My co-worker… Or rather, this demon, Heechul, let me live for ten more days. I wonder what’s going to happen to me now…

“Here it is!” Sungmin said, “The Demon House!”

“The Demon House… Aptly named, isn’t it?” I replied.

It’s a big, nice-looking house… Oh, who am I kidding? They brought me here so they can keep an eye on me.

“Well, it’s a sight nicer than your beat-up old apartment.” Heechul said.

“Hmph… I wouldn’t call it ‘beat-up’!” I pouted.

So much for my ‘kind co-worker’ impression of him I had from work. The real Heechul doesn’t seem kind at all…

“You’re quite a bit different off the clock, aren’t you?” I asked him.

“Can’t exactly let my demon self loose at the workplace, can I?” He smirked.

“Well, I guess not, but-”

I looked up at him. He was staring at me thoughtfully.

“So, why was it that you picked me as your guard?”

“Why?” I thought for a moment, “Well, I knew you from work for one.”

“Hmph.”

What kind of response is that? Guess he doesn’t really care. He did say that ‘all humans are idiots’. Perhaps he hates humans in general…

Heechul turned to Sungmin, “Sungmin, she’s your problem now.”

“What!?” Sungmin asked shocked.

“I’m busy. I don’t have the time to be tending to a human woman. Show her around the house or something.” Heechul replied.

“Ah yes!” Sungmin bowed, “Understood!”

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

“And here’s Hae’s room.” Sungmin said as he showed me yet another room.

I looked around, “there are a lot of toys in here…”

“Hae does a lot or drawing and building things in here.” Sungmin replied.

“Wow…”

The one they called Donghae does seem to have an air of innocence. Childlike, almost.

“Hae is the one who accompanies the souls that get turned over to the angels.”

“Angels…” I repeated the word quietly.

“We pipeline the business of the ‘toast missions’.”

Hmm… It seems turning humans into ‘toast’ is just a job to demons…

“Now, let me show you the next room!” Sungmin smiled.

He lead me out the door and to the next room, “Here we have Kyuhyun’s room.”

I looked around, there was video games scattered all over the floor, “It looks… Well-used.”

“Kyuhyun, apparently, doesn’t believe in cleaning his room.” Sungmin replied.

“He doesn’t ‘believe’ in cleaning…?” I questioned.

“Kyuhyun uses his clairvoyance to figure out why someone’s going to be toast.” He added, “That’s how he prepares all our documentation.”

The way they do their work really makes them seem like a company…

“Also, I’m not one to talk behind another person’s back, but…” He looked around and then whispered to me, “Watch out for Kyuhyun’s quick advances.”

“Quick advances?” I looked at him, “Is he the kind of person that ‘plays around’ with women?”

Sungmin thought for a moment, “Hmm, rather than ‘plays around’, it’s more like ‘plays with’. He may look like an angel, but on the inside he’s a demon among demons, you might say.”

“A demon among demons…” I thought about those words.

It wasn’t too long ago that he casually told Heechul to turn me into toast on the spot. Kyuhyun seems like the kind of person with a hidden side…

“I understand.” I gave him a soft smile and bowed, “Thank you very much for the warning.”

“Aw, come on! You don’t have to be all polite to me!” Sungmin giggled, “You’re actually older than I am.”

“But…” My voice trailed off.

“It’s easier for me to talk that way.” He smiled, “By the way, if there’s any trouble, feel free to talk to me.”

“Okay, thanks! I’ve got it.”

Sungmin’s a nice guy, isn’t he? I’ve had nothing but worries up until now, but Sungmin’s a big help!

“Now then, next up is Yesung’s room!” Sungmin said as we headed out the door.

When we got to Yesung’s room, I was surprised, “It’s incredibly… Monotone…”

The only thing in this room was a bed.

“It’s easier to sleep that way for him. Sleeping is practically his hobby.” Sungmin shrugged.

His hobby is sleeping? Well, now that I think about it, he did seem pretty gloomy. Not exactly, ‘full of life’.

Sungmin continued, “Yesung uses his mind control to gather information about the people to be toasted.”

“Mind control?” I asked, “You mean he can make people do whatever he wants?”

“Yup.” Sungmin smiled, “But don’t worry: he doesn’t use his ability outside of work.”

Forgive me if I worry anyway… Make no mistake, these people are not human….

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

“And here’s my room.” Sungmin smiled as we entered another room.

“It looks very… Japanese, doesn’t it?” I said.

“It was my brother who asked to model the room in Japanese style.” His smile grew wider, “I think the tatami mat flooring calms the soul, don’t you?”

“Wait, who’s your brother?” I asked.

“Ah, that’d be Heechul. He’s my big brother.” He explained, “That said, he’s Prince of the Demon Realm, so our positions are entirely different.”

“The prince?”

“Yup. We’re both the sons of the governing Demon King.” He continued, “My brother’s been raised as Prince since the day he was born.”

“Which means he’s heir to the throne, then?” I questioned.

