save y(our) soul

“Jungkook, are you completely off your rocker?” Hoseok walks around the room in a nervous state, cursing at the demon after hearing his friend’s story. “Do you realize what you’ve done?” “I’m not three years old, Ho. I realize what I’m doing,” Jeon watches the same Jeon walking back and forth and meets Yoongi’s angry gaze, which is about to incinerate him. “What the fuck else?” “So you’re saying that you’re fine after you’ve had sex with him, and then with a pure and innocent soul you continue to use him to achieve your goal? Do you call this conscious action?” Yoongi pulls a pillow out from under his ass and throws it at the demon sitting opposite. “I haven’t seen you in a year and a half, Jeon. A year and a half. You’ve changed. I can say that with absolute certainty,” Hoseok grumbled. “No, I haven’t. It’s just that you’re not used to my not jumping to other people’s tune, but doing what I think is right without fear of being punished on all fronts for my disobedience.” “So why should others pay for your decisions? You think Taehyung will jump for joy when he finds out the truth, eh?” Hoseok walks up close to him with a crushing aura, looking straight into his eyes, trying to find a modicum of sanity there. “We’ll check it out. When he wakes up, I’ll tell him.” “Just try it,” Jungkook, through clenched jaw, threatens him and pokes his finger into his chest, completely ignoring Taehyung’s slowly opening eyes. They pause their discussion when Kim clutches her aching head with her hands and whimpers, experiencing not entirely pleasant feelings. Hoseok pushes into the chest of Jungkook, who is staring at the angel who is squatting in front of him, talking to Yoongi. “Are you out of your mind with him? You’ve been trying to find him for years, huh? Maybe it’s time to stop and let him go, Jeon.” Hoseok whispers right next to his ear, turning to see if Taehyung can hear him. “Except don’t regret it later and call for help when you’re in the abyss because of your own earlier decisions.” The demon turns around to Tae and moves away from Jeon, showing a slight smile, which the latter catches and smirks as well. There was a sepulchral silence in the room because no one knew how or where to start the conversation. Jungkook was thinking about what Hoseok had said, Yoongi was thinking about how to help Taehyung with his headache, Hoseok couldn’t understand Jeon, and Taehyung was trying not to look at the serious demon who was muttering something to himself. “An oppressive situation,” Kim gets out of bed and slightly loses her balance when it gets dark in her eyes for a short time, immediately drawing all attention to herself. “I’m fine, why are you twitching.” “Do you even believe in your own words?” Yoongi folds his hands behind his back and, lifting his chin, looks at Taehyung, who is trying to keep his balance. “Like a drunk.” Kim goes to the angel, who starts laughing and running away from him, teasing at the same time. “That bastard.” Two angels begin to run around the wide room, hitting every corner that gets in their way, laughing loudly and laughing. Yoongi teases him, says that he is too slow and how he could become a Higher Angel with such slowness. Taehyung, pretending to be very offended, stops running after him, remaining standing just in place. He sat down on the sofa, which had become an obstacle to him a couple of times when they were making circles around the room, and fell silent. Min seriously thought that he was really offended by this and his words turned out to be too harsh, so he carefully sat down next to him. Taehyung didn’t give in and didn’t react to his attempts to fix the situation. “Come on, I’m not serious,” Min tries to catch Taehyung’s eye, but he carefully looks away from him. Yoongi stopped what he was trying to do and also sat down resentfully, ignoring the gaze of Hoseok, who was looking interested in what was happening. Jungkook’s gaze was directed at Taehyung, who sat next to the other angel and remained silent, pretending to still be offended. Pretending the demon wasn’t here, so easy for him to ignore. The two Jeons look amongst themselves as if they weren’t arguing amongst themselves five seconds ago and sigh, watching the angels who are sitting next to them and are defiantly silent. “Like little children, by God,” Hoseok is indignant, walks up to Yoongi, sits down and puts his arm around his shoulders, and whispers something in his ear, immediately catching a misunderstood look. Min gets up from his seat with the support of his man and does not have time to move away, as he feels a poke in the side from a neighing Taehyung, who runs away at the speed of light and, hearing the doomed exhale, feels the stomp of Min, who broke out of Jeon’s warm embrace and began to run after Kim, whose mood was lifted thanks to another angel, who also forced forget about the headache. Hoseok and Jungkook stand like two kindergarten teachers whose children got into a fight after taking candy from each other. But the laughter of these two involuntarily causes a gentle smile on the face of the two. The first one can tell Yoongi that he has stored such a moment in his memory, and the second one is very unlikely. He doesn’t admit that he kept those pathetic few