Title: Devil or Angel

Author: AnnoNiji

Couple: JinYoon

Length: 11138 words

A/N: i would like to thank again elitejean for her wonderful comment on this ff. It gives me a lot of strength. Thank you ♥ And i hope you'll all like this!!

 

 

Jinwoo looked at the fire screen before his eyes with a pout and a worried face. It showed two children enjoying an afternoon playing at the park, and they were really cute; Jinwoo didn't have the heart to disturb them. Well, in fact, he didn't have a heart at all since he was a devil. But he learned this expression by hearing humans talking – and he quite liked it, so he kept it.

 

“Come on, Jinwoo, it's nothing huge, just make one of the child trip over something and your job is done,” Seunghoon sighed in exasperation.

“They look happy, how can I do that?”

“You don't have to care about that, just do your job, ok?”

“I don't want to,” Jinwoo replied, crossing his arms around his chest.

“What an angel...,” Seunghoon said ironically. “Your father won't be glad again.”

 

Seunghoon stood up from the chair he was lazily sitting in, and snapped his fingers at the screen, patting the younger child who was running while laughing. Instantly, he tripped on the ground, and tears filled his little eyes. Soon enough, his mother rushed to him, and then the fire sparks ate the scene; the screen became blank, surrounded by its usual flames.

 

“It's not that complicated.”

 

Jinwoo didn't want to look at his damn friend – nor at the damn screen. He couldn't feel any feelings, he knew that since he was a little devil, but a weird impression still lingered in his chest; like emptiness that had enough of, indeed, being empty. He never cried, never felt his heart pounding, never felt butterflies in his stomach, never became red of shyness. Those were things for humans. Not even the angels could feel all of this, so why would devils do?

 

“I'm not gonna say anything else, Jinwoo. Your father is waiting for you, right? Let's go.”

 

Jinwoo sighed, and followed Seunghoon through the corridors of the castel – to, indeed, meet his father in the official audience hall. The wooden black door ground when they opened it.

 

“Hello, dad.”

 

Jinwoo's words echoed through the wide room.

 

“Good morning, Your Satanic Majesty.”

“Hi, Jinwoo, Seunghoon.”

 

Well, Jinwoo's father was no other than the King of Hell himself, Lucifer.

 

Why didn't Jinwoo take from him? No idea. But he really was his son; to be precise, his second son.

 

“So, did you do your duty this morning?” Jinwoo's father asked, looking intensely at his son.

“No, it was a pure disaster like always,” he replied honestly, shrugging – it was a disaster like any other day, why keeping asking that?

“And you still don't know how to lie, from what I see.”

“It's true though–“

“I know what you said is true, Jinwoo. I just wanted to point that you can't even make up a lie to save your and for once saying that you did bad things as every devil needs to. But you chose to tell me the truth, like always. I don't even remember you saying one lie since you were born.”

 

Seunghoon didn't know if he wanted to laugh at the King's words or to pity his poor friend; lie was a common thing in the evil world, for any occasion, and Jinwoo had never said one in his whole life. No wonder he was a bit different from other devils.

 

“You don't need me to be that much of a devil, dad. There's already Seungri to take after you, you can leave me alone.”

“All my sons need to be able to be the King. Seungri may be the first son, but I'm expecting you to do some efforts too. That's why I decided something.”

 

Seunghoon, who looked until then at the ceiling out of boredom, concentrated again on the King's words. It seemed like something really interesting would come, and Seunghoon was always up to that.

 

“You're kicked out of Hell for now on, Jinwoo.”

“... what the hell?”

“Indeed,” Seunghoon whispered, as surprised as his friend.

“And where will I go? To the Heaven maybe?”

“It would suit you more, but you're gonna go in the mortal world and learn what being devil is. Surprisingly, there's a lot of mortal people that have the exact characteristics to be real devils from Hell. It will be a great experience for you to live with them and take after their habits.”

“But dad–!”

“Being rebellious all of a sudden is too late, Jinwoo. This is your task for now on, and you're not allowed to come back to Hell until I said so.”

 

Jinwoo stayed silent. A weird ache was growing in his chest, but he couldn't define what it was.

