Jungkook stared at the demon’s hand for almost a full minute before he finally mustered the courage to reach for it. He swallowed when he felt Taehyung’s skin against his fingertips, his throat suddenly dry. Taehyung clasped their hands together, his grip firm but not bruising, and gave him a small smile that was almost reassuring, before he gently pulled him to the middle of the room.

Jungkook's whole body went stiff when the demon slowly stepped closer to him, his breath catching in his throat. The only signs Taehyung had noticed were a slightly raised corner of his lips and the amusement in his eyes. They stood frozen in place for a few seconds, before the demon slightly tilted his head, the expression on his face thoughtful. “We should put some music on.” he decided. Jungkook gave him a disbelieving look, although he probably shouldn’t have been surprised the demon seemed determined to prolong this unpleasant experience. He glanced at their hands – Taehyung was holding him firmly enough that there was no way he could pull free even if he tried.

“It’s fine.” he said through his teeth.

The demon quirked his eyebrow. “It really isn’t.” he said. “How will I know you’re capable of following the rhythm without music?” His voice was suspiciously innocent, instilling in Jungkook the urge to glare at him - he refrained, but barely, and only because he suspected it would do nothing but heighten the already high levels of the demon’s amusement. Taehyung gave him one of his knowing smirks before turning his head towards Hoseok. “Hoseok.” he said and that was apparently all the other demon needed to know exactly what was expected from him.

He grabbed the laptop from the desk, opened it, hit a few keys, and a minute later there was music. Jungkook didn’t think he’d heard the song before, but then again, he really didn’t have an ear for classical music - most of it sounded identical to him. The same clearly couldn’t be said for Taehyung - he closed his eyes, head still tilted to the side, and hummed with the melody. Then his eyes fluttered open and he slowly strengthened his back. “Good enough.” he decided.

“Well then.” Taehyung said after a short pause, during which he stared at Jungkook and Jungkook stared at the floor. “Don’t you have something to prove?”

It was only then that Jungkook realized Taehyung expected him to take charge. He should have known, really. The demon was a mystery, true, but his actions could nevertheless be occasionally predicted – Jungkook just had to ask himself which one of the possible options in a given situation would cause him the most emotional damage. It was obvious that choosing the dance and then leading was a lot harder – and infinitely more awkward - than just passively letting the demon do whatever he wanted, and thus clearly something Taehyung would go for.

Jungkook closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to ignore the panic clawing at his chest. It had been there ever since he accepted the demon’s hand, and instead of slowly dissipating, it was becoming even more unbearable. It definitely kept him from thinking clearly, which is why he probably spent a much longer time deciding on the type of dance than he would have otherwise. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that a waltz was the best choice; the steps were simple enough and the contact minimal, which was really all that mattered.

He took a deep breath before he raised his hand – or to be more specific, their hands, since they were still clasped together. The demon let him, slightly tilting his head. The expression on his face was unreadable, but Jungkook was nevertheless sure he was enjoying himself. “What are we doing?” he asked.

“Waltz.” answered Jungkook through clenched teeth. His hands were shaking, and he was sure Taehyung could feel it, just as he could hear his rapid heartbeat. It made the whole experience even more mortifying.

“Too bad.” said the demon. Jungkook didn’t ask what was so bad about it, preoccupied with trying to find the courage to bring his other hand on the demon’s back. Taehyung silently watched him for almost a minute, before he lost his patience - rolling his eyes, he grabbed Jungkook’s wrist and guided his hand to his shoulder blade. Jungkook couldn’t help flinching at the contact, even despite the fact Taehyung was already holding his other hand. The demon ignored his reaction – save for an amused look in his eyes – and nonchalantly rested his free hand on Jungkook's shoulder. Jungkook tried not to shudder, he really did, but an involuntary shiver travelled through him anyway.

It made Taehyung look even more like he was having the time of his life, and Jungkook glared at him before everything became too much and he had to avert his gaze. Keeping his eyes fixed on the bookcase behind Taehyung, he took a deep breath and took a small step forward. He half expected to step on the demon’s foot, but the demon thankfully followed his lead and moved back. Of course, Jungkook never doubted that he could - he just had a suspicion Taehyung might screw the steps up on purpose, just to traumatize him even more.

He wasn’t sure how well it would go – he wasn’t a good dancer by any means, and having the demon this close to him was making him anxious, which in turn heightened the probability that he would mess up the steps.

