn't know much about them, aside from their drinking preferences and their names that you'd overheard before. Your boss seemed to purposely keep you away from their talks, telling you to leave the closing up to him even though he usually pushed as much work as possible onto you. Not that you'd complain—closing up was annoying and it seemed to be better for your personal safety to not get involved anyway. Most importantly though, you received a generous tip on days like these. He'd give it to you under the claim that business had been good that day, but you knew there was more to it; a bribe to keep your mouth shut about something you didn’t even know anything about. And you weren’t going to try and find out—curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction wouldn't pay your rent if you lost this job.

With all of this in mind, you had your suspicions when Haknyeon came in for the first time. He probably thought he was doing a really good job staying undiscovered, but you'd worked at the bar long enough to know who belonged to your usual clientele and who didn’t. And Haknyeon—well, he was just a tad bit too clean. Even if he undid the topmost button of his perfectly ironed white shirt—he was still wearing a perfectly ironed white shirt. He looked like a salary man or a lawyer, or, if your gut feeling was right, a cop in disguise. 

Rather than one of the tables, he sat down at the bar with a little sigh.

"Rough day at work?" you asked with your sweetest smile. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer and all that. Though, frankly, you weren’t sure what he'd turn out to be. If it came down to it, you’d choose your personal safety above the law anyday. Still, a sweet smile couldn’t hurt. Especially not if it was returned this brightly.

"Not particularly," he admitted easily. "I'm just a little bored, a little tired."

"Bored, hm?" You tilted your head. "This isn’t exactly an exciting place though. Most people that come here just want to silently drown their sorrows in a glass of whiskey. There isn’t a lot here that could help with boredom."

"You're here, though."

For a second you just stared at him, taken off guard by the comment. You hadn't intended to flirt with him. Mostly you'd just tried to casually let him know that you knew the place well—making yourself look valuable seemed like a good idea. But his remark had actually made your heart stutter for a second there.

"Sorry," he chuckled awkwardly, his eyes cast down. "It was a bit much, wasn't it? I just meant to say that you seem to be an interesting person."

You found your smile again. “Likewise.”

“I’m Haknyeon, by the way.”

“So, Haknyeon, what can I get for you?”

“You’re not going to tell me your name?”

You shrugged, a challenging grin on your face. “Do I have to?”

With a laugh, Haknyeon looked up at you through his lashes. You liked the spark in his eyes. “I’ll have a beer then,” he said instead of pressing further. You liked that too.

Haknyeon kept coming after that, sitting at the counter every single time. He made casual conversation, telling you silly stories about his colleagues from his boring office job (which you were more or less certain were really colleagues from his police job) and he also asked about you, your likes and dislikes, your life, your work at the bar, the bar itself. It seemed to confirm your suspicions—why else would he want to know so much about you? And yet a small little hope started to bloom in your chest, that maybe you’d been wrong, that maybe he was coming for you after all. There was just something about him that made you feel attached. Perhaps it was the way he’d slowly repeated your name after you finally told him, nodding as if to say that it suited you. Or perhaps it was his laughter or the way he’d smile fondly whenever he’d been the one to make you laugh. Whatever it was, you found yourself falling quickly, against your better knowledge.

“I think you should go out with me,” Haknyeon said out of nowhere one day, before he’d even gotten his drink.

“What?”

“I’ve thought about it and it would only make sense.”

You laughed. “How so?”

“Well, I think we’ve gotten to know each other as well as we can in this context. So if I want to get to know you better, I have no choice but to take you on a date.” 

He was taking it too far, you thought. If this was really all just about his undercover investigation, he shouldn’t do this, he shouldn’t ask you out. He shouldn’t toy with your feelings in this way if his only objective was to get information on your boss. Naturally, you should have declined. You were already too invested in this, in him and seeing him outside surely wouldn’t help. 

But that silly spark of hope, lingering somewhere in the back of your mind like a persistent  little virus made you act a fool.

“Okay then,” you replied. “So, in which context do you want to get to know me instead?”

“We could go bowling. Or how about go-karts?”

“You want to go karting? For a first date? How well can you get to know me if we’re sitting in separate karts, unable to actually talk?”

He shrugged. “Well, I’d be able to see how dirty you’re willing to play to win. I think that says a lot about someone’s personality.”

“Oh?” You chuckled. “So I take it you’re a goody-two-shoes that likes to play fair?”

He grinned. “Of course.”

It turned out that Haknyeon was, in fact, not a goody-two-shoes at all. He played to win and he’d find a way to get there. Surprising, for a cop, you thought. Then again, maybe you had to be a little cunning if you wanted to excel at undercover work. (But how excellent could he be, if you had him exposed the second he’d walked in?)

“Wanna go again?” Haknyeon asked with a laugh as he slipped his helmet off after another round of mercilessly beating you.

“You really want to destroy all my confidence, huh?”

“Sorry,” he gave you an apologetic smile. “I’ll let you win this time?”

“Oh, don’t you dare, I don’t want your pity.”

He stepped a little closer, helmet under his arm. “Wanna call it a day then and have some drinks instead? My treat.”

You weren’t one to say no to a free drink, even less so when he let you choose the location. So, a little later you found yourself sitting next to him at a table in your favorite café. It felt so much like a regular date, that you almost forgot your whole undercover cop theory. He didn’t talk about the bar or your boss—he seemed to really be there for you, intrigued by the person you were outside of your job. With every second you spent together, the hope that this was something real grew stronger until it was all you could think about. He asked if he could see you home later that evening and you didn’t stop to consider whether it was smart or not to let him know where you lived, because you were too focused on the prospect of being with him for just a little longer, another minute, another hour, maybe even the night. If he’d asked, you would have invited him in for a coffee or a snack or a movie or any other excuse he could have possibly come up with. But he didn’t ask. He gave you a bright smile when he said goodbye, telling you that he’d been happy to spend the day with you. His hands briefly brushed against yours. They felt warm. You wanted to hold on but neither of you did. You pulled away to fumble for your keys. Haknyeon waited until you’d unlocked the door and got inside before leaving. You tried not to feel disappointed as you watched him walk down the street from the window in your apartment.

“We’re going to close up,” you said as you were already wiping down the counter, while Haknyeon was still sitting right there, watching you.

“Yeah, I’ll wait,” he said simply. It wouldn’t be the first time that he’d stayed until your shift was over to walk you home. But today was different. You’d seen the little red cross in your boss’ calendar. They would come today. And while you understood that it was probably the kind of opportunity Haknyeon was waiting for and maybe even the only reason he always stayed behind and saw you home, you also knew that you’d get in trouble if you didn’t manage to kick him out on time. 

“Don’t worry, you can go home first.”

He tilted his head. “You know that I don’t mind waiting for you.”

“No,” you insisted with a little more force this time. “Not today.”

He seemed to understand, to some extent, that him sticking around would cause problems for you. “I’ll wait outside then, around the corner?” He proposed. “Is that okay?”

You contemplated for a second but then you nodded. Even if it wasn’t anything to him, you liked walking home together. He gave you a happy smile and then left. Soon after, the door opened again, the little bell above it ringing into the silence of the bar. The two men had shown up just the way you’d known they would.

“Whiskey on ice,” the one who you thought was called Sunwoo said instead of a greeting, his expression cold and intimidating. 

“Of course,” you nodded and got the bottle out, while the other of the two—Jacob?—nudged him in the side.

“No need to be so grim to someone who has nothing to do with this, hm?” He said, almost teasingly, before turning to you with an apologetic smile. “Make that two.”

It didn’t take long for your boss to come out and you were excused as soon as you’d gotten their drinks. You almost felt a little guilty as you made your way down the street to the corner where Haknyeon was waiting. He greeted you with a smile and a wave as if nothing happened.

“So, who are they?” He asked, probably thinking he was sounding all casual. 

“Hm?” you feigned ignorance. “Who?”

“The two men that came in.”

“You saw them?”

“Well, they basically came in the second I was out. Why weren’t they asked to go?”

You didn’t know what to tell him. You didn’t know any details, but it also wasn’t like you knew nothing. There were their names, and the black briefcase they brought. But what if the moment you told Haknyeon he would drop you like a hot potato? What if the moment you’d give him the information you had you would lose all value to him? And then you’d be left with nothing. 

“Just old friends of my boss,” you replied vaguely. The generous tip you’d received before leaving felt impossibly heavy in your pocket. 

“Hm,” Haknyeon nodded slowly, thoughtfully, as if he didn’t quite believe that that was all. But then his sweet, sweet smile was back. “I see.”

It got quiet between the two of you, and with the silence your fear of losing him got impossibly louder. It didn’t matter that you never even had him in the first place. 

The back of his hand brushed against yours, a faint accidental touch. “Sorry,” he said with a light chuckle. But you weren’t a coward this time, though maybe rather than bravery it was desperation that made you act. You grabbed his hand, intertwining your fingers with his. His skin felt chapped around his knuckles, but it was as warm as you remembered it to be.

“It’s okay,” you replied and your voice came out weaker than anticipated, afraid that he would pull away. But instead he squeezed your hand with a happy little hum, before slipping your intertwined fingers into the pocket of his coat. He held on tightly, his thumb drawing slow patterns onto your skin.

When the two of you reached your apartment, you lingered for a moment. Neither of you said anything and yet neither of you showed any intention to let go either. Somehow it felt so scary to part, as if this fragile thing you hoped existed between the two of you would break if you said goodbye for the night. So you didn’t.

“You can come up,” you said without meeting his gaze. “If you want.”

He hesitated for a second, searching for eye contact. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Another beat passed and you thought this would be it, he would draw the line and leave.

“Okay,” he whispered. 

He followed you upstairs and waited patiently until you’d unlocked the door to your apartment. Then, for a moment, you both stood in silence in your dark hallway. You didn’t turn on the light. You just looked at him through the darkness, the faint light coming in from the windows reflecting in his eyes. You moved a little closer, your gaze dropping to his lips before coming up again. Your heart was racing in your chest, nervous about his next move, anxious he would back out. He stepped in too, until his breath was tangible on your skin but he didn’t close the remaining distance just yet. There was a tension in his jaw as he examined your face, as if he was holding himself back.

“Are you sure?” he asked again.

“I’m sure,” your voice was soaked with impatience, sounding almost forceful.

He looked at you for another long second. But then his hand came up to lift your chin and he finally kissed you, crushing into you as if he’d been hungry for this, for you. When he pulled away you were breathless, shaky hands clinging to the fabric of his shirt.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” he mumbled into your lips.

“Me too. And I still want to do it more.”

He chuckled and there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes that you found unbearably attractive. “Not satisfied yet, huh?” He licked his lips. “I like that.”

“Fuck,” you hissed without even meaning to, and it just drew another little laugh from him.

You stumbled backwards through the hallway, one of your hands feeling for the handle of your bedroom door while the other one was still holding onto Haknyeon, pulling him along with you. As soon as you’d managed to press down the handle, Haknyeon reached up above you and pushed the door open, too impatient to wait for you to open the door. You almost tripped over backwards with the door suddenly moving behind you, but his arm quickly came around your waist to steady you and pull you against him. 

“Careful there,” he whispered before his lips captured yours again. His fingers sneaked underneath the hem of your shirt, a tight grip on soft skin. “Can’t have you getting hurt.”

He walked you backwards until your legs hit your bed and then he carefully lowered you onto the mattress, hands on your lower back keeping you from falling. The moment your back hit the soft mattress he followed suit, hovering above you, his arms propped up on either side of your head. Neither of you made a move, just taking a moment to really look at each other. His eyes were dark and pretty and his lips looked plush and so very kissable.

“You’re beautiful,�� you whispered without thinking, only realizing that maybe he would have preferred handsome after the words were already out. 

But Haknyeon just smiled, crinkles forming in the corners of his eyes. “Funny, I was going to say the same thing.” 

He brushed a strand of hair out of your face and then he kissed you again and again, lips slowly wandering down to your neck. His hands wandered back to your hips, pushing up your shirt and you automatically raised your arms to help him slip it off. He made quick work of your bra after that, and you would have thought you’d feel exposed, but his warm hands made you feel safe instead. You realized then, that you were in too deep. The way he touched you and the way he looked at you made your chest feel so full and there was no doubt in your heart that you were in love with him, even if it was all just a game on his part.

“Hak?”

“Mhm?” He looked up at you with curious eyes.

“You won’t leave me behind, will you?” you whispered, knowing all too well that there was no way you could trust his answer. After all, you couldn’t even trust that the name you called him was really his. Still, even if it all meant nothing, at least for tonight you wanted to indulge in the delusions that this was something real. “You won’t let go, right?”

His grip on you tightened, as if to prove that he wouldn’t. “Never,” he replied and his eyes looked so genuine that you almost believed him. “I won’t.”

The delusions didn’t last you very long—in fact, they left with the first rays of the morning sun. 

“I'm—maybe I'm not who you think I am,” Haknyeon started tentatively, mumbling the words into the back of your neck as if he didn’t have the bravery to say them to your face. You’d hoped this conversation wouldn’t come this early. Maybe he felt guilty, now that he’d slept with you. Maybe he’d realized he’d taken it too far and wanted to call it off. His arm stayed wrapped around you though, and you tried to find some reassurance in that.

“It's okay, Hak,” you whispered.

He paused, seemingly unsure what to make of your response. “What do you mean?”

A lump was in your throat and it felt hard to speak. You were scared, you realized. “I had my suspicions from the moment you walked in,” you pressed out, trying to make it sound light and casual as if it wasn’t a big deal, as if you weren’t anxious he’d throw you away after using you. “Did you really think you were being subtle? You can't come to a place like that looking so proper."

“Oh.” He huffed a laugh. "Didn't play my role that well, did I?"

“No. I don’t think my boss has any suspicions though.”

“I mean, that’s good to hear. But I’m not really worried about your boss right now, to be honest.”

“What are you worried about then?”

He shifted behind you, propping himself up on his other arm, to be able to look at you.

“You.”

“I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

He almost seemed offended, you could think that. “I didn’t think you were.” 

 “Then what?” You frowned.

“I’m worried about what you’re thinking now. About me, about the situation.”

“It’s not like I can change it,” you replied, unable to meet his gaze. “And it’s my fault too. I knew you were just getting close to me for the information, but I still let you in.”

“I didn’t just—It’s more complicated than that,” he protested.

“How so?”

“Because—,” he hesitated for a second, his eyes searching your face for something, but then he still continued despite not finding it. “Because I actually like you, y/n. I’m serious about you and about all the things I said yesterday."

You just stared at him wide eyed, unable to register his words.

“I know it’s hard to trust me under these circumstances. And I—I can’t tell you everything, not even now. But I can tell you the most important truth: I like you.”

“For real?” You’d been hoping for this kind of outcome the whole time, but now that it seemed to be true it felt hard to grasp. “Even without everything that’s been going on?”

He smiled. “Especially without everything that’s been going on. And definitely still after it’s all resolved.” 

“Let’s resolve it quickly, then,” you said with your voice trembling, before you turned to wrap your arms around him and snuggle into his chest. “I want it to be over quickly.”

He let himself fall back into the pillows and pulled you on top of him. “Yeah, me too.”

“Hak?” you mumbled a few days later, all cuddled up on your couch together.

“Mhm?” he hummed, the low sound vibrating in his chest.

“It’s not your real name, is it? Haknyeon I mean—it’s fake, right?”

“Why are you asking? You want to call me by my real name?”

“Is that so weird?” 

“No, it’s not weird at all. But I like it when you call me Hak.”

You propped yourself up to look at him. “Do you?”

“I do.” He smiled, his hand coming up to brush a strand of hair out of your forehead. “It feels special because you’re the only one who calls me like that. It feels like a nickname just between us.”

You felt like melting at his words, but there was also this odd feeling that maybe he was just saying this because he didn't want to tell you the truth. “So, you won’t tell me?”

“No, I can,” he whispered, lifting his head to leave a peck on your lips. “I can easily tell you.” He kissed you again.

“So?”

“It’s He Nian.”

“That’s pretty.”

“Mhm,” he hummed, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck. “My dad chose it for me.”

He said it casually, as if it wasn’t anything special, but to you it felt big. It was the first time he’d mentioned his family at all and it made your chest fill with warmth. Surely, this once again proved that he trusted you, right? That he was opening up to you.

Since Haknyeon had decided to trust you with his identity, you decided to trust him too. He wouldn’t leave you, even when he no longer needed you to get to your boss, so there was no real reason anymore not to spill everything. You told him what you knew, and even though the information was rather limited, it seemed to be helpful. And more than that, there seemed to be other ways in which you could be helpful to the operation.

“We need his books,” Haknyeon admitted to you, when you were sitting on your couch together, cuddled up and wrapped in a fuzzy blanket.

“His books?”

“Yeah. We can easily get the official ones, but there has to be more, there have to be books with the actual money transfers.”

“And that’s where I come in?”

He seemed uncomfortable with the blunt question. “To be honest, I would prefer to keep you out of it. But we’re out of options. Once we get a warrant his connections are sure to tell him. He would know beforehand and get rid of all traces. But without those books it will be very hard to catch him.”

“So now…you want me to steal it?”

“Not exactly—rather than that it’d be making sure they don’t disappear?”

“I—I don’t know,” you admitted. You wanted to help but you had no clue how you could possibly make that work out.

“It’s okay,” Haknyeon quickly reassured. “Don’t feel pressured. If you want, you can also meet up with the team first, hear the plan, and decide then?”

You nodded slowly, trying to think about it realistically. Maybe that was a good idea. You could still back out if it seemed too dangerous.

Meeting his team was intimidating. Somehow it all felt so serious and of course you knew it was, you’d known it from the first time you’d seen Jacob and Sunwoo set foot into the bar. But now that you really saw that special agents and all that were involved, now that you had proof that Haknyeon had indeed come to the bar to investigate, it felt a lot more scary. He seemed to feel your nerves as you stood in front of the door to the meeting room.

“You’re not the criminal here, you know that right?” He said with an encouraging grin, gently squeezing your hand.

“Sorry, I know, it’s just—I was never involved with the police before, it’s scary.”

“Well, we’re not exactly the police—”

“That’s not helping!” You playfully boxed him into the shoulder and he yelped dramatically, acting as if it had actually hurt.

“I wasn’t aware it was bring-your-lover-to-work-day,” someone suddenly commented and your head snapped around to the tall man standing behind you with a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t be like that, Hyunjae,” Haknyeon complained but there didn’t seem to be any bad blood between them.

“I mean, I don’t care, but maybe tone it down a little once we’re inside. I don’t think everyone will like it if you involve personal matters.”

The words did nothing to make you feel better about the situation, but Haknyeon didn’t seem all that worried about it. 

“Yes, yes,” he easily agreed as if the comment went in one ear and out the other. “Let’s just go in for now, I don’t want to get a penalty for being late.”

When you stepped inside there were already a bunch of agents there, but when a guy called Eric complained about you being late, Haknyeon simply brushed it off, saying it hadn’t even been 5 minutes yet.

“He’s right,” one of them agreed, before adding with a grin, “and Joe and Younghoon aren’t here yet anyway, so they’ll have to pay the penalty.” You didn’t need to be introduced to realize that the guy speaking must have been the boss among these guys; there was just a certain aura to him that made it very clear. He introduced himself anyway, the firm handshake and the title senior agent before his name—Lee Sangyeon—proving your suspicions to be right.

Despite not everyone being there, you all sat down and he gave a brief overview of the plan, leaving out enough details in case you decided to back out but telling you enough so you could understand what was asked of you. Honestly, the way he explained it didn’t make it sound all that hard. All you were supposed to do was keep an eye on the safe in your boss’ back office shortly before the raid and give a signal should he try to get rid of any evidence. It  seemed doable and also not that risky, since someone would come to get you out the second you gave a sign.

“You don’t have to agree this easily,” Haknyeon assured when you shared your thoughts on it, “you can take your time to think it through.”

“No, it’s fine. If this helps resolve everything more quickly I’m willing to do it.”

Sangyeon smiled satisfiedly. “Perfect. We’ll fill you in on more details shortly before the raid—the less you know for now the better for both of us.”

Just then the door to the meeting room opened and a tall man came in, briefly apologizing for being late. After him followed another one and the second his gaze met yours you felt the blood freezing in your veins. Instinctively you reached for Haknyeon’s hand under the table, trying to find some sense of security in it. The guy who’d stepped in looked very different now, put together and upright in his ironed white shirt, but there was no mistaking it—he was one of the guys from the bar: Sunwoo.

Your stomach felt sick with fear but no one else seemed to share the sentiment, casually welcoming him in.

“You’ll never learn to be on time, will you, Joe?” Hyunjae asked with a small laugh and Sunwoo—Joe—just shrugged and plopped into one of the chairs.

Your grip on Haknyeon’s hand tightened and he threw you a small worried glance before clearing his throat.

“Since the basics are all clear now, I think it’s time for y/n to leave—can’t have her be late to work and get fired this close to D-Day, right?”

“Oh, sure,” Sangyeon dismissed you easily and only a few seconds later you were in the hallway, almost running down to the elevator.

“What’s gotten into you?” Haknyeon asked, trying to keep up.

You only replied once the elevator door had shut behind the two of you, safe from any nosy ears.

“Joe,” you pressed out, “He’s not—I’ve seen him before. He’s been at the bar.”

He seemed confused. “And?”

“No, Hak, he’s been at the bar.” Why didn’t he get it? “He isn’t who you think he is.”

Things finally seemed to click into place, but instead of sharing your panic, Hakyneon just smiled. “Ah, got it. You mean he’s Sunwoo.”

You stared at your boyfriend in horror. “You know?”

“Of course, I know. Y/n, he’s undercover.”

“Like you?” Something didn’t seem to add up but you couldn’t place it.

“Like me. But don’t tell anyone, not everyone here is in the know. Can’t ever be too careful with whom to trust, right?”

You tried to push the uneasy feeling in your guts aside. “But I can trust you, right?” You looked him straight in the eyes, trying to find a hint of something, anything in them. He didn’t shy away from your gaze.

“Of course.” He squeezed your hand. “I’m on your side.”

Only two weeks later you were back at their office, getting a run down of all the details you needed to know about the operation. The raid was supposed to take place a few days from now, but they suspected that your boss would probably get a tip before that and try to rid himself of any evidence. And that’s where you came in—you were supposed to keep your eyes open during work hours and report back if there was anything suspicious. They had some men tailing him too, but with how your boss was on high alert these days it would be too risky to have someone shadow him from inside the bar. Even Haknyeon wasn’t drinking at the counter anymore these days, only coming by to pick you up after work and see you home like the doting boyfriend he was. The whole plan seemed to be easy enough though and you didn’t feel too worried knowing that Haknyeon’s team would be ready to come in the second you gave a sign. 

