Chapter 21: Trial and Error

Jihoon wondered briefly, lying against the mattress as he stared up at the ceiling with dull eyes, if he would ever feel like himself again.

He fell asleep last night begging his cursed god for a break from this vicious strangling of his soul. The fragility, the constant state of shivering, the drowsiness, the pain; it was unending. Whoever said a good night’s rest was all someone needed to return to health was a ing liar, because he felt just as ty as he had yesterday, if not worse.

Looking back on it, he couldn’t help the sough of hopelessness escape his lips. Somehow, his problems always rolled back to this topic. His lack of power had always been the source of his insecurity, of his parent’s disappointment. And now, after dragging itself out of the depth of hell, this very question was now tormenting him on earth as well…

Just what was he?

And as much as he applauded the enthusiasm of Jeonghan and Seungcheol, he knew it was all hopeless. If the years of ability training he’d endured during his life hadn’t done it, it was unlikely the work of these naive humans was going to awaken something in him. What if he really didn’t have any power? They’re just throwing their efforts into the void at this point.

As much as Jihoon wished there was some miracle all-cure for his depleted healing… it was pointless.

He groaned, pushing down on the cushion with shaky arms to anchor himself into a sitting position. Despite the solution looking to be an unattainable dream, he didn’t doubt Seungcheol’s theory on the matter. Tossing aside all the physical aftermath of his mistake, there was something else hindering him. Something… deeper.

It wasn’t a sensation he could describe to someone without them feeling it… there were just no words to explain; as though a cavity in the deepest depth of his being had been dry, leaving a gaping hole in its place. Something in him was empty, a part of him he didn’t even know he had.

It was a stupid thought, but… It was like being hungry. Just, not hungry in the physical sense, or the emotional sense. A whole new perception of need, and he was... -he was starving.

He hadn’t even been able to place this feeling before Seungcheol had mentioned that ‘feeding’ theory. The hunger he felt was obscurely unfamiliar, and so deeply buried under all this other that, without being told, he might not have ever figured it out.

He tossed his blanket aside, removing himself from the oasis of his bed so that he might face the day ahead while it was still… well, day.

A brisk, cold shower managed to wake him up a bit, leaving a startled flush along his pale skin, and rinsing away the second-day grime he’d built up. Jihoon stepped out of the bathroom pulling a heavy, fluffy sweater over his head to warm his skin. The neck of the sweater was high enough to cover his broken excuse of a binding collar, which was a plus… although the color matched his hair rather sickeningly, his body warmth took priority over aesthetic at the moment.

Stepping into a pair of black sweat shorts, he stared into the mirror louringly. If there was ever a time to let go of doubt, he supposed it was now. Leaving it in the hands of Seungcheol just felt… a bit foolish.

“Good morning, Woozi.” Jeonghan peered up at the demon walking towards the kitchen through his lashes, as he set down plates at the dining table, a gentle smile tugging at his lips.

Woozi sat down at the table bashfully, frowning. “You’re cooking? Are you feeling better?”

He chuckled. “I’m fine. I told you before that it was just temporary, didn’t I?” He placed down a few side-dishes in front of him, leaning forward with his free hand to tussle pink locks. “Put away that worried face, will you?”

“I’m not…” Despite the scowl, he remained still as Jeonghan fussed with his bed-head. The human looked healthy again, which… he was glad. He was the reason for Jeonghan getting sick, after all.

Jeonghan returned to his spot by the stove after smoothing out the disheveling of the demon’s hair, cracking an egg into a pan. “You ready for today?”

“How could I be ready?” He poked at some side dishes with his fork, grumbling through a mouth full of greens. “I have no ing clue what you’re thinking.”

Jeonghan chuckled, sliding an egg onto Woozi’s plate with a few pieces of toast. “I’m no demon expert, but… I have a feeling our combined efforts can figure something out.”

“What? I thought you had a plan.”

“I do...” Jeonghan side-eyed, smirking. “Seungcheol plays a pretty important role, though. We should wait for him.”

Woozi scoffed, poking into his yolk with a fork. “Why would he?”

Jeonghan simply laughed in response, fixing two more plated before joining Woozi at the table. It was a good thing the humans took a break from school every ‘weekend.’ This way they had all day to figure out their .

