save y(our) soul

Taehyung finally washes off the foam and at the same time accumulated fatigue, feeling more animated and coming to a resource state. He turns off the hot water, leaving behind a large amount of steam and heat, which still warms him despite his naked open body. Kim cannot wash in warm water because he finds it not hot enough to keep warm. Yes, maybe boiling water has a bad effect on skin and health, but he doesn't care, because a hot shower is his salvation and a source of energy. Drying himself with a soft cotton terry towel, Taehyung stops abruptly, ceasing to wipe the drops on his body. He stands for ten seconds, and then goes to the mirror and turns his back, at the same time turning his head to look at the reflection. The black star stands out strongly, eclipsing the white ones, each time reminding the angel of the day when he failed and through his fault the girl's life was cut short. "To hell with it," Taehyung said wearily, wrapping a towel around his hips and leaving the bathroom. He falls back on the bed and closes his eyes, wanting to fall asleep as quickly as possible. Kim will definitely seek help when he gets home to erase those stars that initially made him feel proud, and after black only guilt. And if he doesn't get help, he will walk in shame with them for the rest of his life, trying not to show his spine drawings to anyone. Taehyung opens his eyes, takes a sitting position and turns on the table lamp, and twitches, terribly scared of the man who stands in front of him and chuckles slightly. "Fuck, I almost went to the next world," the angel whispered breathlessly, clutching his heart with his hand. "What are you doing here, Jihwan? Taehyung asks, covering his bare legs with a blanket, thus attracting the demon's attention. "I decided to find out how things are going. Are you feeling okay after you threw the cases at us? Bitch, it's all thanks to you." "Isn't it your problem that you missed the fact that an unfriendly demon ran away and started a massacre?" "Couldn't you just ignore everything he was doing? He would have finished his job and gone back to hell, and no one would have understood anything." "When your family's stomach starts to be ripped open, then I'll ignore it." Jihwan is silent, reluctantly understanding and accepting his guilt. He didn't know what to answer, because it was really their fault, because they hadn't considered the possibility that there might be a passage somewhere. Moreover, because of their laziness, they did not want to check places for loopholes several times. "Listen, I'm sorry for the previous rudeness. I'm emotional." "Emotions need to be controlled, and not to snap at everyone you meet." "Fuck, it's just... You just don't realize what Alastair is capable of. This unstable man is terrible at torturing angels and demons alike. He's dangerous. And if you fall into his hands, I can't even begin to imagine your fate." Taehyung ponders the demon's words, hiding the fact that it made him slightly tense up. Alastair is an executioner who is famous for his torture. He lives and feeds off someone else's pain, he gets high from this lifestyle, and Hell is home for him. He cuts, saws, skinned, chops his victims to pieces, and then resurrects them back to life, making them feel all the suffering all over again. Angel read about him in textbooks. Rare bastard. "I will solve problems as they come, but now let me rest when I have the opportunity." "Maybe you have a desire for me to brighten your rest?" Jihwan moves closer to Taehyung, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside him. "Not now." "And then there'll be that urge later?" He slides his hand under the blanket and strokes his thigh quite lightly, causing a crowd of goosebumps. Taehyung doesn't answer anything, just points to the door with his hand, chasing the satisfied demon out so that he finally lets him rest and sleep. And after the front door slams shut and the sound of footsteps disappears behind it, he falls into the pillows, allowing sleep to take over his mind and