He was jolted awake by the shrill sound of the alarm clock, his heart trying to escape his chest. Telling himself to calm down, he took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. He strongly suspected the panic washing over him wasn't a product of the rude awakening, but rather of his very unpleasant dreams – of the same nightmare that had been accompanying him on and off for around 10 years. It apparently decided to return with vengeance just when he thought he was finally rid of it, and he couldn't help blaming the demon for it.

Trying to forget about the horrible images still burned in his retinas, he let out a small sigh as the demon finally turned off the annoying alarm clock, and tiredly rubbed his eyes. The room was completely dark, which was just one of those things about winter Jungkook absolutely hated. It made him feel as if he was being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night.

But at least there was one positive thing about the morning - he felt better. Still very much under the weather, but good enough to stomach a few hours of classes, once he gets an aspirin for the headache. The annoying pain was unfortunately still present and only slightly less intense than the day before.

“Good morning princess.” said the demon as he leaned against the desk, obviously deciding not to get back in the bed (which was certainly a relief). He said the same thing every morning, and Jungkook always did his best to ignore him. Naturally, it did absolutely nothing to deter the demon.

He slowly reached for his phone, having to wait a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the brightness. Now that he could finally think somehow clearly, he intended to get a few things out of the way - he still didn't ask Yoongi if he remembered him ever making a mistake that could reveal him as the Summoner, and it was quite detrimental to get an answer as soon as possible.

After his eyes finally stopped watering and he was able to see clearly, he noticed there was a message waiting for him. He knew who it was from without having to check – Jimin. Letting out a small sigh, he indecisively let his fingers hover above the screen, before he finally decided to ignore it. He already knew what it was about – Jimin brought the same topic up every December, seemingly holding on to hope that Jungkook's answer would be different that year. It never was.

He absent-mindedly massaged his temples, doing his best to push the knowledge of the message at the back of his mind, and failing miserably. The thing was: he was well aware he was being a coward. The whole situation wasn't such a big deal and he should have gotten over it years ago. Sadly knowing and being able to do it were two completely different things.

He let out another sigh before he quickly typed a message to Yoongi.

We should meet

After that was done, he slowly got himself into a sitting position, and glanced towards the demon. Considering he had just been staring at the phone, his eyes were not yet adjusted to the darkness, so the only thing he could actually see was a dark outline on the other side of the room.

“Could you turn on the light?” he asked, even though he strongly suspected the demon would decline. Still, he supposed it was worth a shot – he didn't have anything to lose, especially since his dignity was already pretty much completely gone. He’d rather not get off the bed when he couldn't see a thing - he was not that good at finding his way in the dark, even less so when he knew his textbooks were all over the floor because he hadn't cleaned them up after his last study session.

“I don't know.” responded the demon, the amusement clear in his voice. Jungkook couldn't see his expression, but was nevertheless quite convinced he was smirking. He was also quite sure he wasn't going to like what was going to come out of his mouth next. “Maybe I'd rather see you imitate a new born deer.”

He needed embarrassingly long to figure out what exactly the demon meant by that. “I'm not that uncoordinated.” he said finally, even though he knew getting into any kind of an argument with the demon was probably pointless.

The demon let out a quiet chuckle. “Maybe I should record you.” he said. “I think it's safe to say you'd change your mind pretty quickly.”

For a few seconds Jungkook just looked at him – or rather in his general direction. Then he took a deep breath and carefully climbed off the bed. Somehow he managed to find the light switch without stumbling over anything, although he suspected he wasn't particularly graceful – at least if the demon’s occasional snicker was any indication. “You're very useful.” he couldn't help murmuring as he the light.

The demon responded by giving him one of his trademark smirks. “Oh, I know.” he said. Jungkook really didn't like the strange intensity in his eyes, but that was more or less old news by now.

He did his best to ignore him as he proceeded to open the closet and gather a few chosen pieces of clothing. He only noticed the demon was leaning against the bathroom door – and thus successfully prevented him from getting dressed, because he sure as hell wasn't going to do it in front of him - once he turned around. He had moved so quietly Jungkook didn't hear him at all, and as their eyes met, the demon slightly tilted his head and gave him an amused half-smile.

