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Chapter Three : Holy Fool

genre : horror, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, eventual smut, enemies to lovers, alternate universe, slow burn

pairing : ot8 x reader, demon!ateez, born-againangel!reader

chapter warnings : arguing, crying, panic attack (not heavily described), let me know if i missed anything!

a/n — thank you all sm for waiting patiently for this 💖 i started writing this chapter and then was like “man i hate the way i write” so i lost all motivation but i eventually got it back so here is chapter 3 🩷 i hope you all enjoy it! i hope to get more writing done since im going on break soon but we shall see! please let me know what you all think!

wc : around 6.5k

MDNI

holy fool masterlist | chapter two | next

“Don’t let the Demon become any of the wiser,” a mantra that you have been telling yourself, a chant that has consumed your mind in the hours since you talked to Angel Zen. It was an easy task for an Angel to take on. Don’t let the Demon know you won’t come back. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t come to look for you, he didn’t all those years ago.

As the time on the clock ticks, the more anxious you become. If the rawness on the inside of your mouth is any indication of how nervous you are feeling then you wish the impending assignment would never come. You know he will be there, tapping on the window and begging you to let him in. In retrospect, you are unsure as to why you did. Why were you not scared of him? It isn’t a question you dwell on too long, the prayer time now approaching.

The one time you wished that the prayer would last an eternity, it went quickly. You sigh to yourself, looking around for Poppy. She isn’t there which isn’t much of a surprise. You have to go down for your assignment but the impending doom is a feeling you can’t shake off of yourself.

“One last night,” is the new saying that consumes your brain as you transport yourself down to your assignment. One last time and then you are free.

—

You transport yourself into a different place than usual, opting for the bathroom in the apartment instead of the living area or the kid’s rooms. The bathroom offers a protection from the demon. No windows for him to knock on, no windows for him to wait for you at here. You know he’s there waiting, you can feel him. You wonder if he can feel your heart race. He knows that you didn’t end on a good note, but there is no way that he knows that you aren’t coming back down to Earth after tonight.

You slowly make your way to the kid’s rooms. As you enter, your suspicions are proven true as the man — or Demon of the hour is at the window. His features aren’t as alive as they used to be. The whites of his eyes red from crying accompanied by dark eye bags. The most telling was the smile he always wore had not been plastered on his face. You think back for a split second of all the times he had not been smiling, and you could count them on your hand.

“Cherry,” he sniffled. His voice was small compared to how he normally sounded. Hearing — and seeing him like this broke your heart. It shouldn’t, considering he’s a King of Hell. You choke it up to being a good Angel, but you don’t want to analyze it any deeper.

Walking over to the baby’s crib, you ignore the man outside the window. Your own tears threaten to fall but you don’t let them. “You’re such a pretty little baby, Ariel. I know you’ll do great things one day,” you say softly. You’re acting like he is not there but all you want to do is see him. Talk to him. You aren’t supposed to feel this way. It isn’t right.

“Cherry, please let me in, let me explain. Please,” He pleaded with you. You chose to ignore him, instead placing yourself inside the baby’s crib. He doesn’t try to talk to you any more after that, and before you know it you are drifting off to sleep.

The rustling of the toddler wakes you, making you fly up from your laying position. You rush over to him, entering his dreams. The culprit of the nightmare is none other than his father, a scarier version of the human one he has to encounter every day. You shoo him away and calm down the boy. Once you leave the boy’s nightmare, the sky has lightened. You don’t see the demon anymore, but you feel him. You’re almost done.

The man shows himself and it causes you to fall back a bit. “Cherry,” his voice strained.

“I’m sorry, please don’t get attached to me,” you reply

“Why?”

“Because,”

“Because what,”

“You won’t see me any more after this,”

“What do you mean?,” his voice shivers

“I’m not going to be put on any more Earth assignments,”

“What?,”

“This is my last one,”

“No,”

—

The Demon appears in the room in an instant, an angry look on his face.

“How are you in here? I didn’t allow you,” you scream at him.

“My Cherry Blossom, one thing you will come to learn is that Kings can do anything when they’re angry. Or whenever, but that’s besides the point.”

“Get out.” you say in the most demanding voice you can muster.

“No,”

“Yes,”

Wooyoung moves to the end of the bunk beds and looks to you and moves his sight to Ariel, who is still sleeping soundly in her crib.

“Leave her alone,” you snap

“You or the baby,”

“What!? You can’t make me choose. Neither,”

“Incorrect answer,” Wooyoung smirks and starts walking towards the crib. You make a run for it, expecting to hit the crib. But you never do, instead you hit cold marble floors. Not the carpet that lays on the floor of the kid’s room. You hear several pairs of footsteps, and the scents that follow them are overwhelming. You hear one last pair walk behind you. You know who that is. Wooyoung.

You try your best to compose your emotions. To not be sad, angry, anxious but you’re finding it very hard to not yell at the man behind you. But what you want and what your body is compelled to do are two totally separate things.

“Cherry, why don’t you look up and meet the other Kings,”

The other Kings. You’re fucked.

“Wooyoung, why don’t you take me back to where I was?” you replied, speaking calmly as you could.

“That’s King to you,” you hear from the front of you. You look up and towards the direction of where the voice came from, and you see a slender, but muscular man.

“If you think I will refer to him — or any of you as King then you are sincerely out of your mind.” you bite back. Dissatisfied groans emerge from the seven of them, you hear Wooyoung’s footsteps emerge behind you.

“I didn’t tell them to call me King, I don’t mind them not referring to me as one,” Wooyoung responded to the seven of them.

“And why is that?,” the smallest of the seven questions.

“They’re the one, from the prophecy.”

“NO I’M NOT,” you scream as loud as you can. The situation is all too overwhelming for you. You pass out after your outburst, hoping that they won’t care enough to touch you.

—

You aren’t sure how long you have been passed out and when you wake up the first thing you do is bring your hair in front of your eyes. Still golden. You’re still an Angel.

“None of us touched you,” a deep voice emerged from behind you. Your head snaps back to look at the demon behind you, the demon with you is not Wooyoung. You passed out before introductions were in order so you never learned their names. The man’s scent was very clear though — tobacco.

You don’t know what to say to the man and you don’t look at him for long before you turn back around and look at your hands. Your lips quiver as your first instinct is to cry in your situation but you don’t want to look weak in their eyes. But you already passed out in their presence so how strong were you really?

“You will need to find a way to make yourself comfortable here, because you aren’t going anywhere,” the man says gruffly.

“Why can’t one of you just take me back? An Angel doesn’t belong here,” you say trying to reason with the man.

The man gets up and stalks towards you sitting down before crouching down to your level before sticking his hand out right above where your hand lays on your knee. “Touch my hand here and you will belong here just fine then," the man urges while smiling cynically.

You move back further from him, being careful to not touch the man. You are very angry at the whole situation but you call the only familiarity that you have in the Hell which you have been brought. “Wooyoung, Wooyoung, Wooyoung,” you try to yell, but it comes out more as a shaky plea. Wooyoung shows up instantly, teleporting to your side.

“Yes my sweet Cherry,” he answered as he crouched down to your level. You look between him and the taller male, unable to really gather your words at that moment. Wooyoung watches as you look at the other demon and back at him before speaking again. “Did Seonghwa scare you?” he asked honestly.

“I-I- I don’t know who he is. But I don’t like him,” the man scoffs as you answer Wooyoung, which causes you both to look towards him.

“He didn’t introduce himself to you?” Wooyoung asked and you shook your head no which causes Wooyoung to sigh as he shakes his head. “Cherry that’s Seonghwa. He’s the eldest,” he explains before standing up to look at the other man. “And you are not supposed to be scaring them,” Wooyoung remarked to Seonghwa.

“I didn’t ask to be put on babysitting duty,” Seonghwa grunted back to Wooyoung.

“I don’t need to be babysat,” you exclaimed to both the men who seemed to pay no attention to you.

“Well then take it up with Hongjoong," The elder one hissed.

"He also told you to not scare them,” Wooyoung responds to Seonghwa before turning back to you. “Now you come with me,” Wooyoung orders. You get up, following Wooyoung quietly. You look directly at his back not knowing what you may see if your eyes grew curious.

He brings you to a lavish room. It was adorned with forest green and black with anything you could ever dream of having in a bedroom. “Do you like it?” Wooyoung asks.

You definitely wouldn’t have picked the exact decor theme but you are not telling him that. “I am grateful,” you answer to him. “Am I staying here until one of you take me back to Earth?” You question.

Wooyoung chuckles at your words. “Angels don’t know how to lie, so stick to being truthful. Also, you aren’t leaving here. Get comfortable,” Wooyoung smirked before dissappearing. For the first time since you were kidnapped, you are alone. You get into the bed. You decide to sit in the middle of the bed with your back against the headboard as you take in the whole room. You have a dresser, a walk in closet, a bathroom, a vanity, and a desk that has a computer on it? You don’t even know what to think of all this.

Soon, the weight of the situation dawns on you and you break down. You begin to sob and call for Poppy through your bond. You know it will go unanswered, but you have to try. Your pleas for God go unanswered in that moment and you even call for Angel Zen. His name falling from your lips is a true testimony to how desperate and sad you are in that moment.

As you are breaking down, you hear a subtle lock on your door. You get as quiet as you can, hoping that whoever is at the door will realize that they are at the wrong one. When you don’t answer after a couple more knocks, the door opens a crack.