body almost immediately. He wakes up in the early morning, ignoring and ignoring the noise of cars and people talking, and does not understand how he did not sleep from evening to evening because of the last emotional day. Slowly opening his eyes, Taehyung greets the new day with calmness, hoping that there won't be much fucked up today, making it easier for him to be on Earth. The desire to do anything just isn't there, to put it bluntly. Kim runs her hand through her hair, ruffling the unruly strands that have taken on an incomprehensible shape. And then he takes a sitting position, allowing the rays of the sun to walk over the white pale skin, slightly warming it, making the angel smile. He gets out of bed, stretches, and stands, studiously ignoring that sweet urge to flop back down. As soon as he steps away from the bed, the phone on the bedside table vibrates, and the screen lights up in the same second. "Well, let's go." Taehyung turns on the blank screen and reads: Name: Min Bogyeon Age: 10 years old Current feelings: fear, lostness, pain. Location: Jeju Police Station "What? What Jeju?" Kim was very surprised, re-reading all the data, not too happy about the fact that he was now going to have to travel far away. Traveling by car or train is not an option, since the travel time on this transport is from 8 hours, and by plane a little more than an hour. Therefore, the path through the sky is the best of all presented. It didn't take long for Taehyung to pack: breakfast, washing, cleaning the room, changing clothes and buying a ticket. Two hours after he completed everything quickly, he was already standing at the airport, waiting for his plane to get to the island and save the child. He will not be able to forgive himself for anything if, again, through his fault, a person says goodbye to life, and even more so a child. After a successful landing, Taehyung suddenly felt drowsy, but there is no point in sleeping now, because it's only an hour to fly, and he will lose all his mood because of the desire to continue sleeping. Therefore, plugging in the headphones, he turns on his playlist, which he managed to compose in his free time, immersing himself in the atmosphere of music and the surrounding bustle. The endorphin received from the melody in his ears and immersion in the present moment gives him a feeling of lightness, a desire to live and conquer. Someone starts poking at his leg, preventing Taehyung from enjoying the moment, he opens his eyes and sees some weighty man in his fifties who is trying to tell him something. He takes off his headphones and asks to speak again. "Can I sit in your seat? I want to sit by the window," the man said, pointing his finger at Taehyung's seat. "What? No. This is my seat, go and sit in the one you bought." "I didn't get the one I wanted. Well, you're a young, kind guy, so how pathetic is it to give way to an old man? What if I die and can't fulfill my dream." "I wouldn't say you're an old man. Realize your wish in the next life." "You rascal! Just look at this generation!" - A man shouts throughout the cabin, attracting everyone's attention. Taehyung looks at the unfolding picture and is disgusted. Is standing up for yourself and your opinion a lost generation? Kim bought his ticket by the window, so he's going to sit there. He shouldn't care if someone else failed to buy that seat. Why would he take responsibility for himself if something didn't work out for someone? Angel hears someone offering this man a seat near the window and turns his head to look at the hero. Only the savior is someone he did not expect to see at all. Jungkook shakes hands with this man and happily goes to sit down at the window, having achieved what he wanted. Jeon climbs through and sits next to Kim, catching his dazed gaze. "Fate?" The demon asks, grinning, after noticing Taehyung rolling his eyes. "Am I going to meet a puppy patrol all the time now?" "Am I not the first person you've met?" "Jihwan visited me at night. He tried to blame me for everything," angel informs him, omitting