Jungkook let out a sigh. “What?” he asked, correctly predicting the demon had no intentions whatsoever to explain why he was doing what he was doing. At least not without being prodded, and even then it was questionable whether Jungkook would actually get a straight answer. The demon loved leaving him stumbling in the dark – apparently both literally and figuratively.

“Are you planning to get yourself into an early grave?” wondered the demon in mocked curiosity, accompanying his words with one of his slow head-to-toe looks that made Jungkook feel he should perhaps put on another layer of clothing – or maybe two, just to be safe.

“How is getting dressed supposed to get  me into an early grave?” he asked, even though he was quite sure the demon was referring to the fact that he was about to go to class despite being sick. It was true that he felt much better, but he still had a slight fever, not to mention his head was killing him. He had no idea why the demon cared, though he suspected the reason couldn't be anything good.

The demon responded by raising an eyebrow.  “Playing stupid doesn't suit you.” he said, as usually somehow knowing exactly what was on Jungkook's mind.

Jungkook responded by giving him a level look. It was clear that he was going to have to try a little harder if he wanted the demon to back off. “Wouldn't it be preferable to you if I did get myself into an early grave?” he finally asked.

He half-expected the demon to confirm and then come up with some kind of an excuse as to why he was barricading the bathroom door, even though his real intention was probably just to make Jungkook's already bad morning a little worse – or at least so he hoped; it certainly wouldn't be hard to imagine he was planning something more sinister.

What actually came out of the demon’s mouth was; “Not really.” He said it completely nonchalantly, a small and certainly unpleasant smile playing on his lips. “You're much more entertaining alive.”

Now that he said it, Jungkook distinctly remembered he had used the same words to explain why he had told him about the NS being at the Academy. “Who is repeating himself now.” he murmured, unable to restrain himself despite knowing that provoking the demon wasn't a good idea – the demon seemed to enjoy his little rebellions way too much for Jungkook's comfort, and it made him think it was all a part of some kind of a sinister plan.

Jungkook did believe the demon preferred torturing to actually murdering him though. He pretty much proved himself to be the type to thoroughly enjoy other people's pain, especially when he was the one causing it. Jungkook couldn't help wondering whether he was also the type to get bored of messing with only one person after a while.

The demon gave him a wide smile. “A sure sign I'm spending way too much time with you.” he said.

Jungkook – as many times before - wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that. Usually his go-to solution when he didn't know how to react was to simply ignore the demon, but that unfortunately wasn't an option in the current situation since the demon was still barricading the bathroom door. Thankfully, he was saved by his phone before the silence could become truly unpleasant. He checked the message – it was Yoongi, just as he had assumed.

The attic. 3pm.

Jungkook frowned. To be honest, he wasn't particularly surprised Yoongi wanted to meet in the attic - it was not in use and rarely anyone even knew how to get there, which made it a perfect place for a secret meeting. The only problem was that it wasn't particularly easy to get to, especially considering Jungkook was still sick. But it was probably one of the safest places in the Academy for the kind of conversation they were about to have, so he will apparently just have to deal with those bazillion of stairs.

He quickly confirmed he will be there, before he put the phone down and looked back towards the demon, not at all surprised to see he was observing him with an amused expression on his face. He let out a small sigh as he was reminded of the issue at hand.

“Didn't you say you wanted your eight hours of peace?” he tried again, not really sure whether reminding the demon of his previous words had any potential at all to work. It actually seemed he'll just have to accept he was going to miss two – or potentially more – days of class instead of one. Needles to say, the plain thought filled him with anxiety – this was the Lerantham academy; a single missed class could make you fail the year, and there was no second chances.

The demon responded with a small smile. It was quite clear that he didn't plan to say anything, though he more than substituted his silence with the amused expression on his face. Jungkook was suddenly sure he knew exactly what he was trying to achieve.

“Do you want to come with me?” he asked, trying – and failing – not to sound as defeated as he felt. His first class started in 15 minutes and it was on the other side of the academy – he had absolutely no time to try and convince the demon to let go of the idea. He knew taking him along could definitely cause major problems, but the alternative happened to be missing another day of classes and potentially fail his final exams because of it.

