He’s adorable, in a really annoying way. He just sits there at this tiny little desk with a small laptop, researching God knows what. He’s doing a really good job at ignoring me, though. So far I’ve made 15 attempts to annoy him, and he hasn’t so much as flinched.

Last night, I was just looking for somewhere peaceful to die. I knew I was dying. There was so much blood. So much darkness. I could already feel the flames of purgatory around my digits. So I just kept running until I saw a curtain move and I thought I would find a floor there.

And then suddenly I can stand up, and I’ve got the blood-red scar of the Concordat on my chest. Which wasn’t exactly part of my big plan to survive, but I can’t exactly complain. After all, he did save my life, involuntary or not.

I wasn’t even entirely sure Concordat was a real thing before I legged it into his bedroom. It’s been years since one was ever placed. I guess it’s because there aren’t a lot of pure souls hanging around saving demon’s lives. And to be honest, watching this crazy high-schooler work, it’s not much of a surprise why there aren’t more pure souls. Yeah, yeah, the first requirement is for that person to be a , but there are also minor requirements like responsibility and kindness.

Nobody’s that perfect, except for this .

And okay, okay, I give him a hard time for being a high schooler, and yes, that’s hypocritical. I became a demon when I was only eighteen, so it’s not like we have a huge or anything, but I have been a demon for a good 200-something years, so I feel like I may have a slight advantage over him.

I , but only because he’s kind of cute when he reacts to the teasing. He’s skinny, and skinny is not usually my type, but it’s pretty damn cute. I’m torn between wanting to break his face for chaining me to him, and wanting to break his hipbones by drilling into him. There’s something about his thin little frame that makes me want to seduce him. Just to see what it would be like, you know?

And maybe that’s mischievous, but I’m a demon. I get to be mischievous. It’s in the brochure.

I guess he’s a typical little nerd, with the glasses and the uniform. He changed out of it earlier, opting for jeans and a dress-shirt with tie instead. Which, to me, is a pretty ty change-over. I snapped myself into jeans and a black t-shirt real in’ quick.

“So, where’s your dad around these parts? Your mom’s wicked angry with you, too. What you do, forget to mow the lawn?”

He doesn’t turn, but thank God he finally speaks, ‘cause I’m going to go crazy with boredom. “Our lawn is trimmed to a precise height of 2.8 centimeters. I have twenty-three different spot-check points where I use a ruler to measure it every other Sunday. Ruler’s in the third drawer if you want to check it.”

You see that? Right there? That’s why this is such a bother. I asked him two real questions, and he decided to answer the snide comment. ‘Cause he’s a little goody two-shoes that runs after a Principle and has no backbone.

“Don’t you have any siblings?”

“My older sister is studying in the USA.”

“Oh, older sister?”

Joshua turns around in his chair and gives me a look I genuinely haven’t seen before. It’s more than his adorable little warning glares: it’s full-on fury. “Don’t you even think of my sister you messed-up ert, so help me God I’ll end your pathetic existence.”

I hold up both palms. I’m not intimidated, but a vein’s pulsing in his forehead and I think it might burst. “Alright, alright, I was just being nosy.”

“Be nosy about something else,” he growls coldly, turning away again.

“Jeesh, so touchy.” Why did I get a Concordat with such a hot-and-cold figure?

“Go leap off a cliff, Jeonghan.”

Well, isn’t that nice! “For somebody who is going to have to deal with me for his entire life, you’re not being very nice.”

Joshua turns to me again, this time looking more tired. “Okay, what do I do?”

I wait for more information, but he doesn’t volunteer any. “What do you mean, what do you do?”

“To get rid of you. What do I do? Sacrifice a , sell my soul, what?”

I stare at him, because he really, honestly doesn’t seem to get it. “Dude,” I mutter, “a Concordat is a sacred, unbreakable bond. It’s coded in by Heaven’s angels themselves, into our DNA. You can’t just get rid of it. It’s a blood vow, it’s unbreakable, you don’t just get rid of a Concordat. When you touched my blood with yours it was a sacred vow on your part that you would risk a drop of a pure man’s blood for a demon!”

“I didn’t do it on purpose, can’t we just explain this whole thing to-”

“To who?” I demand, standing. My horns pull out but I can’t help that now. “Who are you going to explain it to?! Nobody is hell can help you and nobody in Heaven has time!”

Joshua observes me for a moment, entirely unimpressed. He crosses his arms a moment. “Why are you getting so upset?”

This kid has some nerve. Like I don’t have any reasons to be upset. As if I’m not just as locked in as he is. “What, you think I wanted to be a ’s lackey for the next seventy-odd years?”

“Stop calling me a !”

“Then stop being one.”

Joshua stands now, too, and part of my anger dissipate