Since your boyfriend was on duty to check equipment after the meeting, Younghoon was supposed to drive you home instead. Haknyeon didn’t seem exactly pleased about it and you were reminded of what he’d said last time, can’t ever be too careful with whom to trust, right? Younghoon, you supposed, was not among those he trusted. Sangyeon decided on it though, and Haknyeon didn’t refute him. 

You were already on your way to the parking garage, when you realized you’d forgotten your scarf back in the meeting room. Younghoon waited by the elevator while you rushed back. Surprisingly, the door was slightly ajar. Just when you were about to push it open, you heard voices from inside and instinctively moved aside so you wouldn’t be seen. 

“This will all work out, right?” Eric asked. So even he got nervous, it seemed. Then again, their part in all of this was surely a lot more nerve wracking than yours.

“What are you so worried for?” It was your boyfriend’s voice. “Didn’t we already win?”

“Exactly,” a low chuckle, “After all we have Haknyeon on our side. He plays the nastiest of all.” 

“Sunwoo knows what’s up.” When you risked a glance through the crack of the door, Haknyeon was grinning self-satisfied and there was a slyness in his expression that you’d only ever seen faint traces of. It made a shudder run down your spine, but inexplicably, you also found yourself being attracted to this version of him. You lingered for another second, spotting your scarf right there over the back of the chair you’d sat in, but you couldn’t bring yourself to go in. It felt like you’d heard something you weren’t supposed to hear. Something wasn’t quite right. You rushed back down the hallway to where Younghoon was waiting, confused when you showed up without your scarf. Once you were in the car, you pulled out your phone to find a message from Haknyeon. It was a picture of him, holding up your scarf into the camera. He looked so lovely and innocent and it made you want to forget all about the weird feelings from before.

guess what you forgot~ i’ll bring it over tonight<3

You were able to distract yourself from the conversation you'd overheard just fine during work, all your focus on your boss’ behavior, looking out for anything suspicious (there wasn’t anything, unless his awful aloha shirt counted as suspicious). But once your work shift was over and you saw Haknyeon waiting for you outside, your mind automatically wandered back to it. He greeted you by looping your scarf around your neck and pulling you into a kiss and it was so sweet and so romantic, and yet you couldn’t relax into it at all.

“Hey,” he said with a smile, not letting you go just yet.

“Hey,” you replied, unable to meet his eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just tired, let’s get going?”

He didn’t seem convinced, but he reluctantly agreed, leaving a peck on your nose before taking you to his car and driving the two of you back to your place. As always, you realized, because not once had he offered to go to his place. When you'd asked about it before he'd said it was too dangerous and it would have to wait until things were over. You'd believed it then, but now you were feeling uneasy.

When you still hadn’t gotten more talkative even by the time you were cleaning up after dinner, Haknyeon tried asking about it again. “Something is wrong, isn’t it?” 

You contemplated for a second, watched him take off the rubber gloves and drain the sink after doing the dishes, but then you decided to just be honest. “I heard you.”

“Hm?” He tilted his head in confusion.

“Earlier at the office, I was going to grab my scarf, but you were talking.”

“Why didn’t you come in?” A small grin appeared on his lips. “Or did you perhaps want me to get the scarf for you? Like Cinderella’s slipper?” 

Either he really didn’t think of the conversation as something worth hiding, or he was damn good at pretending. You hoped for the former.

“It didn’t feel like I should. You—you said Joe’s undercover, right?”

“Right.”

“Like you?”

A small crinkle appeared between his eyebrows. “What are you getting at?”

“You called him Sunwoo earlier. And he called you Haknyeon—isn’t that weird?”

His features softened. “It’s not weird at all, y/n. We prepared our identities together for months, and sometimes it messes with your head a bit. It’s nothing to worry about, it’s just names.”

“Then why did you ask me who the two men were that night at the bar? You already knew one of them was Joe, so why did you ask me?”

Haknyeon drew in a sharp breath and scrunched up his face. He looked apologetic, but still not like he’d been caught doing something bad. “Promise you won’t be mad?”

“Tell me first, I’ll make up my mind after.”

“I know it’s not good, but I had to find out how much you knew. I couldn’t be sure yet to what extent your boss was telling you things and to what extent you might even be involved. I just had to make sure.”

You stared at him for a second. “You thought I was involved in his schemes?”

“Listen, there’s many reasons to get into shady business. I wouldn’t judge. But I needed to know.”

“Was that what you were hoping for when you got close to me? That I’d be involved? That I’d be a big fish?” Your voice sounded bitter and your features were harsh, but Haknyeon stepped a little closer, smoothing out your frown with soft hands.

“Don’t be silly, love. I wouldn’t care either way. It was never about catching a big fish. I just wanted to know how far I’d have to go to protect you.”

“Are you saying you would have gotten rid of evidence for me if I had been involved?”

“Yes. I would have. I'd keep you safe no matter what.” There wasn’t even a second of hesitation and his eyes on you were so open and honest, it was hard to hold his gaze. He was willing to go to such lengths for you, risk it all for you, and yet you’d doubted him over a silly little conversation you’d overheard. You leaned up to kiss him then, because what were you supposed to say to that other than I love you, but that seemed to be a little too much, even now. 

“Better not tell your team leader, though,” you teased, getting a chuckle out of him.

“Oh, I’m sure Sangyeon would understand.”

When you leaned in again you felt Haknyeon smiling into the kiss and into every kiss that followed that night.

It wasn’t until the day of the raid that your boss started acting weird. He seemed nervous, sweating heavily and telling you to close up and leave early even though it was barely evening. You were certain he’d been warned. 

“Are you sure I can go?” you asked, just a guise to peek your head into his office and see what he was up to. You’d already alerted Sangyeon and you knew it was only a matter of minutes until they’d be here, but you wanted to do your job right and ensure the safety of the books until they arrived.

Your boss’ head shot up at your words, as if he’d been caught doing something forbidden. And from the look of it he was; a folder of papers in one and a lighter in the other hand. You knew it had to be the information Haknyeon and his team were after. Without thinking you rushed in, grabbing the papers, and your boss, perplexed as he was, let you take them.

“What the fuck, y/n?” He hissed, angry veins pulsing on his forehead.

“You were about to cause a fire, Sir,” you pressed out. A weak excuse.

“And that is none of your business. Now, give those back, will you?”

You took a step back, your knuckles turning white from how tightly you held on.

“Y/n,” he opened a drawer in his desk and you had a feeling what he was going to pull out, “don’t make me repeat myself.”

You’d never stared into the barrel of a gun before, and you felt that it was an experience you would have rather missed. Still, you didn’t let go. If you did, it would have all been for nothing, right? And surely the others would be here any second—

“Y/n,” your boss repeated and the tone in his voice made your blood freeze. He walked around the  desk in your direction and you stumbled back, wondering if you were really going to die like this. It didn’t feel like the right way to go, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. This wasn’t even your mess to begin with. You squeezed your eyes shut as he stepped closer, trying to come up with a prayer to recite, but you’d never been religious and you didn’t know what to tell god now at the brink of death, except for I don’t want to die.

Suddenly, you heard the front door of the bar flying open and just a second later someone was behind you, pulling you aside before pushing past you, gun raised. Haknyeon.

“You mind putting that down?” He said with that cocky tone of his but your boss didn’t seem particularly impressed. He aimed at Haknyeon now, and you wanted to jump in to protect him but someone was holding you back. You closed your eyes and covered your ears, but you still heard the shot echoing through the bar. Tears were already brimming at your eyes when you blinked them open again, just to find Haknyeon standing above your boss, who was pressing his hands onto a bleeding wound on his thigh, gun somewhere on the floor, out of reach.

“Listen,” Haknyeon said with disdain, “I told you to put that away. But you wouldn’t listen and now we have this whole mess here and even have to call an ambulance for you. Couldn’t you have made things a little easier for us?”

“Fuck you,” your boss spat.

“Very articulate.” Haknyeon put his gun back into the holster strapped around his chest, Joe pointing his weapon at him instead while Hyunjae got his handcuffs out to arrest him. The arms holding onto you eased up too since you weren’t in danger of jumping in front of a bullet anymore, and only now you realized they’d belonged to Eric. He held up his hands in surrender when Haknyeon came back over to you, almost as if to say I didn’t touch her. But your boyfriend didn’t really have any eyes for him.

“Are you okay?” He asked softly, cupping your face to look at you. When he’d made sure there wasn’t a single scratch on you he pulled you into his chest. “You did so well,” he whispered into your hair. “It’s all over now.”

Eventually he had to let go again to do his job and secure the evidence from the office together with Joe, and you were left to stand at the side like a lost puppy. Your boss had already been dragged out and was currently receiving first aid from the medics that had arrived by now. You were still holding onto his papers, almost as if they’d become one with your fingers at this point.

“You can give these to me,” Younghoon commented, holding out his hand. You hesitated, unsure if you could trust him with this. It was important evidence after all, and if Haknyeon didn’t have faith in him, how could you?

“Don’t worry, I’ll take it from here,” Sangyeon suddenly interrupted, taking the papers from you instead. You knew there wasn’t any room for discussion since he was the team leader, so you let go.

It didn’t take much longer for things to wrap up after that. The most important evidence was secured and your boss had been escorted to the police station or the hospital or wherever else by Eric. The rest of Haknyeon’s team seemed to be getting ready to go, leaving the bar to some other officers and the crime scene cleaners. You were lost to wonder if you were allowed to just go home after everything that happened. You didn’t have to ponder for long though because suddenly Younghoon was nodding over to you as he spoke to one of his colleagues.

“Take her too, Changmin, I’m sure she can still help with the one or the other information on all of this.”

The guy, Changmin, walked over to you, handcuffs dangling from his belt. You knew they were the good guys, but you felt your guts churning with fear. It sounded like they were suspecting you, even after you’d put yourself in danger to support them. Instinctively, you glanced over to Haknyeon, maybe for help or maybe just for assurance that nothing was going to happen. He met your gaze with a nod, a small sign not to worry. 

“I’ll take her,” he said, stepping in front of you before Changmin could reach you. You let out a sigh of relief.

Younghoon looked at Haknyeon with a frown, clearly not very fond of that plan. You could understand that—surely everyone was aware of the relationship Haknyeon and you had gotten into and of course that would impact Haknyeon’s impartiality. Just when Younghoon opened his mouth to object, Sangyeon put a hand on the tall man’s shoulder. 

“It’s fine,” he said. “Let him take her. I’m sure she’ll be more willing to talk to us if she isn’t frightened on the whole ride.”

No one seemed to dare to disagree so Haknyeon led you to his car, his hand at the small of your back. He nodded when the two of you walked past his boss, whispering a quick “Thanks, Sang.” It was just a small interaction, but there was no doubt in your mind that these two must’ve been close. There was this sense of absolute trust between them, that Haknyeon didn’t seem to share with too many of his colleagues. 

He opened the passenger door of his black company car for you and even went as far as to buckle you up, before he did the same for himself and started the motor, following behind two other cars that Younghoon, Changmin, Hyunjae and some other of their colleagues had gotten into. As you stared through the windshield, all you could think of was what would happen once you’d arrived. Landing in some dark interrogation room and being bombarded with a zillion questions you didn’t know the answer to was a frightening concept. Of course Haknyeon was with you now, but surely, as your boyfriend, he wouldn't be allowed  to stick around for questioning. 

Haknyeon seemed to notice that you were feeling tense, glancing over to you with an encouraging smile. “You have nothing to worry about. I won’t leave you alone,” he said, taking one of his hands off the steering wheel to find your thigh, giving it a light squeeze. The touch felt intimate and warm and it helped in making you feel a little more grounded; at least until you realized that you weren’t following the cars ahead anymore. Instead Haknyeon took the exit to the freeway, speeding up the moment you’d left the smaller road behind. 

“Hak, where are we going?”

“Don’t worry,” he said instead of answering your question. “Do you want to listen to some music? We can turn on the radio.”

“Hak,” you repeated with more force. “Where the fuck are we going?” 

Through the side mirror, you spotted Sangyeon’s black car behind you, Joe in the passenger seat. But the cars that had been ahead of you, were now nowhere to be seen.

“It’s all good, I promise. Just trust me.”

“If all is good then why aren’t you telling me?” 

He sighed, a frown on his face as he stared out the windshield and contemplated what to tell you. “You know how I said that I couldn’t tell you the whole truth?”

You swallowed around the lump in your throat. “I remember.”

“Maybe I wasn’t exactly undercover in the way you thought I was.”

You thought you’d already come to that conclusion, somewhere in the back of your mind. “So, you’re not a cop.” It wasn’t a question. 

“No.”

“What are you then? Who are you?”

“You know Jacob? He–uh–he’s my boss?”

“Oh fuck,” you breathed out, not because you were surprised, but because hearing it out loud made it so much worse, and really, what else was there to say except fuck? You’d always known Haknyeon was hiding things, but you’d wanted to believe it was because of his duty as a special agent, not because he was affiliated with some mafia type bullshit. You’d slept with him, thinking he was a good person. Even worse, you’d fallen in love with him. And now you weren’t sure if any of that still mattered, if any of the things between him and you held any meaning.

“Can you pull over?” You sounded like you were going to cry. You probably were.

“Not yet. We need to be sure first.”

“Sure of what?”

“That they aren’t tracking us down.”

“Oh, god.”

"I know, I know. But I can't let them have you."

"Hak, you do realize they are the good guys and I didn't do anything wrong, right? Well, not until now, I guess."

"Good guys? Yeah, sure, I guess so."

"What do you mean?"

"They aren’t your friendly neighborhood cops, y/n, though I'm sure there is enough to be said about those too. Anyway the point is they are willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want. The end justifies the means and all that."

"Oh, you mean they are like you?"

"Sure, if you want to draw that comparison. But I would never hurt you."

You couldn’t help but scoff at that. "You already did."

"Y/n, I—"

But you didn’t want to hear what excuse he was going to make. "So, what do they want?"

"After today? Probably us; me, you, Sangyeon, Sunwoo. And Youngjae, once he's done with your boss." You didn’t bother asking who Youngjae was.

"So all of this was just a plot to get him?"

"Look, he's been a real pain in the ass for a while now. And he had some crucial information that we couldn’t just let anyone have. It was also a good chance to get rid of some other data they’ve collected on us."

“Was that all that ever mattered through all of this? Getting my boss, getting the information…” You didn’t like how frail your voice sounded. “Was everything bullshit on your part? Was I just a game to you?”

“No!” His head snapped around to you. “It was never a game. I swear my job was the only detail that I lied about.”

“That’s hardly just a detail, Haknyeon,” you scoffed. Your gaze fell onto the side mirror once more, watching the car behind you to keep your eyes from wandering to the man beside you. “What about them? So they are the same?”

“Sangyeon and Sunwoo? Yeah.”

“Of course,” you let out a huff, “there was no way his name was actually Joe. I fucking knew it.”

Haknyeon chuckled. “He doesn’t look like a Joe.”

“Don’t laugh. This is not a funny situation. I’m watching my life crumble before my eyes right now. You lied to me about everything. I don’t even know—What about your name? Haknyeon, He Nian—was that all bullshit too? Is either of them even your real name?”

The little smile on his face looked soft, unfitting for the reality you were finding yourselves in. “Both of them are, in a way. I didn’t want you calling me by a name that wasn’t mine.” 

“So, I guess you were at least honest about one thing, huh?” You sounded bitter.

“I was honest about most things, you just keep pointing out the other bits.”

“Because those are the ones that matter.” You didn’t know what to believe anymore. There was a feeling of unbearable hurt and anger bubbling inside of you, the betrayal stabbing you like a knife, and yet a part of you wanted to hold on, cling onto the little hope that despite everything you could have faith in him. “You said I can trust you. That you’re on my side.”

“I am on your side.”

“How can you say that? I’m a rat in your trap and you expect me to trust you of all people to get me out?”

“It’s not like that—”

“Haknyeon, for all I know we’re running from the cops right now!”

He forced a laugh. “Yeah, that looks pretty bad.”

“Pretty bad?!”

“But, in my defense, I did say that I couldn’t tell you the whole truth yet.”

“Well, I didn’t think the truth was this.”

“I—,” he started, but his voice broke, cutting him off. You knew he was a good liar, but when you glanced over and saw tears brimming in his eyes you didn’t think this was merely an act. “You made me promise not to let you go,” he pressed out, “so was I just supposed to break that promise then?”

“How can that still count—I didn’t even know anything. If I had known I wouldn’t have—” You didn’t finish the sentence, unsure if you meant what you were going to say.

Haknyeon stared at the road ahead, a bitter smile on his lips. “Maybe I should have asked you instead, if you were going to leave me behind.”

He sounded so genuinely hurt and it just felt unfair, because clearly all of this was his fault. You shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of mess. “Don’t do this,” you choked out, your voice quivering. “Don’t push the guilt onto me.”

His grip around the steering wheel tightened, turning his knuckles white. It was clear that he hated all of this as much as you did, even if he was to blame. Maybe because he was to blame. 

“I know,” he said, “I know that it’s my fault, I know it was selfish to get close to you. I shouldn’t have approached you in the first place. It’s just—I hoped it wouldn’t matter.”

“How could it not? How could you think I’d be okay with any of this, how could you be so delusional?”

“Because I love you,” He briefly glanced at you, eyes oh, so desperate, before turning back to the road, “I love you and I hoped you feel the same. But maybe I—”

“Stop it,” you interrupted, your voice weak and tired, “I can’t talk about this anymore. Just let me breathe for a moment.”

He pressed his lips shut and he didn’t try to say anything else for the rest of the ride. You didn’t say anything either. Instead, you just watched the scenery pass by in silence, too scared to look at him, too scared to feel empathy for him when all you wanted to feel was anger. 

You weren’t sure for how long you drove and you didn’t care either, but by the time Haknyeon pulled into a driveway it was the middle of the night. He stopped the motor, and with the headlights off it was pitch black outside, only a brief flash of light crossing Haknyeon’s features when the other car pulled into the lot as well. Sangyeon and Sunwoo got out and Haknyeon gestured for them to go on ahead when they passed his window.

“We’re here,” he said without looking at you.

You wanted to tell him that you didn’t know what here meant, but you also couldn’t find it in you to bother.

“So, what now?”

“We’ll find you a place to sleep,” he said, “and then as soon as we have the confirmation that it’s safe, you can go home.”

“I can go home?” You looked at him in surprise. Obviously that was good news, but in your head you’d already accepted the dire fate of never being able to go back again—though, you weren’t sure how dire it really was, since there wasn’t anything or anyone waiting for you anyway.

“I made sure you’d be able to. I’ve changed the name and address in the data they had on you, and since your boss wasn’t doing any proper book keeping and never signed a proper contract with you, it was easy to erase your traces from the bar. So, as soon as we made sure they don’t have anything else leading them back to you, you can go.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“I know you don’t think very highly of me anymore, and I can’t blame you. But I meant it when I said I’d keep you safe no matter what. I would never put you in danger. Even if you don’t want me.”

You felt yourself choke up, overwhelmed with everything that had been said and done today, and unable to really grasp the heaviness of the situation. “Okay,” you pressed out again, trying your best not to cry.

Haknyeon led you into the building. It was mostly dark, but you still heard voices everywhere. Twice you ran into some guys dressed all in black and despite the friendly nod they gave Haknyeon, you found their appearances frightening. You instinctively inched closer to him and when he noticed he put his arm around your shoulders, a small gesture to make you feel safe.

After a while he stopped at a door and pushed it open. You didn’t know what you'd expected but it wasn’t a simple bedroom.

"You can stay here for the night. We'll have to talk to Jacob sometime but it can wait until tomorrow. Just rest first."

You nodded slowly, your eyes wandering through the small bedroom. It didn't look shabby but there wasn’t much aside from a twin size bed, a nightstand and a small table.

"What about you?"

"Me?" He looked surprised. "I have a place upstairs. You can text me if something is the matter, I'll be here in a minute. You can also lock the door if you want." He gestured towards the key that was stuck in the door from the inside. You nodded again and it got quiet, both of you unsure what else to say. The thought of staying here alone frightened you. There were too many people here that you didn’t know and after everything that had happened to you today you felt anxious and restless.

"So, I'll take my leave then?" Haknyeon sounded a little helpless, unable to tell if he should leave you alone or not. Clearly you were tense. But you'd been so angry with him, rightfully so, and he wasn’t sure if his presence could do anything to ease you.

"Sure," you pressed out with a hoarse voice. But when he turned to the door you found yourself holding onto the fabric of his black shirt that was tucked into his pants. "Can I go?" 

"I'll get you home as soon as possible but—"

"To your room."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Huh?"

"Can I go upstairs with you?"

"Are you sure?"

"I—I don't really know if I can trust you, but I do believe you when you promise you won’t ever hurt me and that's more than I can say for anyone else in this building." Your grip around the fabric of his shirt tightened. "So can you just make me feel safe tonight?"

His expression visibly softened. "Of course."

Haknyeon had a tiny one room apartment upstairs and even though it was kept rather simple as well you immediately felt a little more relaxed there. Maybe because it smelled like him or because there was one of his hoodies draped over the back of a chair. It was just a bit more homely.

He got out a loose shirt for you to sleep in and you went to the bathroom to change. It was a little silly, he'd long seen everything there was to see, but things were different now. You felt more vulnerable.

"I don't have a couch, though," he mumbled with a small gaze to the bed when you came back out.

"I didn't think there was going to be one."

"Okay," he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. He seemed a lot shyer now than you'd ever seen him. "You can go to bed first, I'll wash up real quick."

You slipped under the blankets the moment he disappeared in the bathroom. Even after everything, the scent of him made you feel at ease. You must have slipped into a light sleep eventually, because when you opened your eyes again Haknyeon was sitting on the mattress, hair still a little wet from his shower.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" He whispered. You shook your head.

"Aren’t you going to lay down?" You asked when he still didn’t move from his spot after a few more seconds.

"No, no, I am. Just—You know I mean it when I say I'm really sorry, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I know that but—"

"It's okay," he interrupted. "You don't have to forgive me. It's fine as long as you know." 

"Hak—," you started but you didn’t know what to say. 

"It's okay," he whispered again as he slipped under the blankets, keeping a small distance between you. It was just a few centimeters, but it felt impossibly far away. You didn’t like it. You were craving his warmth and the feeling of his arms around you.

