Archive of Our Own ^beta

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

Minho has always been a fan of scary stories. Thrilling movies, tales that make the hairs on his arms stand on end, pictures that make his heart rate spike—he loves it. It calms him, somehow. After the thrill, he feels lighter. Sometimes, he even listens to horror podcasts to fall asleep. There aren't many people he knows who like scary things aa much as he does, which is why he's part of a horror enthusiasts' forum, where people share their favorite, movies, videos, stories, books and podcasts.

Sometimes, a discussion pops up about real life experiences, which is not Minho's usual point of interest, but he does scroll through the comments if he's bored. Lately, the forum has been full of rumors about an abandoned building not far from Minho's dance studio. Videos of strange phenomenons appearing. Minho is usually more a fan of haunted houses and fiction, rather than the real supernatural, but since it's close by, this discussion is grabbing his attention like nothing before.

Multiple people claim that the place is haunted by ghosts, and that anyone who goes there is chased away by evil spirits. Minho is crazy curious about that building, because even his fellow horror fans seem spooked out, and they don't get scared easily. Some even go as far as saying they never want to go back near that place ever again, begging others to not try it to be funny because the ghosts are real and they're terrible.

Minho himself is a bit nervous about visiting, because what if it's seriously moldy in that building and he'll get seriously ill after breathing that in? But then again, the videos people have posted on the forum seem pretty real—random shadows that don't make sense, noises out of nowhere, whispering. Not something caused by delusions or a mold induced fever—and the reactions of the others seem so, too.

He doesn't know anyone who has been there twice, and although that fact should scare him, it only makes it so that he really wants to see for himself. Today, he has decided; he will go see this abandoned building after teaching his dance classes. Hyunjin—his neighbor and fellow teacher—thinks it's a bad idea, but he's a scaredy cat. What's the worst that could happen?

Jeongin—his roommate—also tells Minho it's a bad idea to go to the abandoned building, after the latter has texted him about his plans tonight, but he's also a scaredy cat. There's nothing they can do to stop him, anyway. He has a pocket knife with him, and he's not afraid of the dark in any manner. Jeongin complains about not having Minho to cook for him so Minho tells him to visit the neighbors and eat there if he's so lonely.

After a shower, a change of clothes, and a brief stop for some food, Minho makes his way to the abandoned building. It's already dark out, but he's in the city, so it's fine. It's a nice warm night, a light breeze cooling Minho down. He's following the directions on kakaomap towards the building, and the closer he gets, the more his fingers start tingling.

Anticipation fills his chest, like a storm of buzzing flies. The building looks innocent enough from the outside, even in the early night darkness, yet there's an aura of something eerie hanging about. Minho swears he hears sounds coming from inside, and the closer he gets, the more it's starting to sound like… music and chatter?

Minho's nervousness fades away in an instant when he hears the sounds of people socializing. It sounds like a busy bar on a Friday night, if anything. Minho's curiosity is still peaked, but his any bit of anxiety has receded. He wonders why people would suddenly party here? The last time someone visited was only two or three days ago. There's no way someone would have set up a party without someone from the horror forums knowing about it, right?

Minho looks around for the entrance and sneaks inside when he sees no one around to stop him. He steps inside and immediately he's met with a sea of people. All dressed in stark white, and light colored wigs. Or perhaps bleached hair. Minho fits right in with his own white hair, but his clothes stand out among the bright white getups.

They're chatting with each other, dancing, drinking, and generally having fun, it seems. The place is fully furnished with chairs and tables and even a bar with bar back, stocked with bottles and lights. It looks completely different from the videos he's seen, and he's starting to think he's crazy, except the outside did look the exact same as in the photos and such. He's sure that he's at the right place.

No one is paying him any mind, so Minho approaches the bar, where someone in a waistcoat—a red one, over a black shirt—is serving drinks. He asks for a light beer, and although he gets a bit of a weird look, the bartender hands him a bottle to drink from.

He looks around and his eye falls onto the man on the stage. He's singing while playing the guitar, also one of the few people not dressed in full white. He has black hair and a slightly dark caramel skin tone, he's dressed like typical punky rockstar, black and red clothes and a thin black choker around his neck, yet a honey sweet and low voice escapes his cute lips. He's handsome, and the singing makes Minho's mouth water as he stares.

He drinks his beer and enjoys the performance, as well as allowing himself to ogle the handsome singer. When he finishes his beer, he grabs his phone and opens the camera app to sneakily film the performance, just as a reminder to himself, but also to update the horror forums about this party tonight. Yet, when he tries to film, his screen stays black, and his camera is glitching majorly.

It captures flashes of light occasionally, as well as some kind of movement. It's not quite consistent with what Minho sees, but then again, it's hard to tell when it's just vague flashes.

Minho's stomach turns—is this place haunted after all? He shakes his phone as if it'll help, but his camera only captures darkness and a couple of glitchy lights. Ugh. He hopes that his phone is not dying, but just at that moment, Jeongin's contact takes over Minho's screen, an incoming call from him interrupting his attempt at filming.

He sighs and picks up the call. "Hi Jeongin-ah. What's up?" he asks, flicking his eyes back up at the stage. The singing has stopped and the performer is gone, now. Shit. There goes Minho's chance to strike up a conversation with him. Maybe he can catch him later.

"Hi— ung— I— sh— st— ub?—" a crackly noise emerges from the speakers and Minho cringes at the sound. He looks around for the performer but he's nowhere to be seen, not even a black speck between the sea of white. That's a bummer. "Shut up for a second, Jeongin-ah, I can't hear shit. This is like a Faraday cage. I need to go outside."

"Wh—Where are you hyung? You were yelling like you were in a club or something but I didn't hear anything other than your voice. I thought you were going ghost hunting?" Jeongin says, ignoring Minho's command to stay quiet until he signals that he's outside. He is outside now, lucky for him. And lucky for Minho, whose ears don't have to bleed anymore.

"I am. But the abandoned building turned into a club for tonight, for some reason. My phone was glitching, though, so it might still be haunted. There was a cute guy singing and playing the guitar. I was about to approach him after his performance but you interrupted me, so thank you for that, Jeongin-ah," Minho explains with a sigh. He tries looking through the windows from outside, but they've been blackened, unfortunately. "I hope it's important."

"Ew. Minho hyung, what if you interrupted a ghost party?" Jeongin says, the shudder obvious in his voice. He even adds some fake gagging, the drama king. "I swear, if you bring home a ghost boyfriend one day, I will move out. That's too much."

"I'm sure they weren't ghosts, although they weren't really acknowledging me and they were dressed in all white, with wigs and all. Not scary at all, though. Boring," Minho retorts with a sigh. It would have been cooler if they were ghosts, but that was too regular—except for the costumes. No horror aspect, unfortunately. "Now tell me why you're calling."

"A cat came in through the open window and it won't leave… I need your help," Jeongin mumbles, his voice just loud enough for Minho to pick up above the sound of the wind. Minho cackles and Jeongin sighs loudly. "Hyung! It keeps hissing at me, okay? And I don't know where your cat treats are. I don't want to touch your canned tuna, either, so come home, all right? It sounds like you're done there, anyway."

"Yeah, I am. For now," he responds, because he still wants to see this place when people aren't using the building for some weird costume party. It wouldn't be a punishment to see that cute guy with the guitar again, either. Jeongin makes an incredulous noise and once again tells him to come home. "On my way. Bye, Jeongin-ah."

Minho shakes his head and pockets his phone. He returns back home to help Jeongin with the stray cat and makes sure to feed it and drop it off somewhere warm and safe for the night, near the shelter. His mind keeps wandering back to the abandoned building, however, wondering what the heck he witnessed. If Jeongin hadn't called him, he might have been able to talk to that cute guy, but now he might never see him again, which is a bummer.

He hopes that he will see him near the building tomorrow, though, because surely these people love horror, too, right? Or they love breaking into abandoned buildings to party. He has no idea how they conjured a whole bar and such within a couple of days, but perhaps they're just rich?

Minho can't make sense of it quite yet, but perhaps tomorrow night will bring him more answers.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

"You're going back there? You're actually insane. That place sounds haunted and illegal. A ghost party? Why on Earth would you want to go back there?" Hyunjin says with a shudder, sipping on the coffee he brought for him and Minho. Minho rolls his eyes, he has the exact same reaction as Jeongin.

"Yes, why not? Nothing happened to me last night and for all I know I was in the middle of a crazy cult party. I doubt it was a ghost party. I've never seen ghosts before," he says with a shrug, checking his phone to see if the next group is almost up. They still have a couple of minutes before the kids will start coming in.

"That doesn't sound reassuring, hyung," Hyunjin says, pulling a stank face. Minho bumps their shoulders together and clicks his tongue.

"I'll be fine. No one has died yet and at least three dozen people have visited so far," he retorts with a laugh. He has a sense of self-preservation, even if he enjoys these types of stories. He can defend himself just fine, and there's no real reason to be afraid of this building. In fact, there's a chance that he'll encounter the handsome and potentially single musician who he wants to see again.

"Okay. Fine. Just—Keep your phone with you and remember your kickboxing hobby, please," Hyunjin says, straightening himself and looking over his shoulder when he hears the studio entrance open. The next kids are starting to arrive.

"I will. Don't worry, Hyunjin-ah," he assures him with a firm pat on the back. He sips the last bit of his coffee and finishes his improvised tuna rice seaweed roll before gathering his belongings and making his way to the dance studio to greet the kids.

The day passes by like always, with Minho joking around with the kids yet being strict on their dance when they need it. Most of them listen well, anyway, so it passes by in a breeze, and before he knows the sun is setting and he's getting some quick chicken breast, boiled eggs, cherry tomatoes, and rice to have for dinner after showering.

Like yesterday, he says goodbye to Hyunjin and makes his way to the abandoned building. On the way, he checks the horror forums and discussions about the building, but there don't seem to be any interesting updates, only some people reposting old videos of the building and talking about how incredibly frightening that place is. Nothing new. No one mentioning a party.

For some reason, Minho's hands start sweating a little when the building appears in his sight. It brings a shiver down his spine, like an icy breeze is coming from the bricks. Still, he approaches the building and walks straight towards the entrance with determination.

Once again, he hears music and chatter. He enters and almost immediately his vision is overwhelmed by brightness—It's the same crowd as yesterday, dressed in all white, drinking, dancing, laughing, and chatting. Minho frowns and looks around. Again, on the stage is that same handsome man, in the same style of clothes as last time.
Minho grins widely, and his heart makes a happy little jump. It's his lucky day. He thinks about chatting up the bartender to ask how often they party here, or if he knows the musician's name, but he's too entranced by the man's honey voice to think clearly.

He grabs his phone and tries to film, but once again, his phone glitches out and only captures certain flashes of light. It's so strange, Minho doesn't know what it could mean, or why it's only when he's in this building. Perhaps he should try filming outside to see if that does work. He hasn't heard anyone on the forum talk about malfunctioning camera's here.

He grumbles and pockets his phone, looking up at the stage again. He meets eyes with the handsome man, whose seems to be surprised to see him. Minho wonders if it's because of his non-white clothing. Perhaps he should have worn something white to blend in more, but then again, the musician isn't wearing white, either.

Before he knows it, the musician stops playing, ending the song with a strum on his guitar. He bows and some people clap, but Minho seems most excited and claps the loudest. Someone else takes over and starts dancing on the stage. It's another person not dressed in white. How peculiar.

Then, he spots the musician. It's not hard to see him, a red and black dot between the sea of stark, bright white. Minho mentally prepares—and he also makes sure he's physically prepared. He checks his breath and runs a hand through his hair, before standing upright, making sure to ooze confidence before talking to the musician.

Minho starts to walk, but then he sees that the man is approaching him. He's looking right at him. Minho can't help but grin, perhaps he has remembered him from yesterday. Or he's going to kick him out for not upholding the dress code or something. He hopes it's the former.

The guy somehow seems shy as he comes closer, which makes him even more handsome. "Heyo. Nice playing just now. I'm wondering why you're partying in this building, though. Don't you know it's haunted?" Minho blurts. It isn't the most charming thing to say, but oh well. He has said it now, no way to take it back.

The man's already large dark eyes widen even more, his lips parting slightly. "Are you… Are you talking to me?" he asks, as if there's anyone else paying any attention to Minho. Minho chuckles, eyeing him with a fond gaze.

"Of course I'm talking to you. Who else?" he replies, still grinning. The musician is still blinking at him as if Minho is talking to ghosts. Minho's heart jumps in excitement when he thinks about the possibility of this musician being an actual ghost, but he seems pretty damn real.

"I… I didn't expect that," the man mutters, still a bit bashful. That's something a ghost would say. Awesome.

"You came to me," Minho points out, and he tilts his head in curiosity. His fingers are tingling, desperate to reach out and try touching the man to see if he's real or not. Even if he's a ghost, Minho might be able to touch him. Who knows?

"Yes, but… Aren't you a regular human? Or is the white hair…?" the musician asks softly, gesturing at Minho's hair. Minho has absolutely no idea what he's talking about, but this question just increased the chance of him being a ghost.

"What? My hair? It's like a half albino thing. I think. That's what my mother always says. Don't question it too much. But yeah, I am a regular human. Are you a ghost, then?" Minho asks, running his fingers through his hair and chuckling. He hesitantly reaches out for Jisung, lightly pressing his pointer finger against the handsome man's shoulder. Feels solid. "Is this a ghost party?"

"You need to leave," the musician states, becoming serious all of a sudden. He looks at Minho with an intensity in his eyes that catches Minho off guard. He steps closer, and Minho swallows thickly, his ears growing red.
The musician's eyes become an even deeper black, and Minho feels like he's being pulled inside. "You want nothing more than to leave this place right now."

"What?" Minho is confused more than intimidated, although the musician is standing quite close. Minho doesn't mind a little challenge, but the musician is sending mixed signals. "Hey, if you don't appreciate small talk, or if me not being dressed in full white is a problem, you can just say so. I just came here to check out this haunted building."

"Huh?" The handsome singer deflates and frowns. His lips stick out as he pouts a little, which only makes him more attractive. Then, he takes a deep breath, turns around and swiftly jerks back around with a loud GAH! holding up his hands as if they're claws.

Minho jumps—the musician's face has suddenly colored a deep red, there are horns on his head, and his skin is gnarled into a devilish scowl. "Jesus—!" he yelps, stumbling back, his heart pounding fast. "How did you do that? Are you a ghost? A demon? Or is this a party trick?"

"Yeah, I'm a demon… Why aren't you more scared?" The musician actually looks quite disappointed with Minho's reaction, even though he did jump. He was startled for sure, and he's still a bit shaky, but he's curious more than anything.

"I was startled, but I love horror. And, to be honest, and you're handsome and cute, so I'm very intrigued now. If you're telling the truth about being a demon, that's pretty cool. Why are you on Earth? Or am I asking stupid questions? Or are you joking? It's pretty cool, anyway," he explains with a laugh. The musician's eyes widen again.

"You even think I'm cool after you've seen my demon face?!" He seems flabbergasted, but Minho just told him that he loves horror, and the demon face doesn't make his regular face any less handsome and cute.

"I— I— Okay, but— Humans aren't welcome here, all right? So you need to leave," the demon musician stammers, vaguely waving around his arms. Minho hums, thinking about it. This demon cutie has been the only person trying to scare him away so far, without much luck persuading him. The rest seem to be minding their business. "You want to leave! It's all you can think about."

"Why?" Minho presses, because he's god damn curious. He doesn't get why this man is talking to him like this, as if he's supposed to be convincing him just by stating it as a fact. "You've been the only person telling me to leave so far. If it's because you're all demons, I get it, but now that I know, it's fine, right? I won't spill. I can't even take pictures because my phone keeps glitching, so I don't think anyone would believe me anyway."

"That's not— Well— It's just that humans aren't supposed to be here, and they're not supposed to see us, so I'm not sure how to get you to leave." The demon frowns a little and taps his foot on the floor. Minho hums, pretty entertained by the way the demon is not really doing anything to get him to leave, yet he seems to need it for some reason.

"How about you leave me be and let me do whatever I want? Or! You know what? How about a dance—?" Minho begins, but the demon only frowns deeper as he cuts him off with a grunt.

"No! No dancing. Just— I don't know! Stop seeing us and leave, will you, human?" he insists, getting fidgety and nervous. Minho stays put, but only because he's curious what the demon will resort to. He knows he's being risky and stubborn, but he likes teasing this musical devil so far. It's thrilling.

"Hmmm, I'm thinking about it. Maybe if you give me some more reason to, I will—" he begins, and he's about to ask the demon for his name, but he stops when the devil flinches hard. The demon's features scrunch up, but not in the scary way they did when he showed his demon face. He looks as if someone just gave him an electric shock. "A—Are you okay?"

"No! Just leave, you human!" the demon hisses all of a sudden, startling Minho again. His skin grows a deep red again, horns appearing between his black hair, and an gnarly scowl taking over his soft features. "Go away already! Get out!"

Minho's stomach drops, and he holds his hands up. He wonders what happened, all of a sudden, and he wonders if he somehow caused this. "Okay! Okay, okay, I'll get out. Just— I'll come back tomorrow, because I still want to see the haunted building, all right? So just— My name's Lee Minho, by the way. That's the last thing. It was nice to meet you."

The demon freezes, then relaxes as Minho slowly starts walking backwards towards the exit. His soft, gentler, face returns. "Han Jisung," he mutters, and Minho realizes after a second that he's probably giving him his name. He doesn't look happy, and he curses as he grabs at his neck. "I— Shit! Fucking hell!"

The demon—Han Jisung—runs away without another word, leaving Minho with a lot more questions than he started out with. Still, he decides to go home for now, not wanting to get Jisung into any more trouble. He will come back tomorrow, despite this warning, because surely demons don't party here every night, right? And Minho wants to know if it's really haunted.

Perhaps it's just the demons partying that make it seem haunted, though, because Jisung mentioned that humans weren't supposed to see him. Either way, this won't stop Minho from trying to get that haunted experience anyway.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

Minho doesn't tell anyone about meeting a fucking demon last night, because everyone will probably think that he's talking about some kind of supernatural experience, and not about a cute musician called Han Jisung who tried to get him to leave by pouting and showing him his demon face, and then resorting to yelling. He can't stop thinking about him, wondering if he could somehow convince him to dance with him.

Dance classes keep his mind off of the demon for a while, but during their lunch break, when he and Hyunjin are chatting and having some food, a visitor enters. At first, Minho assumes it's a parent, and that some kid forgot their shoes or their water bottle, or perhaps someone looking to sign up for a class, but then he stands up to greet them and is faced with a caramel-skinned, black-haired, soft-faced, demon.

"H-Han Jisung?" he stammers, heart speeding up a little. Did Jisung come to warn him? Or just to see him? Did he come to apologize and explain? Or perhaps something else? "What are you doing here? How did you find this place?"

"Who is this?" Hyunjin asks, and Jisung seems somewhat surprised to see him. Minho briefly wonders if Hyunjin is supposed to see him, but he obviously does see him, so Minho had better explain who he is, without uttering the word demon, preferably.

"He's—He's a fellow horror enthusiast. I met him at the abandoned building," Minho explains quickly. He told Hyunjin about the party two nights ago, but not about yesterday night. It doesn't seem like a great idea to talk about demons, if he's honest with himself. "Last night. I met him last night."

"Okay! I'm not a fan, personally, but I am Hwang Hyunjin, Minho hyung's coworker and neighbor. Nice to meet you, Jisung-ssi. I'll leave you two to chat. I'm going to prepare my next class," he says with a pat on Minho's back and a light bow towards Jisung. "Good luck with him."

"Nice to meet you, Hyunjin-ssi," Jisung replies belatedly, awkwardly mirroring the bow. Minho is endeared and Hyunjin doesn't seem to mind, although he does give Minho a look, which might mean that he noticed the way Minho's ears have become red. He does leave them be, for which Minho is glad, because that means they can talk freely.

"So—Again, how did you find me? Why are you here?" Minho repeats, looking over his shoulder to see if Hyunjin left. He did. Good. "I mean—I'm glad to see you, but I didn't expect you to come here."

"You're glad to see me?" Jisung's eyes widen once again, that same look of surprise taking over his face. His cheeks dust pink. "Not—Nevermind I just— I'm here to make sure you don't come back to the building."

"Is it that bad? Will I get in trouble if I come back? Because, to be quite honest, I didn't get that message last time. Those people in white just seemed to ignore me," Minho points out. Jisung sighs deeply, his expression growing frustrated, as if he's seconds away from banging his head against the wall. Minho chuckles, but he does feel a bit guilty for being such a hard-ass towards the demon. That could be solved by him just being straight-up with him, however, and Minho wonders what he's not telling him.

"You know what would help in terms of keeping me away from there? Some answers. Help me understand, Jisung-ssi," he adds, softening a bit to show Jisung that he doesn't mean harm. He doesn't mean to be difficult, either. "And I'd love to ask you a lot of questions right now, but I have a class in ten minutes. You're welcome to join the kids in dancing, but next time you'll have to pay."

"Can't I just watch? I can't dance…" Jisung mutters, scrunching up his nose.

"You can watch me, sure," Minho says, trying to wink at Jisung. If the way his expression twitches is anything to go by, he noticed the wink.

"I'll just make myself invisible to them… And wait. To make sure you don't sneak out anyway," Jisung replies. Minho huffs. He's a bit disappointed that the devil won't join the class, but he is curious about him making himself invisible. Minho shows him the studio, and he notices that Jisung has a reflection, but as soon as he sits down, it disappears. Interesting.

Minho teaches his class, trying not to get distracted by the attractive demon sitting in the corner of the room. It helps that his reflection isn't visible, but Minho is very curious how Jisung is planning to keep him away from the building. Maybe blinking his big eyes at him and saying please will already work, but only for a while. Eventually, Minho would want some answers after all.

Dance class ends smoothly, without any of the kids ever acknowledging or even glancing towards Jisung. It seems that they genuinely can't see him, just like Jisung said should be the case. It feeds Minho's intrigue even more. His chest is burning to know more about the demon, but he isn't sure how to get any answers from him.

"So, I'm going to take a shower now. You can watch, but I will see you," Minho says as he grabs his bag and shrugs it onto his shoulder. He just can't help but keep flirting with Jisung—the demon's reactions get his heart pounding faster every time. This time, he looks quite scandalized, for a demon.

"I won't watch!" he squeaks, shaking his head quickly, as if he's worried about Minho expecting him to peek. Minho laughs at the dramatic reaction. "But! But don't try to sneak out without me. I'll be at the entrance. And I'll notice if you try to take another exit… Eventually."

Minho can't stop giggling at the demon's words. He's strange in a way Minho would expect from a non-human, but then again, he's not like he would expect a devil to be.
"I won't sneak out. Don't worry. I'm way too curious about you," he assures him. Jisung stays quiet, opening and closing his mouth a couple of times before eventually deciding not to speak.

Minho takes a shower with a satisfied grin on his face. He feels a bit giddy, even though he shouldn't, but conversing with Jisung so far has been exciting. Jisung doesn't seem to have a plan, but he does seem eager to keep Minho away from that building.

"I— I'd show you other cool places except for that building, but I have to admit that I'm not too familiar with the surroundings," Jisung says as soon as they exit the studio, somewhat together. "So, uhm… Why don't you show me where you live?"

"Yeah, sure, I'll show the demon I met only yesterday where I live. That sounds like a good idea," Minho retorts with a laugh. He's quite hungry, and he should probably go home and have a proper meal instead of a convenience store snack, like he did the past two days, but he doesn't want it to be this easy for Jisung. "Don't you already know where I live?"

"I don't," Jisung says, sounding quite offended by Minho's joke. "I don't like invading people's privacy, but I have to keep you away from the club! So I have to take measures. Why do you want to visit that building so badly, anyway? It's just… It's just an abandoned place."

"Because it's supposed to be haunted. And that's exciting. I want to experience that, but all I keep seeing is a party!" Minho explains, taking Jisung around the corner, away from his home, but he'll go back to his apartment as soon as he gets some information. "I want to see a ghost. Or at least be scared, you know? I've seen people claim they never want to go back there ever again. I want to know what that's all about."

"It's not haunted," Jisung says with a shake of his head, blindly following Minho wherever he goes. He really doesn't seem to know where Minho lives. "I mean. There's no ghosts. It's— We do the haunting. We scare the people away and make sure that they don't bother us."

"You do? How? Because they can't see you? But you can make yourself visible, right?" Minho asks, curiosity tingling his shoulders all the way down to the tips of his fingers. He's staring at Jisung from the side, only flicking his eyes forward every once in a while to make sure that he doesn't run into a pole.

"I can. I actually have to make an effort to be invisible outside of the club. But that building is protected, so that humans won't see us, hear us, or notice our presence," Jisung explains. "It's not perfect, though. So sometimes humans will see flashes of light, or hear a bit of music leak through the protection. That's what makes it feel haunted. If we feel like it, we can appear and show our demon face to scare them away, or convince them to otherwise. I don't like using my demon powers, though."

"Wait, wait, wait. You're going too fast," Minho says, his mind spinning with the words of Jisung's explanation. A protected building to party? Sound and light leaking through? Demon powers to convince people? "Why is that building in particular protected? And demon powers? What kind do you have?"

