Finally my exams are over and even though I am still busy, I finally had the time to go back to writing!!! I am so sorry that it has been more than 2 weeks since I had updated this and to make up for the wait I give you this chapter of 11k words. I hope you haven't forgotten about this story...

“ Stupid Jaehwan and his stupid ‘Oh come on Jinnie, it will be fuuuuun~’” Jin grumbled as he made large strides towards his building.

“ Fun my !” he scoffed while fastening his pace as the chilly air made him shiver.

“I should have known better than to trust that sick when he said to just close my eyes, promising how I will be feeling refreshed in no time”, Jin muttered under his breath, clutching his wet jacket to create some warmth.

In hindsight how was he supposed to know that when Jaehwan saw him feeling down today he would suggest going for a walk near the Han River to clear his head, leading him towards the water and telling him to close his eyes and inhale deeply, Jaehwan was actually going to grab him around the waist yelling-“ JACK, I WILL NEVER LET GO!”, before throwing him into the icy cold water!

That crazy bastard!

Jin felt a shiver crawling up his spine when the wind became stronger, and he swore to himself to get revenge on Jaehwan who had ran away after Jin started screaming at him how he will end his life while he just kept laughing while jogging away, yelling back-“ I told you that you would feel refreshed, didn’t I?!”

Well, we will see how refreshed he feels after my fist gets connected to his face, Jin thought with an evil laugh, plotting the downfall of his EX-friend.

He was so consumed with thoughts of revenge that he didn’t even notice that he had already entered his building until he bumped into someone.

“ S-sorry! Oh…H-hi…” Jin apologized quickly until he locked gazes with the person he bumped into.

He felt his throat going dry, his mind racing as Yoongi gave him a bored look and a curt nod of recognition before practically sprinting out of the door.

Jin clutched his jacket tighter to his chest, wanting to curl into himself.

He remembered that the reason why he was feeling down these days was precisely because of the man who had just barely acknowledged his existence.

It had already been a few days since that day when Jin had come over to Yoongi’s apartment to feed Trouble, before sitting on the floor to rest his eyes for a few moments until he found himself waking up to the chirping of the birds on his window in the morning.

The first thought that he had when he had woken up in his bed that day was-“ How did I get here?”

The second thought was the one that had his ears getting slightly warmer as he wondered if Yoongi had carried him all the way to his bed and placed him there?

The third thought was to rush to the bathroom and check his body for any bruises or scars since he realized that it was more likely that Yoongi had dragged his body through the hallway and his apartment all the way to his bed, probably throwing his body on it recklessly as a sadistic bastard that he was who enjoyed to threatening him all the time.

Surprisingly, his skin was intact and he felt no pain in any of his limbs.

Maybe Yoongi used some dark magic to transport him to his bed?

Could demons do that?

Come to think of it, what were demons capable of?

 Except being scary and extremely attractive at the same time.

He wondered how he should act when he sees Yoongi the next time.

He also wondered how Yoongi was going to behave.

He got his answer soon enough when he met him that same afternoon as he was going towards the subway while Yoongi was going in the opposite direction.

When they were about to pass next to each other, Jin parted his lips to say something, but Yoongi just gave him a quick look, before he actually let out some kind of a displeased grunt, and completely ignored him!

Jin was speechless that day.

He couldn’t get how Yoongi was acting like an almost civilized being one day, asking him to come to his apartment and feed his cat and probably carrying him to his bed and not dragging him, and then the next day he was as cold as ice, pretending like Jin was invisible.

Jin wasn’t going to let that happen and he told himself that he was going to confront Yoongi about it the next time he sees him.

However, the very following day when he actually got to ride the elevator with Yoongi to their floor, he spent the whole ride mentally preparing himself for what he was going to say while Yoongi stood next to him, leaning on the elevator wall casually, his droopy eyes sleepily staring at the elevator door.

When the elevator stopped at their floor and Yoongi got out, Jin realized that he actually hasn’t said anything to Yoongi during the whole ride, so he yelled out, “ I!”, making Yoongi turn around and look at him almost lazily.

Jin had no idea what to say, his brain shutting down just by staring at those enticing dark orbs and before he knew it the elevator door had closed in his face, separating him and Yoongi and taking him down to the ground floor.

He pressed the button to his floor again, but of course when he got into his hallway, Yoongi was nowhere to be found.

Not only did he make a complete fool out of himself, but also he got his answer although he never managed to ask Yoongi what he wanted.

However, it was clear that to Yoongi it did not matter that Jin fell asleep in his apartment and that he had to carry him to his bed.

He probably thought of it as some sort of a payment for having Jin feed his cat.

Even demons seemed to have a sense of duty to return the favour, huh, Jin thought bitterly.

And now once again he got the conformation of how much Yoongi did not care about his existence.

Why did he even think for one second that that could change?

Just because Yoongi showed his slightly different side, his unexpectedly caring side for the furry kitten?

Then again Jin was not small, furry and adorable, so why in the world did he think that Yoongi would ever treat him with at least half of the attention that he is giving to Trouble?

He shook his head, thinking how stupid he was, before going to his apartment to get out of these soaking wet clothes and have a long, hot shower.

✵

 „What happened?“ Yoongi asked urgently as he met up with Jungkook on the roof of an abandoned warehouse just outside of Seoul.

“ Nothing, for now. But, I have a feeling as if somebody is following me.” Jungkook spoke in a hushed voice, constantly looking around and surveying the area.

Yoongi furrowed his eyebrows, not liking this one bit.

“ Damn it. I was extra careful when I came to the human world. I told you not to look for me if I ever came here, but you just had to be a rebel like always! And now the thing that I tried so hard to avoid happened. I have put you in danger.” Yoongi said in a frustrated voice while running a hand through his dark locks.

“ Hey… Don’t say that. Maybe I am imagining things. Besides, whoever is following me is not a demon. The aura is different, but I just can’t quite pinpoint it. Also, I was feeling lonely…I missed you and even though I have Taehyung by my side, I want you in my life as well. So stop beating yourself over this.” Jungkook said in a soft voice, his resting hand on the elder’s shoulder and squeezing it in reassurance.

Yoongi looked at the younger demon, getting lost in those brown orbs filled with affection, and he thought, yeah, I missed you too, kid.

