Shindong adjusts the teddy bear ears on his head. “So, all in all, a roaring success, I’d say.”

“Well I wouldn’t say roaring,” Sungmin looks down modestly, hiding his smile behind his hand. “But I think I have a really good shot at saving his soul, now.”

“Saving his-” Shindong starts. “Wait, I thought this was about-”

“About what?” Sungmin asks, sitting up. “About what, Shindong?”

“Um. Nothing. Saving his soul, like you said.”

“Dongie!” 

Leeteuk the senior angel appears just then, however, and winks at Sungmin in greeting. “Good job from all of us back at the office. Taking him to Lotte World, nice thinking.”

“Thank you,” Sungmin preens, pleased with himself. 

Just then, Leeteuk catches sight of Shindong’s bear ears sitting nestled among his golden curls.

“Should I even ask?”

**

“I am most displeased, Sungmin,” Lucifer announces, shocking the incubus out of his skin and out of his Heaven-sponsored cloud bed. He looks around him from his position on the floor, trying to locate the source of the disembodied voice. 

“Stop looking for me, I’m talking to you from the salon. Like as if I have so much time to go up there whenever I want to talk to you.”

“Oookay,” Sungmin says, getting up slowly. “What have I done to earn your displeasure, Lord?”  

“What have you done? Idiot. It’s what you haven’t done! How could you let that angel take the kid to Lotte World? And don’t think I don’t know about all the stuff he was asking you about later on. Pssh,” Lucifer scorns. “And here I thought you were the best candidate for the job. Clearly, even the shapeless things that inhabit the deepest pits of Hell have better seduction skills than you.”

“Excuse me, your Badness, but may I point out also a fact that you seem to have missed, which is that right after he asked me all those questions I managed to make him shut him up and forget about it via said seduction skills?”

“Not good enough. The way things are going he’s going to get tired of you by tomorrow. Impress him! Make him think you actually care about him!”

“I do!” Sungmin stops immediately, and his heart starts to pound. “No, I-”

“…What did you just say?” Lucifer’s voice lowers and slows dangerously. 

“No! Your highness, that’s not what I meant. I meant I am trying to impress him, but all he’s interested in are- are stupid computer games. And Math. It’s not that easy,” he stresses.

“Whatever. Just remember that we’re supposed to win this. Not the other side, and it’s all riding on you. Make me proud, hmm?”

Lucifer goes silent, and Sungmin fervently wishes he knew how to inject sheer malice into his voice like that. 

Back at the salon, Lucifer tsks at the demon doing his nails for being too slow, and turns to God sitting on his left. “Couldn’t have planned it better ourselves.”

God ‘hmmm’s happily, enjoying his foot massage.

**

“Taecyeon, stop being an idiot and come here!”

A tall, strapping, toothy demon stops horsing around with another one called Wooyoung, and they both rip off mock salutes. 

Sungmin rolls his eyes, and looks at the group of demons he has gathered in the almost-empty carpark. “Okay. Taecyeon, Wooyoung, and Chansung. You know what you have to do?”

“Yes, boss,” Chansung says, grinning lazily. 

“I’m serious! Don’t this up! A lot is riding on this, do you understand?”

“Boss, relax. Your boyfriend is going to be very, very impressed.”

“He’s not my-! Whatever. Just do what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it, okay? What do you do when we reach here?”

“Jump out!” The three chorus.

“And?”

“Ask for your money!”

“And?”

“And then we attack you! And when you hit us we fall down! And then your boyfriend will be very very impressed because you saved him from three dangerous gangsters!”

Sungmin sighs. At least they got the gist of it.

He stalks off, wondering how the entire globe hasn’t succumbed to the power of good yet with idiots like these populating the netherworld. He’d wanted Han Geng, the foreign expert in human martial arts, but nooo, he got Dumb, Dumber and Dumberer because Lucifer was afraid his little pet might get hurt. Did these three even know how to fight?