“Well, finally.” said the demon, tugging his lips upwards. “A rock would have gotten it sooner.” he remarked as he elegantly pushed himself away from the door and gave  Jungkook a dramatic bow while pointing in the direction of the bathroom.

“You could have just said it.” grumbled Jungkook as he walked past him, unable to restrain himself. He made a comment despite knowing it was pointless – the demon clearly enjoyed playing mind games with him, and he wasn't going to stop just because Jungkook told him to. It probably just further motivated him.

He slammed the bathroom door shut behind him, but he could still hear the demon’s very much amused reply; “Oh, but where is the fun in that?”

The first class of the day was physics - Jungkook didn't think it was possible, but he somehow actually managed to arrive in time. Sitting down in his usual spot, he prepared his supplies before positioning his backpack on the floor, making sure to use more force than necessary. It was petty but he hoped the demon – who was inside in the shape of a butterfly – will find his rough dealings with the backpack at least a little uncomfortable.

“Woke up on the wrong side of the bed?” asked Areum as she threw herself on the chair next to him. There were deep black circles underneath her eyes, and it seemed she was still in her pajamas, only wearing a woolen cardigan over them.

“At least I slept.” replied Jungkook, which earned him a tired smile. To a certain extent, he knew how she felt – he tried to do it as rarely as possible, but pulling an all-nighter wasn't really something a Lerantham academy students could avoid. Which was certainly unfortunate since he was always useless the next day.

“Yeah well.” she said, yawning. “That economics assignment is kicking my .” She yawned again before she carefully rested her head on the table and closed her eyes. “How is yours going?” she asked.

 The question was a good indicator of how exhausted she was – talking about assignments and grades was normally a no-go territory for Lerantham academy students. Jungkook usually didn't mind the topic, though probably only because he was doing relatively well. “I haven't even started yet.” he admitted.

“Well, you’d better hurry.” mumbled Areum, opening her eyes for a second before closing them again.

She didn't end up getting much rest – the professor arrived around a good minute later, quietly closing the classroom’s door behind her. Jungkook was only confused for a few seconds before he remembered Namjoon had mentioned a new physics professor. Apparently professor Sung finally retired. Or – given the extremely short notice, something else had happened to him.

“Good morning." greeted the new professor as she put her things down on her desk. At first glance Jungkook would say she was in her fifties, which did seem to be an average age for the Lerantham academy professors. He took a quick look around the class, noticing most of his classmates appeared to have absolutely no idea what was going on. Clearly the administration only told the council about this – typical.

“My name is Ryu Hyunmi.” said the new professor after all of her thing were neatly stacked on her desk. “Until further notice, I will be substituting for professor Sung. I'm not sure if you’ve been informed, but he is currently in the hospital and most likely won't be able to return before the end of the year.”

After that dark introduction and a few necessary seconds for the surprised whispers to quiet down, the class continued as usually. Mrs. Ryu picked up exactly from where professor Sung left off, and the next hour was spend listening to her monologue about gravity. Jungkook – who really didn't give a about physics – struggled to stay focused. It was even harder than normally, considering that a) his head was killing him despite the aspirin, and b) there was a demon in his backpack, and he truly needed to find a way to get rid of him before meeting with Yoongi. Thank god he still had a few hours to figure it out.

To his dismay, he wasn't actually able to come up with anything that had a potential to work, despite dedicating around 30% of his biology class to pondering about it. The problem was that the demon could read him way too easily – Jungkook would never be able to outright lie to him, and it was highly questionable whether it would be possible to omit the truth without him noticing.

In the end, he decided to return to his room after the last class before the meeting and then try to leave without the demon. If the demon will insist on coming with him and Jungkook won't be able to convince him that isn't in his best interests, he will simply have to cancel and go study in the library or something – and of course give the impression that has been his plan all along. The last thing he needed was for the demon to figure out he was trying to get rid of him for something specific.

The last class before his meeting with Yoongi was economics, and it successfully reminded him of just how tough the assignment they had to finish before the end of the month actually was. Not that Areum looking as if she hadn't slept in a week didn't manage to do that already. He should have started working on it weeks ago, but he was a little too preoccupied with the whole being stuck with the demon thing. And now he'll most likely have to sacrifice his sleep for the next few days if he wanted to finish it on time. Needles to say, that definitely didn't improve his day.