"There's nothing special about that building. It's just the one that was chosen. I don't know why. And demon powers— I can persuade people, or scare them with my demon face. But it doesn't seem to work on you, and neither does the protection work on you," Jisung says, his lips pursed in a thoughtful pout. Minho grins, and he pushes out his chest, satisfied with himself to be able to withstand demonic powers. "Are you sure you're a human?"

"I don't have any cool powers, as far as I know. I'm just handsome," he says with a shrug, before looking at Jisung and wiggling his eyebrows. Jisung's cheeks grow pink again and Minho laughs. "Just kidding. As far as I know, I'm not a demon, so, yeah, I am a human. I've lived my whole life as one, that is. I could be an alien? But a demon? I don't think I have such a face."

"Hmmm… Okay. Well, now that you know what's behind the hauntings, are you satisfied?" Jisung asks, changing the subject again. Minho hums, pretending to think about it. He'd hate to end it here.

"What about ghosts? Do they exist?" he asks next. Surely a demon would know that, right? Jisung sighs.

"Well, people die, but they can't go back to Earth, or to the realm of the living. I'm not entirely sure if their soul can remain behind before reincarnation, though. They might be able to influence things, somehow, but I should ask one of my friends about that," he answers, surprisingly honest, compared to how reluctant he was to explain Minho why he needed to leave.

"That's awesome. The fact that you don't even know… It keeps the mystery alive. The thrill of it all!" Minho says, all but rubbing his hands together in excitement. "Can you show me how you do the haunting at my place? Could you pretend to do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe? You might be able to see me, though, since you seem immune to my powers," Jisung says, looking down at his feet as he keeps following Minho. Minho turns the corner to get back on route to his apartment.

"Oh! Perhaps I could watch it through my phone. You didn't have a reflection when you went invisible to my students, and my camera didn't work within the building, so I think my phone is not immune. I'd love to film it," Minho says, a big giddy smile on his face. Jisung looks at him, a slightly hesitant frown creasing the space between his brows, but the longer he looks, the more his expression softens.

"Okay. That'll keep you away from the building longer, I suppose," Jisung admits. Minho subtly cheers to himself, his heart pounding in anticipation. He feels like he's about to see his cats again after months, but then with a person. He hasn't dated in a while, and he certainly hasn't been this excited to get to know someone in years.

Once he's back home, he introduces Jisung to Jeongin the same way he did with Hyunjin. Jeongin has just about the same reaction—slight reluctance due to his dislike for horror. "He's a master of special effects and he can recreate hauntings. He's going to show me right now and I'm going to film it, so…"

"Oh god… I'll just… Stay behind you, then," Jeongin mutters, a scowl on his face. He's not a fan, it seems, but Minho is nothing but giddy. "Wait. Can we eat first? I don't think I can do this on an empty stomach."

Minho pauses. "Right. Yeah. Let's eat. Jisung-ssi, do you want something?" he asks, because he isn't sure if demons eat. Or if they even can eat human food. Perhaps they eat humans. No, Minho can't imagine that. Jisung said he doesn't like using his powers, and his teeth aren't sharp enough in his human-like form.

"I'm good, thank you," Jisung declines timidly. Minho shrugs and says that it'll be a couple of minutes, but that he can just make himself at home. Minho asks Jeongin to help him with the food, mostly so it'll go faster and so that Jeongin doesn't feel obligated to talk to Jisung. That would probably not be a good idea.

Dinner flies by, although it's a bit awkward with Jisung hanging around, not eating food. It feels wrong to have a guest and not having them eat with them, but Jisung declined, and Minho doesn't want to press, lest he accidentally reveal Jisung's true nature to his poor scared roommate by forcing him to eat with them.

Jeongin offers to do the dishes, which he never just does without prompting, but he probably wants to stay as far away from any fake haunting as he can. Minho doesn't blame him. Jeongin never even wants to be in the room when Minho is watching scary films.

Minho holds up his phone and gets ready to film. Jisung takes a deep breath and looks around—perhaps checking if Jeongin is still in the room or not—before disappearing. At least, he only disappears according to Minho's phone camera. He doesn't vanish from Minho's eyes, which brings a shiver down Minho's spine already.

He keeps his phone in front of his face, making sure that it blocks his view so that he gets the full experience. Lights flicker without anyone touching the light switch. Then, heavy footsteps. Minho shivers again. Something brushes against his shoulder, but Minho doesn't look.

All of the lights turn off, making it hard for Minho to see Jisung even if he'd look up from his phone right now.

"Hyung! Oh god… Where did Jisung-ssi go? How is he doing this?" Jeongin's shaky voice sounds. His roommate crowds behind him, and Minho can't help but look over his shoulder just as a figure passes behind him. His heart jumps, and Minho grins widely, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

"Don't worry. It's not real. It's just special effects," he assures Jeongin in a low tone.

"Are you sure~?" Jisung's deep voice sounds in a whisper, seemingly reverberating through the apartment. Minho shivers again, and Jeongin lets out a yelp. More exaggerated footsteps, and then knocking on something wooden. Jeongin lets out another yelp. He's shaking. Minho is, too, but it's excitement more than anything. He wonders if Jisung is going to use his powers, but perhaps he doesn't need to.

"Leave that building alone…" Jisung whispers, his breath hitting Minho's ear. Minho gasps in surprise, his heart pounding in his throat. Another shiver runs down his spine, and he can't help but smile.

"Oh god. Hyung. I— Haven't you seen enough? Can you please tell him to stop?" Jeongin pleads, and although Minho is having fun, he thinks Jeongin has suffered enough, and Jisung has shown what he can do. He turns off the recording and straightens himself.

Jisung appears again, but Minho only notices because he starts apologizing to Jeongin. "Sorry if that was too scary, Jeongin-ssi," he says, bowing his head a little, looking nothing like the scary ghosts or demons from the movies, and sounding nothing like the intimidating whispers he let out just now.

"It was… impressive," Jeongin replies with a shaky chuckle. "I have no idea how you did that, but it was frightening as fuck." He then leans forward, grabbing Minho by the shoulders. "Please don't go out to that building tonight, hyung. I won't be able to sleep if you're not here," he whispers sharply.

Minho snickers. Jisung must be happy about this. "Don't worry, I'll stay home," he assures him, loud enough to make sure that Jisung hears. "I'll just walk Jisung-ssi out, all right? Don't piss your pants while I'm gone."

"Hyung! Shut up. God," Jeongin barks out, pushing Minho's shoulder with an exasperated sigh, cheeks red thanks to Minho's teasing. Minho keeps himself in check and doesn't pinch his skin. Instead, he turns to Jisung and motions for him to follow him outside.

Jisung politely bids his goodbye to Jeongin, after which Minho closes the door behind them. He can't stop smiling at Jisung, very satisfied with how he experienced the haunting. "That was awesome. Did you scare Jeonginnie that much on purpose? So that I'd have to stay home tonight?"

Jisung scoffs softly. "No! I… I didn't know he'd be that scared. I just— My goal was for you to be satisfied so you'd stay away," he retorts. Minho hums, softening when Jisung meets his eyes. Jisung's dark eyes are almost black in color, but Minho thinks they're quite beautiful. "Will you stay away, now, Minho-ssi?"

Minho pretends to think about it, but he doesn't want to say goodbye to Jisung just yet. And he's still curious, because he thinks Jisung held back just now. If he—or the other demons—use their powers to keep humans away from that building, then there must be a good reason for that. "Nah."

"Ugh! Why not?!" Jisung complains, his skin growing red. Minho thinks he sees a glimpse of his demon face appearing, but it disappears just as quickly. "I— Nevermind. I'll just— I'll leave you be, now, since you're staying home tonight. But I'm keeping an eye on you!"

"Sure," Minho shrugs with a smile. He doesn't mind having Jisung's eyes on him. "Unless this reflects bad on me in the afterlife, but I have a feeling that you'd have told me if it does."

"It doesn't… I think. Pretty sure it doesn't. Unless you upset the wrong people," Jisung admits. Minho hums. He doubts that Jisung means himself when he says the wrong people. And he doesn't think it's any of the people in white, either, although it could be. But they didn't seem too mad with him when he trespassed.

"That doesn't tell me much, so why don't you—" Minho begins, but Jisung cuts him off with a grunt, low and rough.

"I— Good night, Minho-ssi. I suppose I'll see you again," the demon says, a harsh edge to his voice. He looks disappointed as he turns around and starts to walk away. Minho feels a bit guilty, again, yet he can't stop now, can he? He won't be able to stop thinking about Jisung and demons and this whole ability to see them. He needs to have more answers.

"Good night," he calls after Jisung's receding back. His heart is still pounding quite fast. He'll take today as a win, but he hopes to see Jisung again, even if he needs to force it. As long as Jisung doesn't give him a reason to stop he'll do whatever he wants.

Now he needs to make sure that Jeongin is calm for the night, and probably apologize for scaring him. Jisung wouldn't hurt a fly, Minho feels like, but hopefully he can convince Jeongin of that, too.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

The next morning is Minho's day off. He does some errands, groceries, cleaning, laundry, working out, but once he's done with all of that, he still has quite a chunk of the day left. He considers going to the abandoned building slash demon club by day, just to see what it's like in the light of the sun. It won't be scary, but he has accepted that he won't get to experience that frights fully anyway.

The neighborhood is a lot less eerie when the sun is shining. The building looks quite sad, if Minho is honest. He doesn't hear any music, unfortunately. It doesn't seem like the demons are fond of partying during the day. Minho can imagine that it's harder to keep people out during the day. Or perhaps they have things to do during the day.

"As expected! Lee Minho! Earlier than usual, today," a voice sounds from behind Minho. Minho jumps slightly, but he turns around with a smile on his face, happy to hear Jisung near him. The demon doesn't seem too upset with him, thankfully. He looks more amused than anything now.

"Yes, it's my day off," he replies, tilting his head a little. Jisung seems slightly puzzled by that statement, but only for a second. He shakes his head and approaches Minho fully.

"So you came here again? Why?" he asks in a stern voice, making Minho feel like he's back in dance class with his strict teachers. Minho grins.

"I wanted to see it in daylight. It doesn't seem like you demons are partying, however. So no party for me to crash, unfortunately. Do you guys party every night?" he says in return. "I have so many more questions for you, by the way."

Jisung groans dramatically. "Oh my gosh. Are all you humans like this? Why are you so curious?" he bemoans, only making Minho laugh. "And why do you like scary things? You can die, you know? Shouldn't that fear help you survive by keeping you away?"

"Not everyone is like me, I'm very special. And I'm particularly feisty," he replies, wiggling his eyebrows at Jisung. Jisung pouts again, and Minho's heart does a little flip. He wonders how angry Jeongin would be if he'd take home a demon boyfriend. Surely Jisung is cute enough to forgive.

"Just my luck! Oh well, I've devised a plan to keep you away from here, because, really, this place isn't that interesting! I'm sure there are many more great places around here, aren't there?" the demon says, crossing his arms and looking at Minho with big eyes and an anticipating look. "Why don't you show me some? Or how about we look for them together?"

Minho can't help but smile at Jisung's suggestion. "Oh? If you want to go out on a date with me, you don't have to think of excuses, you can just say it outright," he teases him, waving his hand at him and pretending to be shy.

"Oh. Uhm— I— No I didn't mean—" Jisung stammers, his face coloring a deeper color, but keeping the softness of his human features. Minho laughs at the sight of a demon becoming embarrassed by his comments.

"I know. I'm just kidding. Sorry," he assures him. It's simply so fun to tease Jisung. He has these reactions Minho wouldn't expect from a devil. Minho's idea of a demon was a frightening bastard, evil and cunning, shameless and careless, crude, rude, nude and all that. Jisung is nothing like that.

He's shy, he's cute—like come on, what kind of demon has such huge round eyes and pudgy cheeks?—and he's been quite caught off guard by Minho's simple flirting. He's kind, even. Heck, he's exactly Minho's type. "I'd love to show you some of the other haunted places around the city!" he agrees, because this is a perfect opportunity to take someone with him. None of his real life friends like horror, unfortunately.

"Okay!" Jisung agrees, looking hesitantly excited. Minho grins, and takes Jisung along to the bus station. He checks his watch. There's still enough time to make it to the amusement park and visit the haunted house before dark. Then, they can eat together and visit the old temple near the cemetery.

It's a great way to spend his day off, in Minho's opinion. He doesn't get to do this a lot, because doing this alone is no fun anyway. Jisung follows him, seemingly a bit unaware of where Minho is taking him. Minho brushes his hand along Jisung's arm as they enter the park, only for the haunted house.

"You demons aren't the only ones who can fake a haunting. I'll show you how humans do it," Minho explains as he leads Jisung towards the attraction. Jisung's eyes are wide as they approach the large rotten-looking house.

"Wh—Why would you guys fake hauntings?" he asks, inching a bit closer to Minho's side. Minho grins. He looks a bit nervous, and whether he's excited or scared, Minho thinks both would be fun.

"For entertainment," he answers. Jisung looks even more puzzled, but Minho pays the entrance fees and hurries Jisung along. It's quiet in the park, due to it being a weekday, but Minho hopes that it'll make Jisung feel more comfortable.

They enter the haunted house and Jisung immediately shivers next to Minho. "Entertainment? That's… That's cool!" Jisung tells him with a shaky chuckle. They turn a corner, and footsteps sound—fast, heavy, and determined—sending a shiver down Minho's spine. Jisung looks back and forth with jerky movements.

A pale white figure jumps out at them and, simultaneously, they yell. Minho, with a smile on his face, Jisung, while shrinking in on himself, grabbing Minho's arm. "What the fuck!" he exclaims, and Minho simply laughs.

"Exciting, isn't it?" Minho asks as he pulls the demon along the twisting dark halls of the haunted house. Jisung stammers something incomprehensible, still holding on to Minho's arm. At times it's eerily quiet, until another actor or thing jumps out at them, and they scream together.

"It's—You guys do a good job. I—I'm still undecided if I find this entertaining or not, though," Jisung says. He yells again when a voice whispers right behind them. Like that, they make their way through the drafty eerie house, full of shadows that seem to move and sounds that make you feel like someone is just behind you at every step, watching.

Jump scares succeed in making them flinch and yell out every time. Minho absolutely revels in the adrenaline, combined with the demon huddling close to him and instinctively hiding behind them. Minho is proud of himself and also quite surprised that Jisung has been so afraid throughout the haunted house.

"That was so fun," Minho states as they find the exit, still laughing as he tugs Jisung along. Jisung has lost some of the color in his face, and he looks like he's seen multiple ghosts come to life. "What's that look for? Aren't you supposed to be familiar with ghosts and the dead?"

"Y-Yeah, but not on Earth! Not like this! There's no haunted things in the afterlife because that's where the dead are supposed to be," Jisung retorts with a shiver. "Also these sudden loud noises… It gives me whatdoyoucallthose? Goose bumps."

"It feels nice, doesn't it? Gets all the stress of the day—or the week—out of your system." Minho pats Jisung on the shoulder. Nothing like a good adrenaline rush to have a good night sleep later. A workout has the same effect, but it's nice to switch things up every once in a while. "And now that it's getting dark, I want to show you the haunted place behind the bus station. Or we could go to the graveyard by the old temple."

Jisung's eyes widen in the most attractive and adorable way ever—Minho gets the sudden urge to chomp on his cheeks. "Or we can get something to eat first," he blurts, not even thinking about whether or not Jisung can eat. He declined last time. "If you want. If you're even able to eat."

"I am. I'm able to. I don't need it, but it's important to humans, so it's nice to see you guys enjoy eating. You don't need to get me anything, though," Jisung assures him, waving his hands back and forth.

"It's more fun eating with someone, though. So I'll get you something, anyway. I want to know what a demon thinks of fish cakes, and tteokbeokki," Minho says, once again motioning Jisung to follow him, which the demon does all too easily. Minho supposes that the demon cannot die, and so he doesn't have to worry about humans being violent to him.

Minho takes Jisung back into the bus towards his favorite street to get food, a tingle persisting in his fingers. It's been a while since he has had the pleasure of taking someone to his favorite places, so—even ignoring Jisung's attractiveness—it kind of feels like a date, after all.

Jisung doesn't have any spice tolerance, which is both surprising and expected, to Minho. He's not a human, so it's funny that he's still bested by human flaws like an intolerance towards spicy food, but then again, he never eats, so he wouldn't have to worry about trivial weaknesses like that in his usual life.

"This is so good! But it burns my mouth like the hellfires humans think exist somewhere," Jisung says, moaning about the pain but at the same time praising the taste. Minho snickers fondly. "How are you not sweating and crying?!"

"You build tolerance," Minho says with a shrug, happily shoving another piece of tteokbeokki into his mouth. He keeps his eyes on the demon as he's slowly walking back to his apartment as they eat. "I guess you haven't had any need to do so, as a demon."

"I haven't. But I understand why you like this," Jisung says, glancing at him with teary eyes and a red nose. Minho takes a deep breath, his heart stuttering. "Now… Was this fun enough to satisfy you, Minho-ssi?"

Minho's stomach sinks in disappointment at Jisung sudden politeness, plus the reminder that Jisung is just here to keep him busy and away from the abandoned building, and not to have fun with him. It kills Minho's chipper mood a bit, although he did have a good time. "I suppose. You've kept me distracted enough for today, but I still want to get more answers."

Jisung huffs. "Fair enough. You have shown me your world and interests. I'll try to give you more answers. But not now. I have to go—Thank you for today, Minho-ssi, and please don't go to the club."

"Fine. I won't. Not tonight," he promises, unable to get himself to muster up the same excitement as earlier. At least Jisung seems to have had a good time, too. When Jisung disappears, Minho feels frustrated. He can't ignore that fucking club, especially since Jisung is making such a big deal about him staying away, while he still doesn't know why.

There's no problem with him hanging out with Jisung, so why would it be a problem that he can see the demons in that abandoned building? It's not like he can tell anyone about them or something. No one else can see them, so no one would believe him. And he doesn't know any gods or whatever.

It's probably better for his own peace of mind and peace of heart to forget about that building, and about Jisung and the demons, but he can't just push him away from his mind now. He's too curious. Too fond of Jisung. He takes a deep breath, tells himself that Jisung is a demon—an immortal demon, at that—and thus he shouldn't even try to flirt with him like this. He'll likely only get disappointed in the end.

With that, he returns home and talks to Jeongin about his day with Jisung. Jeongin comments about him seeming interested in Jisung, but Minho assures him that the feeling is one-sided.

"You can't know that. You've known each other for—what?—two days? Did you ask him how he feels about you?" Jeongin presses, resting his hands on his hips as he gives Minho a look. Minho presses his lips together sheepishly. He could lie, but Jeongin knows him too well. He would see through him.

"I didn't," he admits. It's no use anyway. Jisung is not a human. "But it's… I just get this feeling that he wouldn't want it."

"Hyung. You always tell me not to jump to conclusions. You're probably just cranky and tired. Go to sleep and tomorrow you'll feel better," his roommate continue, patting Minho's shoulder as if he's Jeongin's grandfather. Minho can't help but laugh.

"Fine! Fine, you're probably right," he says. Tomorrow is another day full of dance classes, so he won't have time to think about the cute demon. "I'm gonna take a shower and then hit the hay. Good night, Jeongin-ah."

"Good night, hyung. I took the leftovers from last night, by the way," Jeongin calls after him. Minho waves him off. It's all fine. Tomorrow's another day.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

Minho should have expected it, but the next time he sees Jisung is the next day. It seems the demon either can't get enough of him, or he really wants to keep him away from that club. Minho fears it's the latter, but he can't help but be happy when he sees the demon in the corner of the dance studio, watching him teach dance to a bunch of middle school kids. Minho tries not to glance at him too many times, lest his students notice that he's looking somewhere, but Jisung is staring so intently.

His gaze seems too focused to just be him keeping an eye on Minho. It's almost as if he's trying to look at Minho's insides, right through his skin. It makes Minho feel all giddy inside again, just when he was trying to ignore his growing crush on Jisung. Yes. He's quite sure simple attraction has evolved into a crush. Of course he'd be stupid enough to fall for a demon.

"If I wasn't aware of your motivation to keep me away from your little demon club, I'd think you were stalking me, Jisung-ssi~" Minho says, batting his eyelashes at the demon as soon as the kids have left the studio. He gathers his bag, takes a long swig of water and approaches him.

"I'm not stalking you, Minho-ssi. And it's not my club," Jisung retorts with a huff. He stands up, appearing to everyone—if the way his reflection comes back is anything to go by—and brushes his hands along his clothes.

"Okay. Well, why are you here so early, then? I'm busy with classes, and going to that building by day is not illegal, is it? You guys don't party during the day," Minho asks, looking Jisung up and down, trying to read his expression. "Or did you have such a great time with me yesterday that you want to do it again?"

"Well, if I'm honest, I'm bored. And I want to know why you can see us—why you're immune to my powers," Jisung says with a shrug. Minho isn't sure what the slight twitch in his lips means. "I usually just talk to my friend during the day, and at night I play music in the club."

"And watching me teach dance is more interesting that hanging out in the afterlife?" Minho's eyes widen as Jisung shrugs. He clicks his tongue and waves his hand at Jisung. "Pssht, you're flattering me, Jisung-ssi."

"You—You're a strange human, Minho-ssi!" Jisung says, his cheeks growing pink, and Minho simply laughs. He didn't think that demons would have any trouble dealing with oddities. "Why do you keep saying things like that?"

"Things like what?" Minho feigns innocence, but he can't help it when the corners of his lips curl up, seeing Jisung's slightly flustered expression. The demon sighs and averts his gaze.

"Flattery and such! Interpreting my words and actions that way, too… It's—I don't know how to answer that," he says, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Minho can't help but notice that he has quite the biceps and shoulders, yet his stature is small, and his hips and waist are quite narrow. Grabbable, even—not the time, Lee Minho.

"Answer that however you want, Jisung-ssi. Joke along if you want me to be joking, but you're cute. Attractive. I won't lie about that," Minho says with a shrug. Jisung's face is unreadable. He seems flustered more than anything. "You're a demon, though, so… No hard feelings whatsoever."

"I don't get it—" Jisung begins, but he cuts himself off when the door to the studio creaks open. It's Hyunjin, calling his name. He pauses when he sees Jisung.

"Ah, Jisung-ssi! That's why Minho hyung wasn't coming out to chat with me, huh? You two are hitting it off, it seems!" Hyunjin grins and winks at Minho, who rolls his eyes. Him teasing Jisung is one thing, but the others meddling is another. He doesn't want Jisung to feel pressured, and he doesn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. Jisung is immortal, and however nice and cute and attractive he is, it can't last.

"I was just—It's nothing! Minho-ssi was taking me to another haunted place he knows," Jisung says, startling Minho. He's lying now, too. Minho never said he would. But he wants to. He wanted too, yesterday, but Jisung left sooner than he'd have liked. Jisung steps past Minho and gestures for Hyunjin to come inside. "I'll wait outside. You two take your time."

"Okay…" Hyunjin says, looking at Jisung with a puzzled look. He then whips his head around and faces Minho, eyes wide and pressing. "So? What's the deal with you two? Jeonginnie told me you hung out all day yesterday. And now again?"

"You, Jeongin, and Felix talk too much. Don't you have anything else to do?" Minho says with a scoff. He walks past Hyunjin and purposely bumps their shoulders together. "Come on, let's take a shower. I need to change."

Hyunjin follows him to the changing rooms and shower stalls, stumbling as he gathers his own bag along the way. "You tell us too little, hyung. Come on. He's cute, we're not blind. You like him. You're going on weird dates already. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"There's not. And I've been flirting with him, but he's… let's say he's quite inexperienced," Minho replies with a shrug. It's not a lie. Jisung is very inexperienced when it comes to the human world. "He's not really… responding to my flirting, you know?"

"Really? A guy like him? Although he does seem a bit shy, yes…" Hyunjin hums to himself, and Minho chuckles. Yes, an inexperienced and shy demon. What a guy. Minho pulls his slightly damp shirt over his head and shoves it in his wash-bag.

"It's all right. We're getting to know each other. No rush," he explains. Also not a lie. He is trying to figure out Jisung's motives, after all. And Jisung is trying to understand why Minho is immune to his powers. He undresses and grabs his towel before getting into the stall.

"Okay, that's good. I suppose I'll hear about it either through Jeongin and Lix or from you directly," Hyunjin says as Minho turns on the shower. "But I'm rooting for you! You finally have a buddy to do your freaky horror stuff with."

Minho can't help but laugh. If Hyunjin wants to think of it like that, he won't stop him.

Jisung is waiting outside, indeed, simply looking around and doing nothing. Minho doesn't know how he does it, how he doesn't get bored out of his mind watching cars and busses pass by and honk at each other, but the demon is watching the scene as if he's counting every car. It's busy as it's nearing dinner time, but that only makes the city loud and busy.

He bids Hyunjin goodbye and takes Jisung to a convenience store for a quick snack so that Minho has something to munch on while they make their way to the haunted little temple behind the bus station.

"The story here is that, a long time ago, a woman came here looking for help. She had gotten in an accident while cooking, and her face was half burned. She couldn't use one of her hands anymore. She found the temple and asked the people for food and shelter, yet she was kicked out—the residents saying she was a demon coming to curse them. While trying to chase her away, the woman fell on her head and died. Now she haunts this temple, seeking revenge for what was done to her," Minho explains in a whisper. Jisung's face is contorted into a scowl.