some details. Jungkook shouldn't know everything. The demon is silent, showing no emotion, as if nothing had been said. Taehyung shrugs, not particularly surprised by Jeon's indifference, reinserts the headphones and closes his eyes in the hope of relaxing again. Time flew by unnoticed, which made the angel confused when everyone started to get up and take things from the upper shelves. He, too, abruptly jerked up and started walking towards the exit, picking up his things first, catching a glance from the man he hadn't given up his seat to. How much would he be surprised and think the generation had gone bad if the angel gave him the middle finger? "Well, angel, where are we going?" Jungkook approaches him from behind, drawing his attention to himself. "What's that got to do with you?" "I don't know myself," the demon exhaled, and looked at the disgruntled expression on Taehyung's face, "Fix your face, man" "Watch your mouth, okay? I won't be shy, I'll punch you in the teeth, you'll only have two front ones." Jungkook chuckles slightly and puts his hands up, supposedly giving up and showing his powerlessness. He offers to go to his favorite cafe for a bite to eat first, and then the angel can deal with whatever he needs to do here. Taehyung asks several times why Jungkook is hanging out with him, to which he only replies, "for a change and to relax." Kim does not respond to this and throws attempts to find out about something, getting annoyed. He was just curious as to why, out of the blue, the demon abruptly began to take part in his journey. When they get to the cafe, almost without saying anything, they take their seats and remain silent, as if they are not here for each other. Moreover, they do not feel any awkwardness or the need to start a conversation, just not to sit in silence, listening to the silence pressing on their ears. Everyone went about their business, waiting for their portion of food to satisfy the hunger that has been tormenting them since landing. Jungkook frowns, looking at the phone and reading something, and then informs Taehyung about what he has read: "Last week, a girl named Hwang Minji goes for a swim at the lake, but does not return. Rescuers and police combed the lake from top to bottom, but the body was not found. As a result, two days ago they held a funeral with an empty coffin just to somehow say goodbye." "And? What are you getting at?" "She is the third person this year who drowns in this way and his body is not found. Don't you find this strange and suspicious?" "I see what you're getting at. Do you want us to look into this case and help investigate it?" Jungkook nods in confirmation of Taehyung's guesses, "We are not investigators, not the police, and so on. It's none of our business, Jungkook." "Didn't it bother you that they all died the same way, and also in the same lake?" "Of course it did. But, understand, that's not why I came here at all. I have a child's life on my shoulders now, which can end at any moment." "Maybe your case and this are related?" "Where do these conclusions come from? Look, I'd love to help these people, but I have my own things that can't wait." "Let's do this: we'll go and ask around, at least try to investigate this case, if we don't catch on or understand something, then you will continue to do your job." Taehyung looks directly at Jungkook, who looks back at him without looking away, trying to drag him into it. He's honestly intrigued, but he can't be both. Can't help both at the same time. Doing what? Angel weighed the pros and cons for about ten minutes, pointlessly poking at the bacon with his fork, realizing all the risks. In addition to these musings, Kim is still thinking about what the demon is doing here after all. It's clearly not a coincidence: one day, one plane, one time, one place of destination. "Okay, let's figure this out. But we'll try to do it as soon as possible, because I have another case behind me, as you remember." Jungkook nods his head and continues to eat, hiding a satisfying smile behind his chewing.

