“You better tell me everything.”

Kris jolted up when Hyukjae suddenly appeared in front of him, slamming his hands on the table. “Tell you what?”

“About Donghae, and me,” Hyukjae said. He shouldn’t have run away before, he should just ask Donghae himself, but he couldn’t seem to do it.

“About what exactly?”

“Don’t act like a dumb kid, Kris. You know everything, so tell me. I heard something about Donghae trying to save me. What the hell does that supposed to mean?”

Kris sighed. “I knew it’d turn out like this. But Lord Donghae is just too stubborn.”

Hyukjae took a seat across the latter and impatiently tapped his fingers on the table. He swore, if Kris would still keep silent for another few seconds, he’d choke him to death.

“Do you seriously want to know about this?”

“If it’s about the devouring my soul thing, I’ve known about it, so don’t let it bother you.”

Kris jaw dropped, clearly not expecting Hyukjae’s reaction towards the supposed-to-be-shocking-and-terrifying truth. “Oh, I see.”

“Yeah, go on.”

“Well, it’s like this,” Kris started, “On the 400th day after a devil and a human made a pact, the devil will have to devour the human’s soul.”

Even if he had already known about it, Hyukjae could still feel cold shiver running down his spine whenever he heard it. “Y-yeah, and?”

“However, as long as they don’t have feelings towards each other, the human will not be in pain when his soul is being devoured.”

So that’s how it was, Hyukjae thought. He could understand now, just why Donghae would try so hard to make them hate each other. He wasn’t a selfish bastard, he was actually trying to save him. He felt a little hurt, that he wasn’t able to comfort Donghae and give him strength during those times.

“The only way for Donghae to save you is by killing the devil king,” Kris continued, “But it’s not going to be easy.”

“Y-you mean… Donghae is going to kill the king? For my sake?”

Kris nodded. He knew it’d be hard for Hyukjae to handle all of this. But he still had to know, that’d be the best for both of them.

“What…what will happen if my soul is devoured?” Hyukjae hesitantly asked.

“When a human’s soul is devoured by a devil, the human’s whole existence will be erased. In other words, no one will remember that you existed, not even your own family, or your closest friends.”

Hyukjae swallowed nervously. This certainly was scarier than any horror movies he had watched. Standing up, he weakly thanked Kris for telling him the truth he had been searching for, and slowly walked away. He had so many things going on his mind, and he really felt exhausted, mentally exhausted, to be exact.

He then stopped right in front of Donghae’s room, hesitating to step inside. The door was slightly opened, but it didn’t seem like anyone was in there. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door and walked inside, but Donghae and Kyuhyun were nowhere to be seen.

He slumped down onto the bed, another sigh escaped his lips as he realized just how much he hated the silence around him. But before he could lie down, the door suddenly flung open, and Donghae came rushing in.

“Hyukjae!”

Hyukjae didn’t even get to open his mouth when Donghae kneeled down in front of him all of a sudden, looking at him with his pleading eyes.

“I know I’ve been so terrible and bad and I’ve been lying to you but please, please please don’t leave me just like that, we can talk about it, I swear I’ll never lie to you again. I promise I’ll tell you everything!”

“Donghae.”

“Yeah I know I should’ve told you sooner but, but I don’t have the nerve to tell you the truth and, and… and I really, really need you so I don’t-“

“Lee Donghae!” Hyukjae cupped the latter’s face, staring into his silver-colored eyes. They were always glowing beautifully, but now, they looked dull and sad. “Who said anything about leaving?”

“B-but you…”

“I am not going to leave you. You really need to calm down.”

“Damn it…” Donghae lowered his head and let out a relieved sigh, as he placed his hands on the blonde’s thighs. “I was so worried that I felt like dying. I thought you were going to leave me.”

“Why would I leave you?” Hyukjae softly asked. “I’m not leaving, idiot. Can’t you see that I’m still here?”

“You must’ve heard everything.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m afraid.”

“Of what?”

“Of you leaving me.”

Hyukjae sighed. He patted the empty space beside him, telling Donghae to sit on the bed, and the latter complied. “I’m not mad at you, Donghae. But I told you, didn’t I? I don’t want any more secrets between us. Stop leaving me in the dark, we’re together in this.”

Donghae’s face looked no different than a sad little puppy at the moment, and Hyukjae had to hold himself back from laughing. “So… you…you don’t hate me?”

“You idiot, why in the world would I hate my boyfriend?”

Sighing heavily, Donghae lied down on the bed, his eyes staring at the sculptured ceiling above him. “I feel so relieved now…”

“Donghae.”

“Hmm?”

“You don’t have to go so far for me,” Hyukjae said in a soft voice, almost whispering, “Why are you doing this?”

His question was only answered with the silence, and that was when he realized, that Donghae had already fallen asleep. Hyukjae smiled as he leaned over, taking a better look at the latter’s sleeping face.

“Sleep tight,” he whispered, before leaning in to place a kiss on the latter’s cheek.

_____________________________

Hyukjae fidgeted nervously in his seat, trying his best not to look at Victoria in the eye. No matter how he looked at it, the situation they were in right now was awkward, too awkward. He never thought that Victoria would be back this fast, sitting right across him, with her eyes th