The demon peaked up timidly as he munched on toast. Eating together again, after everything that had been happening recently… It sort of felt like everything had gone back to normal. Seungcheol’s lazy was sleeping the day away, Jeonghan was cooking, and Woozi was… Well, having Woozi there kind of broke the illusion of normal where it stood. As much as he appreciated everything they were doing, the sensation of being out of place was inevitable, seeing as his demon traits were as relevant as they ever were. He held the end of his tail in his free hand insecurely.

Even sitting at the same table as Jeonghan, the topic lingered in his mind. He couldn’t help but feel he shouldn’t be here… Honestly, he wasn’t sure where he thought he should be. Out of any good that would come from figuring out his abilities, he supposed a sense of belonging was what he hoped for.

A hum from down the hallway had Woozi twisting his head to see Seungcheol, who took the seat next to him with a carefree smile.

“Good morning, boys!”

Woozi raised an eyebrow. “It’s eleven.”

“11am, it’s still morning.”

He observed the human with subtle peeks from the corner of his eyes as he ate. Seungcheol, despite waking up just before noon, looked to be glowing with energy. His skin held a healthy flush, his eyes were bright and gleaming with ignorance… It must be a pretty ugly contrast to put him and Seungcheol side by side. An ugly demon on the verge of death, next to this dazzling, moronic puppy.

He bit his cheek when Seungcheol caught his gaze, holding a piece of toast between his lips. There was a breath of silence as Woozi stared into his eyes. Something in them had changed since yesterday, he could tell… Not quite as blank, but there was something there. A feeling in his expression that left a knot in his throat. Though, he couldn’t quite place what the feeling was.

“Uh, you feeling any better?” Seungcheol cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence.

“I feel no less awful than yesterday, if that’s what you’re asking.”

He chuckled. “Right, I guess that’s…“

“A stupid question.” Woozi finished, raising an eyebrow.

“hah, Yeah..” Seungcheol scratched his head, eyes darting around Woozi in an odd manner. As if staring at him in one spot for too long would cause him to convulse. Honestly, Seungcheol was pretty unpredictable these days, he wouldn’t be surprised.

“Seungcheol’s here, will you tell us what’s happening now?” Woozi turned towards Jeonghan again, growing impatient.

“Yeah, okay… But I actually have something to tell you guys first.” He set down his fork, taking a breath. “See, I don’t know much about demons, obviously. Except for what I know from you, but… We both know that isn’t much.”

The demon scoffed. “What, so you don’t have a plan? Figures…”

“No, no, I do! I just…. Okay, the truth is, I asked someone for help.”

Seungcheol gaped, halting his movement as he processed what he’d just heard. “You did what now?”

“I know, but listen, it’s-“

“-We have very few rules in this, house, Jeonghan! God, do you guys even listen to me? I don’t say ‘stay in the house’, and ‘don’t tell anyone’ cause I’m delusional! Please tell me you didn’t drag another person into this.”

Jeonghan bit his cheek, looking a little guilty. “I know, but… Jisoo confronted me recently, about why I was acting strange, and about you. He could already tell I was hiding something, and I-well-I just can’t lie to him and tell him everything’s fine, okay?”

Seungcheol felt his stomach churn anxiously. “You ing told Jisoo??”

“No! I didn’t tell him everything. And you can’t blame this all on me, okay? He was especially suspicious after I got sick, and cause-apparently-somebody asked him about how to break barrier spells for ‘homework’.”

He closed his mouth. It was a hypothetical question, didn’t he say that? Damn Jisoo and his over-caring personality!

“Plus, I haven’t seen him a lot lately cause of our situation… I felt bad, he’s been really worried.”

Woozi looked between them, rolling his eyes as they bantered. “Jisoo is the human you asked about the barrier spell?”

Seungcheol sighed. “Yeah, that’s him... Jeonghan, exactly how much did you tell him? Does he know about the black magic book?”

“No, not that..”

“Does he know about Woozi?”

Jeonghan shifted his gaze to a wall, sheepishly. “…Yeah.”

Both Seungcheol and Woozi were speechless now, a heavy silence filling the air as they deliberated how to respond.

Seungcheol started first, stomach twisting. “Are you ing kidding? Tell me you’re kidding.”

“I’m not kidding… I had to tell him something, Seungcheol, he’s important to me. And it’s not what you’re thinking! I didn’t really… tell him everything.”

“Then what did you tell him? You’re killing me here..”