Sungmin checks his phone, and waits.

*

Forty-five minutes later, Sungmin is ready to kill someone.

**

“It’s strange how Sungmin hyung just suddenly cancelled on me like that. He is okay, right?”

“Oh, sure,” Sunghyun says, making himself comfortable on Kyuhyun’s bed. “I told you, he said he had a sudden emergency and to text you that he couldn’t make it.”

“Why wouldn’t he tell me himself, though?”

“Oh, he was in a great rush. Zoom, just like that,” Sunghyun replies, miming an airplane taking off. “Lucky I was free to keep you company, huh?”

“Yeah,” Kyuhyun says, frowning at his coverlet and hating how confused he feels. 

“I want to hear you sing,” Sunghyun says quickly, scooting closer to Kyuhyun and secretly turning off his phone in his bag on the floor next to the bed. 

“Sing?” Kyuhyun looks up, surprised. “Oh, I can’t really sing.”

What! Sunghyun almost yells at him, but manages to suppress his indignance. “Sure you can. Sing one of Sung Si Kyung hyungnim’s songs.”

Kyuhyun laughs self-consciously. “Which one?”

“You choose,” Sunghyun says contentedly, and leans back against the pillows, closing his eyes. “Just sing.”

Kyuhyun is quiet for a while, and then takes a deep breath.

It would be good
If I held your hand tightly and walked on this street
I only have you
It would be good if you knew

The stories of the guy you met a few days ago
How many times have you told me today?
You tell me that he called you again
And your face gets a little red

The way home,
Even the moonlight seems sad
If only you can comfort my aching heart

It would be good
If I held your hand tightly and walked on this street
I only have you
It would be good if you knew

Whether he's a good person or not,
I know even though I've never seen him
You tell me that he bought you another gift
And you look so happy

The way home,
Even the moonlight seems sad
If only you can comfort my aching heart

Sunghyun is staring at Kyuhyun by the time he finishes, his head bowed in shyness. Just what do you know, Cho Kyuhyun? Kyuhyun looks up and covers his face, embarrassed, but Sunghyun cannot shake off the feeling that something more is going on than he realizes.

“That was beautiful,” he whispers nonetheless, because it really, really was. “You have an amazing voice, Kyuhyun, you really do.”

“I’ve been thinking about something,” Kyuhyun says hesitantly. “I haven’t told this to anyone, yet. You have to promise not to laugh.”

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” Sunghyun smiles.

“Really, you cannot laugh.”

“Kyuhyun! I won’t.”

“I’ve been thinking of going for the SME auditions.”

“You?” Sunghyun cries in surprise, this being the last thing in the world he is expecting. 

Kyuhyun sits up, upset. “What’s wrong with me? I know I’m not the most handsome guy out there, but I think I can sing-”

“No, nonono,” Sunghyun cries again. “I didn’t mean it like that! I just would never have thought you’d want that kind of life. What about college? You were planning-” and stops himself just in time. Thankfully, Kyuhyun in his worked-up state doesn’t notice.

“Yeah, and then what? I don’t want to be an office worker all my life. I really think I can do it, hyung.” Kyuhyun quiets, looking earnestly at Sunghyun. 

“Well, then, if you really want that then of course you should go for it,” Sunghyun says, reaching for Kyuhyun’s hand. “I will support you no matter what.”

“Sing something for me,” Kyuhyun says softly, playing with Sunghyun’s fingers. 

I didn’t know the reason
Why I’ve changed, I thought about it for a long time
I think I’ve changed after I met you
I mean by a lot 
Can you hear this song

I’m so thankful for you, oh baby
You’re too beautiful oh
I can’t take my eyes off you, you’re the only one I can see
I keep wanting to look at only you
Oh, really

Another day passes by, and we meet again
and then we split, then we meet again
It’s too good, I just keep smiling
Do you see me acting like this?