Of course you hated what he'd done, the secrets, the lies, the manipulation. He'd destroyed the idea you'd had of the two of you and your future together. But did that really mean you couldn’t have him in your future at all? What if you still wanted him to be part of your life despite everything?

“I do love you,” you pressed out without thinking, continuing the conversation you had on the drive here. “I did."

There was a strangled noise coming from him at the correction, but you didn’t dare to meet his gaze to see if he was crying. You were already tearing up, even without looking at him.

"It just feels a little hard to talk about love if I don’t even know you.”

“But you do know me. You know me better than most," he said, "and if there's any chance that you still want me and if my word is still worth anything, I promise I won’t keep secrets from here on out."

"I don't know," you started, your voice breaking and tears spilling out. 

The second he saw you crying he pulled you into his arms, and you let him, crumbling into his tight embrace. "It's all your fault," you sobbed into his chest.

"Yeah, I know," he whispered against the crown of your head, his own voice trembling "I'm sorry."

"You destroyed everything."

"I'm sorry."

"But I still want you, even now, I still want to be with you."

His arms around you tightened and you felt the way he let out a shaky breath, as if he'd been choking this whole time and only now finally got some air into his lungs again. "I'll make it up to you. And I won't lie again."

"You better keep your word," you replied, your hands clinging to his back.

"I will." He kissed the crown of your head. "I promise I will."

masterlist

[itsbeeble]

BLACK OUT OR BACK OUT

THE TBZ FRAT HOUSE IS HOSTING THE BLACK OUT OR BACK OUT COLLAB BY @juyeonszn AND @itsbeeble!

YOU'RE INVITED!

PAIRINGS: tbz x f!reader

GENRES: smut, fluff, minimal angst, crack

WARNINGS: smut, minor angst, fluff, mentions of injuries, alcohol, swearing, more warnings to be added to the individual fics 18+ MINORS AND BLANK BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT

SUMMARY: Have you ever wondered what your favorite frat boyz are up to in their personal lives? If so, then these fics are just for you! Join us as we take a glimpse into the Tau Beta Zeta fraternity and see what they get up to in their free time!

MORE: The way me and Fawn have been planning this for so long omgggg. Me and Fawn are so excited to announce this collab in celebration of my 1 year on tumblr, 6 year anniversary of The Boyz, AND as just a fun little event!! I hope you guys are as excited for this as I am hehe. And please feel free to send an ask or comment on this post if you'd like to be tagged in each part!!

PERM TAGLIST: @juyeonszn @winterchimez

FALL SEMESTER

TRY HARD — LEE JUYEON (12/6)

Need to get rid of some junk? Well these college hunks will haul YOUR junk! Give us a call at xxx-xxx-JUNK and we’ll haul YOUR junk for FREE! (limited time offer)

EXCITEMENT — JI CHANGMIN (12/6)

You know, when you told your girl friends that you’d never finished before, you were expecting it to blow over like no big deal. What you weren’t expecting was for it to spiral into a whole other mess.

SEEING STARS — KIM SUNWOO (12/10)

It’s slightly embarrassing how Sunwoo is naive enough to take Eric Sohn’s “advice” to heart. Luckily, you like idiots. Especially when they kick a ball into your face and agree to do a semester’s worth of schoolwork for you.

CLUMSY — JU HAKNYEON (12/10)

When Haknyeon ran into you at a TBZ party for the first time, he didn’t think he would fall for you so quickly. Or literally. Or both simultaneously. But there’s a first time for everything, he supposes.

"FRIENDLY" COMPETITION — LEE SANGYEON (12/14)

The TBZ frat had always had a rivalry with the KAT sorority. At least, they did when you and Sangyeon became the presidents three years ago. What happens when you mix a little friendly competition into this rivalry of yours?

JE NE SAIS QUOI — JACOB BAE (12/14)

Jacob thought the concept of fraternities was stupid. So stupid that despite every single one of his friends being in one, he still refused to join. However, after meeting you at one of the TBZ parties, he’s starting to think maybe they’re not that horrible.

SPRING SEMESTER

LET LOOSE — KIM YOUNGHOON (12/19)

Younghoon has hated you since the day he met you. He thought you were stuck up with that better-than-you princess attitude of yours. What better than to just…fuck it right out of you?

(NO) STRINGS ATTACHED — LEE HYUNJAE (12/19)

Becoming friends with Lee Hyunjae after his valiant attempt to save your life (stopping you from drunk driving) was certainly not on your year’s bingo card. Also not on your bingo card? Waking up in his bed every other night following, but it’s not like you’re really complaining.

NO BITCHES? — ERIC SOHN (12/22)

When you met Eric, you’d thought he was just another frat boy, looking to get into any woman’s pants (particularly yours at that moment). You never would’ve thought that he was just a loser who really liked FNAF and just thought you were pretty.

PARTY O'CLOCK — CHOI CHANHEE (12/22)

In spite of being a frat boy himself, Chanhee could never actually see himself enjoying the luxuries of the title. Besides, how could he with all the responsibilities of being treasurer? Enter you and your carefree spirit and Chanhee’s got a real big problem on his hands.

PRINCESS AND THE PAUPER — KEVIN MOON (PT. 1 | PT. 2)

It wasn’t like you and Kevin hated each other. In fact, you quite admired him despite his somewhat indifferent attitude toward you. Well, now that you’re paired up for the last dance of the year, you guess it’s the perfect time to find out why.

© juyeonszn & itsbeeble. do not steal, claim, or repost.

[luv-beam]

WAIT WAAAAIT 🥺🥺🥺 cute 💔 me when

• haknyeon texting his sleepy s/o 😴

for anon! i hope you like it :)

[winterchimez]

No Longer Human | Ju Haknyeon

SUMMARY: what happens when you find yourself in a life-and-death situation, only to have Lucifer himself approach you, seeking your help to change his fate and avoid succumbing to evil? is that even possible? and when you discover that you are the long-forgotten Lake Deity, possessing the ability to purify all forms of evil, will you accept his request in exchange for regaining your powers?

PAIRING: lucifer!Haknyeon x f!reader

GENRE: fantasy/devil au, strangers to lovers, angst (like very heavy ngl), horror, some fluff, slight suggestive

WARNINGS: nc-17, slow-burn, it's a devil's au so expect it to be dark & angsty af (but fear not there's some comedy & fluff in between), mystical creatures (sacred deities, demonic creatures, devils, fairies), cursing, violence, blood, mentions / descriptions of weaponry (katana, kunais, spears), alcohol consumption, petnames (princess), betrayal, minor characters deaths, reader goes through a lot of traumatic experiences (so yknow bear with her pls 🥺), multiple nightmares, suspense, gore, kissing, a couple of life-and-death situations throughout the fic, Haknyeon & reader bickers A LOT, proofread once (lmk if i missed anything!)

WORD COUNT: 26,972 (haha.)

A/N: my writing comeback folks 🫡 and this is also my submission for deoboyznet's bite back halloween event!! happy belated birthday to my other 妹 on this platform @ethereal-engene im so sorry i couldn't get this out in time on your birthday but it's finally here & i hope it's worth the wait (and ily so so much forever!!) 🥹💗 also shoutout to @sungbeam @momhwa-agenda for pitching in ideas for me from the start & really helping me through with this ❤️ (also yall say thank you beam for deciding the banner for me 😤)

You have lost count of the number of times you have been on the run. 

As much as the fear and adrenaline overwhelmed you, you tried to not look behind and kept running forward while doing your very best to not trip on the pebbles and sticks scattered throughout the forest. 

The sound of you stepping on the branches didn’t help in the slightest bit, as it only alerted and made the enemies quicken their pace faster than they already were. The forest wasn’t a great place to hide in after all—you could only last for a good minute, even behind the thickest possible tree if you were lucky enough. 

After running for what seemed like forever, you finally set your eyes upon the glistening light beyond you, and a smile was finally plastered across your face, replacing the horror you had prior to this. 

But it seemed as if your happiness wouldn’t last for long. 

You find yourself at the top of a cliff, and sweat begins dripping down profusely from your forehead as you look at the crashing wave beneath. It definitely didn’t help that the weather was horrible, causing the waters to flow at an aggressive pace that would ignite fear within oneself upon whoever laid their eyes upon them. 

Turning your head from the left to the right, you desperately tried to make out a different escape route. Perhaps climbing down the cliff instead? However, you knew it was out of the question, given that the rocks were slippery from the rain, and you would immediately lose your grip and fall straight into the waters.

There may be vines you could tie up to help you swing from the cliff to the other side of the forest. But given the situation, there was absolutely no way you were going to make it in time. 

So you were left with only one option: below. 

Immediately, a low growl was growing increasingly louder behind you, and you slowly turned to look at the source of the sound. The demonic creatures appeared right where you were, leaving only a few metres apart before they slowly crept your way. 

Taking a few steps back before you felt that you were on the edge of the cliff, you jerk your head back to take one last look at the crashing waves below, knowing that it would be your only way of escape from your persuaders—that is if you would eventually make it out alive or not.

With a deep breath, you turned and leapt into the water, paddling frantically to stay afloat. The experience felt straight out of a horror movie: the freezing cold water, the strong currents relentlessly slamming into your face, making it hard to catch a breath. At times, you were completely submerged, cut off from sunlight as the waves dragged you under.

And you absolutely feared and hated the dark deep waters underneath. 

Before you could even figure out on what to do next, the water slowly washed you up ahead, and the next thing you knew was that you were at the edge of a streaming waterfall. 

This was it. It was the end. 

For the last time, you looked straight up into the gloomy grey skies, taking in everything you could see before shutting your eyes tight and submerging yourself into the deep waters. 

Goodbye, forever.

"Y/N, do you believe in the demonic creatures?” 

“Huh? What makes you say that?” 

The man chuckled. “No, nothing much. I just never hear you talk about them as much as your peers did.”

It wasn’t unusual for your mentor to ask you random questions out of the blue, as he was knowledgeable in every field and quite a superstitious man himself. Besides, there has been an increase in sightings of demonic creatures across the nation, and you assumed that he could be worried about your safety. 

“With all due respect, sir, I assure you that you don’t have to worry about me in the slightest-”

“But the other young lads are working together to devise a plan to drive the spirits away for the safety of the townsfolk. So tell me, why are you still here then? All alone and staring into the waters?” 

You knew that you couldn’t keep up the facade any longer, and you weren’t too sure if your mentor would accept the excuse you were about to give. But you have always stood firm with your beliefs, and you weren’t going to let somebody else convince you otherwise. 

“I honestly don’t see why the public would pose them as a threat to our community. I humbly believe that everyone, even spirits roaming on earth, has reasons to do whatever they were tasked to fulfill. Sure, the creatures may seem scary looking, but what harm is there if they have not laid a single finger on us?” 

There was a silence. 

Your mentor was just staring straight at you, not saying a word. 

You figured that he was probably stunned at your answer, given the fact that you were the only one who felt neutral—even siding with the creatures, if you will, compared to your peers.

That was why you decided to keep your mouth shut, fearing that you might cause an uproar among the community. 

Suddenly, your mentor’s eyes darkened, and there was this ringing sound in your ear, being unable to pick up whatever he was trying to tell you before your subconscious slowly drifted apart.

What was going on? 

You tried your best to shout and scream for all you could before your eyelids began to droop. 

And for the very last time, you were able to make out the words that your mentor was trying to mouth at you.

“You’re going to regret this, Y/N.” 

Instantly, your eyes darted open, and you jerked up from that nightmare you had just had, trying your utmost best to catch your breath before focusing your vision on looking at your surroundings. 

You were alive. 

It seemed as if you had ended up at a creek, and there was no sign of the demonic creatures that had been chasing you from before. Given that you had a great sense of a presence nearby, you heaved a sigh of relief, knowing you were safe from danger.

At least, that was what you thought. 

You definitely failed to recognise a presence crouching down on your right who has been staring straight at you for god knows how long.

“So you have finally woken up.” 

Immediately, you screamed and backed away from the sudden jumpscare, trying your best to calm your fast-paced breathing down once again. “Don’t do that! I don’t need more jumpscares than I’ve already had for the day,” you retorted. 

That was when you finally stopped to look carefully at the man in front of you. He had strikingly blonde hair, beautiful eyes with some hints of red at the corners, and a white tank top paired with a black leather jacket over it. 

He was very attractive looking at that too. 

“You were having a nightmare, and you just wouldn’t stop squirming around when I tried to revive you,” the male replied. 

“Revive me? You saved me from the waters?”

“Hell yes I did. Shouldn’t I be getting a simple “thank you” for that?” 

Immediately, you sat up and tucked your legs underneath with your knees touching the ground. Then, you bowed your head, signalling that you were grateful for the man’s kind act. 

Instead of saying anything, the male continued staring at you from top to bottom, making you feel slightly uneasy. You weren’t sure if you were supposed to speak up, so you decided to fiddle with your fingers, hoping that he would notice that it was time to break the ice. 

Thankfully, the silence between you both didn’t last that long, and a little scoff escaped his mouth, making you feel confused and somewhat a little terrified. 

“Umm…is something the matter?” 

This time, the male rests his chin upon one of his hands as he tilts his head to the side a little. “You seemed so much different from what I have been told.”

“Y-You know me?” 

“Everyone knows you, Miss Deity Of The Sacred Lake.” 

Huh? What deity, what lake now? 

You stared at the male for a good ten seconds before tilting your head to the side and giving him this most innocent look he had ever seen on a supposed deity that he had been trying his best to locate for a while now.

“So the rumours are true,” he sighed before finally getting up to dust his clothes from pebbles or sand.

Before the male could turn his head back, you quickly jumped onto him, causing him to fall straight back onto the ground—crawling him up and gripping onto his collar for dear life.

“Please! Please help me! I need to know who I am and why these mysterious demon-like creatures have been chasing me!” You cried out loud, and your voice was shaking. 

You could tell the male was astounded by your reaction because, according to his sources, you weren’t supposed to be in this state. Well, rather—when you were who you were actually known for before the chaos that happened. 

All he could do was let out a deep sigh before leaning back slightly and narrowing his eyes before speaking up again. “What makes you think I can trust you with this little act you’re putting up? Who knows, you might be making a fool out of time.”

You scoffed. “Do I look like I’m playing around right now, mister? I literally almost lost my life back there. If you can’t help me, I’ll just keep wandering around wherever this is until I get the help I need.” 

You snarled at the man himself before you stood back up and turned your heels in the opposite direction, stomping away furiously as you listened to your hot breath as second. 

“What the fuck was his problem? What an actual scumbag-”

Before you realized it, you were suddenly lifted off the ground, and the next thing you knew, you were being piggybacked by the same guy as before. You kicked your feet and tried to cause a ruckus, desperately wanting to break free, but he only tightened his grip on your thighs.

“Let go of me! You’re not helping at all!” 

“Nice try, Miss Deity. You clearly failed to notice how there’s a branch stuck right in your left ankle, and the bleeding is becoming much heavier each minute.”

What? Are you hurt? 

The moment you heard those words, you quickly looked down to see that your ankle was now covered in blood—yet you felt zero to no pain this whole time that it happened. Were these some kind of superpowers you had? Perhaps what he was saying about you being a deity is true?

For the past week, you've had many more questions than answers, and you finally concluded that he is your best source of help right now—whether you like it or not. 

With that, you sighed before slumping onto his back, which was surprisingly warm (contrary to his somewhat cold behaviour). Then, you wrapped your arms around him as he walked off into the distance. 

The entire walk was silent, and neither of you spoke a word. You weren’t too sure if you should break off the awkward tension between you both, so it was probably best to just leave it as it was until the male finally spoke, easing the atmosphere just a little.

“What’s your name?”

“H-Huh?”

“You don’t expect me to keep calling you Miss Deity throughout the journey, don’t you? I’d much prefer calling you something that’s much easier and comfortable for the both of us.”

You paused. It has been a while since you’ve last heard your actual name, and you couldn’t remember why that was. Your memory was still all foggy and blank, and you almost forgot what you were called besides this so-called “deity” that the man kept addressing you as. 

It was at the tip of your tongue, but it took a while to put the words together and finally answer the male’s question.

“I-It’s Y/N…I think…” You mumbled as you hid your face in his jacket to hide yourself from embarrassment, waiting for him to make another comment about your odd behaviour. 

But neither of his teasing remarks came, and he replied with something you had least expected to hear from him. “Haknyeon. We’ll be stuck together for a while anyways; I figured it would be best to get to know each other better from now on.”

You both eventually found a secluded area within the woods. There was a little cave right where you had both stopped, where you would take shelter for the night. Given your history of being afraid and alert most of the time, Haknyeon had reassured you that nobody was to come here and that he had scoured the cave, making sure it would be ideal to rest here for the night. 

Haknyeon seemed a lot quieter than before as he placed you on one of the rocks to take a seat. He set up the whole area for you two—making a bonfire, going around to hunt for food, and even putting his jacket over you to keep you from the cold. 

You were still trying to process everything as you kept looking at the male walking through the woods, trying to piece together everything he had said to see if it made any sense. 

He did mention you were the Lake Deity, and you kept replaying that nightmare you had right before you woke up at the creak. Who exactly was that? Why did your mentor warn you about the regrets that you would have coming your way? 

Most importantly, who exactly are you? 

As Haknyeon finally took a seat and began roasting some of the freshly caught fish on a branch, you slowly approached him and sat right next to the male himself. Haknyeon wasted no time handing you one of the fish, but you stared at it blankly before he was the one to break a small piece and shove it straight into your mouth.

“I don’t want to be responsible for your starvation, so I highly suggest you eat something for the night,” he replied bluntly. 

You shot him a little snarl before biting into the meat, but you had to give him credit—it tasted much better than you expected. You couldn’t even remember if you were used to food like this in the wild before losing your memories, but this certainly passed as a good meal.

Now that you'd gotten a proper taste of your meal for the night, you grabbed an entire fish and began chewing. However, the glum look on your face was too obvious to ignore, prompting Haknyeon to speak up once again on your behalf.

“If you have any questions, just ask away. I will gladly answer them now that we have settled down for the night.” 

Once again, you hated how he could read you like a book, and you unknowingly gave him the biggest pout. “Look, I’m trying to be nice. You should be grateful because I don’t treat everyone like this.” 

You scoffed. “So what? You’re a mean and cold guy throughout your entire life?”

It took Haknyeon a few seconds to process what you said, and you could see the hesitation in his eyes. You figured that everyone has their secrets, and you decided not to pry any further than that. 

Shockingly, Haknyeon answered your question when you quickly tried to brush it off and change it to another topic. But it was an answer that you weren’t sure if it could be a dream or reality.

“They don’t call me the devil for nothing, Y/N.”

Devil? What was he talking about? 

“You what?”

Haknyeon sighed. “I meant what I said; that’s why I’ve been trying desperately to look for you, Y/N. The so-called Lake Deity.” 

You immediately tossed your fish to the ground (not on purpose) before grabbing onto his wrist, your eyes pleading for more answers. “Haknyeon, please. Tell me everything you know, even about you. I need to figure out this messed up situation that I’m in.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Haknyeon replied before clearing his throat, indicating that it’s going to take a while to keep you in the loop with everything fully. “I am indeed the devil himself, the supposed ruler of the underworld, Lucifer. But it all happened against my own will.” 

“Huh? How can a devil not accept his own faith?” You were puzzled. 

“Because I wasn’t supposed to become the devil himself, Y/N. It’s all because of my messed up ancestors that placed me in line for the throne in hell. To put it simply, the blood of Lucifer resonates within me, and I want to get rid of it before it’s too late.”

“And finding me is the solution to your problem?”

“From what I’ve been told, yes. Apparently, the lake deity was one of the strongest amongst the five sacred deities of the nation as she had the power to cleanse all spirits and evils—even the king of the underworld himself.” Haknyeon finally turned his eyes to look straight at you as he made that last remark. 

“She is also known to be immortal—free from all sorts of pain and danger that would come her way,” he continued, pointing to the injury you had on your ankle, which now clearly explains why you felt zero pain and were in tip-top condition even falling from that high of a height from the waterfalls. 

“But with the current state you’re in,” he paused as he looked at you from top to bottom. “I highly doubt you’ll be able to do anything for me.” 

Now that stung like hell. However, you couldn’t refute it because what he said was true—you had zero recollection of how you ended up this way, and you’re just learning the fact that you were some sort of sacred deity of a lake. 

But Haknyeon wasn’t done. “I’m not giving up, though. I’m going to help you regain your memories and power.”

“Now, why on earth are you helping me so much-”

You were immediately cut off by Haknyeon moving forward to pinch your mouth together, causing you to form an ‘o’ shape as you narrowed your eyes at him. 

“It’s all for me; don’t get so full of yourself.” 

When he finally let go and turned his back to you again to grill the remaining fish by the fire, you gave him a nasty snarl as you chomped down on your food. “You truly are the worst.” 

“You know that I can hear you, right?”

“S-Shut up!!”

A little time has passed since you both decided to retire for the night. Haknyeon insisted that you should sleep within the cave while he kept watch near the entrance. As much as you tried your best to fall asleep, you were just tossing and turning around for god knows how many hours by now. 

You figured it wouldn’t hurt to go for a little walk, and you slowly tip-toed your way out of the cave, trying your best not to wake the devil, who was sleeping soundly as he leaned back on the cave walls. 

Figuring that it would be nice to tell him you wouldn’t be gone for too long, you decided to pick up a few branches and leave on a trail for where you were going—so that he could find you if needed.

Eventually, you walked deeper into the forest and stopped when you came across what seemed like a contaminated lake. It wasn’t the usual clean waters that would reflect the moon and stars above the surface; instead, it was pitched black and had somewhat of a foul odour. 

You stared at the lake briefly before bending down and moving closer to the edge to further examine the water's contents.

Just then, a sudden thought popped up, and you figured that it would be a good time to prove whatever Haknyeon had said was true. 

You’re a lake deity who has the ability to cleanse all spirits and evil. 

Clearly, the water before you wasn’t so-called possessed or evil. But maybe, if you were able to purify all sorts of evil spirits during the time when you had your powers, then perhaps a contaminated lake shouldn’t be too hard for a deity like you. 

So here you were, sticking out one of your fingers, and you slowly submerged it into the waters. After a few seconds, you slumped in disappointment as you saw that nothing had happened before deciding that it was much better to give up. 

“Who am I kidding? This has all gotta be some sort of lie-”

As you tried to get up, you realised your finger was somehow stuck in the water. Slowly, a glow emitted around the surface of your finger before it took over the lake in one swift motion. 