"That's horrible…" he mutters, shivering when Minho breathes out against his ear. "Ah, I'm getting shivers. I can't—"

Suddenly, a figure moves behind them, and Jisung cuts himself off. Minho shudders and looks over his shoulder, but there's no one there. He looks back right when Jisung yells, startling Minho in the process. A man stands there, right in front of them, seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Ah—! Wait— Changbin hyung?" Jisung says, letting out a deep sigh. He makes a hitting motion towards the man in front of him. He's about the same height as Jisung, yet there's something different about him. Minho can't quite place what it is, though. His hair is a shaggy dark brown color, and he's not dressed in red and black, nor is he dressed in all white. "Dammit! You scared the crap out of me!"

"You're usually not this jumpy. What's going on? What are you even doing here? Who is this?" Changbin asks, his voice stern and steady. This is Jisung's friend, apparently, and he's not even acknowledging Minho with much more than a wary look.

"Excuse me? Who the fuck are you?" he asks in return, even though Jisung has just said his name. Changbin jumps, as if Minho is the one who crept up on him, instead of the other way around.

"Huh? You can see me?" the man asks him. Jisung is sending Changbin daggers with his eyes, a sudden intensity in his gaze that Minho hasn't seen since Jisung tried to get Minho to leave the club. "Well. That's strange. Although you do have white hair, so maybe that has something to do with it? Although humans do tend to bleach their hair… Anyway. Jisung, you're coming with me. You've been away too long."

Changbin grabs Jisung's arm and starts tugging him with him. Minho scoffs. "Hello? You can't just do that. What do you mean he's been away for too long?"

"Minho-ssi, it's all right. It's Changbin hyung. The friend I told you about," Jisung assures him, offering Minho an awkward half-smile while he tries to stop Changbin from moving. "I'll just explain to him—"

"Yes, I'm Seo Changbin, a fallen angel who's just trying to protect his demon friend. Now who are you and why are you hording all of Jisung's time?" the man retorts. A fallen angel? Isn't that the same as a demon, Minho wonders.

"Huh? So you're a… what? Oh, wait. Were those people in white angels? I didn't know angels and demons mixed like that. So you're like a demon, too? I'm—I'm Lee Minho by the way." Minho asks, stepping closer and making sure that Changbin can't just force Jisung to come with him. Jisung looks quite constipated, for some reason. Minho hopes that Changbin isn't hurting him.

"Well—Yes and no. I'm—I'm not the same as Jisung. There are differences. Why am I telling you this? You're obviously a human. With extremely bleached hair," Changbin says, shaking his head. Minho isn't sure what his hair has to do with anything. Jisung sighs and pushes at Changbin's shoulder, giving him another pressing look. The fallen angel hums. "Okay. I see… Perhaps I should visit that club again sometime, if this human knows about it… And you should stop being stupid, Jisung-ah."

"Hyung! What the fuck! I know what I'm doing. You stop being an idiot," the demon retorts sharply, but Changbin just shrugs.

"I'll be subtle, don't you worry," he says, letting go of Jisung and patting the demon's shoulder. He sends Minho a wave. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Lee Minho-ssi. Try to keep this demon safe, all right?"

"I can't if I don't know what the fuck is happening!" Minho calls out as the fallen angel speeds away. Minho swears that at some point, the man seems to sprout wings out of nowhere, but perhaps that was a trick of the light. He takes a deep breath and looks at Jisung, who seems quite annoyed by his friend. "So? What was that all about? Why can't he visit this angel demon whatever club?"

"Because he'll just get in my way!" Jisung complains with a groan, running a hand through his black hair. "And he might ruin the fun."

"Get in your way of what?" Minho presses. He is starting to become really impatient, and he would like some answers. Jisung stays quiet so Minho waits, silently, letting their eyes meet a couple of times until the demon finally relents and replies.

"Of being accepted," he admits.

"By whom?" Minho continues, his frown deepening. He has no idea why Jisung would want to be acknowledged as a demon. For what purpose? The be cool with the gods? Or the angels?

"Everyone else. You— Changbin hyung said we're different. We are. Demons are… worth less than an angel or a fallen angel. We're… further from being… You know. Good," Jisung says with a shrug. "We don't have any powers we can use for good. We were born from mistakes."

"Why?" Minho has no idea what the hierarchy is in the afterlife, but Jisung doesn't seem evil or bad in the slightest. He has refused to even try to use his powers on Minho after that first time, so he doesn't understand why Jisung would need to prove himself. "Are the angels making you do things to gain acceptance?"

"You wouldn't understand. It's not that simple," Jisung grumbles, averting his gaze as his body closes off towards Minho.

"Then make me understand," he tries, but Jisung scoffs.

"Why would you want to understand?! I'm just a demon trying to stop you from meddling in the angels' business! And you're making it so hard!" he snaps. Minho's stomach clenches. That hurts.

"Well," he begins, trying to keep his voice calm, "can you blame me? I can see you guys for some reason, and I've just learned that there are not only demons, but also fallen angels and angels. I've been a fan of horror for so long, and then I meet this cute demon guy with an awesome voice with whom I can talk about my hobbies. And then I find out you're not accepted by the angels for some reason. How can I ignore that?"

Jisung opens his mouth, but then snaps it shut again, a frown on his face and a flushed neck. He groans again, burying his head in his hands. "Ugh! I'm not made for this!" he complains, voice muffled by his palms. "Humans… You are so confusing. And also right. I can't blame you."

"Well, maybe we can try to understand each other more, because you're not getting rid of me until I get what's going on, all right? I'm not going to let anyone influence my life," Minho says, softening a little. He reaches out for Jisung's arm and touches it, lightly. "Let's eat something together and talk a little more, how does that sound—?"

Minho clamps his mouth shut when Jisung flinches and dodges Minho's hand. It's too delayed to be because of Minho's touch, but Minho wouldn't know what else could cause him to jerk away like that. "Are you okay?"

Jisung swallows, his adam's apple bobbing visibly. His hand touches the thin black choker around his neck, and he coughs. "I— Sorry, hyung. I have to go."

Minho freezes, malfunctions, and stammers as he watches Jisung shuffle away while hunched over. "H—What? Hyung? I'm—I doubt that I'm older than you?" he says, his legs finally moving and following Jisung. "What's going on?"

"Sorry—I don't know how old you are. I just— I have to go. I just need to make sure that Changbin hyung isn't—isn't being an idiot," he says, avoiding Minho's gaze like the plague. Minho's chest fills with an icky feeling of frustration and of helplessness. He can't seem to get through to Jisung, no matter how hard he hammers at the walls.

"What about food? About talking?" he tries, but Jisung doesn't seem to have the mind to even realize what Minho is asking. He moves like he's just been stabbed in the stomach, if Minho is being honest.

"I'm sorry—I might come back. I just need to go now," he says, and then he starts running. Minho flinches and thinks about running after him, but he decides against it.

"You know where to find my apartment if you decide to come back!" he calls out instead. He sighs, watches Jisung disappear from his sight, and then he goes back home. Jeongin texts him, asking him if he's eating at home or not. Minho says he might be, but that he'll make him some food anyway. Cooking will distract him from being grumpy.

Jeongin notices his mood immediately when Minho comes home. "Wow. He managed to ruin your mood by leaving early, huh? That means you're actually falling for him. Or, like, grown attached," he says, slurping down the kimchi stew Minho made.

"Well, it's just—He keeps being… secretive. He doesn't tell me enough. And he told me that he wanted to talk, but then he had to leave again," he complains with a sigh. His stomach rumbles, and however much he wants to hope that Jisung will come back to eat with him, he doesn't think that will happen, so he gets himself a meal, too.

"Would you like some unsolicited advice, hyung?" Jeongin asks with a chuckle. Minho nods, motioning for Jeongin to spill it. He's out of options by now, and it's not like Jeongin is bad with people. He might say something helpful, even when dealing with a demon. "Okay, so it might be good to show him some trust. Like—I'm sure you're doing that, but it might be hard for him to open up for whatever reason. You used to be like that, too, remember? Perhaps telling him something about yourself first will give him the courage needed to be honest with you, too."

Minho pauses, lets Jeongin's words sink in. Perhaps he's right. Maybe he should tell Jisung about himself first. That wouldn't be so bad. He doesn't think that Jisung will use anything against him, after all, and they've already taken a step in the right direction, even if it was because of Changbin coming to visit.

He wonders if Jisung is being forced by the angels to do this, somehow. He wonders if they're making him keep Minho away from the club to prove his worth or some bullshit. Only the thought of that alone manages to make Minho feel like he's boiling on the inside. He doesn't know anything about angels, though, but the way Jisung talked about demons made Minho feel like he thinks of himself as dirt under the angels' shoes.

He hopes that it's not that bad, but if Jisung not talking means that he's covering for the angels—perhaps even afraid of their backlash if he talks too much—then Minho might start fighting fucking angels. Or gods. Or whatever. He will make a ruckus, fuck the consequences.

He needs to find out, now. He can't let Jisung live like this. And he needs to know what is going on.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

Minho doesn't see Jisung at all the next day, during his classes, nor afterwards. It's disappointing and Minho feels like kicking in a door and demanding to see the demon—which might be unreasonable, but whatever. He's passionate about this. Or perhaps he's simply worried about the demon. It's hard to pin down what he's feeling when its all obscured by confusion.

He still has no clue what's going on, after all. What he does know, however, is how to get Jisung to show up. At least—it has worked every time so far, so he trusts that this time it will be successful as well. He takes a shower and goes to the abandoned building slash demon angel club or whatever it is. It's the evening, so if Jisung somehow notices that he's here, then he'll have no choice but to face him.

He hangs around the building for a while, hoping that Jisung will come out by himself and that he doesn't actually has to go inside and look for him. It takes a couple of minutes, and just when he decides to go anyway and provoke him, Jisung appears. "Well, look who's there!" Minho says with a soft chuckle. "I almost entered that building just to get to you, you know? You never came back or let me hear from you."

Jisung looks sheepish as he walks over to Minho. "I'm… I'm sorry," he mumbles, looking genuinely sullen. "I needed… I needed to think and gather my thoughts."

Minho softens. He hopes that a day was enough for Jisung to want to meet him in the middle and talk, but if not, Minho thinks he is ready to open up a little more. "Thinking is tiresome, isn't it? How about we do a do-over from yesterday evening. I have this restaurant I wanted to try out. We could do it together. Talk if we want. Don't if we don't."

Jisung's eyes grow bigger, the orangey light of the streetlights reflecting in his dark irises. "Really? I mean, yes, if you want Minho-ssi." He chuckles to himself, as if he didn't expect Minho to still be civil towards him.

"Hey, what happened to hyung?" Minho teases, hoping to lighten the mood. Jisung chews on his lower lip. "I'm born in 1998. What about you?"

"Right. That slipped from my lips… I'm not sure what year I was born, but I'll call you hyung. I think that feels right," he says, and it makes Minho snicker. An immortal demon calling him hyung. How funny. Minho won't decline that offer.

"Then you'll be my demon dongsaeng! Come, come, let's eat something," Minho says, grinning to himself as he motions for Jisung to follow him. He's thinking to try out the new sushi place. For some reason he thinks that Jisung will like sushi.

"You seem awfully happy about this, hyung. Is there some human connotation to this way of speaking to someone that I'm missing? I'm a Korean demon, so I know your language and customs pretty well," Jisung asks, eyes curious as he walks beside Minho.

"I simply think it's funny that an immortal being calls me hyung. Surely you must be older than I am?" he replies. He keeps looking at the demon, hoping that his grumpiness will fade away if he just focuses on Jisung's animated expressions and handsome face.

"I don't know. Time flows differently in the afterlife, I assume. Heck if I know! I also don't know how demons mature compared to humans. You feel like around the same age as me, in terms of maturity, maybe? But also you feel more mature. I can't explain it," Jisung rambles, waving his arms around for a while, but then he stiffens and chuckles awkwardly. "You feel a bit like Changbin hyung. It feels right to call you hyung."

Minho snickers at Jisung's strange mind. He can't imagine why a demon would say it feels right to call a mere human hyung, but perhaps he's underestimating the humanity of demons right now. "I won't complain. Call me hyung, if you want. Have you ever had sushi?"

"No, of course I haven't! Is it spicy?" Jisung asks, tilting his head in curiosity, his black hair subtly blowing in the wind.

"Only if you want it to be," Minho replies. He'll probably encourage Jisung to try some wasabi with his sushi, just to see his reddening skin again. The thought of it manages to cheer him up a little, and it brings him some of the courage he might need to open up to Jisung.

They sit down at a table for two—Minho tries not to think about it as a date, too much, but Jisung is always dressed nicely, choker, jeans, a jacket and boots, and Minho is a weak man—and Minho orders for the two of them.

"You know, thinking about it now, I suppose I agree with you about me being your hyung. That does feel right somehow, doesn't it?" he says as they wait for their food to come. Jisung shrugs, seeming a bit timid. Hopefully he'll loosen up soon, but Minho should probably start talking about himself. "I don't have any siblings myself, and most of my friends are younger than I am, so maybe that's why, but I've spent a long time in dance academy with people older than I am. I noticed you called that fallen angel hyung, too, but do you have any siblings? Can demons even have siblings?"

"Well… I do have a sibling. Sort of? I… I was born from two fallen angels, which is why I'm a demon, and not a fallen angel," Jisung explains. It doesn't make much sense to Minho, though.

"How do you mean? Why would you not be a fallen angel if both of your parents are?" he asks, pouring the two of them some water to drink while waiting for the food.

"Fallen angels are just angels who have fallen. The falling happened a long long long time ago, though. Over time, they've gotten demon-like powers, but they've kept some angelic traits, too. Those don't just disappear, but a lot has changed since the falling. Demons are a relatively new species, compared to angels. We don't have any angelic traits," Jisung continues, a sad twinkle in his eyes when he talks about his non-existent angel parts.

"Sounds pretty cool to me, though, being a demon. But you're not at all what I imagined a demon would be, if I'm honest. You're way… sweeter? You don't seem that much different from your friend," he adds, hoping to cheer Jisung up a little. "Nothing like the demons in the horror movies I watch, at least."

Jisung's gloomy expression doesn't lighten up just yet. "We're all still descendants from angels. We're a bit like humans, I think. Your abilities or looks don't say much about your personality, right? You guys are complex and you can change and all, and not much is set in stone from birth. The same is mostly true for us in the afterlife.
"Some say that the falling happened because the gods found that some angels weren't good enough to take on the important task of making sure that humans reincarnate in a proper way. Others say that the gods needed some to do their dirty work for them—back then punishment and compelling were still part of trying to cause humans to be better. I'm not sure about the details, this was all before my time, after all," he explains, touching his glass of water but never actually taking a sip. Minho takes the time to listen while sipping on some water, but he is still confused about a lot of things.

"Can't you just ask the gods why things are the way they are—?" Minho begins, but he quiets down when the waiter stops by with more of their food. He smiles and thanks him before grabbing his chopsticks and dividing some of the sushi between the two of them. "Here, try these first. The green paste is wasabi if you want spice. The dark sauce is soy sauce. It tastes good with sushi."

"Thank you, hyung," Jisung says, finally showing a bit of a smile. He tries the maki rolls Minho put on his plate first, humming in delight. "This is so good! Yum!" Jisung praises as he shoves more into his inflating cheeks. Minho laughs at the adorable sight, his heart making a happy jump. Food always makes things better.

"Right—" Jisung begins, cheeks still stuffed. "To answer your question… Gods don't exist anymore. Or at least… They're not in touch with us anymore. It's… I've never met one, at least."

"What?! How—How is that possible? How are things not in absolute chaos in the afterlife? Or are you guys all obedient rule-followers, even without a leader?" The more Jisung talks about the afterlife, the more Minho's mind starts spinning with questions upon questions upon questions. It's nothing like he imagined it to be. "Aren't gods supposed to decide whether you go to heaven or hell or if you reincarnate or whatever?"

"Well, no. Everything is automated these days," Jisung says with a shrug. Minho has to laugh. It sounds way too much like a human business, this afterlife. "Angels, fallen angels, perhaps even the gods were getting tired of the same thing over and over again, and you humans keep increasing the population! It's a lot of work to check every person's life and decide what's best. Instead, angels and fallen angels can focus on protecting people and the dead, and preparing them better for reincarnation, instead of the whole bureaucracy thing and keeping track and all."

"Wow… I'd—I hadn't thought much about what comes after death, but I'd never imagined that this would be behind it. An automated, assisted, reincarnation," Minho still can't quite wrap his head around it. "What about the club? Is that just free time? Entertainment now that you guys have more time?"

"Uhm, well, yes. Entertainment, yes," Jisung says, nodding as he munches on the sushi. His voice sounds a bit off, but it might just be the food in his mouth. "Music and dance, you know! We learned it from you humans. You know how to have fun, after all."

"So you angels, fallen angels, and demons all like dancing and music, too?" Minho asks, and Jisung hums again.

"You like it, too, of course. You're a dance teacher! But I wanna know more about your normal human life, Minho hyung," he continues, changing the subject to focus more on Minho.

"Ha! Well, I don't really have a normal human life. Normal is overrated, anyway," he begins with a chuckle. If you'd ask just about anyone about Minho they'd tell you that Minho is the definition of the word odd. Four-dimensional. Weird. Interesting, if they're being nice. "I got it from my parents, I suppose. My dad always says my mother came falling from the sky and has only been on Earth since her twenties! I have inherited my unique ways from her, he says."

"That's nice. I wouldn't know about normal or odd or whatever, but you do stand out with your light hair," Jisung adds with a chuckle, pointing at Minho's hair.

"I do, but it's natural. My mom has it too—a sort half activated albino trait, or something," Minho tells him. He grabs his phone and pulls out a picture of him with his parents. "Here they are. And these are my cats, by the way. Soonie, Doongie, and Dori. They live with my parents right now, unfortunately, but they send me plenty of pictures."

Jisung gasps, looking at Minho's phone screen with eyes wide as saucers. "How adorable, are they!" he coos, gaze lighting up. "Ah, sometimes I'm so disappointed we never meet with animals… They reincarnate without our help."

"Really? That's a shame… I should take you to meet my cats, then," Minho blurts out before he can think about it, but Jisung looks quite happy about the offer. "I'll shoot my parents a text to see when we can stop by. Here, eat some more. I'm not going to finish this all by myself."

Jisung smiles and happily grabs some more food. He asks Minho about his cats, about how he got them. Minho has a lot of fun, and finds himself relaxing as if he's on a date with a friend. He wonders what happened for Jisung to be so at ease all of a sudden. Maybe Jeongin was right, and it was due to his own show of trust. Perhaps the sushi helped, too.

Minho wonders how to prolong his night with Jisung. Maybe he can take him home and ask him more questions. "I can show you more pictures at my place. Or I can show you a scary movie," he suggests. Jisung shudders at the mention of watching a horror film, but he accepts Minho's offer anyway.

Minho pays for their food and they start making their way back. On the way, Jeongin texts Minho, asking him if he's on his way home already. Minho tells him that he is on his way, that he's ten minutes out. Jeongin sends him a cryptic message about a weird man being in the building, and that he should come quickly.

Minho sighs. There goes the chance of having a quiet evening with Jisung. He should have known something would happen—Can he catch a break?

But Jeongin was right. There's a man, dressed in all white with bleached blonde hair, standing in the hallway. Jisung tenses next to Minho as if he recognizes him, and Minho wouldn't be surprised if he actually does.

Hyunjin, Felix, and Jeongin are talking to the man when they arrive, matching frowns on their faces, while the stranger is oddly calm, even when Hyunjin asks him questions in a rapid pace, voice fiery.

The questions calm down when the four notice Jisung and Minho approaching them. Jisung is the first to speak up again, after the brief moment of silence. "What are you doing here, Seungmin? Did Changbin hyung tell you to go here?"

"Whatever are you talking about? I believe we haven't met yet. Who are you?" the man—probably an angel, Minho guesses—asks, tilting his head and sounding slightly robotic, his voice devoid of any emotion. Perhaps only a bit of glee can be heard in the lining of his tone.

"I've been trying to ask him the same thing—Why would such a beautiful gorgeous man like him grace us with his presence?" Hyunjin argues, as if he has any idea what Jisung is even talking about. Minho snickers to himself. It's not often that Hyunjin is attracted to strangers like this, let alone say it outright. Perhaps it's some angelic power Minho is immune to, but Jeongin and Felix don't seem to be affected, either.

He stares at Hyunjin, same as the rest of them, except for Seungmin himself. Hyunjin mouth tightens and he chuckles awkwardly. "What? He has this… aura. Presence. And a gorgeous face."

"You are quite blessed with beauty as well, Hyunjin-ssi," Seungmin suddenly adds, with a polite nod of his head. Hyunjin waves him off, but his cheeks grow pink. Seungmin then turns around and bows to Jisung and Minho. "The name is Kim Seungmin, nice to meet you."

"Lee Minho, and it's obvious that you know Jisung, so spill, what are you doing here? Are you here to force him to come with you?" Minho replies, cutting to the chase. He's not in the mood for dilly-dallying, especially not now that his night with Jisung has been cut short.

"I'm not here for any of that. I'm not here to force anyone, and yes, I was simply jesting. I do know Han Jisung, although not well. I've heard about you, though, Lee Minho. You've been sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, hm?" Seungmin's eyes flick up and down Minho's form, as if he's assessing him. Minho doesn't like it one bit.

"I have done no such thing," Minho retorts with a snarl. "I was curious about that abandoned building, so I went to check it out. Jisung told me to leave and I haven't set foot in that building again, only to see Jisung. I don't want to meddle in your business. I don't even know what I'd be meddling with."

"And why is that? I've heard from Hyunjin-ssi that he heard from Felix-ssi, who heard from Jeongin-ssi, that Jisung-ssi made your apartment haunted. I cannot imagine why he would interact with you like that," Seungmin continues, his body straight as a rod, eyes blank, and his hair and white clothes almost shining brighter than the sun on a clear day, in the harsh lighting of the hallway.

"Look, I don't know any better than you, all right?" Minho says with a sigh. He's tired of this back and forth about something he doesn't understand. "Either you can give me some answers, or you can leave."

Seungmin stays put, perfectly still as he stares at Minho. His gaze seems to go right through him, yet his eyes flick back and forth as if he's analyzing every fiber of his being.

Jisung clears his throat. "Uhm. Seungmin-ssi. May I have a word with you? Privately?" he requests. Minho's stomach drops at the word privately. Once again, he can't be privy to the details, while this whole mess does obviously involve him. "I'll explain myself. Minho hyung is just a human, all right? He hasn't—He doesn't have any ill intentions."

Minho's heart clenches. At least Jisung is defending him, but it hurts to see him leave again. Without explaining more. He has told Minho about his past, about fallen angels and angels and the bureaucracy and the automated afterlife, but nothing about that damn club and about why Minho can't go there, or about why he needs to keep Minho away from there.

Seungmin walks after Jisung, following him down the hall. His footsteps don't make a single sound, it seems. It sends shivers down Minho's spine. His mood is once again completely ruined, now. He was looking forward to a quiet night. Not this.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Felix asks, watching the angel and the demon disappear. Minho sighs. Perhaps it's time to tell them about the afterlife and about Jisung's true identity. He's done with keeping secrets.

"I'll—Come inside for a sec. I will explain. You guys can't tell anyone about this, all right? Not that anyone will believe you, but let's not risk it. I don't want you guys to get caught up in this," Minho says, motioning them to come with him. He doesn't necessarily trust his friends to keep their mouths shut, but usually they only spill to each other and not much outside of that.

"Oh. This sounds sketchy, hyung. Are you in danger?" Jeongin asks, fidgeting with the ring on his pointer finger as he follows him into their apartment. Minho shakes his head and waves his hand.

"No, it's not dangerous. At least, I doubt it is. If it was, I'd have probably noticed by now," he explains. "Jisung is a demon. From the afterlife."

Jeongin, Hyunjin, and Felix look at him with empty eyes, question marks written all over their faces. Minho chuckles. "I'm serious. I'm actually serious. Jeongin-ah, remember that haunting? He was using his demon powers."

"What?!" Jeongin yells, before slapping a hand in front of his mouth. He takes a deep breath before he sends a glare Minho's way. "Why are you hanging out with a demon, hyung? Are you absolutely out of your mind?"

"He's actually pretty shy and sweet," Minho replies with a shrug. "I— You know how I met him at that abandoned building? It's because he—and angels, I think—were having a party there. I wasn't supposed to be there but he still hasn't explained to me why. I also wasn't supposed to see them at all, because of some sort of protection they put on the building, but that's also a thing still unsolved. Anyways… You guys know how much I hate being told what to do, and also Jisung is cute and handsome, so that's why I am hanging around with him. Trying to get answers. Or a boyfriend."

His roommate and neighbors gape at him as if he's vomiting live fish right in front of them. Minho lets the silence go on for a while, to allow his friends to process what he just explained. A moment later, the three all begin talking through each other, asking a whole lot of questions.

"What do you mean demon?" "Boyfriend?! A demon?" "You weren't supposed to see them? But you did? Do you have superpowers?" "So who was that other guy then? Also a demon? Or an angel?"

"An angel, probably. I think that Seungmin guy is an angel," Minho says with a shrug, cutting through the questions. He then explains everything he knows so far. About the fallen angels and Jisung being a demon, without angelic powers, adding that demons don't actually seem to be evil or do evil, but that they were once instructed to punish with their powers of persuasion.

