I managed to brew myself a strong, black coffee and took a headache pill. My hangover was one of the most severe I'd ever had.
Like a bag of rice, I let myself fall on my couch and didn't quite know what to do.

Apparently, Hyungsik took me home last night. How did he get in here? I had a door code after all. And I wasn't sure at all that I'd been responsive when we arrived here. And even more shocking, he had changed me into my pajamas. Why was seriously nothing coming back to my mind?

But then, I suddenly remembered some things.
I remember Hyungsik and me being in my bedroom. It became clearer by the second.
While he was accompanying me when we went inside the apartment, I was yelling at him. I didn't know what I'd said, but I remembered me being upset. He helped me to walk over to the bedroom, where I laid down on top of my covers with my dress and my make-up on.
He tried to pick me up and get me to change, when I fought him off. I was tired, though, and soon, I calmed down and closed my eyes. He paused and then, since I was laying on my stomach, softly sweeped my hair to the side and opened up the zipper of my dress all the way down to my hips. Somehow and surprisingly smooth, he managed to get me out of it and continued with pulling down my tights. I recalled that he was quite seductive by doing that, actually. Very slow, all the way down to my feet. And sadly, I remembered myself giggling like a little child while he did. Embarrassing.

I guessed I was too drunk to know how he put me into my pajamas or if he'd said anything, but it was more than enough that I at least know what happened. Which led me to the conclusion that Hyungsik really had been there and that something else must had been going on last night. Maybe Suzy had just been as drunk or something.

After the pill started working, my head resolved its huge dust cloud and I wanted to pick up on that 'angel of death' thing again. The only problem was that I didn't have any books about these kind of spiritual topics, so I figured it would be best to roam the internet.
I sat down with my laptop on the couch and simply started out on Naver.

The first things that popped up were citations from the bible and other stuff, so I didn't think it would help much. I found a page with interesting different myths about death or angels or other creatures a moment later and read over it for only a minute, when somebody typed in the code for my door.
Was it Seojoon? Or Hyungsik? How did the latter know my code anyway?

"Here you are!"
It was Seojoon. I shut my laptop quickly and turned around to him. He was standing in the doorway to the living room, smiling relieved.
"Where else would I be?"
"I couldn't reach you at all the past days. I was worried."
I rolled my eyes and put my laptop down on the couch table. I was really not in the mood for this right now.
He seemed cocky today, almost glowing with confidence. He didn't notice my irritation and came over to the couch to sit down.

"Everything alright?", he asked while examining my face. I looked back at him, straight into his eyes.
"Of course. I'm fine."
"You... seem different", he remarked, his voice going up at the end as if he was asking a question.
"Not the first time I'm hearing that. What's different?"
"I can't exactly tell, something... dark."
I cracked up upon that. Even though I'd had the same impression last night, I was pretty sure that I was the same. And I couldn't figure out why others could see it. But I didn't really want to admit that I knew something weird was going on. Nevertheless, I smiled at him.
"No, I feel very well actually", I said while feeling pretty much the opposite.
"If you say so! What are your plans for today?
"Nothing yet?"
"There's something I want to tell you, but rather over dinner instead of just like this. Would you like to go tonight?"
I was baffled by him. First, just barging in, then smiling everywhere and inviting me to dinner as if he hadn't been the one that broke my heart and had another girlfriend at this point. Especially his cockiness today annoyed me. At the same time, it felt so tempting to go on a date with him... Just like we used to. I wasn't sure if I was able to decline his offer. At this point, I just hoped for a sign from God that could rescue me from this.

I just drew breath to answer his question, when I heard the door code being typed in again.
Was this an open house or what?

Seojoon and I both looked over to the door, where Hyungsik, as if he was living here, casually walked in with a plastic bag in his hands. When he saw Seojoon and me sitting on the couch, he froze on the spot.
"Oh, you're already up. I just bought some food", he said, his voice sounding a little different than normally, but still seductive as hell.
I saw this as the opportunity to get out of this crossfire.
"No, it's fine, you're not disturbing! Come in!", I chanted, earning a bewildered look from Seojoon.
"I'll just put this on the counter and go."
"No, stay! Do you want something to drink?"
Quickly, I got up and shuffled over to the fridge. Both men in the house were exchanging confused, irritated looks.
Then, Hyungsik caught on. He eased up, put the bag on the counter and came to the fridge as well. "It's ok, I know where the drinks are anyway."
In my mind, I thanked the heavens for this outcome.
"I'm sorry, I think I missed something here. I don't want to bother", Seojoon spoke up, "I have to go back to the office anyway. Sedam, please think about the offer again, okay?"
"Will do, I'll send a text."
With this, during an awkward silence, Seojoon put on his shoes and finally left.
"Thank God", I muttered under my breath while going back to the couch.

Hyungsik stood in the kitchen and watched me. I was still mad at him after all, about the situation in the elevator that had just happened the day before and then him following me last night, reprimanding me about my behavior.
I decided to ignore him for a little bit and reached for my laptop, where the text about mythical creatures popped up again.

And then I read a passage. And everything suddenly seemed to make sense.
Hyungsik, with a glass of water, let himself slide down the couch next to me and glimpsed on my screen. "What are you reading?"

I shut my laptop at once. "It makes sense now. It all makes sense!"
He looked at me. "What does?"
"You!"
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't believe it... It can't be..."
"Sedam, tell me."
I turned to him and examined his face. The unusual beauty, this kind of danger coming from him, his weird episodes where he turned into an absent state of mind. The description I just read online fit him perfectly. But only half.
"You are the death! You are the angel of death! It's so clear! The reason why you are there when I am in danger, the reason why my friends can't see you from time to time... The reason you know so much about me. The kiss at the hospital... The kiss of death?"
"Do you know what you are saying right now?", he said, and it sounded threatening. His face turned dark and cold.
"It said in the story that the angel of death is visible when people have near death experiences. But it doesn't add up - why do you keep changing?"
"You should stop now."
"Explain it to me, Hyungsik! What do you want?!", I finally said loudly and backed off from him.
He sighed heavily, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He seemed to be in a precarious situation.

"What if it was true? What would you do then?", he asked after a while, but his mood changed. He didn't seem threatening anymore.
He suddenly was captivating, enchanting. His voice was seductive, throwing me off guard.
"I don't know."
He moved closer and started running his fingers up my arm, smirking slightly.
What had gotten into this man?
Needless to say, I was committed instantly. Electrified and terrified at the same time, attentively, I looked at his face while he traced his fingers with his eyes. His hair was perfect as always, his lips slightly parted. Then, he lifted his eyes and looked directly at me.
He came closer and leaned in for a kiss. I closed my eyes, but just before our lips touched, he stopped.
"What would you do if I did this?", he whispered. I was unable to answer.

And then, all of a sudden, this dark force came back within me. I smiled and thought of the situation as the most adventurous thing in the world, not even considering consequences. All I wanted right now was this man.
"I'd like you very much to do this", I whispered back and put my lips on his.
A thousand electric wires exploded in my body when I finally felt his touch again. This guy made me crazy.

He let go though, but took my face into his hands and looked me in the eyes. His expression was stern.
"I'm not sure if you are ready to take this risk."
"What are you proposing?"
"Sedam. I can't leave your side. But it comes with danger. I can't tell you more than you already know. There's this thing between us that makes everything so difficult... But it's a mix-up. You're not even supposed to-"
"Not supposed to what?"
"I can't tell you that."
"I want to know, Hyungsik!"
He sighed and ruffled his hair.

"You're not even supposed to die."