“I’m coming in,” a man with a deep voice says before entering. As he walks in, the room fills with the smell of leather. He has a glass of ice water in hand that he sits down on the bedside table next to you. He brings the chair from your vanity to sit next to the bed.

He is a little bit taller than Wooyoung and a little shorter than Seonghwa. He’s muscular with long black hair and a pastel yellow outfit. He looks at you before speaking again, “Drink the water,” he asks more than demands while gesturing to the water with his head.

“I don’t need to drink water to survive,” you quip back, trying to set yourself assertively.

“But you were just crying so you will feel better if you do,” he responds calmly.

“I guess,” you say as you pick up the water before taking a sip. The iced water feels soothing on your throat as you drink it. “Thank you,” you mumbled before setting the glass down on the bedside table.

“Let me introduce myself,” he says before getting up to walk around the room. “I’m Yeosang,” he told you with a calm voice. The name made you instantly recall the memory you had with your best friend at the bakery.

“W-what sin d-do you rule over?” You ask hoping that his answer won’t be what you think it is.

He seems a bit shocked by your question, like he wasn’t expecting it. “Gluttony, why?” he questions. His answer hit you like a ton of bricks, and you cry. “Why are you crying?” he questions while walking closer to your bed.

“Why are you in here? Can’t I be alone?,” you ask him with pleading eyes.

“No. One of us will be with you at all times,” he answers quickly before sitting back on the chair.

“You hate me though,” you respond

“Why would you think that?” He questions honestly

“You got mad at me earlier,” you answer and confusion stains his features as he thinks to the events from earlier.

“I was just confused that Wooyoung didn’t mind you not using.. his title for him. That’s all. I was protecting him more than anything. Don’t worry,” he says hoping to ease your thoughts. “Besides, I’m the nicest one out of all of them. Besides Yunho and Mingi but they’re huge so we decided it’d be best for me to come in as to not scare you as much,” he adds.

“I just want to go to sleep,” you say tearfully. Your emotions are getting too much for you to handle again and all you want to do is cry.

Yeosang nods at your words before going to turn off the light and close the curtains in your room, making the room significantly more dark than it was before.

“Is it okay with you if I cry?” You ask quietly. You aren’t sure why you feel inclined to make him comfortable when he refuses to help you out of an uncomfortable situation, but nevertheless you ask him.

“Cry all you need,” he answers honestly before sitting down at the computer desk and turning it on. “I hope you don’t mind if I play while you sleep. I won’t be loud,” he adds.

You nod, letting him know that it’s okay for him to play games. “Will you be here when I wake up?” you question as you try and get more comfortable in the bed. “I don’t think I-I can handle so many new scents and demons at once,” you say honestly.

“Yes, don’t worry. I’ll be here when you wake up,” he responds calmly before giving you a small smile and then turning around to focus on the technology in front of him.

You move the pillows around you mimicking a sort of nest and then laying the accent blanket over your form. For a moment, you feel content. Except for the faint clicks on the keyboard and the smell of leather that engulfs the room, that you notice easily overpowers our cherry blossom scent. Otherwise, there is no indication that you weren’t alone.

Yeosang seemed to be a quiet individual, someone who didn’t like much attention. You sit and think to yourself for a bit, about what is going to happen to you. If you’ll ever be able to get out of the place that Wooyoung selfishly brought you to. The thoughts plague your mind, but your exhaustion is greater. You eventually let your mind rest so that you can fall asleep in the makeshift nest that you’ve made for yourself.

—

A while later, you wake up but you don’t open your eyes. The smell of leather is still very strong around you which means that Yeosang is still there but the faint smell of coffee also lingers in the room.

“You’re awake,” Yeosang doesn’t question but states. You open your eyes before sitting up straight and stretching, making sure to not look towards where Yeosang is. Once you’re done, you look towards Yeosang and his surroundings. You’re trying to find where the smell of coffee is coming from but you cannot see anything coffee scented around which confuses you. “What’s on your mind?” Yeosang asks calmly.

“I smell coffee but I don’t see any,” you respond quickly and quietly, wondering to yourself if you were going crazy.

“Mingi was in here earlier,” Yeosang replies before bringing the chair next to your bed before sitting again. You give him a confused look, opting to not verbally answer him. “He was supposed to watch you next, but I told him you wanted me to stay with you until you woke up,” Yeosang adds after seeing your confused expression.

“Thank you for staying,” you respond before taking a deep breath, “I probably would have passed out again if someone besides you or Wooyoung was in here,” you answer honestly.

“I know, don’t worry. Mingi was only a little hurt,” Yeosang giggles before leaning towards the bed, “Also, Hongjoong wants all nine of us to meet later in our meeting area. I can show you where the clothes are and everything you need to shower should be in your bathroom,” he says, looking at you to gauge your response.

“Do I have to?” You ask pitifully, knowing that the answer Yeosang is going to give you will not be what you want to hear coming out of his mouth. He nods, which makes your heart drop.

“He wants to meet today but it doesn’t have to be a set time, so take all the time you need getting ready,” he responds hoping to ease your fears.

“Where are the clothes?” you question. Yeosang moves the chair back to where it belongs before waiting for you to get out of your bed. He takes you to the walk in closet where there is an assorted amount of clothes and shoes. There are nine different colors for the wardrobe with the shoes being black, a color that would easily go with each color of clothing. “Do I wear a certain color on each day of the week?” you ask before walking into the closet and taking everything in.

Yeosang giggles which causes you to look at him with confusion. “No, basically there is a color that each one of us Kings is associated with. You see my yellow shirt? That’s my color. Hongjoong’s is red, Seonghwa’s is pink, Yunho’s is baby blue, San’s is purple, Mingi’s is orange, Wooyoung is dark orange as you probably remember from the times he’s visited you, and Jongho’s is brown,” Yeosang answers swiftly.

You don’t answer but rather you walk up to the black clothes and pick up the material showing it to the King with a “then who owns this color” kind of look. He smiles shyly before answering, “Black is no one’s. So you’ll probably end up wearing it today. If you wear one of our colors it kind of symbolizes how you feel.. about a certain one of us you know?”

After hearing his response you quickly pull a black outfit off the racks before walking into the bathroom. You look at the assortment of shampoos, conditioners, and body washes and notice that they are all scented with various things.

“Yeosang, is there anything unscented?” you question.

“Uhm, I don’t think so. Why?

“Because I will mask my scent if I use this,” your response earns you a laugh from the man, which causes you to scowl. You quickly remove the look from your face because you remember that you are in fact an Angel.

“Your scent doesn’t matter down here. It is not as profound as it would be on Earth. Also, you’re in the King’s palace so all of our scents easily overpower your scent anyways. So just use what is there,” he responds before teleporting back to the other side of the room.

You close the door before sitting on the stool in the bathroom and sighing. You haven’t used scents to wash yourself since you were a human. You also haven’t seen any of them teleport since getting here. You knew that there is multiple things that they can do and that scares you quite a bit. You don’t really know the extent of their powers which is scary.

You turn the shower on and get under the hot water, which does a lot to ease the anxiety that has been residing in your body. You wash and condition you hair before washing your body. You wrap yourself in the towel before exiting the shower and you dry off thoroughly before putting on the black clothes that you took from the closet earlier. You brush your teeth and rinse your mouth before taking a few deep breaths. You know once you open the door it is only a matter of time before you have to face all eight of them. The last time you were in the presence of all eight, you passed out. You can only imagine how angry they are with you right now.

You open the door and walk out to see that Yeosang has set black socks on the bed and put inside shoes by the door for you to use. “Can you just tell them that I’m being difficult and can’t meet today,” you ask lightheartedly.

“I’m afraid not. All seven of them would come in here. I’m sure you’d rather be in a big room rather than a smaller one like this, no?” He answers.

“I guess,” you answer while putting your socks on.

“You ready?” Yeosang questions as he moves to stand in front of you.

“I don’t think I ever will be, but I don’t have a choice,” you reply.

“They aren’t as bad as they seem, come on,” Yeosang says before walking to the door and waiting for you. You follow him anxiously and after you put your shoes on, you find yourself out in the hallway of the palace on your way to meet the seven other kings.

—

Yeosang leads you to this hallway and at the end of it there is a singular door which you know leads to the grand room. The closer that you get to the door the stronger the scents are. Your walking falters a bit as your breathing becomes more staggered. If Yeosang noticed, he gave you the pleasure of not acknowledging it.

Yeosang opens the door and holds it open for you, but the moment you see the seven other men sitting at the table, you freeze. You don’t even search for the comfort of Wooyoung’s familiar face, nor do you have the ability to look back at Yeosang. Your frozen where you’re standing, and you think you may pass out at any time.

“Come. Sit on the opposite of me,” the man at the head of the table says. His tone is firm but gentle. You assume he is the leader of everyone, but his command does nothing to ease your nerves.

“Cherry,” Wooyoung speaks before getting out of his chair which is seated next to where the other male told you to sit. You look at him when he speaks to you, a sigh of relief escaping your lips as you take in the familiar man. “You’re sitting in between me and Yeosang, we won’t let any of the others hurt you,�� Wooyoung whispers.

“I might pass out,” you whisper back to Wooyoung. “It feels so intense in here,” You muster, your breathing becoming rapid.