***

They are standing near the house and waiting for the owner to open the door for them and let the process begin. A sixteen-year-old guy opens the door to them and looks at them incredulously, looking at Jungkook and Taehyung from top to bottom, who look at each other and raise their eyebrows in surprise. "We are from the FBI, hello", the angel introduces himself, extending his hand to shake the guy, and he immediately responds. Jungkook, after shaking his hand in the same way, turned back and noticed a man sitting on a wooden platform, who was staring at the lake. "This is our father. It's very hard for him because of Minji's death, so don't bother him, okay?" "What did you see that day when your sister, well, disappeared?" Taehyung asks, trying not to put pressure on the sore spot. "She swam about fifty meters and was pulled away by something. She went underwater sharply." "Couldn't she have just drowned?" "Minji was the captain of the swimming team. And she literally grew up in this lake, so it's impossible." Taehyung and Jungkook nod and say goodbye to Minji's brother, finally expressing words of support, and go back to get into the car they rented indefinitely. To keep up to date and find out more information, they decide to drive to the main police station where they can get up to speed on the tragedy. As they drove along to quiet comfortable music, they felt no discomfort at the lack of conversation. They enter the station, where they are first greeted by employees who meet on the way, and then they are escorted to the sheriff's office, ordering them to expect that the right person will appear any minute. "Greetings, guys. What are you interested in?" the sheriff runs in, immediately throws some folders on the table and sits down. "You've heard about what happened to the girl recently, right?" sitting down more comfortably in an armchair and crossing his fingers, Jungkook asks a question, looking directly at him. "Yes, of course." "What do you think it could be?" "I don't know, guys. There's no one and nothing in this lake that's big enough to take a man. Besides, we've combed the lake from top to bottom, so it can't be any creature." "Don't you think that's strange? This is the third identical case this year." "Look. We're dealing with it, but all the problems will soon disappear because of the dam." "Because of the dam?" Taehyung asked incredulously, glancing sideways at Jeon. "It is about to collapse and the government does not allocate money to solve this problem, so they opened the spillway. In six months there will be no lake." The demon is about to say something, but a girl enters the office, who, seeing the guests, is about to walk back out, not wanting to interfere with their discussion, but she is stopped by the sheriff, saying she can stay. "This is my daughter. Min Lia," the sheriff introduces her to Jungkook and Taehyung, after waiting for their introductions to end. Before they can start their dialog, a boy peeks out from behind the girl, who stands next to her without looking up and remains silent. "Oh, hey, fighter. What's your name?" The demon asks the boy, squatting down in front of him, but he runs away abruptly, leaving him without an answer. "I'm sorry," the girl runs off after her son, leaving the three of them behind. "His name is Bogyeon," the sheriff says as he looks at them. Taehyung abruptly grabs Jungkook's hand and turns him toward him, his eyes darting back and forth nervously. The demon notices the angel's pale lips, and turning his back to the sheriff, asks if this is the boy Taehyung needs to save, to which the angel simply nods, squeezing his hand harder. "Is he all right?" Jungkook asks, removing his hand from Taehyung's hand and slightly pulling him behind his back. "He went through a very serious trauma and stress." "I see. Well, thank you, goodbye," the demon says goodbye to the sheriff, grabbing the angel who was staring at one point by the elbow and leads him out of the office. Jungkook sees Lia and Bogyeon sitting, who was sleeping in his mother's arms on the couch before going out. He carefully approaches them so as not to scare them, and quietly asks about the nearest hotel to stay there with Taehyung. She explains in detail the way to the hotel, which is five minutes away. The demon thanks her and smiles, and then calls the silent angel to him so that they begin their five-minute journey to the hotel. Taehyung cleared out his things faster than Jungkook, so now he is sitting at his laptop, looking through and searching for as much information as possible about past cases that happened at this lake. It turns out that six more people have drowned in the last thirty-five years and their bodies have also not been found. Everything was searched, but nothing was found, and empty coffins were lowered into the ground. The demon walks up to Taehyung and stands next to him, leaning his hand on the table, and looks through the names of the dead. "Wait. Min Yeonjun. The last drowning before the recent tragedy. Click on the link," Angel opens a new page with information about him. "Took his son for a swim, the two of them got in a boat and swam away from shore, decided to go for a swim, jumped in the water and something pulled him down. The boy sat in the boat for two hours before police officers brought him to shore." They scroll down the article until they come to a photo of Bogyeon standing in a towel and wet. Taehyung zooms in on the photo to make sure it's the boy they met at the station. Kim and Jung arrive in great shock, look at each other and are silent. "Fuck. I can see why he's so traumatized and silent. At this point, he may be our only witness." "This is the boy I have to save, Jungkook," Taehyung says, looking at his palms as if he's trying to find something there. All the past times, the angel would just come to the place where a person was in trouble, but the situation with Bogyeon is different. It's as if this is just the beginning and it's up to him to make sure the boy stays out of trouble. "We'll save him, don't worry."