He let out a long sigh, before saying, “ Okay, for now keep a low profile. Try to get out of the house as less as possible and let me handle things.”

“ But, Hyuuuung…” Jungkook started protesting in his whiny voice, before Yoongi cut him off with a firm look and an even firmer voice, “ Jungkook, do as I say. You know how dangerous it can be if they come after you while I am not around. Trust me on this one and let me find out who has been after you. In the meantime don’t go anywhere alone, you got that?”

Jungkook wanted to dissuade Yoongi from that idea, to tell him that two heads are better than one, but sadly in this case he knew that Yoongi was right.

And he couldn’t risk the other demons finding out about their location, or that would end tragically and he didn’t want to get separated from Yoongi once again.

So he nodded and smiled a bit when Yoongi offered him a slight smile.

No matter how tough he acted on the outside, Jungkook knew that when Yoongi cared for someone he would do anything to protect that person.

He was lucky enough to be one of the few people to actually have a place in Yoongi’s heart.

As they were flying back to Seoul, Jungkook suddenly said, “ Hey, how is Jin Hyung doing?”

Yoongi was slightly taken aback by the question about his human neighbor that he just gave Jungkook a confused look and a short, flat, “ Why?”

“ Oh well, Tae told me that he talked to him over the phone yesterday and said that Jin Hyung sounded as if something troubled him, so he was worried about him. Since you are his neighbor, I thought that you may have noticed something unusual?” the younger boy asked, and Yoongi stared at the city lights underneath him as his wings flapped freely in the night sky.

He sounded troubled?

Yoongi remembered his short encounter with his human neighbor today who seemed sort of lost and also his clothes were completely soaked and he seemed to be freezing?

Yoongi did found it strange and maybe he would have said something, but he was too worried over Jungkook in that moment who had called him to come meet him outside of Seoul, because he had a bad feeling lately.

That caused all the alarms to go off in Yoongi’s head, and honestly he didn’t have time to think about Jin in that moment when Jungkook’s safety was the top priority.

However, now that he really thinks about it, his neighbor did seem slightly off this days.

Usually he would bother him with questions, or talk back to him and then get like a deer in front of headlights with his large hazelnut eyes widening whenever he realized he had crossed the line, causing Yoongi to lose his temper, but these days he did seem to be unusually quiet whenever they crossed paths.

At the back of his mind there was a voice saying how maybe it had to do something with that time Yoongi found him asleep in his apartment.

It was after he had went to clear his head since he needed some fresh air after that incident when Jin’s towel dropped as he fell to the bed, leaving him in nothing but his briefs with his toned body on display.

Yoongi swallowed, remembering that sight, and once again just like that time that it had happened, he felt really weird and he wasn’t sure why.

It was inexplicable, just like when he found his neighbor sleeping in his living room with Trouble meowing, he reacted on instinct, gently scooping Trouble in his arms and shushing it, before placing it on his piano and playing his favourite lullaby that his mother used to play for him when he was a kid.

When he finished the music piece and turned around, he saw that Jin was sound asleep with some sort of a silly smile on his face which made Yoongi slightly nervous and it was as if someone was tickling his chest on the inside.

He didn’t like it one bit, so he carefully lifted Jin in his arms and carried him to his room.

He was surprised that Jin hadn’t woken up even when he flew with him in his arms to Jin’s bedroom window, but then again it just took a few seconds to get there.

When he placed Jin on the bed and covered him with a blanket, he just stood next to the bed watching his neighbor.

He looked so fragile despite his tall frame that Yoongi wondered how he could ever think that this guy was some vicious being out to get him and Jungkook?

But then again, he still didn’t trust Jin.

Looks can deceive and Yoongi realized that he had let his guard down too much around this particular human.

He needed to cut that out and return to his usual emotionless self.

So, he did just that.

He tried to ignore his neighbor as much as possible and kept their interactions to a minimum.

Whatever it was that was going on with Kim Seokjin was none of his concern.

So, he responded in a detached voice, “ I am his neighbour, but that doesn’t mean that I am his friend or mother to watch over him, so no, I don’t know if he is troubled or not.”, he could see that that answer had not satisfied Jungkook who was now scowling and about to say something else, but Yoongi gave him no chance as he said, “ And I do not care about what goes on with him. Not now and not in the future. End of discussion.”

With that said, he effectively shut Jungkook up who kept glowering the whole way back, making the niggling feeling in his gut increase.

It was bad enough that as he said that, he wasn’t sure that he believed it, but now that he saw Jungkook not being convinced in his words either, he cursed Kim Seokjin for getting so involved in his life that now he was actually a topic of disagreement between him and Jungkook.

 Also Jungkook was rarely disappointed in him, and now he clearly seemed to be which bothered Yoongi even more.

✵

By the time Jin had finally said goodbye to Hoseok and Namjoon it had already gotten dark outside.

Meeting his friends was unplanned and while he was still not back to his carefree-self these days, he couldn’t say no to Hoseok who had called him in the afternoon and demanded for Jin to come and meet him and Namjoon in Hello Kitty café in Myeongdong.

Jin actually felt bad that he made his friends worry so much for him that they actually went to his favourite café ( although Namjoon had once stated how he would never be caught dead in a Hello Kitty café) just to cheer him up, because they noticed he wasn’t acting like usual these past few days.

He was also grateful that they didn’t ask too much about what was bothering him since they knew that he didn’t like to be pressured into doing or saying something he wasn’t comfortable with.

However, he couldn’t help but notice the worry in Hoseok’s eyes, or the uneasy look on Namjoon’s face as he drank his pinkccino ( which Jin made him order just so that he could see Namjoon’s horrified look when he got the bright pink drink) whenever Jin would become silent.

Even if he had wanted to tell his friends what was on his mind, he didn’t know how to explain them why he was so upset these days when he wasn’t completely sure either.

He couldn’t figure out why he concerned himself with his demon of a neighbor and why in the world he cared so much about what Yoongi thought of him.

So, it was pointless to tell his friends about it.

He didn’t want to ruin their mood with his self-pity, so when they left the café he told them to go on and have fun on their own since he had to study.

It warmed his heart how both of them immediately offered to come to his place and keep him company while he studied that he pulled both of them in a tight hug which Hoseok gladly reciprocated while Namjoon felt flustered at the sudden display of affection, but nevertheless patted Jin’s back, telling him how they are always there for him.