Jeonghan rested his hands on the table, smiling calmly despite the tension in the room. “I told him that we’re housing a demon, but that I couldn’t tell him the details as to why because it wasn’t safe for him to get involved.” Seungcheol said nothing, mouth hung open, so Jeonghan continued. “But, Jisoo was really understanding. He assumed it has something to do with your parents work, so he wasn’t too surprised. They work for the government, right?.”

“Yeah, as public security. They aren’t part of some demon-housing government conspiracy theory!” Seungcheol sneered.

Jeonghan offered him an apologetic smile. “It was just an excuse. Basically, I think he’s under the impression that the government summoned him. I told him about Woozi, about how he’s trying to fit in with humanity and learn our ways. It’s not all a lie, I mean, he is trying to blend in, right? And he is a demon….”

Jeonghan sighed as Seungcheol’s expression grew increasingly more anxious, feeling a tinge of guilt. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have told him anything, but I believe Jisoo is trustworthy, and he really just wanted to help, okay? Plus, he’s good at keeping secrets, he works in the confessional sometimes. I guarantee he won’t tell anyone.”

“God, right, isn’t Jisoo super Christian?” Seungcheol spoke up, rubbing at his temple as he attempted to wrap his head around this ridiculous situation. “I thought he’d be throwing bibles at Woozi, not offering to help him.”

“He’s a Christian, not a Bigot. He actually really likes the idea of helping a demon who’s striving for good! Plus, right now, I feel like getting Woozi back to full health is more important than anything else. Isn’t getting Jisoos help worth the risk?”

Seungcheol took a glance at Woozi, staring into the purplish hue’s of his pale skin with a guilty tug of his heart. He looked awful, and Seungcheol had no doubt in his mind that he felt a lot worse. As much as the idea of dragging the good-natured Christian boy Jisoo into this hellish mess sounded like rubbing sandpaper into an open wound… Jeonghan was right. They needed idea’s, and Jisoo just so happened to be full of them, he was a straight A prodigy.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Woozi beat him to it, scratching at the hairs at the base of his horns with timid fingers.

“It’s probably going to bite me in the later, but I’m willing to try whatever you guys are gonna throw at me.” He turned his gaze to the floor. “Why did you say Seungcheol was important for this , though? You haven’t clarified what your so called ‘plan’ is at all.”

The two humans exchanged glances at that. There was something in the boy’s eyes that left Seungcheol with a wary thrill in his gut.

Jeonghan smirked. “That’s cause Seungcheol is our Guinea Pig.”

~

Seungcheol and Woozi sat beside each other on the couch after they finished up their breakfast, staring into Jeonghan with skeptical expressions.

“So, what kind of things have you already done to test your abilities? Let’s start with narrowing it down.” Jeonghan flipped open a notepad, clicking his pen in anticipation.

Seeing the excited glimmer in Jeonghan’s eyes, Woozi was beginning to question the purpose of this whole charade. “There was… a lot.”

“It’s okay, just tell me as much as you can.”

Woozi shifted uncomfortably on the couch, clutching the end of his tail as he thought back. “They’ve tested my ability to sense levels of negative energy, my species-specific traits, such as my feline and reptilic tendencies, and some abilities unrelated to my species. For example, siren abilities, soul collecting abilities, silver tongue abilities, and bloodlust.”

Seungcheol gulped, staring down at the innocent shade of pink in his peripheral vision. Did he say bloodlust?

“Huh..” Jeonghan jotted down his cliff-notes quickly, looking through the page. “Did they not test anything from your mom’s side?”

The demon shook his head. “Besides my human-ish appearance, I was told I didn’t inherits any of my mom’s abilities.”

Jeonghan smiled. “I guess that’s out biggest bet, then.”

“Uh-What?” Seungcheol stuttered.

Woozi shook his hands in denial, flustered. “No-no, no ing way. I don’t have any of my moms abilities, I already know that, this is not necessary.”

Jeonghan raised an eyebrow. “Did you ever actually test for it?”

“No, but-“

“Then how do you know?”

The demon bumbled, cheeks flushed red. “I-uh… … I just know, okay?”

Seungcheol was stuck in a silent daze, staring at Jeonghan with a disbelieving expression. Was Jeonghan a closet ert? How was he so calm with suggesting something like that? Any why was Woozi not getting angry at him? Caught in his wild train of thoughts, Jeonghan had turned to face him with a mischievous smirk. Didn’t he say… he was the guinea pig?