“Eight kings will be intense but I know you can do it,” Wooyoung tries to reassure you.

“They’re going to yell at me,” you say to Wooyoung so quietly that you don’t even know if he can hear.

“No, they won’t. I promise,” Wooyoung responds. The sound of a chair scraping against the floor and footsteps causes you and Wooyoung to look over.

The man that spoke to you when you first entered the room is now walking towards you. You can’t help but feel a sense of impending doom. He holds a stern look on his face as he walks towards you.

“I can assure you, none of us are going to yell at you. If they do, I’ll deal with them. And I promise, even if they were mad at you,” he pauses before continuing “they are way more afraid of me than they would be mad at you,” the man says with a gruff but soft and sincere tone.

You take a deep breath before walking towards the seat that you were told to sit in, not wanting to press your luck with any of the kings in front of you. Wooyoung and Yeosang take their respective seats next to you. You find yourself fidgeting with your fingers under the table, trying to keep your nervousness at bay. You aren’t sure if they are expecting you to speak first, but you won’t.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us all today,” The man sitting the direct opposite of you begins, “Will you tell us your name?”

“Blossom,” you answer more weakly than you intended to.

“I’m Hongjoong,” he responds before setting fully back into the chair, “I’m the King of all these Kings if you couldn’t tell,” he responds before staying quiet for a few moments to see if you had the desire to answer him. You don’t. You won’t speak more than you have to.

“How many of us do you know?” Hongjoong questions.

“I know the two sitting next to me, that’s about it,” you answer, not wanting to think about the encounter you had with the other on the day you were kidnapped.

“You sure?” Hongjoong responds, likely knowing that you didn’t tell the full truth.

“I tried to forget about him the moment he left my sight,” you say honestly and as nicely as you can. But you know that your words are as mean no matter what tone you use.

Hongjoong chuckles before responding, “At least you’re honest,”

“Wooyoung told me I wasn’t a good liar, so might as well not try,” you remark back. Wooyoung smiles at your comment before speaking himself.

“I know Cherry quite well,” Wooyoung says to the table.

“You do not,” You respond before thinking. Your comment earns a chuckle from Hongjoong and the one wearing purple, which you know is San.

“I know more about you than you think, I just choose to let you keep up the little facade you have going on,” he remarks back playfully. His comment makes your heart drop, because there is a lot more to you than what meets the eye.

“Okay,” you answer, choosing not to protest. You are severely outnumbered in Hell and you definitely don’t want anything bad to happen to you. You want to return to your home, Heaven.

“Well, everyone needs to introduce themselves. It is only fair,” Hongjoong says before looking at the man to his right. They all introduce themselves quickly, but the man on the left of Hongjoong looks more agitated than the rest.

“I’m Seonghwa— ow, fuck give me a damn minute,” the man winces as he looks at Hongjoong, “I’m sorry for upsetting you the other day,” he says apologetically.

“It’s fine,” you say as monotonous as you can. You honestly really dislike him and you can’t really see his apology as sincere.

“Do you have any questions for us?” Hongjoong asks sincerely

“Yes, just one. Why does one of you have to be with me at all times?” you question. You couldn’t leave even if you tried. Poppy won’t come for you and you aren’t even sure if your bond is viable anymore since you’re in Hell. It isn’t like you haven’t tried, but there is still no response from her.

“Well, since you are in Hell and you are not being.. held accountable for the sins you have committed or a demon helping with that.. You are quite..” Hongjoong ponders before responding “A rarity. You aren’t safe by yourself. Even if I said that you aren’t to be hurt, demons are conniving. They might would do it anyway, they have a lack of self control. But I trust my brothers, the seven other kings. They won’t hurt you and they’ll protect you from anyone who would try to do you wrong in our kingdom,” Hongjoong answers.

“This could all be avoided if I could get back to where I belong,” you respond back, “You wouldn’t have to do all of this extra stuff,” you try to reason, hoping that maybe he would hear you out.

“You belong here,” he responds back quickly.

“I do not,” you remark

“You are ours now, you won’t leave,”

—

You don’t know where your confidence came from but as soon as the words left Hongjoong’s mouth, you had teleported back to the room you’ve been given. You know you have likely pissed off all of them heavily — or Hongjoong at the very least. But you didn’t really care who you pissed off at this point. You’re fuming. They kidnap you from where you belong and suddenly think you’re a piece of a prophecy that includes you being romantically involved with eight of them? Absolutely crazy.

Your angered thoughts distract you for a while that you didn’t even realize someone else was in the room with you until you heard a stomp on the hardwood floor a few feet behind you. The scent that fills the room is not one that you recognize so you know that it isn’t Wooyoung, Yeosang, or Mingi. The scent of pine fills up the room and you have no clue who it belongs to. You can infer that it isn’t Hongjoong because he definitely would’ve opened his mouth by now if it was.

“Are you going to turn around and look at me or are you just going to keep staring at the wall in front of you?” The man questions, a deep voice filling your ears.

“The wall seems nice,” you retort, your anger still prevalent in your voice.

“Look at me when you speak to me,” the man orders.

You simply don’t respond once he tells you that. A conversation with him is not one that you want to have, so you don’t answer and you don’t look back at him either. In retrospect, you probably shouldn’t be petty with someone who could ruin your existence and turn you into a fallen angel with the smallest touch. But in the moment, you could care less about how he thought he deserved to be treated.

“It’s me or Hongjoong, take your pick,” the man gives an ultimatum. You despise these kinds of things, because you never win. Regardless, you just did something that likely no one has had the courage to do to the king of all kings of Hell. So you will take your chances with the man who looms behind you.

When you turn around, you see the man who dresses in the light baby blue color. You try to remember who exactly wears baby blue, but your mind keeps drawing blanks. He’s a tall man, composed of mostly leg with black hair and red highlights.

“I’m sorry I don’t remember your name right now,” you say before looking down at the floor in front of you.

“You have a lot more to be sorry for than forgetting my name, Honey,” he responds back

“I don’t exactly feel sorry for leaving a situation that could’ve been worse had I opened my mouth,” you answer honestly

“You’re an Angel, your first instinct is kindness,” the man says as a matter of fact.

“That is true. That’s why I removed myself from the situation,” you say

“Touche. I’m Yunho, by the way. Come sit,” Yunho says as he gestures to the bed, sitting on one end of it. You sit on the other end, keeping your distance from the man. “No one has ever done that to him,” Yunho says.

“I figured as much. Once I actually thought about what I did and who I did it to. I’m sorry for angering y’all,” you say apologetically.

“I think Hongjoong and Seonghwa were the only angry ones. The rest of us were mostly just surprised,” Yunho answers honestly.

“I don’t know what Hongjoong or Wooyoung are talking about whenever they say that,” you begin to rant, “You bring an Angel to Hell and then say that they are to the one true love to EIGHT men who happen to be the Kings of Hell? That’s absolutely crazy. And that isn’t being mean either that’s just being honest,” you respond, your anger beginning to boil again.

“Yes, I understand. I would also be wary if I was in your position. Mingi is really smart and knows most about the prophecy. You’d do well to speak with him, he may be able to help you understand it better,” Yunho says, trying to offer a solution to the cause of your anger.

“Learning about that stupid prophecy is the last thing I want to do. I just want to go home,” you retort back at Yunho

“Where is home for you?” Yunho questions

“Honestly, my assignment. The kids,” you answer honestly.

Heaven should be your first thought, your first answer, probably should be your only thought or only answer. But it isn’t. You didn’t feel at home in Heaven, especially since you and Poppy are no longer on good terms. She made Heaven breathable and without her, Heaven has become suffocating for you. Your only time with fresh air being when you went to assignment on earth.

Yet, you were willing to sacrifice it all just so you would never have to see Wooyoung again. You look down at your hands again and tears begin to form in your eyes. Ever since you were born, including your human birth and your rebirth as an Angel, you had always gave. Not once did you ever get something you wanted. You didn’t think that was a greedy thing. Not when you have been so selfless.

You think back to that conversation with Angel Zen and you laugh at yourself. He told you to not tell Wooyoung anything. To not let the Demon become any of the wiser and a task as simple is that, you failed. You had one job and that was to not talk to him anymore. You were almost there but you failed at the very last moments. All because you were selfless. You hated being the cause of Wooyoung’s pain. Maybe he wasn’t even upset. Maybe it was all manipulation and he was planning on kidnapping you all along. You don’t even want to know at this point. All you know now is that you are in a palace with the Eight Kings of Hell who think you’re destined to be their lover.

“What’s on your mind?” Yunho asks, breaking your trance.

“You can’t hear my thoughts?” you ask genuinely. You had just assumed that they could since they’re powerful, but maybe you wrongfully assumed.

“Not necessarily. I could if I truly wanted to and tried but you deserve to keep your autonomy,” Yunho answers truthfully.

“I hope everyone thinks the same as you,” you say.

“They should. It is really draining to do that, so it is only done if it absolutely needs to be,” Yunho answers, shifting his body towards your direction to look at you better, “I know the situation isn’t ideal for you, especially right now. But all I ask is that you give us a chance. Even if it is one by one,” Yunho tries to reason.

“Two out of the eight of you I wish to never see again,” you answer truthfully.

“Better than eight out of eight. Give them their chances last. They’ll warm up with time,” Yunho says.