Just as he had expected, he did make a few mistakes in the first minute - Taehyung made sure to announce every single one with a quiet chuckle, to which Jungkook responded by staring daggers at the bookcase because he couldn’t bring himself to actually look at the demon. Or at anyone else in the room really, so he made sure his eyes avoided the bed and the chair as well.

After a few more minutes of torture, each one seeming hours long to Jungkook, Taehyung finally had enough. Of course, he couldn’t signal that by saying something like a normal person would, but had to suddenly stop in the middle of the step, making Jungkook bump into him. Needless to say, his automatic reaction to even more contact was to recoil in shock, which almost made him lose his balance. Taehyung steadied him by swiftly moving his hand from his shoulder to his waist. “How are you still alive?” he wondered.

“I've only met you a few months ago.” grumbled Jungkook as he took a small step back, trying to free himself from the demon’s grip. The demon thankfully let him go, although it did take a few seconds before he got the hint. Jungkook quickly scrambled back, pushing his hands in his pockets, eyes travelling from the bookcase to the floor, because the floor wasn’t nearly as close to Taehyung’s face. The demon chuckled - whether in response to Jungkook’s words or his reaction, Jungkook wasn’t sure.

“Okay, so you do know how to dance.” said the demon, his voice filled with amusement. Jungkook continued to stare at the floor, unable to bring himself to raise his head. With every second, he was more and more aware that there were three demons in the room - looking at any of them seemed inconceivable.

The tense silence dragged, until Taehyung asked; “Another answer in exchange for taking Hana to the dance?”

Jungkook frowned at the carpet. He still had no idea why the demon wanted him to take Hana to the dance, and his insistence was making him nervous - Taehyung’s wishes coming true usually meant there was suffering involved for Jungkook. “Why are you so invested in this?” he asked the floor, despite knowing it was most likely pointless. Taehyung hadn’t given him anything useful the first time he’d asked.

The demon responded by letting out a slightly exasperated sight. “I’m trying to find you some human company, since you clearly won’t do it by yourself.” he said in a tone one would usually use to explain a simple concept to a child. Jungkook didn’t buy it. He was prepared to admit there was a possibility that was one of Taehyung’s goals, but it certainly wasn’t his end goal. Perhaps he was trying to get Jungkook human company so he could watch him repeatedly make a fool of himself?

“I don’t need company.” he said and meant it. It was true that he sometimes  regretted not having friends, but those moments were few and far between. Most of the time he was fine by himself. Besides, it wasn’t like he was completely without friends – he had Jimin.

The demon let out another – even more exasperated - sigh. “Not sure if you've noticed” he started slowly, the sarcasm in his voice clear “but the only people you talk to on the regular basis are trying to prove you’re the Summoner.”

Jungkook finally managed to muster the courage to look up, although he regretted it almost immediately. Taehyung was looking at him with a weirdly stern expression on his face, his eyebrow slightly raised. Jungkook could see Yoongi over his shoulder, the demon still in the exact same position than before, just that he was now staring at them in quiet judgement. He couldn’t see Hoseok – thankfully - but he was pretty sure he was looking at them as well.

Jungkook fixed his gaze back on Taehyung, realizing it was probably better for his anxiety to only pay attention to one demon at a time. What Taehyung said was true, but he couldn’t find the connection to the current topic, which made him suspect he only said it to rub salt into the wound. If that was his intention, it was working. “What does that have to do with anything?” asked Jungkook just in (unlikely) case the demon could actually produce a sensible answer.

Taehyung raised his eyebrow higher. “Your life would be much easier if you had someone in your corner.” he said, his tone implying Jungkook was an idiot for not figuring that out by himself.

It was… not untrue. When he looked at it from this perspective, he realized – begrudgingly - that perhaps the demon had a point and he did actually need friends. Not for company, but to form an alliance. He wondered if that was what the demon had been trying to tell him all along and had been purposely vague to mess with him. The answer was most likely a yes.

Jungkook bit at his lip as he was trying to decide how to respond without outright admitting the demon might be right. After a moment of contemplation, he settled on; “I don’t remember that being any of your business.” Taehyung curled his lips upwards in response, making it very obvious that he could read between the lines.

“Yes or no?” Taehyung asked. Jungkook was confused for a moment, until he realized the demon was asking whether he agreed to take Hana to the dance in exchange for an answer.

