By the time they returned to the academy, 9pm had already come and gone. Hoseok was hiding in Jungkook's jacket, turned into a mouse. Jungkook was glad that he hadn't followed V's example when it came to shape-shifting and changed into something creepier. He had been generally a lot easier to deal with than V so far, and Jungkook hoped it would stay that way. The last thing he needed was another cunning demon with a horrible personality.

The closer to his room they got, the more nervous he became. His heartbeat sounded unbearably loud to his ears, and it didn’t help knowing that, if it was like that for him, it must have been at least twice as bad for the demons. He now had three of them, three, and he still had no idea how V was going to react to Hoseok. It worried him to no end, his thoughts full of worst case scenarios ranging from a violent altercation to a loud proclamation of Jungkook’s real name. He would have never shared it with V if he'd known Jimin would spring another demon on him.

They stopped in front of his room, Jungkook fishing out his keys and offering them to Yoongi. He didn’t think he could unlock the door by himself, considering how badly his hands were shaking. Yoongi directed an unimpressed look at the keys but took them anyway, unlocking the door and opening it. He waited for Jungkook to enter before following, the expression on his face implying he wanted to be anywhere but where he was. Jungkook understood how he felt.

He half threw the backpack on the floor - there was nothing valuable in it and the demon certainly deserved the rough treatment - and pulled off his jacket, laying it on the chair. Then he practically collapsed on the bed, pulling his legs to his chest and propping his chin on his knees. His headache was slowly but surely getting worse, and the only thing he wanted to do was sleep - which was too bad, because he doubted he was going to get the opportunity in the near future. 

Hoseok was the first one to turn back to his original shape, glancing at Jungkook with eyes that looked almost worried. He opened his mouth to say something at the same moment V decided to change back. He did it just as dramatically as always, patting down his clothes and flicking an imaginary speck of dust off his shoulder. 

Hoseok jumped so high Jungkook was worried he was going to hit the ceiling and make a dent into it, before he hastily positioned himself in front of Jungkook, every muscle in his body tense. He looked more frightened than prepared for a fight, staring at V as if he had just seen a ghost, his eyes impossibly wide. “What in the ever-loving…” he murmured just loudly enough for Jungkook to hear him.

A severely unpleasant smile - one that made Jungkook want to hide under the covers - spread across V’s face. In comparison to Hoseok, he seemed perfectly relaxed, leaning against the edge of the desk and calmly inspecting his nails. “Hoseok. It’s so nice to see you.” he said, his voice exaggeratedly cheerful. There was something about it that made Jungkook shiver, and he pulled a blanket over his shoulders, taking advantage of the moment the demon was preoccupied with making fun of Hoseok.

Hoseok’s face was a mix of horrified and confused. “What…?” he murmured, before he half turned towards Jungkook, making sure not to lose the sight of V for even a second. “You summoned Taehyung?” He sounded like he couldn’t quite believe it, looking at Jungkook as if seeing him for the very first time. Yoongi was face-palming in the background, most likely because Hoseok said the demon’s real name. At least Jungkook assumed it was V’s real name, because what else could it be? There were a few doubts in his mind though, mostly because the demon didn’t respond in any significant way. Then again - it was the demon; he was both a good actor and completely unpredictable. Taking his reactions - or lack thereof - at face value would be downright idiotic.

“Taehyung?” he murmured quietly. He said it to try out the sound, only remembering to form a question at the very end. 

The demon rolled his eyes. “Yes, that would be my name.” he said, not dissimilarly to how one would explain the concept of numbers to a toddler.

Jungkook narrowed his eyes. “Why would you…?” he started, cutting himself off when he realized he didn’t know what he was trying to ask. Why would you let that happen? The demon had gained an advantage by learning Jungkook’s real name, one he'd lost the moment Hoseok called him Taehyung. Now they were back on equal footing, and Jungkook was both suspicious and confused. Was it possible that Taehyung was only a nickname? Yoongi’s reaction said no, but then again, perhaps it had been an act? It didn’t sound like a Yoongi thing to do, but Jungkook would have to have a bit more information to tell for sure - most importantly; what type of relationship did these demons have? Both Hoseok and Yoongi seemed afraid of V – Taehyung - which was the main reason Jungkook assumed V could have stopped Hoseok from saying his name. Then again; he could be wrong. He had an uncomfortable feeling he was missing something, and it refused to go away no matter how hard he tried to shake it off.