The once black, cloudy, muddy water was slowly turning back to its original state as you slowly watched the reflection of the moon on the waters and eventually the entire night sky. It was real, after all: your abilities to purify all sorts of evil. 

Just then, a voice echoed through the forest, calling for your attention as it chanted your name. You stood up frantically, turning around to see where the source was coming from before you finally landed your eyes upon the lake again—a fragment of your actual self slowly coming up from the waters. 

Your eyes widened as you saw yourself staring back at you (in a water form, that is), slowly calling out for you to come closer. With that, your feet decided to move on their own, and before you knew it, you were walking on the waters—making your way to touch yourself standing in front of you. 

“Y-You’re…me?”

“Indeed I am. I’m your other half. It’s my pleasure to serve you once again, Y/N.”

“S-Serve me? What are you talking about?”

“Your powers have been sealed away for a period of time now, that is until you broke the seal and awakened your powers just now.”

This might be the moment to finally get the answers you’ve been desperately seeking. Quickly, you grabbed their shoulders and began shaking them furiously. “Please! Tell me! What happened to me? Why did I lose all my powers? And most importantly, why can’t I remember anything before this?”

The figure in front of you hesitated momentarily and eventually spoke up in a rather soft voice, lowering her head ever so slightly at the same time. “I wish I could tell you, but I can’t, at least not right now.”

“W-Why? Please! Don’t leave me hanging anymore!” You screamed but were silenced as the figure leaned in to give you a big hug. 

“I’ll be within you to guide you through your journey, Y/N. Just know you won’t be alone anymore, and I’ll always be by your side and slowly bring your powers back to life just as they once stood firm and powerful in the past.”

Just like that, the figure burst and dispersed back into the waters, leaving you staring straight through the depths of the forest before a voice brought you back to reality. 

“Who told you that you could leave my sight just like that?” 

You turned behind to see that it was Haknyeon—crossing his arms as he leaned against one of the trees. You really wished you could read his emotions, but his face was expressionless—you couldn’t tell if he was amused or annoyed with whatever had just unfolded before his eyes.  

“How long have you been here?” you asked, though you were pretty sure you already had a good guess that he’d been here long enough to see everything from the start. 

“Long enough to see that you had regained your powers,” he commented before walking to the edge of the lake, putting his hands into his jacket pockets. 

You sighed before slowly making your way towards him. “Look, I left a trail behind for you to come find me. At least I was respectful in that part.”

“I don’t need some branches to tell me where you are. All I need to do is to focus, and I can tell which direction you went.”

“Right, because you’re the devil.” 

He scoffed. “Hell yes, I am. So promise me you won’t do this again without my knowledge.”

“What are you? My babysitter?” 

“Guess you don’t want my protection after all.” He smirked before turning his heel to face the opposite direction before you grabbed his wrists to hold him back. He was stunned by that sudden action you made but more so by the look on your face right now. 

You are desperate, and you have just gotten a glimpse of potentially finding out who you truly are as you awakened the powers you had in the lake. There is absolutely no way you were about to give up now, and you will be needing Haknyeon’s help in your journey ahead. 

“Haknyeon, I…I can’t do all of this alone, not with the current state I’m in. I promise you, if you help me regain my powers and memory, I will do my best to break whatever this curse you’re dealing with,” you begged as you looked straight into his eyes that somehow just turned bright crimson red for a second before it was gone. 

He was truly Lucifer himself. 

Just when you had expected him to agree with everything you said, he suddenly took over by pulling both your wrists forcefully towards him before he picked you up and slung you on one side of his shoulder, walking back towards the cave where you came from. 

“On a second thought! I still hate you! I hate you! I hate you!” You yelled as you balled up your fist and kept hitting him on his back. 

Even though Haknyeon said nothing in return, he had plastered a smile across his face for the first time since you both had been together. As you both descended into the darkness, Haknyeon mumbled something under his breath that was loud enough for himself to hear. 

“You’re damn right going to help me break this stupid curse, Y/N.”

You both almost set off immediately the following day to your next destination. Since you barely knew where exactly you were, Haknyeon decided to be the guide as you began your trek down the woods.

Along the way, he felt it necessary to tell you a little bit about the destination you both were heading to and a little bit more about yourself. 

It turns out that there were originally five deities, and each deity has its very own tribe. Given that you were the Lake Deity, you were known to be the leader for the people of the waters. It was definitely the best lead and place to go for now if you needed answers.

Thankfully, the distance from where you both rested the night before wasn’t too far from the tribe, and it took about two days to arrive, with you both taking breaks in between and resting up for the day. The moment you arrived at the entrance of the tribe, sure enough, the people fell down on their knees in awe, seeing that their deity had personally come to them instead.

You had no idea why the crowd cheered; some even shed tears when they looked at you, and they wasted no time welcoming you both into their safe haven. The moment you both walked towards the end, that was when you were formerly greeted by an elder which you assumed that he was the head of the tribe.

Without wasting a minute, he brought you both up to his chambers before stopping Haknyeon in his tracks. “My apologies, dear young man. But I’m afraid that this conversation is strictly between the people of the waters.” 

Both you and Haknyeon’s eyes widened upon hearing those words, and you were just about to step in to defend him—knowing that he was the devil himself, it would probably be best not to anger the male. 

However, he beat you to it by responding to the elder rather calmly, contradicting to his usual demeanour. 

“Well then, I guess you wouldn’t mind if I waited right outside the room. I promise I won’t be eavesdropping.”

“That’s fine by me. Thank you for understanding,” the elder smiled, leading Haknyeon to turn his heels and walk straight out of the room before closing it shut. 

With Haknyeon finally absent, the elder immediately bent his knees and intertwined his fingers together before ultimately bowing his head to the ground, causing you to do the same and wanting to support the man back up.

“We’ve waited so long for your return, my lady,” he sobbed. 

Not knowing what else you could do, you decided to gently hug the elder for a few seconds before encouraging him to lift his head back up and telling him everything that had happened up until this point (omitting the fact that Haknyeon is a Lucifer himself, for obvious reasons). 

The elder was shocked, to say the least, to hear about everything you have been through. You had zero recollection of who you were until you met Haknyeon and heard what happened back at the purified lake. 

Knowing that it would be a long day, he reassured you by guiding you to take a seat as he prepared a warm cup of tea before offering it to you. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly began to recall what exactly happened to the tribe, including their very own deity. 

“My Lady…I fear that you have been in a slumber for a couple of decades now,” the elder replied, still puffy from the tears that flowed beforehand. 

“D-Decades? What do you mean by that?” You questioned hastily, wanting to piece the information together as quickly as possible.

“Fifty years ago…when the demonic creatures slowly took over the nation and defeated each of the deities…but it seemed as if you were the last one standing back then.” 

“Deities? Tribes? Do you mean a war broke out?”

“Yes, my lady. It was like the end of the world, if I may put it simply. All five deities stood up against the evil spirits and fought against them. We were close to achieving victory until another wave of enemies struck again, strong enough even to defeat each one of them.

You were taken aback by all of that information. You couldn’t accept that an actual war broke out in this very nation, given that everything looked unharmed and well-kept in the tribe and even in the woods as you journey here.

The most shocking fact was that you fought in the war alongside your fellow deities, whom you barely remember now knew what their names were. 

Wanting more answers, you decided to press on, trying your best to find out any relevant information you needed. “T-Then…are those deities dead?”

“Dead would be a way to describe them, yes.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The elder sighed before he stood up to walk towards the window as he peered down at his tribe. “According to records, all of them were sealed away and long-forgotten—their locations unknown, and their lifespan would’ve probably slowly faded away given the intensity of the spell from the devils.”

Just then, he turns back towards you. “However, you somehow manage to stay alive and look the same as you did back then.” 

Puzzled, you tried piecing the information together to come up with a proper response. “You mean I wasn’t sealed away?”

“Maybe you were, or maybe you didn’t. Neither of us knew the exact details, my lady. If only Father were still alive, he would probably have given you a much better answer than I could have since he was present. He was the one who saw with his own eyes of the enemies sealing off the deities,” his voice softened, and his shoulders slumped in defeat, upset that he couldn’t give you the answers you wanted to hear. 

“I’m so sorry, my lady. I really wished I could’ve been much more helpful to you.”

“Oh my gosh, please! Don’t apologise; you have given me so much that I needed to know,” you forced a smile, reassuring him that you would be okay. “But I need to know something, elder. About my powers.” 

With that, the elder lifted his head again as a smile plastered across his face. “Perhaps staying here for a while could help, my lady. You are our deity, and I’m sure you could use the endless streams and lakes we have here to recover your abilities. I’m sure my people would be more than willing to help.” 

Suddenly, you definitely felt a lot at ease, and the underwhelming feeling you’ve been suffering for the past weeks was gone the moment you stepped into the tribe. Perhaps it was truly the power and barrier that the people of the waters have put up seemingly resonates with your element, making you worry-free about everything that has been troubling you for a while.

Taking in your first sip of tea, you slowly swallowed down the warm liquid before closing your eyes to rest for a bit. 

“Maybe this is what it feels like to call home.”

Hours had passed before you realised that you had been chatting away with the elder and resting up in his room. So when you opened the door to find that Haknyeon was nowhere to be seen, the panic started rising again within you, making you dash down and out to the open fields of the tribe to search for him.

When you tried asking for help, many of them directed you towards the waterfall behind their tribe. Sure enough, you found Haknyeon sitting on a branch, leaning against the tallest tree as if he were taking a nap.

Unfortunately for you, you weren’t the best tree climber, so you made a couple of sounds as you made your way up to where he was, making him grunt in his sleep. 

“I thought you could just fly up here using your powers,” he growled, feeling a little annoyed that his peaceful nap was ruined.

“Well, sorry to disappoint you, mister devil, that my powers are long gone, and I’ll need some time to break the seal off within me to gain my abilities back slowly- wait. How did you know I could fly?” 

Haknyeon didn’t say anything but turned his head to the other side, making you narrow your eyes at him once again. 

“You eavesdropped my conversation, didn’t you?”

“Not by my own will. It’s part of the devil’s powers to be able to do that, whether I like it or not,” he replied calmly. “Though I was already off the moment I closed that door, and I’ve been here since taking a well-deserved rest after three long days of being your bodyguard.”

You smacked his arm lightly. “You made an agreement with me, so deal with it.” 

“So, what’s your plan for now?” He asked.

You contemplated for a little while as you remembered everything the elder had just told you a while back. It was a major decision to make after all, given the fact that you were on a journey to figure out why you ended up the way you did. And without fail, you also agreed to cleanse the devil’s blood within him before it’s too late. 

Staying here would certainly grant you the protection and ability to recover fully, but you also couldn’t ignore Haknyeon’s needs—you promised that you both were in this together from the start. 

Most importantly, you knew that there were more answers to be found outside of the tribe. 

“Here’s my plan,” you announced as you scooched closely to Haknyeon. “I’m thinking we could rest here for a couple of days. I’ll hopefully be able to recover some of my abilities, and you could rest up, and then we’ll make a move.”

“To where?”

“Anywhere. Maybe the other tribes, now that I’ve known that there were people like me in the past and that they were sealed off somewhere within the nation. If I find out where they were buried, I may be able to regain my memories fully at some point,” you stated firmly before noticing that Haknyeon now had his eyes opened and was staring at you for a while.

You sighed. “No, I did not forget about our promise.” 

“You better not because I could dispose of you at any time whenever I wanted to.”

You scoffed. “You wouldn’t. You need me after all, if you want to truly change your fate.” 

For the first time, Haknyeon lets out a little chuckle and a genuine smile before resting one of his hands on your head, ruffling your hair slightly before moving down to caress your warm, soft cheeks. 

“Yeah, I’ll be needing you so bad. So don’t you leave nor die on me anytime soon.”

In the blink of an eye, it was already your last night here at the tribe. After announcing to the elder that you have decided to embark on your journey ahead, he insisted that the people would love to throw you a little farewell party before you both left. 

The atmosphere was lively, to say the least. There were a couple of dancers performing on the stage that was set up at the centre of the open fields and dozens of mats were laid across the field for everyone to sit and relax. 

Haknyeon decided to pick a seat furthest from everyone while drinking the sake that was prepared for him. He wasn’t much of a social person, and he decided that it was more of your thing since you were basically the sole reason everyone was celebrating for the night.

Even as the devil himself, he couldn’t help but plastered a smile across his face when he saw you having fun with the tribe—stuffing yourself with a bunch of sweets to being invited up on stage to dance with everyone else. It has been a while since he saw you being genuinely happy, ever since he found you at the lake during your first encounter. 

You have been through a lot, and you definitely deserve times like this. 

Slowly, as the night passed, the atmosphere began to slow down, as some people began packing away to rest up in their cabins. Only a few people remained who decided to drink the night away like Haknyeon did. 

As he poured his last bottle of sake into his cup, he peered his head up and heard the rustling sounds of the grass getting louder and coming in his direction. The moment he witnessed what was before him, he immediately put down his cup frantically before grabbing both of your shoulders to support you.

“Ah~ It’s Haknyeon~ You kinda look funny~” You slurred, being obvious that you were too drunk even to hold a proper conversation. 

“God, you reek of alcohol. Do you not know how to control your tolerance?” 

“Who are you to tell me how much I should drink! *hiccups* I can do whatever I want tonight!” Your voice getting louder with each sentence and Haknyeon had to pull you down before you fall into his embrace.

If only you were sober enough to have a proper look at your so-called devil friend, you would’ve noticed how his face was now flushed red and he was too stunned to think of a way to retaliate back.

Before he could even come up with a proper response, he suddenly heard soft snores and looked down to see your arms wrapped around his waist—hugging him as if he were a pillow, not wanting to let go.

With a last hiccup from you, your soft voice didn’t go unnoticed before you eventually drifted off completely to sleep. 

“Stay with me…don’t leave me again…” 

With a deep sigh, Haknyeon carefully unwrapped your arms before positioning you correctly to lay down on his lap—stroking your soft, silky hair as you squirm your body to turn towards the side with one of your hands clutching onto Haknyeon’s jacket. 

Slowly, he leans down to gently place a soft peck on your forehead as he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear before rubbing your soft and sensitive earlobes to seemingly help you sleep better.

“A devil never goes back on his words.”

It has been about a couple of hours since you both had hit the road, leaving behind the tribe with your tears slowly dripping down your face. It took you a while to fully stop but Haknyeon said nothing but passes a clean napkin for you to wipe your tears while you were on the road.

Not knowing where else to head next, the elder of the tribe suggested visiting the sacred shrine that used to house all the deities when you were all younger to train your abilities before your predecessors passed them down to you. 

However, the location of the shrine was long wiped out from the map ever since the war broke out, so nobody knew where it was except for the sealed-off deities themselves. 

Panicking when you heard the news, the elder reassured you that the waters shall guide your way—highly suggesting that the priest from the shrine will certainly be able to help you out on your journey. 

Trusting your instincts, you followed the dew drops on the leaves, guiding your path deeper into the forest, away from where you first came. It wasn’t long before Haknyeon noticed how shallow your breathing had become, prompting him to halt the journey by tapping your shoulder.

“It’s time for a rest. We’ll continue on after lunch.”

“Y-Yeah…sounds like a plan…” You huffed, before sitting down on the opposite tree from Haknyeon. 

For the first few minutes, you tried your best not to glance at the male as he got both of your supplies ready and organised them out to prepare for lunch. Something has been going on in your mind for the past couple of days, but you couldn’t seem to bring yourself to tell him straight to his face. 

Instead, you quietly watched as he touched one of the trees within reach, using his powers to make the entire tree fall apart and break it into firewoods. All he had to do was arrange the pieces on the ground, and with a snap of his fingers, a fire immediately ignited—causing the wood to burn in no time.

It was the first time you had seen any of his powers, and you figured that the devils themselves probably had the ability to control literally anything that was within their reach—which was why the nation feared them for centuries. 

The more you began to be in awe about what he was capable of, you certainly failed to notice how he was aware of every single motion you made—including staring at him for minutes now.

“Don’t be a creep and spill out whatever that’s on your mind.” 

Dang it. 

“I should’ve known that you were able to read minds…” you mumbled before hiding your face with your hands from embarrassment. 

The male simply sighed before walking towards you and gently pulled your hands apart, revealing your flustered face.

“I-I was just daydreaming! Yeah! Nothing’s wrong in the slightest,” you chuckled, wanting to be over and done with this entire conversation. 

“Daydreaming about dirty thoughts that made your face completely flushed red as a tomato?” 

God, you hated this side of him.

“I promise it’s nothing. Now go back to make the fire,” you spat, turning your head towards the side to avoid looking straight at him.

But Haknyeon doesn’t budge, and he continues to stare straight at you for seconds until you know that he isn’t going to give up whatever this matter is. 

And you should’ve known how devils are persistent as hell. 

You sighed. “Okay, fine. I want you to teach me how to fight.” 

There was a minute of silence before Haknyeon suddenly scoffed right at your face. “You? Fight? That must be the funniest joke I’ve heard all day.”

“Hey! Don’t laugh! I was part of the war decades ago, fighting for my people! T-Though I have no recollection of how I fought…” you began to lower your voice at that last part, feeling embarrassed enough to talk about this. 

“And what makes you think you will be needing such fighting skills, Miss Y/N?” 

“Look. We’re up for a long journey ahead. I highly doubt we will be getting peaceful days like this as we continue. I can’t just be this pathetic deity who barely knows how to defend oneself forever,” you responded back. 

“What happened to you saying that I should be the one protecting you throughout this whole journey, hmm?” Haknyeon asked in a cocky tone. “I thought you were going to be a good princess and just sit back-” 

You didn’t give him time to finish his last sentence before you cut him off. “Well, not anymore. Now that I’ve gotten a slight glimpse of my past, I’m more than determined to get back on both feet to fight back.” 

That was more than enough to keep Haknyeon’s mouth shut. It was probably the first time you had seen him being so taken aback, and you couldn’t help but keep chanting the words “I won” in your head. 

Damn, it feels good to overtake the devil. 

After some moments of contemplating, Haknyeon finally picks himself back up and poses another question. “So, what weapons are you interested in learning, Miss Deity?”

Your lights lit up. “Oh my gosh, I get to choose weapons?!”

“This is not play club, kid. They are dangerous, and you can even hurt yourself if you don’t know how to use them properly.”

“Oh, I know. Spare those details; I’m ready to learn whenever!” 

“Not until you acknowledge me as your teacher.”

You paused. “Ew. No. I’m not calling you that.” 

“Suit yourself, then. I’ll be heading back to cook a fine damn meal, and I will be the only one who gets to eat lunch today,” Haknyeon smirked before he stood up and turned his heel back towards the firewood.

“You disgraceful piece of shit!” You shouted back at the male.

“Now, that’s not very deity-like of you to say those words, hmm?”

“M-Mind your own business!”

“Ow! My arms hurt so bad…” you whined as you used your left hand to gently massage your right arm while holding onto your wooden katana. 

You both went straight into training right when lunch was over, and just when you thought Haknyeon was done pulling up tricks, it seemed as he was able to manipulate space and draws out two wooden katanas from his waist before throwing one across towards you. 

He taught you the basic stuff—like how to grip onto the sword and swing it properly. It has been close to an hour of practice when you finally felt your arms were sore enough for you to signal him to stop.

“Like I told you, darling. It’s not all fun and games when it comes to picking up a weapon. If this were a real battle, you would’ve been long-harmed by then.”

God, he’s strict as fuck. “W-Well! I know that! I just properly learned how to grip a katana like an hour ago. Cut me some slack,” you pouted. 

While you were busy trying to wipe off the sweat on your palms, Haknyeon takes a few steps towards you and took your katana away without saying anything. “Hey! What was that for!”

“Look at your own hands, Y/N." He peers down, and you do the same, with an immediate look of horror plastered across your face.

Your hands were bleeding, and all cut up. 

Suddenly, he grabs your wrist and pulls you back towards the fireplace—searching through the supplies before he grabs a bottle of liquid and opens up the cap with his teeth before pouring it down straight onto the palms.

“What are you- Ow!” 

“Hold it in, Y/N. It’s just honey; it’ll help to heal the scars in no time.”

As Haknyeon was busy trying to tend to your injuries, you noticed the look of concern he actually had on his face. Usually, he would put on this cold and emotionless look towards you, and he couldn’t care less if you wanted to pick up a fight against him (well, because of his ego, and he knows that he will always win nonetheless). 

But this time, it felt different. It was like seeing the devil being all soft and loving for a second. 

“You could’ve just left it as it is, you know, being nice doesn’t suit your devil persona in the slightest,” you teased as you put on this smug look. 

But Haknyeon didn’t respond to that. Instead, he just kept pouring the liquid until it has fully covered your hands—leaving the liquid on as it is to let it completely soak your injuries. 

Oh god, have I stepped out of the line? He probably doesn’t like it-

“Y/N. If you had the choice to be the good guy or bad guy, which one would you go for?” Haknyeon asked while his eyes were still transfixed on your palms.

What kind of question was that?

“Obviously, the good guy. What are you talking about?”

“Exactly. I didn’t choose to become the devil. I was destined to take over the throne because of my ancestors,” his shoulders slumped when he said those words out loud, giving you some hope as if he was trying his best to open up to you about his past for the first time.

With your ears perked up, you slowly moved closer towards the male, careful not to drop the honey on your palms if you did not want to hear another scolding from him. 

“Go on, I’m listening,” you softly replied as you read the tension in the air has dramatically shifted from before.

“Would it be insane if I told you I could’ve lived a normal life? And not waiting for the days to come before the devil’s blood fully consumes my well-being? It’s all stupid, isn’t it? He laughs, even though the thought about it is absurd to him. 

“Well. What happened?”

“Centuries ago when my grandfather met the love of his life, and he wanted to do anything to be with her—even if it meant selling his soul to the devil. Without her, it was as if his life was falling apart, and he couldn’t bear to see her with anyone else. So one day, he made the trip done to hell to make a pact with Lucifer himself.”

“Your predecessor, you mean?”

“The original Lucifer, yes. Devils don’t last forever, Y/N. Just like you deities, it was important to continue the bloodline to keep the balance in hell,” he huffed. 

“So that was were your grandfather became the vessel,” you slowly pieces the puzzles together.

“Crazy, isn’t it? He gave up his human life to become one with the devil, and with that he was able to return to his lover. But he should’ve known that nobody would want to be near the actual Lord of the Underworld himself.”

“D-Don’t tell me…” your eyes suddenly tearing up, as if you had just remembered a scene from your past. 