He didn’t have to think particularly long before giving a hesitant nod. It should be a walk in the park in comparison to dancing with the demon, not to mention he was getting an answer out of it. Besides - the demon had a point about the necessity of finding allies, and Hana was probably a good start, provided she didn’t hate him because of the way he’d turned her down. However, despite all the pros he still couldn’t help being slightly worried about the whole thing, especially considering he was doing exactly what the demon wanted him to do.

He only realized what the demon’s plan could be once he was staring at Hana's contact, his fingers hovering above the screen. His mouth was weirdly dry, and his heart was once again trying to escape out of his chest. The worst part was that he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. What did a person even say in this kind of a situation? Should he apologize? How should he answer if she wanted to know why he changed his mind?

He was so deep in thought that the demon chucking a piece of paper at him shocked him enough that he almost fell off the bed. Once he was sure there would be no unfortunate contacts with the floor, he looked at the demon, at the paper, and then back at the demon. Taehyung had moved from his position on the floor in the past half an hour, and was now leisurely sitting on the desk with a notebook in his hands. Jungkook looked back down, giving the peace of paper a distrustful look, before he reached for it and slowly strengthened it out. He blinked when he realized what it was, glancing back at the demon in suspicion. What exactly was he playing at?

Taehyung gave him an innocent look. “You clearly need help.” he said. “Desperately.”

Jungkook frowned, letting his eyes fall back on the note and skimming over the words. No matter how hard he stared at them, he couldn’t find anything wrong with them. Apparently watching him make a fool of himself while trying to invite Hana to the dance wasn’t Taehyung’s plan after all. But then – what was? The fact that he was prepared to give up watching him embarrass himself just to ensure Hana would go with him was more than a little worrying.

With a sigh, he averted his gaze from the note and looked back at the phone, his fingers hesitantly hovering above the call button. It took a few more seconds before he managed to force himself to press call. His nervousness increased with every beep, which Taehyung could tell if the small smile playing on his lips was any indication. Jungkook probably shouldn’t have been looking at him at all while trying to do this, at least not if he didn’t want it to go horribly wrong. He was just about to turn away from the demon, when Hana picked up.

“Eunjae?” he heard her say with a clear surprise in her voice.

Predictably, Jungkook’s brain momentarily short-circuited, and he was forced to quickly consult the note in his other hand. The fact that he had to look at it just to say hi was truly pathetic. “Hi Hana.” he said quietly, trying – and failing – to hide his nervousness.

“Hi.” she squeaked.

What followed was a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, stretching until Jungkook managed to find the next line on the note. “I wanted to apologize.” he read, taking a deep breath as his eyes skimmed over the next sentence.

Hana let out a quiet ‘oh'. “There’s no need, really.” she said. “I completely understand if you don’t want to go with me.”

“I do.” he said quickly, wincing at the sound of his voice. It was a completely reflexive reaction and he wanted to kick himself because of how awkward it sounded. He shook his head, firmly telling himself to stop worrying about it and instead focus on finishing this painful conversation. “I was just caught by surprise and I panicked.” he murmured, reading the next line off the note. “So, if you still want to go with me, I'd be happy to take you.”

“Oh.” said Hana. “Really?” Jungkook wasn’t sure whether he was only imagining it, or if her voice actually sounded hopeful.

“Yes.” he said.

After that they agreed when and where they would meet before going to the dance together. This portion of the conversation was still awkward, but less so, and Jungkook was eternally grateful it didn’t take more than a minute. He couldn’t help letting out a sigh of relief when they finally exchanged their goodbyes and he could end the call. That was one of the worst conversations he'd ever had, and the existence of witnesses certainly didn’t improve the experience. He was painfully reminded of their presence once he put down his phone and looked up - Hoseok immediately gave him thumbs up from the other side of the room, while Taehyung chuckled, the amusement in his eyes clear. Yoongi gave him one of his usual unimpressed stares before saying; “That won’t work.”

Jungkook blinked. “Me going with Hana to the dance won't work?” he asked, although he wasn’t at all sure that was what Yoongi meant - it made very little sense, but it was the only explanation he could come up with.

“No.” replied Yoongi, averting his gaze from Jungkook and fixing his eyes on Taehyung. Jungkook could see the sharpness in them as he said; “That won’t work.” 