 

“You're terrible at being evil, Jinwoo, I need to find new ways for you to become one. Trying each day again and again to do your evil duty in Hell isn't working, even if Seunghoon is there and at the end does everything for you. So I thought that living for real with the ones you need to hurt could be a solution. I don't know what to expect but we'll see. Now go, you leave today.”

“So soon?”

“What else did you plan for today, since you can't even make a child trip over his feet?” Lucifer replied sarcastically. He added, “Seunghoon, you're not allowed to follow Jinwoo on Earth, okay. No one has the right to go there if it's not for work, understood?”

 

A smirk grew on Seunghoon's face.

 

“Of course, Your Satanic Majesty, I am not allowed to do that so I won't.”

 

Lucifer chuckled, and dismissed the both of them. The corridor, for Jinwoo, seemed so familiar yet so far away all of a sudden.

 

“So, do you want to pack your stuffs then we can go?” Seunghoon casually said, already taking the path to Jinwoo's bedroom.

“We? You want to go with me? But dad just said that–”

“Are you serious, Jinwoo? You really didn't understand? It's because I'm not allowed to go with you that I'll come too. It's a devil thing, you know? Doing what's forbidden, not following the strict rules. Your father obviously knows I won't stay alone here.”

 

And so that's what they did. Jinwoo took a simple bag of his most neutral clothes – not the weird ones that were a trend in the Hell world lately –, and people that his father called lead him to the transport that would bring him to Earth. Seunghoon followed them, but when Jinwoo get in, he didn't do like him.

 

“You're not coming finally?” Jinwoo asked, clueless.

“Oh yes I am, but I'll do it in a funnier way. A bit of challenge is more thrilling than simply coming with you. Your father expects more from me, I'm sure. See you later, then! Don't be too devil while waiting for me!” He finished with a wink, closing the door on Jinwoo's face who couldn't add anything else.

 

 

►◄

 

 

Jinwoo was in Seoul, and the life there was hectic, even if it has only been few minutes he was all alone on Earth. He already didn't know where he was, and Seunghoon wasn't there yet. People rushed and formed a stream around him in the busy streets; he had no ing idea how his dad wanted him to suddenly develop his devil side. He couldn't just make someone trip in the middle of this mass of people, could he? Did he only have to make people trip? There were other evil things that could work, right? But Jinwoo already knew he didn't want to do any of them. No one bothered him, so why being bad for no reason?

 

Ah, right. Because he was a devil.

 

He sighed and rolled his eyes. For someone who couldn't understand nor feel what feelings were, he thought he was pretty close to feel “annoyed”. He wandered here and there, looking at people living their human life. It wasn't that much different from Hell in a way. Maybe it looked more friendly, but at some places the mood was rather bad. Jinwoo knew devils impacted what was happening on Earth too, but the bad things also came from humans themselves in some case. Everyone is made of a part of evil, and of angel, anyway.

 

Jinwoo did have a phone and some money, but no number to call nor something he wanted to buy. He wasn't hungry and only wanted to find Seunghoon there.

 

“Maybe if I come back to where they let me... Seunghoon must have known the place,” Jinwoo whispered, suddenly realizing it was probable.

 

But when he turned back, he stopped in the middle of the street. He was so lost in his thoughts that he became lost too, surrounded by all those buildings.

 

“But where am I?” he said, eyes open widely as if it would help him to see more of what was in front of him.

 

His stillness seemed to be unnoticed by someone, who rushed into him and made him fall on the ground.

 

“I'm sorry!”

 

Jinwoo, a bit groggy, accepted the hand stretched to him and looked curiously at the guy with brown strands and full lips in front of him. He was frowning and kind of in a rush, because he was fidgeting and looking at all the papers in his arms, it was for something important.

 

“I'm kind of late, I'm sorry!”

 

And just like that, Jinwoo was alone again, with this guy disappearing in the stream of people going who knows where.

 

“... is he a devil too for making me fall on the ground?” he asked, tilting his head, his stare lost in the direction of the unknown guy took.

 

He felt weird glances on him. Was it weird to talk about devil?