“What makes you think you aren’t one of the two?” you quip lightheartedly

“You got jokes,” Yunho laughs “I’m just taking a wild guess that I’m in fact not on your bad list,” Yunho says while having his hands in a jazz hand position with an inquiring face.

You giggle at the man’s antics. You’ve enjoyed Yunho’s presence so far, considering that at the beginning his presence was extremely domineering. He made you laugh for the first time since coming here, a small piece of happiness in a depressing situation for you.

—

You aren’t sure when you ended up falling asleep but you woke up to Yunho playing games on the computer in your room. Whenever you wake up you find yourself looking at your hair to make sure it still has its signature golden glow, afraid that the one thing that’s keeping you together will be taken away from you.

“Yunho?” you whisper, even though no one else is in the room with you.

“Yes, honey?” he responds back. The nicknames you’ve been given feels weird for you. It took you a while to transition from y/n to Blossom. Then being called Cherry and the occasional Cherry Blossom.

Throughout your time since becoming an Angel, you reminisce on being called your name and the nicknames associated with that. But no one would ever call you them again. “Hell to Blossom,” Yunho quips, now having turned around in the chair to face your bed.

“You have jokes,” you say lightheartedly as you roll your eyes at his comment

“I’m fucking hilarious,” Yunho states as a matter of fact.

“Alright..”

“Now what were you going to say?” Yunho questions.

“How long will I have to be on watch for?”

“I’m not sure.. I don’t think too much longer,” Yunho says truthfully

“Does this mean I’m going home,”

Yunho gives you a look that screams “really” and to that you sigh and fall back into the bed. You don’t even know why you continue to ask.

A hard knock on the door vibrates your room, making you flinch. You sit up and look at Yunho, who looks at the door then back at you.

“Hongjoong,” he says to you curtly before walking to the door to open it.

tags :

@multifictionx @pre1ttyies @hecateslittlewitchling @adorawritesalot @unlikelysublimekryptonite @loumin908 @kirbrary @sunasmoke22 @ylak @yoonshiiu @londonbridges01

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yunyunrin · 6 months ago

Text

Chapter Two : Holy Fool

genre : horror, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, eventual smut, enemies to lovers, alternate universe, slow burn

pairing : angel!reader (gn) x kingofhell!???, other side pairings

chapter warnings : arguing, crying, flashback, panic attacks, religious themes, yandere themes, anxiety

wc : a bit over 10k

A/N : here we go!!! everything from here on out is going to be a bit more fast paced so i’m excited for that 😣 and i finally got the motivation to edit! if i left out any warnings on accident let me know!

MDNI

holy fool masterlist | chapter one | next

“Glory be to God, Amen,” you recite to yourself as you finish your prayer, quickly looking around to find a familiar face.

“Angel Blossom!” Poppy shouted a little ways away from you as she walked towards you after the prayer, granted her choice of volume garnered some stares from the other Angels. Poppy didn’t seem to mind though. As long as the prayer was over, it was okay to be happy in the prayer hall.

“Hi my darling Poppy, how are you today?” you asked. Poppy seems to be in a cheery mood tonight, more so than usual.

“I should be asking you that, Blossom,” Poppy replied. You know what she is talking about, tonight is when you head back down to Earth for your first assignment. You haven’t been back down to Earth since that night all those years ago. Not even thinking about the content of that night since a day or so after you returned to Heaven after the fact. Listening to Poppy was most important to you then, and it is the same now. Although you are having much more trouble not thinking about it since Angel Zen has told you about your impending assignment a few weeks back.

“I’m doing okay, nervous,” you respond. You and Poppy have now made it back to your shared room.

“It’s okay to be nervous, it is your first assignment. You will do well. Come on, let's go wash off before we head out,” Poppy ushers you quickly out the room once you gather your clothes towards the communal showering area. You both walk in and there is no other Angel there. Everyone has washed off already, but you and Poppy are washing off again.

Poppy and Angel Zen are still the only ones who know of your past as a human. In the years since becoming an Angel, you’re allowed to be around the others now, but you choose not to be close with them. Of course, you’re cordial, but you couldn’t risk them finding out anything, so you stick to Poppy. You’re truly grateful for Poppy, you don’t know what you did to deserve her. One day, you told her that when you were alive, you would take hot showers when you were stressed or nervous and ever since then when you are nervous or stressed, she takes you straight to the showers to relax.

Initially you never thought you’d be able to get used to the new life you had, thinking that your experience on Earth would make you too bashful for some of the things that Angels are accustomed to. Quickly it became something you got used to. For example, the communal showers do not have any dividers; you’re seeing everyone the way that they were made, but it wasn’t weird. You and Poppy have had many conversations over the years as you washed yourselves like you are now, but it is no different from the talks you have when you are in the comfort of your shared room.

“Your assignment, the family has had two more kids since you have last seen them. A three-year-old and a newborn,” Poppy informs you as she walks to the mirror to get a better look at drying her hair with her towel.

This hurts your heart a bit, you know not everyone has a bad life but from what you have learned in the past couple of months from Poppy, this situation was not too good. You wish you could give the mother the strength to leave, but your focus is on the children and your only job is to protect them to the best of your ability.

“Thank you for telling me, Poppy. Where are you going for your assignment tonight?” You question because Poppy herself is also getting a new assignment tonight.

“I’m going to Cana-da-da-da,” Poppy laughs at you, “apparently they are a sweet family. The grandparents live with the family and one of them will be getting diagnosed with cancer soon. I will be there long enough to help with the blow it will bring to the grandchildren,” she drops her shoulders once the information leaves her mouth. Poppy is a very emotional Angel that always takes things to heart. That is what makes her different from many of the Angels you have encountered. The others aren’t often phased by what they see, just doing their assignments and coming back to pray. A routine they have perfected over time, but Poppy is unique. You’ve had to comfort Poppy a lot because she feels everything from everyone around her.

Once you and Poppy are done washing off, you return to back to your bedroom. “Listen to me Blossom, everything will be okay with the kids. They are strong, I wouldn’t lie to you,” Poppy stated before you both were about to take your leave. “You will be okay, I promise. You can always talk to me through your bond and I will come in a second, now go to those kids,” Poppy pats your back, and you nod at her before transporting to the home of your assignment.

—

It’s been four years since the air of the Earth has hit your skin. The family from four years ago lives in a new place now, as you transport yourself in the entryway you take in the surroundings of their space. It’s small, a kitchen/dining area, a small living room, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. Poppy’s words are replaying in your mind as you walk to the children’s room. “You’ll be okay Blossom,” you mumble to yourself. The room is small, a bunk bed and a crib. The kid you last saw four years ago taking the top bunk while the toddler is on the bottom bunk, and obviously the baby is in the crib. You move to get in the bed with the toddler, cradling him in your hold. Poppy told you that is what she did, as he is prone to nightmares and this is all that helps.

The children are asleep, and the house is quiet, which leaves you with one thing to do. Think. Four years ago. You physically cringe at the memory and your stupidity. You are certain that if Poppy’s hair wasn’t permanently a bright golden color that it would have grayed instantly that night.

You’ve learned a lot since then, you could understand why Poppy was worried. Even if you had brushed against the man, you would have been a fallen Angel that instant. That goes for touching any non-human unless they are an Angel or a child under the age of twelve. Also witches, even the human ones. You didn’t really understand the witches, though, you knew some who practiced when you were alive, and they were some of the kindest people you knew. But that’s the rules, and you can’t do anything about that.

You still didn’t know anything about the Kings of Hell. You couldn’t genuinely ask because to every other Angel in Heaven, you already knew. Angel Zen was not someone you wanted to talk to more than you had to, and you knew how Poppy felt talking about them. You just hated feeling ignorant, your ignorance is what put you and Poppy in danger in the first place.

Although you feared how the family would fare during your shift, you were more afraid of seeing him. You know it is not a sin to find people attractive, but is it when they are a King of Hell and you’re a Guardian Angel? His sharp jawline and the singsong voice he used when he spoke to you, “shut up Blossom,” scolding yourself for thinking of him. He has definitely forgotten you by now and if he did remember you, it is because you were a Heavenly being who didn’t know he was a King of Hell.

Morning comes quickly, and your assignment shift is almost done. The kids slept soundly, now there is one thing left to do before you go back. Pray over the children. You fall to your knees in front of the window of the room and put your hands together, “God, please protect this family, —” Eucalyptus. Eucalyptus fills your nostrils and your hands start to tremble. “No, not now, please not now,” you say to yourself before finishing your prayer.

The smell of eucalyptus and the feeling of his eyes on you has not left since the beginning of your prayer. This can’t be happening, you think to yourself as you walk to the kitchen, hoping that their mother is burning a scented eucalyptus candle or bought a eucalyptus plant? You enter the kid’s room defeated as neither was happening. The feeling of him is strong, but you can’t see him. But you aren’t looking, your eyes have been tightly shut since you entered the room, finding solace again with the toddler. Instead, hoping that this time your nightmare will go away, but it does not.

“I know you are there but please not today. Please — leave me alone,” you begged into the thick tension of the room. You weren’t expecting it to anything, especially for the presence to dissipate as soon as you were finished speaking. He let you off the hook today, and for that, you are grateful.

—

As you enter back into Heaven you find yourself going straight to the showers in hopes that Poppy has already been back and showered, but as you walk in you see that that was, in fact, not the case. Poppy looks like she has not started showering yet, but the only available spot was right next to her. It isn’t like you would rather not see her, you did want to see her. But you can’t tell her that you felt him. She still hasn’t mentioned that night even when she saw your nervousness before your assignment. Could she have truly forgotten?