“You seem to have tested some of the traits you gained from your dad, right? And you told us before that you inherited some small characteristics from that, like your vision and such.”

He nodded reluctantly.

“But.. anyone looking would probably assume you were an incubus, based on your appearance. Even Seungcheol believed that once. I think, maybe it’s more than just skin deep.”

Seungcheol managed to shake himself out a temporary mental shut-down, glancing down at Woozi’s flushed expression with a gulp. “Even if it is, how the hell are we supposed to test that? He’s also part necro-whatever, right? Shouldn’t we check for that, too?”

Jeonghan sighed. “We will test it. We’re gonna check through every possibility to make certain. But, we can’t just leave out a whole fouth of Woozi’s genetics out, especially since he hasn’t tested it before.”

The demon left his mouth hung open, unable to come up with a reasonable excuse to such undeniable logic. 

Jeonghan smiled. “Sorry Woozi, I know it’s probably a bit uncomfortable to talk about this.”

“Gee, you think?”

He chuckled, patting the demon’s head quickly, smothering his scowl into an embarrassed pout. “I think it’s worth it, though. For your sake.”

Seungcheol watched the motion scrutinizing. “You say that, but… still, an incubus?” He felt like a pts victim, mind flashing back to the time he’d taken a verbal beating from Woozi for the mere suggestion of it. Why wasn’t he calling Jeonghan a huge ert? It wasn’t fair!

The demon avoided Jeonghan’s eyes, staring own at his feet. “I’ll probably regret asking, but could you elaborate on what the you expect me to do? I barely know anything about other demon species, deeper than the very basics. And there are sub-species, and demon’s that are unique to their kind in the way they feed. Nothing is absolute.”

Jeonghan took out his phone from his pocket, scrolling through text thoughtfully. “That’s exactly why I asked Jisoo for help… You know, even though he’s a language major, he’s really interested in angel and demon theology.” He turned the phone towards the two of them, displaying a page of text. “He sent me an essay’s worth of possible ways to test your abilities.”

“Is this Jisoo guy some kind of mythology freak? How does he know all this?” Woozi’s eyes scanned over the words frantically, but Jeonghan pulled away before he could see its entirety.

“There’s a lot of demon lore written in the bible, apparently. And hearing about these kinds of things every single day, he just naturally grew an interest in it. He had a lot of helpful idea's.”

Seungcheol took a breath. He supposed as long as Jisoo didn’t know the full truth… having him around for suggestions was a pretty big help. “What’s first, then?”

“We can start with Naga’s.” He beamed, running his finger along the screen to search for the section. “You know, when we were looking into it I was pretty surprised. Naga’s are actually worshiped in some cultures! Even though they’re demons, they’re treated like deities or gods.”

“My father is an influential demon, I’m not surprised a bunch of measly humans would worship him.”

Jeonghan chuckled amusedly. “Even so, the main characteristic of a Naga is that they’re half snake… So, I think we could test that possibility through some basic questions.”

Woozi hummed, straightening up in his seat. “I highly doubt the accuracy of that, but ask away.”

“Okay, first question. Do you regulate your own body heat?”

He blinked a few times, confused. “What the does that mean?”

“I mean… Well, snakes are cold blooded, so rather than creating their own body heat they need to seek out heat from their environment. So, do you feel cold easily? Do you find yourself seeking out warmth from external sources?”

Seungcheol watched him with a gulp as he deliberated. Would that explain why he always ended up latching onto him like a ‘snake’ every time they slept in the same bed? , he'd really thought that had just been because he found Seungcheol comfortable. Damn these animal facts, they were crushing his delusions!

The demon huffed. “I do feel cold recently… But, I’m pretty ing sure that’s because of the blood loss. As for looking for heat sources, I don’t know. Sure, I do things that make me warm when I’m cold. I put on sweaters, sometimes.. I sleep with a blanket... Don’t you guys do that, too?”

Jeonghan hummed, tapping his finger against the side of his phone.” I guess that’s too vague…” He looked down at the demon with a fond expression. “Woozi, say ‘ah’ for me.”

He raised an eyebrow in speculation. Jeonghan’s expression remained serious, so despite being confused, he complied. “Ahhhh-euh!?”