Taehyung froze. Something flashed in his eyes before all emotion disappeared from his face. “Perhaps you should mind your own business Yoongi.” he said. While the first part of the sentence was told in a complete monotone, something sinister crept into his voice when he said ‘Yoongi’. It was enough to raise the hair on Jungkook’s nape and make Hoseok press himself against the wall, eyes wide.

Yoongi, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected. “You’re just going to hurt yourself.” he pointed out.

Taehyung face stayed expressionless, save from his lips which slowly curled upwards, forming a smile that successfully sent shivers down Jungkook’s spine. “Thank you for your input, but I do think I’m capable of making my own decisions.” Taehyung said, his voice now exaggeratedly sweet. Jungkook decided he liked the monotone better when another shiver travelled down his spine.

Yoongi’s expression didn’t change at all. “They’re bad decisions.” he said, looking at Taehyung without blinking. Taehyung looked back, the creepy smile - thankfully - fading. Jungkook wasn’t sure for how long they stayed frozen in place, staring at each other before Taehyung finally snapped out of it. He turned towards Jungkook with the usual amusement in his eyes, and raised an eyebrow.

“The questions?” he asked.

“Later.” murmured Jungkook. He had a lot of questions and was way too frazzled to pick two at the moment. He knew he would regret it if he’d made the wrong choice just because he was a) mentally exhausted due to the exams, and b) still shaken by the demons’ weird (and creepy) confrontation. He only contemplated asking what it was about for a second before his mind helpfully supplied him with an image of Taehyung’s smile and he promptly decided he didn’t really want to know. He doubted it had anything to do with him, anyway.

“You have to wear a suit?” wondered Hoseok from his usual spot on the chair. He had moved it to the wall to – in his words – not be in the way, but Jungkook suspected he was just trying to stay as far away from Taehyung as possible. He couldn’t blame him.

“Yes.” murmured Jungkook, nervously pulling at his sleeves while staring at his reflection in the mirror. The suit he was wearing was old and probably years out of fashion. He was a bit surprised it still fit him, and he couldn’t help stressing over whether he should have bought a new one (or at least rented one) after all - the last thing he needed was for other students to think he was here on a scholarship. People were even worse s when they thought they could get away with it.

He sighed as he turned around, pointedly ignoring Taehyung who was openly staring at him from the bed. “I don’t have any pockets.” he said.

“I can turn into something small.” said Hoseok. “Like lice?” he wondered. At least he had the basic decency to sound unsure about it.

Jungkook was about to tell him he wasn’t taking him anywhere if that was what he decided to turn in, but before he could let out a single sound, Taehyung already started laughing. “As hilarious as that would be” he said once he managed to somewhat calm down “I think the great master would probably go to the pharmacy instead of the dance, which would be a little counterproductive.”

Jungkook glared at him, while Hoseok moved closer to the wall with an apologetic smile on his lips. “Just turn into a bug.” instructed Taehyung, pretending he didn’t notice Jungkook staring daggers at him. Hoseok nodded with a bit too much enthusiasm for it to be genuine, and a few seconds later there was a lady bug sitting on Jungkook’s shoulder. He couldn’t stop a sigh of relief – he had half expected he was going to be trapped with something gross, like a cockroach or a spider. But of course, that wasn’t really Hoseok’s style – Jungkook was just so used to dealing with Taehyung that he automatically expected the worst.

He glanced at the lady bug, making sure it was properly hidden, before he plopped on the edge of the bed – as far from Taehyung as possible – to put on his shoes. “Have fun.” said Taehyung, and really, it would have been fine if it stayed at that, but of course that was pretty much impossible when it came to the demon. “Don't drink too much.” He paused, slightly tilting his head. “Or actually don’t drink at all - with your lack of coordination you’d probably end up breaking your neck.”

Jungkook pressed his lips together, barely suppressing the urge to turn around and give him another glare. He only resisted because he suspected that might be precisely the reaction the demon wanted from him.

Once he finished putting on his shoes, he stood up, and a good thing he did – that way he could hightail it out of the room as soon as the demon said, with a high amount of amusement in his voice; “And if you’re planning to take your relationship with Hana to the next level, don’t forget to use protection.”

He could hear the demon’s laughter even after he slammed the door behind him and half ran down the hallway, trying to put some much-needed distance between them as quickly as possible.