"I still think you should be careful, hyung," Felix says, and Hyunjin and Jeongin eagerly nod their heads in agreement. "What if he's gotten into your head? Maybe he used his powers to make you think he's innocent."

"Yeah, who knows what their intentions could be? Maybe you can ask that angel for help?" Hyunjin suggests, a concerned from creasing the space between his eyebrows, but Minho waves them off.

"I appreciate the advice, but I think I'll figure this out with Jisung. I have faith in him. He's not evil," he insists, because even though Jisung has been ditching him more than Minho would like, he still believes that the demon means no harm and that he might even be in more trouble than Minho is. "But—But if Jisung won't budge, I'll try asking some angels for help."

He doesn't think he will, because he doesn't know the angels so he doesn't trust them yet. He has another day off tomorrow so he will have plenty of time to approach Jisung and ask him for clarification. He has made progress today, and he was pretty sure that he could have made more if only that damn angel hadn't showed up.

Hopefully the angel doesn't manage to whisk Jisung away from him like Changbin tried to do, too. Jisung hasn't given up on him so far, so he hopes that he'll proceed like usual, and that Minho will be able to find him in their usual spot—the abandoned building.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

Minho's friends have been showing more concern ever since last night. He appreciates it, but he doesn't need it. He gladly reassures them that he's all right and that he'll ask for help if he needs it, but he's been doing fine so far.

And so he makes his way to the demon club alone, first thing after running some quick errands. Another day, another trip to the abandoned building, yet this time it feels different. Not just because it's the middle of the day, but there's a tingle in Minho's fingers that won't seem to go away.

Perhaps it's just because more and more people have gotten involved in this with Jisung. The fallen angel, Changbin, and now an angel, too. With Changbin, he's pretty sure that he wouldn't hurt his friend, but he can't say the same for Seungmin. He has no idea what the angel's intentions are.

Before he can even reach the right street, however, he bumps into Jisung, who hurries around the corner, running away from the abandoned building. Jisung grunts and almost falls backwards onto his bum, but Minho quickly grabs his arm so that he stays upright. "Woah! Easy. Don't fall," Minho says with a chuckle. "Are you in a hurry?"

Jisung pants and holds onto Minho's arms as he stands steady. "I—No. I was— I was looking for you, hyung. I'm—I'm so sorry. You gotta—You need to come with me!" Jisung rambles, tugging on Minho's jacket as he tries to walk away in the opposite direction of where Minho was going. Minho stays put for a moment, but when Jisung keeps pulling, he relents and starts following him.

"Hey, calm down, Jisung-ah. What's going on?" he asks, looking over his shoulder to see if he can spot the reason why he's this antsy. That movement slows him down, and that seems to make Jisung panic even more.

"Hyung! Hyung, come with me, I'm serious. You can't go to that building anymore, okay? I'm not playing around! You might actually be in danger now," Jisung hisses, a desperate whine in his voice. Minho's stomach twists and he quickly follows Jisung somewhere else.

"Okay, okay. I'll come with you but— You need to explain, all right?" Minho insists. Jisung nods, chewing on his lower lip as he pulls Minho with him. "Where are we going?"

"I will! I— I will explain. And— I'm so sorry, this is all my fault, hyung. I don't even know where we're going. Do—Do you know somewhere we could sit? In public?" Jisung suddenly stops and runs a hand through his pitch black hair. He scratches his neck, the area around his choker is already red and irritated. Minho's heart pounds as if it's about to escape his chest and roll all over the floor.

"Yeah. Yeah, we can sit in the cafe nearby. It's in a shopping street, so it'll be busy, since it's the weekend," he assures him, taking Jisung's wrist and leading him along with him. His subconscious is telling him to hold Jisung's hand, as a way to ground the two of them, but he can't get himself to do it yet. He's too anxious about Jisung's behavior.

Instead, he makes sure that they get there as soon as possible, and he orders some coffee and some cake to share, hoping that it'll help calm Jisung down. Jisung is majorly bouncing his legs under the table, so Minho subtly reaches out and squeezes his knee. "Hey. Just tell me what's going on, all right? We'll figure something out from there."

"Okay. Okay, yeah," Jisung says, taking a sip of the coffee. He pulls a sour face but keeps drinking anyway. His reaction to the cake is a lot better, he seems to love it. Minho only has half a mind to pay attention to that, however. He needs to know what Jisung has been keeping from him.

"I… I'm so sorry hyung. You were right. I haven't been telling you the whole story and I regret that now, but I hope that you'll still hear me out, Minho hyung," Jisung begins, keeping his eyes down at the table. Minho takes a deep breath and hums. He's not happy, and if Jisung says that he's in danger, he worries about what happened.

"Okay, well, I'll start at the beginning, I suppose. The club. It's—It's not a demon club. It's an angel club," he continues in a low voice. "They party there on most nights—The angels, I mean. And they scare away the humans who come there, for fun. Sometimes us demons join, too, in scaring them away. Usually we don't have to put in much effort, but sometimes we have to use our powers. For you it didn't work. My powers didn't work on you at all."

Minho hums again. He can follow so far, and he figured this much after he had gone over the events and Jisung's words a hundred times in his mind.

"I told the angels that you seemed to be immune to the protection and mt powers, but they didn't believe me at first. They thought I made a mistake, but then you kept coming back and my efforts of keeping you away from the angels didn't really work super well, so eventually they started thinking you aren't entirely human and they wanted me to find out," Jisung adds. Minho narrows his eyes. Not entirely human, he says?
"Then, last night, you told me about your parents. And you showed me a picture of your mother. I knew then—you're half angel. You're mother was an angel. And I—"

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on. Hold on a second. I'm a what? My mom's an angel?!" Minho blurts, almost spilling his coffee as he slams it back onto the table. His heart speeds up and hammers against his ribs. Surely Jisung is shitting him. Just because their hair is white, doesn't mean that they're angels or half angels, right? He would have known if he was, wouldn't he?

"She was an angel. She isn't technically an angel anymore," Jisung clarifies quickly, holding out his hands as if to steady Minho's tense fists. "It—It was a pretty big deal when it happened. When she gave up her angel-ness. But you're still a half angel. And you being half angel would explain why you're immune to my powers and why you can see us all the time."

"Okay, and? Why does that mean I'm in danger?" Minho demands. He still can't quite wrap his head around his mother being an angel turned human, but it would indeed help him understand why he can see the demons and angels when he's not supposed to.

"Because I… I told the angels about your mother and they didn't react well," Jisung mutters, his voice low as he speaks out the words in a jumble. Minho takes a second to process the words before he erupts.

"You did what?!" he snaps. Jisung flinches, his lips pressed in a thin line. "You told them about my mother before you told me?! Why on Earth would you do that?"

"I'm sorry! I— I wanted to tell you! I did! I wanted to tell you last night, after you showed me the picture. But then Seungmin showed up! And I— I didn't know how to come back. I— I didn't know they'd react like that!" Jisung explains, hiding his face in his hands before running his fingers through his hair, his expression sour, eyes full of regret. Minho grits his teeth. He doesn't want to be upset with Jisung but he's pretty pissed about this.

"It was… It was my job to figure out how you could see us and all…" Jisung continues, finishing his sentences with a desperate sigh. Minho's heart clenches.

"Why? What do they want with me?" Minho asks, frown deepening. "Why would you need to figure it out for them?"

"I just wanted to prove my worth! I— I didn't think— I thought I was doing something good, to earn my wings! To show that I'm good, too! I thought they'd want to help you." Jisung's head is still in his hands, and the more he speaks, the more Minho feels his throat close up. "I didn't expect them to react like that—Like they want to hurt you! I— I didn't know they—"

Jisung's breathing gets more ragged with every word, and Minho feels his neck heat up in rage. "Why? What do they want from me?" he demands again, trying to keep his voice calm, but he can't quite get it right.

"I— They say your mother is a traitor, and you are, too. They say— I don't know. They say you're a danger to the angels, if you've been raised by your mom," Jisung stammers, eyes roaming everywhere except Minho's face. He eats the rest of the cake, head lowered. "I don't know about your mother that well, but I believe they're wrong and that they're jumping to all the wrong conclusions. And now— I don't know. I'm scared that they'll hurt you, or take away your angel powers."

"I— Fucking hell," Minho curses to himself and runs a hand through his hair. He has no clue how to deal with this situation. "I'm pretty upset with you right now, Jisung-ah. I gotta be honest. This sucks."

"I understand, hyung. I'm sorry. I was— I was blinded by my own need to prove myself to the angels and earn my wings," Jisung explains in a whisper. Minho takes a deep breath, hoping to ease some of the irritation, but it doesn't quite work, so he tries again, inhaling deeply and exhaling fully.

"Why— Why would you even want wings?" he asks. He doesn't understand why Jisung would just follow orders without thinking about it. What would he need to prove? Why would he even need to prove himself? "You're a good enough person by yourself, aren't you?"

"It's not that simple, hyung. Would you rather be an angel or a demon? Would you rather have wings to fly, powers for good, or a scary face and manipulation powers?" Jisung asks, a sharp edge to his tired voice.

"Well, being a demon seems pretty fun to me, actually. Especially since you don't actually have to use those powers, right?" Minho retorts. If he'd have to choose, he'd be the same as Jisung. That sounds like a lot less pressure and responsibility. "Although those powers would be fun to use for pranks."

"Hyung. It's not funny," Jisung states, entirely unamused by his comment. Minho offers him a sheepish look and a soft apology. "Angels can calm people. They can fly. They can help you remember good memories. All I can do is chase people away or make them do things against their will."

"Okay, but how often do the angels actually use their powers? I haven't seen many with their wings out either." Minho points out. "Is it really worth feeling like shit over? Isn't you not abusing your powers enough of a sign that you're a good person?"

"It's not. I— You don't know what it's like to be a demon. I have done things you'd probably find horrible. I have used my powers. On humans, alive and dead. And— You're a half angel. That's completely different," Jisung grumbles, but Minho scoffs.

"How so? I didn't know that I am half angel for my entire life? What use is it to me? It has only brought me trouble so far," he retorts. Jisung stays quiet. He's still not looking at Minho, which is a shame. Perhaps they need a break. "You know what? I'm going to call my mother and ask her about some things, all right? We'll talk later after that."

"Yeah. Sure," Jisung mumbles, flicking his eyes up at him, but only for a second. Minho feels nauseous for some reason, and he wishes he could just squeeze the demon like a stress ball to get rid of the feeling.

Instead, he focuses on his phone, on calling his mother. He looks back over his shoulder once, only to regret it the moment he sees Jisung's eyes shine with guilt. His chest feels tight, as if someone is wringing him out like a wet towel. He takes a deep breath.

"Hi, son?" his mother answers, and his heart calms a little bit. "What's the occasion? Do you miss your cats?"

"Hi, eomma. It's not about Soonie, Doongie, or Dori. I called because, well… I think my background is catching up on me. I'm here with a demon who just told me that I'm a half angel. And you're—you were an angel," Minho begins in a low voice, cutting to the chase immediately. He calls and texts his mother enough to skip the small talk.

His mother's breath catches. She knows what he's talking about. She really was an angel.

"Ah. Well, I hoped this talk would never come, but that demon is right," his mom replies. Minho sighs. He figured as much, but it's still a shock. He has been living without knowing this part of his mom for twenty seven years. "I was an angel. Not anymore, though. I… I didn't know we would ever come to meet any demons or angels again, so I kept it to myself. I didn't want you to feel like you were different from everyone else."

"I know. I don't—That's okay, eomma. I don't think this makes a difference, except for that it explains the hair color a little more," Minho assures her. He has always been an oddball, being a half angel and knowing about it wouldn't have made a difference. "I want to know what happened, though. The demon… he told me the angels think of you as a traitor."

"Pssht. Of course they do," she says with a scoff. "You… You might know that angels and demons and such don't really have a fixed purpose anymore."

"Yeah, because it's all automated now, or whatever," Minho adds with a hum. His mother laughs, bright and somewhat proud.

"Yes, exactly. Well, I still kept an eye on humans, to see if I could help. I met your father like that. He needed someone. He really did. You know about all of that," she continues, a fond lining to her voice, even after all those years. "Long story short, I decided that my place wasn't in the afterlife any longer. I was needed on Earth instead, so I gave up my immortality to be with your father and help out. They can think of it what they will—perhaps I said some less than flattering words to the angels as my goodbye, but I had hoped we had all left that behind us. Where did you even meet this demon, Minho-yah?"

Minho hums, taking a moment to hear his mother's story. He can imagine that his mother would have somewhat of a similar attitude towards the rules the angels seem to have, but he still doesn't know much about the angels.

First, he tells his mother what happened. About the club, about his ability to see the angels and demons, about Jisung, and about everything Jisung has told him so far—except perhaps his wish to become an angel and his low self esteem, that feels like it's not Minho's place to tell. Although he does inform her of him being ordered by the angels to figure out Minho's 'secret' and to keep him away from the club.

"Oh gosh. Poor demon. I see they're still using the demons to clean up after them and do their dirty work," his mother bemoans with a deep sigh. Minho's stomach drops. So this is not a special occurrence? The angels do this structurally?

"Really? Do they exploit demons like this more often?" he asks, clenching and unclenching his fist as he glances over at Jisung. From Jisung's own testimony, he suspected that the angels in that club might be a bit manipulative, but to hear it from his mother—a former angel herself—is something entirely different.

Jisung is picking up the crumbs of the cake with his fingers, still looking quite worried. That same nausea as before bubbles right back up into his throat. He swallows thickly, his hands becoming sweaty.

"Yes, yes, this is not new, nor is it shocking, to me. Ever since our official duties became obsolete, everyone suddenly had to find something else to do, you know? Some of the angels decided to use the demons for their own entertainment. They just want to party, but a party is not fun if you don't have someone arranging the music or singing or making drinks for you, is it? They make the demons work so that they can have fun," Minho's mother explains. "The fallen angels refuse to work for them—as they should—but they've managed to make some of the demons believe that they're somehow worth less than angels, and they use it against them."

"Fucking hell. I— I should have known. God dammit!" Minho sighs deeply. He should have realized that the angels were using Jisung for their own good, but he didn't see. He didn't know that angels even existed until he spoke to Changbin and saw Seungmin.

"Hey, don't blame yourself, son. Don't judge someone by what they are, but judge them by what they do, all right? Hear that demon out and don't be afraid of any angels," she assures him. Minho huffs. He's still pretty upset with Jisung, but at least the demon is honest with him now, and he is trying to help him after admitting his mistakes. That takes some courage to do.

"Yeah. You're right, eomma. Thanks, I'll hang up now. Talk to you later," he says, ending the call after saying goodbye to his mother. He turns back to Jisung, who looks up at him with a timid gaze. He takes a deep breath and sits down at the table again.

"Tell me more about how you can earn wings," he begins, but Jisung doesn't look particularly pleased with that suggestion. "My mother told me about her past. It's the same as you told me, so I want to know more."

"Is that really important right now?" Jisung asks, a scowl wrinkling his cheeks. It doesn't look good on him. "I think we should ask Seungmin or Head Angel Chan for help. They— Surely the can get through to the angels at the club and convince them that you're not a threat!"

"Why? Who are they, exactly?" Minho isn't pleased to hear Jisung suggesting to ask angels for help, after what his mom told him, but perhaps there are angels they can trust. He said Head Angel, so surely that guy must have some influence.

"Seungmin is… Changbin hyung trusts him, and so does the Head Angel, Bang Chan. They're two of the angels who are still consistently keeping an eye on humans and making sure that everything goes well," Jisung explains, chewing on his lower lip in between sentences. Minho gets the sudden urge to pull it free in whatever way he can. "Head Angel Chan makes sure that the automation of the afterlife works as it should, and when it doesn't, he makes sure that angels are there to help the souls are made ready for a proper reincarnation. He's very respected by the angels because he's one of the reasons they can have every night off to do whatever they please."

"Hmmm. Sounds pretty okay, but what should we tell him? And how can we reach him?" Minho wonders out loud.

"I can help with that." A sudden voice speaks up, startling both Minho and Jisung out of their mind. Jisung falls over together with his chair, and Minho yelps, grabbing at his chest.
It's Changbin again. He appeared out of nowhere, even to Jisung and Minho, who should be able to see him at all times.

"Can you not do that? Or something?" Minho stands up to help Jisung up from the floor. Jisung grabs his arm and lets Minho pull him up. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Jisung answers with a chuckle. He then turns to Changbin with a half-hearted glare. "What are you doing here, hyung? You told Seungmin about what I was doing, didn't you? And you told him about Minho hyung?"

"First of all, apologies for the scare, but it's not my fault. You two were simply too caught up with each other to notice me approaching. Anyway—To answer your questions. I did. I told him everything, including what is happening at the club. He's not happy." The half angel shrugs, as if it's not a big deal that Seungmin is displeased about what Changbin told him. Minho supposes that it could be a good thing to have Seungmin be unhappy about that club, but he still doesn't know what to expect from that angel.

"Why not…? What is he going to do?" Jisung asks, a hesitant glint in his eyes.

"Nothing yet, but I heard you two talking about Minho-ssi and him being a half angel, as well as your worries… And I think he could help," Changbin continues. Jisung lets out a breath in relief, but Minho is not entirely at ease yet. How long has Changbin been listening? "But you gotta tell me what to tell them."

"I'm worried that they'll hurt Minho hyung. Or that they will take away his angel traits," Jisung says. Minho isn't very worried about that second point, but it would be a shame if he couldn't see Jisung whenever he wants anymore.

Changbin raises one eyebrow at Jisung, as if the demon is saying something quite ridiculous. Minho can't read the expression well, but Jisung looks somewhat sheepish, so he might understand what Changbin means. "What did they say? Why are you worried?"

"They said that Minho hyung's mother is a traitor, and that Minho hyung can't be trusted. They told me to make sure that he can't make any trouble for them," Jisung explains softly. Changbin sighs deeply, a frown between his brows.

"Okay. That doesn't sound great," he admits, crossing his surprisingly buff arms. For some reason, Minho didn't expect a fallen angel to be so… muscled up. More than that, Minho is concerned about the scowl on Changbin's face. "I'll update Seungmin and Chan hyung. They might help you out and keep an eye on you two and the club. In the meantime I suggest staying away from those angels, both of you."

Minho inhales deeply and sighs as he runs a hand through his hair. He's not fond of the idea of signing over their safety to a bunch of angels he doesn't know, when a bunch of other angels are the ones causing them to be in some sort of undefined danger in the first place.
"How are we going to do that? You found us, too, so…" Minho trails off, looking at Jisung with a sliver of hope that the demon will explain some more.

"If we stay in public, the angels won't come to us," Jisung assures him. "They don't want to make a scene, because Head Angel Chan will pick up on it. He—He still keeps an eye out for humans, after all, so either the angels have to show themselves to a whole crowd and try to take us somewhere, or they hide themselves and potentially scare a whole crowd. We should be fine either way. As long as we stay between the public."

"Okay. I'll just—I'll just text my neighbors to ask if me and my roommate can sleep over at their place tonight, then. Having more people around is better, right?" He grabs his phone and drafts a message. "In the meantime, I know a couple of busy places Jisungie and I can go. If he still wants to join me."

"Yes. Yes, of course, hyung. You're in this mess because of me—partly. I messed up, so I'll try to protect you," Jisung assures him, eyes hard and determined, yet there's a glint of regret behind it. He can imagine it's not great to have the people you look up to do something you don't agree with at all.

"Good. Let's go to the flower garden. I heard they're pretty right now, so it'll be busy," Minho suggests. Changbin stares at him as if he's trying to read any hidden intentions off his face. And yes, perhaps he does want to spend a nice time with Jisung, hoping that it'll help them be friendly again. Who knows, maybe something more will spark between them tonight. It'll be a great distraction from whatever trouble he might be in.

"Okay. Stay safe. I'll go talk to the angels," Changbin says, patting Jisung's shoulder and giving Minho a somewhat amicable look. "See you around, Minho-ssi, Jisung-ah."

The fallen angel leaves again, and this time, Minho is quite sure that he sees wings sprout on his back right before he disappears.
Then, he is alone again with Jisung. He looks at the demon and can't help but soften, his heart clenching as he remembers his mother's words about the angels using them—using Jisung and making him feel like shit about himself so that he'll do their dirty work. That perspective makes Minho a little more inclined to forgive Jisung for not telling him the truth about that club and his mission.

Minho isn't one to hold grudges in the first place, and as long as Jisung keeps showing his good intentions, Minho will give him the benefit of the doubt. "Are you ready to go?" he asks, and Jisung looks up from the table with a bashful expression.

"Yeah," he says, offering a wavering smile as he stands up. Minho follows suit and takes Jisung to the flower garden. It's a couple of minutes by bus, and the ride is kind of awkward and quiet, but once they get off the bus, Jisung finally speaks up.

"Uhm. Thanks, hyung. For hearing me out. It's— I appreciate it," he says. "Like—I know I should have told you the truth right away, but… I was scared. And selfish. So thank you for giving me another chance to make things right."

"Look. I think it's ridiculous that you'd listen to those angels and let them make you feel like you're worthless or bad, but at least you're trying to do the right thing, you know? Don't be so hard on yourself," Minho replies, casually elbowing the demon's side. Jisung stumbles a little and clicks his tongue.

"You're—You're so stubborn, it's frustrating! But it's also admirable. I think I'm starting to like it, even! Who would have thought?" he says, trying to hold back a smile, but Minho spots it anyway.

"Me," he replies, grinning in satisfaction. Jisung laughs at the admission, the tension in the demon's body finally melting away. "Actually, I suppose I owe you an apology as well, for causing you trouble. If it wasn't for my stubborn self, we wouldn't be in this situation, but I hope that eventually it'll make you see that you don't need to be an angel or have wings to be a good person."

Jisung quiets down again, but he shuffles a little closer to Minho as they turn the corner to the gardens. It's all right. They don't need to talk much. Only when they are in between the flowers, Jisung speaks, "It smells so good. And the colors… they're beautiful."

Minho's heart makes a twirl for some reason. "Right? It's busy for a reason," he replies, but when he looks left and right, he mostly sees couples, holding hands, walking arm in arm, or wrapped up in each other. He swallows, neck heating up a bit.

"I knew flowers were colorful and pretty, but I didn't know they smell so nice!" Jisung seems a bit oblivious to their surroundings as he stops at every new patch to smell the flowers, burying his nose into the petals all the way. For a second, Minho forgets all about demons, angels, fallen angels, and the afterlife, and the only thing that exists in the moment is Jisung and the flowers.

A demon who loves flowers. What an interesting concept.

They end up spending quite a few hours walking around in the gardens, so Minho takes Jisung for some street food afterwards. Jisung fills his cheeks with food and praises Minho for his spice tolerance once again. It almost feels like a normal day, as if he's having a normal date with a friend or perhaps a potential lover.

Minho finds himself wishing that Jisung and he were simply humans who could have met somewhere and hit it off, rather than being in this mess. Normal is overrated, yes, but this is quite tiring, too.

"How about we go to another haunted house now?" Minho suggests, but Jisung quickly shakes his head, cheeks still full of the last bits of food. Minho has to hold himself back from laughing at his animated reaction.

"No! Not—Not because I'm scared, but because I think they'll be able to approach us without people noticing, you know?" Jisung argues, holding a hand in front of his mouth to cover the food. He makes a good point, unfortunately. Minho thinks about something else they could do in the evening.

"Oh, then what about going to a real club? A human one— where you get to party and dance and have fun," he says, turning to Jisung with a wide grin. He thinks they both deserve a night off, to forget about everything. Jisung shrugs, his lips pressed together in a thin line. "You don't think it'll be fun?"

"Uhm. No. I mean, yes. I mean— It'll remind me of the angels and that will make me worry, maybe. So I might not be fun," he explains with a chuckle. Minho can tell that he's trying to keep it together, but that the angels are weighing on his mind.

"Do you really think they can hurt me?" Minho is honestly not that concerned, but he has no idea what angels are capable of. He has only ever talked to one angel, and one former angel.

"I— Yeah. I think so. Because they might take away your angel powers. That's just—I'm sure it must hurt. And it's so unfair. It's not in their right to take something away from you," Jisung responds with a sigh. Minho touches his arm and offers him a look of reassurance.

"Don't worry about things before they've happened, all right? We'll do our best to not let them touch us," he says. Jisung nods, and eventually, he agrees on going to a club with Minho. Minho distracts him by talking about his own club experiences with Hyunjin and his dancer hyungs. Embarrassing stories from when they were drunk and all, dance battles, and them getting lost on the way back.

"Angels are the same, drunk… Giggly, crazy, sometimes sappy. Very loose-lipped, too. Although we don't suffer from hangover," Jisung says with a chuckle. Minho laughs, of course they don't.

"What about you?" he asks, absentmindedly greeting the bouncer who lets them inside. Jisung shrugs, his cheeks coloring a bit darker. Minho can't help but smile, eager to hear more.

"I get… red. Sentimental," he admits with a light shrug. "I don't drink often."

"Okay. We don't have to get anything alcoholic if you don't want to. I can just get you a virgin cocktail. I feel like you'd like those, but if you want a regular one, that's cool too. I think it'll help us loosen up." Minho tugs Jisung along to the bar and, after sharing a questioning look with the demon, he orders them two cocktails. He's not planning on getting either of them drunk tonight—that might be a stupid idea—but he wouldn't mind getting the edge off.