 

 

►◄

 

 

“You're late, Seungyoon!”

“I'm sorry...”

“Do you have all the photocopies I asked you?”

“There...”

“You could have done them sooner!”

 

And you could have said thanks.

 

“Did you buy the coffees?”

“There...”

“They are not as hot as I like! You could have come faster!”

 

And you could have bought them yourself.

 

“Your shirt isn't ironed, you look messy.”

“Why do you look so tired? You need to sleep too.”

“Anyway, you have a lot of work to do today, don't be lazy.”

 

I don't even have enough money to have an ironer. Why would you even care of how I look like.

 

I don't sleep because you ask me to finish all your projects during the night or else I won't get any pay. Why would you even care if I have enough sleep or not.

 

You're the one being lazy drinking your coffee for fourty minutes long. Why would you even care making my life hard as it is.

 

Seungyoon's mind was way more full than what his mouth let him say. Maybe that was this difference between the two that made Seungyoon become that lost person who didn't know how to manage with everything. Even if he was rushing from a point to an other, never having time for himself, he felt like he was still at one dark place, with no one to help him.

 

His legs still worked though. He walked to his desk with his head down, but didn't forget to greet his superiors.

 

“Hello, Yang sajangnim, Song Mino.”

“Hello, Seungyoon!”

 

As always, Mino was the only one to reply to him. He may be one of the head of the department, he wasn't as snob as the other, and his “hello” was something that helped Seungyoon a bit. He didn't know why, it wasn't something big. Maybe it showed the true nature of Mino, who was cheerful and caring of everyone around him. It was great to be like that; people like Seungyoon needed them to feel a bit better, but he was scared he would annoy him if he stayed with him too much, using his kindness too much.

 

When he sat at his desk for an other day of endless work, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and a cup of coffee next to his laptop.

 

“Hello Seungyoon.”

 

He smiled. Taehyun was the only one he knew was really at his side, as his true friend, even with his few words. He knew he was kind of a protector with, him even more than anyone, since they were both similar; they both grew up without a father at their side, and this loss in a life affects more than you could think. Seungyoon also knew Taehyun was having a hard time as well. They were both struggling and trying to deal with their inner demons, whatever they were.

 

Maybe one day the would be free of the hell they were living.

 

 

►◄

 

 

Jinwoo saw him a second time; he recognized him because of his brown messy strands and especially his thick lips. He didn't know why he remembered him; it was only a fugitive image that would have been meaningless, if he wouldn't have been at the same place as him in town again. How long was it that he was wandering alone? Too much for him to remember. But it must have been around lunch time, because it was when he passed through an other street for maybe the umpteenth time, he saw him exiting a restaurant with huge bags in his hands. He was busy again; and didn't seem glad about it.

 

Jinwoo knew no one there; but this familiar face – or at least, less unfamiliar than all the others – attracted him in a way he didn't understand. But he had no reason to forget about him or to avoid him, so he kept a look at him. Seunghoon still wasn't there, and for sure Jinwoo wouldn't do anything “devil” to kill time, even if he was supposedly here to do devil things. But he shrugged it and followed this unknown guy instead.

 

When they had to stop because of a red light before crossing the road, Jinwoo was matter of factly just right beside the guy. And he would have said nothing if a bag wouldn't have fallen right in front of his feet.

 

He should have ignored it; better, stepped on it. Seunghoon would even have looked with an angelic smile at the guy, before walking mercilessly on the stuffs on the ground, without caring for any trouble he could have done.

 

But that's what devils do; and Jinwoo was one; but not really either.

 

So he picked up the bag, gave it back to Seungyoon who looked at him a bit lost, but their stares met, and Jinwoo smiled.

 

And the light became green; the guy looked in a rush – it was a habit or what –, so he thanked him and went to the other side of the road. Jinwoo stayed still, looking at the building the other one joined, with huge bay windows everywhere; it had a classy vibe. Jinwoo supposed it was where he worked, since he made for the entrance of it; why looking so down while working in such an awesome place? Jinwoo didn't understand humans and their contradictory feelings, really.