The demon, as usually, managed to pick up on his sour mood without any issues. The first thing he did after they finally returned to the room and he turned back, was give him one of his extremely unpleasant smiles. “Do you need help?” he asked as he leaned against the desk, his hands crossed on his chest.

Jungkook needed a few seconds to figure out what exactly he was asking – the assignment, of course. “Are you trying to get me kicked out?” he asked. The question was - clearly - rhetorical, since the answer probably couldn't be any more obvious.

The demon responded with a raised eyebrow, the unpleasant smile still firmly in place. “I do know quite a lot about the topic.” he said, intentionally missing the point. Jungkook didn't even need the amused expression on the demon‘s face to tell him that - just a tinge of common sense.

Deciding it was probably best to just ignore him, he turned away and made those few steps to the bed. His headache intensified every time he moved, so he assumed leaning his head against something was currently his best option. He carefully climbed on the bed, aware of the demon's eyes on him and doing his best to pretend he wasn't, and slowly lied down on his back. Closing his eyes, he absent-mindedly messaged his temples, trying to decide whether there was enough time left to take a nap.

Unfortunately, even if there was, the demon didn't seem particularly enthusiastic about letting him sleep. “You know…” he started slowly, amusement clear in his voice. “…ignoring people is considered rude in most social circles.”

“So is playing mind games with them.” murmured Jungkook, barely managing to restrain himself from also pointing out that the demon wasn't a human and therefore didn't exactly count as people.

“And how exactly can offering help be considered playing mind games?” innocently asked the demon. Jungkook might have had his eyes closed, but he could still tell he was smirking.

“You're offering just so you can make me fail the class.” he said, despite knowing he probably shouldn't have taken the bait. This could only end in one way – him losing the argument and the demon getting free entertainment out of it.

“You have some serious trust issues, little magician.” said the demon, emphasizing the words ‘little magician’. Jungkook only remembered two times before that he had been called that, and it was safe to say the memories weren't particularly pleasant. He tried his best not to show it bothered him though - he was quite sure that would result in the demon using the nickname at the end of every sentence.

Since this conversation didn't seem to be anywhere near finished, Jungkook opened his eyes and slowly got himself into a sitting position, leaning his head against the wall. He’d really rather be lying down, but he felt safer with the demon in his direct line of sight.

The demon had moved when Jungkook wasn't looking, and was now leisurely sitting on the desk, the expression on his face implying he found the conversation incredibly entertaining. “Well, am I wrong?” asked Jungkook as their eyes met.

The demon slightly tilted his head. “Yes.” he said without hesitation. “I am actually trying to help you.” He sounded strangely sincere – which didn't actually mean anything when it came to him. Jungkook had spend enough time in his presence to know the demon was a good actor and certainly enjoyed using every skill available to him to make Jungkook's day extra horrible.

“Why?” asked Jungkook, hoping – but not really expecting – the demon won't have an answer and they can finally finish this unpleasant conversation.

Needless to say, his wish didn't come true. “Because I'm bored and need something to do?” proposed the demon in a tone that implied the answer couldn't have been more obvious.

Jungkook responded by giving him a look. He went for a glare, but wasn't entirely sure if he managed to pull it off - probably not if the demon's highly amused expression was any indication. “That something to do could also be sabotaging me.” he pointed out.

The demon nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. “True.” he said. “But it's in no way interesting when you expect it.”

“I think your logic has some flaws.” murmured Jungkook. Some serious flaws, considering the demon had been using some of the same phrases to get a reaction out of him for the past few weeks. ‘Good morning princess’ and ‘Did you miss me’ were the strongest contestants so far.

The demon responded by curling his lips into a small smile. “Oh. That's different.” he said, leaning slightly forward. “Your reactions are always incredibly entertaining.”

Jungkook gave him a doubtful look. He was quite sure the demon would find his reaction to failing the class entertaining as well, which was why his argument made absolutely no sense. The most annoying part was that it was probably like that on purpose. “And they won't be entertaining if I let you sabotage me?” he wondered.

The demon curled his lips into an incredibly unpleasant smile, before he leaned slightly back and tilted his head. “Only because there's no way to fix it.” he said.