In the midst of opening his mouth, Jeonghan had leaned forward to hold his top lip out of the way with an intrusive nudge of his fingers, studying the layout of his gums calmly. Woozi stilled his struggles with an embarrassed murmuring of incoherent complaint, realizing quickly what Jeonghan was up to.

Seungcheol nearly jumped to his feet, appalled. “What the hell, Jeonghan?”

He smiled up at Seungcheol’s shocked expression to reassure him, before returning his attention to the demon’s teeth. “When you talked about your retractable canines before, I thought it was probably from your Kasha side, but it’s actually a snake thing. Only venomous snakes have them, and you said your dad has venom, right?... Oh, maybe..”

He pressed his finger into a miniscule bump in the gums above his normal canines, watching fascinated as the head of a fang poked out beneath the flesh.

“Wow, it’s really there…”

The thought that Seungcheol felt a punch of jealousy, watching this absurd scene unfold, was absolutely ridiculous. Still, he stared transfixed as a taunting trickle of saliva slid gleamingly down the demon’s chin, following the curve of Jeonghan’s fingers through parted lips. Woozi made quiet, suggestive noises under the impression of the fingers pressed within his mouth, flushed red.

He couldn’t be the only one sensing some themes in this, right?

After a moment of curious prodding, Jeonghan pulled away with a bashful chuckle, wiping away at Woozi’s face with his sleeve. “Sorry about that… It’s just, really fascinating.”

Woozi stammered for a moment, leaning away with the sleeve of his sweater pressed against his mouth. “I-wha… What the hell was that supposed to prove?”

“Well, we know for sure that you have a significant amount of Naga DNA in you based on your teeth. Although, we’ll have to figure out a way to test that ability safely…. I’m not really willing to let you poison me, sorry.”

Seungcheol shook his head, tossing aside his useless ersions. “But, Woozi bit me before and I was fine. I don’t think he has any venom.”

For a moment Jeonghan’s smile had turned sour, eyebrows quirking up as if to say ‘he bit you? That’s some .’ Though that may have just been Seungcheol’s imagination filling in the blanks there.

“Then maybe, even though you have Naga in you, you don’t have any snake powers… Anyways, let’s move on. I think you’re definitely part Kasha, but we should make certain.”

Woozi leaned back further into the couch, sneering. “Are you gonna stick anything else in my mouth to make sure?”

Seungcheol choked on air, turning away as he wheezed.

Despite attempting to hold back for a moment, Jeonghan covered his face in his hands, fallen into hysterics. God, these two were a ing riot. He took a breath, collecting himself as Woozi shot the two of them an expression of innocent curiosity. “No, no, you’re safe. Let’s just go over some traits a Kasha probably has. Jisoo said that the Kasha is a demon that originated from Japan. According to lore, they began to sprout up there due to the Japanese holding strong superstitious over cats. And, they’re basically just giant, enflamed cats, right?”

He scoffed. “They’re far more than that, but if you had to compare them to an earthly being, then yes. I guess they’re like cats. But way more powerful, and also a ing demon.”

“Of course, I don’t doubt that they’re powerful.” He chuckled patronizingly. “I have a list of cat traits that I compiled. I think it’ll be interesting to see how you can fit them in with your Naga trai-“

Jeonghan halted mid-sentence as his phone began to ring. He answered it quickly, holding the device against his ear. “Hello? Ah, Hi, Jisoo….. Uh-huh…” He frowned, sitting up in his seat. “What? Oh no… No, I can come…. I’ll go as fast as I can, okay?…. Okay, bye.”

Jeonghan set the phone down in his lap, shifting his gaze to the side as he rubbed at his neck sheepishly.

“What happened with Jisoo?” Seungcheol questioned, heart skipping as his mind ran over every single awful possibility in the confinements of his imagination. Had Jisoo spilled the beans? Was the government after them?

“There’s an emergency at Jisoo’s charity meeting. I’m so sorry guys, I need to go.”

Oh.

Woozi leered. “Huh? What the hell are we supposed to do, then?”

Jeonghan fumbled with his phone as he spoke, rushing. “I’ll send everything to Seungcheol’s phone, so you guys can keep working on it. Just text me if you have any questions. I’m really sorry, Woozi.” He pressed send, ruffling the demon’s hair quickly as he rushed passed the two of them. “I don’t know if I’ll be home tonight, order some pizza if you get hungry, okay?”