“ Mhm, I know and I love you guys for that. Now go and enjoy your date. I will be fine.” Jin had said, offering them a gentle smile and finally sending them off.

As he made his way to his building, suddenly his stomach grumbled loudly.

He groaned, remembering that the last time he had something to eat was about 6 hours ago which was really terrifying since he usually had a habit of eating every 2-3 hours a day.

He was so hungry that he couldn’t even rush to his apartment and grab more money to buy vegetables and meat in order to prepare a proper meal, so he just ran into the convenience store that was about 10 minutes away from his apartment by foot and he grabbed the first ramen from the shelf without even looking at its ingredients. He poured boiling water that was placed on the counter over the noodles and closed the lid, waiting for it to get cooked. In the meantime he checked his phone for any new notifications. When the ramen was cooked, he started eating it while scrolling through Facebook. He was absent-mindedly looking at the posts that his various friends posted that he didn’t even notice that this ramen had a different taste than the ones he usually bought.

It was only when he was done eating and headed towards the cash register to pay that he started sweating which was strange since the weather outside was cold and it wasn’t that warm inside the convenience store.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, but then he felt a prickling sensation on his tongue.

He quickly looked at the ramen he was carrying to the trash can and he widened his eyes in shock when he saw that he just ate “Habanero Ramen” which contained habanero peppers,

 He remembered how he once watched a cooking show where the chef said that habanero pepper was known for being one of the spiciest peppers in the world!

“ !” he cursed loudly, quickly throwing the ramen in the trash can, feeling his mouth burning as he ran to the fridge and took a bottle of water.

He just threw the money on the counter, ignoring the guy at the cash register laughing at his misery as he dashed out of the store.

He fiddled with the bottle, even dropping it once to the floor, feeling the tears forming at the corners of his eyes from the spiciness making him sweat like crazy.

Once he had picked up the bottle with shaky hands, he started unscrewing the cap like crazy through his blurry vision since the tears already started streaming down his cheeks.

But, it seemed that today was definitely not his day because the bottle cap was screwed so tightly that no matter how much he tried to open it, it wouldn’t budge.

He would have come back to the store and bought another water bottle, but he practically had no money left, so he was stuck in this hell.

He was starting to get blisters on his palms from trying to open the water bottle and he wasn’t sure if the tears that were still streaming down his cheeks were from the spiciness, or from how pathetic he felt right now.

 “Oh, for the love of all that is sacred-come on already!’, Jin groaned in frustration as he kept trying, and failing miserably, to open the bottle of water, before his tongue turns into ashes from the spicy meal he just ate.

He stuck his tongue out in concentration, and also because he hoped that the chilly air would relieve the burning of his tongue, focusing all his attention and strength on the god damned bottle cap and wondering if he should just give up on trying to open the bottle of water (after he had failed for the nth time) and just opt for running to his apartment with all his might and drinking a gallon of water from the faucet until he could feel his tongue again which was now dangerously tingling.

He was just about to do that when he felt the bottle swiftly being pulled out of his hand making him look at the culprit next to him.

He parted his lips to say something when he saw who it was, but he was not given the chance to utter a word as the dark-haired guy opened the water bottle with perfect ease and handed it to him, followed by 3 words in a flat, deep voice, ‘Here. Drink up.’

He could argue and say “ You can’t tell me what to do” or “ Oh, so now you are actually talking to me?”, but his tongue protested, being on fire at the moment, so he obliged and quickly took the water bottle, gulping it down as if his life depended on it.

It was only when there was almost no water left in the bottle and when he started to regain the feeling in his tongue that he looked at his neighbor who was watching him with those observant black eyes.

Jin suddenly felt nervous, wiping the rest of the water from his mouth with his sleeve.

“ I know that you are just a mere human, but how is it possible that you can’t even open a simple bottle of water?’, Yoongi had asked, his arms crossed over his chest, his voice slightly condescending and genuinely curious which pissed Jin off.

“ Well, not all of us have super powers to open up a bottle that has been sealed hermetically by a freaking metal machine weighing about 200 pounds, capable of producing high-voltage sparks that could kill any human being and trust me they could probably harm you too, you big, bad, know-it all demon who thinks that he is so high and mighty for managing to open a bottle cap!!Ha! Puh-lease, don’t make me laugh! I would like to see you in a battle with an automated conveyor system run by me and capable of sealing that rude mouth of yours!”

Jin had finished his outburst by huffing in annoyance, crossing his arms over his chest and looking to the side with his chin raised angrily.

There was silence for a few seconds, so that was why he was startled when he heard low laughter coming from the same person that had insulted him just a few seconds ago and he felt himself fuming.

He was just about to flip Yoongi off when he felt shortness of breath at the sight in front of him.

The demon’s body was shaking completely as he clutched his stomach with his pale hand sticking out of his olive green oversized jacket, and when Yoongi finally looked at him, trying to calm himself down from laughing so much, Jin couldn’t help but stare in amazement at the large gummy smile that was now adorning the demon’s usually impassive or raging face.

“ Ahahahah what the hell was that?!! Do you even know what kind of nonsense just left your mouth?! Seriously, of all the lame excuses for lacking strength, this is the best you could come up with? And you should have seen your face while you said that stuff, being completely serious about it ahahahahah-PRICELESS!” Yoongi exclaimed, the little laughing wrinkles forming around his eyes that have now practically disappeared as he kept laughing, his dark red lips stretching until Jin thought his cheeks were going to rip and it was just such an unbelievable sight that Jin let out a dazed ‘ Wow…’ slip out of his lips.

Yoongi seemed to have heard him, though, because in the next moment he straightened up a bit, his smile fading away as he asked in a slightly cautious voice, ‘ What?’

In a normal situation, Jin would have kept his mouth shut, or just said, “ Nothing.”

But in a situation that he was in right now, having witnessed the most beautiful smile ever that was actually directed at him ( although it was slightly offensive since it was ridiculing him, but those were all minor details), his mouth seemed to have no filter as he said the first thing that came to his mind.

“ It’s just that I have never seen you laugh like that. So sincerely and coming straight from the heart. You should do that more often. It suits you more than that resting- face that you keep wearing.”