The demon looked at him, one of his eyebrows raised. Jungkook had absolutely no doubts he knew exactly what he was thinking and was most likely entertained by it. “The way I see it we’re now at an impasse.” Taehyung said. ‘Which makes things more interesting’ went unsaid, but Jungkook could read it from the glint in his eyes.

He didn’t understand the demon’s behavior at all (which was not great for his anxiety). Taehyung must have been planning something, but Jungkook couldn't even begin to guess what. He toyed with an idea that he was trying to get him to use his name during summoning, but ended up dismissing it pretty quickly. It didn’t fit. Jungkook would never go for it and Taehyung knew that. Jungkook had to admit that he’d made a few pretty disastrous decisions in the past, but he wasn’t that stupid. Telling a demon your name and then giving him the opportunity to use it, was the equivalent of blocking your exits before setting the bulding on fire.

Then again, perhaps the demon was just trying to get Jungkook to worry himself to death. The trace of mischief in his eyes certainly supported that theory.

He would have probably continued to obsess over it if the demon hadn't successfully snapped him out of his thoughts by waving his hand through the air; “Anyway, let’s move to a more pressing matter.” He looked straight at Jungkook as he spoke, an unusual sharpness to his gaze. There was nothing gradual about the way his expression changed from amused to serious. One moment, his eyes were quietly mocking, and the next all of the emotion was gone, replaced by ice. It was how Jungkook knew he definitely wasn’t going to like what came out of his mouth next. “Is Kangmin another one of your brothers?” asked the demon.

In hindsight, Jungkook should have known the demon would come to that conclusion, but it still felt like he had been submerged in icy cold water, his breath forced out of him. “How did you…?” he started, his voice trailing off when it occurred to him that he probably shouldn’t admit it that easily. A stupid thought considering how well the demon could read him - it didn’t matter whether he said anything or nothing at all when Taehyung could ask anything he wanted and the answer would be written all over Jungkook’s face.

“I didn’t. Just shooting in the dark.” The demon shrugged his shoulders, his usual amusement still nowhere to be seen. Jungkook wished it would return - he disliked the intensity in the demon’s gaze even more than his mocking expressions.

He didn’t buy Taehyung’s explanation - this was not something you could just randomly guess - and he communicated that by slightly narrowing his eyes. The demon let out a sigh, before he said; “Kangmin had summoned a higher demon. Considering the royals are the only ones with access to information on how to do it, it’s very likely that he is a prince. And since you’ve pretty much confirmed you are one yourself that would make you brothers. Simple.” 

Confirmed? Jungkook needed a few seconds to figure out what the demon was referring to. He’d said; ‘I think I already know’ and Jungkook responded with silence. It wasn’t a confirmation at all, but Taehyung decided to present it as such to see if Jungkook was going to deny it, while knowing very well that he couldn’t lie to him. The dirty trick deserved a glare and Jungkook happily delivered, receiving a  barely noticeable quirk of the demon’s lips in response.

“What happened?” asked the demon. It took a moment before Jungkook figured out what he was asking; what happened to make your brother send a higher demon after you? His face muscles twitched due to the effort needed to keep the grimace off his face. The past involving Kangmin was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

“None of your business.” he murmured despite knowing Taehyung was not going to let it go that easily.

The demon quirked an eyebrow. “Actually it kind of is." he said, waving his hand through the air, the gesture unnecessarily dramatic. "You know… since I’m supposed to keep you safe, which - believe me or not - is a far easier task when you know at least something about your opponent.”

Jungkook pressed his lips into a thin line. Taehyung might have had a point, but his argument wasn't strong enough to get Jungkook to share anything about his past. The demon knew Kangmin could summon higher demons, and that should suffice for him to successfully protect Jungkook. He would have an easier job with more information, yes, but it wasn't worth reopening old wounds.