“Oh-” Jeonghan was out of site and down the hallway before Seungcheol could finish. “-Kay?”

He pulled his phone out from his pocket as it buzzed, reading through the text. Jeonghan had really sent him everything, paragraphs of information, and questions he could ask. Only the combined genius of Jisoo and Jeonghan could have pulled something like this together in only a few days… He scrolled down, feeling his stomach churn as he read the message at the bottom of the text with a thudding realization.

Hannie: Good luck 😉11:56am

Jeonghan… That bastard!

He looked up from the phone after a moment of internal cursing, feeling his heart beat faster as round eyes stared up at him skeptically, an impatient scowl forming. “Are we just going to keep going without Jeonghan?”

He his lips nervously. “Uh, yeah. I guess so.”

Woozi shifted his position on the couch, turning to face Seungcheol. “Fine, what’s next?”

“One second..” He scanned through the text, searching anxiously for the section Jeonghan had left off on.

Testable characteristics for cats/Kasha’s, based off biological classification, and personality:

Skipping the obvious traits such as the mammal classification, carnivorousness, and warm bloodedness, Cats have some traits which are more unique to their species.

Hair: The layout of cat fur is complicated, split into 4 basic categories, but as many as 7 depending on the species.

Although Woozi appears relatively hairless, check head hair for these different categories of fur:

Guard hair are Long hairs which form around the muzzle and cheeks, or in this case the area around his mouth. They would be what we know as ‘whiskers’.

Awn hairs form the basic ‘coat’

Guard hairs are thicker, and extend past the Awn hairs.

Finally, dawn hairs are fine, fluffy hairs which tend to matt easily.

Search for these differences in Woozi’s hair.

Seungcheol took a breath, placing the phone down as he held back the need to throw the cursed device out a window, and forget about this whole stupid idea. “I need to look at your hair.”

“Why?” The demon crisscrossed his legs, leaning forward curiously.

He held the phone forward, eyes wandering to the pink mop of hair on Woozi’s head as he read through. After a moment, he had sat back, eyes shifting in deliberation. He was probably going to put up a fuss, Seungcheol was certain of it.

“Go for it, I guess.”

…Okay, Seungcheol didn’t expect that. In all honesty, despite him just relaying the message Jeonghan had written, he still expected Woozi to round-house kick him in the face with the ol’ ‘you ert!’.

Instead, without another word, Woozi was anchoring his palms against the couch cushion, leaning the top of his head in for Seungcheol to access.

…Here Woozi was, offering the opportunity of a life time, and Seungcheol was just staring down at him with a plaguing case of ‘hoverhands’.

Woozi huffed. “Well? Hurry the up.”

“Right, yeah. Okay…” He coughed, flexing away the shake in his fingers in preparation. He pressed his hand flat against the top of the demon’s head, tentatively, gauging a reaction. Woozi stayed silent, and so Seungcheol began to lace his fingers between strands of fine hair as he peered into his scalp.

Woozi’s hair was… so soft. Of course, he’d already known that from the many friendly pat’s he’d given before… But he’d never gotten the chance to actually feel it. It was dangerously distracting, cause while he was supposed to be searching for fur types, all his thoughts were being overwhelmed by the brush of silky pink strands along the pads of his fingers.

He swallowed, digging his nails softly against the base of his scalp, pulling back a tuff of hair to look beneath with gentle, brushing motions. Besides the fact that his hair was unnaturally silky, and that Seungcheol was beginning to think he’d never get tired of running his fingers through it, there didn’t seem to be any variety. No fluff, no whiskers, nothing but layers of baby-pink heaven.

His movements halted where they were, taking his attention to the quiet, throaty hum of complaisance Woozi had made. He peaked down carefully to check, staring in disbelief as the demon leaned his head into the touch of his hand, eyes shut with a content softness to his face.

up a nervous breath, Seungcheol found himself massaging into the hair around the base of his horn experimentally, confirming his suspicions with the outcome of a low trill.

Was he seriously… purring?

He was left in a precarious balance, teetering between the option of Woozi’s hair into next Sunday, or putting a stop to this now before he lost his self-control. combing through with his fingertips, Seungcheol’s mind was in anarchy. “Does it… feel good?”

Almost immediately, Woozi was shooting up into a sitting position, appearing to be even more shocked than Seungcheol was.

