Final
Call Me SanghyukSanghyuk normally doesn’t feel many emotions. He taught himself not to after so long of harvesting souls, and torturing the corrupt ones. But he felt something when a soul arrived in the underworld, a broken one, beaten from his time on the surface, red and cracked. He felt something akin to pity, so instead of sending it away, to let the henchmen of hell do with it what they will, he granted it new life.
As a demon of the underworld.
From the reborn soul, emerged a beautiful creature, one that stole the devil’s breath away. He didn’t expect it, the cat like eyes and the soft pink lips, it was something he never even dreamed could come from such a broken thing. But there stood it, or, he for that matter.
And Sanghyuk learned his name as a human had been Jung Taekwoon, and he rather liked that name.
It was quite noticeable that the devil had taken a liking to this demon, if one of his main henchman, Hongbin, had anything to say about it. He kept this Taekwoon close to him, striking up a conversation even when the other didn’t say much. He cooed over him, didn’t make him work like he did the others, never rose his voice towards Taekwoon, never raised a hand.
It was as if the Sanghyuk that the other demons knew had disappeared when Taekwoon was in front of him. And it was certainly a strange sight.
But, as time passed, the others became aware that Taekwoon was a twisted soul, one truly deserving his role as a demon. He had come to the underworld fragile, nearly crumbling, a rare sight here. Not often did a soul arrive that looked as if it needed the care of angels, not demons.
It was realised when a lesser demon came to the king of the dead, begging, pleading, because he had wronged Sanghyuk, and he wanted forgiveness. It wasn’t Sanghyuk who acted out towards the lesser, but Taekwoon. He raised a hand and sent it across the lesser’s face, sending it sprawling across the stone floor. Sanghyuk just stared, the only expression adorning his face was mild surprise. He had never seen Taekwoon look as angry as he did, as annoyed. Come to think of it, it was rare to see any sorts of emotion across the usual stoic face.
Sanghyuk felt something once more in him at that, and he found himself reaching out to grasp Taekwoon’s hand, a small smile on his face, “you needn’t do that.” He said
Taekwoon raised his brown eyes to meet Sanghyuk’s, a fire burning behind them, and the devil’s breath was stolen away when the demon answered with a simple, “I know.”
Sanghyuk became the lost puppy from that point on, to see the king of hell dwindled to nothing but a smitten child, it was surprising to the other demons. Of course, no one would dare say that to the devil himself, because he would not hesitate to raise a hand towards them, stripping them of whatever demonic essence he gave them, sending them back into the unholy souls they entered the underworld as. He was still as ruthless, and cruel as ever, but not when it came to the cat-eyed demon, Taekwoon.
Sanghyuk wouldn’t call it love, because he didn’t believe he was capable of feeling that, but when Taekwoon sent him a soft smile, however rare, it sent a warm feeling through him that felt hotter than the flames that burned along the walls of hell. The devil felt a strong emotion, that he still refused to give a name, every time Taekwoon carried out the punishments of the demons who crossed him, whether it be with unholy fire, or by his own two hands. Taekwoon was quickly regarded as the Devil’s Protector.
Not like Sanghyuk needed protecting.
One day, Taekwoon arrived from a slumber to find Sanghyuk gone, and the demon panicked. He had never spoken to other higher up demons, never needed to, he was always at Sanghyuk’s side, but he quickly ran to the only one Sanghyuk trusted as much as him, a demon by the name of Hongbin.
He was the keeper of souls, the one who directed them to their punishments, whether it be the first layer of hell, or the seventh. He was always in the same spot, usually, and Taekwoon found him rather easy.
“The lord has gone for the time being.” Hongbin had said, without Taekwoon speaking a word.
The latter opened up his mouth to speak, but the soul keeper raised a hand to silence him. “He does not need protecting, for he is stronger than the archangels of heaven, and God himself would never dare to pick a fight with him. He has gone to the surface world, if you must know, a place a demon such as yourself can never go.”
Taekwoon’s eyes narrowed to slits, “when will he return?” He finally managed to speak.
Hongbin shrugged, far to nonchalantly for Taekwoon’s liking, “That, I’m not certain of. I’m not the lord’s keeper. That seems to be your job, recently.” The older demon sneered at Taekwoon, and it took everything within his power to stop himself from lashing out.
He settled for turning and walking away, not another word spoken to the soul keeper. Taekwoon didn’t like him much, but he figured, he was a demon after all.
Sanghyuk returned, only to be greeted with an armful of Taekwoon, catching the devil off guard. His arms encircled the demon, his eyes wide as moons. He felt a beat in his chest, did his heart still work?
This wasn’t right, what was he feeling? Sanghyuk was confused, but at the same time, he knew deep down. These were human feelings, that he hasn’t felt since he was one himself. And it was something akin to love, compasion, adoration, all the other synonyms he couldn’t think of in that moment.
So he pulled back enough to tilt the demon’s head up with a single finger, stealing a kiss from those pink lips, chasing Taekwoon’s breath away.
Sanghyuk had known he would keep this one close to him, from the moment he laid eyes on that tattered soul, and gave him new life. He knew he Taekwoon would be a special demon to him, he just didn’t know it would be in this way.
“My lord?” Taekwoon’s voice held a questioning lilt to it, confused at the sudden kiss, and Sanghyuk’s affectionate hand placed on his cheek.
“Call me Sanghyuk.” The devil easily responded.
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