seconds where Taehyung and Yoongi flew after each other like children. He will not say that a bright smile could illuminate him and give him emotions. They continue to turn circles around the room, the stomping echoed throughout the square, sometimes jumping over the sofa and chairs that seemed so unnecessary at that moment. The fun did not last long, because the laughter came to an end because of Hoseok, who abruptly pulled Min towards himself, calling somewhere behind him and leaving the house, and because of Jungkook, whose chest met Taehyung, slightly causing him discomfort. Kim jerked away from him as soon as he realized he had touched him. “Why did they leave without me?” Taehyung says to himself, brushing invisible dust from his clothes, and is about to go after the couple who left at the wrong moment. He walks around Jungkook and tries to leave without making any unnecessary sounds. How can he stand so calmly now, looking like nothing has happened? Taehyung understands perfectly well that he is a fool himself, since he was able to feel something for him from minimal caresses, care, and well, sex. Maybe he made a mistake and gave away something important? Can he take it back? Why is his heart pounding so hard right now? Is it rushing somewhere? It runs in the wrong direction, it rushes to the wrong person… Thank God, his external condition does not show his internal state in any way. Otherwise, he would have screwed up completely if he had allowed him to see his weakness, his tears, his cowardice, his emotions. Taehyung once bared himself and allowed him to see himself, but he would not expose himself even more and deeper, because it hurt. No way. “Stop,” Jungkook grabs his wrist with his cold hand and turns him around, immediately making him angry. Kim twitches, but because of the demon’s strong and firm grip, he doesn’t do it well. All attempts to get out were unsuccessful. “I don’t know what you want from me, but I don’t like it anymore. I don’t like your presence here, I don’t like the feelings I feel around you. I don’t like you,” Taehyung looks into his eyes and doesn’t want to see some kind of calmness in them, which he doesn’t hide. “I definitely thank you for the experience, for the emotions and for that night. I really felt good and I’m not going to lie. I’m saying thank you. But let’s just leave each other’s lives, okay?” “It seemed to me that our time together meant something to you.” “Yes, I thought so too. But, I’m not sure of the correctness of my decision and that I still allow you to be near me. Jungkook, why are you messing with me? And I will not accept the answer in the form of variety.” “I’ll answer after you answer my question,” Jeon comes closer to Kim and feels how he starts to get mad from what is happening at this time. “Why are the conditions always set only by you? Who do you think you are?” “Angel, stop making noise.” “If you call me that again, I warn you again, I will not be afraid and I will beat everything out of you.” “Why are you mad at nothing?” Jungkook speaks in a calm tone, as if nothing is happening and nothing has happened. Taehyung breathes deeply and tries to regain his breathing, which has become more frequent due to too violent emotions and body movements. His non-worrying state drives Kim even more out of himself, which makes him look even more hysterical than he really is. “Okay. Just fuck off, okay? The real shit,” Taehyung hisses the last word, as if trying to point out his being to Tom. But apparently the realization that he said what he didn’t want came to him too late. “Jungkook, that’s not what I meant.…” Jungkook is sobered by a peculiar expression and in a second he flashes like a match, ceasing to maintain the calm inside that he has been saving all this time. The muscles in his face begin to shake, showing that he was really angry. He clenches his fists so tightly that Kim thinks there will be bloody marks after the nails dig into the skin. There is no trace of the former calm. “Who do you think you are to talk like that? You think you can do anything?” The demon tries to hold back the outcry, but it doesn’t work well, so he lashes out at the angel. “You think because you’re a prophet, you’re allowed to say anything and that means you can speak without filtering?” “What prophet? What the hell are you talking about?” — Taehyung really didn’t understand what the demon was talking about right now, but he was alarmed. “I’m a High Angel, but I’m not a prophet.” Jungkook doesn’t say anything, but just looks at him and grins, realizing that he blurted out too much at the wrong time and in the wrong place. That’s not how he was going to tell him about it. But the job is done. “Don’t try to lie to me and tell me that you didn’t even know it.” “Are you kidding me? Do you want to quarrel even more? You have a fetish for arguing or what, I don’t understand,” Taehyung sits down on the sofa and a serious Jungkook stands in front of him, who folded his arms and looked at him steadily. Kim feels uncomfortable and weak being in this position. “So, you mean to say that being the best student in your educational institutions, who passed the exams with the best scores, you did not read and did not know about the abilities of the prophets?” the