“Given that look on your face, I presume you know exactly what I’m talking about,” he chuckles. “That incident where a broken-hearted devil who tore apart his village and even killed his lover because she rejected him. Ever since then, he completely turned his life around and went down into the depths of hell to reside there forever—building up his army of demonic creatures and taking revenge in the human world.” 

You were stunned. You couldn’t have known that the devil themselves had a past like this. From young, you were only taught that no humans should ever interact with the devils themselves—that was why the deities were born to keep the balance between earth and hell.

“S-So…you were cursed, too?” You questioned.

“Undoubtedly, yes. But not completely as of now since the throne already has their very own Lucifer. However, his lifespan is slowly fading away each day, and they desperately need an heir, so that’s where I come in.”

“But how can you run away from it? I mean, won’t the devils or even the current Lucifer would come looking for you?”

“That’s why I needed your help, Y/N. I have been dedicating my whole life to turning this prophecy around—proving that I will not become the devil of the underworld and possibly go back to living as a normal human being. Though, I definitely did not expect to find you in the current state you’re in,” he pauses as he looks at you from top to bottom. 

With that, Haknyeon slowly got up from the ground and walked a bit further to look up in the sky, which was now filled with hundreds of stars. “I have put a spell in hell to avoid them tracing my movements, but I’m afraid it would not last forever.” 

So that was why he was so desperate when you both first met. 

After giving it a second thought, you slowly stood up while still holding onto the honey liquid in your palms before you reassured him with your words. “Thank you for telling me all of these, Haknyeon. Now, I’m more than determined to save you from your fate.”

As you said those words out loud, Haknyeon turned back to you, and you finally saw for the first time how beautiful his smile was under the moonlight. There was this sparkle in his eyes, and you could tell that your words had somehow comforted him. 

“It’s going to be okay, you’re going to be okay,” you emphasised on those last few words as you slowly walked up to him. Haknyeon then responded by slowly pulling your cupped hands apart and letting the honey drip down onto the ground before gently rubbing your palms with his own hands—as if he was trying to push the liquid further into your injuries to make it heal a lot faster.

“That’s why I’m going to keep you safe no matter what, Y/N. You’re my one and only last hope.” 

Under The Depths Of Hell

“Ugh…that has got to be the worst headache I’ve had in a while…” one of the men grunts as he slowly wakes up to find that he has been lying on the ground for who knows how long. He scanned his perimeter to find that his fellow comrades had experience the same thing, and he quickly went around to wake all of them up.

“W-What happened?” One of his fellow comrades asked. “Why is everyone passed out?”

“That’s what I would like to ask you instead, Doyle. What on earth happened that knocked us out cold,” he growled as he slowly scanned his surroundings. 

Before the man could possibly come up with a proper answer, loud and strong footsteps were heard and was approaching them each second. It’s wasn’t for long until one of the gates was being swung open with a loud bang, and out walks a tall, built man.

“Y-Your Highness!” The man bowed and ushered everyone to do the same. “Our humble apologies, we have no idea what happened-”

“Haknyeon.” The tall male replied.

“I beg your pardon?”

“It was Haknyeon. He placed a spell on all of us that caused us to fall into a deep slumber, and he has escaped the depths of hell,” the tall male cursed under his breathe before slamming his trident on the ground, causing it to form a crack that sent chills towards the other members.

Without hesitation, he swiftly grabs hold onto the male that was bending down in front of him on his neck before slowly dragging him up. “Say, aren’t you the best military commander in hell? Donovan?”

Dovovan was trying his best to speak as the tall male began putting in pressure on his hand around his neck. “Y-Yes! Your Highness! I-It’s all to keep you and hell safe at all times-” he choked. 

“Well then? Tell me how can Haknyeon slip through the guards and go missing unnoticed for a year now.”

A year? Does that mean that everyone has been in a deep slumber for a year now?

Not giving the chance for Donovan to speak, the tall male slams the commander’s body straight down onto the ground once more, stepping on his back before giving everyone else the death stare. 

“It seems to me that you are all no match for my successor just yet,” he chuckled. “I should’ve expected nothing less for the next King of the Underworld.”

None of the guards dared to speak another word, nor were they brave enough to turn away from the one and only Lucifer himself. They knew that when their master had gotten all worked up like this, one single mistake could easily cost them their own lives, and they would be thrown straight into the burning flames, where their bodies would turn into ash within seconds. 

“A little bit too silent, aren’t we? Well then, how about this?” Lucifer taunted the rest of the members by tossing Donovan’s body straight into the fire—only his loud screams echoed throughout the chamber before completely vanishing into silence once more.

“Let me give all of you a piece of advice,” Lucifer continued as if nothing had happened seconds ago as he continued to walk straight ahead, making each of the guards move aside to let the devil himself pass through. “My lifespan is decreasing each day, and I’m afraid that I will no longer be able to stay on the throne for long. That is where Haknyeon comes into the picture, and he needs to stay put in here as soon as possible to keep hell’s balance going.”

Finally, Lucifer stops in front of a dark-haired individual at the corners of the room with his arms crossed, yawning as he sees the king himself approached. “Which is why I will now appoint Balor as your new commander.” 

The male sighed. “You really do be putting me through so much trouble. I told you I’ve retired a long time ago,” Balor spoke to the devil himself in a relatively unbothered way, making the other guards slowly begin to whisper among themselves about their odd relationship with one another.

“You have been my strongest soldier since the day I ascended to the throne, and it’s only fitting for you to go retrieve my successor if it’s the last thing you’ll do,” Lucifer commanded, giving no room for negotiation as he lifted up his sharp claws to dig into Balor’s skin—leaving behind a scratch mark on his right cheek.

“Fine. But I’m retiring for good after this mission. And I will not be leaving my room from then on,” he swatted Lucifer’s hand away as he approached the guards. 

Lucifer began laughing menacingly while Balor was doing his job to regroup the team before walking straight back to the door to enter his chambers. 

“I shall give you all one last chance to bring Haknyeon back here to hell. If not, you all can rot with the dead in the burning flames for the rest of your lives.”

Y/N's POV

“Say, Y/N. What do you think about snow?” 

You were puzzled by that question. “What’s this about snow? It’s not like you have not seen them before.” 

The female simply chuckled. “True. But apparently, my tribe loves them the most. It is said that during winter, it forms a glacier in the mountains. It’s just a beautiful sight to see and they do this activity called “skiing” in the human language.”

“But isn’t your tribe known to care for nature? Shouldn’t spring be their most favourite season among the four?” 

“What’s wrong with being different than the norm! It’s always fun to explore different things that are available out there! Like this one right here!” The female didn’t give you room for coming up with a response before she threw a ball made of snow right at your face.

You yelped and was surprised that the hit wasn’t as hard as you thought it was. The ball simply melted down and returned back to the rest of the snow that was on the ground.

“What was that for!” You yelled back.

“That, Miss Deity of the Lake, it’s called a snowball fight. Again, my tribe thought me this fun activity,” the female stuck her tongue out at you before slowly forming another one in her hands.

Not going down without a fight, you grabbed a fistful of snow into your hands before making one yourself. “Now, you have done it. Prepare for battle!” You jokingly teased before you both eventually broke out into a whole snowball fight.

Both of your activities didn’t go unnoticed when a couple of spectators came along after a few minutes. 

“Oh ho! What do we have here!” Another female replied as she forms both hands into a binoculars trying to look at what you two were doing. 

“Hey! A snowball fight! Let me join them!” One of the male shouted enthusiastically before leaping over the fence to run towards your direction. In no time, the snowball fight was getting much more heated than ever before, making some of the snowballs being thrown into one of the spectator’s outfits.

“These kids…what will I do about them?” The other male replied as he dusted the snow off his clothing, but to no avail because more kept coming each second. “Don’t you plan on joining them?” The male asked the female, who was still standing with her handmade “binoculars”, looking out at the three in the snow.

“Looking at them from here is fun enough! I’m just so happy that everyone is having a good time with one another since it’s been a while since we have gathered together like this,” she simply smiled.

With that response, the male, the eldest among the five, could only reply with a simple sigh before a smile formed on his lips. “You’re right. It has been a while.” 

Now that you have an extra party, you are having so much more fun than before where you were eventually completely covered in snow. However, that was when you noticed a strange stench as you continued with the activity.

Not knowing where it was coming from, you tried your best to sniff around with your nose, trying to locate where the weird scent was coming from. 

That was when you looked down to see that the white snow was slowly oozing out a red liquid, and curiosity got the best of you when you decided to pick the snow up to examine it.

And you really wished you hadn’t done so.

Blood was now dripping out from the snow and following down to your arms before everything around you was slowly turning crimson red. You tried to call out to your friends, but they could no longer hear you and were slowly fading away.

Your surroundings began to darken, and all you could see was the bright red colour taking over your vision.

What exactly was happening?

Please…guys…where are you…

Don’t leave me.

“Don’t leave me!!!!”

“In what god’s mind were you dreaming about?”

Huh?

You tried to blink your eyes as you slowly adjusted your eyesight to finally realise that you were on Haknyeon’s back—his arms carrying your thighs from behind.

“Wait wait, what’s going on? Why are you carrying me?” You asked.

“That’s my question to you instead, Y/N. One second, you were smiling and the next you were sweating profusely and mumbling incoherent words. Until you finally screamed and woke up seconds ago,” Haknyeon spat before he turned his head towards the front of the road again.

God…another nightmare. 

“N-Nothing…don’t worry about it…but hey, answer my question, mister devil. Why were you carrying me?” 

“Well. I finally figured out the route to the shrine when you were in deep sleep for a whole day. I tried everything I could to wake you up, but you wouldn’t budge, so I decided that it was best for me to lift you and give you a piggyback ride to the shrine.”

Now, this was embarrassing. “H-How long have you been carrying me for?”

“Half a day.”

Oh, hell no. “Okay okay! Put me down! I’m awake now; you don’t have to carry me no more,” you chuckled as you tried to free yourself from his back. But with his strength, you weren’t able to move an inch as his grip around your thighs tightened once more.

“Save me the trouble and be a good girl while we head to the shrine. We’re almost there anyways,” Haknyeon replied bluntly before picking up his pace and climbing the steps up to the stairway, which seems to be the entrance of the shrine. 

All you could do at this point was to hide your face of embarrassment by lowering your head down behind his back with your forehead resting on his shoulders.

“Why does this always happen to me…” you sulked, but you quickly realised that you shouldn’t have said that because the annoying Lucifer was back to taunt you again.

“You’re an amusing lady, I must say.”

“Q-Quiet you! I never asked for your opinion!” 

As you both began your usual bickering, it was when you were brought back to your senses when a soft, calming voice calls out to you both. The moment you both focused your attention up ahead, a slender female wearing a red hakama paired with a white kosode immediately bowed before slowly approaching your direction.

“To whom may I offer the assistance today?”

Judging by her clothing and demeanour, you knew she was a shrine maiden, and you had probably arrived at the place you had been searching for days. Quickly jumping off Haknyeon’s back, you dusted your clothing and gathered up your composure before greeting the maiden herself.

“O-Our apologies for the sudden visit, but is this where-”

She giggled. “If you’re looking for the priest, you have come to the right location.” 

Just then, she guided you into the shrine as she touched the invisible barrier protecting the place to make way for the guests. It was then you figured that it was why the shrine wasn’t as easy to locate because of that, and you couldn’t blame them after what had happened during the war decades ago. 

The place was grand, especially for a shrine in the middle of nowhere. Everything was preserved just as it was hundreds of years ago—adorned with traditional art and furniture throughout. As you both explored, one piece of art caught your eye in the main hall, prompting you to break away from the maiden and Haknyeon to take a closer look.

The moment you stood in front of the picture, you were left standing still and slowly reaching out your hand to touch the piece of art. It depicted the five sacred deities protecting the people of the nation—each five of them standing tall and strong on the top of the cliffs.

Immediately, you noticed a faint blue hue emanating from one of the female deities, and you gently brushed your thumb over the art. Instantly, a water drop emerges from the picture as it dissolves into your skin, giving you a glimpse of your past from the art itself. 

“I see that you have come to notice the picture firsthand, Miss Deity.” 

Taken aback with the sudden voice, you quickly turned to your back to notice a maiden standing right there with a paper fan covering half of her face. Gently, she closed up the fan to give you a slight bow before inching a little bit closer.

“It has been a long time, Y/N. Welcome back,” she simply smiles.

It was then you immediately realised who this was. Noticing a kagura suzu in her other free hands as well as glamorous kimono, it could only mean one thing.

She was the priest that you have been looking for.

“You must be…”

“Priest of Kiyoshi Shrine, at your service, my dear.”

“Please…” you begged pitifully as you walked closer to her and slowly bent your knees to sit on the tatami mat. “You’re the only one who can tell me everything now. Please, tell me what to do.” 

“I suppose the elder from your very own tribe sent you here? He certainly did the right thing for remembering me after all these years,” she chuckled before going down to your level and placing one of her hands on your shoulders.

“Let’s get you all cleaned up and have a hearty meal before we proceed.”

You have sworn that one day, when you finally regained your full powers back, you’re going to bury Haknyeon and seal him in the depths of the ocean for what he did you to in front of the priest. 

As if what happened earlier when you both arrived wasn’t embarrassing enough, the devil himself had the audacity to give you a good scolding when you suddenly left his side to have a good close-up look on the art in the main hall while the priest was busy prepping the dining hall with her maidens for you two. 

Turns out that the priest was seemingly witnessing the whole ordeal for a good minute before she spoke up that dinner was ready as that was where you three ended up now.

Gulping down the warm miso soup that was perfectly well-seasoned down your throat, you made sure to give Haknyeon one last death stare to make sure that he was going to pay for what he did one day. 

“You two seem really close,” the priest giggled as she continued looking back and forth between the both of you. 

“Not that I have a choice; he’s supposed to protect me while I sort out the mess with my past,” you mumbled before shoving a piece of the freshly grilled fish down your mouth. 

“You’re a priest, right? Perhaps it would be great to give Y/N a good cleanse for all of the dirty and rude remarks that she has to say about me,” Haknyeon gestured with his chopsticks to you, letting the priest know that it was fitting for her to do a cleansing ritual on you.

“F-Forgive me! Miss dearest, I mean- your Excellency. Please ignore him; he’s just a vulgar guy,” you laughed nervously before turning your head to stare at him once more. 

“Well,” the priest paused as she put her food on the table. “I’m glad to see two people from different backgrounds interact like this. It is certainly a sight to see as compared to the past.” 

Just then, you remembered that the priest had mentioned telling you about everything she knew, and you seized that opportunity to ask her now. But it seems she was a step ahead of you as she stood up and walked to the centre of the hall before taking out her kagura suzu and pointing it straight towards Haknyeon. 

“Let me ask you this one question, young male. And I would highly suggest that you reply honestly, for no lies can ever pass through my eyes. Are you sure that you will keep Miss Y/N safe at all costs?”

You were stunned by that question as you looked back and forth between Haknyeon and the priest. Why exactly was she posing such a question? How was this related to whatever that she was going to tell you about the past? 

But Haknyeon simply closed his eyes and placed his utensils on this table before crossing his arms. “Since you mentioned that you can see through all sorts of lies, maybe you should be able to tell how sincere I’ve been with Y/N and my words through my heart.” 

Immediately, a dark red aura began to emanate from Haknyeon’s back, while a white aura radiated from the priest. In an instant, their eyes changed color, and the tension in the air intensified. It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe between the two, leaving you to contemplate what to do next.

Should you diffuse the fight? Maybe with your so-called powers that were able to cleanse through anything? 

Suddenly, the priest spoke up first. “I certainly hope you will not repeat the same behaviour you did decades ago during the war.” 

Wait. Repeating the same behaviour during the war?

All you knew from what the elder said was that the demonic creatures were the ones responsible for destroying the nation and sealing away the five sacred deities. You didn’t hear anything about Lucifer being involved in any of these.

Unless…

You turned to look at Haknyeon, now staring at the priest with his deadly, bloodshot red, glowing eyes.

It can’t be.

“Y-You are the one responsible for sealing me away?” Your voice began to tremble, trying hard to think of different excuses to prove that point was false.

There was no way. After all, you have felt his sincerity (despite his awful mouth) throughout your journey. If anything, he couldn’t have put up this facade long enough to deceive you all along.

You wanted to believe that the soft, heartbroken look on his face when he told you about his past was true. You wanted to hold onto the fact that your promise to help change his fate would definitely come true. 

Because you will not be able to tolerate any more betrayals anymore. 

When you finally mustered up the courage to pose another question to Haknyeon, both the devil and the priest immediately stopped exerting their powers and returned to their usual selves. With that, the priest simply shook her suzu once as the bells rang across the hall—a light spark emitting throughout to cleanse the place.

“Thank you, young man. Forgive me, as I was merely trying to test your sincerity. I’m so glad that you have a good heart, especially towards the lake deity right here.” 

“W-What’s going on?” You questioned, feeling more lost than ever with everything that had just unfolded in front of your eyes. 

“Let me recite a story from a long time ago, Y/N. Perhaps you will be able to remember piece by piece as you listen to my words.” 

In one slow, graceful motion, the priest simply spread her legs and arms apart as she began the kagura dance, shaking her bells according to the beat and rhythm at her own pace. Twirling around with the instrument in hand, she starts reciting the story from the very beginning.

Long ago, when the nation had no leaders, the God of Eternity descended from heaven to witness the chaos that unfolded before his eyes. He decided they needed a leader to help keep the balance while trying to minimise the bloodshed that had unfolded over the years. With that, he used his powers to break them into five pieces, each representing one element: fire, water, earth, air, and space.

The five sacred deities were born, and each was given the role of gathering and creating their own tribe on land. Each of them had its purpose, and they kept the peace between the different tribes.

The first generation of deities kept a well-balanced society for a century before deciding that it was time to reunite with the God of Eternity as he slowly began to age. Before ascending to heaven, each performed a ritual to extract their remaining lifespan on earth to give life to their successors. 

The first lake of the deity was known as Asherah. She decided upon the lake not far from where her tribe resided, where she slowly placed her powers into the waters, creating the next generation of the Lake Deity, Y/N.

The other deities did the same as they gave birth to their successors: Mahuika (fire), Ilana (earth), Zephyr (wind), and Astrophel (space). 

The second generation was known to be far stronger than their predecessors, as they helped defend the nation against countless wars and misfortunes. The new water deity possessed a new power that her predecessor did not: the ability to cleanse and purify all matters on earth. 

Finally, it came to a point where his people informed the space deity that the gates of hell broke loose, and the demonic creatures had slowly made their way to earth. At the beginning, they posed no threat or harm to the people, and they were able to live peacefully for a while. 

Not until the second known Lucifer, who sacrificed his human life to sell his soul to the devil, rose in power—deciding that it was best to wipe out the entire nation to claim this land as his own. The once peaceful nation that had stayed this way for a century broke into war once again, with the deities all leading their own tribes to fight against the evil spirits. 

But he couldn’t see the battle till the end when his lifespan completely went out, and that was when the new Lucifer emerged from the depths of hell onto earth—going face-to-face in battle with the five deities. 

Nobody knew how he could gain so much power within a short time, but he undoubtedly surpassed the previous one and wiped out the nation in one swift motion. Many people lost their lives, and the five deities were severely wounded. As if that wasn’t enough, he decided to seal the deities away—turning them into rocks, which eventually merged with nature and became a massive statue with no hopes of returning to life. 

Claiming his victory, he returned to hell to regroup and sat on the throne with pride, occasionally sending some demonic creatures to taunt the human world as the people were helpless to fight back.

However, if his ego hadn't got the best out of him, he probably would’ve succeeded in sealing off all five deities back then, not noticing that there was one sole survivor among them. 

With that, the kagura performance stopped, and the priest pointed her suzu at you. “And this is where you shall continue the story, Y/N.” 

You simply blinked at her with your mouth ajar, not knowing how to react or what you should say back to her. Instead, you decided that it was best to keep your mouth shut and try your best not to let your emotions get the best out of you. 

The priest knew that it must’ve been hard to recall everything at once, but she knew that if she held back even further, severe casualties would surely fall upon the nations sooner or later. 

Shaking the bells once more to gain your attention, the priest slowly comes down to your level to gently whisper to both of you. “As you go on your journey to finish the story, I highly suggest that your next location will be the people of the forest, the tribe once protected and guided by the earth deity. They have been suffering from contamination on their land for years, and only with the power as strong as yours will be able to help them rewrite history, Y/N.”

You did not know what to say. Sure, you would love to help anyone in need, but the fact that you were suddenly tossed into the role of saving an entire tribe and potentially substituting as their leader? It was too much for you to take in. 

Your silence was enough to give the priest and Haknyeon a proper answer, so she decided it was best for you to think it through and sort out your thoughts as time passed.

As a result, the rest of the evening went by quietly, with everyone finishing their meals before retiring to their room. Perhaps Haknyeon could read the look on your face, and he said nothing but a simple “don’t be out too long” before he went ahead to shower before bed.

All you wanted to do was be alone after learning about everything that had happened, and you walked to the waterfall behind the shrine before dipping yourself into the waters.

The moment the waters came in contact with your skin, you felt the surge of powers slowly moving up your body as you tried manipulating the waters again, just like you did at the lake back then. As expected, hundreds of water droplets rose from the waterfall as they slowly ascended to the skies, creating this beautiful sight as the moonlight illuminated each one of them. 

You smiled, not because you were happy because your powers were slowly returning as usual and you had finally found the answers from your past, but rather because it had all left you feeling more conflicted than ever before.

You were the sole survivor of the war, and your fellow deities were long gone. And now, you were in charge of saving the people of the forest. 

Can you even do it? Being the old, wrecked, helpless deity who lost all her powers and memories to potentially save a tribe?

Thinking that you’ve had enough thoughts for the day, you slowly submerged yourself under the waterfall, hoping the waters will help wash away all negativity. 

Back at the shrine, Haknyeon had just gotten out of the shower as he dried his wet hair with a small towel draped around his neck. He couldn’t even retire into his room in peace when the priest stood before his door with her arms crossed as she closed her eyes to ask him a question.

“Are you planning to tell Y/N?”

Haknyeon paused for a bit before bluntly giving the priest a reply. “I haven’t decided that yet.” 

“I suggest you won’t wait too long, for the spell has already been broken. I have a feeling that your fellow comrades are already on their way, searching for their new leader. With that, you potentially place Y/N in danger once again.”