The demon clearly read the answer off of his face, and - predictably - wasn't prepared to give up quite as easily. He slightly tilted his head. “Maybe I should ask Hoseok?” he wondered in exaggerated innocence, looking at the demon in question. 

Hoseok’s face paled under Taehyung’s intent stare, and he nervously glanced at Jungkook before raising his hands. “Woah man, I’m not telling you anything.” The tone of his voice coupled with the obvious panic in his eyes, didn't give Jungkook much hope in the strength of his resolve.

“Are you sure?” asked Taehyung, giving him a wink. In any other context the gesture would be perceived as a joke, but in the current circumstances Jungkook couldn't help finding it sinister. It sent a chill down his spine even though the wink wasn't directed at him, and he wrapped the blanket around himself a bit tighter.

Hoseok's face would have probably lost even more of its color if there was any left to begin with, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. He glanced towards Yoongi who buried his face in his hand, obviously not wanting to have anything to do with the situation. Jungkook had an uncomfortable feeling Hoseok was close to cracking, which was the only reason he said; “Fine. I’ll tell you.” Needless to say, he really, really didn’t want to share this part of his life with the demon, but if he could only choose who told the story, the decision was obvious - at least he could control the narrative if it came out of his own mouth.

He pressed his hand over his heart, struggling to ignore the panic clawing at his chest at the thought of having to relive the experience. Attempting to separate himself from his past was the same as trying to cut out his lungs and expecting to survive without them; impossible. The only thing he could do to stop it from hurting was burying it in the deepest part of his mind. Bringing it back to the open wasn't going to be easy.

He gave V a glare to make sure there were no misconceptions about what Jungkook thought of his manipulation method, before he said; “Kangmin is my oldest brother.” He tried to keep his voice as void of emotion as possible, which wasn’t easy considering he absolutely hated even remembering Kangmin existed. “He is very… charming.” he continued, before he was forced to pause to gather his thoughts. He wasn’t entirely sure if he should just monotonically list the facts or spin it as a story. The former would make it easier to keep the emotions under control, but he was worried it wouldn’t stop the demon from asking unpleasant questions. He couldn’t lie - the only thing he could do to keep at least a semblance of privacy was to omit certain things and hope the demon wouldn’t notice. For that, he needed to distract him, which was easier to achieve with a story than by recounting the facts. He sighed. “He knows how to make people listen to him and he inspires loyalty. He might not be the oldest child, but he used to have a lot of political influence. It looks like he still has some.”

He cleared his throat, the feeling something was stuck in it refusing to go away. The next part was the hardest part to talk about, and he wasn't entirely sure how to go about it (at least not without being reduced to a crying mess). After a second or two of contemplation, he decided the best course of action was to say it as shortly and bluntly as possible. “Anyway, when I was ten my sister, Iseol – the oldest child and the heir - died. She was killed by a higher demon during summoning - there was a mistake in the pentagram design. It looked like an accident, but father didn’t believe it was. I didn’t either. She was too experienced to make such a stupid mistake.”

“Father theorized there was someone else with her, someone who changed a part of the pentagram while she was busy with summoning. It wouldn’t be a hard thing to do - you'd just have to delete a small line and draw another one. The only problem was that she was summoning a higher demon, and the pentagrams used to summon higher demons are different from the other pentagrams. There weren’t a lot of people who knew about them. Just my father, my brothers and me.” Of course, according to the law, they shouldn't have known anything about higher demons or the process of their summoning at all. It was just that their father had never particularly cared about the rule and hadn't tried to hide the knowledge. Occasionally, he'd even allowed them to attend his lessons on summoning higher demons. And now here we are, thought Jungkook bitterly.

The next part was something he wished he could have gotten over, but didn't think he ever would no matter how many times he told himself it was all in the past. “Father thought I was the only one home with Iseol when she died. That and the fact me and my sister had never gotten along was enough for him to suspect I was the one who had killed her. There might have been other reasons for his belief, but he never told me any.” The loss of his sister had been painful enough, but being wrongfully blamed for it made it infinitely worse - especially with Kangmin winking over his father's shoulder every time the king implied he thought Jungkook was at fault for his daughter's death. Jungkook shivered just thinking about it.