“Yup, our successor, burdened with the future of all demonkind. As a kid, he was constantly being told that he’s different from everyone else.”

“Huh…” I replied.

“But my brother really was the best, no matter what task you threw at him.” He looked at the floor, “Unlike me… He’s part of the elite of the Demon Realm.”

“Wow…”

Heechul certainly gives the impression of eliteness. The company was awash with praise for his excellent, efficient work. Of course, it also felt like he was looking down on everyone else…

“Sungmin, do you know if Heechul-”

I was suddenly stopped by a pair of arms wrapping around me from behind.

 

 

“Don’t snoop around in other people’s business.”

That was Heechul’s voice. He covered my eyes.

“H-Hold on, what-”

“You’re rather red in the face.” Heechul added, “On the brink of suffocation, are we?”

No! Of course I’m going to be red in the face with you hugging me!

“Heechul! Don’t be so rough!” Sungmin said, “Don’t you feel any pity for her?”

“What do you mean by pity?” Heechul questioned, “No matter what happens, she’ll be toast in just ten days.”

That hurt when you put it so matter-of-factly… I haven’t exactly accepted this fate yet.

“But-”

“That’s enough, Sungmin.” Heechul interrupted him, “I’ll show her to her room.”

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

“This is your room.” Heechul said as we walked into a plain, old, room.

“Oh, so I have an actual room, then…”

“It’s not like we made it for you, personally.” Heechul scoffed, “In any case, it’s not equipped with surveillance cameras or anything, so be at ease.”

I wouldn’t even feel calm changing my clothes if there were…

“Listen, don’t go sneaking out of your room without permission.” Heechul said.

I wasn’t going to let him tell me what to do, “M-Maybe I will, maybe I won’t!”

“Keep your reckless mouth shut, human. Perhaps you need a bit of discipline.” He suddenly became angry.

“That… I-I was joking… S-Sorry…”

“Hmph. Try to remember who you’re speaking to!” He replied.

“You’re responsible for the ‘future of demonkind’, after all.” I added.

“I see Sungmin had been running his mouth again…” He looked at the ground angrily.

Should I have not said that?

“Just so you know, we demons aren’t in the business of taking human life.” He added, “Your fate’s a done deal. Predetermined. You’re toast. We just ensure that everything happens as fate decrees. We also have a duty to prevent toast from sticking around and becoming ghosts.”

“G-Ghosts!?”

“We have our own way of life.”

Just the same, it’s hard for me to accept all of this…

“However,” Heechul continued, “We have broken the law of the Demon Realm.”

“W-What kind of law?” I asked.

“We cannot alter a human’s lifespan and all recovered souls must be taken to the angels.” He replied, “We chose to accept your proposal and break these laws.”

“I understand, completely.”

I can’t accept this all right now, but I certainly don’t expect Heechul to understand that. I’d prefer not to slip up and become ‘toast’ too early…

“I’m very grateful to you for lengthening my life and breaking the law.” I bowed.

“Huh, so you do have some gratitude, then.” He stared at me carefully, “Then how about your repay the favor with your body?”

“W-What!?” I asked.

Heechul suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“M-My body? You don’t mean-”

Heechul scoffed, “Not that, moron. Feeble human girls aren’t my type. I’m talking about manual labor.”

“Manual labor?” I asked.

“Go an make dinner for us.” He replied.

Heechul pushed me toward the door. I looked back at him before slowly opening the door and heading downstairs. Heechul followed me. I got into the kitchen and turned around to look at him.

“Heechul, didn’t we just have dinner?” I asked.

“I was on a mission.” He smirked, “I can’t call that dinner.”

But I had such a great time! I find that kind of insulting! I looked up at Heechul and he motioned for me to make dinner for him and the rest of the house. I sighed at got to work. After about an hour or so, I finished and served Heechul his plate.

“Here we are! Bibimbap!” I said.

Heechul stared at the food in bliss, “Seems you have some skill with this.”

I nodded, “I made food for my family all the time when I was a kid.”

“The whole deal?”

“My mother was always busy, so the responsibility fell on me.” I shrugged.

“Hmm…” Heechul eyed his plate, “You’ve got the method down, but it’s sloppy.”

“Oh, sorry…” I said, “I tend to get pretty fired up when I do this, so it’s not very elegant.”

“Hand me the knife. I’ll cut that cucumber.” Heechul said.

I handed him the knife and watched him. He deftly handled the knife and made a series of cuts along the cucumber. In the blink of an eye, the entire thing is sliced into neat discs.

“That’s so skill you have!” I said.

“I suppose so.” Heechul shrugged.

Part of the demon elite, AND skilled at cooking. I wonder if there’s anything Heechul can’t do perfectly… Soon, everyone else came downstairs to eat and I served them their plates.

“Wow, _______. You’re great at cooking! I envy your future husband!” Kyuhyun smiled.

“Oh, um, thank you very much.” I bowed a bit.

“The seasoning isn't bad, I think you’ll find.” Heechul said, “It’s edible, to be sure.”