The priest’s words felt like dozens of sharp, piercing knives straight through Haknyeon’s heart, but he knew he couldn’t deny everything she had just mentioned. He already had more than enough time in the shower, blaming himself for why his powers weren’t strong enough to hold on for a little longer and what a weakling he was. 

As much as he knew that being close to you now would potentially cause more harm than before, he knew that he couldn’t leave you be either. He was in a dilemma about which option would be better, but he didn’t have much choice. 

Just then, the priest passed Haknyeon through the corridor, and she turned around to look back at the lucifer-to-be once more, her voice much more stern than before.

“If you don’t wish to repeat history and potentially lose the very sole surviving deity for the sake of the nation, then you shall part ways with her as soon as you can.”

For the next couple of days, you decided you needed some time off from everyone since you were still emotionally in bad shape. You didn’t want to interact with anyone, not even Haknyeon. 

Thankfully, each of them respected your space and allowed you to seemingly walk around the shrine and up to the waterfalls back and forth whenever you needed to. Though, the priest would send a maiden to check up on you occasionally, which was completely fine with you. 

With the peace and alone time you’ve had recently, you slowly began to recall when you were with your fellow deities. The nightmares didn’t stop either, and it only made you reminisce about them a lot more than often now that you have remembered everything that had happened.

You have never felt so lonely before—being far away from your tribe and left alone as the sole survivor. You really wished your fellow deities were still here with you, laughing the days away to protecting the nation together. You wanted to be reunited with them as soon as you possibly can. 

Doing the only thing you knew was fitting for the situation, you went back up to the waterfall and submerged half of your body into the waters before you concentrated your whole energy to call upon your other half. Sure enough, your powers were much more stable than before, and you could give the water figure a face that looked exactly like yours.

“Hey, other me. It’s been a while,” you replied as you tried your best to choke back your tears.

“It’s so nice to see you again, Y/N. How have you been?”

“Horrible,” you sniffled. “I really wished that this was just a terrible nightmare that I’m living in right now.” 

“I know. But Y/N, you’ve held on for long enough to get to where you are now, and here you are, finally getting all of the questions that you’ve once had answered.” 

Not entirely convinced, you sighed deeply before letting a single tear fall from your eyes. “Is this all really worth it, though? Having such a tragic past where everything was taken away from you, and now potentially going to help save a tribe that I have no recollection of? What would Ilana think of me saving her people?” 

At this point, you couldn’t care less if people were beginning to hear muffled cries from the shrine. You just wanted someone to talk to and wished your former friends were here to share your burdens. You began sobbing profusely—using your hands to wipe the tears that were pouring uncontrollably from your eyes.

Your other half simply smiled with this empathetic look before she closed the distance between you two and gently cupped your face with her hands—helping wipe your tears away before pulling you in for a hug. 

“Y/N. You’ve done well. I’m sure the others would’ve said the same thing if they had seen how you have lived for them and the nation. I, for one, am proud of you for surviving through that.”

“B-But…I can’t do this…not alone…”

“Who says you’re all alone? You have me, and you have that devil boy that you’ve met on your journey together. You will never be alone through all of these. But right now, know that these tribes your fellow friends have left behind need help. Deep down in your heart, I'm sure you want to make Ilana and the rest of the deities proud. Haven’t you promised Haknyeon the same thing too?”

That’s right. You’re sworn that you will definitely help Haknyeon change the prophecy and his fate. You promised that he would not end up like his uncle or the current ruler in hell and that he could return to being human again. 

You hadn’t just been coming to the waterfall for peace. You have also been secretly trying to hone your skills once more—living up to the name of the Lake Deity you once knew. 

As you hugged your other half tighter, you tried to come up with something lighthearted to break the solemn mood. “You know you could’ve just told me what you couldn’t say before back at the lake.”

“Well, I knew you would eventually learn the truth about Haknyeon one day. He seems like a pretty good guy, good enough for you to continue your journey after all this chaos ends.” 

You immediately shot back up. “Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That’s for you to find out sooner or later,” she simply winked before earning a snarl from you. 

“Party pooper,” you retorted back. 

“Good things always come in the form of surprises. I don’t make the rules.” 

You slump your shoulders in defeat. “Fine then, just promise me you will see this through till the end with me.”

Your other half simply smiles, and she extends her pinky towards you. 

“Pinky promise, Y/N.”

Sweat began to drop profusely as you continued swinging your katana to cut down as much bamboo as possible. It turns out that there was an old training ground behind the shrine where the former deities would hone their skills whenever they came to visit, and the priest would’ve been the mentor as she spoke directly from the God of Eternity. 

The space was ample enough for a duel or even to act as a mini horse-riding battle in the past, according to the priest. It was a location where the deities would come whenever they needed advice from the priest or if they needed to connect to God for advice if there be any.

Over the course of the past couple of weeks, you have been secretly training your combat skills in private whenever you have gotten the chance to. It wasn’t something you wanted to bother Haknyeon with, especially at night when it was time for everyone to head to bed. 

The devil training you tirelessly throughout the day whenever you had a break from your travels was more than enough that you could ask for, and you have noticed how there was this unsettling look plastered all across his face. 

He wouldn’t tell you anything, and you decided it was best not to pry further; that would eventually end up as something uncomfortable between you two. You figured it was important to give one another some space in certain scenarios, and everything has played out perfectly for now. 

Just as you continue swinging your katana, a few raindrops suddenly fall onto your clothing before eventually turning into a downpour. The moment the water came in contact with your skin, you couldn’t help but feel a little bit sentimental—as if the skies were crying for the Lake Deity. 

Your tears were pretty much dried up from crying nonstop for the past couple of days, and the loneliness hasn’t left you in the slightest. However, you try your best not to let it get to you anymore—for you were about to head to the Earth Deity’s tribe in less than twenty-four hours. 

Letting the rain soak up your entire clothing, you continued cutting down the remaining bamboo around you before your movements suddenly came to a halt when a sharp blade came out from nowhere to clash with your katana—putting a stop to your training as you narrowed your eyes to see whoever it was in the dark.

And there was no way you could ever forget those bright, crimson eyes. 

Except that he looks a little different from when you were actively talking to him when you first arrived. You have avoided him like a plague, and he seemed somewhat dejected.

Did something happen?

“You’re going to catch a cold if you keep this up,” Haknyeon warned. 

“Then what are you doing out here in the rain? I fear that you might get sick before I do since water doesn’t have much effect on me. " You tried to keep the atmosphere a little lively by making a joke, but it looked like he wasn’t in much of the mood to retaliate. 

Haknyeon simply sighed before grabbing your wrist to walk you towards the abandoned dojo right next door as the rain was getting much heavier. He decided it would be best to wait until the skies cleared up slightly before heading back down to the shrine. 

It wasn’t unusual for Haknyeon to stay all quiet and not say anything, but given everything that had happened for the past couple of days, you couldn’t really decipher what was going through his mind.

Especially with that look on his face that you felt foreign about. 

However, you managed to squeak a little voice out from your throat, trying not to show the fear or uncertainty in your voice. “A-Are you mad at me?” 

As much as Haknyeon was surprised what came out of your mouth, he tried his best not to show his emotions but simply took off his jacket to drape it over your head as he bent down to your level. 

“I’m not mad. Just a little scared.”

“Scared? The devil actually gets scared?”

“Y/N, as much as we devils are deemed as evil incarnated, we do have emotions just like your humans and deities do.” 

Well, that was surprising. 

Since he has finally spoken up, you tried to clear off the awkwardness in the air by trying your best to keep up the conversation with him. “Listen, I- I’m just not myself for the past few days, and I needed some time alone to think-”

“Me neither,” Haknyeon softly mumbled before sitting next to you. “I’m sorry, Y/N.”

You scoffed. “W-What are you apologising for? I should be the one to say that instead-”

“Y/N- Can you…just answer me truthfully on this one question I have for you?” Haknyeon shut his eyes when he said those words as he balled up his fists on his lap. You have never seen him feeling so conflicted and uncertain before, given that he was the one who was always dominating you. 

This new side of him felt…sad? As if he had been hiding something for so long, and it was slowly eating him away. Not having the energy to put up with another fight, you just cut to the chase and simply nodded your head. 

What he brings up next only makes you feel puzzled. 

“Do you trust me?”

Really? He’s asking all of these now after everything you both have been through? You clearly have told him before that you could no longer take in anymore betrayals if it were ever on his mind. But who were you to judge, especially when the likes of his people defeated your fellow deities in the past. 

But you wanted to believe that whatever he had said until now was true, and he was genuinely sincere from the start. He just so happened to be caught up in this unlucky fate passed down from his grandparents when he much deserved to live a normal life with the humans on earth instead. 

Without hesitation, you blurted out what you felt deep down about him. “Of course I do.” 

But it seemed that he wasn’t satisfied with that answer, and he simply shook his head before running one of his hands through his strikingly blonde hair. “It’s…not that simple, Y/N.”

“Then tell me. Make me understand whatever that’s going through in your mind. We promised that we’re in this together,” you begged as you grabbed both of his hands while putting slight pressure on them.

“Y/N,” he sighs. “Can you not go to where the people of the forest are?” 

What in the fucking hell is that question?

“You know I can’t do that. I’m the only person who possesses the power to help purify their land-”

“Yes, I know. But- is there a chance you can stay put here, and I’ll help them out in your place instead?”

“Haknyeon. Stop playing games with me, and tell me what exactly you’re actually thinking.” 

“It’s just…Y/N. I’m afraid to lose you.”

Lose you? What was he talking about?

It could be that he was looking out for you since you had learnt about the horrors of the war, and you haven’t fully regained your strength and powers yet. Perhaps going there unprepared could do more harm than actually saving the people.

But still, you made a promise to yourself. You weren’t going to let innocent people lose their lives again because of what the devils had done in the past. Instead, you will change history and give the nation a purpose to live again—just like your fellow deities would’ve wished for if they were still alive today. 

Squeezing his hands tightly once more, you commanded the male to look straight into your eyes and not look away. 

“Listen to me, Ju Haknyeon. If you think you can keep looking down on me forever, I will prove you wrong. Staying here for the past few days has helped me regain my strength and will to fight, and I will step up on the battlefield if I have to. This nation is my beloved people. As much as I want to help you change your fate, I’m going to change theirs, too. And I don’t need no justification for my purposes.”

Making sure he had registered everything you had just said, you let go of your hands before cupping his warm cheeks to bring his face much closer to yours.

“Understood?” 

You both stayed like that for a few seconds, though it seemed like a couple of minutes had passed instead. You expected him to swat away your hands and retort back with another teasing remark. Instead, he simply tilts his head slightly to the side to completely savour your soft hands on his cheeks as he smiles for the first time in days. 

“Your win, Y/N.” 

“Hah! The day has finally come when I beat the king of the underworld!” You childishly replied before standing up to do a couple of jumps on the wooden floorboards and then sitting down again to give him this smug look on your face. Haknyeon just smiled as you began yapping about your training and how you discovered a new skill each day.

Before you knew it, you both had been sitting here for a few hours, and the sun was slowly rising. The rain was beginning to stop, and the birds were chirping away from the trees nearby. 

“Y/N. It’s time for us to head back-” Haknyeon was about to get up from his seat when he felt some weight on his shoulders. The moment he turns around to see that you fell asleep at some point, his eyes immediately soften before he leans back on one of the pillars at the dojo—pulling you in and cuddling you before he rests his lips on your forehead. 

“Let us be okay.”

At The Gates Of The Entrance To Earth From Hell

“This is why I hated coming up to the surface; the air stinks as fuck,” Balor exaggerated as he stepped foot into the forest with an army behind him. 

The other members were astonished by the new environment around them, given that it had been decades since so many demonic creatures had ascended to Earth since the war. They didn’t need to launch a full-scale battle, as they had already tasted victory with all the deities sealed away.

Until Haknyeon escaped from the depths of hell. 

Who would’ve thought that the peace that the underworld had experienced for the past couple of decades would abruptly come to an end all because the next successor refuses to accept his own fate and take over the throne? It was definitely a first in hell’s books.

The moment all the soldiers arrived at the surface, their aura immediately caused the nearby fields to wither away slowly—turning each corps from green to ash grey. The moment any animals decided to come close, Balor would simply snap his own fingers, and they would all perish in a split second. 

“Listen lads, I refuse to stay up here for long, and I suggest you all do the same before his highness loses his patience and tosses all of you into the scorching flames in hell. Doyle,” Balor points his spear at the young lad. “Locate Haknyeon’s whereabouts by smelling his scent.”

Doyle did exactly that by taking a whiff of the air before he pointed his comrades to the north. “He is headed up north, sir. But…”

“But?” Balor asked.

“His scent smells…different. It’s like he has someone with him, and it doesn’t smell like a devil to me.”

Surprised, Balor’s eyes widened, but the look was quickly replaced by a smug expression. He let out a sinister laugh that sent a chill down the spines of the other devils. There was a reason they were terrified of Balor becoming their commander, and they would do anything to ensure he didn’t replace their former leader, Donovan.

There were rumours that sparked around for centuries that he was a lot more dangerous than Lucifer himself, and he was the former right-hand man of Haknyeon’s grandfather. If he had the chance, he would’ve seized the throne and overthrown Lucifer if he wanted to. But nobody knows why he refused and has kept a pretty low profile for a long time now.

However, they have always been on the lookout for whenever Balor may slowly creep into one’s chamber at night, and the next thing that happens, they will perish or be killed by his own hands. Since Lucifer trusted him with everything, his Royal Highness would simply turn a blind eye and not care if there was one less demon in the underworld each day. 

It had been decades since the devils themselves had heard that specific laughter, and they knew that it could only mean bad news. 

Balor threw his head back and laughed menacingly, savoring each moment as his voice echoed through the forest. He couldn’t care less if someone heard him; in fact, he wanted someone to notice and be terrified of whatever tricks he was planning to pull.

All of a sudden, he snaps his head back and showcases this awfully frightening grin towards his underdogs, letting them know that the show’s just about to begin. 

“Just you wait, Ju Haknyeon. I’m going to rip you into shreds.”

Y/N's POV

“Oh my god…”

You could only mumble those three words in horror as you focused on the sight before you. Thankfully, the people of the forest did not live too far from the shrine, and it only took a couple of hours with the horses that the priest had provided both you and Haknyeon with. 

But nothing could’ve prepared you for what you had to see with your very own eyes. 

All the crops were wilted, and nearly everyone was malnourished, lying on the ground in a struggle between life and death. As you slowly marched into the tribe, the overwhelming stench in the air hit you immediately. How could these people have lived like this for years? No wonder they had suffered and taken the worst damage after what happened to their deity.

As you walked past each of the people, they didn’t even have the strength to look at you or give any reaction. You took your time to slowly examine each and every one of them: some were having trouble breathing while the rest were either coughing up blood or they had fallen into eternal slumber. 

Your grip against the reins on your horse tightened as you felt that you were on the verge of tears, and your actions didn’t go unnoticed by Haknyeon. He was catching up from behind, but he moved right up next to you and placed his hands on yours—squeezing them tight to give you some comfort.

“This was why I didn’t want you to come, Y/N. It’s just too much for you to handle and even for me.”

As much as there was some truth to what he said, you promised that you wouldn’t turn away from reality anymore and ignore your people anymore. You simply closed your eyes and took a deep breath before turning to Haknyeon to give him a weak smile.

“It’s for my people. I’ll be okay, promise.” 

Haknyeon knew from the back of his mind that you were the worst liar that he had ever come across. To be fair, he also had the ability to read other people’s minds, so it wouldn’t have taken any effort for him to decipher whatever you’re hiding behind those fake emotions after all. But because you insisted on coming even though you knew what the consequences would be, he simply hoped that you both could resolve the matters at hand as quickly as possible, and he would return you to the shrine in one piece.

It felt as if you were marching through the village endlessly, with the situation worsening the deeper you went. The people living farther inside the village suffered even more than those near the outskirts. But that wasn’t the only thing that caught your attention. At the very center of the town stood a massive hibiscus flower—at least thirty meters tall, long wilted for who knows how long.

You tried to focus hard, and just as expected, you noticed some red hues flowing into the flower. You followed the trail until you realised it was being exerted by the people of the tribe. It looked like they were exchanging their lifespan to keep the flower up.

Before you can even walk close to the flower itself, a voice emerges from behind you that causes both you and Haknyeon to turn around. There stood an elderly lady holding onto a scepter to support her as she walked towards you, struggling to breathe or have a proper conversation with you. 

You quickly leapt down from your horse to give her support before she ushered you both to the back of the village. Confused, both of you simply followed her for a while, as something told you that she had something important to show you both. 

Sure enough, you were led to what seemed to be a garden once filled with a variety of flora, now reduced to nothing but dry soil. In the center lay a tombstone, and the lady leaned down to brush off the dust that had settled on the marble over time.

It simply read: here lies our unforgotten deity, Ilana, who sacrificed herself in exchange for keeping the tribe alive. 

No. It can’t be.

“T-This…Is Ilana’s final resting ground?” You stammered, trying your best to hold back your tears as you rested your eyes upon your former comrade’s tombstone.

“We found her, or her statue, not long after the war ended. Our ancestors were the ones who created this resting place for her. It used to be a well-kept, beautiful garden—filled with vibrant flowers and creatures such as butterflies and fairies that made the place feel so alive. It seemed that our deity left a portion of her powers with her before she passed on, and it has kept us going for decades until the power slowly began to fade away, which caused us to suffer that fate that we have now.”

“Is that why your people…”

“Yes. The hibiscus flower that stands strong and tall at the center of the village is what keeps us people alive. It was our source of light, guidance, and even nutrition. However, when our deity’s power diminished, so did the sacred flower. Refusing to let it die, we people of the land decided to exchange our lifespan to keep it alive.”

“But why? Why would you sacrifice yourselves for that? You're all dying!" Tears welled up as your voice grew louder, prompting Haknyeon to gently squeeze your shoulders in an attempt to calm you down.

The lady simply chuckled weakly. “Perhaps, it may seem absurd to outsiders. But just like how everyone has something that they cherish deeply, it’s the flower of life that guides us through our everyday lives.” 

The moment you saw the look she had on her face, you knew that there was nothing that you could say that could convince her to do anything that she and her people have been doing otherwise. Instead, you composed yourself before telling her who you were and your purpose for visiting. 

“Well then, tell me what I can do to help. I’m the last living deity, overseeing the lakes and purifying all evil. I will not let you people suffer anymore, and I’m sure your deity would want the same.”

It was hard for either of you to tell when the sun had gone down, given that the entire village had been surrounded in darkness due to the heavy contamination in the air. The first thing you did right after speaking with the lady was to head back towards the sacred flower and try placing your hands onto the hibiscus to see if anything had happened.

Sure enough, your palms began to glow as you touched the flower, and it slowly shifted from black to a faint, vibrant red. Unfortunately, you could only sustain it for a few minutes before collapsing to the ground, causing Haknyeon to rush to your side to check on you.

You knew exactly what it meant. The flower was far too contaminated, and it would take a great deal of strength and time to completely purify the entire thirty-metre-tall flower. However, you wouldn’t take failure as an option, so you decided to turn your attention to other pressing matters.

You enlisted the help of the elder and Haknyeon to gather the people in groups, then gently placed your hands on their heads. As you expected, your powers were more than enough to cleanse their contamination, restoring them to full strength and health. As soon as each person recovered, they wasted no time running around the village to help others in need.

By nighttime, you have successfully healed one-third of the population before you realise that your body can no longer keep up with the excessive power you use today. It took Haknyeon a lot of convincing to pull you away from your responsibilities as he forced you to rest in the cabin the lady had prepared for you. 

As much as you tried to fall asleep, you kept tossing and turning throughout the night—barely getting a wink of sleep. With that, you finally decided that you weren’t getting any sleep for the night before you stood up and opened the doors to breathe in the somewhat less contaminated air. 

The fact that you were slowly able to see the bright stars shown in the skies somewhat gave you hope that these people would soon be freed from their nightmares. With that, you decided to share the good news with someone.

More specifically, with her.

You made your little trek up the hills until you reached the same garden the elderly lady had brought you earlier this evening. The moment you passed through the last patch of long branches covering your path, you suddenly laid your eyes upon the tombstone, where the moonlight was shining directly upon it.

Slowly taking a few steps towards it, you couldn’t help but smile as you saw the lights that reflected the marble. You made a little spot to sit down and rest your hands on the material.

“Hey, Ilana…it’s me,” you spoke while tears began streaming down your face. “You’re a warrior, and you’re a hundred years way up ahead of me. The way how you’ve kept your tribe alive after all these years, and the amount of devotion they have for you and the village? It’s something that I could never have done, even for my people.” 

Adjusting your seat as you scooched closer to the tombstone, you resumed whatever you needed to tell your friend. “I’m so sorry that you had to suffer the same fate as the other three, but I’m here now…and I will do my best to save your people if it’s the last thing I’ll do.” 

And that was it. You could no longer hold back your emotions and everything that you’ve held up to this point as you began sobbing uncontrollably. If someone were passing by, they would for sure hear your loud cries and probably report to the village. 

“I-It should’ve been me…why was I the only survivor? Why did you and the others have to go like that?” 

You kept on chanting those exact words, and till this day, you could never forgive yourself for how much the others have suffered for decades. You wished that you could trade places with them—that way only one tribe had to suffer for a little bit while the other four remained strong.

That doesn’t mean you don’t love your people, but you knew that things would somehow work out with the four deities being around. Hell, you haven’t even visited the other tribes yet to see how grave their situation was—you just knew and were told that Ilana’s tribe suffered the worst and were in grave danger. 

Your cries then turned into screams, and you could no longer hold back the overwhelming emotions that you’d been trying to contain for a while now. Immediately, a pair of warm arms wrap around your torso, and you know exactly who it is without needing to open up your eyes.

You hugged him tighter in response, and your tears flowed excessively to the point that it would ruin his leather jacket anytime now. But Haknyeon chose to remain silent as he cradled you in his arms. He caressed your head and rubbed your back, trying his best to give you as much comfort as possible. 

You were in so much debt to this man. He has been with you since the day you tried escaping and was on the brink of death. Although your first impressions of one another weren’t the best, you knew now that he had always been a good guy deep in his heart—even though he was a devil himself. 

About ten minutes had passed when you finally calmed down; you looked up at the man for the first time since he had arrived before asking him weakly.

“H-Haknyeon…do you think I can do it?”

This time, it was his turn to wipe your tears away before gently rubbing your puffy cheeks with his thumb—giving them a little squeeze to tease you just a little. 

“Affirmative, Miss Y/N.” 

Just then, his thumb that was pinching your cheeks suddenly moves down to your lips, swiping them once before he closes the gap between you two. 

