Chapter 4: Little Women

“‘I’d rather take coffee than compliments right now.’”

                “Don’t talk to me,” Gayun said, holding up a hand to hopefully hush whatever was about to come out of the incubus’ mouth at that moment. It had been four days since the demon had decided that her humble establishment was going to be his personal library and buffet table. He had become more and more snarky with each passing day and she did not have enough caffeine in her system to deal with him.

                “If you went to bed earlier, you wouldn’t be so grumpy in the morning,” he remarked, completely disregarding her warning.

                “If I didn’t have to deal with you, I wouldn’t be so grumpy either,” she grumbled before taking a good swig of her cream and one sugar coffee. He allowed her to close her eyes for a moment and take another sip of the lukewarm beverage before piping up again.

                “Please, we both know that I am the highlight of your day,” he grinned, “It’s also because of me that you can afford that new fancy cat food and organic coffee beans which you are obviously enjoying.” His smile widened as she glowered at him over the brim of her mug.

                “Thanks, I guess,” she somehow managed to admit rather begrudgingly.

                “Coming from you, I’ll consider that high praise,” he replied with more than just a hint of satisfaction. Gayun rolled her eyes before finally setting down her now empty mug. She’d have to go upstairs in order to get more but she was afraid to get up out of the chair. The last time she had moved from it, she had to argue with Seunghyun for three whole hours in order to get the demon out of her spot. The only reason why he had relinquished the comfy chair was because a new meal had walked into the store.

                “Think whatever you want.”

                “I’ll win you over eventually,” he purred. He winked at her and Gayun was going to make a comment about how that would never happen when she noticed that her mug was once again full. It even had the perfect amount of cream and sugar.

                “How?”

                “Magic,” he chuckled while wiggling his fingers. The aroma of fresh coffee overpowered the demon’s scent, causing Gayun to smile softly as she cradled the piping hot drink. She was about to thank him when he opened his mouth again, “So now you can stop being such an . You’ll scare off all my meals with an attitude like that.”

                “You’re the here,” was the best comeback she could muster.

                “Ah, the biting wit of humans strikes again,” he laughed before suddenly pulling in all of his magic. Gayun glanced over at the door in time to see it open. The bells tinkled a moment later as a very familiar face walked through the door.

                “Hello, Youngbae-ssi,” Gayun greeted, “Did you finish the last book you bought?”

                “Yeah I did. It was…” the man with a Mohawk trailed off once he laid eyes on Seungri. Gayun was about to tell Seunghyun to go away and not to seduce her best customer when the magic came back full force. This time, the electrical charge in the air felt stronger, like a reactor was about to blow. She could almost hear the magic crackling around the incubus as he stared at Youngbae.

                “Seunghyun-sii,” Gayun hissed as purple began to swirl around his irises, overwhelming the brown color she was used to.

               “What’s a demon doing in your shop, Gayun-ssi?” Youngbae asked, his head cocking to the side as his nostrils flared. Under the thin fabric of the t-shirt he wore, Gayun could see Youngbae’s muscles flex.

                “He -uh- sort of invited himself in,” Gayun replied, her eyes darting back and forth between the two men.

                “Would you like me to remove him?” Youngbae smiled at her. It was the same smile she always got, a little shy but sweet. Only, for a split second, his teeth looked sharp like fangs. Gayun looked back over at the incubus who had, inexplicably, moved closer to her.

                “You can do that?” she asked. The question only seemed to anger the incubus more. The lights began to flicker as he held out his arm in front of her. It was almost like he was attempting to protect her but from what?

                “He can try,” Seunghyun growled, “This place is my territory now. No shifters allowed.”

                “Shifter?” Gayun attempted to get up but felt her legs lock. Her feet seemed like they were glued to the floor. She grabbed at the now useless limbs but they didn’t budge. Youngbae’s eyes darted to her for a moment before returning to the very upset demon.

                “No need to throw a fit, Seungri-yah, I was only trying to help an old friend,” the slightly shorter male replied, holding his hands up in an age-old sign of surrender. The oppressive atmosphere only seemed to intensify as Seunghyun’s appearance began to flicker, showing glimpses of his true form.

                “Leave.” Seunghyun’s voice shook the room but Youngbae seemed unperturbed. Gayun’s eyes remained fixated on Seunghyun; purple flashes like lightning began to appear in the air around him. Fear immediately flooded her veins. The books were in danger, but when the purple lightning touched the very flammable material, nothing happened.

                “Gayun-ssi,” Youngbae addressed her again, “I’ll come and visit again when he’s not here. Let me know then if you need me to demon-proof your store, okay?” She nodded and felt a little relief when Youngbae turned and walked out of the door.

                The magic suddenly returned back to the swirling, crackling normalcy she had become used to. The lights returned to normal as Seunghyun’s appearance finally settled back on his human form. His eyes remained purple for a few moments before finally fading back to brown. Her legs finally returned to normal and Gayun stumbled up before using the desk to right herself.

                “What the hell was that?” she exclaimed.

                “He’s a shifter,” Seunghyun responded as if that explained everything.

                “What is that?”

                “Humans who’ve become entangled in the dark arts and lost their souls. They can switch between their old appearance and more animal-like ones, you humans usually think of the wolf ones but they come in many a shape and size,” he expanded, his shoulders finally slouching once it seemed that Youngbae was really gone.

                “So why all the drama and electrical storm?” Gayun prodded before running over to the shelves to make sure her books were completely unharmed. He rolled his eyes at the action but watched her as she checked for any singe.

                “Shifters eat humans,” he stated as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet. The book that she had been looking over fell from her hands and hit the floor with a loud thump.

                “But you said that they’re humans.”

                “Soulless humans.”

                “That doesn’t explain the eating other humans part!” Her voice cracked as fear once again chilled her to the bone. She had been holding conversation with a cannibal for the last year-and-a-half. She had seen him every week; they’d almost gone out on a date.

                “You know how I get power from harvesting other’s ual energy?” she nodded, “Well, it starts out like that for them. They steal a little bit of your energy just to supplement their fading soul, but as they use more magic and lose more of their soul, they need more from other humans. Eventually, it spirals into eating other humans completely so that they can switch back from one form to another.” He crouched down and picked up the book that had dropped. He closed it gently before putting it back on the shelf.

                “He was going to eat me?”

                “Maybe, maybe not,” he shrugged, “Some shifters have more of a handle on who they eat. I hate them all though; they make my skin crawl.” His nose scrunched up at the thought of them while Gayun attempted to get control of her shaking fingers. She had heard his explanation but she could really only focus on the whole eating people part.

                “Are there other things that eat people?” she managed to ask with a steady voice.

                He sighed and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Normally, she would have withdrawn from the touch but it felt almost comforting. He led her back behind the desk and encouraged her to sit back down in the chair before handing her the coffee from before. “Of course there are other things that prey on humans. You lot are easy picking… but you don’t have to worry about that. I won’t let them touch you.”

                “Why?”

                “Weren’t you paying attention?” he snickered, “This is my territory now and, I guess, that means you’re a part of it. So, out of the goodness of my charcoal black heart, I’ll protect you from the things that go bump in the night. Aren’t I just the nicest little demon you’ve ever met?” Instead of replying, she downed the cup of caffeine; she wasn’t entirely sure what to say to him anyways.