 

Before “his” guy could enter the building, someone exclaimed a few meters from him a name, and the one he followed until then looked back and stopped.

 

“Seungyoon, let's go in together!”

 

From the other side of the street, Jinwoo saw them disappearing together in the huge hall. This human – Seungyoon, apparently – really worked here then. It didn't look like a place of happiness though, regarding how the guy's expression when he entered it – his shoudlers dropping a bit, an aura of despair.

 

To be honest, Jinwoo didn't have to care about this Seungyoon, because he was already in a bad position – a devil should mainly focus on people that were fine and do devil things to them. So if Jinwoo listened well, he would leave him alone without caring at all, and find someone smiling too brightly to make him feel bad a bit – for example, that guy who greeted Seungyoon.

 

But Jinwoo had nothing to do again, with that guy disappearing for the second time, and Seunghoon was still no where to be found.

 

 

►◄

 

 

It was almost midnight when Seungyoon left the building after finishing the work he had to do – and what his colleagues let him do too. He could have argued, but at one point, he realized he didn't even have the strength to do so. Nothing would make him react again, as if he was impermeable to all those feelings. He was human but he thought like he lost something to be considered as one again; weird.

 

He waited at the bus stop for one of the last bus that would drive for the night, and once inside, the turns and shifts almost lulled him to sleep. He didn't miss his stop though, and when he was finally really alone in the middle of the street to his apartment, in a calm – too calm – residential borough, he felt all the loneliness that he could ever feel.

 

He was tired, but wouldn't reach his room too soon; the children play area on his way appealed him a bit, a memory of those times everything was good. Few street lights still illuminated a bit the lonely place; Seungyoon sat on a bench, and looked at the sky, as if he wanted to lose his body in his endless darkness and find a star at some light-years away from here.

 

And then, suddenly, all the lights went off.

 

“It couldn't be as bad as it is now, right?” Seungyoon whispered after few seconds in the total obscurity.

 

It was nothing huge, but it made him want to cry; if he couldn't even have a light from a street lamp during the night, then what? Yeah, that was the question: what? And so? There was nothing left, wasn't it?

 

That's when he heard footsteps, which made him startled; he was ready to get up and leave, when a little glow began to grow in front of his eyes, from the entrance of the playground. It didn't look like any light he's seen before, and it surprisingly felt soothing. Curiousity and surprise took place in his mind, forgetting the loneliness he felt before. He carefully stood up to come nearer, when he realized the light came from the hands of a guy...

 

The same guy who helped him a bit earlier during the day?

 

Indeed, it was Jinwoo – who, by chance again, was at the same time at the same place as Seungyoon, appealed by his aura of sadness – even more than sadness – around him.

 

Jinwoo heard in the human world that they said “third time's a charm”. So did it mean he was linked to Seungyoon?

 

Seungyoon looked at Jinwoo with surprised and curious eyes, with also a hint of carefulness. Jinwoo looked back right in his eyes, which made Seungyoon turn his head few seconds later, embarrassed. They stayed silent, Seungyoon fidgeting with the hem of his jacket, and then suddenly, he asked:

 

“Are you an angel?”

 

Jinwoo raised an eyebrow. Was Seungyoon mocking him? Saying this to a devil was an insult. But he couldn't know, could he? Why would a human say this? Jinwoo remembered he heard it in a drama once; eventhough, it was weird, because the situation was pretty different, and for what he remembered, the girl who was called an angel looked rather flustered. Jinwoo felt nothing in particular.

 

“Well, quite the opposite,” he finally replied.

 

Seungyoon looked puzzled, frowning.

 

“You... helped me today... and I see you again there. Maybe you're a stalker? But also... I... I saw you doing this... weird thing with the light and... humans can't do that. Am I just too tired that I imagine things and you're currently thinking I'm a big fool, or is all of this real?”

 

Jinwoo didn't reply right away, because he didn't know if he had to explain his situation or not. The other must have taken his silence as something similar to “you're a big weirdo man”, since he continued:

 

“Whatever, think what you want about me, I'm too tired and empty to care and think more,” Seungyoon sighed, sitting again and taking his head in both his hands, in a gesture of despair.