When Jin saw Yoongi eyeing him with some sort of a weird look with his facial features transforming into his signature frown, he really wanted to smack himself on the head for saying such an embarrassing thing.

“ You are so weird, “ was all that Yoongi had murmured, before slipping his hands into the pockets of his dark blue skinny jeans and walking past him without a single glance directed towards him.

Jin stood there a few more moments, squeezing the now empty plastic bottle in his hand, murmuring, “ Yeah I really am. I must be the weirdest person ever to have my heart beating faster just at the sight of my demon neighbor who probably can’t stand me, laughing so freely, making warmth spread all over my body.”

Jin lowered his head and sighed in desperation, before throwing the bottle in the nearest trash can and starting to make way towards his building.

Yoongi was sprinting towards his building as if somebody was chasing him.

Well, it would be better if somebody was actually chasing him than having his strange neighbor following behind.

He was walking slower than Yoongi as if he was not sure whether he was allowed to go in the same direction and Yoongi could hear his uncertain footsteps which irked him even more so he just went past their building, not even bothering to go in.

He continued walking straight ahead with no certain place in mind as his next destination.

All he could do was curse himself for giving in.

He was really set on avoiding and ignoring his neighbor the best he could, but tonight when he saw him in front of that convenience store, desperately trying to open that water bottle and failing every time, but never giving up with that silly focused face, staring at that bottle as if it had personally offended him while tears streamed down his face as he vented out his frustrations loudly, Yoongi just couldn’t help himself.

The sight in front of him was so pathetic that he just had to open that god damned cap and relieve Jin out of his miseries.

When he had made that cardinal mistake of actually assisting his neighbor in his struggle, he swore to himself that he was going to leave immediately.

But then Jin started gulping down the water violently and Yoongi found himself staring at the water streaming from the corner of his mouth, down his jaw and milky-white neck.

And then he became transfixed with the way Jin’s Adam apple was bobbing up and down with every chug of the water he took.

There was seriously something wrong with him and his body that seemed rooted to the spot while his eyes were fixed on Jin’s neck.

And then the spell was broken with Jin’s rant about some sort of machine being able to beat him, or whatever he was babbling about.

Honestly, he couldn’t believe that in one moment his neighbor actually looked almost-alluring and in the next he turned into this kind of…Well, dork.

It was such a sharp contrast that he couldn’t help, but laugh his off with his whole body trembling from laughter.

He couldn’t remember when was the last time he laughed so freely, without any care in the world.

And who would have thought that his human neighbor would be the cause of that.

Also, who would have thought that it would be that same neighbor who would say that he should smile more because it suits him, making Yoongi’s chest tighten in that weird, unpleasant way whenever his neighbor did something odd, making him feel so confused and feeling like a fish tossed out of the water and onto the sand, gasping for air and trying to make sense of everything.

He hated the tingles going through his body when Jin said he should smile more.

He hated how Jin looked at him in that moment with his doe-eyes sparkling under the moonlight.

He needed to run away, far away from Kim Seokjin, his large eyes, his hypnotizing neck and his kind words, before his thoughts get even more messed up.

Jin was walking at a normal pace, staring at Yoongi’s figure in the distance which had now become just a shadow with how fast Yoongi was moving.

It was obvious that he was trying to get away from him as fast as possible after the comment Jin had made, and Jin felt a slight pang in his heart.

He felt even worse when he saw Yoongi sprinting past the entrance of the building without even looking back.

Great, now he doesn’t even want to go to his apartment because of me, Jin thought, feeling gloomy.

He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard a familiar voice calling out to him.

“ Hyuuung!!!”

He looked across the street only to see his cousin waving at him like crazy and rushing towards him.

“ Tae, are you okay? Did something happen?” Jin asked, instantly alarmed that his cousin suddenly visited him at such late hours.

“ Yes. I know that something is wrong with you and you do not want to tell me. Well, I can’t accept that. Now, let’s go.” his cousin said in a solemn voice, taking him by the hand and dragging him away.

“ Tae, what? I am fine, I swear! Where are we going-it’s late??” Jin asked, feeling angry at himself that not only did he make his friends worry about him, but now also his sweet cousin.

“ Stop lying. And we are going to Hello Kitty café since I know it’s your favourite place and then you are going to tell me what has been bothering you these days.” Taehyung spoke in a firm voice, never letting go off Jin’s sleeve as he kept leading the way and Jin couldn’t help but chuckle fondly.

That made his cousin stop for a moment and look at him in confusion with his beautiful almond eyes that were so full of love.

“ What’s funny?” Taehyung asked, and Jin smiled lovingly, patting Taehyung’s head and thinking how lucky he was to be surrounded by people that knew him so well and loved him so much.

He decided to stop obsessing over Yoongi.

It wasn’t worth making the people close to him worry so much just because he was going through some weird phase of crushing on a demon, or whatever the name for it was.

He was just about to tell Taehyung that he was going to stop feeling so low when something above him caught his attention.

On an old gray building in front of which they were standing there was a statue made of stone on the terrace above them.

It was some sort of being, crouched with wings on its back and it reminded Jin of Smeagol from LOTR.

The difference was that this being was made of stone, but the hatred in those bulging eyes was obvious despite it being a non-living thing.

However, what draw his attention to it was that he could have sworn that he saw the monster in the stone blink for a moment with its cold, dead eyes.

But, that was impossible right?

He let out a little laugh thinking how tired he must be to be seeing such things when there was a scream in the next moment coming from none other than his cousin and making his blood run cold.

He felt Taehyung being ripped away from him, as the boy screamed and kicked his legs in the air with the grotesque being that Jin had previously been staring at digging his cold claws in Taehyung’s shoulders as it flew up in the air, taking him away from Jin.

“ TAEEEEEEEEE!!!!” Jin screamed in horror as he ran after them, his ears buzzing with Taehyung’s cries for help.

He ran after them until he was out of breath, but it was no use since they had disappeared from his line of vision about a minute ago.

He had been panting, his gut twisting in fear at what had just happened.

He looked around, wanting to ask for someone to help him, to bring back his cousin, but who to ask?

No one would believe him, and even if they did how where they supposed to fight against a monster??

His feet where trembling with each step he took and he felt paralyzed.

For the first time in his life he felt so helpless and didn’t know what to do.

Then it hit him.

Yoongi.

He was a demon.

He could help him.