***

Lia is sitting on a bench in the park, watching Bogyeon sit on the sidelines and draw something, sometimes playing with soldiers. Taehyung and Jungkook approach her, sit down and greet her, after noticing a lonely Bogyeon on the side, who was immersed in himself and his drawing, not noticing anyone around. The demon asks permission to go chat with the boy, and after waiting for permission from the unsure Lia, he goes to him, leaving Taehyung and the girl alone. "Bogyeon, how are you?" There was complete silence to Jungkook's question, leaving him unanswered. "Cool soldiers, I've played these before," the demon picks up toys, examines them and starts playing with them, hoping to attract the attention of Bogyeon, who behaves as if he wasn't here. But there was no reaction from him, he just continued to draw, not paying any attention to the demon, who is trying to start a dialogue. "I am not a professional in drawing at all. I'm doing it too badly," Jungkook takes a blank sheet from Bogyeon and a pencil, still remaining ignored. He draws something, carefully drawing out some elements, and after completion shows the boy the final result. "My family. My father, my sister, me and my mother are painted here." But Bogyeon is still silent, not even bothering to turn to him or even look at the scribbles that Jung was painstakingly sketching. "I don't know what really happened to your dad, but I know it's something bad. I understand your feelings, because when I was your age, I also saw and experienced something similar." The demon puts the drawing sheet next to him, getting up from his seat, starting to lose all hope of a normal conversation, "Maybe you think that no one will listen to you or no one will believe you, but I believe you and I will listen to you. But you know, you don't have to say anything, you can just draw what you saw that day with Dad at the lake." Bogyeon still didn't answer anything, didn't even raise his gaze to him, leaving Jungkook completely ignored. The demon looks at the boy, truly regretting that he had to go through something like that. To witness the death of his father, then to sit alone on the lake for two hours with the realization that somewhere at the bottom is his own man is an unspeakable horror. Jung returns to Taehyung and Lia, who are engaged in some sort of discussion, not paying any attention to the demon. As soon as they notice him, Taehyung jumps up, asking if he was able to chat with him, to which Jungkook only shakes his head in a negative way. "He hasn't spoken to anyone since my husband died. Even with me," the girl informs them, turning to Bogyeon and looking at him with tenderness mixed with pain. "What do the doctors say?" Taehyung asked, looking at Lia, who was shaking slightly, either from the wind or from fear. "They say it's a form of stress. But we moved in with my father, you've seen him at the police station, and he's helping us, and we're making some progress," the girl smiles slightly as she thinks of her father, grateful for the support he gave them in time. "Bogyeon was a restless, very energetic boy. And you won't believe how hard it is to watch him and the state he is in." Jungkook is about to clarify something, ask a question, but is interrupted by the shocked looks of Lia and Taehyung, whose eyes run from him and to someone behind him. The demon turns around and sees Bogyeon standing in front of him, holding out a drawing to him and waiting for Jungkook to take it, then he's about to leave. "Thank you, Bogyeon," Jungkook thanks him, still in a state of misunderstanding and shock.

***

"Father, you should at least eat. I know it's hard to accept the loss of Minji, but stop killing yourself like this," The brother comes into the room, where the father just stares blankly and lifelessly at the TV, not reacting in any way to the son who appeared. "I'm going to cook dinner." He goes into the kitchen, feeling terribly low in energy and mood because of his father, who is having such a hard time living with the death of his daughter. Rolling up his sleeves, he begins to cut up the fish that his father loves so much, hoping it might do something to lift his spirits. Brother thoroughly washes his fingers and is about to rinse the fish, but then the water turns mud-colored, taking on a dark marshy hue. Turning off the water and after waiting a couple of seconds, he looks with bewilderment at the drain hole, which begins to spurt this water back out, filling it almost to the edges of the sink. "What the hell is this?" The guy wonders and rolls up his sleeves even more, because the water is up to the edge. He lowers his arm, fumbling with his palm on the bottom and trying to find a drain to check for something that's keeping the water back. He doesn't find anything, so he decides to see what's going on at the siphon, maybe something is clogged there. But he can't get his hand out of the sink, because something suddenly grabs him by the elbow and starts drowning him in water. The guy starts to flounder, trying to scream through the water, but something keeps holding his head. He tries to lift it, but nothing comes out, as if a 50 kilogram weight is pressing on his head. The water starts getting into his lungs, the guy starts choking and after a couple seconds his body weakens, he stops giving signs of life, no longer moving. After the guy died, the water went down the drain as if it never existed.

***

"Totally fucked up," Taehyung swears, coming into the room and throwing a bag of groceries on the bed. "What's wrong?" Jungkook is distracted from his laptop, having stopped typing something. "I was passing by the house of a girl who drowned recently and saw an ambulance there. Turns out her brother died tonight after drowning in a sink." "What the fuck is this?" the demon asks, not believing in what is happening and in the situation itself as a whole, arriving in the wildest shock. "The lake is draining, it will be gone soon. So this creature is running out of time, so it is trying to finish its business and plans as quickly as possible," Taehyung moves closer to Jungkook, resting his hip on the table where the demon has recently stopped working, devoting his time to Taehyung. "I asked around, and it turns out that Bogyeon's father was also connected to the Minji's family. They are related, but not by blood." "So we should pay a visit to Minji's father." "That's a good idea. Let's go."