You make your way beside Poppy and turn the showers on, warm water instantly hitting your skin. You aren’t sure how the Earth changes your scent, but you know that it does. Even if it is a little bit. “Blossom, how was your first night on assignment?” Poppy questions, the suds from her shampooed hair falling down the side of her face.

“It went well, they had a pretty good night, thankfully,” you answer politely, not meeting her gaze.

“I’m glad. You smell not like how I did when I came back from their assignment?” Poppy inquires. You can feel her eyes on you, and you begin to feel small under her gaze.

“What do you mean?” you ask, hoping that your ignorance will help you with the incoming questions that you know you will receive from her.

“You smell like eucalyptus. How come?” her voice is noticeably down a few octaves. Shit, she is on to you. You immediately start thinking of an excuse, anything to save your ass.

“Right before I left for assignment, their father used the bathroom, I’m assuming his stomach had gotten upset from something he consumed the night before. Before too long, the whole apartment was smelling… Not good. His wife woke up a short time after and lit a candle, probably eucalyptus,” you chuckle to yourself and move to rinse your hair, “I’m thankful she did, if she didn’t, I would likely smell a lot worse…” you told Poppy, hoping that your lie was enough to fool her.

Poppy nods her head and the rest of the time you and her spend showering was met with silence. After your shower ends, you go to your room to make sure you have everything you need for your prayer. Some Angels take holy books to pray, others take holy memorabilia, others take nothing. It just depends on the mood and the Angel. Tonight you opt to take a holy book while Poppy just makes sure she looks presentable enough to walk into the prayer hall. ‘You know you can tell me anything, Blossom’ Poppy shares with you through your bond. You look at her and smile, showing that you understand and that you will. Your second lie in Heaven tonight, wow you really are the best Angel, sighing to yourself at the hidden thought.

You and Poppy walk shoulder to shoulder into the prayer hall before going to your respective spots. You and Poppy cannot pray together in the prayer hall due to the difference in your ranks. You are the lowest ranked Angel, while Poppy is a few ranks higher than you are. The prayer hall is beginning to fill with Angels which means the official prayer will start soon, but that does not stop other Angels for beginning to pray earlier. You have been in his prayer hall continuously for the past few years, but you don’t think you’ll ever get used to it. The hall is long in length and width, plated with pure gold. The floors are marble and there are cushions of red velvet that act as a barrier for when you fall to your knees during prayer. Contrary to your belief beforehand, there are no statues of Angels because wouldn’t that be weird? Apparently.

The orchestra music pauses, causing you to come back to reality from your thoughts. A high ranked Angel, like Angel Zen for example would start off the prayer and then the remainder of the time Angels would pray about what you feel you needed your attention, or God’s attention. You had three things you wanted to pray on. The first was your ability to lie in Heaven, your faith itself, and —. You pause your last thought. Your prayers go directly to God, and you aren’t sure you want God to know about this yet. But if God is all knowing, then you shouldn’t have to pray about it anyway, right?

After your years of being an Angel you’d expect to be a fierce believer of God, but you are not. You took steps further than you had when you first became an Angel but probably not as much as Poppy would hope. You believe in God, but you don’t feel the need to worship him, you know he exists but is he really worthy of your worship? What makes him more worthy of it than Lord Hades or Lady Athena? This is how you were different from the thousands of other Angels in the prayer hall, you believed in every God’s existence. Your belief would render you an Omnist Pagan, which is why you could never speak of it. That’s why your best friend Poppy could never know that the Angel she worked to help become a pious God-fearing Angel, was a Pagan. During times and thoughts like this you wish you had Dina, where you could speak freely.

—

Although you believe this way, you have a tremendous amount of guilt. You were given a second chance by people who worship God and you could not even worship him in which others feel he deserves. Lying in a space that it was forbidden to lie, and no one was the wiser. You sat here during prayer and prayed the best way you knew how to change the way you thought, to think like Poppy. That’s what you prayed for. But year after year, nothing changes and occasionally, you don’t feel bad. You’re praying about it, so now it’s out of your hands. You know it truly is not, but that thought helps to keep the guilt from consuming you entirely.

Before you know it, the prayer is over and Poppy is making her way to you. The walk back to you and Poppy’s shared room is quiet but comfortable. You walk in first, and Poppy follows and closes the door once she enters. You sit at your respective beds, allowing your bodies to truly rest after the long night of your assignments and the prayer that followed it.

“What do you intend to do today?” Poppy asks cheerily.

“I think that I will sleep for a couple of hours, then clean for a bit, and I think that I will also read some scriptures. How about you?” you ask while glancing at the Angel.

“I think I will go down to Earth for a bit and bring the holy feel to a couple of churches. You know you don’t have to sleep, right? Angels don’t need to sleep to function,” Poppy clarifies, like you didn’t already know. Ever since becoming an Angel and after those first couple of nights, you truly haven’t been tired, but you still sleep. It helps pass the time and if you’re being honest, you hope that one day you will dream. It hasn’t happened, but every so often you wish that you would be allowed to live the way you wanted through your dreams, but you have not been granted that wish.

“Yes Poppy, I know. It is just something I miss from Earth, it’s grounding. Plus, I only do it for a couple of hours. It isn’t like I do it and then wake up to pray and go to assignment. I guess it is a guilty pleasure, you could say,” you retort back

Poppy doesn’t seem too amused with your response, but you were being honest. Sleeping for a couple of hours wasn’t hurting anyone. “Praying is grounding, Blossom. And that guilty pleasure is what we’d call a sin on Earth,” Poppy jitters, her fists clenched.

“Napping isn’t a sin for people on Earth, Poppy,” you clap back while massaging your temples, your voice beginning to sound volatile.

“It is when you nap and aren’t tired that is what God would consider Sloth, Blossom. Don’t try to tell me what is and what is not a sin. Don’t forget who—” Poppy cuts herself off before saying her last bit, looking up at you with glossy eyes at the thought of what she was about to say to you.

“Is the real Angel,” you say, finishing the sentence that she was going to say. Poppy doesn’t normally share her thoughts with you, opting to keep them to herself. But at that moment, she was too angry to keep herself in that white bubble that she finds comfort in.

“That isn’t what I meant, I’m sorry I thought that. We all struggle, we are all tempted. Every Angel is, if we were not there would be no fallen Angels. Although what I said about the sin being considered Sloth was true, I really cannot judge you for it, as what I struggle with the most is wrath. You have seen it more than I’d have liked. Please forgive me, don’t take what I say out of anger as truth. Only you know your true intentions, all we can do is try to be better. It doesn’t all happen at once,” Poppy says with an apologetic tone. You can’t lie that what she said and thought didn’t hurt your feelings, but you knew she was sorry. You know that much. If you had seen half of what she has seen, you would likely struggle with wrath too. After the argument, you feel nonverbal, so you opt to go and give her a hug to show her that you aren’t mad. You both stay like that for a while, and for once, Poppy lays with you. You aren’t sure if she falls asleep, but you wake up in her arms. You know this is her way of apologizing and if you’re being honest, you’re grateful to have been held after what you have been through during your first day of assignment, even if she doesn’t know what truly transpired.

—

Once you wake up from your nap and Poppy goes to do what she had planned to do during her free time, you decide to go back to the prayer hall to read the scriptures. To anyone else, you would be just an Angel reading the Bible. Which would be true, but you’re reading for a slightly different reason. Who are these Kings of Hell. No one has told you nothing. You think it is crucial for you to know, you have learned of one of their existences, and you don’t think you want that to happen in that way again. Poppy said they don’t normally come out, and the man that night didn’t correct her, so it must be true. But what if they decide to come out one day, and you simply don’t know. You still haven’t encountered a Demon since that night. Obviously, you know how to spot one, but if a King of Hell can look like, not a Demon? Then how are you supposed to know. You felt that same man last night, but you still don’t know his name. Aren’t you supposed to know their names, and it gives you leverage over them? You think about that, you aren’t sure how true it is, but you remember it being talked about from the second Conjuring movie. You laugh to yourself, getting information about Demons from a movie that you saw before you died. Comical.

You read for hours and find nothing. Obviously, the seven sins themselves are talked about, but not the Kings who rule over them. Why are there eight Kings but seven deadly sins? This makes no sense, and you wish someone would just tell you. “Angel,” a gruff voice calls from behind you. You look behind your shoulder to see none other than Angel Zen himself.

“Yes, Angel Zen,” you reply softly to the man who seems to be in a good mood currently.

“Reading scriptures for fun?” he questions, an eyebrow raised. You don’t even know if this Angel has the capability of being in a good mood. Alas, you keep a curt smile on your face while speaking with him.

“Not for fun, but to learn. You can never read too much when it comes to scriptures,” you answer, hoping that the conversation will end soon.

“That is correct, Angel. The orchestra will start soon, so go get ready for prayer,” he instructs before shooing you away with his hand. After the interaction, you walk to your room to get clothes before walking to the showers. As you enter the orchestra, music begins to play, and Angels begin entering the showers. As the showers fill, you begin to wash off with the soap and wash rag. You know the whole point of no scent in the soap is so you will only smell like your scent, but every so often you miss being able to wash yourself with soap that smelled like cotton candy or something magical like that. As you finish your shower and are leaving to go back to your room to get ready for the prayer, Poppy comes in. She smiles at you brightly before going to the shower that you just occupied. If you see her tonight before your assignment, it will only be briefly after the prayer.

