It had been a week since they went to Jeju Island, but until now, Hyukjae hadn’t received a single text or call from Donghae. He didn’t know what was wrong, they were having a good time before but now, Donghae seemed to be avoiding him. He didn’t even reply his text messages, let alone answering his calls. He didn’t remember making the latter mad, so what exactly happened?

Hyukjae sighed. He hated this feeling, he hated the fact that he couldn’t stop thinking about a certain devil. A devil who stepped into his life without warning, and made him like this. He knew that he was beginning to like Donghae, but would it be fine? Would it be alright for a human to fall in love with a devil?

“Looks like someone is not in a good mood.”

Hyukjae nearly dropped a pile of books he was holding when he heard that voice, and when he looked up, Sungmin was already there in front of him, grinning. “Hyung, don’t scare me like that,” he whined.

“Why are you spacing out? You’re supposed to arrange those books on the shelf, not staring at them.”

“I’m arranging right now.”

“You were daydreaming.”

“I’m not.”

“Are you thinking about Donghae-sii?”

“Oh please,” Hyukjae grimaced, though he knew Sungmin had just pointed out the reason behind his solemn face today. “Why would I be thinking about that guy?”

“I thought you’re in good terms with him lately.”

“Don’t even mention about him. He’s really pissing me off.”

“So it’s really about him.”

“I’m not-“ Hyukjae wanted to protest, but stopped when he realized he had just said something that shouldn’t be said.

Sungmin chuckled. He took a step closer and leaned back against the shelf behind him, his right hand ruffling the blonde’s hair. “What’s going on between you two? A lover’s quarrel?”

“It’s not!” Hyukjae denied, though his lips was slowly forming a pout. “He…he hasn’t called me even once, and he’s not even answering my calls.”

“He’s probably busy. Don’t worry about it too much.”

“I just hope that he’s not avoiding me,” Hyukjae said, his face saddened at his own thought. Even though he hated Donghae when they first met, things were different now. He somehow felt empty without the latter by his side.

“Trust me, he is not avoiding you,” Sungmin said, patting the blonde’s shoulder gently. “I have a feeling that he’s actually a nice guy. Are you happy with him, Hyukjae-ah?”

Hyukjae slowly nodded his head. It was the truth. He couldn’t deny the fact that he was starting to fall in love with Donghae. He kept telling himself to stop thinking about him, but in the end, he couldn’t. After all, that man was the one who pulled him away from being drowned by his own sadness.

“This is normal for those who’re in love. You’ll have to face it.”

“You said it like you’re experienced in this matter, hyung.” “Of course I am.”

“You have a boyfriend?!” Hyukjae abruptly stood up, surprised by the unexpected ‘news’ he had never heard before. “For real?”

“Do you really think I can live my whole life without having a boyfriend?” Sungmin laughed as he pinched the blonde’s nose playfully. “Yeah, I do have one, but we rarely meet now. He’s kind of…busy.”

“You didn’t tell me before!”

“I just told you, didn’t I?”

“How could you keep this a secret from me? I thought we’re the best brothers in the world!” Hyukjae pouted, pretending to be sad.

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. But now that you know, keep it a secret from your mom okay? She’ll definitely tell me to get married right away. Now hurry up and arrange all these books. We’re about to close the shop.”

Hyukjae could only laugh silently as he watched the older skipping excitedly towards the counter. Somehow he felt glad that the older had already found someone. Maybe they could even go on a double date someday. “Wait,” the smile on Hyukjae’s face immediately disappeared. “What the hell am I thinking?” he shook his head a few times as he continued to arrange the books.

“Lee Hyukjae! Be quick or I’ll leave you behind!”

Surprised by Sungmin’s loud voice, Hyukjae accidentally dropped the books he was holding, causing him to glare at the older who was busy checking the cash register. He sighed once again as he bent down to collect the books, but when his eyes landed on a thick brown book, he stopped. A frown was formed on his face as he took the book and read the title; Things You Need To Know About Devils.

“Devils?”

Hyukjae suddenly felt shiver ran down his spine. Was this book really here? He wanted to open the book, but for some reason, he had a bad feeling about it. He then quickly picked the books up and put them on the shelf, feeling uneasy all of a sudden. I’ll just read the book tomorrow, he thought before leaving in a hurry.

___________________________________

It was drizzling when Hyukjae arrived at Namdaemun Market. The weather was gloomy, somehow it was giving him an eerie feeling but he just shrugged it off. He was probably just imagining things. If it wasn’t because he was craving for some strawberries, he wouldn’t even bother to go out alone in this kind of weather. Sungmin was out early in the morning to meet his friends, and he had no choice but to go by himself.

He was thinking of calling Donghae, but seeing how the latter ignored his calls for the past few days, he decided not to. He didn’t even want to think about him anymore. He would only waste his time thinking about someone who didn’t even reply his text messages, even though he had been waiting for a week. That jerk, he cursed in his mind.

It didn’t take long for him to arrive at a stall selling fresh fruits, and his face brightened up right away seeing his sparkling strawberries right in front of his eyes.

“Fresh fruits here, anything you want?” A middle-aged woman, probably the owner of the stall asked him with a warm smile on her face.

“Give me 20 of these, ahjumma,” Hyukjae said, pointing at the strawberries.

“Oh dear, what should I do? I’m really sorry, but these strawberries have been reserved. Someone has already bought them.”

“What?” Hyukjae frowned, unable to hide his disappointment. “But it’s-“

“Ahjumma, please pack the straw