"Hmmm. This is nice. Very different from the drinks the other demons usually make," Jisung says, tossing the cocktail back in one go. Minho laughs, delighted to see Jisung's skin grow completely red. "Nice and fruity and sweet! Wh—Why are you laughing, hyung?!"

"You look like your demon form, right now, you're so red," he says through giggles. He downs his own drink as well and pats Jisung's back. Jisung scoffs and looks at Minho with an exaggerated pout. Minho only laughs more, because the demon is simply so adorable and lovely. He doesn't think he can ever be upset at him again.

"Hey, your ears are the same," he retorts, weakly hitting Minho's chest. Minho can't stop giggling, but he isn't sure what's funny. Perhaps this is his body trying to get him to relax, but Minho knows a better way. A way that will help them both.

"Whatever~ Let's go dance," he says, grabbing Jisung's hand to tug him to the dance floor. Jisung rambles something about not wanting to embarrass himself too much and not being able to dance, but Minho won't have any of it. "No, no, don't start making excuses. You don't have to do it well, you just gotta move your body. Surely you've danced in that angel club."

"I— Not really. Usually I just sing or play guitar or make drinks or tell a funny story," Jisung answers, squeezing Minho's hand, but he still follows him to the dance floor. "And—And that's okay. I like singing and making music."

"Then you'll like dancing, too. Come on, you'll get the hang of it as you go," Minho assures him, having to raise his voice as the music becomes louder. "Just listen to the music and let yourself go!"

Jisung is a little stiff at first, but at least he dances. Minho shows off his dance moves, because he can, and because he wants Jisung to be impressed. It's working, if the way Jisung keeps staring at his lower body is anything to go by. Minho likes the attention, but Jisung is watching more than he is dancing, so Minho switches it up at starts doing more silly moves, hopefully encouraging Jisung to join him.

Slowly but surely, Jisung loosens up and seems to forget about his worries, just like Minho does. In his mind, angels don't exist right now—only the handsome laughing demon throwing his arms and hips about. Minho grabs his hands to dance with him instead.

Jisung giggles, looks at Minho with sparkles in his eyes, and he lets Minho pull him back and forth, twirl him around, letting the music take over. It's been a while since he has done this—his college days are far behind him now—but with Jisung, it feels like he's partying for the first time again.

Jisung's bright smile encourages Minho to pull him closer, attracting him like a moth to a flame. Jisung's grin grows a bit shy when their chests touch and Minho's hands play at his hips, but he doesn't break eye contact, much to Minho's satisfaction.

"Ah~ There you go again, hyung," Jisung mutters, just loud enough to be heard above the booming of the bass. Minho raises an eyebrow, taking Jisung's arm and putting it on his shoulder. Jisung wraps them around his neck instead.

"Why? What do you mean?" he asks, tilting his head a little as he lets his eyes roam the demon's soft features.

"You're flustering me. I'm not used to… this," Jisung admits, but his hips keep swaying beneath Minho's hands, and he doesn't look all that shy. The music mixes with the sound of Minho's own heart pounding in his ears. This is exactly what he wanted to do that first night he talked to Jisung, and he isn't disappointed in the slightest now that his fantasy has become reality.

"Are you kidding? You're a demon. You're handsome. Pretty. Funny. Also a little shy, which is sexy as fuck," Minho retorts. Jisung barks out a laugh, but Minho clicks his tongue. "I'm serious, Jisung-ah."

"Well—I— Ugh. I don't know what to say! You're just— You're so beautiful it makes me fucking nervous. From the first moment I saw you, you were so… Ugh," Jisung rambles, playing with the hairs on Minho's neck. "And sexy. And you keep flirting. I— I don't know how to react."

"What? Is it illegal to flirt if you want to become an angel? You could kiss me, too, if you want. And if that's not going to be in the way of those wings you're trying to earn," Minho replies, leaning a little closer to taunt Jisung. He knows he shouldn't bring up the angels, but he can't help it.

"It's not illegal. Nothing is illegal to anyone. It's just— Your intentions matter. And the circumstances. You can't judge someone's actions without knowing either of those," Jisung replies, and Minho chuckles.

"That's progressive of you guys," he says, somehow making Jisung laugh again, the honeyed sound going straight through his heart. He sighs and twirls them around. Then, he leans even closer, until their noses touch each other. He can feel the heat radiating off of Jisung's cheeks, can read the desire in his eyes.

They both want to kiss each other, Minho knows it, but he likes drawing things out a little, making them even more satisfying after having been so impatient for weeks. Jisung's lashes flutter, and his eyes keep flicking between Minho's gaze and his lips.

"Go ahead," he whispers, wetting his lips in anticipation. Jisung's adam's apple bobs, his lips part, and then he leans forward at the same time he pulls Minho closer, all but smashing their lips together. Minho gasps softly, yet he returns the kiss with the same ferocity.

They get tangled up in each other. Minho tries to drink Jisung up, his soft lips feeling incredible against Minho's own. Jisung's kisses are inexperienced compared to what Minho expected from a demon, but combined with Jisung's more timid personality, he supposes it fits. Either way, he likes it, because Jisung is kissing him like a madman—like he's starved for it.

He lets Minho prod his tongue between his lips, lets Minho lick inside kiss him as deeply as he can. Jisung leans against Minho's body, and it feels like Minho is just about the only thing still holding him upright, but he loves it—loves the way Jisung surrenders himself into him.

It gives him the courage to sneak his hands under Jisung's shirt, and caress the skin on his sides and stomach. Jisung shivers in his arms, parting from Minho, but only for a second. That second is long enough for Minho to see his dilated pupils eclipsing his already dark irises, his red-tinted lips, and flushed skin, even in the darkness of the club.

Jisung kisses him again and again, open-mouthedly, as if he craves for Minho's tongue to be back inside his mouth. Minho gives it to him. He feels like he'd do anything Jisung would ask for right now. He lets his hands stray towards Jisung's behind, and shamelessly squeezes his ass through his tight black jeans.

Jisung moans against Minho's lips, his breathing becoming heavier. Minho moves back a little to see the sight. His breath gets caught in his throat, mindlessly squeezing Jisung's butt again. Jisung's eyelids flutter, and he tightens his arms around Minho's neck. "Ah, hyung…" he whispers.

"Is this all right?" Minho asks, entranced by the man in his arms. He lets his left hand trail along Jisung's hips to his crotch, lightly brushing it as he waits for Jisung to give him permission. "I'd—I'd take you to my bedroom and do it properly, but since we have to be in public…"

"It's okay. It's— It's dark enough," Jisung whispers, his low voice sending a shiver down Minho's spine. Minho takes a handful of Jisung's crotch and squeezes it, drawing a dizzying moan from the demon.

Jisung kisses Minho with an intensity that knocks the wind right out of Minho's lungs. It spurs Minho on to tug on Jisung's erection through his pants. It's probably not comfortable, but whatever, he doesn't think either of them minds them making do with the means they've got available.

He subtly slips his hand inside Jisung's jeans and underwear, plastering his body all over Jisung's one so they stay a little hidden from the rest of the people on the dance floor. He jerks him off, drinking up his moans and kisses. Jisung is leaking enough for the slide to be somewhat wet instead of dry, so Minho keeps going, flicking his wrist and licking into Jisung's mouth until the latter shudders through his orgasm with a whine that makes Minho's dick twitch.

He works Jisung through it as he grabs a tissue from his pocket—he always has tissues with him so that he can feed cats with tuna without worrying about oily hands—and wipes his left hand.

"Shit—Ah, hyung. That was so fucking hot—Let me take care o' you now," Jisung whispers wantonly, pushing Minho's arms away before turning around and pressing his back against Minho's chest, back arching so that his ass presses right onto Minho's throbbing erection. Minho hisses, wraps his arms around Jisung's waist and hides his face in the crook of Jisung's neck.

He wishes they could undress, that Minho could take Jisung somewhere private where there wouldn't be the risk of anyone seeing them, and that he could do this properly, instead of grinding and coming in their pants on the dance floor. Something possessive sparks in his chest as he sees a stranger glance in their direction, and he pulls Jisung impossibly close.

Minho noses along the length of Jisung's neck, over the thin black choker hugging the skin, then brushes his lips over the side of it. He kisses under his ear and grinds against Jisung's ass, wishing that it were bare and not covered by two layers.

He imagines that they're on Minho's bed instead, naked, his cock slipping between his cheeks and the head getting caught against his hole. Minho sucks on Jisung's neck, shuddering at the thought.

"Ah, hyung—" Jisung whines when Minho grazes his teeth along the skin below his ear. The vision of Jisung on his knees, his own cock pistoning into him, flashes through his mind, but it doesn't feel like they are completely his own thoughts. It's as if Jisung thinks them.

He pulls off Jisung's neck. Fuck that feels good, he hears Jisung say, but his lips don't move. Minho is too horny to think too much about it, and simply lets the thoughts and Jisung's hot presence work him up further.
Jisung's breathy sounds, combined with the rough friction and Minho's own imagination eventually manage to get him over the edge as well. He keeps grinding until he shudders in overstimulation.

He turns Jisung around and dives in for another hungry kiss. Lips smack against lips, wet sounds muffled by the music. He should really take a break and clean up, but he can't get enough of Jisung's addictive little mouth. He can sense that Jisung feels the same somehow. It sobers him up enough for him to gather the strength needed to part from the demon and take him to the bathrooms to clean up.

"You know," Minho begins as he grabs tissues from the dispenser next to the sink. He gives a handful to Jisung in case he missed anything and then gets some for himself too, "I think I could hear your thoughts just now."

"Really?" Jisung asks, seemingly just as surprised as Minho is. He wipes off some sweat and also cleans around his crotch, eyes flicking around to make sure no one is coming in. He then straightens, touches his throat. "Oh, wait… I think it's because of my collar."

"Excuse me? Your what?" Minho malfunctions and drops his tissues. He quickly swipes them off the floor and tosses them in the trash before looking at Jisung in utter confusion. Jisung taps the black choker around his neck.

"Uhm. This thing. It… It makes me more in touch with angels," he explains. Minho gapes at him like a fish out of water. Surely this is important information, and this makes Jisung an easily findable target.

"Why are you only telling me this now? Shouldn't you take it off? They can find us with that thing, can't they?" He looks around for some way to unclasp the choker, but he can't find it.

"Well, since you're half angel, they could find you anyway, wherever you are, so I don't think this makes much of a difference. Even if it would be dangerous, there's one other problem. I can't take it off. Only an angel can," Jisung says, slowly. Minho sighs. Of course he can't. Of course those angels have him cuffed in an odd way and Jisung doesn't think it's weird as fuck.

"So that means I could do it?" He is technically an angel, after all. In part. Jisung hums, but he doesn't tell him how to do it. "So uh… There's not like a button or a clasp or whatever? Do I rip it?"

"I don't know…" Jisung admits sheepishly. Great. Minho carefully touches it and tries to pry it off but he can't seem to get a grip without clawing at Jisung's skin. Telling or willing the collar to come off with his mind doesn't work either.

"Release! Undo! Let him free! Erm… Get off of him!" Minho tries demanding, but the collar won't listen. He sighs and relents. "Well, we'll deal with that another way, I suppose. I— I assume you got this to prove yourself to the angels?"

Jisung hums. Minho thinks he's being too optimistic and he wouldn't be surprised if the angels use it as a monitoring device or whatever, but he won't think about it right now. "Okay. Well. Uhm. Let's go back. Or would you like to go home?"

"I don't mind either. I… I had a lot of fun. More than I expected. I feel like I've ruined the mood, though," Jisung says with a chuckle, scratching his arm and avoiding Minho's gaze. It makes Minho's stomach twist, something ugly bubbling up. He takes a deep breath.

"Nah. That's not it. I'm simply worried about you, Jisung-ah, but that doesn't mean we have to mull around about it. We can dance to another song or two, right?" he tries, hoping to lighten the atmosphere. Jisung relaxes and smiles. He even takes Minho's hand and tugs him back to the dance floor.

Minho's earlier worries melt away again. They dance together, without kissing this time, but it's still fun. It's tiring, but in a good way, in a way that he feels like he's made the most out of the day. When he takes Jisung home, he feels content. He thinks he could really hit it off with Jisung, if only he gets to know him a little bit better.

Once he's back at his apartment, he almost opens his own front door out of habit, but as he opens the lock, he remembers that he should be at the next apartment over. Jeongin, Felix, and Hyunjin have already prepared the apartment—the couch has been made like a bed—and Hyunjin is still awake.

"Ah, there you are. Lix and Innie are already ready for bed. They're sharing Lix's room. We—Uhm… Jisung-ssi, do you need a bed? We didn't think—Minho hyung hadn't mentioned you," Hyunjin explains, awkwardly scratching his neck. Jisung waves him off.

"I don't need—I mean, I'll be comfortable enough on the floor," he says. Minho comes closer and whispers to him that his friends know that he's not human, but that they can keep a secret. "Ah. Okay, well… As a demon, I don't need sleep, so this is fine."

"Okay. Make yourself at home. I'm gonna go to bed, so feel free to yell if you need anything or if you're in danger somehow. The bathroom is free if you want to freshen up and there's some rice in the kitchen if you're hungry. You know your way around, hyung. Jeongin brought some of your toiletries," Hyunjin rambles, vaguely gesturing around as he already starts receding towards his bedroom. Minho laughs.

"Thanks, Hyunjin-ah! Give Jeongin and Lix a kiss for me~" he replies.

"I wish they'd allow me!" Hyunjin calls back, sighing long and dramatically afterwards. Minho snickers. He then excuses himself to wash up. When he returns, Jisung has made himself comfortable on the floor.

"I'll just rest here for the night," he says, looking up at Minho with dark glistening eyes. "and keep an eye on you, to make sure that you're safe."

"Sure thing." Minho climbs onto the couch and lies down. He looks at Jisung for a moment, meets his eyes and can't help but smile. His lips tingle with the memory of Jisung's kiss, and his tongue feels heavy with the question about what it meant, but he can't find the strength to ask. Instead, he says, "Good night."

A gentle hand touches Minho's cheek. "Good night, hyung."

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

Minho awakens to an awkward setting. Changbin and Jisung are right in front of him, conversing silently. Hyunjin, Felix, and Jeongin are having breakfast at the table behind him, while not-so-subtly looking at Changbin and Jisung.

"How did he get inside the apartment?! We didn't even let him in. Unless maybe Jisung did?" Felix wonders in a whisper, and Minho can't help but snicker to himself. It seems the fallen angel has appeared out of nowhere once again. "He's pretty hot, so I don't mind."

"Jeez, hyung. You just woke up," Jeongin deadpans. "Keep it in your pants."

The three then continue eating, although they keep glancing over at Changbin and Jisung. Minho does the same and subtly eavesdrops on their conversation. They're talking about that Head Angel, Chan, and about Seungmin. Apparently they're keeping an eye on the club, and it seems like the angels are worried about something, but Chan and Seungmin can't do anything unless there's an obvious reason to interfere.

Minho sighs to himself, loud enough for the demon and fallen angel to notice. Jisung's eyes widen slightly. "Ah, good morning, hyung! Did you listen in?" he asks with a tilt of his head. He looks way too cute for Minho's morning brain.

"Yeah, so that saves you some explaining," he mumbles, stretching his arms above his head and running a hand through his hair afterwards. "I'm gonna have some breakfast, so if there's more info, we can talk while I'm eating. You three gotta clear the room."

"What?" "And we're not even going to get an introduction to hottie?" "And what about Seungmin-ssi? I miss him already…" Jeongin, Felix, and Hyunjin protest, but eventually they comply and leave Jisung and Changbin to talk to Minho alone. Minho grabs some rice, tuna, and seaweed and fruit drink for breakfast to munch on while Jisung and Changbin reiterate what they discussed.

"Chan hyung can't take action unless he has evidence that the angels are really up to something shady," the fallen angel repeats. Minho sighs. How useless. "He's careful, because usually we don't meddle with humans. We've never had to deal with a half angel, either."

"Isn't the fact that they use the demons to work for them enough evidence that they're up to no good?" he asks. Changbin's expression twitches, and a scowl wrinkles the edges of his mouth.

"It's… It's complicated. The demons aren't forced to work for them, after all. It's unfair, but they've somehow gotten it into some of the demon's minds that it is just in some way," Changbin replies, glancing at Jisung, who looks away with pink cheeks, chewing on his lip as he knits his brows together. Minho ignores the urge to pull Jisung into his arms and tell him that he's okay.

"I'm not blaming you, Jisung-ah. You're doing this for the right reasons, but you shouldn't let them push you around too much," Changbin adds in a mumble.

"Exactly. You don't have to be an angel to be good," Minho agrees, but Jisung doesn't look assured.

"Yeah, well… I want to believe you, but you two both have part angel inside of you. I don't… I still want to show that I can be good and I can earn wings," he says with a sigh. Minho wishes he could just make him see that he doesn't need this arbitrary sign to show that he's a good person. He's good enough by himself. Wings or not.

"I'd gladly give up my own angel part if it means that this is over and that you will be free," Minho decides. If he could, he'd give Jisung wings, but he doesn't have any to give. He hasn't seen any angels with wings, either. Only Changbin has ever shown a glimpse of them, so perhaps they are able to hide them, or they aren't able to use them on Earth.

"No!" Jisung exclaims in a panic, startling Minho. "You can't do that, hyung! That's not—I don't want you to hurt yourself for me. No one has the right to take any part of you away. We can figure out something else. Something fair."

"Okay, fine. You're right," Minho says, but he's not fond of waiting. Before they can discuss more, the others come back to get ready for work or other appointments. Hyunjin has agreed to take over Minho's dance classes for today, so that he can focus on fixing this. Changbin leaves and Minho takes it as a cue to get ready and take Jisung out into the open again.

He keeps it simple by taking Jisung to a cafe for some coffee first, but Jisung looks a little… pale, today. Minho assumes that he just needs to get used to being out and about again, but the frown creasing the space between Jisung's brows only seems to grow deeper.

"What's on your mind, Jisung-ah? Are you devising a plan? Feeling constipated? Unwell? Do demons get sick?" Minho asks with a light chuckle. Jisung tries a smile, but it doesn't last long. The corners of his lips keep twitching down. "Shall I order some cake?"

"No, I'm fine," Jisung mumbles, but it doesn't sound like he's anywhere near fine. "I'm just thinking about what to do. I'm worried. And… The angels probably are upset with me, so… I'm sensing they want me to go back."

"With that stupid collar, huh? Ugh… Well, it's okay. You don't have to keep an eye on me, you can simply rest, if you like," Minho assures him. He doesn't like seeing Jisung like this, but he isn't sure how to help. "Or should we ask Changbin to help you with that collar?"

"If he could, he would have helped already. He has tried to take it off before, but he didn't know how. I'm not sure if he can take it off," Jisung mumbles with a scowl. "But I don't want to leave you, hyung. You're kind and you don't treat me like I'm a demon. If something happens because of me…"

"Don't worry, Jisung-ah. I'll just go to the gym and you can rest on the bench near me, how does that sound? We'll be in public and you'll be able to keep an eye on me." Minho hasn't worked out in a while, after all, and he doesn't hate the idea of Jisung watching him sweat at all. "If there's anything I can do for you, let me know, okay? Anything."

"Thank you hyung. I appreciate it," Jisung says, another weak smile on his face. Minho's stomach churns. He wishes this could be over already and that he could have fun with Jisung instead. The fun will have to wait until those idiotic angels either quit bothering them or the Head Angel starts doing something.

Minho hates leaving his fate into someone else's hands. Working out helps him take his mind off of it, though. It's not crowded in the gym, despite it being the weekend, but it's okay. There are enough people to make a fuss if a sudden wave of angels appears. Jisung sits on the side, on a bench, watching Minho lift weights.

The frown on his face won't seem to disappear.

At some point, Jisung pulls his knees up to his chin and hugs his legs. Minho looks at him with an eyebrow raised, mouthing an 'are you okay?' to the demon. Jisung waves him off, his face hidden by his legs. "Don't worry about me. I'll hold on."

Jisung can say that all he wants, but it doesn't stop Minho from being concerned about him. As long as Jisung doesn't ask for help, though, Minho isn't sure what he can do for him. Some angel powers to help Jisung be calm would be nice, but he has no idea how to use powers—if he even has them.
So he continues working out, taking a break in between to sit next to Jisung and chat a little about his cats and his work out routine while eating the food he brought from the convenience store on the way to the gym.

Jisung politely hums and listens, but it doesn't feel like he's there with him, and that frown just won't go away. Minho wonders if that collar is somehow hurting him, given the way he keeps reaching for it. And yet, he still says, "You can finish your routine, hyung. I'll just have to hold on."

"But—" Minho wants to protest, but Jisung pushes his index finger against Minho's lips and shoos him away. Minho grumbles to himself as he does his cardio and then his cool down stretches, unable to stop glancing at the demon.

He's going to file a formal complaint to the Head Angel once he finally sees that man.
Jisung is being manipulated, perhaps even being hurt—surely that must be enough of a reason to step in. If they can't see it, then they're blind fools.

Minho takes his time in the showers at the gym but keeps his ears active in case Jisung needs him. Jisung is waiting for him, but his usually caramel colored skin has become a ghastly white, and his fingers rest on the choker around his neck. Minho sighs and offers Jisung a pain killer, hoping that it'll work.

"Thanks, hyung… Sorry for worrying you, but I can't do anything about this," Jisung says, downing the pill together with Minho's water. Minho will ask him about what's going on but not now. He'll ask him either when Jisung is in less pain, or when he's in a lot more pain. He hopes it'll be the former.

After leaving the gym, he takes Jisung grocery shopping and then home—fuck being in public for now, Jisung is obviously in some sort of agony. It has Minho seething to think that the Head Angel and another angel might be watching this without doing anything.

He cooks a meal big enough for him, his roommate, his neighbors, and Jisung, and he offers Jisung some bites to eat during the process, and Jisung does get some of his color back, but not much. "Did the painkiller help?"

"Yeah, a little. And— It tastes really good, hyung," Jisung tells him with a tiny smile that makes Minho's heart react despite the pained look behind it. Minho clenches his fists and takes a deep breath, willing himself not to get angry, but he's at his limit.

Jisung eats with them, but he's only eating small portions. Even Hyunjin, Jeongin, and Felix seem concerned about him. Jisung is squirming a bit in place, avoiding everyone's gazes. He looks on edge more than in pain, right now, which is a relief, but it's not enough to make Minho any less concerned

"Are you sure you're all right, Jisung-ah?" Felix asks with a tilt of his head. He gestures at Jisung's face. "You look a bit—"

"I'm fine!" Jisung snaps, his skin turning red, eyes turning almost completely black, and horns sprouting from his dark hair as his expression grows gnarly. Jeongin, Felix, and Hyunjin yell in surprise, and the latter almost throws his chopsticks through the room as he flinches.

Jisung's eyes grow wide, and his face smoothes out. "I— Oh shit— I'm so sorry—" he stammers, but his demon face is not disappearing yet. Minho's heart drops. "I— I didn't mean to! I can't change it—"

"Guys. Don't be scared. He's— There's no reason to be afraid of him, all right? It's just a look, okay?" Minho stands up to explain as Jisung hides himself behind his hands. He sends an urgent look to his friends. They notice and relax a bit. "Fucking hell. We gotta do something, Jisung-ah! What do you mean you can't change it? You— What's going on?"

"I— It just hurts so much," Jisung says, weakly clawing at the collar. Minho's eyes grow wide like saucers, his ears and neck heating up in rage when he realizes what Jisung means. "They— They really want me back to the club. This is— It's their way of trying to convince me."

"What?! They're using that collar to hurt you?!" Minho snaps, his voice booming through the room, making everyone flinch. He clears his throat and apologizes. "Sorry— I'm just— I'm on edge. To say that I'd like to beat these angels up is a severe understatement."

"Hyung… It's just… I can't hide my demon form like this," Jisung explains, as if that is the worst part.

"Then don't try to. Don't force yourself, all right? I don't mind it and I'm sure the rest can handle it, too," Minho states, giving his friends a stern look. Thankfully, they are quick to reassure Jisung that it's fine. "In the meantime, I'm going to stop watching this madness, and I'm going to face those angels."

"Hyung—" Jisung begins, but Minho looks up at the ceiling and calls out, "Seungmin! Head Angel Chan! If you're watching this—If you're watching us— get your shit together and fucking do something! Or protect us while we do something!"

"Hyung!" Jisung squeaks, standing up and grabbing his arm. He's blinking rapidly, his brows still pinched. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm going to that damn club and I'm demanding them to release you. This has to end," he states. Jisung looks very displeased with his words, but it might just be the pain that collar is causing him that makes him look like that.

"Don't be a fool, hyung!" he hisses, but Minho isn't having any of it. "You'll be in danger! What if they hurt you?"

"What am I supposed to do? Just sit down and watch you suffer? For what? We don't even know what they're going to do once we see those angels," he argues.

"It's not—It's not that bad…" Jisung mutters, but Minho scoffs.

"Don't lie to me, Jisung-ah. We're going." It's not a negotiation. Minho is going to face these angels. He doesn't care if it means he'll lose his own angel powers. He doesn't even know if he has any.

"Be safe!" Jeongin calls out. Minho looks over his shoulder. He kind of forgot they were in the room, for a second. "And—Call us if you need anything?"