angel wanted to say something, but changed his mind and became quiet, and looked away so as not to betray everything thanks to the emotions on his face. “So you suspected.” “Don’t you think that’s crazy, Jungkook? What kind of prophet am I?” (a being/person called by God to be his representative on earth) “You know why Alastair was so happy when it was you who killed his apprentice?” Kim shook her head slowly, not even wanting to listen to what the demon was and would continue to say. “Because he knew that somewhere there was one of the strongest beings who could wipe out all demons and angels and the whole planet from the face of the Earth, and then you came into his hands when he was looking for you for several years. He’s been living in fear that at one point he’d just die.” Taehyung, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, silently listened to Jeon, who nevertheless confirmed his guesses that he could be a prophet, and not a Higher angel. He didn’t want that. From the word at all. If the prophets develop their powers and learn new abilities, then they have the opportunity to simply incinerate everyone, and become one of the most powerful beings in this dimension. Many will fall under their power, because there is practically no one stronger than the prophet and his powers, but only if they are sufficiently worked out. As the angel knows, there are very few of them, a few. And among millions of angels, this fate fell to him. Lucky. And what if he doesn’t like it? What if he doesn’t like having a huge amount of abilities, from moving objects with his mind to creating new galaxies? What if he doesn’t like being worshipped? He wants to live a quiet life, and not be the one whose feet will be kissed. He wants to go on dates with his loved one, and not go to constant training to support his strength. He wants to fall asleep just like that, and not afraid that he might be hunted, that he will have to save the world, and so on. “Why me?” Taehyung has reduced his ardor a little, although he still has the desire to shout at the top of his voice. “I have no idea how you guys get selected. Find out from God or whoever you have there.” “Yeah, I’m going to go to him, knock and find out,” Kim sarcastically answers him, already being annoyed because of everything that happened. “Isn’t that how it’s done?” “I don’t even know if he exists. Do you know how many angels have seen God through the words of others?” Jungkook listens to him carefully, not hiding his surprise at his words. “About two or three angels have seen him. It’s safe to assume that no one has seen him. I may be punished for this or sent to the arms of your executioner, but I have very strong doubts that he really exists.” “Wow,” was all the demon could manage to say after a little story that silenced him for a few moments. “I didn’t think there was such a thing.” “Isn’t that the case with you? You can safely see…” Taehyung thinks about who is the head of them, trying to remember the name that he has seen in textbooks more than once. “Lucifer, right?” “That’s right. And yes, we can see him,” there is silence in the room, which neither of them tries to break, plunging the two of them into utter silence. They don’t say anything to each other. But two of them have flashbacks from the very night when it all started like this. Only then did the silence break with a passionate kiss that paved the way for something more, allowing the two of them to drown in each other for a while. The opposites briefly intertwined into one. Taehyung gets up from his seat and is about to leave this house, this Hell. He’s accomplished everything he needed to, even though it wasn’t how it was originally planned. He doesn’t look back at Jeon’s gaze, which feels insanely intense right now. Tries to ignore his light touch on his hand, which briefly slows him down. “Look…” but Jungkook doesn’t let him finish what he wanted to say, just asks him to look into his eyes. Angel found the request rather odd, and a bit intimate just for this moment. But slowly he raises his gaze and looks into his eyes. He doesn’t admit that he was a little scared at first, those completely filled with deep black eyes that stare at him without looking away. The demon shows his real eyes, which look both awesome and terrifying at the same time. These are the kind of eyes he had seen in a possessed demon, so he was initially a bit wary and scared. This color is so pure black that Taehyung can see his disconcerted face in them. And Jungkook won’t admit that his heart is beating faster than the speed of light. And he feels every blow. He was so worried that this would completely alienate Kim, who had been staring straight into this blackness for several minutes without stopping, which seemed to be pulling him in stronger and stronger with every second. He did not show his true look to anyone except his father, because he considered himself ugly and associated with demons, who are real monsters. And Dad thought it was very beautiful and told him more than once that it was his pride, and he should not hesitate to show his peculiarity. Only Jeon had nothing to be proud of. He didn’t like it. “Can I show you something?” Jungkook is sitting next to his first boyfriend, who held his hand