“Welcome.”

Hyukjae swallowed a few times, feeling nervous as he was currently facing a charismatic looking man sitting on an armchair, staring blankly at him. Sitting beside him was a strange creature that resembled Cerberus, one of the Greek mythological creatures. He might be the only human who had the chance to see Cerberus, but he couldn’t say he was proud because of this.

But rather than that ferocious looking creature, he felt more nervous about the man in front of him. Kael; the current emperor of a powerful kingdom, was what Donghae told him earlier. But much to his surprise, Kael only wanted to see him, and Donghae was forced to wait outside.

Being the arrogant lord he was, Donghae of course refused to agree and threatened to burn this whole building down, so he had to step in. He managed to calm the latter, but even so, Donghae was still throwing a fit, and had to be taken away by the royal guards. He didn’t even know where he was right now. And to be honest, he was scared.

“Rest assured, I’m not going to hurt you,” Kael said, as if he could tell what the blonde was thinking. “I only want to have a talk, that’s all.”

It wasn’t enough to put Hyukjae at ease though. He was in a world where the devils live after all. “Is…is there something you want to ask me?”

“I’m just curious. It’s rare for a powerful devil to form a pact with a human. I just want to take a look at Lord Donghae’s fiancé.”

“Is that so…”

“Well then, I still have things I need to do. So I’ll be leaving,” Kael stood up, heading towards the balcony and disappeared within a second, leaving Hyukjae behind.

“I thought he wanted to talk to me?” Hyukjae questioned himself, confused. He was glad though, since he could finally leave this spooky room.

But when he tried to open the door, the knob didn’t budge at all, much to his surprise. Wait a minute, he took a step back, staring at the huge wooden door in disbelief. Am I locked in here?!

“Looks like there’s a seal on the door.”

Startled by the voice, Hyukjae immediately turned around, only to have another shock in his life seeing a man whose face looked strangely similar to Minho. He was the same man he saw at the main hall earlier, without a doubt. Was this a dream?

“M-Minho?” Hyukjae frowned. “Are you…Minho?”

“Yes, I am.”

“This is a joke, isn’t it?”

Minho chuckled inwardly. “It’s not. You’re seeing the real me right now, Hyukjae.”

“You…you’re a devil?!”

“You got it right.”

Hyukjae was speechless. So that would mean he had been talking to a devil before? How ridiculous would that be? “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

“You didn’t ask,” Minho simply said, moving closer towards the blonde. Hyukjae was obviously shocked, but that was what he wanted to see. The surprised look the blonde had on his face was really amusing. He wondered if he could see more of him, his angry face, his smiling face, and perhaps, his tear-stained face. He wanted to see all of them.

“Oh, well,” Hyukjae sighed, “It’s not like this is my first time seeing a devil.”

“It seems like that cunning Kael has put a seal on the door,” Minho said, “It’ll be hard for you to get out of here.”

“Why would he? I thought he just wanted to talk.”

“He just wanted to anger Lord Heechul.”

“I don’t get it.”

“You can only walk out of here if the seal is broken,” Minho took a seat on a couch, his eyes never left the blonde, “And I have the power to break it.”

Hyukjae looked at the latter pleadingly, hoping that he’d be willing to help him. Although he knew nothing about Minho, he wanted to believe that he was a good guy. Just like Donghae.

Minho smiled. “I will help you, but with one condition. You have to spend your time with me while you’re here, instead of accompanying Donghae.”

It was something that Hyukjae didn’t expect. He looked at the latter questioningly, wondering what Donghae had to do with his. But if it was the only way left for him to get out of here, he’d do it. Or he wouldn’t be able to see Donghae again. “Fine,” he finally agreed. “What do you want me to do then?”

“Come here,” Minho said, patting the empty space next to him.

Unable to say anything, Hyukjae did as he was told and sat beside him. “Have you known about me even before this?”

“Sort of.”

“Then why?”

“I was curious.”

“I can never understand you devils,” Hyukjae said, looking away when he realized the latter’s eyes was on him all the time. He felt uncomfortable under his flat gaze, it was almost like he was reading him.

“Have you ever thought about it?” Minho inched closer, reaching out to touch the blonde’s pale face. He took off the wig he was wearing and threw it aside, surprising the blonde. “That your scent is strong enough to make a devil goes nuts. Amazing, don’t you think?”

“I…I don’t even want to know,” Hyukjae instantly backed away, afraid of what the latter might do to him. Minho seemed so different right now, unlike how he looked like when they were in Jeju Island.

“Let me tell you then.”

They were both shocked when the sealed door suddenly broke apart, and there was Donghae standing outside, fuming in anger. Hyukjae abruptly stood up, while Minho just sat still, his face was as calm as usual. Hyukjae was glad to see Donghae here, but another part of him was scared too, since Donghae clearly looked like he was going to kill someone.

“Too bad,” Donghae stepped inside, gritting his teeth as he dragged Hyukjae to his side. “He belongs to me now.”

“What a rude way to greet an old friend, Lord Donghae,” Minho smirked.

“We’re leaving,” Donghae said and pulled Hyukjae along with him, leaving the room.

______________________________

Hyukjae flinched when Donghae slammed the door behind them hard, not even bothering to spare him a glance as they walked into his chamber. As soon as he had finished changing his clothes, Donghae dragged him back to his mansion right away. He was obviously mad, and angry Donghae was something that he’d never want to see. He had never showed this side of him before. And it kind of scared him.

Afraid he’d anger him more if he’d talk, Hyukjae just kept silent, fidgeting in his seat. He nervously looked at the latter who was sitting on his bed, leaning against the headboard. He didn’t look good, it was as if he was enduring something he didn’t know about.

“Come here,” Donghae suddenly said.

“What?”

“I said come here,” Donghae’s voice was stern, his glaring eyes making him look even more intimidating.

Hyukjae instantly approached the latter, knowing that it wouldn’t do him any good to defy him when he was like this. He hesitantly sat down on the bed, looking at Donghae’s grim face worriedly. It might not be a wise thing to ask about Minho right now, even though he was itching to kno