The walk to your room was short, and you didn’t really have much to do to get ready for prayer. You decided to bring a cross with you this time instead of the Bible. Honestly, you’re a bit nervous to going out tonight, so the cross will help with your fidgeting during the prayer. If you’re being honest you want answers, but you know the likelihood of you getting them is not strong, but you just wish you could know what everyone else does.

—

And just as quick as the prayer started, it ended just as swiftly. You’re used to looking over your shoulder to see Poppy, but she hasn’t quite made it to you yet. She’s walking your way and as you go up to meet her, she walks right past. She didn’t even look your way. You look around for the only other Angel that you know, Angel Zen. Once you find him, you make brief eye contact before he moves his gaze back to the Angel he was just speaking to.

You sprint back to your room to find Poppy. Once you enter, you see her back, as she is clawing through the drawers with an urgency that you haven’t seen in years. “Poppy,” you cried out, tears threatening to fall down your eyes. She turns around and glances at you but does not make eye contact. Without a word, she is gone. Likely having transported herself to her assignment.

You fall to the floor, your lower limbs having given out on you. Your throat feels like it is closing, and your spit is falling out of your mouth as you sob. ‘Poppy, what did I do wrong, please Poppy’ you ask through your bond, hyperventilating in the position you find yourself in. You try to get up to go to your bed, Poppy having decided not to respond to you. As you’re walking to where your bed sits, your vision gets no better. Your sight is going in and out, and your head is getting lightheaded. You feel your body give out, you come back to reality as soon as your head hits the floor, only having passed out for a few seconds. You opt to lay there because you know you are not strong enough to hold your body up right now. You think of Dina, and how she would help you during your panic attacks.

“Hey Dina, we have the same schedule this week,” you cheered, happy that you and your best friend will see each other a lot the following week. Your best friend jumps up and down with her hands cupping her face, sharing the same excitement. Working at the bakery shop was fun, especially when it was the graveyard shift. All you and Dina did was bake throughout the night, and doing light decorating. The morning shift would come in and do more thorough decorating.

“The owner said we have to bake this huge cake tonight, to not even worry about the small stuff, that he would come in and bake those later in the shift,” Dina says with wide eyes.

“Jeez, how big is the cake?” you question Dina, never has your owner came in to make baked goods. Your manager, sure. The owner? Never.

“We’ll have to see once we get there,” Dina says, and you both walk out the door with pep in your steps because you have got to see what this cake is all about.

“Dina, this is not what I was expecting,” you say with your mouth agape in shock. This cake has so much to it. It’s a gigantic house, three stories. Chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, and strawberry were the flavors that you had to use. But not one part of the cake had to be a certain flavor, but one room in the house had to be a swirl of all the flavors? What an odd request. “I feel bad for who has to frost the cake, they want eight different colors for their frosting. They also want it swirled for that one room,” you tell Dina, still in shock.

“Who even ordered this anyway?,” Dina asks while looking at the ticket, “Kang Yeosang��, Dina says while popping her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

“Well Kang Yeosang better tip us a million fucking dollars Dina,” you laugh to yourself.

“He better, he definitely has a lot of money. Now let's get to baking, the owner of the whole bakery didn’t say not to worry about anything else tonight for a reason.

You and Dina spend the next twelve hours baking the odd request, whenever it got hard you found yourself cursing the man who ordered it because truly, why did he need such an absurd cake? Alas, you have finished baking everything, now all that is left is for the other bakers to frost it and put it together. You really hope this Yeosang dude likes this cake. And will actually pay for it. It would be unfortunate if he didn’t.

As you and Dina move to leave the kitchen, you bump into the table and one of the pieces falls on the floor. You gasp and look at Dina with fear in your eyes, which has replaced the sleepiness you were feeling prior. Your legs begin to give out, and you begin to hyperventilate, and your heart is beating so fast that you fear it may fall out of your chest.

“Hey lovie, you’re okay, listen to my voice,” Dina says in a hope to calm you down.

“I fu-fuc-fucked it all up Dina. I’m going to g-get fired, and I can’t get fi-fired,” you choke out, stuttering on your words as spit begins to still in your throat. Dina rubs your back and engulfs you in a hug, making sure that the fluorescent lights of the room are out of your line of vision.

“Hey, I know it is frustrating, but mistakes happen. And what fell on the ground was sphere shaped, no one will be mad at that for falling. There is a reason why no one orders sphere shaped cakes,” Dina coos into your ear softly, still rubbing your back, “If anything, we should blame the man who ordered the cake. What was his name? Oh right, Kang Yeosang. It’s all his fault. Big ass cake for a small ass bakery shop,” Dina mocks, causing you to laugh into her chest.

“I’m sorry Dina,” you mumble, having calmed down.

Dina playfully turns her head, “Nothing to be sorry for lovie, now I’ll go tell the owner, and you can put in four more sheets of vanilla batter in the oven. The other bakers don’t even get here until another hour, it’ll be okay,” Dina says soft but clearly before leaving the room.

The owner wasn’t mad, but made a mental note to put the spheres into a container so they wouldn’t fall again. The cakes are ready before you and Dina leave for the day, so you take them out of the oven so they can cool before leaving with Dina after clocking out. You and Dina walk together with your arms interlocked on your way home, ready for the sleep that you are about to have.

“I miss Dina,” you sigh to yourself. The memory is a fond one and it helped you calm down after your panic attack. You haven’t had one in a while, but when you did, Poppy was the one who helped you through it. Now, she caused it. But you don’t dwell on the thought for too long, you know you’re already late to your assignment. You just wish you knew what you did wrong.

—

The kids appear to be sleeping soundly in their beds. “It should be a good night,” you think to yourself before situating yourself next to the toddler. You opt to sit on the floor and just play with his hair instead of laying with him, you hope this will keep his nightmares at bay just as well.

You wonder if he will come again tonight. You sigh and roll your eyes to yourself, still not knowing what name to put with that man you saw four years ago. “Why can’t I just know his name?,” you mumble to yourself quietly. And like he knew your thoughts and could hear that whisper the scent of eucalyptus began to fill your nostrils. You close your eyes and try to ignore it. It is hard, the scent has gotten strong in a short amount of time. You wonder if the kids can smell it? Surely, they have to. After a minute or so, you’re hoping that he — or at least the scent, will go away. The noise of poking at the window startles you, causing you to look that way. The same man from all those years ago is situated on the other side, you meet his gaze, and he smiles cheekily at you.

“Come see me Cherry, it’s been a while,” he urged. You think about it, you have been wanting to know more about him, but you aren’t supposed to speak to him. You could call Poppy and tell her a King of Hell has found you again, but she definitely does not want to talk you right now. “Please, Cherry,” the man begs, asking again. You get up and walk to the window, being mere inches away from the man, the only thing separating you was glass that you knew he could break if he really wanted to. You look at him, but he doesn’t make eye contact, he’s studying you, taking in your features after all these years.

You can see he is about to speak, about to ask you a question and fear suddenly envelops you. He pokes at the window to get your attention, nodding his head to the side to ask you what’s wrong. You break the eye contact suddenly feeling embarrassed. “Hey Cherry, let me—,” you shut the curtains in his face before he can finish his statement, “Come on,” the man shouts in shock. The man’s reaction causes you to laugh, and you can’t seem to control your laughter either, replaying what you think his face would’ve looked like in your mind. “Cherry, you think this funny, but I have been waiting to see you for years,” the man stumbles over his words, obviously shocked that you closed the curtains in his face. “So you can come over to see me, but you can’t speak?,” the man inquires, hoping that you will answer. He doesn’t know that you’ve already situated yourself back with the sleeping toddler, but his continues efforts to converse with you do make you chuckle. “Okay you may not answer me, but I’m not leaving,” he says one last time before going silent.

He stays true to his word, the longer the night goes the more sparse his attempts at talking to you are. He does, in fact, not leave, the smell of eucalyptus fills your nostrils until you transport yourself back to Heaven. He doesn’t even leave when you pray over the children throughout the night, he was one persistent Demon.

—

Once you are back in Heaven, you go straight to your room to get ready for your shower. You don’t expect to see Poppy, and you are correct. She isn’t there and neither are her things. Not even her bed. You contemplate being sad for a second, but it isn’t worth it. You shrug at the sight before going to the showers to wash away the smell of eucalyptus that you know lingers on your skin.

Once you enter the showers, there are only two open. One next to Poppy and another next to another Angel who you do not know the name of. You had always showered next to Poppy because you aren’t allowed to be friends with any other Angels, but if she can be petty, then so can you. You walk right past Poppy, and you can feel her eyes on you, but you don’t pay her any mind. ‘What are you doing, Blossom,’ the nerve she has, speaking through to you through your bond. You don’t reply or give any indication that you even heard the thought, continuing to wash your hair and your body quickly. Once you are finished, you walk back to your room. You’ve decided to bring your Bible and your cross with you to prayer today. Your cross to squeeze in your hand and the Bible to remind you that you are, in fact, in a prayer hall.