He could feel hope and the adrenaline rushing through his veins as he started going back to his building, but then he stopped.

Oh right.

Yoongi wasn’t there and Jin had no idea where his neighbor went or how to contact him.

And he couldn’t risk waiting for him, not now when Tae was in the clutches of some cruel being who could kill him any second.

The thought of it had him breathing rapidly.

He could feel the panic inside of him growing, his eyes stinging as the salty water formed in them.

Jungkook!

That’s right-Jungkook is a demon too and he cares about Tae!

Jin felt a surge of happiness as he halted the cab and told the cab driver the address of Taehyung’s shared apartment with Jungkook.

His heart was still throbbing in fear as he sat in the cab, praying for Taehyung to be alright.

When they finally arrived to his cousin’s apartment, Jin rushed out of the cab until somebody grabbed his arm firmly.

He whipped his head around, met with the cab driver’s angry look who spoke in a grim voice, “ Young man, you can’t leave without paying.”

Jin blinked once, before he realized that he hadn’t paid the man.

But then he remembered how he had no money with him at that point.

“ Please, Sir. My cousin is in danger. I will pay you back soon enough just please let me get to his friend, please.” Jin pleaded the man, feeling desperate with every minute that passed, lowering the chances of Taehyung’s rescue.

“ No. Now pay me, or I am going to take you to the police.” the cab driver had said, his eyes unrelenting and Jin knew that this man had no reason to trust him, but he couldn’t deal with this now.

Not when Taehyung’s life was in danger.

So, he reacted on instinct, curling his fingers into a fist and muttering, “ I am so sorry”, before punching the guy across the face and freeing himself out of his grip.

He heard the middle-aged man swearing to kill him, but he had no time to think about that as he ran as fast as he could to Taehyung’s apartment, violently knocking on the front door.

“ JUNGKOOK!!! JUNGKOOK OPEN UP!!!!” Jin yelled, his throat starting to hurt, and his fists becoming numb from how hard he was banging the door, but none of that mattered.

All he could think about was Taehyung’s petrified face as the monster carried him through the air as if he was light as a feather.

Finally the door opened and the young demon emerged, his dark hair tousled, his eyes puffy and Jin realized that he had probably woken him up, judging by the raspiness in Jungkok’s voice when he mumbled, “ What the…Jin Hyung?”

Jin opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out.

It was only when Jungkook looked at him with worry and asked, “ Wasn’t Tae supposed to meet you?” that Jin left all of the strength leaving his body as he fell on his knees in front of Jungkook and started hyperventilating.

“ Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Hyung, talk to me??” Jungkook quickly said, panic evident in his voice as he kneeled in front of him, placing his hands on his shoulders to calm him down.

But Jin could not be comforted with violent sobs raking his body, choking him and making him gasp for air.

“ Tae, Tae…” was the only thing he could say  through shallow breathing.

“ What about him? Tell me!” Jungkook shook Jin’s shoulders, his eyes narrowing and Jin finally managed to find enough air to utter, “ A s-stone monster flew and took him away. Please, p-please Jungkook, bring him back…Please…”

After that Jin buried his face in his hands, unable to calm himself down, the thoughts of Taehyung’s lifeless body lying somewhere running through his mind.

“ !!! ! Gargoyles!” Jungkook’s gruff voice snapped Jin out of his thoughts as he looked up at the boy whose expression was now ominous, but filled with fear and it made Jin even more desperate, because if a demon was scared as well than that meant that the situation was really bad.

“ Get in. Lock the door. And don’t let anyone in.” Jungkook quickly said as he helped Jin get up and brought him to the sofa.

“ B-but…” Jin started saying through whimpers, holding on the sleeve of Jungkook’s shirt and not letting go.

Jungkook pried his fingers off gently, before squeezing his hand and saying, “ I am going to bring him back safe. Trust me.”

Maybe it was the confidence in Jungkook’s voice, or the fire raging in Jungkook’s now pitch black eyes, but Jin managed to give a weak nod, letting Jungkook go and trusting him with Tae’s life.

After all there was nothing else he could do.

It was at this moment that he realized how utterly helpless he really was.

And he hated it.

✵

Jin wasn’t sure how many hours had passed since Jungkook left the apartment with the promise of bringing Tae back safely, but to him it seemed like eternity.

He was curled up on the sofa, constantly looking at door in hopes of them opening soon enough.

Each second seemed to play on forever, as the clock on the wall above the door ticked in sync with every breath he took.

In his mind he had already given up.

It was amazing what power fear had over the human’s mind and body.

He was always optimistic and positive, trying to see the best in people and thinking how there was always light in any bad situation, but right now he couldn’t see anything positive about this.

Darkness evaded his mind, all sorts of thoughts accelerating through his head, making him even more inconsolable as he blamed himself for not being able to protect his baby cousin.

He was just about to bury his face in the pillow and cry some more when he heard the lock click.

He straightened up so fast that he felt his back ache from not moving for hours.

He got up and started making his way towards the door when two figures entered.

He stood there frozen, staring at his cousin who other than a small cut on his forehead and the disheveled state he was in, his face pale and his hair all messy, seemed to be otherwise perfectly fine.

Jin fell to the floor from relief, whispering, “ Thank God…”

Taehyung looked at him, forcing a small smile, saying, “ No. Thank Jungkook.”

Jin widened his eyes, laughing a bit at the teasing of his cousin who came in front of him and enveloped him in a tight hug.

Jin buried his face in Taehyung’s shoulder, inhaling the smell of the fabric softener mixed with sweat, his hands clutching the younger boy’s shoulder blades as he kept repeating, “ I am sorry Tae…Hyung is so sorry…”

He felt fingers running through his hair as Taehyung cradled him as if he was the one who was kidnapped and Jin felt useless once again.

“ It’s not your fault. And besides if you hadn’t gone to Jungkook so fast, then I might not even be here. So you saved me. You and Jungkook.” Taehyung spoke gently and Jin couldn’t help but cry into his shoulder as Tae kept carding his fingers through his hair to soothe him.

“ Ugh.”

A sudden grunt of pain had Jin looking across Taehyung’s shoulder and he saw Jungkook clutching his stomach and it was only then that he noticed blood on his white T-Shirt.

