Chapter Five: The Giver

“And apples were always, always red.”

                Gayun had closed the shop early partially because her fridge was nearing the stage where only condiments remained and partially because she was getting of staring at the incubus’ back while he sat on top of her desk reciting lines from what used to be one of her favorite books. While the cats seemed to enjoy the show, she now had an intense dislike for Seunghyun’s back now. So, it was rather unfortunate for her that that was what was right in front of her at the moment.

                “Move or I’m going to run you over with the cart,” she threatened as said incubus purposefully continued to look back and forth between two boxes of pop tarts. Just when she was about to carry out her threat, he finally put one of the boxes in before stepping aside.

                “You don’t always have to be so ornery,” he commented before walking beside her down the aisle.

                “And you don’t have to put useless in the cart.”

                “I like pop tarts.”

                “I don’t.”

                “And how is that my problem?” he asked with his usual smirk. She sighed and rolled her eyes before stopping to pick up a rather large bag of rice. She hadn’t been in too bad of a mood before they had entered the store, but she was getting seriously tired of every single person eyeing the incubus as they walked through the store. He wasn’t even using any of his magic!

                “So,” she began after they had gone down another two aisles, “are there vampires too?”

                “Where’d that come from?” he asked, his eyes dancing with laughter. He always seemed to find it amusing when she went to him for answers; she never really understood why that was.

                “Since the thing with Youngbae I guess I’ve gotten a morbid fascination with what else is out there. You know? Like what else am I completely unaware of?” She glanced over at him to check his reaction to her thought process. She had been completely terrified the first few days after the Youngbae incident, but Seunghyun, somehow, had convinced her that he’d protect her.

                “You won’t get scared?”

                “Not as long as you keep your promise,” she replied, causing him to chuckle again. She picked up some kimchi before heading towards the vegetables and fruits. After that, they’d get the things like milk, eggs, and meat. “So, the big question, do vampires exist?”

                “God, what is it with you humans and vampires?” Seunghyun sighed before actually answering her, “Yes, vampires exist but they don’t sparkle and they aren’t particularly nice either. They’re nocturnal predators who will, if given the chance, drain you dry of blood.”

                “How come you can say God? Does that mean that crosses don’t work against you either? What about against vampires? Does silver ward off shifters?” She fired back at him while picking out some cheap veggies to add some vitamins to her diet.

                “Because that’s just another name you humans created for the being that made all this,” was the first answer, “and crosses don’t particularly work well against me unless the user really believes in that religion. Also, for vampires, unless the cross is sharpened at the end and is about to go through their heart, it won’t have much of an effect either. For your last question, shifters are warded off by very strong doors and iron bars across windows.”

                “So a stake through the heart does kill vampires,” Gayun remarked thoughtfully before adding a cucumber to the cart. It was on to the fruits now.

                “How many things do you know that can survive being stabbed through the heart?”

                “Touché.”

                “I want apples,” he said suddenly. She didn’t have time to reply that apples were her least favorite fruit; he was already filling a bag with them. Luckily, apples were on sale and so were the oranges which she actually enjoyed eating.

                She continued on with her healthy food hunt and picked out a few other on sale items before wondering where the heck Seunghyun was. Somehow there was a bag of apples in the cart but no demon. Her eyes scanned the area before she finally found him talking up a guy with a basket full of junk food who was blushing bright red.

                “Figures,” she mumbled. Over the past few weeks, she had learned that Seunghyun really didn’t care about the gender of the person he was sleeping with. His takeout consisted of equal portions male and female along with some people who didn’t identify as either.

                 She continued down her shopping list which went a lot smoother now that she didn’t have someone constantly putting nonessential items into the cart. As she walked towards the checkout she had the thought that she could go and put all of his crap back, but Gayun continued on to the lines.

                It wasn’t that much of a bother.

                So, Gayun carried the four bags of groceries back to her little shop. She’d have to make another run in a couple of days to pick up some more cat food but the kitties were good for now. She was now wishing that she had put away the bag of apples he had picked out; they were really heavy.

                “Excuse me, miss,” someone called out to her. At first, she ignored it. They were probably calling out for someone else. However, after calling out a couple more times, she finally graced the person with a response and turned around. “Oh, good, you stopped.”

                “I’ve already spent all the money I have,” was her immediate reply. The man was muscular but not quite as much as Youngbae was. She, briefly, wondered if he maybe was a monster before she finally realized what he was wearing. The man was a priest. Priests couldn’t be monsters, no way.

                “I’m not trying to sell you something,” she realized that now, “It’s just… I couldn’t help but notice that you have, well, you have a lingering spirit attached to you.”

                “Huh?”

                “An evil spirit,” he gulped, “A, uh, a demon I guess some would say.” Now he really did have her attention.

                “You can tell?”

                “You know then?” he asked, his eyes widening. She shrugged, not sure that she should confide in the man that said demon had taken up residence in her shop. She wasn’t sure where he slept but occasionally, he would be found sitting on her couch in the apartment some mornings. “Well I’m sure you want to get rid of it.”

                She opened to agree with him but stopped. Getting rid of Seunghyun would mean no one to argue with during the day, no one to magically refill her coffee, and no one to drive up revenue for her store. However, it also meant her cats would be hers again and she wouldn’t have to deal with him whining.

                “I believe the lady would like me to stay,” a familiar voice replied before Gayun could. She felt the weight of two of the bags being lifted as Seunghyun helped her out. The priest took a step back, his eyes widening in fear as Seunghyun smiled menacingly. “So I suggest you leave us alone.”

                “Ah… Yes,” the man nodded before casting Gayun one more worried look. He scurried back down the road while the pair watched.

                “Well there goes my chance to banish you,” she sighed, obviously teasing the demon. He rolled his eyes while they began walking back home. She looked over her shoulder to catch the priest going into a small church which resided inside what used to be a convenience store. That might be helpful information for later. “Why are you back anyways? I thought you were getting takeout?”

                “The guy had a girlfriend,” Seunghyun sighed, “I don’t do people with previous commitments.”

                “Wow,” she nodded, “I didn’t know demons had morals.”

                “It has nothing to do with that,” he said dismissively, “I just don’t like getting caught in the middle. Suddenly both parties want me all to their own and a fight breaks out. Then the empire collapses and now I have to deal with the fallout.”

                “What was that about an empire?”

                “Nothing.” They had reached the shop but both stood outside, staring at the door which was slightly ajar. She had definitely locked it before leaving. Gayun turned and asked silently what they were supposed to do. What if she had been robbed? What if they hurt the cats?

                Seunghyun’s eyes flashed purple and his shoulders became tense while Gayun reached out to push the door open the rest of the way. The tinkling of the bell announced her arrival into a space she usually enjoyed but now felt sinister. She had prepared herself for scattered books and an empty cash register but what she found instead was much worse. It was so much worse.