You walk to the prayer hall, taking your normal spot. You actually try to pray with everyone else today because if you don’t, you think you may blow up. ‘Blossom,’ you hear through your bond with Poppy. It takes everything in you to not whip your head around and look in your direction, but you don’t. You keep your composure in the prayer hall, you hope that prayer is done soon because you feel like you need to scream into the void of the Earth. ‘Angel Blossom to you, only speak to me if it is important,’ you reply through your bond.

Once the prayer ends you book it straight to your room, you definitely need to scream into the pillow. Once you enter your room and shut your door, it is being reopened just moments later. Poppy is standing in the doorway, where she stays for a few seconds before fully coming in and closing the door behind her. “We have to talk,” Poppy exclaims, taking a few steps towards you.

“No fucking shit, Poppy. Of course, we have to talk,” you bite back, venom lacing your voice.

“You don’t curse in Heaven, Angel,” Poppy replies, her forehead creasing with anger.

“And you’re in Heaven too and that hasn’t stopped you from acting like an asshole, so that’s that, Poppy. Nice talk,”

“Don’t be like that,” Poppy replies, her face having became softer in the past few seconds.

“Don’t be like what? Be forced to be someone’s friend that someone isn’t allowed to have more friends besides you. Hmmm.. What else? Oh! Out of nowhere, stop talking to them and move out of your shared room for the past few years in less than twenty-four hours after ignoring them! Yes, let’s not be like that, Poppy,” you hiss, not caring for who could hear you at that moment.

“You got too comfortable, and my rank increased. I had to move,” Poppy says, glancing at the floor.

“Too comfortable? I live uncomfortably in here,” you whisper this, just loud enough for Poppy to hear.

“I’m sorry. We still have our bond, so call if you need. I couldn’t answer today due to being in a meeting, but don’t call for me unless it is urgent. And for God’s sake, tell that Demon to leave you alone. Don’t fall because of him,” Poppy says with urgency in her voice.

“You weren’t in a meeting. I saw you leave. Don’t lie to me, and what Demon are you talking about” you question Poppy.

“Don’t play stupid, everyone can smell his scent on you. He’s the King of Hell for crying out loud, his scent lingers even if you don’t touch him. And I needed to go to an important meeting, excuse me for having misspoke,” Poppy retorts.

“Whatever Poppy. Maybe if you actually talked to me before assuming stuff you would know I haven’t talked to nor felt that Demon. The reason I smelled like eucalyptus today was because the kids mother had a eucalyptus plant and their father got mad, and he threw it at the kids because the two youngest started to cry,” you respond, the lie easily falling from your lips. You glance at Poppy, and she is believing it. “And I stepped in front of them so they would have time to move out of the way so they wouldn’t get hit by the potted plant. Of course, it still went through me, but it distorted time just enough to give them enough time to get out of the way. So excuse me for doing my job as a Guardian Angel, Poppy. You can tell anyone that story who doubts me. They know just as well as you do that Earthly scents linger. So stop projecting your worries onto me, I can handle myself,” you say to Poppy in a mocking tone, laughing to yourself as you speak.

“You can handle yourself so well, very funny coming from the one who killed themselves,” Poppy hissed.

“Get out,” you shout at the Angel before throwing the wooden cross in your hand at her, she teleported just in time to not get hit by the cross. You aren’t even sad at her statement, but just angry. You feel betrayed, she knew how much that fact about yourself haunted you, but she used it against you in a moment of anger anyway. If you knew better you would say that wasn’t her at all.

—

During your leisure time between assignments you didn’t have to stay in Heaven. You opted to do so because of the dangers that you had been warned of, but now you don’t really care. So you decide to go out to Earth during your spare time, albeit you find yourself on the peer. You lean against the new wood that was used to fix what you broke all those years ago.

“Cherry,” after hearing the nickname that you have come a bit to accustomed to when you ventured down to the Earth, you whip your head around towards the voice. The man leans against the peer with you, his body is turned towards you and not the water. You look back out the water instead of answering him, taking in the smell of the sea. “Still not talking to me pretty?,” questioning you softly.

“I would, but you’re a bit mean,” you exclaim, still not moving your gaze towards him.

“I am not!,” he says in a surprised tone, which makes you look at him. You giggle at his reaction, his mouth opened in shock at your statement. He definitely was offended.

“A King of Hell isn’t mean? I should talk to the other seven to let them know you aren’t doing your duty of being a big bad wolf?,” he rolls his eyes at you dramatically, turning to look at the water.

“Okay now you know that is not what I meant,” he retorts.

“How else was I supposed to take it then?,”

“I am not mean to you my little cherry blossom,”

“I feel flattered,” you say sarcastically

“You should,” the man says before taking a couple of steps, “what are you even doing down at Earth when you aren’t on assignment?,”

“It isn’t forbidden for me to come down to Earth during my free time you know?,”

“Yes, I know. But it is odd, coming to this space in specific,”

You know why it is odd, the peer is empty when it would normally be full of people. “How come?,”

“You really don’t know?,” he questions you. You shake your head no to him in response.

“A few years back, someone drove off the peer. The city fixed it but no one ever really comes besides paranormal investigators and teenagers who decide it’s cute to do a Ouija board,” the man explains.

“That’s so sad,” you say sorrowfully, “Does that person ever answer their calls? You know the teenagers and paranormal investigators?,”

“No,” he sighs, “they were always an enigma,”

His words pique your interest, you had never really talked about the surroundings of your death before. “How so? If you don’t mind me asking, of course,” You question.

“Well to me, they were an enigma from the start. I wanted to see the body because when someone dies they have a marking that shows if their soul went to Heaven or Hell. For Hell, it’ll have that marking with a number, the number showing which ruler you spend eternity with,” he pauses to look down at the ocean, “the person who killed themselves had the marking of Hell with an infinity sign and the sign of Heaven,”

The revelation that he makes to you makes the blood in your body run cold. You’re glad that he was not looking at you, and you were not looking at him because the look on your face would have given you away instantly.

“That is really strange, did you try looking for them?” you question, thankful that the anxiety you felt could not be shown in your voice.

“We never tried, Heaven is quick to come to find the people who are meant to go there. I just wonder what they said when they saw the symbol of Hell with an infinity sign next to it. None of us Kings could ever figure out what that meant,” he sighs, “Did you ever see them?,” he questions.

“No, if I’m being honest I don’t think any Angel has,” they definitely haven’t, no one knows your true story. “But for something like that, I don’t think it’d be made known,”

“You’re right. They have a memorial plaque at the entrance of the peer. Did you see it?,”

“No,”

The man gestures you to follow him down the peer towards the entrance. The plaque has a picture that you and Dina had taken together a couple of months before your death’s, both of your names, with a simple “Rest Easily” engraved on it as well.

“I thought there was only one person who passed away in this tragedy?,” you ask while looking at the plaque.

“There was only one, but both of them died that night. They were best friends. The dispatch call was made public, I just don’t think they could live without her,” his words sting, but they hold true. “You know, their dad got on the television crying over their death,” he states, voice having now gone monotone.

What the Hell. What in the actual Hell. “I just think that, if you’re a good dad, your child wouldn’t disown you, you know?,” He looks at you after he stops talking.

“I agree, did he say they didn’t talk?” you question.

“Yes, the whole interview was a bit bizarre. I just know Hongjoong will be the one dealing with him once he dies,” he grumbled.

You look up at him, a bit confused about what he means by the name. Who is Hongjoong?

“Hongjoong is the King of Kings when it comes to Hell. Although seven of the eight of us rule over specific sins, he rules over them all. He’s the most important one,” You nod at his explanation, deciding not to ask more questions. He will tell you if he'd like.

“Where did she go?,” your curiosity getting the better of you once you focus back on the plaque.

“Her death was something different, difficult to explain. But let’s not talk about it,”

This saddens you, he wouldn’t have a problem telling you she went to Hell, so you don’t understand why he is being so secretive now.

“May I ask you a question, Mr. King of Hell?,” He chuckles at the name you gave him, but nods at you nonetheless.

“Still don’t know my name?,” he asks, and you nod, looking away as the embarrassment creeps up on your cheeks.

“Can you take me to where she is buried?,”

“Which one?,”

You weren’t expecting him to ask that question. “Dina,”

“Yes, we’ll have to walk through since I cannot teleport you there,”

“You’re right about that, I’d have nowhere to go if I became a fallen Angel,” you joke.

“You’d come to Hell with me,” he remarked like it was obvious.

The rest of the walk is spent in silence until you come upon a cemetery. Once you get to her grave, your body almost becomes too much for your feet to handle. You hold your composure, you really wish the Demon wasn’t with you right now so you could cry.

“I don’t feel anything,” you whispered. You sit down at her grave, before your feet end up failing you.

The Demon sits down next to you, but far enough away that you wouldn’t be in danger of touching him. “You don’t usually feel anything, Cherry,” acknowledging what you whispered to yourself.

You get up quickly, the feeling of the cemetery becoming too overwhelming. “I need to go, thank you for today,” you muttered quickly before transporting yourself to back to Heaven. You didn’t even give him a chance to speak back, but you really didn’t feel like crying in front of a Demon today.

—

You arrived in Heaven right on time, the orchestra having started mere moments after transporting into your room. You didn’t realize how long you had been out, but at least you weren’t late. You do your usual routine, no Poppy in site. Not that you really cared too much, but you still looked for the familiarity. She also hasn’t graced the prayer hall with her presence either, which is odd.