“Wha-no! What the , I-” He stopped, mouth hung open upon the realization that he and Seungcheol were sitting noses apart. Taking a safe scooch backwards on the couch, he collected himself, although the red against the tips of his ears suggested against the angered tone in his voice. He looked away, obviously embarrassed.

Seungcheol blinked a few times in quiet incredulity. An odd, lingering buzzing sensation was left in his hand. He… purrs?

“Well, was there anything?” Woozi crossed his arms, eyes planted against a far wall.

“uh… no-.”

“-Then we should move on.”

“Y-yeah, right.” Did Woozi know he did that? Did he even realize he had done that? He pulled out his phone with an anxious laugh. 

Reading through the next section, he held a lingering hope that the rest of the tests would give his heart a break. Knowing Jeonghan, though, the probability was low.

Cat tongues:

A cat’s tongue is very unique, well known for being rough like sandpaper. This is because of small barbs of keratin called “papillae”

The barbs are used for grooming, so although Woozi likely doesn’t himself to clean up, check for barbs along the tongue anyways.

Seungcheol let out an exasperated breath. He wasn’t about to feel-up Woozi’s tongue, that’s just going too far. Even for him. “Do you have barbs on your tongue?”

“barbs? Like, hooks?”

“Yeah, cat’s have them. Little tiny barbs all over their tongue.”

Woozi furrowed his eyebrows, giving a curious against his index finger to check. “It just feels like a tongue, not that I’d know what a barbed tongue feels like to compare.”

Seungcheol sighed. Come to think of it, if Woozi had a rough tongue, he probably would have noticed. Looking back on his last blood-drinking rampage, a feeling of sandpaper didn’t match any of the many sensations he remembered…

, this was not the time to be thinking about making out. “Let’s just move onto the next one.”

“Do we really need to go through all of these? It feels idiotic… I guess that’s not unusual when dealing with you, but still.”

Seungcheol let out an offended scoff. “This is all for your sake you know, don’t complain.” He cleared his throat, turning back to the phone. “Even if it feels really stupid.”

Woozi groaned, falling back against the couch in defeat.

Final method of testing the scope of Woozi’s Kasha genetics, is in the tail:

Although Woozi has a tail, it is up for debate whether it is from his mother’s succubus side, or his father Kasha side. Assuming a Succubus tail would be built unique from that of a cat, we can differentiate through a few simple tests.

Cat’s show emotion’s through their tails, much like dogs. Test this in Woozi by trying to evoke different emotions.

Strong stimulation (Anger, excitement, nervousness, concentration) Will cause the tail to wag.

Happiness will cause the tail to lift

Annoyance will cause the tail to twitch back and forth rapidly

(Unsure of how to test) but rubbing a cat’s back can cause the tail to quiver? It means they like you.

Cat tails are also used for balance, do a balancing test and observe if the tail responds.

Oh come on, this was just unfair!

Seungcheol lowered his gaze, watching Woozi’s tail sway lazily beside his thigh. This had been something he’d wondered for a long time. It had just never felt right to ask… He wasn’t sure how to even bring the topic up. Normally, he just assumed Woozi wasn’t comfortable talking about his demon-ness.

If there was ever a time to sate his curiosity, though.. It was now.

“What does it say?” Woozi questioned, waving a hand before Seungcheol’s captivated stare to break his thoughts.

“Does your tail…. Respond to your emotions?”

He opened his mouth, hand gripping at the swaying limb instinctively. “Oh, well… Probably. I am able to control its movement when I’m focused on it, but usually it seems to have a mind of it’s own. It just moves on impulse.”

Seungcheol’s eyes flickered down curiously. “Huh. So, is it like having another arm or something?”

“No, I wouldn’t compare it to an arm.” He squinted, humming. “It’s hard to explain since you don’t have one. It’s unlike any other part of me, so there really isn’t any bodily comparison. It's more of a nerve than a limb, I guess.”

The tail coiled up within the demon’s grip, feathery black hairs tickling against his palm.

Seungcheol watched the motion, feeling his stomach flutter. “Can I… uh.”

“What?” Woozi quirked his head in question, displaying an expression that did little to ease the thumping of his heart.

He up his courage, words rolling from his tongue before any thought's of reasoning could stop him. 

“Can I touch it?”

A/N: The chapter wasn't supposed to end here but it was getting so long agshbdjks... big plan will continue next chapter!