“Tell me to stop if you don’t like it.”

Before you could even retaliate, he pulled you in and crashed his lips on yours. Deep down, you already knew in your gut that you had never wanted to reject his touch, which has become much more prominent, especially in the past couple of weeks. 

You needed him just as much as he needed you, and you wanted to savour his warmth and how sweet he tasted as long as you could. You were surprised at how his lips felt on yours because if you had told someone that the devil was a pretty good kisser, they would’ve thought that you had lost your mind.

But not Ju Haknyeon. He was different, and you were glad that you had given the devil himself a chance.

As you pulled apart to catch your breath, your tongues slowly untangled with a soft pop. You opened your eyes to take in the sight of him—his eyes glowing red, making him look even more irresistibly attractive than before.

“You didn’t reject it…” he panted. 

“Just like how you didn’t reject my lips, mister devil,” you challenged back.

“Hah,” he scoffed, rubbing his lips with his thumb. “You’re a needy woman.”

“Right back at you, Ju.” 

“Well then, one more?” 

“You’re damn right we’re going for another,” you smirked before pulling him down as you both fell back on the ground, reconnecting your lips with one another and savour it for as long as you possibly could before it was time to head back into reality in a couple of hours.

“How many people are completely healed?” The elderly shouted at one of the passersby.

“Two-thirds at this point, ma’am! We’re close to regaining our powers back!” 

“Well then, what are you guys waiting for? It’s about time we go help out the lake deity who’s exerting all her powers towards the sacred flower!”

Just as the elder had commanded, the people split into two groups: one headed towards the sacred flower to help purify the contamination, while the others stayed back to help the ones who were still too weak to stand up. 

With the unity of the entire tribe, you received far more help and support than you expected. The people of the land were able to channel enough power to sustain the flower’s life while you focused on purifying it. This saved you a great deal of energy, and the flower was already halfway restored, turning back into a bright, vibrant red.

“Only a little bit more! We can do this!” One of them shouted.

“That’s right! I’m sure our deity has sent the help we have needed for the past decade at this right time! Let’s push through, lads!” 

As you witnessed how the entire tribe came together as one to help save their homeland, you couldn’t help but hold back the happy tears as you was what you wished Ilana could’ve been here to witness it herself.

With that, you summoned your last ounce of strength and poured it into the hibiscus. Within seconds, the glow from your hands radiated outward, enveloping the entire flower. To your astonishment, the last remaining contaminated spot vanished into thin air, and the dark clouds in the sky dissipated as the bright sun shone down upon the tribe.

Immediately, the entire village erupted in cheers, with everyone hugging one another and letting their happy tears stream down their faces. The moment your eyes saw the outcome of your efforts, you finally let go of yourself before falling onto your knees, only to be caught by those warm pair of arms you love.

“I…I did it…I actually did it…” you said softly, looking up at Haknyeon, who returned this proud and touching look right back at you. 

“You’ve done so well, Y/N. You saved your people,” he praised before tightening his grip on you. 

You both took a moment to gaze lovingly at the people around you as you rested your head against the crook of Haknyeon’s neck. Your hands intertwined, you spoke softly, “This is such a proud moment for me. I feel like a proud mother watching these people finally reclaim their freedom after so long.”

“And they finally did because of you, Y/N. You deserve the credit.”

“No, Haknyeon. These people should deserve it after everything that they’ve been through. I’m just the lake deity passing through to provide some assistance.” 

Haknyeon simply smiled as he planted a soft kiss on your forehead. “Alrighty, Miss Y/N. Let’s go report back to the elder and check up on the rest of the people at the borders.”

“You’re right,” you stood up as you dusted your clothing. “Let’s go-”

“Maybe you should hold your horses right there, young lady.”

Both of you immediately shot up and prepared yourselves in defensive mode, scanning around to see where the source of that deep, taunting voice was coming from. However, it all seemed odd when the people were still cheering for their victory, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Until you felt a sharp pain in your neck, and it immediately turned into a cut as blood began oozing out profusely. You let out a scream as you fell to your knees—your vision began to blur from whatever had caused the injury.

What was going on?

Just then, grey clouds began emerging in the skies, and dozens of black swords fell from the skies straight to the grounds—the swords themselves turning into demonic creatures as they began holding all of the people captive. 

Then, a loud thunder began to rumble as a large sword fell straight upon both of you—and out emerged a tall, built devil. Judging by the look on Haknyeon’s face as he came into contact with whoever it was, you knew that it probably meant bad news. 

“Ah, Haknyeon. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? We definitely missed your company back in hell.”

“Balor. You shouldn’t have come,” Haknyeon gritted his teeth as he locked eyes with the man, both exerting their devil’s aura at once, taunting one another.

“Now, that’s not very nice to say to your senior, young lad. After all, I’m in charge of mentoring you the moment you ascend to the throne-”

“There will be no ascensions, and your mission ends here. I suggest you quietly bring your troop of men and leave before you try anything funny,” Haknyeon warns as he pulls out a katana and points it directly at his rival, getting ready for battle even if he had to harm his kin.

“P-Please!” Your voice squeaked, and both men turned their heads to you. “L-Leave these people alone…they do not deserve to get caught up in all of these…” you begged while trying to keep your balance and vision clear.

“My my, what do we have here!” Balor chuckled as he began swinging his spear playfully from left to right. “Who would’ve thought the Ju Haknyeon or soon-to-be Lucifer actually went to elicit help from the lake deity to change his fate? Hah! How pathetic!” 

Balor’s laughter erupted almost immediately, and you hated how much his voice stung and kept ringing in your ears. But thankfully, it didn’t last long till Haknyeon immediately charged in with his sword, and a full fight between the two devils eventually broke out.

Both of them were skilled enough that you couldn’t even see when their blades clashed against one another, and they were moving around at the speed of light. 

So this is what the devils are capable of. 

As much as you wanted to stop them, the injury you had sustained was far more gruesome than you thought, and your consciousness was slowly fading away until you felt another strong presence that had just appeared behind you. 

Instantly, the strong aura made your hair stand, and you froze in place as whoever it was leaned close to your ear and whispered just enough for you to hear.

“Who would’ve thought that you would actually escape my seal?”

The presence didn’t go unnoticed by Haknyeon as he stood utterly still—his eyes widened, and he saw who it was that had just come up to the surface.

“Lucifer…” he mumbled. 

"I suppose the rumors were true after all," Lucifer said, yanking a handful of your hair and lifting you like a rag doll. "The lake deity truly is the strongest among the five. My apologies for doubting your abilities."

“Leave her alone!” Haknyeon yelled at the top of his lungs, but he was soon stopped by Balor, who was now holding him down in one swift motion with his spear merely an inch away from his neck.

“Oh, my dear Haknyeon. We missed you dearly; you know that it’s bad manners to run off like that,” Lucifer growled, and your cries and pain only grew louder and more prominent the higher he lifted you up.

“Name your price, Lucifer. What are you planning to do? Leave Y/N and these people alone. This is a matter among us devils,” Haknyeon tried his best not to provoke the current Lucifer any further as all of your lives were at stake. Deep down, he was praying that whatever Lucifer had up his sleeves, it better not be the worst-case scenario that he had always feared from the back of his mind.

Sealing you away for good this time.

Time was ticking, and he was trying to come up with another negotiation if needed be. But it seems that Lucifer already had something up his mind, and he knew it could not be good.

“You know, Haknyeon. Maybe you should’ve thought twice before you ascended here on earth actually to find this stupid deity to change the prophecy.”

As Lucifer spoke his last words, he tossed you straight to the side before charging into Haknyeon—his claws piercing right through his chest, making him scream in agony. Lucifer then asserts an incredible amount of power into his successor—the power that Haknyeon had desperately tried to keep to himself broke free and finally consumed him as a whole.

His blonde hair gradually shifted to jet black, and his eyes glowed a permanent, blood-red crimson as the powers consumed him. The moment Lucifer set him down, he was no longer the person you once knew. He let out one final scream before the skies darkened completely, and heavy rain began to pour.

He was no longer human. 

Lucifer could only break into laughter at the sight of his successor’s transformation. He brought his hands together and applauded. “Behold, everyone! This is the new Lucifer, destined to be the lord of the underworld and rule here on Earth! But if you’ll excuse us, we have a ceremony to attend back in Hell.”

Lucifer then turns his head to look at you one last time before he slowly approaches you. “Oh, and I almost forgot. It’s only the right manners for me to dispose of trash like you.”

With a snap of his fingers, a black portal opened directly above you. He picked you up one last time and hurled you into the darkness.

You swirled through the void as if thrown into a rushing stream, screaming at the top of your lungs for anyone—or anything—to help stop this. But you were far from the village and the perpetrators, and the source of light was slowly fading away from you.

This was it. It was the end. You had failed the nation and Haknyeon. 

It was time to say goodbye to everyone and everything.

You had no idea how long you had been lying lifelessly on the shore. After being thrown out of the portal by the former Lucifer, you somehow found yourself near the sea, with waves crashing against you every few minutes.

In the beginning, you kept screaming your heart out as tears streamed down your face. You kept blaming yourself for everything that had happened. You were so close yet far from victory, and you shouldn’t have let your guard down when the creatures from the underworld infiltrated the people of the forest’s tribe.

You kept digging your hands into the sand, repeatedly dragging the material until your palms bled from the shards of broken glass and sharp shells that had accumulated over time.

You didn’t even want to think about what happened at the tribe. Those innocent people who had just escaped their worst nightmare were now back in the hands of the devil, and god knows what else they would have to suffer this time. 

Ilana’s tombstone. You really wished nothing had happened to your former comrade’s final resting place as you hope that she will no longer be in pain but be able to rest in peace. 

And…Haknyeon.

You’ll never forget the look of agony on his face when Lucifer pierced his heart and shattered the seal he had fought so hard to maintain. The way he transformed as the devil consumed him—his hair shifting from blonde to jet black, and his eyes turning a permanent blood-red—will be etched in your memory forever.

Every single time you thought about what happened to your fellow travel companion, the more you hated yourself. You both started off this journey with one sole purpose: you regaining back your strength and identity, and Haknyeon with his wish to change the prophecy. 

Yet, only one of you was able to achieve your dreams at the very end, while the other was now sent into the seven layers of hell to suffer his cursed fate. 

Suddenly, a massive wave crashed down on you as thunder rumbled in the sky, threatening to unleash a tsunami that could wipe out the entire shore. You floated aimlessly, struggling to keep your head above water to breathe, but eventually, the waves became too overwhelming and engulfed you completely.

As you sank deeper into the ocean, the light from above began to fade. Large sea creatures swam overhead, casting shadows that made your surroundings feel even darker and more desolate than before.

With that, you closed your eyes as you let yourself fall deeper into the depths of the ocean, not caring about anything in the world right now.

Maybe, you were just not fit to be called the Sacred Deity of the Lake anymore.

“Y/N? Y/N wake up, you sleepy head!”

Who’s voice was that?

Slowly, you began to open your eyes until the bright light was blaring right onto your face, causing you to rub your eyes for a bit before you could adjust your eyesight to look at where the source of whoever it was was coming from.

You looked around and your gaze finally landed on a woman standing just a few feet away. She had long blonde hair with hints of green highlights, and she wore a green dress that resembled leaves, adorned with blooming flowers at the hem. She offered you a warm smile with her hands tucked behind her back.

That could only mean one thing.

You immediately rushed and hugged her tight—resting your head at the crook of her neck. Tears began streaming down your face again until she returned the hug to you as she drew circles behind your back to help soothe you seemingly.

“Ilana…I miss you so bad…”

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? We have so much to catch up on.” 

For the next few minutes, you just savoured the moment of being able to reconcile with your best friend and take in the scent you’ve missed so badly for the past several decades. The moment you both broke apart from the hug, you couldn’t help but reminisce back on the good old days and the teasing started almost instantly between one another.

You both talked about how you had a snowball fight once where you ended up destroying one of the rooms back at the shrine and challenged one another to draw the funniest faces possible on your fellow deities when they were asleep. 

It was great to take a step back in time for a bit, and you really needed that distraction from what was happening in the real world.

“I saw what you did for my people back there, Y/N. I can never thank you enough for that,” Ilana looked at you with regret in her green eyes, feeling awful that she couldn’t be there for her people when they needed her most. 

“Don’t be. It’s our responsibility, after all, to keep the nation at peace.”

Right after you said those words out loud, your friend seemingly stared at the ground for a couple of seconds before you had to ask if everything was alright. The moment she held her head high up again, the look that she once had with you when you both first reconnected was now replaced with a much more determined and serious look as she placed her hands on your shoulders.

“That also means that I have seen the aftermath of what happened right after my people were freed from the fate they have suffered for the past several decades, and I’m here to tell you something very important.” 

“I-Ilana? Is something wrong?”

“Y/N, the reason why I’m able to appear here in front of you is because I was able to transmit the last remaining powers I’ve had for this moment. I’ve elicited the help from Astrophel for this-” 

Ilana suddenly stops midsentence and turns behind to see the three figures slowly approaching you. Sure enough, it was the other three deities that also suffered the same fate, just as Ilana did.

“Indeed, Y/N,” Astrophel continues. “This is a subconscious space that I created right before we passed on, for we knew it would come in handy, especially in times like this.”

“Y-You all knew I would break free from Lucifer’s curse?” 

“Of course we did. You are the strongest amongst all five of us, after all,” Mahuika smiled as she gave you a thumbs up. 

“We have always left a small portion of our powers within you right before each of us was sealed away. It’s just a matter of us returning to you like this at the right time. And you did the right thing when you touched Ilana’s tombstone back at her tribe,” Zephyr commented. 

“That’s right, Y/N. We have seen the damage the underworld has caused our beloved people for the past several decades. But now that you have awakened your powers, it’s time to overthrow them and change history again.” Ilana concluded.

You couldn’t help but smile as you took in all of your former friends' words as you’d missed hearing their voices. However, you slumped your shoulders in defeat the moment they were done talking, and each of them looked at you with a puzzled look.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but I fear that I’m no longer the lake deity that people once looked up to back in the day. I’m just a crippled, good-for-nothing deity who barely knows how to fight or control her powers no more. I failed to save the people of the forest and I- I also failed to keep a promise,” you choked back on your tears.

The other four deities simply turned their heads towards one another and gave each other looks before Ilana stepped forward to tilt your chin back up.

“It’s about Haknyeon, isn’t it?”

You gasped at the moment his name escaped from your friend’s mouth. Given that they mentioned how they’ve been watching everything that has unfolded until now, there’s no doubt they would probably have figured out the relationship between you two. 

“You know, I once had a dream about the God of Eternity warning me about the consequences of befriending someone from the underworld. If I had taken his advice back then, I might’ve been able to escape whatever has happened between us-”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Y/N.”

“Huh? What are you talking about, Ilana?”

Mahuika chuckled. “Who says we can’t change history and the norm? You befriend and help whoever you want!”

“Given that he hasn’t done anything but protect you up till this point, he’s definitely cleared in my books,” Zephyr replied confidently. 

“They’re right, Y/N. You need, or rather, will definitely be needing his help if you want to save the nation this time.” Ilana grip on your shoulders tightened. 

“But how? He’s no longer human and has completely turned into Lucifer himself. There’s nothing much he could do anymore…” 

“I would take those words back if I were you,” Astrophel points up as a piercing light shines down from above.

Suddenly, the consciousness of all four of your former deities began to fade, and you could no longer feel their hands on you. Panic set in as you frantically rushed from one to another, pleading with them not to leave you behind after all the years you had desperately tried to reconnect with them.

“Fear not, Y/N. We will be with you in your final battle. All we ask is that you trust yourself and in Haknyeon,” the four voices echoed before they eventually faded away.

With that, a large, dark hand descended from above and pulled you out of your space. You must have blacked out for a moment because when you came to, you found yourself back on the shore, watching the waves gradually calm after the storm.

It was then that you noticed you were lying on something much softer than sand. You felt a pair of arms resting behind your back and on your thigh.

And that scent. You will never forget it, especially how you’ve been travelling together for weeks. 

The moment you locked your eyes with him, you jumped up and hugged him as tightly as you possibly could as you rubbed your cheeks with his. He responded in the same way and planted a soft peck on your cheeks but never fails to make a teasing comment just like he always did.

“I do not recall that either of us would give up before we achieved what we wanted to.”

“I-It’s not that…” you sniffled. “I’m just taking a dip in the ocean.”

“More like you were drowning to me,” Haknyeon spat. 

“What matters is that you’re here now, and you’re alive and well,” you quickly kissed him once on the lips before you had to pull apart and bow your head down at him. “I-I’m sorry…I wasn’t able to help you change your fate…because now you’re-”

“That’s not my main concern right now, Y/N.”

You titled your head back up. “It’s not?”

“Well, for one-” Haknyeon grunts as he tries to stand back up. “-we need to go clean up the mess in the underworld before anything else. Those creatures would definitely catch up soon now that their king is dead.”

King is dead?

Wait. Does that mean?

“L-Lucifer is gone?”

Haknyeon turned his head down to look at you as he shuts his eyes. “He died in my hands, yes. Honestly speaking, he was a lot weaker than I thought. He was the one who awakened my powers, and yet he died because of it. How ironic, isn’t it?” 

You couldn’t believe your ears. You realised that the person right before you was now the current Lucifer, who had just overtaken the throne. He definitely gives off this darker and more sinister aura than before, but you knew that deep down, he was still the same person you have come to trust and love.

“Though I wouldn’t be so sure about Balor,” Haknyeon commented. 

“You mean the commander?”

“He’ll be our last enemy, Y/N. And we’ll be fighting him till the very end.”

“Woah woah woah, hold up. What do you mean ‘we’?” You stopped him in his tracks, hoping that what you’d heard was just a hallucination.

But it wasn’t. Haknyeon simply smirked before he opened up a portal, grabbed your wrist, and led you to it. “You don’t expect me to die alone in battle, do you? I’m going to need a partner-in-crime for this. Also, someone to heal my wounds after the battle is over.”

“Look at you being all confident saying you’ll win this,” you teased. 

“So, are you coming with me, my princess?” 

Oh, hell no. He did not just use that word against you.

“Name your price first.”

“Well, you can either join me or you can go have another dip in the tsunami. Your choice.”

You sulked. “You’re no fun. You just want me to suffer either way.” 

“It’s the only two options available now, Y/N. But I promise, we’ll be in this together till the end.”

That’s right. You were finally going to make things right, and your former deities promised to be with you in your final battle—each of their remaining spark of flame and powers nestled within you.

Taking a deep breath, you intertwined your fingers with Haknyeon and closed the gap between you two.

“Lead the way then, king of the underworld.”

“W-What is this…” Doyle stammered as he walked closer to inspect the huge pile of ash that lay on the throne. The moment he touched those ashes, it only left a permanent burn that felt so hot as if he had just tasted what it feels like to fall straight into the burning fires below.

“That, my fellow soldier, was what used to be the king or at least his remains,” Balor answered while polishing his spear as he placed it straight into the fire to let it burn for a couple of seconds before taking it back out.

“I-I don’t understand…how and when did all of these happen?” 

“Let’s just say that you can ask the gentleman who’s standing right behind you right now,” Balor threw one of his kunais straight towards Doyle’s direction before it was intercepted by a katana knocked it straight to the ground.

“Sacrificing your own soldiers just to kill me? You really are worse than Lucifer himself,” Haknyeon gritted his teeth as his devil aura began exerting excessively, giving Balor a death stare. 

You figured that since Haknyeon was in his own territory, he was definitely able to exert twice as much power as he did back on earth, and whoever wasn’t careful would undoubtedly lose their head to the current lord of the underworld himself.

“These foolish demons are nothing but pawns, just like Lucifer, who fell at your hands. He was far worse and more useless than his predecessors.” Balor stepped forward, pacing in circles at the center of the chamber. He taunted Haknyeon, beckoning him with a gesture to approach the stage for a duel.

“Something tells me that you’ve waited all these years for this very moment, for Lucifer to die that is.”

“Of course, young lad. I wasn’t about to get my hands dirty from killing him. Sure, he was an easy job, and I could’ve done it during the war. But what better for him to die under the hands of his successor; now that’s a scoop that’ll go down in history.” 

Haknyeon was slowly getting ticked off by his demeanour, and he immediately unleashed a large amount of power onto his sword, engulfing the katana in flames. 

Balor did the same, but his flames burned a dark purple instead. When both men reached a standstill, they charged at each other without hesitation. Their blades clashed in a relentless frenzy, and you struggled to keep up with the action as it unfolded before you.

You knew that you weren’t just going to stand there watching, so you armed yourself with your very own katana as you turned behind to face the hoard of army that was ready to skin you alive.

However, you have come prepared this time, and you’ve gotten help from your fellow deities within you. Focusing all of your energy at once, you glistened with a blue light surrounding you as you pointed your katana straight at the devils themselves.

“I’m not here for a fight, though if you insist, then you’ll have to suffer the consequences of my blade.”

As soon as you announced your intention, the entire army charged at you. You quickly got to your feet, striking them down one by one. Thanks to your purifying abilities, the demons evaporated into thin air upon contact with your blade.

Before long, you began to hear the voices of your fellow deities within you, each infusing their powers into your blade. With Zephyr's energy, you created a swirling vortex, while Astrophel’s power transported some demons to another dimension.

Mahuika’s flames were far hotter and more powerful than those surrounding the chamber, reducing the demons to ash with your blade's touch.

With Ilana’s power, you infused poison into their bloodstreams with every cut, causing them to collapse to their knees, suffering the effects of a toxin that could never be cure

Then it came down to your own powers. Channeling all your strength, you summoned a water dragon that coiled around your enemies, purifying them in an instant.

After clearing the path, you were left with a sole survivor with his back glued to one of the pillars at the very end. You recognised who it was as he was the one tagging along with Balor when you first encountered the male back at the tribe.

However, he seemed terrified, and he was in no shape to fight back. Instead, he quickly got on his knees and lowered his head, begging for mercy.

“P-Please! Please spare me! I have nothing to do with this!” 

“What makes you think that I should listen to you? You’re a demon from the underworld,” you posed the question as you rested your katana against his neck. Doyle begins sweating profusely, and you can tell by the sweatdrops that fell right onto your blade.

“Balor was never our leader! Donovan was! And we never wanted to have anything associated with him!” 

You narrowed your eyes. “What do you mean by that?” 

“H-He’s far more notorious than Lucifer ever was…and he has done far worse than what we know in the books. He must be eliminated if we want to prevent another war from happening,” Doyle cries out in desperation as he says those last words.