tightly in his and gently stroked it. There was no one in the park, which gave them freedom of action. “What do you want to show?” He rests his head on the demon’s shoulder, curious about his desire to show something. “Look into my eyes,” Jungkook says softly, and feels the guy coming off his shoulder, looking uncomprehendingly at the demon, who lowered his chin down, blocking the view of his gaze. “Take a look.” Jeon raises his eyes, which were as black as night, and looks into the eyes of the man opposite, whom he recently decided to trust because he thought enough time had passed. However, instead of the positive reaction he expected to see, the demon saw and felt the most real disgust. The guy jumped aside and slowly began to move away from him. And it seems to Jungkook that it was at that moment that he hated his essence and those fucking eyes that caused fear and disgust. “The real shit,” said the guy, and at that very moment Jungkook felt a pain somewhere inside him. “Stay back.” “Jungkook, your eyes…” “Scary? Ugly? Tell me, I’m used to it,” the demon continues to look at Kim, who is examining his face with such a gentle look, and has even resigned himself to any reaction. “They are beautiful, though a little unusual, a little frightening.” And the demon seems to be frozen in place and not breathing, not believing what he has heard. No one thought his eyes were beautiful except his father, who to this day tells him to stop hiding them. Jeon himself considered this bottomless black sea to be something inanimate and empty. He didn’t know what prompted him to show his dark place to Taehyung, but he just wanted to. A momentary wish. He trusted him. “What are you going to do now?” Jungkook asks, returning to his normal eyes, coming closer to Taehyung. Kim bites her lips, thinking about something and decides to say what she doesn’t want to say, but she can’t do it any other way. And so, and so it will hurt. “I don’t think it’s your business, Jungkook,” the angel is not looking at him, he is looking somewhere behind, having the desire to teleport home right now. “Oh, that’s how it is,” the demon smiled at him and let go of his hand, depriving it of the opportunity to keep warm thanks to someone else’s. Jeon steps back from him, he also takes two steps away, and just looks at the angel, who is rushing around and does not know where to put himself. He watches as he suffers from tormenting thoughts, and he even had hope that he would go to him, and already take his hand and say at least something. That’s just Taehyung slowly turns around and retreats in the direction of the exit, leaving Jungkook in silence and in a very light floating scent of perfume, building a solid wall between them. When the door slams shut, finally immersing the demon in this moment, he barely restrains the desire to burn down the house of Hoseok and Yoongi, who are still standing on the street. Jungkook stays at home for five minutes, having no desire to go outside and take it out on the others, who are not to blame for anything. But he has to follow him outside, where three people were sitting on the steps on the porch and discussing something, initially not noticing the demon, who even slammed the door. “Oh, come here,” Yoongi calls Jungkook, who has his hands in his pockets and is stepping from step to step towards them, sometimes meeting the gaze of an angel who immediately turns away and just looks somewhere, but not at him. “Taehyung said that you have a rat in your team.” “I didn’t understand,” the demon wanted this the least, he was even afraid that there might be a traitor nearby. “Your loyal friend Lihwi is hanging out with Jimin, who had his eye on Taehyung and, like our executioner, wants to kill him. They promised to pursue him. Do you have any ideas?” “Jimin is so fucking annoying,” Jungkook rubbed his face tiredly with his rough palms, really tired of the demon’s antics. “I should call Jihwan and warn him.” Kim is still uncomfortable around him. Especially after he offered to have sex with him when he showed up in his room. At first he had even considered his offer, because sometimes you want to distract yourself, even through sexual intercourse. Still, it wasn’t a very appealing prospect, especially after the night he’d spent with Jeon. “Should Taehyung be assigned a guard?” Hoseok puts it forward on his own, considering it even a good idea. “It sounds good,” says Jihwan, sitting on Kim’s left hand, which scared Taehyung quite a bit. “Bitch,” the angel looks at him, moving away from fright due to the sudden appearance of the demon. He just laughs, amused by his reaction, and quickly approaches Jungkook, leaning against his ear and whispering something. To which the demon just nods his head and thinks, sometimes glancing at Kim, who is looking at the toes of his shoes, resting his chin on his knees. Jihwan moves away from him and sits down next to Taehyung, noticing how Jeon is trying to hide his displeasure or even a little jealousy. He walks away from them, leaving Taehyung surrounded by one angel and two demons. Yoongi starts talking about something with the angel, who clearly felt a little uncomfortable next to Jihwan, who sat down next to him, touching him. In fact, Kim is very grateful to Min, who