Which was true – they had to present the assignment in front of the class, and it would be marked right after. There would be no point in trying to talk the demon into helping him, which Jungkook supposed was what the demon saw as an entertaining reaction. There was logic in his claims, but Jungkook still had absolutely no intentions to let the demon anywhere near his assignment. Not if he wasn't absolutely desperate.

For a moment or two, they just looked at each other. Then Jungkook slowly climbed off his bed, and grabbed his backpack. It was around 2:30, which meant he needed to move if he wanted to arrive on time. The only problem was that knowing he had to escape the demon first sent his heart into an overdrive, and there was absolutely no doubts whether the demon could tell. Hopefully, he was going to assume Jungkook was nervous because he really needed some time for himself and didn't know whether the demon would actually let him have it.

“Where are you going?” asked the demon, elegantly jumping off the table and pausing only a few centimeters away from Jungkook, who barely managed to suppress the urge to take a step back.

“Away from you.” he said, which was theoretically the truth. He knew there was no way he could successfully lie to the demon, but he intended to at least try to get around it with half-truths. Thankfully, needing some space after the conversation they had just had wasn't completely out of Jungkook's character.

Surprisingly, getting away was a lot easier than he thought it would be. The demon gave him a long, calculating look, before he nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and finally moved out of Jungkook's personal space. “Try not to die.” he said, curling his lips into a small smile.

He arrived to the attic a few minutes after the agreed time. Getting there was complicated, and not just because he was sick and had to take a few breaks on the way. The academy was huge, with around ten floors above ground and five underground, and multiple staircases and elevators. Some parts of it were out of bounds for students, so knowing your way around to make sure you didn't get in trouble or lost was a necessity.

Every floor above the third one was added at a different time, and whoever was in charge for the construction of those above the fifth clearly wasn't a fan of elevators, which meant Jungkook had to climb a lot of stairs before he finally reached the last floor. And even then, he wasn't done with all the walking - he had to go down three separate hallways, and, after he finally found the old narrow staircase that led into the attic, climb a few more stairs. Needles to say, he was exhausted once he finally arrived to his destination.

He didn't need long to find Yoongi sitting on the only desk in the room that, at least at first glance, didn't threaten to collapse under his weight. Jungkook slowly made his way towards him, making sure to look where he was going. There were so many objects in various states of decay scattered across the ground that the danger of accidentally breaking a leg was real.

“Have I ever done anything that could implicate me as the Summoner?” he cut to the chase as soon as he was in earshot. He had absolutely no intentions to come any closer, at least not as long as they were able to hear each other. This was the only question he had and since neither of them planned to beat around the bush, he didn't expect to be here for more than a few minutes.

Yoongi raised his head, prying his eyes away from his phone for just long enough to give him a disinterested look. “Not around me.” he said after a few seconds of intense silence.

Jungkook nodded, not even trying to hide his relief. It was certainly true that he could have done something when Yoongi wasn't around, but the possibility was quite small considering Yoongi had been around a lot before Jungkook managed to get himself stuck with the demon.

With this task out of his way, he was just about to turn around and begin the long journey back to his room, when Yoongi said; “You should be careful.”

Jungkook paused, looking over his shoulder. “I know.” he said, trying to mask the uncertainty in his voice. It wasn't there because he didn't know, but because obvious warnings such as this weren't exactly in Yoongi's style. When he used them, it usually meant he knew something Jungkook didn't.

Yoongi responded by giving him another disinterested look. “I don't think you do.” he said. “Namjoon is determined to prove you're the Summoner.”

Jungkook barely managed to suppress the urge to roll his eyes at the reminder. “I know.” he repeated. It was impossible not to, considering Namjoon had literally broken into his room and stolen his laptop to prove his argument. He was sure that wasn't what Yoongi was referring to though - telling him things he had already known wasn't in his style either, not if it didn't lead to something else.

“Do you also know Seokjin and Areum are helping him?” wondered Yoongi, giving him a quick glance before he glued his eyes back on his phone. The question was obviously rhetorical – they both knew Jungkook had had no idea.

