Hwayoung's eyes widened in both fear―and anger. She hadn’t heard or even wanted to think about that name in years, as it brought back many unwanted memories that cut through her and tore her limb from limb. Those memories were cold and grim like the boy who sat across from her, all black eyes and feral smirks. They were the memories that would never leave her sight, the events of a lost life. She had given everything; her entire life in Seoul and many years to forget that name, and yet, here Taemin was, spewing it like it was nothing. He didn't deserve to say Jinki's name, he didn’t even deserve to think about him, "You have no right to say that name in front of me, not after what you did."
 

"Oh, seems like I struck a rather sensitive spot," Taemin smirked, raw amusement in his voice as he laced his fingers together. He watched the rise and fall of her chest, her eyes glazed over with fury and he scoffed, "Why are you so mad, Hwayoung? What happened?"

"You know what ing happened," She barked, "You took him from me, you took Jinki away!" She jumped from her chair, hands balled into fists as tears begin to form in her eyes. Her head was pounding, her heart ached, the scar she so desperately tried to heal, was reopening right before her eyes. Her breathing slowed, but the anger didn’t as she whispered: “You murdered him.”

“Oh, Hwayoung. Always so dramatic!” Taemin rolled his eyes, and sat back in his seat, a limber leg folding over the other, “Are you still whining about that? It was years ago, stop crying.”

Hwayoung’s eyes widened in disbelief, “Are you kidding me? You’re telling me to stop crying? I lov―Do you know how much pain you caused us all? When you took him?” She willed her breathing to even. Getting angry so many times in one day was probably not good for her health.

“Yeah, okay, whatever.” Taemin replied, completely disregarding her scolding, “You have always been such a baby, he was just a boy.”

There’s a silence as Hwayoung tries to hold herself back from tearing Taemin’s scoff clean off his face, “You know what, Taemin? Go to hell.”

“I would, but I have some business I must attend to here.” Taemin winked.

The scowl stayed on her face, but a terrible sinking feeling formed in the pit of her stomach, “What is it about Jinki, why are you bringing him up?”
 

“Finally, I was waiting for you to finish with the dramatics,” An exaggerated sigh here, "As I was saying, it seems that after all these years, his soul is still wandering around in Purgatory. I am not surprised though, he was never the smartest of the bunch, can’t even direct his spirit in the right direction!"

Hwayoung silently fumed in her seat as she watched Taemin laugh, “Well, maybe he’s lost because some monster took his life away when he wasn’t even ready for death.”

“Oh, touchy, touchy. Why are you so angry? It’s not as if I was the only one who had killed him. My friends were hungry. It is my duty to feed them, and Jinki just so happened to be the meal of the day.” Taemin’s eyes turned into crescents once more and Hwayoung repressed the urge retch as images of all the times she had seen Taemin as what he was flooded her mind.

“Disgusting.” She whispered. Taemin ignored her.

“You must stop interrupting me, Hwayoung.” He warned despite the smile on his face, “As I was saying, I have a little.. Proposal for you.”

Hwayoung halted in the impatient leg shaking she had been previously doing as she stares at the boy in front of her. He folded his hands together and for the first time that day, he looked tired, “As you know―On Earth I am not entirely the all-powerful Prince of Darkness as I am at home, which is partly why I require my little underlings around to do most of my dirty work, you understand.” He looked at Hwayoung as if she were to agree or nod, which she doesn’t, but he continued despite that, “Anyway, because of that I―Wait, you are aware of the term, ‘making a deal with the Devil,’ correct?”

She slowly nodded, “I am aware.”

“Yes, well, I have a deal for you, Hwayoung.” He smirked a smirk that evoked a chill that ran through her, and he chuckled slowly, “And I must say that I want this to work out.”

Hwayoung paused, not sure of what was happening, “What do you want?”

“I am familiar with the fact that before I had,” He rolled his eyes, “disposed of Jinki, that the both of you were rather enamored with each other.”

“We were in love,” She said with a calm anger, “I loved him, Taemin.”

“Yes, yes that. Well, since you two were so in love, how would you like the chance to try again?”

Hwayoung looked up at this moment, a flash of fear flits across her face as she gulped, “Another chance? What―With Jinki? How? He’s dead, how could I―”

“The poor soul is stuck in Limbo, Hwayoung,” Taemin jut out a lip and pretended to sob, “And being the kind and regal person I am, I have decided that I shall be nice today.”

“What are you tal―”

“I am giving you the chance to have Jinki back, Hwayoung, in both mind and body―” His smile curled devilishly, “And alive.”

Hwayoung stared in disbelief, her hands curled into fists on the table. There’s a short silence between the two, Hwayoung all wide eyes and Taemin with his pale smile, the only noises around them the innocent chatter from the people who surrounded them.

Jinki. I could have him back? I could be with him again? Jinki, Jinki, Jink―I need―

After another moment, Hwayoung finally managed to breathe, “You really could―You can give him back to me?”

“Yes, Hwayoung,” Taemin nodded, his voice slithered into the back of her head, it echoed, “I’m telling you that I can give you all you have ever wanted, back.”

For the first time since she had set foot into that café, a smile appeared on Hwayoung’s lips just thinking about the idea of having Jinki back. Images of his bright smile and warm embrace fills her thoughts and her eyes slightly glaze over, “You would really do that for me? I can really have―”

“Ah ah,” Taemin waved a finger at her, interrupting her thoughts and bringing a whole new feeling of dread to the girl, “At a price; you didn’t think I’d do it for free did you?”