It definitely took a little bit of time for some convincing, but you decided to test out what he said was true. Grabbing hold of his arms as you pulled him up in one swift motion, you pushed him right in front of you with your blade situated right behind him.

“Lead the way to the chambers, then. And don’t try anything funny.” 

Doyle did precisely what you had proposed with his hands up as you both made your way into where Haknyeon and Balor were still going hard with one another. Instead of catching them still in battle with one another, both were now kneeling on the ground—breaking out in a cold sweat and trying to stabilise their breathing. Evidently, they had used up much of their strength, and it would be now or ever to end this duel.

“I must say- dear Haknyeon- you’re a lot stronger than I thought you were-” Balor panted as he used his spear to get back up on his feet. 

“I commend you for holding out for this long- nobody has ever lasted more than a minute when sparing with me-” Haknyeon challenged as he too slowly got back up and positioned himself carefully, trying hard not to lose his balance. 

However, both you and Doyle’s presence didn’t go unnoticed, and Balor wasted no time making use of his telekinesis power to move Doyle right in front of him with his blade piercing right into the side of his neck.

Both you and Haknyeon were shocked by what had happened and were about to make a move until you stopped what Balor had said next. “If you want to kill me, then you’ll have to kill this pathetic demon first.” 

You didn’t even need to hear Doyle’s cries as you could read the message from his mouth.

Please, save me.

Something in your gut just tells you that he would be a worthy comrade to save and potentially be of great help in the near future. You also wanted to trust the look in his eyes when you first confronted him before coming into the chambers. It looked sincere, and you knew he was here at the wrong time. 

Especially with everything you had been through with Haknyeon, not all devils and demons are just as bad as you’ve heard from the books. 

With that, you swiftly turned to look at Haknyeon before giving him a nod—signalling him to help distract Balor while you prepare for the final blow. Given that you still had the power of the four deities within you, you were going to focus all your energy at once and unleash them all with one final shot.

Thankfully, Haknyeon got the message and redirected his attention towards his enemy—charging straight into him while being careful not to harm Doyle in any way.

You only had one final shot and needed to be careful as you aimed at the demon from above. Balor notices your efforts and simply mocks you right there and then. 

“What can a useless, crippled deity like you do anything? You barely have any powers left within you after the battle back at the tribe!” 

You ignored his comments while he struggled with Haknyeon to focus and aimed at his weak spot. You desperately scanned through for an opening until you noticed a little reveal of his skin right at the top of the left ribcage, and it also had a scar that was about a century old. 

This was your only chance. Standing tall and firm with your sword at the ready, you took a deep breath and infused the entire blade with the combined powers of the five deities. Then, you leaped onto the platform, aiming directly for Balor’s weak spot.

However, you should’ve known this wouldn’t be as easy as you thought. What you thought was a scar was a seal—it kept him alive for so long as no contamination or abilities could ever harm him.

“Remember what I told you, young lady. You’ll never defeat me like this.”

Just then, Haknyeon scoffs as he forcefully pulls down Balor’s collar and positions his now sharp claws right onto the seal. “And this is when your overconfidence will kill you, just like Lucifer did.” 

The moment Haknyeon slashed the wound wide open, the seal immediately broke and the contamination from the air went straight into Balor’s body—causing him to scream as he pushed Doyle to the side before falling straight down to the ground. 

It was evident that the air was too much for his centuries-old body, absorbing far too much power than it could ever handle. Balor’s body immediately darkened and created a cracked appearance throughout, giving him little to no hope of recovering back to normal.

As you were distracted by everything, Haknyeon grabbed your hand, holding the katana while his other hand rested on your shoulders. You immediately divert your attention towards him as he reassures you with the look he has in his eyes.

“It’s our chance, Y/N. Let’s end this.” 

The second you nodded, you both dived straight towards the enemy and plunged the sword into the seal. The powers of the deities were far too strong for anyone to fight back against, and you both immediately backed off as far as you possibly could before he eventually exploded into ashes. 

With that, Haknyeon finally falls onto his knees as he lets go of the aura and powers he has been exerting throughout the battle, and you hold him in your arms. You both simply took the time to regulate your breathing before resting your forehead against his.

“It’s over…it’s all over now…you can rest… Haknyeon,” you sobbed as you ran your fingers through his jet-black hair, still glad it felt the same and just as soft as before. 

At that moment, Doyle approached you both and bowed his head in admission of defeat. Gently, you lifted his chin with one hand and rested the other on his head, channeling some of your remaining healing abilities into him. Instantly, his wounds began to heal, restoring him to his former self.

But that action only left him speechless. “Why are you helping me, Lake Deity? I’m clearly your enemy…”

Instead of you responding to the male, Haknyeon does it for you as he grabs onto his collar to pull him close and whisper into his ears.

“Don’t die on me now, lad. Because I’m going to be needing your help from now on.” 

The three of you then broke out into chuckles, and you stared at these two males before you before you looked straight up and closed your eyes shut.

“Thank you my fellow deities, you may all rest in peace now.”

“Oh my gosh! Did that really happened?” One of the boys shouted.

“Of course not! Who says the devils and humans can actually get along! It must all be a fairytale,” another child retorts back at the question with his arms crossed, shutting down any possibility of that ever happening. 

However, the children were simply cut off with a chuckle from the priest as she stood up with her kagura suzu in hand. “Now, I wouldn’t be so sure about that, my dear. After all, I am able to see anything that happens in this world and even below with my very own eyes. A priest never lies, doesn’t she?”

“Well then!” Another boy stands up as he walks closer to the priest. “How can we know that whatever you told us was true?”

Just then, a dove seemingly appeared from the skies, flying straight down to rest on the priest’s extended arms. The bird simply exchanged a few chirps as if it were talking to her before she let it go. 

“Perhaps you should head to the people of the waters to ask the Lake Deity herself, then.”

As the dove flies high in the skies, it spreads its wings wide and swiftly makes its way to where the tribe stands proud in the presence of their Lake Deity. This time, it seems that all four tribes are also gathered together as the crowd cheers with the few selected individuals on stage.

The moment you came up on stage dressed in a sky-blue kimono, the other four individuals already waiting for your arrival immediately bowed down to welcome your presence. As you cleared your throat to indicate that the crowd could lower their voices, you began your speech immediately. 

“To the people of the nation that I truly love, I am here today to bestow upon you your new deities! It will take a while for us to truly restore the peace in this nation, but fear not as your new deities will surely be here to guide you along the way.” 

As you finished your opening speech, you simply walked in front of each of the selected ones from each tribe, holding your hand out and resting it on their heads—transferring the last remnants of your fellow deities' powers into them to create a whole new generation of successors. 

Anala, the one who becomes one with the fire.

Cielo, the one who dances with the wind.

Orpheus, the one who controls space. 

And finally, Evanthe, the one who resonates with earth.

The moment you successfully transmitted all of the powers to everyone, the four individuals stood up as they bowed towards you, and you returned the same favour. “I look forward to working with all of you in this new generation.” 

The crowd immediately erupts in cheers as they finally get their deity after decades of pain and suffering. You could tell that everyone was eager to start rebuilding their tribe and make things right again. As you looked at these four new deities, you couldn’t help but smile as a single teardrop fell from one of your eyes. 

Mahuiaka, Zephyr, Astrophel, and Ilana. May your legacy continue on with these new young ones.

Once the ceremony has ended, your very own people from your tribe wasted no time to get the party rolling as a carnival was up and ready for each of the tribes to reconcile and get to know each other better, just like it used to many years ago. 

The elder was in charge of overlooking the entire event as he was busy trying to get all the servants to go around, ensuring nothing was amiss. Thankfully, your tribe were pretty much the outgoing ones, and you have managed to catch your eye on how many of them seemingly grabbed hold of different people from the other tribes to eat to their heart's content or even dragged them up on stage to dance. 

You simply sat on one of the rooftops as you savoured the moment, smiling as if they were your children who were playing and getting along well with everyone, as if you were a proud mom.

Your peace was short-lived as you were interrupted by a thump from your side, and you didn’t even have to turn around to look at who it was. 

“You’re late,” you commented.

“Not my fault that I’m now in charge of the underworld. A king’s got matters to deal with, just like you being a full-fledged deity now.” 

“So, what brings you here today? Since you said you were so busy dealing with your matters.”

Haknyeon simply scoffs. “What? Now I can’t even make time to come up and visit my own lover?” 

You scooched closer as you intertwined your fingers with him. You hated how your heart always melted upon those sweet, cheesy words he would say about you occasionally. “You could’ve come watch me at the ceremony, too.”

“God, you’re a demanding one.”

“And what if I am? I just want some love and attention after working so hard on my own,” you sulked before Haknyeon pulled you in for an embrace. “Okay fine, I gotta commend you on that. You truly have changed so much, Y/N. The nation will be saved once again all thanks to you.”

“Yeah, but not everything,” you sighed as you pushed Haknyeon away briefly. “I didn’t manage to help change your fate, after all.”

“Look,” Haknyeon pauses mid-sentence as he cups your face. “We’ve talked about this before. There’s no need for you to apologise for that. We defeated Balor; that’s what matters. Besides, the underworld is looking so much more different under my rule than it was centuries ago.”

“Well, I guess both humans and the devils being actual comrades is something that we have changed history about. And you know what, Haknyeon?” You looked at him with this smug look on your face. “I guess you do look so much hotter with jet-black hair. It pairs well with your leather jacket, too.”

“What? Are you just going to sweet-talk me and embarrass the shit out of me? If that’s the case, I’m leaving-”

“No~” you purred while clutching his arms tightly. “Don’t leave me just like that~”

“You’re being extremely clingy tonight, and I don’t know if I should be afraid of that or not.”

You simply smacked his arms to teach him a lesson. “It’s your fault that we can’t see each other often.Just let me enjoy this tonight, okay?” You rolled your eyes back at the male before leaning down to rest on his shoulders. 

Both of you stayed like this for a while until the fireworks started going off, filling the night sky with vibrant colours. It was also part of the saying where people tend to get sentimental when they see things like that, and that was exactly what Haknyeon decided to say to you as he tilts your chin to face him.

“Thank you, Y/N. For trusting in me since the day we’ve met and for showing me how being the devil himself isn’t all so bad, after all.” 

As much as you wanted to retaliate with another teasing comment, you decided not to break the wholesome moment you both had by going a different route instead. 

“Right back at you, Haknyeon. Thank you for giving me a purpose to live again.” 

The moment you finished your sentence, Haknyeon pulled you in for a kiss, and you pushed yourself forward to make sure you savored up the taste of his lips once again. It definitely felt different from where you both shared your first one back at Ilana’s tombstone, and you were glad that the kiss has much more of a deeper meaning this time. 

His fingers gently glide through your long, silky dark hair while his other thumb pushes your lips down so that he can gain more entry for the kiss—both of your tongues intertwine with one another until it becomes a battle of who’s able to hold on for long. 

When you two broke apart from the kiss, you simply rested your forehead against one another and stayed like this for a few seconds–enjoying the peace while the fireworks went off in the background.

“Please tell me you’re staying for the night,” you panted.

“Only if you want to,” Haknyeon responded. 

“And then we’ll go on a picnic date tomorrow morning?”

“That is if Doyle promises to bake the macarons in time. He says it’s some sort of ancient recipe his grandparents had passed down to him and you’re the lucky one who’s going to be taste tasting it for the first time in centuries.” 

You simply chuckled at that cute comment about Doyle. You loved how he has also become part of both of your lives now that he has been promoted to being Haknyeon’s right-hand man. 

“But what if I get a bad reaction from his macarons?” You teased.

“Then I’m tossing him into the flames, and he can perish for all I care.” 

You simply shook your head at your lover whenever he made sarcastic remarks like this whenever Doyle was mentioned. He knew you fancy him, and sometimes it gets a little too overboard (according to Haknyeon himself). Knowing that jealousy doesn't look good on Lucifer, you decided to devise something reassuring to keep him on track.

“I’ll also make you your favourite tangerine jello cake tomorrow if that counts.”

“Does Doyle get a piece or not?”

“Nope, just for you. But he’s getting a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies if that’s okay.”

Haknyeon simply smiled at your cute comment, and he was just so happy to be the luckiest man alive and have someone like you by his side. No matter the differences between you two, you are now part of one another, and you will change history by making both humans and devils be part of each other’s daily lives from now on.

Just like that, Haknyeon plants one more kiss on your lips before cuddling you in his arms as you two watch the last batch of fireworks together for the night.

“I look forward to our date tomorrow, then. I love you more than you could ever imagine, Y/N. And I will never let you go any more, and I hope you’re prepared for that.”

A/N: yall my laptop crashed so many times while writing this i really hope yall will love this work as much as i do 🥹💗

masterlist

taglist: @deoboyznet @kflixnet @k-films @flwoie @gluion @kyusqult @tinkerbell460 @sulkygyu @jaerisdiction @lngwayup @djidfk @Doorhak @adorhak @daisyvisions @momhwa-agenda (join my permanent taglist here!)

[daisyvisions]

✦ Day 23 - Squirting

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. Pairing: Cam!boy roommate Haknyeon x inexperienced afab!reader

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. Word Count: 2K

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. Warnings: Smut (18+, minors DNI), squirting, fingering, groping, dirty talk, livestream porn (?), choking (if you squint), Haknyeon referring to reader as “honey” majority of the time. Reader feels insecure for a moment. Proofread once, hope you enjoy!

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. A/N: If you saw this being posted late… you didn’t… Anyway! Felt like the direction of this story needed to change but I ended up liking it a lot. We need more Hak fics in tbzblr! 😭

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. Network: @deoboyznet

✦ Kinktober Masterlist ✦

“This is a bad idea…”

You mumbled to yourself as you paced back and forth in front of Haknyeon’s room. Nibbling on your nails trying to find the right moment to knock on his door.

Your roommate Haknyeon (god bless his wonderful soul), was the best roommate you could ever ask for. He practically did almost everything you asked him and always did his side of the apartment chores on time.

He even paid for three-fourths of the monthly rent! Well, to be fair that money did come from his side gig… which was being a popular cam boy.

It wasn’t something he hid from you, he was very straightforward about it because he didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable or suddenly catch him doing something you weren’t supposed to see.

Haknyeon was even worried the day you two talked about sharing the apartment that you might even back out as soon as he said what he does for a living. But you weren’t one to judge. Surprising yes but you held his hands that day and told him it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

And from that moment on Hakyneon was truly grateful for having you in his life.

You knew was one of his livestreams was happening at this moment. He told you his schedule as soon as you moved in just to avoid any inconveniences between you two.

You felt like you were gonna leave carpet burns from all your pacing. You mentally slapped yourself in the face and decided that it’s now or never.

You knocked on the the door three times waiting for his response. Before you could even knock on the door again you saw the doorknob turn slowly, making you even more nervous at how slow this was going.

“Hey!” Haknyeon greets you through the small crack, enough for you to see his flushed out face and the robe covering his body. “Did you need something from me?”

“I-uh.” The rehearsed words were getting stuck in your throat.

This was a bad idea.

“I’m not being too loud am I?” You can see the slight worry in his eyes.

“Oh no not at all! Not like that one time...” You blushed looking down at your feet.

“I- I was gonna- well, I was wondering-” You continue to stutter.

“Honey you’re scaring me, are you okay?”

“Shit you’re gonna laugh at me for this-” You cover your face with your hands as small tears begin to fall from your eyes.

Haknyeon quickly shuffles his feet to go out of his room for a moment. He gently grabs your wrists and pulls them away to see your face.

“Look at me.” He holds your face in his hands as you stare at the ground, trying not to make this worse than it already is.

“Talk to me please? What’s going on?” His thumbs caress your face. Somehow this gesture calms you down and look up him, his gentle eyes easing your rapid heartbeat. You let out a big sigh before finally saying what you needed to say to him.

“I-I watched one of your livestreams o-one night-” You pause for moment but you can already see Haknyeon’s cheeks slowly blush again like yours.

“-and well… I don’t really have much experience o-on those kinds of t-things…”

“I- I was wondering if maybe… maybe you could teach me how?” You look into his eyes waiting for his response.

Haknyeon’s eyes grew wider, he felt frozen in his place as soon as you asked him that question. You easily mistook Haknyeon’s silence as a form of rejection, making you cry a little more. Who would want you like that anyway?

“Never mind. This was a bad idea.” You tried to pull away from him, but his hold on your face became firmer, enough to signal you to stay put but not enough to hurt you.

His eyes suddenly soften and he lets out a sigh of contentment.

“It would be an honor to teach you-” He leans to kiss your forehead and you both giggle.

“Let me just wrap up my session and then I can-”

“Actually, I was thinking- if you wanted- you could do it during your live session…” You whisper.

“…Are you sure that’s what you want?” He looks into your eyes, making sure he heard you clear. You nod your head in response.

“I’m gonna need you to say words, can’t let you in my stream if you don’t give me your full consent. Are you sure about this?” He asks you once again.

“Yes. Yes I’m really sure about this.” You respond.

“Okay, let's go.”

“Sorry for the wait guys, but we have a special guest joining us tonight.” Haknyeon speaks to the camera, adjusting it lower so it’s only focused on his body. Gratefully, his cam shows were the type to never show his face so he made sure yours would not be seen too.

You're seen in the background but blurred out from how far you were from the camera. Already stripped down to your underwear as Haknyeon instructed you to do.

“C’mon now, don’t be shy.” He turns his chair for a bit to motion you to come forward. You take slow steps, trying to breathe slowly as you walk towards him. You can’t believe this was happening right now.

He held your waist and made you sit on his lap, already feeling his slightly hard erection under his boxers nestling between your ass.

“Now everyone, this is my friend. Can you say hello to everyone?” You show a small little wave and let out a small hi. You can already see a few comments saying how cute you are, how beautiful your body looks, and a couple of “it should’ve been me 😩”.

“Okay before we begin, my friend here asked me to teach her a few things. She’s new to all of this so please be nice in the comments alright?” He says to the camera before looking at you.

“What do you want to learn today honey?” His lips dangerously close to yours.

“Well… I wanna learn how to properly t-touch myself…” You shyly reply.

“Lucky for you, I’m the perfect person to teach you that. Isn’t that right everyone?” He smiles.

“Okay, just look at my screen as I teach you so it’s easier that way. Can you do that?” You respond with a small “mhm”.

Haknyeon tilts your head to face his as he leans to kiss you. And god do his lips feel like heaven.

He starts off with small pecks gradually turning them into deeper kisses. When he slips in his tongue and twirls it in your mouth, you instantly moan.

“Mmm..” He groans into your mouth, continuing to make out with you as his hands slowly go up to squeeze your breasts. The act making you squirm a bit on his lap, unintentionally rubbing your ass on his covered cock.

“You’re so pretty when you make those sounds.” He mumbles against your lips. “And they’re all just for me.”

He dives in to kiss your neck, sucking on the sensitive skin and he unclasps your bra and pinches your hardened nipples. You moan even louder at how he touches you.

“You like that honey? Like it when I play with you like this?” His hot breath whispering in your ear.

“M-more…” You whine, your head starting to get dizzy from how slow and sensual his touches are.

“I’ll give you more, only if you say please-” He nips a sensitive part of your neck, making you yelp in surprise. “Please, give me more…” You beg.

“Such a good and behaved girl.” He licks the part he slightly bit.

You feel his hands sliding down the sides of your body until he hooks his fingers to the waistband of your underwear, signaling you to help him remove the small piece of clothing. After, his hands make their way to your inner thighs slowly spreading your legs apart. He gently runs two fingers between your folds, making you gasp at the sensation.

“Look at that everyone, see how wet she is for me?” He says in your ear but at the same time talking to his audience.

“Okay honey, open your eyes and look at the screen.” You do as he says, watching him slowly spread your folds apart with his fingers.

“You see this here?” He points to your sensitive bud with his free hand.

“This is your clit, think of it as a magic button. When you rub on it like this-”

He begins to circle your throbbing clit while still spreading your folds apart with his other hand for you to see clearly what he’s doing to you. “-it makes you feel really good.” You moan at the touch.

“You can move it slowly like this-” He continues to rub it gently. “Or… You can move it faster like this-” He quickens the movement of his fingers. You moan at the sudden increase in pace.

“Oh you like that? Like it when I make it rough?” He tuts.

“Yes, yes please, faster. Faster Ha-” You nearly say his name until he firmly grabs your throat, looking you with stern eyes to warn you about your little slip up.

You slightly panic at nearly revealing his name but at the same time your eyes start to become hazy at the pressure of his hand around your neck.

All you can hear are the coin sounds chiming from the livestream, audiences rapidly donating to the hot scene unfolding in front of them.

“Better behave honey, or else I can’t give you what you want-” He whispers for only you to hear.

You continue to pant and moan as he continues to play with your clit roughly, your arousal coating his fingers by the second.

“Feels so good…” You moan out.

“Can't believe I get to do this to you. Thinking about playing with your sweet little pussy while I fist my cock at night.” He groans, lifting his hips to push his hard bulge deeper into your ass.

“Please honey- Can I keep playing with you like this all the time?” He whines.

“Uh-huh.” You start to squirm in place, your hips rolling trying to get in more friction from his fingers.

“Fuck, I’m cumming!” You shout, you shudder as your body becomes overwhelmed with all these sensations happening. Haknyeon continues to rub circles on your sensitive bud, making you squirm under his grasp even more.

“I-I don’t feel so good-” You whine. “Feel like I’m gonna- ugh!” You scream, suddenly crying moans echoing through the room as fluids gush out from your body.

“Oh fuck-” Haknyeon watches the sight before him. He just made you squirt for the first time… and in front of people watching too.

More pings and coin sounds chiming, you couldn’t read what the comments were saying by how fast they were moving but by the looks of Haknyeon’s face, you could tell it was a good sign.

Haknyeon’s fingers stop circling your bud, hands now soothing your inner thigh as he plants kisses on your neck.

“You did so good honey.” He whispers in your ear.

“Thank you.” You look at him with fucked out eyes as he kisses your forehead, your tired body laying against his.

“Looks like I'm out of business, everyone loves you instead of me now.” He smiles while pointing his lips to the screen. You try your best to read the comments but all you could remember seeing were things like, “🥵🥵🥵”, “she needs to be on the show again”, “get in line, she’s mine 😤”

“What do you think honey? Wanna be part of my streams?” A glimmer of hope shining in his eyes.

When you nod he kisses you passionately, pressing your hips down to feel his aching cock against your ass,

“Good, because that was just the beginning…”