"The thing is..." he paused, trying to decide how to form the next sentence without giving too much away. He needed to explain how he knew Kangmin was the murderer without letting on everything his brother had done to him - there was no way in hell he was sharing any of that with the demons. Yoongi was the only one who knew since he had been in service at the time, and Jungkook intended to make sure it stayed that way. In the end he settled on; "That day Kangmin returned home sooner than expected." Taking a deep breath, he prayed the demon wasn't going to sense he was letting something out. “So, I knew Kangmin killed Iseol. I also knew no one would believe me, so I didn’t bother telling anyone about it.”

Jungkook was 8 years younger than Kangmin, which was probably the main reason his older brother never took him seriously. People would never believe a shy child who ran away from social interactions over a charismatic teenager regarded with respect, and Kangmin had been well aware of that. He had never tried to hide his true nature from Jungkook. Quite the opposite; he’d shown him the ugliest possible side of him. The list of his offences included mostly but not only; locking Jungkook in a closet for hours on end, randomly pushing him down the stairs (which earned Jungkook a reputation of a klutz), holding his head under the water until his lungs burned and he was sure he was going to drown...  Once, he even burned his shoulder with a cigarette lighter, and Jungkook still had a scar to show for it. What was worse was that all of that also happened to be the reason he and Iseol hadn't gotten along - he'd tried telling her about Kangmin and she hadn't believed him. He still remembered how she affectionately patted his head and told him not to be jealous, that Kangmin and Jungkook merely had different strengths, which didn't mean he was worth any less.

“What got him in the end was luck.” he said, doing his absolute best to keep his voice steady. The demon slightly narrowed his eyes, and Jungkook nervously swallowed, hoping Taehyung didn't notice the lie. It was partly true anyway, so he shouldn't - right?

What came out of the demon's mouth next, told him that he did in fact notice the lie, partly true or not. "Luck." said the demon while staring straight into Jungkook's eyes, his eyebrow slightly raised. He was practically radiating amusement. Okay, so Jungkook might or might not have had something to do with his father returning 3 days earlier and Kangmin throwing a knife at him at precisely the right moment, but he wasn't going to admit that. 

Looking away from the demon, he said; “First, one of the servants mentioned he saw Kangmin go in the study with Iseol about an hour before she died. Then father returned from a business meeting three days sooner than intended and witnessed Kangmin throwing a knife at me." While saying some pretty messed up stuff, Jungkook ended the sentence in his mind. Kangmin's words sometimes still played in his head.

"A few other things came out after that, and even though there was no proof he killed Iseol, it was clear he was too dangerous to leave unsupervised. Father locked him away and removed him from succession.” It would probably be more accurate to say a lot of other things had come out and not all were related to Jungkook, but Jungkook had neither the time nor the energy to get into it. Besides, none of it was as important as what he had already shared, not to mention it was safer to give as little information as possible when dealing with the demons.

“He almost escaped once before, which launched a huge investigation into the government and the NS.” That was the final part of it, and Jungkook barely managed to suppress the sigh of relief. He had somehow gotten through this without shedding a single tear, although it did feel a little like running a marathon on an empty stomach and no sleep.

The demon huffed. “Well, clearly the investigation wasn’t particularly successful if he still has people helping him.” he said. There was mockery in his voice, making his opinion on whoever was leading the investigation perfectly clear. For once, Jungkook agreed with him. 

“Yeah.” he murmured. He hoped this was the end of the conversation, although he had an unpleasant feeling the demon wasn't going to let it go until he stuck his nose in every little detail of the past Jungkook had just shared. This evening might end in tears after all.

“I can see why you were so adamant about not going home. Your father is an .” remarked the demon, tilting his head. His voice sounded oddly serious, contrasting with the amused smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Jungkook couldn't look at him for more than a few seconds, and had to lower his gaze. The last thing he expected was the demon criticizing anyone for behaving badly towards Jungkook. 

“Do you know what your dearest brother wants with you?” asked Taehyung after a few moments of silence. Jungkook shook his head. He could be sure the reasons behind the attempted abduction weren't pleasant, but that was all. “Well, he tried to kidnap you, so he clearly wants something.” said the demon. The quiet and thoughtful way he said it made Jungkook think he was talking more to himself than to anyone else. “You should refrain from going outside.”