Oh crap.

“I will give you Jinki back, graciously,” Once again, Hwayoung gulped as Taemin let out a brief chortle, “in return for your soul.”

“My soul?” She choked out almost instantly, “What?!”

“Like I had mentioned beforehand,” He sits back in his seat and shrugged at her, “I am not as powerful on Earth as I’d like to be, so by making deals and collecting souls―I get stronger. And I have always had an affinity for souls like yourself.”

Hwayoung swore she saw Taemin’s eyes glaze over in complete darkness, a Cheshire grin to match, “What do you mean?”

“Why, broken souls left by heartache, of course,” He cackled, and she began to feel her resolve crackle along with it, “It seems that people like you are most easy to break.”

Hwayoung looked away, both fury and sadness overwhelming her because―Taemin was right. She was broken. When Jinki had died, she had finally lost it. Just like Jinki, she was a lost soul roaming the earth. She was so desperately in love with the boy, and became completely hysterical once he was gone.

But she still couldn’t give Taemin something so vital to her life, she couldn’t give him her soul.

“You’re ing nuts.”

Taemin’s smile dropped, and he sputtered indignantly, “What did you say?”

“You heard me,” She stood, as she quickly grabbed her bag, “I am not, and will not ever give you my life. Ever.”

Taemin stood up as well just as she was about to pass him, and he gripped her arm harshly, “Think about what you’re doing, Hwayoung. Do you really think you can say no to me?”

She breathed, “Even though I love Jinki, and would do anything to be back in his arms, I still wouldn’t do this. I still wouldn’t give in to you,” She pulled her arm harshly out of Taemin’s grasp, startling the boy, “Now goodbye and drop dead.” She spat at his feet before shoving him out of the way.

Hwayoung rushed out of the café, the bells chimed wildy as the door slammed behind her. Taemin stayed rooted to his spot, unmoving, his eyes on the floor before he slowly sat back in his seat. A cold aura began to fill the café then, unbeknownst to the other patrons seated in the tables near by, as Taemin gripped the edges of the table. Life around the devil began to slow, the people sitting in the tables nearby ceased to move until they were just statues, time seemingly freezes.

“Foolish girl, how dare she say no to me.” His eyes filled with a pure black, uncontrolled anger that pooled in the pit of his stomach. His teeth grit together as the boy attempted to control the growl building in the back of his throat. Purple and black veins formed around the rims of his fair eyes, it's lengths reaching all corners of his delicate face, and the edges of the table cracked under his hands.

“Down, boy, you’re going to show your true colours.” A beautiful blond-haired boy suddenly materialized in the seat between Taemin and the wall, and he put a hand on the almost fuming boy next to him. A curved red mark that went through his right eye like a slash from a knife graced his face and he was clad in a black and gold leather outfit; a large, gold falcon ring shone on his index finger that seemed to change into the face of a lion when he ran his thumb over it.

Taemin whipped around instantly and hissed inhumanly at the intruder, the black in his eyes rapidly spreading to his skin and his tongue sharp like a bloody knife. The boy stared at him unfazed, and squeezed the hand he had on Taemin's shoulder which promptly pulled the devil out of his brief anger.

“Oh, Karael. It’s just you,” Taemin blinked out of his possession, and evidently returned to normal. He grazed a thumb underneath his eyes quickly, his pupils dilate back to normal and his demonic abnormalities returned to its former beautiful, human state. He took a breath, “What are you doing here?”

The boy sighed, “I told you to stop calling me that, call me by my new name.”

Taemin rolled his eyes then, “Alright, Key, what are you doing here?”

Key smirked, and plays with the collar of his leather jacket, “Heard the little King was attempting to make a big business deal but instead got shot down. Harsh world, eh Taeminnie?”

“Don't call me that,” Taemin groaned angrily, “Do not make me any more angry than I am already, or I will not be responsible for what I do to you.”

“Of course,” Key smiled simply before crossing a leg over the other and fiddling with a zipper on the side of his pants, “Why are you so ruffled all of a sudden though?”

Taemin’s face darkened as he recalls Hwayoung’s defying words, and he grit his teeth once more, “Stubborn human, I hate when they say no. It requires so much work after.”

“Oh,” Key said, and sat up straight. He looked Taemin in the eyes, his expression serious, “Why not move on then? There are many other humans in this world and I foresee that it is not worth the strain.”

Taemin shook his head, an evil smirk appeared on his angelic face, “Once my eyes are set on something, it must be mine. I am telling you now; do not interfere with this, Key, that is an order and you will follow it.”

Key hissed under his breath before making an unhappy face at the black-haired boy. He turned his head the other way, his look in his eyes angry and defeated.

“Good choice.” Taemin stood then, andd outstretched a hand to Key who stared up at him. Thick, black fog began to pool around their feet as Key took the boy’s hand reluctantly. Monstrous, disfigured hands of shadow rose from the fog and encircled around their legs before yanking the pair into the dark abyss that swallowed them whole, a high pitched screeching echoing after them.

“I always get what I want, Key. No matter what, I will make sure of it.”

Those in the café that sat around where Taemin and Key once stood continued on as if nothing had happened, as if they saw nothing, because they hadn’t seen anything. Nothing had happened after they had seen Hwayoung storming out―with Taemin promptly running out after her.