was able to make him comfortable from the very first minutes, even though he initially seemed gloomy and scary. It’s not just because he’s an angel, like Taehyung, but just because he’s like that on his own. It was as if he had been scanning it all this time and understood what he needed. And to be honest, he would have been happy to include him in his circle of friends. He’ll ask him later. And he hopes for a positive response. And for some reason he is sure that if he agrees, they will become very close to each other. “Some angel is coming and Taehyung will get to know him better,” Jungkook returns after a short conversation with someone on the phone. “He will try to protect you, but, of course, he will not be around you 24/7. He said he would discuss everything at the meeting.” Kim just nods her head, not even looking at the demon, who was waiting for an answer to his gaze. They are all silent, only Yoongi and Hoseok sometimes talk about something without attracting much attention to themselves. Taehyung doesn’t like the prospect of having a personal babysitter who shows up when he cries. He can protect himself. The angel’s neck is numb due to prolonged stay in one position, so he slowly lifts it, trying not to injure it. He stretches his muscles by turning his head right and left, back and forth, until it seems to him that someone is calling him. Taehyung stops turning his neck back and forth and listens to everything in order to catch his name again from somewhere and prove to himself that he did not go head over heels. Somewhere to the right, the angel hears his name again and he can no longer stand it and is blown up from his place, gathering everyone’s gazes on himself. And it seems to him that the whole world is falling out from under his feet when he sees a familiar face with a happy smile on it. “Wow,” Taehyung takes off and runs, smiling so widely and brightly, copying the smile of an angel who opens his arms and invites him into his arms. The demons and Yoongi watch this and rise from their seats to give a normal greeting to a creature not familiar to everyone. They watch as Kim falls into the arms of a stranger a head taller than him, who clutches him tightly in his arms. Taehyung laughs loudly and glows brightly like a Christmas tree. They approach the couple at a not-so-fast pace, letting them enjoy each other’s presence, who start chatting about something right away. And Jungkook pretends not to see Hoseok laughing from him as he clenches his fists. “Greetings, I’m Namjoon,” the angel stretches out his hand to shake and greets everyone warmly, simultaneously learning the names. “Let’s get to know each other. So, I’ve been minimally briefed, but I’ll still need more specific information later, okay, Taehyung?” “Yes, no problem,” Kim clearly does not hide his satisfaction with the situation, and a little more and he will fly up from happiness. He approves of such protection. “You’re glowing so much that it blinded my eyes,” Yoongi rubs his eyes, immediately getting a poke from Taehyung. — I take it you know each other? “I was Tae’s first love,” Namjoon says with a happy grin, watching Kim’s indignation. “But it was unrequited love. I’m sorry, angel.” “It’s past that, Joon. It’s okay. But someone left, didn’t they? Without telling me where,” he looks at him guiltily, about to apologize for it as many times as he can. |I’ll admit, you two look fuckin' great together,” Hoseok says, immediately getting kicked in the leg by someone. And judging by Jungkook, who was trying to make a serious expression on his face, it was him. “Fucking idiot.” They still talk for twenty minutes, standing in the middle of the street, trying to find out a little more about him. All this time, a happy smile did not come off Taehyung’s face, which alerted Jeon for a second. The demon does not understand himself, does not understand his feelings and how he is behaving now. He scares himself. But he still tries to ignore the obsessive thoughts that keep telling him all sorts of crap. “Is Linda there?” Will she be able to take Tae back?” Namjoon asks Jeon. “I don’t know if she will be able to accept Tae back, but she will accept Taehyung.” Namjoon just bursts into a fervent and loud laugh at Jungkook’s words, after watching the demon, who does not react to this in any way, who folded his arms on his chest and looks at him attentively. Yoongi and Hoseok decide to go back home, but Kim does not want to miss the moment and takes the phone number from Min, glad that he agreed. They all say goodbye to Yoongi, Hoseok and Jihwan, who was forcibly forced to go back home so that he would not interfere with this circus. Of course, he didn’t want to leave, deciding to watch this drama, and also because Taehyung wanted to stay there. “Will you go alone? Linda won’t be able to accept me.” Namjoon asks him, occasionally glancing at Jeon, who continues to stare at him. “No problem. See you later,” Taehyung hugs him goodbye under Jungkook’s gaze and turns around to go in the right direction. He thought that when he turned around, he would see only one Jungkook, who would continue to just stare and remain silent, folding his arms over his chest, deciding to follow him. But when he turned around, there was no one there.