"Will do," he says before taking Jisung's hand and tugging him out of the apartment. Jisung is a little hesitant, but once they're outside, he catches up and intertwines their fingers, his grip on Minho firm despite the slight dampness of their sweaty palms.

"I… Shouldn't I hide myself? What if people see me like this?" Jisung whispers as they hurry along the streets towards the abandoned building.

"I'll tell them we're on our way to a costume party, don't worry. You don't look bad," he assures him, and he means it. Jisung's demon form isn't even that scary. He still has his big dark eyes and pouty lips, he just looks a bit sharper and has red skin and horns, and a bit more wrinkles. Nothing to be afraid of.

As he expected, they get some looks once they're outside, but no one really makes a fuss about it. They encounter the angels before they reach the building, which is a surprise to Minho, but it starts to make sense when they get cornered in the dark alleyway right next to the building.

"There you are! Finally, Jisung-ah. We were concerned about you," one of the three angels pushing them into the alley says. Minho can barely distinguish them from each other, with their white suits and white hair.

They all have their wings out—large, stark white feathers reflecting the dim light of the night, the tips dragging over the ground yet never getting dirty, and the tops almost taller than the angels themselves. They must be hidden from humans, otherwise anyone passing by would surely spot them in an instant.

"Oh. Well, I've been fine, don't worry," Jisung replies, his gaze nervously flicking around. "Why—Why are we outside? And not inside, within the protection?"

"We noticed you were close. We came out to greet you. Are you sure you're all right? Because you're in your demon form," another angel explains. Minho takes a deep breath and lets Jisung do the talking for now, but he's already losing his patience.

"It's all right," Jisung says, but Minho is not happy about that answer. They've come here to get rid of that collar, not to please these angels. He clears his throat and subtly nudges Jisung. "I'd… I'd— I know you wanted me to bring you Minho hyung, but I can't let you guys hurt him. He can't hurt a fly. He won't bother you."

"We weren't going to hurt him, Jisung-ah," the third angel assures him, but Minho doesn't believe him and his stone faced expression. "If he's really a half angel, we want to help him. We want to make sure that he doesn't become a danger to himself or others, you know?"

"Whatever. I don't need to live like an angel. I don't care about that. I won't do anything to endanger you or myself, all right? I just want you guys to release Jisung," Minho steps in, because they're talking about him now. The angels look at him as if he's growing a second head.

"Excuse me?" the first angel asks, blinking at Minho with wide eyes. Minho scoffs, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Apologies, did you not hear me?" he asks, a strain in his voice as he tries to keep his composure. Jisung tenses next to him. "I'm asking you to release Jisung. Get rid of that collar. If you do that, we won't bother you."

"Jisung-ah, is that true? Do you want to be released?" Minho doesn't like the attitude of these angels in the slightest. When Jisung hesitates, Minho sends him an intense look, hoping to convey to him that he should stand his ground on this matter.

"I— I would like you to leave Minho hyung alone. And I'm willing to protect him," Jisung says, his voice wavering and taking Minho's stomach with it. He takes a deep breath, hoping that this will be enough to convince the angels.

"You are? So you'll betray us? Just like this half angel's mother did?" the third angel spits, stepping forward with a scoff. His smooth features never even twitch, no frown or wrinkle in sight. It makes Minho shiver.

"No! I'm not— I'm trying to protect someone who hasn't done anything wrong. If you'd just leave him be, then I'll try better and show my worth," Jisung pleads. Minho barks out a scoff.

"Really? After all this time you still trust them?" he hisses, but Jisung waves him off. Minho bites the inside of his cheek, but his neck heats up in frustration. These foolish angels and their iron grip on Jisung are getting on his nerves.

"Why would you protect him? Against whom? You know what his mother did! You know the significance of our wings and our powers. She gave them away and she disgraced every angel. Do you not care for our morals and values?" the second angel argues, getting more fired up now, but there's still no wrinkle folding his skin.

"I care! I don't think that Minho hyung has anything to do with the betrayal of his mother!" Jisung retorts, obviously torn between pleasing the angels and following his heart. Minho feels for him, but he oh so hopes that Jisung will choose himself now.

"It doesn't seem like he's willing to hear us out or learn about his powers, though," the first angel says, looking Minho up and down.

"Yeah, because fuck you for taking advantage of demons and convincing them that they're worth less than you guys," he snaps. He's done with these angels pretending that they're willing to hear them out. He doesn't believe that they have any good intentions at all. They've made up their mind about him, and they think Jisung is somehow a lower being, which is absolute bullshit. "Why would I want anything to do with that?"

"Is that what the demon told you?! And you trust him on that? Without ever even giving us a chance?" The third angel's voice is starting to get louder and louder, and Minho wonders if anyone can hear them. Probably not, which is a shame, but he's starting to understand why Jisung feared the possibility of them wanting to hurt Minho some way.

"I believe him because you've got him collared up, and you feel free to hurt him when he's away for too long. And meanwhile you haven't even tried to approach me by yourselves," he argues, but he's getting tired of this. "Now release him. Prove to me that you're the good guys."

"How would that prove it? This collar is one of the things that is keeping him in check. Are you blind or something? You really don't know anything, do you?" The first angel sighs, snaps his fingers and Minho's head whips over to Jisung, his eyes zeroing in on his neck. The collar is still there, so it doesn't seem like the angel did anything. "I think it's time to show you who you really are, Minho-ssi. This behavior is unbecoming."

"What—?" Minho steps back when the second angel approaches him, and Jisung's eyes are wide. He's ready to hit the angel in the face, but the second angel is calm as he steps behind Minho, grabs his left shoulder to prevent him from turning around, and places his free hand between Minho's shoulder blades. "Let go of me! What are you—?"

Minho cuts himself off with a gasp. It feels like the angel is reaching inside of him, fingers pushing between his lungs, as if they're stealing his air. He groans, heart pounding in his ears. The angel pulls at something, which is not quite his spine, but it feels like it. It doesn't hurt, but it doesn't feel right either.

Jisung is watching with a bewildered look in his eyes as Minho gasps, choking on air. He panics, fears that the angel is going to kill him. A moment later, the angel's hand pulls away, and Minho can finally breathe again.
He falls onto his hands and his knees, taking deep gulps of air. His back feels heavy, however, as if they tied a boulder onto it, which is weighing him down.

"There we go," the second angel says, sounding way too satisfied. "What do you think about that, Jisung-ah? Minho-ssi?"

Jisung doesn't answer, only gapes at Minho with wide eyes. Minho looks over his shoulder and sees it—the wings. He has angel wings on his back. Fuck. "Wh—What the fuck?"

They're large. Not as big as the wings the other angels have, but he can see the tops curving a little above his shoulders and the tips reach below his hips. He—like any person—has imagined what it would be like to fly, to have that freedom, but he doesn't like how these wings feel at all.

They feel like a burden more than a relief. He meets Jisung's gaze, and he finds himself thinking that he'd rather have horns and red skin than this. Jisung is still beautiful like this, after all.

"Fuck, these are heavy. How—How do I get them to go away?" Minho grumbles, groaning as he arches and bends his back, trying to get used to the extra weight.

"Hmmm, you don't like them? Well, we knew you'd be a traitor just like your mother. How about you give them to Jisung, then? I think they'd look better on him than this outdated look that scares the shit out of everyone," the first angel sneers, the mean tone contrasting the smoothness of his expression. Minho shudders, the icky feeling that the angel is taunting Jisung bubbling up in his chest.

"No. No, you can't. Those are his. You can't take them away from him. I don't want them," Jisung insists, shaking his head vigorously. The first angel chuckles. Minho takes a deep breath, his ears hot. These fucking angels are playing with them. They're enjoying this. "Just—Let him go, okay? Please. He hasn't done anything wrong. He can't help who his parents are."

The angels laugh full out now, but then, all of a sudden, the three of them grow quiet, eyes widening. Minho gets a weird feeling that they're being watched, but he can't place it. He—

"What is going on here?" A different voice booms through the alleyway, startling all five of them. Minho turns around but loses his balance due to the wings on his back. It's another angel, with even larger wings. Great.

Behind the angel approaching them, Minho spots Seungmin and Changbin, them also with their wings showing. Perhaps these angels are good news, after all. He god damn hopes that they are. The three angels from the club grow ghastly pale, almost matching their stark white suits, hair, and wings, and they bow deeply.

"What is he doing on Earth?" Minho hears them whisper. It must be the Head Angel. Finally, he's coming to help. At least, that's what Minho hopes he's doing.

"Who is this angel, and this demon?" The man—Chan, if Minho remembers correctly—looks like he's floating as he walks through the alleyway towards the group. Minho wonders how he's doing that, if he has such humongous wings.

"The demon is Jisung, the one I told you about," Changbin explains in a calm manner, first gesturing at Jisung, then at Minho. "That is the half angel, Lee Minho."

Chan looks Minho up and down, a blank expression on his face. Minho takes a deep breath. "Sir— Head Angel Chan. These angels are hurting Jisung with that collar. I formally request you to help us remove it," he states, ignoring the small noise of panic Jisung makes.

Chan's eyes narrow as he inspects Jisung and the three angels. "Why would they do such a thing?" he asks, his voice flat and full of authority. "Is he speaking the truth? What is this collar?"

"Head Angel, you should understand. The demon was hiding the half angel from us, trying to taint him, while we wanted to introduce him to angel-hood," the first angel explains, lying through his teeth, the first sign of a twitching expression on his face. "That collar is something he agreed to wear willingly, to help us."

"Excuse me? You guys just tried to give away my wings to him, you called me a traitor, and have never made any move to approach me before," Minho retorts with a scoff. "You've insulted Jisung, too, when all he has done is help me."

The Head Angel shares a look with Seungmin, who subtly moves his eyebrows to communicate something. Chan looks back with narrowed eyes before exhaling. "I see you are not in agreement on this. We won't solve this on Earth. Come with me," the angel decides.

"But Head Angel, we can't just take a half angel to the afterlife," the third angel protests. "He is not immortal."

"We can make an exception for today," Seungmin answers, instead of Chan, but the latter nods solemnly in agreement.

"I will take you to the old courthouse. There won't be any problems if we handle matters over there," the Head Angel adds. He's about to turn around, but Minho clears his throat, stepping closer but once again almost losing his balance.

"Excuse me, Head Angel. Couldn't you at least take off that collar first?" he requests. Jisung hits his arm.

"Hyung! Be polite," he whispers. Minho holds himself back from rolling his eyes. He thought he was being polite, and this is pretty important, in his opinion. He thinks Jisung should be less humble instead. "I'm—I don't even feel it anymore. It's okay."

"We'll decide on that matter in the courthouse," Chan says, and within an instant, Minho's vision goes white. A second later, he's in a large building, thick columns surrounding him. White, of course, with gold decorations. This doesn't look old to Minho in the slightest. It looks grand and it looks cleaner than a sterile lab.

Chan and Seungmin walk towards the benches at the far end of the room, and the angels follow. Jisung stays next to Minho, offering him a concerned look as Minho huffs and puffs with every step. "Are you all right, hyung?"

"These wings are inconvenient as heck," he complains under his breath. Jisung wraps an arm around Minho's back, under his wings, careful not to jostle them. Minho's chest grows warm thanks to the gentle gesture. "Are you sure you don't want them?"

"No! No, that's not funny hyung. I don't want yours. They're part of you," Jisung mumbles, his lower lip sticking out in a pout. Minho knows that Jisung thinks taking away someone's wings is an awful feat, but Minho genuinely thinks they're a bother. He can't even walk properly, and he doesn't understand how the others move around with such ease, as if they're floating.

"Okay. Okay, I hear you," he relents. Jisung blinks, his eye twitching. Minho is still concerned about him. He hopes that Chan will hear them out and help Jisung believe that he's not worthless. Surely the Head Angel will be able to convince him. "What about you? Is the collar still giving you trouble?"

"Not really. Only a bit. It should fade soon," Jisung whispers in return. Minho doesn't understand why it's going on for so long. Did the angels forget to turn the thing off? Or are they punishing him for not bringing Minho to them?

They all sit down and Chan lets the angels speak first, requesting for everyone else to keep quiet until they finish. Minho zones out and looks at Jisung while the angels lie through their teeth. They claim that they only wanted to help Minho and introduce him to angel-hood while he and Jisung betrayed them and chose Minho's mother's side. They blabber on about Minho being a disgrace to angels and bringing shame to them by cursing them out and being disrespectful.

Whatever. Minho tunes it all out and instead thinks about that first time he spoke to Jisung. Jisung has been impatient, he has been secretive, he has been a pushover, yet he has always been kind, too. He has never tried to hurt Minho, nor anyone else. He cares deeply, and in Minho's opinion, he has nothing to prove to anyone, despite his flaws.

When it's Minho and Jisung's turn to explain, Minho recounts the story from the moment he first entered that abandoned building until now, including everything Jisung has done for him and against him. In the end, he concludes that Jisung is his dear friend and that he has done nothing to deserve exploitation.

"Jisung was the only person keeping me away from the club, an order given to him by the angels when they were still under the impression that I was a human. When Jisung figured out I am part angel, he kept me away to protect me," he says. "He was only trying to do the right thing, to be like you angels."

"I only kept Minho hyung away from the angels because I was afraid they'd hurt him or take away the part of him that is angel-like," Jisung explains in addition. Minho hums in confirmation of his statement. He has always been caring, even if he kept secrets from Minho.

"Why would you fear such a thing?" Chan asks, the corners of his lips down-turned as he looks at them. He's shorter than Minho, yet he exudes some kind of energy that makes him feel taller somehow. Maybe it's the wings sticking out above his head, but perhaps it's the way he carries himself.

"Because of the way they spoke about Minho's mother, the angel who rescinded her angel-hood to be with the person she loves," Jisung answers, his voice a bit low and his cheeks dusted with a light pink. "They called her a traitor, and believed him to be a traitor, too."

"And what about that collar? What is it's purpose?" Chan continues, not showing any sign of whom he believes more. Jisung swallows thickly, and Minho subtly reaches over to squeeze his hand. "Speak freely, Jisung-ssi."

"Yes. I… I agreed to wear this collar to show that I can be a good person. This allows me to be more in touch with angels. I agreed to work for them and entertain them in the club so that I could earn wings," he explains, unable to look the Head Angel in the eyes. Minho notices a twitch in Chan's expression, a very subtle clenching of his teeth.

"They cannot promise you that," he says, his gaze rolling over to the three angels from the club. Changbin starts from where he was still next to Chan, his expression twitching. "They cannot grant you wings, Jisung-ssi. We cannot grant you powers easily, that is simply impossible without risking dangerous consequences. We'd have to research the risks beforehand, and your body might reject any powers we try to gift you. All we can do is take them away."

"Wh—What?" Jisung's eyes widen and his eyebrows shoot up towards his hairline. Minho's stomach drops and he sends the three angels a death glare. Even Changbin looks like he's about to start yelling. "So I— Then how does this collar work?"

"We—We had no idea! I swear!" the first angel stammers, looking genuinely shocked at this revelation. He might be telling the truth, but it's obvious that they didn't check if they could fulfill the promises they were making.

Chan stands up and touches the collar with his forefinger. Jisung winces slightly, and Chan's eyebrows pull together ever so slightly. He calls Seungmin to inspect it with him, and the latter floats over to them and narrows his eyes. He, too, touches Jisung's throat. A possessive twitch of Minho's fingers almost make him say something, but he lets the angels to their thing.

"It looks like a way for an angel to track and control whoever is wearing this. It seems like it's still active, which I imagine is not pleasant for a demon. It's able to send the angel powers through him, but his body doesn't know what to do with them," Seungmin comments. "It also makes him more in touch with an angel, but right now I imagine it must be hurting him."

Chan sniffs, his nostrils flaring. "Release him," he says, his lips thinning as he closes his eyes as if he doesn't want to see the collar any longer. Seungmin touches the thin black choker and it releases from Jisung's skin. Minho sighs in relief.

"Thank you," he blurts at the same time as Jisung shows his gratitude as well, bowing his head. "I— I hope you can understand his side of the story, Head Angel Chan. He simply wanted to be like the angels, but in my opinion, there's no need. He's kind and caring as it is, and I don't think he needs to prove himself. He shouldn't be exploited, and whatever other demons have such a collar should be freed, as well."

"You make a noble wish, Minho-ssi. I will dive into this matter and take action as I see fit, with Seungmin by my side. I will discuss this matter with him, now," Chan says, standing up, quickly followed by Seungmin. "I will make sure that any demons living with the notion that they can become angels will know the risks, and will be aware that angels cannot make such promises easily."

Minho looks at Jisung in relief. At least this guy still has morals. Jisung's expression is not quite happy yet, nor is it relieved, but Minho hopes that he'll turn around and see that this is a good thing, despite his view of angels being the beacon of goodness being shattered.

"And— May I make one more request? Can someone help me with these wings? How do I get them to go away again?" Minho asks, raising his hand. The angels all turn to look at him with puzzled gazes. Changbin steps forward, his wings spreading as he walks towards him. His wings aren't as bright of a white as the others' wings are. They're more of a grayish color, with iridescent parts, and they take up about the same amount of space as Minho's wings do.

"I'll try to help," he offers. Minho lets out a breath of relief. Changbin turns his back to Minho and spreads the wings on his back even more. "Spread them, and then pull them inwards like this. Then just—poof. They'll go away."

Minho watches Changbin do what he described, but Minho can not for the life of him manage to copy it. Changbin's wings disappear nicely, while Minho struggles to even move them by himself. At some point, one of the wings twitches and almost hits Jisung next to him. "Shit—Sorry, Jisung-ah. How do I do this?"

"Uh… Well this is like asking an adult how they walk! I don't know, just move them like you'd move a muscle in your hands," Changbin says, running a hand through his hair. Minho tries, but it's like he's learning to dance from scratch again, having to find the right muscles to isolate and use to get the desired result. He fumbles.

"Ugh. It's not working," Minho sighs deeply. Changbin opens his mouth but quickly shuts it and turns around. Chan and Seungmin are returning. Jisung straightens himself as well, a concentrated look on his face as he keeps a close eye on the Head Angel and Seungmin.

"We've made a preliminary decision. The demons are to be informed about the risks and limits of the promises they were made, and are to make their own decision about whether or not they want to continue wearing a collar and whether or not they want to keep working for angels," Chan explains. "The angels involved are to receive a couple of lessons from Kim Seungmin to remind us of the rules and values of being an angel."

The three angels from the club grumble something, but they don't seem too upset. Seungmin, on the other hand, is grinning like he just won the lottery. Chan adds, "If there are any other matters I can assist you with or any questions regarding the decision, please feel free to approach me."

Minho raises his hand. "Any tips on getting these wings under control? Is there someone who can teach me?" he asks, because even though Changbin compared it to walking, a shot never taken is always missed. Chan opens his mouth to speak, but then stops, seemingly stumped.

"I… I don't know. Apologies, Minho-ssi. Angels learn to fly from a young age, but I'm certain that you will get the hang of it with practice," he says, offering Minho a regretful look. Minho sighs. Well, at least he tried.

"I can try to help, hyung," Jisung offers softly, looking at Minho with a timid look. "I obviously don't have any wings," he adds, sounding way too bitter about it, in Minho's opinion, "but maybe I can help somehow."

"Of course you would. I think I could use any help I can get, so thank you," he replies with a grin, gently bumping their shoulders together. Minho is careful not to hit him with his wings, but they're so large that he isn't sure how to handle them. "I can't walk around on Earth like this, so let's try this immediately."

He sends his mother a text, too, asking about the wings. Apparently his phone still works, even in the afterlife. That's crazy, but Jisung doesn't seem to know why that's the case, and neither does Changbin. Maybe it's because he's contacting his mother. Who knows. Angels and demons obviously don't have any cellphones.

It's not the most important thing on Minho's mind right now. The number one thing on his list is getting these wings to go away. His mother doesn't have any advice either, other than don't let those wings come out in the first place. She still has wings, too, and she never dared to get them removed.

"Can't I give them to you, Jisung-ah? I think you'd be happier with them," Minho bemoans. Everyone else has left for now, but Chan promised to return to help Minho go back to Earth. Jisung shakes his head.

"Even if that would be possible—which I doubt it is—I don't want yours, hyung. You might never use them, but they are a part of you. I don't want to put you through the trouble of figuring out how to give them away, nor do I want to risk the process hurting you. It's like you're cutting off a limb for me to use!" Jisung tells him, again. Minho sighs, and Jisung pats his shoulder, looking at him with those adorable dark eyes of his. He's still in his demon form, but Minho kind of likes seeing him like this. Both appearances are handsome and cute, a sight for sore eyes.

"Now, let me tell you what I know about wings from my endless questions to Changbin hyung," Jisung says, a tiny smile on his face, bunching up his cheeks. It doesn't quite reach his eyes, but he's trying to lighten the mood, thankfully. "They're sort of an extension of your arms, I've heard. An extra set, attached to your back. Try spreading your arms together with the wings?"

Minho hums, spreads his arms like Jisung asked him to, but his wings only move in jerky movements, and they don't stay spread out. Minho sighs. "Why do I even have these? Without knowing about them?"

"Well, you are half angel. Your mother still has them, too," Jisung points out with a shrug. Minho supposes that he's right about that. Jisung then rests a hand on Minho's shoulder, gently shaking him. "Come on, don't give up so soon, hyung. You can do it! Think of it like learning a new dance."

"Fine. You're right," Minho says, straightening himself and shaking his head to pull himself together. He tries again, and fails. Take a deep breath, watch Jisung, try again. He keeps going like that until he gets a bit of an idea where the muscles of the wings are located and how he can move them. He does feel a bit like a toddler learning to dance for the first time, but it ends up being kind of fun, in the end.

When Minho's wings start feeling too heavy and Jisung's smile starts losing its strength, they sit down and call it a day. Minho hasn't succeeded in getting his wings to fold inwards and disappear, but he can't just stay here in the afterlife, either. But maybe Jisung does want to stay.

"What are you going to do now, Jisung-ah? I don't think that club will be very lively the coming days," Minho begins, looking at Jisung with curious eyes. The demon shrugs, absentmindedly touching the horns sticking up from his black hair.

"Not sure yet. I… My goal was always to become an angel, but now I know that's not possible," he says with a bittersweet chuckle. Minho shuffles closer, until their shoulders touch, and he rests a hand on Jisung's thigh. Jisung sighs and leans against Minho, careful not to jostle his wings or hit him with his horns. "I don't think I'm ready to say goodbye to you, either."

"You don't have to," Minho assures him, because he feels the same. The simple attraction he has felt towards Jisung hasn't faded in the slightest, and he has become close to him—has started to see Jisung like a dear friend—which has only made him fall for him.

He twists his torso to face Jisung, and cups the demon's cheek, his thumb caressing the smooth red skin. With his free hand, he runs his fingers through Jisung's hair, gently feeling around the horns on his head.

Jisung blinks up at him with hope shining in his dark eyes. Minho's heart does a swoop. He thinks about dancing with Jisung, about kissing him, making him feel good, and he can't help but lean in, pulling Jisung closer with the hand on his cheek.

Jisung's eyelids flutter and the demon purses his lips a little in anticipation. Minho closes his eyes and leans in to kiss him, but Jisung moves back all of a sudden. Minho makes a confused noise and opens his eyes. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"Y— I'm still in demon form," Jisung states, biting his lower lip as if he's done something wrong. Minho blinks, taken aback by the statement.

"So what?" he asks, because he's genuinely confused. Jisung's lips form a thin line.

"Isn't this form… unpleasant? It's… It's supposed to be scary," he guesses and Minho rolls his eyes with a chuckle. He holds Jisung's cheeks in his hands and rubs their noses together.

"It's not. Anyone who thinks like that is a fool. And I still want to kiss you," he assures him, giving Jisung a serious look. Jisung smiles bashfully, but he leans in and kisses Minho after a moment of quiet gazing. Minho relaxes against Jisung, and reciprocates, caressing his thumbs along Jisung's jaw.

Without Minho noticing, his wings come to wrap around Jisung like a second set of arms, caging them off and providing them with some privacy and warmth. Jisung parts, but only for a second to look at Minho with a look so fond it feels like it's melting Minho's insides.

"How romantic of you, hyung," he whispers, blushing even through his red skin. Minho chuckles and subtly shakes his head, their noses brushing.

"It wasn't intentional, but I suppose my subconscious wanted hug you even closer," he replies in a low voice, the feathers of his wings touching Jisung's arms. Jisung kisses Minho again, pressing his sweet lips against Minho's ones.

It makes Minho forget about his wings for a moment. He drags his fingers along the column of Jisung's neck, the absence of the collar sending a wave of relief down Minho's spine. At least Jisung is free, now. Even if Minho now has to deal with these wings, he thinks it's worth it if Jisung doesn't have to be exploited anymore.

The two of them keep gently kissing, until a noise from behind them pulls them from their bubble. It's the Head Angel, who looks quite embarrassed. "Ah, apologies. I didn't mean to interrupt," he explains with an awkward chuckle. It's funny seeing Chan lose his composure just from a little kissing. He never gave a twitch while hearing them out, but now his skin seems to flush and his expression is obviously awkward.

Minho's wings unfold from around Jisung as he relaxes and Jisung bows his head. "That's all right, Head Angel Chan. Is there something we can help with?" Chan pauses for a moment, as if he's making sure that they're okay with him speaking.