He pulled away from Tae in an instant, exclaiming, “ Jungkookie, you are hurt! We need to go to the hospital, and…”

“ No… Hyung we can’t go to the hospital.” Taehyung said seriously, and Jin watched Jungkook who had taken off his shirt, biting his lower lip to stop himself from making any sound as he started dabbing the wound with his shirt.

Maybe Jin couldn’t do much, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to watch this and do nothing.

He approached Jungkook whose eyes were back to that beautiful shade of brown, and he took him by the hand, leading him to the bedroom he and Taehyung shared.

There was a king-sized bed inside of their bedroom and Jin decided not to comment about it.

“ Lie down. That needs to be stitched.” Jin told Jungkook who obeyed in an instant.

“ Tae, bring me the first-aid kit.” Jin said, and Taehyung nodded before rushing to the bathroom.

Then he inspected Jungkook’s wound that stretched over half of his stomach across his firm muscles.

It wasn’t a deep wound, but it definitely needed to be stitched.

“ Here Hyung.” Taehyung said as he handed the white box to Jin who immediately placed it on the bed next to Jungkook who followed his every move with tired eyes.

“ Good. You are not hurt are you? Except that cut on your forehead?” Jin asked his cousin who immediately shook his head.

Okay, at least one less person to worry about, Jin thought.

“ Bring me some hot water and clean towels so that I could clean the wound first.” Jin said in a professional voice and Taehyung did just that.

Jin turned to Jungkook who was breathing with some difficulty and it was only then that Jin realized how young this boy was despite being a demon.

He looked so vulnerable right now and all he wanted to do was protect his cousin’s roommate.

“ My aunt was a doctor and she taught me how to do this when I was in high school. I will try to make it as painless as possible, but it will still hurt.” Jin spoke to Jungkook in a soft voice and Jungkook gave him a small smile, saying, “ I am used to the pain. I have been through worse. Much worse.”

That statement broke Jin’s heart, but he decided not to comment on it.

When Taehyung brought back everything that he needed, he worked quickly and with precision.

All the while Taehyung was by Jungkook’s side, holding his hand and whispering words of praise in his ear about how brave and amazing he was.

When Jin finished his job and dressed Jungkook’s wound, Tae was already asleep next to Jungkook, never letting go of his hand.

As Jin watched the two of the, he felt warm on the inside, because despite the danger Tae was in, he had found someone that would risk his life for him and take care of him and Jin couldn’t ask for more.

Jungkook was still awake, watching Taehyung fondly.

Then he looked at Jin and spoke in a quiet voice, “ It’s all my fault. The gargoyle or the stone monster as you call it, was after me. I had gotten in a brawl with their ruler about a few months ago and defeated him. I guess they wanted revenge, so they decided to take Tae as hostage. Luckily, I knew where their hideout was and I managed to destroy them. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to Tae…”

Jin knew the feeling of guilt that Jungkook felt, but he couldn’t allow for Jungkook to feel like that, so he caressed the boy’s head before placing a soft kiss on his forehead.

“ Thank you. I have never seen Tae happier than when he is with you. And please, continue to stay by his side.” Jin said, staring at the young demon who looked at him with wide eyes and parted lips, before blushing and shyly muttering, “ I will. I am also…Happy.”

Jin smiled and excused himself, before going to the living room.

Truth to be told, he was exhausted.

It didn’t help that in addition to the stress he felt in these past few hours, he also hasn’t had a wink of sleep and he was sure that he was starting to get a fever from when Jaehwan threw him in the river.

Nevertheless, he spent about two more hours in Jungkook’s and Taehyung’s apartment, cleaning up and preparing them a healthy breakfast when they wake up.

At about 7 a.m. he decided to go back home, take a shower and get some sleep before he heads out to University, so he left the boys a note and quietly left the apartment.

He remembered the cab driver who he hadn’t paid the previous night and who he had punched and he felt bad, making a mental note of calling the cab company in the afternoon and finding out the driver’s name and sending him money for the ride and the unfortunate punch.

He sighed as he realized that he was going to have to walk all the way to his apartment which was going to take about an hour, but maybe that is what he needed to clear his head.

✵

Jin trudged along the empty streets, bowing his head and snuggling into his warm jacket to fight off the biting cold. He was replaying the events from these past few hours in his head and he worried about Taehyung’s and Jungkook’s safety. If demons, gargoyles and even vampires were real then who knows what other dangerous beings are lurking out there, ready to attack.

His body was starting to ache and he knew that his condition was getting worse.

Every time he got sick this is how it would start.

After all everything had finally caught up with him and his body was unable to take it any longer.

He needed rest and a warm soup to cure him.

When he finally spotted his building in the distance, he felt relieved.

Once he gets to his apartment everything was going to be better.

Every time he inhaled, his lungs would constrict painfully at every intake of the chilled air around him.

When he was finally on his floor, he looked at his wristwatch, feeling surprised when he saw that it was 8:30 a.m. and that it actually took him so long to get to his apartment.

He was walking through the silent hallway when somebody behind him called out to him.

“ You.”

The voice rumbled through the hallway, almost like a growl and Jin knew who it belonged to even before he turned around.

When he turned around he was met with those narrow eyes, the hard stare stirring something inside of him.

Usually it was fear mixed with something else, but this time Jin just couldn’t stand the look Yoongi was giving him.

Not after everything that he had to go through in these past few hours.

Not after he had almost lost one of the most important people in his life.

He didn’t deserve this treatment from Yoongi and he was definitely going to give him a piece of his mind.

But as always, Yoongi was one step ahead of him, practically appearing in front of him in a matter of seconds, placing his hand on his chest and forcefully shoving him into his apartment while speaking in that powerful, gruff voice, “ Who the hell do you think you are?!”

Jin practically stumbled inside of Yoongi’s apartment, barely managing not to fall on his from the force with which Yoongi had pushed him inside of his living room.

“ Who in the world gave you the right to go to Jungkook and endanger his life?!” Yoongi growled, his eyes turning into a jet black colour, his irises shining with rage.

“ I…” Jin started, but of course it wasn’t his turn to talk, or to explain as Yoongi continued spitting out word after word in his hoarse voice while his lethal stare tore Jin’s heart apart.