***

The earth greets him on a warm evening, taking him into its arms. Taehyung walks slowly through the nearby streets, enjoying the present moment and getting high from everything. Even from flying strands that are bothered by the wind. He successfully got to Earth, having already managed to get used to these movements, without feeling any headache and dizziness. Only uncertainty and incessant deliberation accompany him throughout the entire walk he took on his way home. These unpleasant sensations fought with the buzz, trying to take the first place. And Taehyung is afraid that they still occupy the top position. Even though he saw his first object of affection, and it definitely lifted his spirits, it’s still hard for him because of Jungkook. He doesn’t want to think about the fact that just recently the demon was able to show something mysterious, something that he was hiding from everyone. And it was definitely hiding, judging by his uncertain, shifty gaze. He made it clear that not only Taehyung was naked, but he was too. It seemed to him that the whole world froze at the realization that he trusted him. It’s just that the wound is too big from the past, and he’s not sure if such an act can sew it up. Kim can’t figure out when he got these feelings for the demon. He can’t understand why he finds peace and tranquility next to him when they meet. He doesn’t want to accept that he feels comfortable in these rare hugs. He feels needed. He feels hot palms warming his back, through which the heat penetrates inside, reaching right to his heart. Maybe, after all, Jungkook correctly said that the two of them wanted this and it was normal, and it was not worth attaching so much importance to what happened between them. Well, that’s Taehyung like that. He doesn’t recognize himself. He feels his conscience devouring him in small pieces, clearly enjoying Kim’s suffering. He shouldn’t have used such language towards him, and he shouldn’t have argued at all, but the resentment rolled over him so much that it literally poured out on its own. But to be honest, it made him feel better. He feels a little lightness and freedom, because he has stopped holding in himself what was poisoning his soul so much. Taehyung walks slowly along the narrow path, watching the people scurrying around. Everyone is in a hurry to go somewhere: home to relax after a hard day, to a meeting, on dates, for walks. And every event heals the soul. Even if it is a cold bed that has cooled down during the absence of the owner. Even if it’s buying hot coffee on the way home, accompanied by bright lanterns. The angel plunges into the atmosphere of the city, finally feeling comfortable in a strange place for him. He breathes in the cool evening air and smiles, as if healing. It even occurred to him that the Earth could serve as a good home for him, but he immediately drives these thoughts away from himself. This place is not for him. His house is in a completely different place. He has very little time left until the moment when he throws the bag in some direction and runs into the arms of his uncle. That’s really where his house is, at least there is something to cling to. Apparently, taking a longer walk was a very bad idea. He turned onto some unknown street where there was not a single soul to get some fresh air a little more. After all, the angel does not know when there will be another opportunity to walk just like that. Why was this a bad idea? Because someone comes up from behind and leans a gauze with some familiar smell, holding Him tightly with his hand so that he does not get out. Some kind of rag reproduces a too relaxing effect on him, so his legs become wadded up and the body itself weakens, falling into the hands of a stranger. Being conscious for the last few seconds, he remembers at the last moment what that smell is. And this is a wonderful thing for putting angels and demons to sleep, whose smell he felt at school, when the teacher showed them a liquid that moistens any cloth or rag, and it quickly sends various creatures to sleep.

***

Taehyung slowly opens his eyes, seeing absolutely nothing, but only trying to focus his gaze. All he sees is an overly bright light above him and some silhouettes. He suspects who it is, so he is no longer surprised by anything, but just continues to blink non-stop, still trying to catch the focus. In the background, someone is saying something, but the angel can’t catch anything because of the noise in his ears. His back hurts mercilessly, as does his head, which overreacted to the soporific liquid. Someone sits down in front of him and looks straight at him, he already feels someone else’s gaze on him. He somehow sharply focused his gaze and everything around him became clear and distinct. And judging by the burning cheek, apparently, he had just been slapped in the face with quite a lot of force. In front of him was Jimin, who had just stood up and was looking down at him with a malicious smile. And he probably slapped him in the face, too. There are six or seven other people behind the demon, including Lihwi, who is talking to someone from his team. The concrete he’s sitting on right now is pretty cold. But the worst part is that his hands are handcuffed around the pole, and the pieces of iron rub unpleasantly on the angel’s delicate skin. “I’m so glad to see you, baby,” Jimin turns away from him and walks away to one of his own, gracefully twirling his hips. “I heard that you went down to Hell.” “What did it give you?” Taehyung wheezes, trying to get out of the handcuffs. “Well, if I had known this before, I would have met you, and only your skin would have remained,” Park playfully shrugs and turns to him, smiling slyly, putting his hands behind his back. “All you do is bark, but you don’t act.” Jimin’s smile abruptly fell off his face, changing to an annoyed one. He pulls out the Death Sickle from behind his back, which is capable of killing many creatures, and slowly walks up to Kim, meeting the fear that appeared on his face: “Scary, huh? Just a little tingle,” the demon re-squats in front of him and roughly takes hold of his face, turning him around and preventing him from trying to get away. “Where did all your confidence go?” “My confidence is still there.” Except that one isn’t amused. He twirls the sickle in his hands, figuring out how he can