"I was wondering if you'd like to be escorted back to Earth, Minho-ssi. Perhaps you'll have an easier time controlling your wings down there. I realize now that this old building prevents us from using our powers properly, so that might make it harder to learn how to use the wings," he explains. Minho and Jisung's eyes widen and they share a look.

"Yes. Yes, I'd like to go back," Minho answers, his gaze flicking between the Head Angel and Jisung. Jisung nods. "Maybe the powers thing is why you're still not able to turn back human—not that I mind."

"You're right. I would have gone with you either way, though," he promises, much to Minho's relief. He then turns to Chan again, swallowing thickly before he speaks. "And, uhm, Head Angel Chan? Would you know how possible it would be to give up my demon powers?"

"That depends. Giving up immortality is quite simple—Minho-ssi's mother has done it before. You'd be a bit like Minho-ssi. You won't be able to come back to the afterlife, only when you die, or in special circumstances like this one. You'll be like a human in that aspect. If you'd want to get rid of your powers it would require a little more research and effort," Chan explains. Minho's heart stutters at the possibility of Jisung being like him.

Does Jisung want to give up his immortality? Is it because of Minho or is it because he still thinks being a demon is somehow a bad thing? Minho hopes that it's the former rather than the latter.

"Okay, thanks, Head Angel Chan," Jisung says, bowing forward again. Chan nods his head and then motions for them to stand up. He takes them back to Earth, after picking up Seungmin and Changbin to escort them just in case. Changbin manages to remember how to locate Minho's apartment, and Chan brings them there, before leaving them with the angel and fallen angel.

"Oh my GOD!" Hyunjin's screeching voice greets them the moment Chan disappears. Hyunjin is in the hallway, his hand on his chest. A moment later, Felix and Jeongin appear as well, coming out of their respective apartments. "You— We were worried sick, Minho hyung! You didn't come home last night. We couldn't reach you—Jesus what the fuck are those wings?"

"As far as you all know, these are a costume," Minho says, pointing a stern finger at them before accepting the hug Felix is eager to give. It takes a minute for them to find a comfortable position to hug with the wings, but eventually, they manage.

In the meantime, Hyunjin has begun talking to Seungmin. "Do you have wings, too? You do, right? Can you show them?" he asks, gaping when Seungmin complies and whips out his humongous bright white wings. Changbin shows them off as well, and Minho snickers, happy to have his friends focus on the angels for a bit, and not on him. Now that he's back on Earth, he feels how tired he is.

"Holy moly! These are huge!" "They're amazing." "Wow. Can you really fly, too?" Felix, Jeongin, and Hyunjin are praising Seungmin and Changbin non-stop. Changbin seems all too smug about showing off, while Seungmin's expression stays calm and collected. Minho inches closer to Jisung, who looks a bit dejected.

"Hey, wipe that frown off your face, Jisung-ah," Minho whispers, subtly elbowing his side. Jisung shrugs, so Minho raises his voice and says, "Those wings aren't even that cool! They're heavy as fuck and super inconvenient. I still need to figure out how to control them. I'm gonna figure it out with Jisung-ah."

"I wouldn't interrupt them when they're alone together," Changbin says with a chuckle. "I saw that Chan hyung—The Head Angel—walked in on them sucking face."

"What!?" "The Head Angel?" Hyunjin, Felix, and Jeongin erupt in chaos, laughing and asking about what happened. Changbin talks about Chan's red ears—Minho didn't even notice that the fallen angel was in the room, too, when Chan walked in on them.

Minho ignores the commotion and instead, he decides to go into the apartment with Jisung to practice. Hopefully he'll be able to get these wings to go away before his class today, but when he checks his phone, he sees that he only has an hour left before he has to change. He isn't even sure how he's going to change. Is the shirt he's wearing ripped? Are these magical wings?

"Ah, Jisung-ah, I think I'm going to have to ask you to join me during dance classes today. If we go together, we can tell the kids that we're having a costume party afterwards and that we're already dressed up for it," Minho says, raising his eyebrows at the demon next to him.

"Oh… But I don't want to scare the children," Jisung answers with a pout. Minho wants to just grab him and kiss those doubts away, but he can't. He needs to be patient, because who knows how long Jisung has been hearing that he's worth less than angels.

"It's okay if you do, they'll think it's a scary costume! I'll tell them that you're a friend, and they'll get over it in a second," Minho assures him. Jisung hums. "It'll be fun. You can join the dance class, and the kids will see that you're not scary at all. I'm sure you'll be fine at that, considering how much I liked dancing with you that night at the club."

"Okay. Okay, I'll join," he relents, a smile tugging at the edges of his lips as his cheeks grow a little darker in color. "But first, let's see if we can get you to fold those wings a little more."

Jeongin, Felix, and Hyunjin come inside to watch, despite Changbin's warnings. They explain that they've been worried about Minho and that they want to know what happened. Minho gives them the rundown, but they don't leave when Jisung starts helping Minho with his wings.

"Try wrapping your wings around yourself like you did earlier with me," Jisung instructs him gently. Minho smiles at the memory, but his wings don't quite work with him. He's a bit embarrassed, because everyone is looking at him, and he can tell that his roommate and neighbors are wondering what Jisung means by wrapping his wings around him.

"You can do it, hyung!" Jisung encourages him, and Minho sighs, his stomach flipping.

"Maybe it'll go better if I don't have an audience," he murmurs, sending his friends a look each. They hold up their hands, feigning innocence. "I need to go change for work anyway, and so do you, Hyunjin-ah."

His friends complain and sigh, but they know that Minho is right. Jisung is a bit nervous about dancing, Minho notices, but he hopes that seeing the kids will assure him. Changing goes smoothly, and somehow the wings don't interfere with his clothing. That is one less thing to worry about.

Minho keeps close to Jisung when they're on their way to the dance studio, and he introduces Jisung to the kids as they trickle inside. Some are a bit afraid of Jisung's demon face, but most who are, are shy anyway. Some other kids are very excited and want to touch Jisung's horns as well as Minho's wings.

After getting them to calm down from the excitement of seeing their 'costumes', Minho goes over the basics with the kids, and Jisung joins in, his movements almost more awkward than the juniors. Minho can't help but get distracted by him. It takes him a while to get used to it, but once the next kids arrive—a little older, age 10 to 12—he's starting to warm up. These kids are a bit more loud-mouthed and bold towards them, but Jisung seems less bothered by it, now.

The classes fly by in a blink, and before Minho knows, the last one ends without much trouble. In fact, it ends with a smile on Jisung's face. Minho glowers in satisfaction, seeing Jisung a little sweaty, yet happy. "Wasn't I great?" he asks.

"You were a great entertainer for me and the kids," Minho answers, wiggling his eyebrows. "You did pretty well for your first time. Thanks for joining me."

"It was fun. I felt like the kids were cheering me on, somehow. That was nice," Jisung says, a smile playing on his lips. "And… I have some things to thank you for, other than this, hyung, but I'd like to take a shower first."

"Me too." Minho keeps his eyes on Jisung as he motions the man to come with him. He brought two towels and two sets of clothing so they can both wash up in the studio. Unfortunately that means that they can't shower together, because the narrow shower heads in the changing rooms don't really make for a comfortable duo showering experience.

Not that Jisung would fit, given that Minho's wings take up more space than he does. Minho doesn't mind seeing Jisung naked in this form, though. The demon has relatively broad shoulders and an even narrower waist than Minho thought after having held it. At some point, Hyunjin joins as well, but he politely keeps his eyes away from them while they chat.

"You guys really look like a couple like this. All matching~" Hyunjin notes while they're dressing. Minho snickers, while Jisung asks what he means. "You know, the angel-demon couple matching outfits."

"That's a thing? It's not common…" Jisung tilts his head, seemingly confused, but there's a smile on his lips. "You humans have impressive imaginations."

"Life's too short to care about arbitrary rules," Minho says with a shrug, before sneakily hitting Jisung's butt. Jisung squeaks and raises his fist and Minho, who can't help but laugh. "I'm hungry. Let's go get some food."

"Have fun, you lovebirds," Hyunjin says, sending Minho a cheesy wink. Minho's heart sings, and he grins to himself, satisfied that Hyunjin thinks they're like a couple. He would love to be Jisung's boyfriend, but Jisung is still immortal, so he can't just ask him to be with him. He can't ask him to give up his immortality for him, either. That's something Jisung should decide for himself.

That doesn't mean that he can't enjoy the time they are able to spend together, though. He takes Jisung to his kitchen to keep him company while he prepares their food. Jeongin isn't home, so he'll only have to cook for two. More importantly, he'll have Jisung for himself.

"I wanted to thank you, hyung," Jisung says, sitting on the counter while Minho prepares the food. Minho hums in question. He doesn't want to move too much in fear of making a mess with his wings. "You know, for the courage. For taking me to the club despite my protests and all, and for standing up for us. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused—"

Minho carefully turns around and shushes Jisung, placing a finger on the demon's lips. "Shh, shh, no, no, no. I am the one who went to that club looking for ghosts. I don't regret it in the slightest, but if anything, I am the one who caused trouble," he retorts. He turns back to focus on the food.
It's almost done, so he turns off the stove and puts the lids on the pans before turning back to face Jisung. "I now know that I am half angel. That my mother is a badass who gave up her angel immortality to be with my father. I know about demons and fallen angels and I have met a sweet demon who deserves better than the lies he's been fed, and the exploitation he's had to deal with. I think I came out a lot better."

"Hyung…" Jisung mumbles, his eyes wide, eyebrows pulled together as if he's going to burst out crying. "You're too kind! My heart is about to explode."

"What?" Minho laughs as he grabs the pots and pans to set the table. He tells Jisung to grab some plates and chopsticks. The two of them sit down, across from each other.

"Don't pretend like you're not aware of the romance of your words, hyung. That was so—It means a lot, to hear you say that," Jisung says, sighing deeply as he gazes at Minho, chopsticks loosely in his hands. Minho doesn't feel all that hungry for food anymore, all of a sudden.

"Sounds like a problem you can solve by kissing me," Minho says with a shrug. He knows he's being unfair for bringing that up when they're just about to eat, but he means it. "We can pick up getting back to our human forms in the morning. I think we deserve a night off."

"Hmmm, okay," Jisung says, a bashful grin on his face. Minho takes a moment to stare at Jisung's expression. Jisung licks his lips, his tongue looking quite long in this form. Interesting. "Hyung. Stop staring and start eating!"

Minho laughs, but Jisung is right. He should eat and make use of having Jisung to himself tonight—privately, this time. He should savor that, and thus he follows Jisung's demand and starts eating.

The two of them chat some more, reminiscing about everything that has happened, as well as any other topic their conversation happens to land on. The more they talk, the more Minho realizes that he's still falling for Jisung, and there's no hope in getting rid of these feelings. That is quite dangerous, but at the same time, it's comforting. It feels like a natural outcome.

He almost throws the dishes in the dishwasher after rinsing them, just because he can't wait to pull Jisung to the bedroom and have some privacy with him. He slams the dishwasher shut and turns around to see Jisung's anticipating eyes. He grabs Jisung's hand and pulls him along.

His wings hit about three doorframes and walls on his way to his room, and fuck that hurts, but he doesn't let anything stop him until he has Jisung pinned against his door. Jisung giggles, but only for a second. Then, his eyes darken and he pulls Minho in for a searing kiss.

Jisung's hands cup Minho's jaw as if Minho might back away if he doesn't hold him, but Minho is all but attached to Jisung's front. The wings aren't even on Minho's mind anymore as he presses closer dips his tongue between Jisung's lips.

Jisung lets out a soft moan, accepting Minho's request to kiss him more deeply. Jisung's tongue is quite long in his demon form, but he's shy with it. Minho sucks on it to encourage him to use it more, but Jisung becomes putty in his arms. "Hmmm, don't be shy, Jisung-ah~" he whispers, trailing his hands down Jisung's sides, squeezing his hips in encouragement.

"Hyung… I'm not good at holding back in this form," Jisung replies, his eyebrows drawn together slightly, yet his gaze is deep. Minho hums, unable to stop the corners of his lips from twitching up.

"What do you mean?" he asks, teasing his a little by dragging his lips along the column of Jisung's neck. Jisung shivers, arms tightening around Minho's neck. His hands bump against Minho's wings, so instead, he threads them through Minho's hair.

"I'm just— I don't know. I haven't— It's so much," Jisung stammers, gasping between his words and letting out a whimper when Minho grazes his teeth along his skin.

"Tell me when it's too much, but don't feel like you need to hold back, hmm?" Minho assures him, pressing kisses up Jisung's neck, to his jaw, then his cheek, then his lips. Jisung hums and nods, his fingers still playing with Minho's hair.

"Yeah," he says, his eyes down on Minho's lips. He leans in and kisses Minho deeply. Minho sighs in content, pulling Jisung against him and sneaking his hands toward his behind. Jisung moans, parting from Minho with a wet pop. His mouth hangs open as he arches his back into Minho's front.

He makes a noise, about to say something, but he looks a little out of it. Minho's heart stutters and his dick stirs at the sight. "Uh— But what— What about your wings, hyung?" Jisung asks eventually, his eyelashes fluttering. "Aren't they uncomfortable?"

"Nah. Maybe if we get my mind off of them, they'll disappear without me noticing," he replies, sounding a bit out of breath himself. How could he not be, when Jisung is right there, and they've got nothing to worry about any longer? No collar, no angels, no secrets.

Jisung hums again, a gasp slipping from his lips as Minho squeezes his ass. He lifts Jisung up with a groan, and his wings come around to wrap around them again, without him really doing anything. Jisung looks down at him with a smile full of desire. Minho cranes his neck and Jisung kisses him, sweet yet spicy, dipping his tongue between his lips.

Minho is thankful that he knows his way from the door of his bedroom to his bed blindly, so that he can safely put Jisung onto the covers while continuing to make out with him. The noises Jisung is making between his filthy kisses are driving Minho absolutely wild, and his cock is reacting, filling up in his boxers.

He grinds down, riling Jisung up only to find his dick already rock hard. Minho shudders at the feeling. He loves how sensitive Jisung is in this form—it's so hot that Minho doesn't have any trouble getting to full hardness just by making out with his long demon tongue and grinding.

He's feeling quite desperate, and he'd like to take his time with Jisung, but his patience is wearing thin. He starts undressing Jisung, blindly fumbling with his pants as he keeps hungrily sucking on Jisung's tongue, trying to swallow him whole.

He haphazardly shoves Jisung way too tight pants down, his underwear going along with it whether Minho wants it to or not. Jisung rips off his shirt as Minho hurriedly unbuckles his belt. Jisung's skin is red everywhere—as he already noticed in the showers earlier—but his erection looks normal otherwise, except for perhaps some excessive leaking. Minho loves it.

"Fuck, you're so beautiful," he whispers, raking his eyes across Jisung's form, pausing as he's mid-lifting his shirt. Jisung makes another noise, half whimper half giggle.

"Hyung, stop staring," he whines, reaching out for Minho's shirt. "Undress and kiss me again."

"Impatient much. Ask me nicely," he teases, his fingers twitching as he uses his all to keep himself from ripping his shirt in two and maul Jisung like an animal. Jisung complains, but he blinks his eyes up at Minho and purses his lips into a pout.

"Please?" Minho's cock twitches, a moan slipping from his lips as pulls of his clothes before diving down and devouring Jisung. Their bare cocks rub together, the slide eased by their precum, but Minho needs more. He grabs Jisung's thighs and pushes them towards his chest, his dick slipping between Jisung's ass cheeks, hitting his balls.

Jisung and Minho moan in unison, the two of them rolling their hips against each other. Minho's hands find Jisung's ass again, squeezing hard, kneading the skin between his fingers. Jisung's breathing speeds up, but he never stops kissing Minho. When Minho's finger traces his rim, Jisung suddenly grows taut, his back arching and breath catching between high pitched whines.

A wet sensation against Minho's stomach tells him that Jisung just came. "Ah—! Hnng— Hyung— I'm—"

"Fuck that's hot," Minho blurts, quickly grabbing Jisung's dick to work him through it. Jisung grabs Minho by the hair and pulls him in for another filthy, breathy kiss, full of desire. Minho groans against him, the slight pain from Jisung pulling on his hair making his stomach contract.

They keep making out like that, until Jisung writhes and whines in overstimulation. They part, pant as they gaze into each other's eyes. Minho can tell that he's about to apologize for something, so he quickly tells him. "You're so hot, jagi-yah. Do you have any idea?"

"Ah— Hyung, you're one to talk. You— I finished so fast," Jisung replies, running his hands through Minho's hair and gently scraping his fingernails along his scalp. Goosebumps erupt along Minho's arms. He can't get enough of the way Jisung looks at him. It makes him feel like he's on top of the world—like he can do anything.

He leans down and kisses Jisung, slower and sweeter now. "Don't you w—?" Jisung begins, but Minho is too addicted to his lips to stop and let him finish. "Can— Can I suck you off?" Jisung asks, talking quickly between Minho's kisses. Minho freezes, looks at Jisung with wide eyes, cock stirring.

"Hell fucking yes," he says, breathily. He straightens himself and pulls Jisung off the bed, switching around and sitting on the bed, legs spread in anticipation. Jisung eyes his thighs as he gets onto his knees between them. Minho looks at him as if he wants to burn the image into his retina—Jisung looking up at him through his lashes, dark eyes still glazed over with arousal.

Minho feels himself flush all the way down to his chest as Jisung grabs his erection, gently jerking him off, never breaking eye contact. Minho loves it, loves that Jisung stares right back at him, lips parted while he leans closer.

He kisses along Minho's length, his long tongue teasing the pulsing veins. Minho's breath catches, eyes rolling back when Jisung takes him into his mouth. He sucks, licks, and takes him deeper than Minho thought was possible, eyebrows pulled together in concentration.

Minho tangles his fingers into Jisung's black hair to ground himself, fighting the urge to fuck into his throat. Minho pulls a little, coaxing a moan from Jisung and making his throat vibrate. Minho groans, his cock twitching. He's getting close.

"Fuck— That's it. Feels good," he praises, earning himself another whine from Jisung. He rolls his hips, subtly. Jisung squeezes his eyes shut but he keeps going, sucking as he drools around him, long tongue swirling around his length.

Like this, it doesn't take long for Minho to reach his high. He tries to warn Jisung, pulling on his hair and even on his small horns, but Jisung doesn't budge—he stubbornly keeps sucking until Minho's whines as he cums into his mouth, unable to hold himself back from fucking his hips forward.

Jisung swallows it all, only drool escaping his lips, and Minho might just burst at the seams. As soon as Jisung's throat stops working and he pulls off with a wet pop, Minho grabs Jisung's chin and pulls him into another filthy kiss. He can taste himself, which is not great, but it's a hundred percent worth it.

He lies back, cupping Jisung's cheeks and letting the kiss grow slower and more loving. Jisung lies down on top of him, and he rolls them onto their sides. Minho throws his leg over Jisung's hip to trap him against him, accepting Jisung's sweet kisses and gentle hands rubbing along Minho's leg.

Minho caresses his cheek, his jaw, his ear, his neck, and down his back, and he revels in the skinship as he comes down from his high. He's glad that they can take their time to cuddle and kiss like this, instead of rushing. It allows Minho's mind to clear, and at the same time, he hopes that it'll assure Jisung that he did good, and that Minho had a mind-blowing orgasm because of him.

"That was— splendid," Minho whispers into the small space between their tangled limbs. Jisung's eyes have cleared up a bit, but he looks at Minho with a curious gaze. "Didn't know you were so good with that mouth."

Jisung giggles. "I already knew you were good with your hips," he teases in return, his expression softening. Minho scoffs lightly, but he can't pretend to be annoyed when he's so smitten with this demon.

"H-Hey!" Jisung suddenly perks up. "We're lying down! Your wings—They're gone," he says, looking at Minho's back in awe. Minho sits up, looks over his shoulder—Jisung is right. They're gone. They might have been gone since he sat up and Jisung gave him a blow job.

"I told you it would work. You got me so entranced the wings just went away on their own," he says with a grin. He pats Jisung's butt. "Come, let's wash up and wind down together."

They're watching some movie, cuddled up on Minho's bed, but Minho isn't really paying attention. It's horror, but he has seen it already, and he's quite tired from today. Plus, Jisung is a sight for sore eyes. He wishes Jisung was his—that he could have him for himself like this any time he wants. Now that the club is under investigation, he wouldn't know where to find Jisung, must he leave again.

He's sure that Jisung won't leave without saying goodbye, and without telling Minho where to find him from now on, but he's afraid that it won't be easy to see him. He's pretty sure that he's properly in love with Jisung, after all, and that he wants to spend more boring days with him, as well as adventurous ones.

With those thoughts on his mind, he finds himself drifting off, sleep overtaking him slowly. He hears Jisung speak, but he isn't sure if it's in his mind or if it's the real Jisung. He feels gentle hands move him around, and he tries to force his eyes open, but they feel so heavy, he only sees a wash of red.

A warm weight settles on top of him. Then, a soft press against his cheek. "I'm so glad that I've met you, hyung." It's Jisung's voice, floating around in his mind. He stirs, trying to open his eyes. "No, you— you don't have to wake up. I just— If you're listening, that's okay. If you forget this in the morning, that's all right, too. I'll probably tell you again one day."

Minho fights the sleep, but his body feels heavy and his eyes won't stay open. Jisung's warm hand on his cheek doesn't help, either, but he wants to hear what Jisung has to say. "I think… I think that never in my short-for-a-demon but probably long-for-a-human life did I ever fall for someone as hard as for you, Minho hyung."

Jisung takes a deep breath. "I… I can't believe you might feel the same," he whispers, almost too soft for Minho to process. "I can tell you with quite a bit of confidence that no one has ever been as sweet and caring to me as you have been, even though you made things hard for me at first. In the end, though, I think you've made me like myself more. I don't think I mind being a demon anymore."

Minho's heart pounds, but his consciousness is fading quickly. Jisung's words ring in his mind, accompanied by a warm sensation on Minho's cheek. "Though I think I might rather be a human, if that means I can be with you."

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

"Hello."

Minho wakes up with a start. He blinks his eyes open—Jisung is still asleep, cheek squished against the pillow—and he melts at the sight. He didn't even realize that Jisung actually sleeps. Perhaps he's capable of getting tired, too.

He turns around, planning to sit up and start making some breakfast, perhaps see if Jeongin is awake yet, but instead, he comes face to face with a familiar yet unexpected face, inches away from his own.

"WAH!!" he yells, jerking away from the angel who is leaning over the bed with a smile on his face. Jisung starts, pulled from his sleep by Minho's scream. A second later, Jeongin storms inside, a knife in his shaking hand.

"Good morning," Seungmin says, calm and composed like always. Meanwhile, Minho, Jeongin and Jisung are panting like they've just ran a marathon. Seungmin straightens himself and looks at each of them.

"Oh. Oh god, it's just the weird angel," Jeongin breathes out, lowering the knife, but he's still shaking. "When the fuck did you get inside?"

"A moment ago," he replies, a small smile on his face, as if he's amused by their reactions. Jeongin runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head as he turns around and leaves again, mumbling something about getting Felix and Hyunjin to come over because he can't do this alone. As if Minho isn't fit to handle this.

"What do you need, Seungmin-ssi?" Jisung asks politely, his horns slowly retracting and the deep red color of his skin fading into a sweet caramel color. He seems to have calmed down a bit, and he seems to have regained enough power to be in his human form again.

"I need to you to come to the afterlife, Jisung-ah. It would help if you aided us in helping out your fellow demons," Seungmin explains, moving his head to face Jisung, but his neither his hair nor his clothes seem to move. Jisung's face falls, and so does Minho's stomach. He doesn't like the idea of Jisung leaving, even if he doesn't technically need him here any longer.

"All right," Jisung says, nodding. His eyes flick to Minho, and he swallows. "I— May I have a moment to say goodbye? I'll be out in a second."

"Of course," Seungmin says, but he stays put. Minho waits for him to leave the room, but he doesn't seem to have gotten the memo.

"You can wait in the living room, Seungmin-ssi," he says. Seungmin's expression doesn't change, but he turns around and floats out of the bedroom. Minho releases a breath in relief. Then, he faces Jisung with a bittersweet look. "So… You're leaving again."

"Yes, but… I don't know if you heard me last night, but I don't think I'll stay away for long if I can help it, hyung," Jisung tells him, letting his hand trail over towards Minho's one over the covers. Minho softens and intertwines their fingers.

"I heard you. And I— I appreciate it. I want you to know that it doesn't matter what you look like, all right? I like you in every form," he says. "Go help your fellow demons and don't forget about me. I'll be waiting."

Jisung smiles, a watery shine to his eyes. "Are you a fool?! I'll never forget you, hyung! You did this for us. You helped us demons. I am so grateful," he tells him in a low voice, squeezing their hands together. Minho leans forward and presses a kiss on Jisung's lips.

Jisung's eyes flutter and he dives back in for another kiss as soon as Minho moves away. It's sweet and it's a little desperate, showing Minho just what he'll miss during the days Jisung will be away. "Do you have any idea how long it'll be?" Minho whispers.

Jisung shakes his head, a pout on his lips. It's too irresistible for Minho not to kiss just one more time before getting up and out of bed. He washes up with Jisung and then they join the four people in his living room. Jeongin wasn't kidding when he talked about inviting over their neighbors.

Hyunjin is once again swooning over the angel. Minho has to admit that Kim Seungmin is not ugly in the slightest, but his behavior is not Minho's style. And besides, Jisung is way cuter. He's disappointed to see him go, but he understands the need. He only hopes that Jisung will come back soon.