“I'm a devil,” Jinwoo said.

“... what?”

“I'm supposed to hurt people. I came on Earth to learn how to do it. But seems like I failed again, since I helped you.”

“... Isn't it better to help people than to hurt them?”

“I don't know. I really don't know.”

“See, we're all lost.”

“Why are you lost?”

 

Seungyoon looked at the soothing light before his eyes. Almost everything was dark around them, except for this.

 

“I... thought I was going somewhere. And when I really took the time to see where I was, I realized I didn't recognize anything. I don't know where I'm going, and it seems like everything is dark around me. I'm walking and doing everything I can to find my path, but it's useless.”

 

Jinwoo stayed silent, because he didn't understand what Seungyoon could be feeling at that right moment, even with all his explanations. It was too foreign for him. The light he created flickered but stayed strong.

 

“Are you really a devil?” Seungyoon asked.

“Yes, I am.”

“Hm...”

“You don't need to believe me you know, it won't change anything.”

“Ah, you won't disappear if I don't believe in you, you're not a fairy.”

“Why are you saying this?”

“Human things, I don't know if you would understand, since it seems like you're a devil.”

“You're weird, I don't always understand you.”

“Nevermind. It's late and I have work tomorrow, so I'll go. Thank you for talking a bit with me. Will I see you tomorrow too?”

“Well... maybe,” Jinwoo replied, still thinking.

 

He quite liked Seungyoon's presence, he was weird but talking like that pleased him, he didn't really know why.

 

“See you soon if you don't come back to Hell during the night, then.”

 

Jinwoo didn't tell him he couldn't go back to his home anyway, since his father banned him. Seungyoon disappeared in the streets, just like he disappeared the same morning and at lunch. Jinwoo knew he would see him again, because he was curious of his life, his empty stare, and what seemed to fall in him.

 

Jinwoo wasn't scared of the night, even if he was alone in the streets at way past midnight. Dark felt like home to him. He looked at the sky and the bright moon, and began to walk too to go nowhere – he could spend the night wandering like that. Maybe Seunghoon would find him too, he hasn't seen him at all since he was on Earth. When would he be there with him?

 

 

►◄

 

 

The answer came the next morning, when Jinwoo waited for Seungyoon near the building where he worked. Seeing him, Seungyoon seemed surprised – like he didn't think Jinwoo would really come to him again. He was carrying lots of bags again – some with coffee for almost the entire floor office – and he was in a difficult situation to keep everything still.

 

Jinwoo knew he could simply rush into him to make everything fall and give him a hard time. But he wasn't a good devil, and he did quite the opposite: he offered his help, by taking two bags from Seungyoon's hands.

 

“Hey.”

“Hey again.”

“Are you sure you're a devil? Because you keeping helping me is more like an angel.”

“I'm a devil,” Jinwoo approved.

 

But he still wasn't acting like one. And he didn't mind, because he didn't want to follow what his father wanted for the moment. Maybe he'd think later of his real purpose here.

 

“It's weird since we don't know each other that well, but... it would be a great help if you can help me and take the bags upstairs with me?”

“I don't have anything to do, so no problem.”

“A helpful devil, am I dreaming?” Seungyoon smiled.

 

He felt a bit better that day; when he woke up, he didn't feel as empty as the day before. And when he saw that guy who didn't stop to tell him that he was a devil, he thought that maybe his day would be okay.

 

They took the elevator, and once at the right floor, reached Seungyoon's desk...

 

That someone was occupying.

 

“Seunghoon?!” Jinwoo said, not believing that his best friend was there.

“Seungyoon! This guy came and I didn't know what to do–”

“It's okay, Droopy Eyebrows, I'll explain later, let me greet my dear Jinwoo!”

 

Taehyun glared at Seunghoon, who cut him in his sentence, casually occupying the desk seat of Seungyoon.

 

“My dear Jinwoo, here you are~ I was waiting for you since soooo long!”

 

Taehyun glanced at Seungyoon, searching for an explanation. Which, of course, he didn't have, since he didn't know this Seunghoon at all.

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