If you’re being honest, you really do miss Poppy. Being bonded with her means that you miss her subconsciously, as she to you.

“Everyone listen up,” Angel Zen announces, “I want to make sure everyone is paying attention today as God has a message that, I think, would be crucial for some of you to hear,” he makes eye contact with you as he says it which causes chills to run up your spine.

“Everything you do, God knows. Every conversation you have, God hears. Everything you feel, God feels. Everything you see, God sees as well. Every single Angel in this room is privileged to be an Angel. Don’t forget it. Don’t be reckless,” Angel Zen commanded.

The rest of the prayer goes by as normal, but you can’t shake that feeling that you get when you think about the words that Angel Zen said to begin the prayer. It’s a reality check, you can’t keep doing what you are doing. After finding out the information that you did earlier, you truly think you’d be fucked. The symbol of Hell with an infinity sign? You’d surely be in the deepest pits of Hell right now if it weren’t for your Guardian Angel.

Once the prayer ends, you walk to your room to retrieve your cross and your Bible to take with you on assignment, you can’t take any more risks with that Demon. Although you’re nervous, you have a job to do.

—

Once you arrive at your assignment, you find the baby is awake. You have always had a soft spot for kids, so you are grateful that you are a Guardian Angel for them. You don’t want the baby to cry, so you do your best to help the baby girl fall asleep quickly.

The knocks on the window shock you, almost causing you to scream. Your energy is enough to wake the kids up if you are not calm, so it is really irritating when that Demon scares you. Seriously, you have to ask him what he did with his scent. You didn’t smell it when he was with you earlier. At least you knew he was coming then. You ignore it, but his knocks do not pause. Eventually, you walk up to the window.

“Go away,” you ordered, trying your best to sound serious.

“Let me in,” he requested.

“No,”

“After everything I did for you today?,” he asked with a pout.

You hate that he was right, he did a lot for you today. But you did bring a cross and a Bible… so maybe he can’t come near you anyway. You flash the Bible and the cross at him, to which he rolls his eyes. Now that was rude, you thought to yourself.

“That doesn’t bother me. I’m not a vampire,” he says matter-of-factly.

“Fine, come in,” you mutter under your breath, instantly he is in the room with you. He smirks at you after getting his way.

“What are their names?,”

“The kids? I’m not telling you,” you stated.

“And why not?,”

“Because you still haven’t told me yours,”

“Wow, you would think they would’ve told you our names, or at least mine after I scared the living daylights out of your friend,”

“You’re telling me,”

“Take a guess, you could get it right,”

“Hmm… You want to know what you look like?,”

“Yes,”

“You look like a buffoon,”

“That’s mean,”

“You asked me to guess,”

“You’re not like any Angel I’ve ever met Cherry,”

“For my sake, please don’t elaborate,”

“I won’t,”

For a while, the two of you don’t continue the conversation. You sit in the silence for a while, you hold the hand of the toddler while the Demon sits by the crib, watching you.

“Which sin do you think I rule over?,” the Demon asks.

“Well, you said that all of you don’t really come out often, but out of the seven sins it would make the most sense for gluttony and lust to come to Earth. And you’re a bit of a flirt, so I’d say you rule over lust,” you answered, not expecting to be correct. One thing you have learned over the years is that not everything is as it seems.

“Correct,” he said happily.

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting to be right,”

“You’re smart Cherry,”

His compliment makes you blush, and you’re glad that he doesn’t tease you. “Their names are Eric, Sebastian, and Ariel. Like The Little Mermaid,” you say to distract from your nervousness

“It fits them perfectly, don’t you think?,” he questions, looking back at the crib.

“Yes,” you whispered.

“My name is Wooyoung,” his voice trembled as he spoke, like he was afraid that his name would steer you away. His name was beautiful, and you couldn’t hide the grin that plastered your face once he told you his name.

“You have a beautiful name,” you reassure him.

“Are you afraid to say it?,” Wooyoung quips.

“If I say it three times will you show up?,”

“No,” the man chuckles, “I can show up when you say it once, if you say it with the intent of wanting me to show up,” Wooyoung informs you.

“That is nice to know, no one really tells me anything,”

“Do they really keep Angels ignorant on Hell and its beings?,” Wooyoung questions.

“Yes, at least me,” you tell him, not caring about the cons of doing so.

“May I ask you a question Cherry?,”

“Yes,”

“Why do they keep you ignorant, if they know a King of Hell is out to get you?,”

“They probably want you to take me away,” you say before realizing the words that have fallen from your mouth. You put your hand over your mouth like it would’ve taken back what you said, but it wouldn’t. The tears fall from your eyes before you can stop them.

“Cherry, please don’t cry. Why would you think Heaven doesn’t want one of its Angels?,” he says, trying to comfort you.

“I can’t say,” you whisper, looking up at the man who is now a lot closer to you than he previously was. “I’ve already told you too much,”

“You can tell me anything and everything,”

“I can’t,”

“Why can’t you?,”

“Because, you’re a King of Hell, and I’m a Guardian Angel. That isn’t a good combination,”

“It doesn’t have to be that way,”

“What do you want with me anyway,”

“Do you remember what I told you the first time we met,”

“That you were searching for the love of your life?,”

“Yes, what does that have to do with me Wooyoung?,”

“Just listen to me, the eight other Kings and I are destined to have the same lover,”

“You are all dating each other?,”

“No, we are all destined to be with the same person,”

“Like a poly relationship?,”

“Yes,”

“So eight people dating one person?,”

“Yes, Cherry,”

“Well I am happy for you, but I’m still confused on how I am involved, do you need me to help you look for them? I figured you’d have enough people who’d be willing to do that for you anyway,” you scoff.

“Cherry, it’s you,” his words leave you baffled. There is no way you are a soulmate to a King of Hell, let alone eight.

“Get out,” you hiss.

“Let me explain,”

“Get out,”

“If you wish, but I’ll be near, you know that,”

“Get out,”

—

It’s been an hour or so since you kicked the man out, and you should feel bad. You just couldn’t grasp how he came to that realization. He didn’t know you and you didn’t know him. You haven’t even known his name for a full day yet, and he’s telling you that you’re destined to be the soulmate of eight Demons? As a Guardian Angel? He is out of his mind.

You begin to cry out of frustration, you knew his interest in you was weird, but you didn’t expect this. You are glad he found you when you were an Angel and not a human because had he found you earlier, he likely wouldn’t have hesitated to take you back to Hell.

He surely didn’t think it through, he could end up hating you. Or the other Kings. Then what? Do they kill you? Torture you for eternity? For someone as old as him he should know better. He should have known you would never go with him.

As soon as the sun comes up, you know it’s time for you to go back. You hope he will leave you alone, and you hope to put this behind you.

—

As soon as you reach Heaven, you go to find Angel Zen. As much as you hated asking for help, you knew you needed his. You go to the prayer hall, not even bothering to shower yet. You see him talking to another Angel towards the front of the prayer hall.

“Angel Zen, I need your help,” you shout, causing the other Angel to run off somewhere.

“Why are you in here unbathed?,”

“I apologize, but I need your help,”

“What do you need?,”

“I need a new assignment, I need something else to do, please believe me,”

“Why is that?,”

“Please, I have already lost everything,”

“Once you start playing with fire, you need to learn how to hose yourself off,”

You fall to your knees as sobs begin to fall down your mouth, you didn’t know what else to do. You don’t know how to save yourself, you’re alone in this battle.

“I will see what I can do, it is challenging to find an Angel to take your spot. Every Angel has its purpose. Angels fall every day, so it makes it harder. But you are strong, resisting lust’s charm. I will try since you are such a strong little Angel. But next time, don’t mess with something that you know you can’t handle,”

Relief fills your being as you hear that Angel Zen will help you. Although he was still his same unkind self, he was willing to help you. A human quality of stubbornness helped you in a time of need, which you are grateful.

“Now go shower. Never come in the prayer hall with the smell of Earth on you ever again,” Angel Zen commands as he points to the exit of the prayer hall. You are out instantly, going straight to get your clothes and going to the showers. You wash off the contents of the day before going back to the prayer hall with your Bible in hand.

Once you enter the prayer hall, you sit down in your assigned spot. You begin to read the Bible to pass the time before the actual prayer starts. You have to become more serious with this — more believing. Or Angel Zen’s help would have been in vain. If anything, you know when to be grateful. Even though you are sure that your relationship with Poppy is irreparable, her faith in God is admirable as an Angel. You aspire to believe in the way she does, maybe if you did you wouldn’t have gotten in this mess at all.

Once the prayer ends, you feel empty. Poppy is still nowhere to be seen and instead of her walking up to you, it is Angel Zen.

“I have been able to find a replacement but not for tonight. Can you handle one more night on your assignment?,” Angel Zen questions.

“Yes, sir, I can handle one more night on assignment,” you answer honestly.

“Okay. Don’t let the Demon become any of the wiser. Come to me after you finish the assignment,”

“Yes sir,”

After your conversation with Angel Zen, you go straight to your room to recuperate. Perhaps now, you can become more focused on what is more important. Maybe you can see Poppy. But at least you know that after tonight, you will no longer have to see that Demon again.

tags:

@multifictionx @pre1ttyies @hecateslittlewitchling @adorawritesalot @unlikelysublimekryptonite @loumin908 @kirbrary @sunasmoke22 @ylak @yoonshiiu

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