I’m so thankful for you, oh baby
You’re too beautiful oh
I can’t take my eyes off you, you’re the only one I can see
I keep wanting to look at only you

“Oh, really,” Sunghyun sings the last line, and opens his eyes to see Kyuhyun looking at him solemnly.

“It wasn’t that bad,” he jokes, but before he can say anything else Kyuhyun moves in close and kisses him.

It’s hard to begin to explain what kissing Kyuhyun feels like, because it is a sensory overload – he can draw Kyuhyun from memory and he’d know his voice in a crowd of a million people, but to be so close and to be touching lips and inhaling Kyuhyun’s own warm breath – Sunghyun almost feels like he’s disintegrating. 

“Or, actually, that good, huh?” he says weakly when Kyuhyun pulls away. Kyuhyun cups Sunghyun’s cheek in one hand and kisses him again, this time deepening the kiss. Sunghyun feels Kyuhyun’s tongue parting his lips and starts to panic. 

The moment Kyuhyun’s hand tries to work its way under his shirt, Sunghyun jumps up as if burned. 

“What?” Kyuhyun asks.

“Um, I don’t, I don’t-” Sunghyun babbles nervously, moving a foot or so away from Kyuhyun. 

“Oh my God,” Kyuhyun says, slowly lifting a hand to cover his mouth. “You don’t like me like that. I’m sorry, I- Hyung, I’m really sorry, I thought-”

“No! Nonono,” Sunghyun finds himself protesting for the second time that day. “I do like you, Kyuhyun ah, I really do. But I can’t-” He stops, frustrated. “I don’t want to-”

“You don’t find me attractive,” Kyuhyun says softly. “It’s okay, I-”

“No, Cho Kyuhyun, I think you’re the most beautiful human I have ever seen in all my years,” – Kyuhyun wrinkles his brow at him, puzzled –  “but no, this isn’t… I-”

A sudden loud knocking on the front door forcefully interrupts Sunghyun, and Kyuhyun immediately twists around in the direction of the sound. 

They both get up, warily, and Sunghyun follows Kyuhyun downstairs to the front door. Kyuhyun opens it, and if Sunghyun wasn’t panicking before, he certainly is now.

“What the ? Why is your phone off?” Sungmin explodes, pushing his way past Kyuhyun into the house, and in a second, he spots Sunghyun. 

“Oh, hohoho,” he laughs sardonically. “You. I should have known.”

“What’s going on?” Kyuhyun asks timidly, and Sungmin rounds on him. 

“What happened to our date?”

“Sunghyun hyung said…” Kyuhyun answered, confused, and they both turn to Sunghyun, who is slowly melting in a fit of misery.

“I did it. I lied. I’m sorry! I just, I just wanted to have more time with you, Kyuhyun, I’m sorry.” Sunghyun’s lower lip begins to tremble.

“You could have had more time with me, like, like, tomorrow! Why did you have to lie about Sungmin hyung having an emergency?” Kyuhyun says, incredulous. 

“He’s jealous,” Sungmin smirks, grabbing Kyuhyun round the waist and jerking him towards himself.

“Get off,” Kyuhyun pushes at Sungmin’s chest, instantly annoyed. 

“What-! Excuse me, correct me if I’m wrong, but Sunghyun’s the one you should be mad at, not me!” Sungmin barks, glaring.

Kyuhyun stares at the both of them, Sunghyun looking absolutely pitiful and Sungmin looking supremely pissed off.

“Okay, you both need to leave. Now.” Kyuhyun walks towards the door and holds it open.

“What?” 

The living room bursts into noise, Sungmin and Sunghyun cursing and pleading respectively. 

“Out!”

Sungmin huffs and storms out, and Sunghyun follows unhappily after. “I’m sorry,” he says in a tiny voice, and Kyuhyun closes the door on the pair of them.

**

Here's Sung Sikyung singing 'It would be nice/good' (the first song), and this is Kyuhyun's very short version. And this is the original 'Baby, baby' by 4Men, and this is Sungmin's cover.