“I do now.” he murmured, trying to ignore the sudden weight in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't surprised now that he learned about it, but had to admit he hadn't expected it at all. Namjoon wasn't quite as illusive as Jungkook was, but he still had a reputation of declining other people's help. It was incredibly unusual for him to team up. As for Areum and Seokjin – the fact that they were prepared to aid Namjoon wasn't really all that shocking. After all, getting rid of Jungkook meant less competition.

He was so focused on analyzing the situation that he momentarily forgot Yoongi was even there, which was why he couldn't help flinching when he spoke up. “How's your control of the demon?” he asked, his phone now nowhere to be seen.

“It's…” Jungkook trailed off, barely stopping himself from grimacing. He wasn't particularly enthusiastic about admitting the truth, but he didn't want to outright lie either -  firstly, because he was sure Yoongi could tell despite never showing it, and secondly because it could prove itself to be dangerous considering Yoongi had a lot of useful information he conveniently revealed only when he had no other choice.

Jungkook wasn't entirely sure, but he thought he had seen Yoongi slightly tense up in response to his words – which was definitely not a good sign. “What's their name?” he asked, his voice completely void of any emotion.

Jungkook helplessly shrugged his shoulders, knowing quite well that Yoongi wasn't going to like his answer. “I don't know.” he admitted.

Yoongi responded by narrowing his eyes. “You summoned an unnamed demon?” he asked, the question obviously rhetorical. The fact that Jungkook didn't know the demon's name could only mean one thing after all – he was unnamed. It didn't mean that he didn't have a name, just that it wasn't known to the magicians, and – considering how much power the names held – that fact alone made him more dangerous and harder to control than his named brethren.

“Which one?” asked Yoongi. His voice was carefully nonchalant, but it didn't fool Jungkook – he could practically feel the displeasure radiating off of him, and had an unfortunate inkling his answer definitely won't improve things.

“V.” he admitted. V as in a letter at the end of the alphabet, which was what the magicians used to sort the demons from the least dangerous to the most dangerous one. It wasn't exactly the most accurate system, but it was accurate enough to tell that V definitely belonged among the more dangerous higher demons.

“You summoned V.” said Yoongi slowly, this time not bothering to conceal his emotions. “Why?” he asked sharply, annoyance written all over his face. It was clear he was taking this as Jungkook intentionally attempting to destroy his life, and he really wasn't sure whether his reasons for summoning that particular demon had the power to change his opinion.

“Because he's one of the demons that are the least likely to be summoned by the king.” he said with as much confidence as he could muster. Summoning V specifically was a gamble – Jungkook had to carefully weight the danger of summoning an unnamed demon, and the possibility of the king discovering his crimes. He wasn't worried the demon was going to blabber about his crime to the king – it was rare for them to care enough to bother after all – but that the king was going to try to summon him while he was already on earth. At the time, he thought he had made the right decision, but now, with everything that had happened - and Yoongi giving him a judgmental glare -, he couldn't help wondering whether he had been slightly biased.

“And there's a reason for that.” said Yoongi. “You're an idiot.”

“Are you only saying that because he's an unnamed demon from the end of the alphabet, or is there another reason?” wondered Jungkook. He knew there was a possibility of Yoongi having some insider information, and hoped he might be inclined to actually share it with him, since he immediately benefited from Jungkook's survival.

Yoongi gave him a blank look, all the emotion he was showing only a minute ago once again concealed. “He has a reputation for killing his masters.” he said finally, after a few moments of silence.

Jungkook let out a small sigh. This seemed to be a general statement that was true for all demons, and the only reason he gave it a second thought was because it came from Yoongi. “Don't most demons?” he wondered carefully, watching as Yoongi slowly shook his head.

“It isn't that easy to kill someone when you're bound by the magical laws whose main purpose is to protect them.” he said.

Jungkook responded with a nod, pressing his nails against his palms with enough force that he would have drew blood if there was actually anything left of his nails. This was definitely not good news, and although he was tempted to say Yoongi was overreacting and leave it at that, his previous interactions with the demon told him it was most likely the truth. Surprisingly, he wasn't nearly as panicked as he thought he would be – he believed the demon when he had said he was more entertaining alive. If anything, the news just made him more motivated to find a way to dismiss the demon as soon as possible - before he changes his opinion.