“ I had a bad feeling ever since I met you, and now I have gotten my confirmation. You are a hazard to me and Jungkook. I am glad that I followed my instinct, the same one that warned me that something was not right and made me go check on Jungkook this morning only to find him beaten up and of course whose fault was it? None other than yours. I can’t believe that it actually crossed your mind to go to Jungkook and beg him to save your cousin-how selfish are you?! To put his life in danger just because you are so pathetic and weak. And Jungkook being a reckless kid that he is just had to listen to you. You and your cousin are lucky that he survived, because I would have buried you both if something had happened to him.”

Jin had experienced Yoongi’s anger many times, but he had never seen him like this.

His eyes seemed dead, but the hateful disdain in them was unmistakable.

It made his stomach churn, but he clenched his jaw and curled his fists.

“ How the hell dare you?” Jin spat out, anger rising inside of him, devouring his whole being just like the fire spreading through his body from the fever.

He saw the flicker of surprise in Yoongi’s eyes, but he continued nevertheless, “ If it hadn’t been for Jungkook than those gargoyles wouldn’t come after him seeking revenge and taking my cousin who had no part in it as a hostage. And then you dare say that this is my fault? And Tae’s? Well, YOU!”

Jin could hear himself screaming the last part at Yoongi and he felt like a madman, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“ Ever since Jungkook met Taehyung, he had become soft. He is a demon for Christ’s sake and now he has a weakness. A weakness can cost him his life. So your cousin better get away from him, before I remove him one way, or another!” Yoongi had raised his voice as well, and his threat made Jin want to punch him so hard.

 “Leave Taehyung out of this, you ing ! It’s not his fault that that guy tried to hurt Jungkook! ” Jin yelled, his cheeks burning from anger and the flush of fever.

He felt nauseous, his mind swirling, but he wasn’t backing down in front of this jerk who thought everyone should bow down in front of him and who wouldn’t listen to what others had to say.

“ I would think that you would have realized by now not to contradict me. But apparently you have a death wish of some sort…” Yoongi replied, his voice now flat, and his expression calm, but there was no mistaking the anger swirling inside of his black orbs.

Jin gulped, fully aware that he was playing with fire, but he couldn’t allow Yoongi to do something to Taehyung.

It was better for him to vent his anger on him instead of his cousin.

So he kept his fist clenched, his gaze firm as he stared at Yoongi and said in a low voice, “ I am not afraid of you, Min Yoongi. And Jungkook is the one who decided to save Tae, because unlike you he has people he cares about. And if you want to blame someone for what happened then blame me for asking for his help. Just leave Tae out of this.”

Jin saw Yoongi’s eyes widening in surprise for a moment, before his gaze became intense once again, his eyes narrowed at him as he started walking towards him.

Jin could feel his pulse echoing in his ears and while he was absolutely petrified, he wasn’t going to show any weakness.

Not now.

He could feel his mind going hazy, but he blinked a few times trying to focus his vision on the menacing demon approaching him.

“ Fine, then so be it. You will be the one to feel my wrath instead of your cousin.” Yoongi’s voice dropped an octave lower, making Jin shudder involuntarily as he watched the calculated expression on Yoongi’s face.

When Yoongi was finally in front of him, barely an inch separating them, Jin’s breath hitched.

He saw Yoongi’s eyes becoming red as he raised his hand toward him, his voice gruff as he spoke calmly, “ This is your last chance. I will spare you, just say the word. Even though you messed up as well, your cousin is still the one who is putting Jungkook in danger in my opinion.”

Yeah, well despite Tae’s bluntness, Jin still loved him with all his heart and he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened to Taehyung.

Besides he wanted Jungkook and Taehyung to be happy.

He knew that he couldn’t win against his neighbor, but at least he could sacrifice himself for Taehyung.

His eyelids were getting heavy and the sickness was taking its toll on his body.

He was already drifting between two worlds, the conscious and unconscious and at least he was going to meet his end in sleep.

Ha, take that you demon.

He made the last effort to confirm his decision as he mumbled, “ I am the one to blame. Take my life instead.”

Yoongi was quiet for a few moments, observing his neighbor who was swaying, and barely holding his eyes open, but his voice was still determined when he said those words.

“ Very well then. Goodbye, Kim Seokjin.” Yoongi said flatly, the little horns appearing on his head, his black wings stretching open as he took another step towards Jin.

Jin stared at Yoongi who was now in demon form, and it was really unfair that instead of looking disgusting and horrifying, he actually managed to look even more unreal.

The little horns kind of made him cuter despite his menacing expression, and the jet black wings fluttering from his back made him even manlier causing the butterflies in Jin’s stomach.

He let out a little disbelieving laugh thinking how he was probably the most idiotic person ever.

Here, in front of him was a demon that was about to take his life, and yet all Jin could think was how incredibly attractive he was.

He really does deserve to die for being so stupid.

“ Bye…” he mumbled at no one in particular, letting his body go limp with no amount of energy left to support it.

Well, at least the last image in his life was of a breathtaking creature, right?

He stumbled forward, prepared to feel the pain, but nothing came.

However, he had no strength left, but he managed to register a firm yet somehow soft touch on his arms before darkness consumed him.

“ You faint so quickly…” Yoongi murmured quietly while catching Jin by the forearms, remembering the first time he was in Jin’s room and how Jin almost screamed when he saw him, but then lost consciousness.

Jin’s face was buried in his chest, the taller boy sliding out of his grip.

Yoongi huffed in annoyance, before hooking one arm underneath Jin’s knees and the other over his shoulder blades and picking him bridal style.

Just like the time he carried him to his bed, Jin wasn’t really heavy despite being taller and broader than him, and besides Yoongi did possess inhumane strength.

He looked down, staring at the unconscious boy whose head was leaning on his shoulder.

“ No wonder you get in trouble so often with that big mouth of yours…You just don’t know when to keep quiet, don’t you…” Yoongi muttered, staring at the way small puffs of air were coming out of Jin’s slightly parted lips.

“ You are such a strange human…So vulnerable and yet so fierce when it comes to defending the ones you care about…” Yoongi said with a snort, still staring at the sleeping boy.

However, his gaze softened and he couldn’t help but feel admiration towards this human who actually went against him despite the fact that he was obviously scared less, but still decided to sacrifice himself for his cousin.

Suddenly he felt Jin moving and he stared at the boy in his arms who had nuzzled his nose into his chest, making his heart skip a beat for some unknown reason.