use it. Puck looks all over his body, scrutinizing, and then slowly brings the sharp object to his neck, feeling the blood freeze in Kim’s veins as he stares at the demon and the sickle with unwavering confidence on his face. But inside, Taehyung is a storm of emotions and fear is at the forefront. Park slowly swept the tip of the sickle across his neck, leaving a light cut that was beginning to bleed slightly. Angel didn’t even twitch, but waited for him to finish it, because if he did, there was a good chance he’d end up with a cut throat. He glares at his collarbones, making plans for them, while Taehyung hisses quietly at the pain in his neck area. He can feel the blood trickling down his long neck, going right under his clothes. Again, the sharp sickle touches his collarbones and right along the bone, leaving a deeper wound, unlike the one on his neck. Kim, clamping his jaw shut, tries to deal with the pain that spreads throughout his body paired with the blood. Light colored things instantly appear to be stained maroon. “It’s like a tickle, isn’t it?” Jimin further scratches the next collarbone, forcing him to curl his legs and clench his hands into a fist, enduring this unpleasant pain. He can’t break free because the handcuffs shackle him tightly, pinning him to a concrete pillar. “It’s hilarious,” Taehyung pressed his lips into a thin line, trying to hide the urge to cry at the pain he was in. Something must have been poured on the sickle, because it couldn’t be burning like that from a simple cut. Jimin walks away from him, throwing his head on his side to enjoy his masterpiece. He gives the sickle to Lihwi, who is indignant and says that he also wants to take part in this, to which the demon with a slight smile on his face told him to close his mouth and stand still. Puck speeds up and footballs Taehyung’s thigh like a ball, making him almost twist in pain. Blood continues to pour heavily from the exposed areas, the pressure intensifying from the angel that is clutching his entire body. He is no longer paying attention to the handcuffs that have long since obliterated all the skin on his wrists. Kim doesn’t even have time to take a breath before his body is met with another blow from Jimin, who is amused by the situation. If all these wounds heal quickly thanks to the rapid regeneration of angels, and agonize almost nothing, not like humans, who slowly heal everything and still have to endure this pain. “Have you had enough? Why don’t you leave a little bit of life on me?” Taehyung coughs, feeling how hard it is to breathe. “I thought you liked it,” Jimin smiled nastily, watching the angel in pain. Park puts his foot up for another kick, deciding to continue his body therapy session, but stops as soon as he hears voice, which he will not confuse with anyone else. His leg dropped, and his hands began to tremble slightly, exposing his reaction to the most important fear that he still cannot overcome. He turns slowly and sees Namjoon walking towards him with quick and long strides, who, judging by his serious face, is very angry. His breath is gone and he just looks at the angel, who stands in front of him. “Is that what you’ve come to, Jimin?” and the demon can feel the dislike and disgust in Namjoon’s voice with his whole body and soul. “I told you guys to leave.” Park raises his right hand and stops the other demons, who are standing ready, and waiting for the right moment to pounce. He doesn’t know what to say in his defense. All he does is clap his eyes, looking straight into someone else’s eyes, trying to find at least a drop of warmth in the cold that he could keep. But Namjoon just holds out his hand, asking for the keys to Taehyung’s handcuffs to give him freedom and end his suffering. “What can I expect from you next time?” The angel takes the key roughly from his palms and walks over to Kim, who has been lying with his eyes closed all this time, just listening. Jimin didn’t want a single tear to run down his cheek right now and then fall somewhere. Park wants to get back into his arms, wants to be loved back. He really wants his eyes to have the same tenderness, warmth and love that he has bestowed on him for a long time. He knows the answer to why they are now standing like the real enemies, but it was his choice. And he suffers from it himself. He tries to pronounce his name, tries to call out, but all the words get mixed up in a mess, and he just watches Namjoon help Taehyung up. “Let’s go,” Jimin says in a firm voice, turning to the others, catching every look. “Do I have to repeat it one more time?” A second passed, and it was as if they had never existed. Kim sighs, seeing off the remaining tension and supports the angel, helps to keep his balance, making sure that he does not collapse back because of the legs. Taehyung tries to shake off the dust and dirt that he has put on himself, and then stretches his arms. He examines the place where they are now, and finds nothing familiar to himself. Just empty gray walls. “Is everything okay?” Kim asks as Taehyung tries to walk by himself, putting his hand on his injured collarbones. “Yes, it’s fine. Thank you for showing up on time. How did you know I was here?” Kim grimaces because of the acute pain in the area of his whole body, which is madly tormenting him. “A secret. Come on, I’ll take you home,” Namjoon offers him, leading him out of the building, closing the door behind him, leaving this unpleasant situation behind. “No need, just put me in a taxi. And don’t even argue,” Taehyung tells him, noticing how Namjoon is trying to get indignant. He understands his feelings, but now he wants to be alone and drive just in silence. “Okay,” he very reluctantly agrees, taking out his phone from his pocket to call a taxi to Kim, who shifts from one foot to the other due to the fact that he cannot stand on the same one for a long time. The car arrives ten minutes later, infuriating Namjoon, because the long wait torments Taehyung and makes him even more anxious. He helps the angel sit down, listening to Kim’s indignation that he’s not dead and can sit down. It’s only when the car pulls away that Namjoon rubs his face tiredly with both hands and sighs, worried for the two of them now. For Taehyung, who’s driving back without guards, and for Jimin, who looked at him with wet eyes, trying to hide hope in them.