Minho decides to use the free time he has to catch up with his mother, instead of thinking about a certain demon. They talk about her past, about her decisions, and her knowledge of the afterlife. Much to Minho's disappointment, his wings decide to come out again all of a sudden. He's grateful that it happens in front of his mother and not in public or during a class, but he's not happy about it.

His mother helps him gain some control over them, but it takes a lot of extra energy, on top of missing Jisung. His mother can tell that he's not his usual self, and Minho has told her about Jisung, but he doesn't want her to meddle in things and get herself or Jisung in trouble.

"You have a soft spot for him, don't you, son?" she comments with a small smile. Minho swallows, his ears growing red. He can't hide much behind his coffee, but there's no use in hiding anyway. His huge wings make people stare whether he wants them to or not. His mother assured him that it doesn't look ridiculous, but he does feel weird, having them out in public. "It's written all over your face. Do you miss him?"

"Well, of course I do. Just like I miss my cats," he answers with a shrug. He misses seeing Jisung's round face, and his honest eyes. He wonders how he's doing—if it's hard to fight for the demons, or if it's tiring. He wonders if Jisung's confident, if he's proud to be a demon, now. He hopes he his. "Before this, I could always just show up at that club and see him whenever I wanted. Now, I don't know. I have no idea when he'll be back, either."

"Why don't we try visiting that club, then? Who knows what will happen? Maybe someone will sense an angel presence there and they'll help you with your wings. Or maybe your demon will come say hi," his mother suggests, easy going as ever. Minho is usually the same—he got that from her—but this time he's a little more hesitant. Jisung might be rubbing off on him.

He takes a deep breath. "You know what? You're right. Who knows what'll happen?" he agrees. Maybe he will see Jisung there somehow, even if Jisung isn't really supposed to stop him from going there anymore. Besides, Jisung most likely can't sense him anymore, without the collar.

Still, he takes his mother there. There's no real reason, but Minho is kind of curious what the club looks like now. It's not quite evening yet, so it's still light out, but the weather is gloomy, which makes Minho feel like he's going on another one of his horror trips. He can't help but feel like it's different than before, though.

His entire life is different now. In good ways, in bad ways and in ways he can't put a label on. He hates the wings, but he loves Jisung, that's for sure. The club makes him shiver a little, especially when he sees a white form near it. It's an angel, Minho realizes once they get close enough, because of course it is.

As if he senses them, the angel whips himself around, eyes wide. Then, his eyebrows pull together. "You! The traitor and the half angel, isn't it? You don't deserve those wings! What happened here?" the angel demands. His mother rolls her eyes.

"Well, fuck you, too, Geonhyang," she spits. Her tone startles Minho, and he has to hold back a snort. He shouldn't make the angels hate them more than they already seem to do. "How about you stop pointing fingers and start thinking about taking care of yourself instead of exploiting others? Find a hobby. Find love. For the love of whatever you even believe in nowadays, do something that makes you happy and that doesn't make others miserable."

Minho covers his mouth to stop himself from laughing, but he rarely sees his mother this sharp. He knows that his father makes his mother softer, but it's another thing to see her fire in action. "Leave us alone, will you? We won't bother you if you leave us alone," Minho adds, his wings flapping as if shooing him away. "All we did was mind our own business and help out friends."

The angel grumbles something unintelligible and disappears from their sight, giving up more easily than Minho feared he would. He sighs in relief. "Thanks, eomma," he tells her with a chuckle.

"No, thank you, son. This place is completely empty! You've done well," she says, looking around in awe. "The angels are finally being held responsible for what they're doing, aren't they?"

"Yes, I've heard they have to attend mandatory teaching about an angel's values from Kim Seungmin," Minho replies with a shrug. His mother laughs hard. "But I didn't do it alone. I've had help, as you know."

"Help, you said?" another voice sounds. Minho whips himself around. For a second, he thinks it must be another lost angel, looking into what happened to the club, but then the voice registers in Minho's mind, and he lights up. It's Jisung.

"Jisung-ah?!" he exclaims. Jisung smiles brightly, and runs towards Minho as soon as Minho spreads his arms to welcome him back. Jisung all but flies into him, as if he's the one with wings out. Minho laughs. "My beloved demon!"

Jisung giggles as well, hugging Minho tightly. "Hi, hyung. Who knew you'd be here again?" he says, a little shy when he sees Minho's mother.

"This is Jisung, the demon, I assume. Good on you, son," she comments with a grin. Minho quickly introduces them to one another properly, and Jisung bows ninety degrees, making Minho laugh again. "Hmm, I think I made the right decision by not telling you about my past. I think you did well figuring things out by yourself. Anyway, I suppose it's time for me to leave you two be, then you can do whatever you want. I probably don't even want to know."

"Eomma," Minho warns, clearing his throat as his ears grow red. His mother simply laughs, tells him to remember what she taught him regarding the wings, and then leaves. She just leaves. Minho can't believe it, but then again, his mother has always been like that.

"How are you? How did it go?" Minho asks, inspecting Jisung up and down. He looks good as always. No collar, thankfully. That's good. Jisung comes to stand next to Minho, and Minho slings an arm over his shoulder, tucking him under it.

"It went well. The demons know now that becoming an angel is not easy, and that it might not even be possible. I… It took me a while to accept it, but I did. The others are free to decide what to do now, and the angels are attending Seungmin's class," Jisung explains, leaning a little into Minho's space.

"And you? What did you decide? Except for coming back to see me," he continues. He's glad to see Jisung again, and he wishes that he could spend a long time with him, but if he wants to do something else, Minho wouldn't want to stand in the way.

"I've decided to stay here with you, hyung. I— I want to relinquish my demon-ness," Jisung says, a giddy smile on his face. Minho stops walking, eyes widening. He turns to face Jisung, arm slipping off his shoulder.

"What? Would that… Would that mean that you'd lose your demon face?" he asks, but Jisung laughs and shakes his head. His cheeks are a bit red, resembling his demon skin color.

"No, I'd just give up my immortality. It also means I can't go to the afterlife without actually dying, but I came here looking for you. I… I'd rather stay on Earth with you," he admits. Minho stares, his heart going wild in his chest. He didn't expect Jisung to want to give up immortality this easily, without even losing much of his demon powers.

Minho swallows, and he has to keep himself from pouncing him and kissing him silly on the middle of the street. His wings twitch, and somehow, he manages to get them to pull inwards and disappear, but his mind is still occupied by Jisung, by his admission.

Jisung's eyes widen a little. "Uhm… Did I— Did I jump to conclusions? Ah— If you don't like the idea of having to help me get a life started on Earth then that's okay, I'll just figure things out myself and—" he starts rambling, eyes flicking back and forth between the ground, the sky, the streetlight ahead, and Minho. Minho quickly shushes him.

"No! No, no, I— I'm so happy to see you, Jisung-ah. I really am. And I missed you so much. I was just trying to not jump you and kiss you silly because lord, you're so— you're so lovable and I'm so glad you want to stay with me," Minho rattles on, holding Jisung's cheeks and placing a quick peck on the demon's lips. Jisung lets out a sigh and melts into Minho's touch.

"Okay. Thank goodness," he mumbles. "I'm a bit nervous about it, because I don't want to be a burden to you. I don't know much about life on Earth, other than what I've done with you."

"It's okay. You can stay with me for a while, and we can figure things out," Minho says, his heart pounding in anticipation. "Then you can decide if you want to live your life as a mortal."
He's actually looking forward to it, if he's honest with himself. If Jisung becomes a proper human, who can become hungry, tired, thirsty, sleepy and all, then Minho has an excuse to take care of him, to take him to all of his favorite places, and see Jisung without the layer of secrecy or concern.

He'll be able to hear Jisung sing in a better context, perhaps. Maybe Jisung would like making music. Or maybe he'd want to do something else. Jeongin might be looking for a producer. Even the thought of it already makes Minho excited.

The first thing he does is call his mother and ask for some more advice—she has made this decision before as well, after all. She says that she's still in the neighborhood, so they all meet up and have a long talk about how to get used to living on Earth, about how she managed to get a job, about what things to look out for, and also that it's okay to lean on others.

Minho assures him that he's here to help, and he hopes that Jisung knows that he can always come to him. The demon is timid, but Minho trusts that he'll be just fine.

They spend just about the whole day making plans, looking around, talking about what Jisung would think is fun to do. Jeongin introduces him to his music label, where they're looking for more producers, Jisung just has to show them some of his songs.

"Oh. I have songs," he says, a smile beginning to form on his face. He looks between Jeongin and Minho. "I— I just need to record them, right?"

"Yeah, you can record them and e-mail them to them. I can help you with that. I can also sing with you, if you want," Jeongin suggests. Jisung looks at him as if he's offering Jisung to give him a lifetime supply of cheesecake.

The two of them go on a recording spree—Minho behind the camera, Jisung with the guitar he took from the afterlife, Jeongin next to him practicing or encouraging him. Jisung is a bit nervous and shy at first, but he warms up and completely blooms in front of Minho's eyes. If Minho wasn't already convinced that he's in love with the demon, he would be now.

It takes them a while to get to a point where Jisung is satisfied, but eventually, they send out the videos before midnight. Jeongin goes to bed immediately afterwards, but Minho lingers around with Jisung, his heart light and proud of Jisung.

"Are you excited?" he asks, and Jisung nods, lips pressed together into a hesitant smile. His skin is flushed from concentration, and Minho wants to just kiss his heated skin until Jisung pushes him away. He chuckles. "Even if things don't work out, you can use your demon powers to do a little convincing, can't you?"

"What? No!" Jisung shakes his head, his smile disappearing and being replaced by a frown. Minho's stomach drops. "I would never do that. I won't."

"I— I'm sorry. It was a joke. A bad one," he quickly apologizes, mentally kicking himself for not thinking before speaking. Jisung exhales, the frown smoothing out. He pulls Minho into a hug.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it. And… Thanks, hyung. I already feel a lot better. I just— I'd like to not be a demon in your mind, though," he mumbles. Minho wraps his arms around Jisung's middle and holds him tightly. His stomach churns.

"You don't have to be ashamed of that part of yourself, all right? I'm… I'm trying to accept this angel in me, too. I know it's not easy, but I'd like it if you like yourself. You don't have to use your powers—that's not what I'm asking, but I hope you won't be ashamed of being yourself, relaxing sometimes and being in your demon form if that's easier," Minho whispers. Jisung hums, hands running along Minho's back. Then, as if Jisung summoned them, Minho's wings pop out again.

He pulls back and sighs. "I long for the day these wings become easier to deal with." He chuckles, and so does Jisung. The demon steps closer and rests a hand on Minho's shoulder, gently dragging it down his arm.

"I like them, hyung. I think they fit your white hair. And they make you look even hotter," he whispers. Minho shudders, goosebumps appearing on his arms. He looks at Jisung through his eyelashes, hands holding Jisung's hips, his wings spreading out.

"Careful, Jeongin is sleeping. If you keep talking like that I might lose it," he says with a sigh, heart pounding in his ears. He can't help but kiss Jisung's lips. It's been too long, anyway. Jisung kisses him back, gently and patiently. Minho keeps it slow, not because he doesn't want to go all the way, but because it's probably best if they don't.

Jisung doesn't change into his demon form, unfortunately, but he did say that it's harder for him to hold back in that form, so perhaps Minho should accept this fact and simply enjoy Jisung in his more human form.

They kiss for a while, take a break to wash up, but pick up right where they left off once they step inside Minho's bedroom, lips attracted to one another like magnets, slotting together as if pieces of the same puzzle.

"Lie down, hyung. And take off your shirt. I wanna take care of you," Jisung whispers against Minho's mouth, looking up at him through his lashes. Minho feels like he's falling all over again, right into his deep dark eyes. He's not quite sure what Jisung means by taking care of him, but he pulls off his shirt, sits on the bed, and lets Jisung roll him onto his stomach.

Jisung's hand push between Minho's shoulder blades, touching the space between his wings. He pushes down, massaging the skin, the overused muscles, and Minho exhales in relief. This is not what he thought Jisung meant, but he likes it. It feels intimate, anyway, and he can watch Jisung work over his shoulder.

"You could be a massage therapist. Where'd you learn this?" he asks, shivering when Jisung pushes his fingers into a knot in Minho's shoulder—created by having to carry the wings. Jisung's tongue is peeking out from between his lips, and a small frown creases the space between his brows as he concentrates.

"I asked Changbin hyung if he had any tips on how to deal with wings, just in case you'd want to try them out, you know?" Jisung explains, his gentle hands moving to caress the bones of the wings, smoothing out the feathers and carding his fingers through them. It feels like he's combing his hair, but then on his back. "He told me that sometimes, his muscles ache after flying, and that the wings need love and care, too, just like the rest of our bodies, even if we're immortal. Head Angel Chan taught me this technique."

"The Head Angel!" Minho exclaims with a laugh. Knowing how much Jisung looked up to the angels, he must have been so excited. Minho wishes he was there to witness it. "That must have been an honor."

"It was. I'm very grateful. Changbin hyung was right… He's pretty approachable and friendly," Jisung replies, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips. He leans down and kisses right between Minho's wings, then places gentle pecks down his spine, caressing the skin and pampering Minho.

"Hmmm, I'm grateful too," he hums, melting into the bed. To Minho, Jisung already feels like he's an angel in the traditional sense—a lovely, sweet, kind man who cares for the people around him, and he feels much like a soulmate. A person sent from heaven, someone who fits Minho perfectly.

When Jisung's fingers slow down, and Minho feels a lot more relaxed, he pushes himself up and switches their positions, cornering him against the headboard and kissing his lips. Minho's wings wrap around them once again, but this time, he does it on purpose, remembering how Jisung commented about the gesture being romantic.

Now that his muscles are loose, he feels like he can control the wings better, so he lets the feathers caress Jisung's arms. Jisung smiles against Minho's lips, making it harder to keep kissing him.

"Don't tell me you're doing this unconsciously, hyung," Jisung whispers, looking left and right at the wings caging him. Minho simply smirks, his ears red. "You're getting the hang of it, aren't you? Do you like them a little more, now?"

"Perhaps. Thanks to you," he admits softly. Jisung looks quite satisfied with himself. Minho is still looking for the day that Jisung embraces himself like the demon he is, but he supposes that the two of them both have got some steps to take.

Minho folds in his wings, smoother than before, and he pulls Jisung down with him. "I know you don't need sleep, yet, but I've seen you sleep before, so how about cuddling me to sleep?"

Jisung smiles so fondly that Minho almost has to look away. Almost. "Yes, I am able to sleep on Earth. And I'd love nothing more, hyung. Thank you." Jisung shuffles closer and tucks himself into Minho's arms. Minho takes a deep breath and melts against the demon, a smile on his face when he realizes that he might be able to fall asleep like this more often from now on.

He's glad that this whole chaotic mess is over as far as angels are concerned, and that Jisung still wants to be with him. He can really start having fun with him, now.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

The coming days with Jisung are still hectic, but in a better way than before—There are no secrets this time, no fear from Jisung's side, and no interfering angels. Job related stress is something Minho has dealt with before, and Jisung has dealt with the fear of not being accepted before, so Minho is sure they can power through.

Jisung's songs are really good. There's a lot of emotion in his lyrics and singing, and Jeongin even tears up a couple of times hearing and singing them. Jeongin's label immediately wants to buy Jisung's songs, but Minho makes sure that they all read through the contract and the conditions carefully before accepting anything.

It takes a while, but eventually, they get through it, and Jisung gets a decent offer that makes Jeongin excited, too. Minho is almost too impatient to wait any longer and he wants to go with Jisung to the afterlife to give up his immortality already, but in the end, it is and stays Jisung's own decision.

"How do you like life on Earth so far?" Minho asks Jisung while cooking one day, unable to hold back his tongue. Jisung shrugs and comes to stand shoulder to shoulder with Minho.

"It's hard. Stressful, having to take care of yourself and all. I understand why you do some of the things you do, now," he says, sounding a bit tired. Minho's stomach churns, but then Jisung adds, "When you have someone with you, though, it makes it a lot more fun. You are passionate about things, and you have communities. You make the best of what you have. I'd still rather be here and live a life with you than be in the afterlife, doing nothing other than try to get recognition when you already give me that, and when you have made me see that I don't need their admiration or approval. I— I don't have anything left to achieve in the afterlife. I want to start fresh."

Minho hums, heart pounding. He doesn't even know what to say, anything he thinks of sounds not good enough for him. "That's… I admire you so much, Jisung-ah. I… I'm proud of you. I think you are such a good, loving person, but you already know that," he says, hoping that Jisung will understand what he means.

"I do, hyung. It means a lot to me," Jisung says, pressing a soft kiss on Minho's cheek. He lingers close, blinking as the steam of the pan gets into his eyes. "Do you want to… come with me? I mean, when I go to the afterlife to rescind my immortality?"

"Yes, yes, even if you hadn't asked, I'd probably have come along anyway," Minho says with a chuckle, trying to keep it together despite his heart making a fuss. This is still pretty new to him. He's not new to feelings and crushes, but Jisung keeps making his heart act up, his skin heat up, and his chest feel like he's going to melt.

"You still can't seem to leave me alone, can you?" Jisung says with a laugh. Minho grins, twists his upper body to boop Jisung's nose and keeps quiet. "Let's go tomorrow morning. You're free, right?"

"Yes," Minho assures him. He puts down the chopsticks he's stirring the food with and takes a step back, reigns back his arm and hits Jisung's butt as hard as he can. Jisung yelps. "Then tonight I'll give you the spiciest dish and I'll beat you up since it's the last night you can't die, anyway."

"Hyung!" Jisung whines, a shocked gasp leaving his lips. Minho laughs his heart out, giggling when Jisung weakly hits his shoulder. "You are so mean! Just because I can't die doesn't mean it won't hurt!"

"I'll kiss it better, don't make a fuss about it," Minho tells him with a badly executed wink. Jisung's face scrunches up in fake disgust, and his skin grows red, a peek of his horns appearing, but then disappearing again. Minho snorts. "Is that thought so disgusting your demon face appeared?"

"No! I— I thought about scaring you, but then remembered you don't get scared so that would just be embarrassing," Jisung admits, skin a little flushed. Minho takes a deep breath—Jisung really should take his health into account better, because he's too adorable for Minho's good. He needs to eat him right up.

He puts down the chopsticks again and squeezes Jisung's cheeks before placing a wet smooch on his forehead. "Stop being so cute. I'm going to lose my patience," he warns Jisung, who simply laughs.

The rest of the night progresses as if there was never anything to worry about at all, but they are both a bit jittery. Minho has no idea what it's like to Jisung to give up his immortality, but he hopes that he's looking forward to it, rather than dreading it.

On their way to the afterlife, Jisung looks giddy, and Minho keeps his eyes on him the entire time—the entire two seconds and a flash it takes them to go there. Minho's wings appear again, without him noticing. It makes him stand out less, thankfully, but it's not like he can fly with them.

"Jisung-ah! And Minho-ssi. How lovely to see you, even though you're not supposed to be here." It's Changbin who comes to greet them. "I'll allow it if you're here to see Head Angel Chan hyung."

"We are," Jisung assures him, taking Minho's hand in his own, intertwining their fingers and squeezing. Minho's heart makes a twirl. "Is he available?"

"Yeah, pretty sure he is. I'll get Seungmin to bring you over—I'm pretty sure he's ready with his activities with Club Angel by now," Changbin answers with a laugh. He waves his arms around vaguely. "That's what we're all calling the angels from the club, if that wasn't clear, Minho-ssi. Seungmin is taking them along to do things like they're in a hobby club now. He loves it. I think some of the other angels actually love it, too. Making music is one thing they've done, can you believe that?"

Jisung lights up as Changbin rambles on about this Club Angel. Minho wonders if they're going to take up dancing or sports or maybe even making clothing or something. As long as they're doing something other than bothering demons, then Minho will be satisfied. It's not like he has any influence in the afterlife, as a mortal, but he can see angels, must they come to Earth again.

Eventually, Seungmin appears and he takes them all to Head Angel Chan. Chan is happy to see Jisung, it seems. His face shows a little bit of emotion, a hint of a smile on his face as the two of them walk towards him, hand in hand, escorted by Changbin and Seungmin.

"I see you've made a decision, Jisung-ah," the Head Angel says, speaking informal towards him. Minho smiles to himself and squeezes Jisung's hand.

"Yes, I did, although I've come to appreciate my place in the afterlife more because of what happened, but I know my place is on Earth, with Minho hyung," Jisung says, his voice a bit shaky at first, but it gets steadier as he speaks. Minho spreads his wings and subtly touches Jisung's back with the feathers. "I would like to rescind my immortality and access to the afterlife."

"Fair enough, Jisung-ah. I know you've thought this through, and I thank you for your bravery and your help restoring order to the afterlife. I will grant your wish," Chan says, clasping his hands together. "I've done this before—only one time—so know that, as you said, you will not be able to go to the afterlife unless one of us takes you there. You will be able to die and reincarnate, and you will need to take care of your own body. I suppose you've got no need to worry about that, however, so I wish you all the best."

"Thank you, Head Angel Chan," Jisung says, bowing his head, a bright smile on his face. Minho can't help but mirror it, heart pounding. "Thank you for your kindness, for listening, and for helping out."

"I am here to take care of the living and the immortals," Chan assures him, a real smile appearing on his face. It almost startles Minho, but it looks genuine. Even Seungmin's usual stone-faced look has melted into something softer. The fact that the angels are usually so reserved with expressions make it all the more special to see a smile now.

"Ah, one more second. I need to give Changbin hyung a big hug," Jisung says, slowly letting go of Minho's hand to run towards the fallen angel. Changbin laughs and welcomes Jisung for a big hug.

"I'm gonna miss you buddy, but it's not like I can't visit you on Earth, so don't you dare cry, all right?" Changbin says, but Minho spots a bit of wetness in the fallen angel's eyes anyway. Jisung hugs him like he's trying to strangle him.

"I won't! I won't!" he says, voice muffled by the way he buries his face into the crook of Changbin's neck. He then places a wet smooch on the side of Changbin's head, making the fallen angel pretend to be disgusted. "See you later, hyung."

Jisung makes his way back to Minho's side. Minho's wing curls around him again, and their hands find one another as well. Jisung nods at Chan, signaling the fact that he's ready. Chan clasps his hands together, spreads his wings, and says in a calm yet steady voice, "Farewell for now, Jisung, Minho."

A flash whites Minho's vision, and he holds onto Jisung's hand even tighter. In a second, they're back in Minho's apartment. Jisung looks at himself as if to see if anything changed. Then he closes his eyes for a moment, and when he opens them again, he looks at Minho with a bright and sunny smile.

"It worked! Hyung! I'm like you now! Mortal!" Jisung cheers as he jumps into Minho's arms. Minho laughs as he catches the mortal demon. He hugs him close. He feels no difference between Jisung's mortal and immortal body. He's just as warm and adorable like this. "God. I'm… I'm so hungry. This is strange. Can we have food?"

"Of course we can," Minho assures him with a chuckle. "I'll make you something anytime you like~ You can stay here, too, if you'd like. Otherwise I'll find you somewhere else to stay."

"I don't think it would be a good idea to live alone, but if you'd rather have me learn, then I'll do it," Jisung says, voice steady and certain. Minho wouldn't usually think living together so soon is a good idea, but with Jisung, he thinks it'll be just fine. He thinks he'd feel better, having Jisung close.

"You can stay. We'll figure it out," Minho tells him with a wink. Jisung steps toward Minho, cups his cheeks and kisses Minho sweetly. It's a simple press of lips, but there's so much feeling packed into it, it almost makes Minho tear up. He hugs Jisung close and lifts him up, wings flapping behind him.

He almost feels like they're floating—and when he opens his eyes, he sees that his wings are holding them up a couple of centimeters up in the air. Jisung gapes in wonder. "Hyung! You're flying! Oh my gosh I'm going to die right away from lovesickness. Minho hyung, you're so romantic."

"Don't be dramatic," Minho retorts, his ears heating up. He kisses Jisung again and puts them back on the floor. The wings are starting to become a bit of fun to use, he finds. "And don't you dare die on me so soon. Please. I have a lot of things I want to do with you, still. Things I don't want Jeongin home for, if you get what I mean."

Jisung flushes, but a grin appears on his lips. "Don't say things like that when I'm hungry. It's confusing," he complains. Minho giggles and kisses him again before putting him down and patting his butt.

"Fine, fine, I'll make you some food. We don't have all the time in the world, but we do have time, so I'll be patient," Minho assures him. Jisung nods, following Minho into the kitchen. As Minho starts making the food, he realizes that he's right where he's supposed to be. Even the wings don't bother him much, mostly because Jisung is so happy about Minho using them.

Minho asks Jisung to show him his demon face, just to make sure that it's still there. Jisung does so without complaining—which is also a win in Minho's books. He has so many things to look forward to now, too, and Jisung being accepting of himself as a demon is only one of them.

He'd like to take Jisung flying one day. How or when or where, he's not sure, but he's certain that it'll make Jisung smile. He also still has many horror films to see with him, many restaurants to visit, many songs to hear him sing, and many ways to show Jisung that he loves him. He definitely wants to have a little fun with Jisung's demon tongue some time, too. And his perky butt, but those are thoughts for another time.

End ⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