“ Seriously…Such a strange human…Do you not even recognize danger??” he said once again, this time his voice softer and more quiet as he observed his neighbor.

✵

Jin woke up when he felt something hurting his eyes.

He squinted, opening his eyes slowly and trying to adjust to the bright light coming from the window and making his eyes burn.

He groaned, feeling extremely hot.

He kicked off the covers and sat up in his bed.

He felt dizzy just by doing that.

“ Finally awake, hmm?” somebody said and Jin immediately turned to the figure sitting in a black leather chair in the corner.

“ Jungkook?!” he half-whispered, half-shrieked, staring at the boy who was looking at him with a smug grin.

“ Who else?” Jungkook teased, getting up and coming to sit next to Jin on his bed.

Wait a second, this wasn’t his room nor his bed!

But then…?

“ Don’t think too hard about it. You are in Yoongi’s room. You fainted, probably from the fever and judging by your flushed cheeks, I believe it still hasn’t subsided.” Jungkook said with a light smile and Jin stared at him in shock.

Yoongi’s room?

But, why was he even alive?

The last thing he remembers is Yoongi’s eyes flashing red, and Jin saying goodbye to his life, and then…

“ Why am I alive?” Jin whispered and Jungkook looked at him as if he was crazy, but then chuckled in amusement.

“ Oh God, did Yoongi threaten to kill you?” Jungkook asked and Jin nodded, still confused at what had happened and at Jungkook’s reaction.

“ Yeah, I am the one to blame. I didn’t get here in time. When Yoongi came by this morning and discovered what had happened, well he kind of got mad. Actually, that would be an understatement. I have rarely seen him like that. But you have to realize that that is because he cares about me a lot and he felt guilty for not being there to help me so he needed someone to blame. And that someone was you, I guess. I rushed after him when he stormed out of my apartment, but because of my wound I wasn’t as fast. I think he just wanted to vent his anger at you, but you probably pissed him off by saying something and then with his short temper I guess that he wanted scare you by threatening to you? Seems that he succeeded. But, he wouldn’t hurt you, trust me. He would never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it. You may not believe it, but he only attacks those that hurt the ones close to him, or that come after him. He isn’t really into fighting just because he can.”

Jin didn’t know what to respond, but he was sure that Jungkook was wrong about one thing.

Yoongi was fully capable of hurting him and Jin was sure that he would, although despite his threats, he had never really done anything to harm him physically.

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t.

“ He should just go back to the demon world and threaten people there instead of here where we can’t fight back.” Jin said annoyed.

“ He can’t. We can’t.” Jungkook responded and his voice seemed said which made Jin curious.

“ Why not?” Jin questioned and he saw Jungkook hesitating.

“ It’s not up to me to say why, but just know that Yoongi had no choice. He had to come here or else he would get killed there. And also he sent me here a year ago to protect me.” Jungkook finally said, and Jin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“ Is someone after you two? Jungkook you can trust me. I need to know since you are living with my cousin, so if anyone is after you they could come after Tae too.” Jin spoke firmly and he saw Jungkook’s eyes widening in fear at the mention of someone hurting Tae to get to him.

He didn’t want to upset the young demon, especially since he knew that he already felt guilty for the gargoyle attack, but he needed to get to the bottom of things.

He needed to know in order to protect Taehyung.

And Yoongi sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him anything even if he asked.

Speak of the devil, or more likely demon in this case, Jin thought when the door opened and Yoongi entered the room.

The demon threw him a quick disinterested glance, before glaring at Jungkook and asking “ What the hell are you still doing here? You should be resting.”

If Jin didn’t know any better he would have sworn that Yoongi’s angry voice was actually concern for the boy?

But there was no way that he was capable of having any emotions for somebody, right?

Even though Jungkook said that Yoongi cared about him, Jin just couldn’t believe that Yoongi was capable of that especially since he said that Taehyung is Jungkook’s weakness.

And if Yoongi cared about Jungkook then that meant that he was also “weak” in his view of things?

But then again, why would he get so mad at Taehyung if he didn’t care about Jungkook?

Actually, it was precisely because he cared for the younger boy that he was so mad at Taehyung for putting him in danger…

Wow, now it all made sense…

After all, if he was in Yoongi’s shoes he would probably feel the same way.

Even though he would never admit it out loud, when he was in Jungkook’s apartment waiting for Jungkook to bring Tae, at one point he despised Jungkook.

His body was filled with venom at that moment towards the younger demon that he was actually afraid of himself at one point for having such dark thoughts.

He wasn’t thinking clearly in that moment, blinded by a mix of emotions and obviously Yoongi was just the same when he confronted him this morning.

Now, he felt a bit bad for not showing more understanding towards the demon.

“Just wanted to check on you and then I found Jin Hyung here and decided to stick around and make sure you haven’t killed him or something…” Jungkook teased and Jin saw Yoongi scoffing, before cursing the younger demon under his breath.

“ Anyways, I am going now. Don’t want to leave Tae alone for too long. See ya, you grouch. Bye, Jin Hyung! Get well soon!” Jungkook said and winked at him playfully before leaving the room.

And then it was only him and one irritated demon left in the bedroom.

Jin bit his lower lip nervously, fumbling with the hem of his shirt.

“ W-why didn’t you kill me?” Jin forced himself to ask, wanting nothing more than to break the tense atmosphere in the room.

For a moment he thought that he wasn’t going to get an answer, but then the low voice spoke, “ Because it wouldn’t be fun killing you when you are unconscious. The best part is hearing your cries of pain.”

Jin should have felt frightened at that moment, but he was more curious than anything when he caught a certain sentiment in Yoongi’s voice.

He looked up, staring at the demon in surprise.

Yoongi had an impassive expression, his eyes giving away nothing, but the corners of his lips were slightly curled upwards in amusement.

Yoongi was teasing him.

Jin felt that fluttering feeling spreading through his whole body especially when Yoongi said, “ Rest, human. I don’t want Jungkook nagging me how I killed his roommate’s cousin. So, you are off the hook for now.”

Before Jin could form a response, or before his brain could process what had just happened, Yoongi had already left the room, but not before throwing a medicine for reducing fever in his lap.

Jin could feel his cheeks heating up and he knew that this time it wasn’t because of the fever.