Jungkook pressed his lips together. “I know that.” he said.

The demon ignored him. “You probably won’t be safe here for ever." he said. "Your brother sounds like a smart person - psychopathic but smart. He’ll find a way in sooner or later.” Jungkook was at least 99 percent sure the only reason he was still receiving unnecessary advice was because Taehyung could see how much it irritated him. Needles to say, knowing that raised his irritation levels even higher, and he barely stopped himself from grinding his teeth together.

“Thank you for pointing out the obvious.” he said, trying - and failing - to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Some bitterness might have sneaked in as well. 

The demon winked. “You’re very welcome.” he said.

Before Taehyung could come up with another completely obvious and unnecessary advice, Yoongi said; “Christmas vacations.” Jungkook automatically glanced at Taehyung to see if he had any idea what Yoongi meant, only realizing what he was doing after their eyes already met. To his unbelievable luck, the demon didn't react with a teasing comment, just shrugged his shoulders to let him know he was just as clueless as to what Yoongi was talking about. 

Yoongi took in the confused expression on Jungkook's face and sighed. He looked even less happy to be here than a few minutes ago. “The academy will be mostly empty." he elaborated. "It sounds like the perfect time to abduct you - no one will notice you’re missing until after vacations.”

Jungkook bit his lip, barely noticing what he was doing. Yoongi had a point. The academy was a ghost town during vacations, usually only hosting around ten students and a lone professor with too much work to leave. The security was laxer as well, making it easier to break in without getting caught.

Hoseok frowned. “That sounds likely." he said. "I think you should accept Jinho’s offer and go home over the vacations.” Jungkook couldn't help noticing Hoseok was purposely avoiding looking directly at Taehyung. Not that he blamed him - he often wished he could do the same without the demon mocking him for it.

Taehyung huffed, fixing Hoseok with a look that somehow managed to be both irritated and mocking at the same time. Hoseok reacted by lowering his head and inspecting the rug with new-found interest, every muscle in his body tense. Taehyung rolled his eyes, before turning back towards Jungkook. “I think you should force Jinho to prepare an alternative housing option for the time being and take proper security measures.” he said.

The demon’s proposal was sound – much better for his mental health than going home, and perfectly doable. He was sure Jimin would agree as well. “We do have a few empty houses…” murmured Jungkook as he tried to squash the familiar wariness in response to the demon having ideas with positive consequences. A bit of suspicion was healthy (especially when Taehyung was involved), but he really shouldn't take it overboard - not when the demons were his only line of defense. He needed to believe they would protect him if he ever wanted to sleep again, or leave his room… or do anything that didn’t involve sitting in a corner and shaking from fear, really. Not to mention he just knew Kangmin would manage to find a way to use his distrustfulness against him.

“We’ll that’s settled.” said the demon, clasping his hands together with an annoyingly cheerful expression on his face. “Now Hoseok can go guard the door.”

Hoseok's eyes immediately snapped up. “Woah, woah, I didn’t consent to be exiled outside.” he said, raising his hands while staring at V with wide eyes. Jungkook couldn't help thinking he looked like a deer caught in headlights.

V crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re a demon - you can’t consent to anything.” he pointed out, his voice still exaggeratedly cheerful. There was something about it that made Jungkook shiver, which truly said something considering it wasn't even directed at him. Hoseok had the same problem if judging by the expression on his face.

Nevertheless, he showed a surprising amount of courage and didn't immediately give in. “Yes, but I’m not obliged to obey your orders.” he said. “Anymore.” The word was said so quietly and quickly Jungkook was half-convinced he imagined it.

Before he could analyze the implications behind it, V turned to him and said; “Well then, great master, tell the idiot to go outside.” Thankfully, thankfully, the exaggerated cheerfulness was gone, having been replaced with mere amusement.

Yeah, Jungkook was definitely not going to get involved in whatever that was. “Keep me out of this.” he said, turning his head away from the demons. 

He could already tell this was going to be a rough few weeks.