Only human

"Maybe I'm foolish

Maybe I'm blind

Thinking I can see through this

And see what's behind"

Demons. Beings who succumbed to temptation during their lifetime and made a deal with the very personification of darkness, Gwi Ma, were given certain ranks depending on their usefulness along with powers. Thus, the "King" gradually appeared his cronies, their assistants, as well as a whole army of ordinary demons who accepted other people's help out of desperation. But even in such a world it was possible to be a loser. *** A girl of about thirteen was crying too loudly. She struggled as hard as she could to break free of the palace guard's grip on her thin, fragile shoulders. But the men outnumbered the hungry child by a factor of three or even four. She didn't stand a chance. - Anything, but don't hurt your sister! - She knew nothing, it's not her fault! Please give her at least a chance to live, Your Majesty! Please give her at least a chance to live, Your Majesty! Please… Sam Kka clamped his eyes shut and opened his eyes, frowning his eyebrows vigorously. Two pairs of additional eyes further down his face blinked and opened leisurely as well, squinting to orient his master in space. As usual, her head felt like a cast iron frying pan after a hard night's work, and her ears were still filled with the child's screams and her brother's pleas. Hiding his trembling fingers in the wide, long sleeves of his traditional robes - the hanbok had magically survived several hundred years of daily wear - the man raised himself on an elbow and turned his head from side to side. The whole bed was covered in feathers, as if it hadn't been slept on by a raven demon, but by a pack of dogs that had brutally disposed of a mountain of pillows without a hint of pillowcase. Sam Kka glanced at the wall clock, which read nine minutes to nine. Sighing, the man leaned back again and closed his eyes, mentally counting down. Five... Four... Three... Two... On..... — Oh, what a mess you've made! - The door swung open as soon as the clock struck nine and an unimaginably fast flesh-blue blur leapt across the threshold. Sam Kka squeezed the remaining 'on the lookout' eye of the lower pair and levelled his breathing. It didn't help, of course. — Who are you performing for? You've been getting up at two minutes to nine for decades. Today you're a minute late. I'd assume it was age, but seeing this,— he made his favourite sound, like a very short purr, as he plumped down into a feathery cloud, — that's another thought. Had nightmares again? — And why do you use your amazing hearing not in tracking the Huntresses, but here, taunting me every morning? - The man sighed in defeat, and, finally shaking off the unpleasant stupor, sat up leisurely on the bed, trying not to touch the feathers, lest he make a bigger mess. The boy with whom they shared the same fate, the same task, and often the same place to sleep, jumped up and sat down, shaking his azure-coloured hair. Dozens and dozens of downy feathers flew upwards - Kka himself wondered mentally every time he woke up where such numbers came from. — You know why, — the demon mumbled as the results of the disturbing dream spread throughout the bedroom, his tiger ears flattened against his head. Though in human form, they looked more like cat ears. — If he knew I was awake, he could have spoken out loud. — It's more interesting that way, — the guy smiled broadly, his orange eyes with amber irises gleaming contentedly, — just like humans. — But we're not humans. — That doesn't stop us from living like them. At least as long as they don't touch us. — Or until Hong-Moon seals us away for good. For a few minutes the tiger, looking more like a kitten, fell silent. Nervously shuffling the toes of his bare feet, the demon stared at the wall while the stripes on his bare upper body - the guy didn't recognise clothes from dusk till dawn - shimmered and lit up in different shades from grey to dark blue. The sapphire tip of his long, striped tail wagged from side to side with such frequency that one could tell at once that Sang-ho was either anxious or thinking fiercely. — But, — he said when the demonic raven had already decided that there would be no answer, — we'll still be together, right? — We will. The tiger, who had been despondent, instantly perked up and perked up his ears, shrugging his shoulders contentedly and shrugged his shoulders in satisfaction: — And one day you'll tell me about your nightmares, won't you? — No. But Sang Ho was right. After all, even if Sang Ho was stupid and Sam Kka was blind, they were still humans. Ex-humans, but humans.