***

Taehyung comes into the house, immediately closing the door behind him, trying to remember to draw a pentagram tomorrow that will keep outsiders out. The room greets him with warmth, which Kim gladly accepts. His body all hurts terribly, dried blood cracking and turning into chunks, his battered thighs making themselves known with every step. He can’t even stretch his neck properly because the cut pulls and tears at once. And he asks himself again: “Do I need all this?”. He’s tired. Frankly tired. Kim doesn’t want to accept himself as some prophet who’s going to pull it all on himself. He doesn’t want to take a beating. He doesn’t want to go out in fear. He wants a quiet life. And going into the bathroom, having previously turned on the light, he allows himself to burst into tears. He lets salty tears roll down his face like a river. Allows the shoulders to shake, ignoring the pain caused by these actions. He can scream now, beat everything around him, get hysterical, call for help, but all he’s doing right now is crying quietly, leaning his hands on the sink. Let the strong boy become weak for a while. There’s nothing wrong with that. It hurts, of course. And that pain is tearing him to pieces, leaving nothing of Kim Taehyung behind. He’s tired of saving himself, but he has no choice. He has to go all the way. Battered, with tears in his eyes, tired, but he has to go. And the water helps him calm down a little, cold drops running first down his face, then down his neck, rolling lower and lower. He looks at himself in the mirror and says nothing. He just doesn’t say anything. Can he feel sorry for himself for once? Taehyung comes out of the bathroom, breathing in and out wearily, and turns off the light. The angel stands still and starts crying again, walking a little further than the bathroom. “Please go away,” Kim literally begs him, noticing how Jungkook is leaning on the windowsill and looking at him. “I’m not in a position right now, really.” Jeon doesn’t say anything, but just walks away from the window and lies down on the bed, patting the empty seat next to him. He calls him to lie down and sleep with him, but Taehyung just stands rooted to the spot and shakes, covering his wet eyes with his palm. The demon calls him again, inviting him to himself, but he does not know how to react to this. Allow yourself to make a mistake again? Although somewhere in the back of his mind he has hopes that this will not be a mistake. “Taehyung, I’m asking you,” Jungkook doesn’t stop trying and calling him to him. “Just lie down and try to sleep, and I’ll leave when you’re already asleep.” “Just don’t do that. If you suddenly feel guilty for what you did, then I don’t hold a grudge. And if you came to avenge me for calling you shit, then this is not the most appropriate method.” “Just. Lie down.” Jeon says those two words firmly, making Kim flinch slightly. “I’m not asking you to move mountains. I’m just asking you to lie down and sleep.” “Just go home, Jungkook. I don’t have the strength to fight with you.” “Taehyung. Did you hear what I said? Come to me and get into bed, quickly. I won’t say it again.” Kim was a little taken aback by the rude tone, falling silent for a few seconds. He really doesn’t have the energy to argue anymore. He just wants to lie down and sleep, but he doesn’t know if it’s the right thing to do with Jungkook. It’s scary to the point of horror. But despite the trembling inside, he undresses, throwing his dirty clothes somewhere to the side. His hands tremble slightly, his hips still hurt terribly, but he climbs under the blanket that the demon had opened for him in advance, and then covers himself and Taehyung. Jeon carefully moves closer to him and breathes into the back of his head, meeting the sharp shoulder blades with his strong chest. He feels the angel holding his breath as he runs his hand over his wounded thighs. He does not breathe when he gently strokes the sore spots with his fingertips. He exhales softly when Jungkook puts his hand on his waist and moves closer, leaving no free space between them at all. “Sleep,” is the last thing the demon says before giving a light peck on the shoulder. Taehyung did not expect that under warm hands and in an embrace with a demon, he would fall asleep so easily. Maybe Jungkook has some kind of miraculous sleeping ability, but he didn’t notice how he fell asleep, enjoying being warmed by someone at his side. Initially, he was not at all sure that letting him into his bedroom would be a good idea, but after some time, he turned out not to mind such a prospect at all. Even though he violated his personal boundaries, he made his heart rattle. It was only a little sad when the cold air from the open window blew into his back for some reason. It should still be warmed by Jungkook. He lay back down and turned his head, noting that the demon was gone. He promised he’d leave. He kept his word.