‘It’s edible’, he says between enormous mouthfuls.. But if that means he likes it, I’m happy…

“What?” Heechul asked me.

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing..” I replied, looking away from him, “This vinegared cucumber salad is delicious! And they’re all cut so perfectly.”

“Of course they are.” Heechul smirked, “It’s a cakewalk for me.”

“The picture of modesty, aren’t you…” I mumbled.

“You say something?” Heechul asked.

“‘Scuse me…” Yesung stood up.

“Hmm? You’re done already?” I questioned him.

“Yesung’s never been one for eating. He rarely eats much, if anything.” Donghae said.

“Why’s that?” I questioned.

“I’m just not that into eating.” Yesung said.

Not into eating? I didn’t think such a person existed.

He looked at me, disgusted, “I don’t know how you can pig out like that even after you ate at the restaurant.”

“‘Pig out’?” I questioned.

Kyuhyun laughed, “What a cute little piglet!”

“I kinda feel like making a pig sculpture now, using _______ as a model!” Donghae joined in laughing also.

I pouted, “Would you stop treating me like I’m some sort of piggy character!?”

Sungmin was laughing also, “What’s ‘piggy character’ supposed to mean!”

Everyone’s sitting around the table, eating and laughing… Wait, I’m getting too comfortable being around demons. I’ll be toast in ten days. But before then, I still have something I must do…

While everyone else was talking and laughing, Heechul nudged me, “Hey, when you’re done eating, come to my room.”

I looked at him puzzled, but slowly nodded. He stood up and headed toward his room.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________


 

When everyone was finished, I cleaned off their plates, then headed upstairs to Heechul’s room.

“Well, this is a simple, organized room…” I said looking around.

“I find it annoying when things are out of line.” Heechul replied.

“I see…”

“So you can understand when I say I’m annoyed by noisy, out of line women.” He glared at me.

Is it just me, or does Heechul dislike women in addition to disliking humans…?

“That brings me to you. What do you have to do in ten days?” He asked.

“My older sister,” I said, “She’s due in ten days.”

“Due?” He looked at me confused.

“She’s having her first child. She said it’s a girl.” I replied, “Before I die, I want to see my niece's face…”

“So that’s it. Your niece.” He rolled his eyes.

His expression is cold, disgusted even…

“Honestly, humans are idiots. Foolish idiots.” He continued saying.

“What does that mean, exactly?” I questioned.

“See your niece’s face, why don’t you, and then see how you feel about dying.” He scoffed again, “You’re just going to end up with one more unnecessary attachment to this world.”

“But even so, I want to meet my niece!” I shouted at him, “I want to be there with my sister, to help her safely deliver!”

“Hmph. What’s all this concern for your sister?” He asked, still cold.

“She’s been frail since birth. They said it would be difficult for her to bear children. But she conceived, and her husband was so happy! I want to be there, to see my sister holding her newborn girl.” I looked at the floor, on the verge of tears.

Heechul looked me up and down, “You’re a strange woman.”

Thinking about all this makes me sad.

“Hey.” Heechul said, making me look up at him, “Help me write up this proposal.”

I blinked a few times, “For what?”

“I need to finish this proposal for a presentation.” He said handing me some papers, “Enter this data into Spreadsheet and format it for me.”

“I take it you’re going to keep working at our company?” I asked.

“It’s convenient to have a title to work behind, so for the time being, yeah.” He shrugged, “Not to mention, I’ve got to keep you under surveillance.”

“You’ll be watching me at work, too, then…” I mumbled.

“Quit complaining and help me out.” He demanded.

“Sorry… I’m not that good with Spreadsheet.” I replied.

“My orders are absolute. Get your computer ready in five seconds.”

“What?” I asked a bit shocked.

He started counting, “Five, four, three….”

“I-I understand!” I said and got out my laptop from my bag, the only thing I really have with me.

“You are under MY surveillance.” He said sternly.

I nodded as I my laptop.

Heechul began pacing in front of me, “I require absolute obedience to my commands.”

“‘Absolute’!?”

“Yes, absolute obedience.” He repeated.

I sighed. Picking Heechul as my guard might have been a bad idea…

“Don’t make any mistakes in entering the data.”

“O-Okay…” I said quietly.

Facing my computer, I helped Heechul with his project…. Well, more like did the whole thing myself. After a little while, I started to get tired. It’s no surprise, so many things happened today! I tried to keep myself awake, but it wasn’t working. Before I knew it, all I was seeing was darkness. I was no longer aware of my surroundings, by this time, I was sleeping. I don’t know how long it had been that I was asleep, but I suddenly felt someone carrying me…. Or maybe it was a dream…

“Thanks, _______. You’re a real team player.”

Was that Heechul’s voice?

“Just another reason why humans are a pain in the neck…”

 

 

Click Here To Go To The Next Chapter

*Coming Soon*

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update! But here’s the first chapter! Summers only a week away for me, which means, more updates! Haha so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one!(:

Thankyu to all my Commenters, Readers, Subscribers, and Upvoters!(: