002

It’s just another day in hell. People are hustling to make a living, others are still adjusting to the new surroundings, some others are curing their hangovers at convenience stores, and Lucifer—Hoseok—is watering the flowers he has planted at his yard (which is just beside the convenience store I just mentioned).

Being Lucifer has its perks. He gets to live wherever he wants. In his case, he chose to have his house built next to a convenience store. Hoseok actually thinks maybe the reason why he ended up in hell was because he was a glutton in his past life. He wanted to be next to convenience store so that whenever he wants to eat something, he can get it right away. But now, he kind of regrets it because there’s a newly-opened Italian restaurant five blocks away and he can’t move out of his place when he just moved in there so recently—exactly a year and a half… If only it weren’t for that angel boy who worries him.

Lucifer. When you’re Lucifer in hell, that means no one gets to touch you. You’re the highest of the ranking. However, no one knows what you did for ending up in hell, not even you. Not anyone can become Lucifer. Only those who did the worst become one. Hoseok knows this but he refuses to take it as a fact. That is why when it comes out of other people’s mouth, he flinches and gets angry all of a sudden. Hoseok takes his Lucifer position as something equivalent to a president. Everyone might think the Lucifer now is the Lucifer then, right? Well, that’s incorrect. Sometimes God and St. Peter do some kind of reassignment and even Lucifers can get reassigned. It isn’t that easy though. For Hoseok, he’s already fine with his current situation and seeing newcomers wanting to escape the place makes his heart sink. But not for this not-so-new angel boy wannabe.

That angel boy wannabe makes his heart beat faster. If anything, his heart beats fast just because of mixed anger, annoyance, and bother. No one has ever dared breaking the news to Hoseok like Yoongi did when they first met. No one dared to be aggressive in front of him. Although Yoongi put his hands together to plead, his eyes gave a different message. He looked dangerous. If only Hoseok was just a regular citizen then, he would’ve run away. Hoseok feared him even more so when Yoongi dared telling him he did the worst crime. Nobody judged him before like that. Every person who comes in his office knows they did no better than him. For them, they are all the same. For them, Hoseok is untouchable. But Hoseok thinks Yoongi begs to differ.

Whistling and subtly dancing to his own melody careful not to be caught by others, Hoseok waters his hydrangeas and sunflowers. It’s already 10 in the morning but he does not come to his office earlier than 12 in the afternoon. Yes, people die and come to hell 24/7. Yes, there can be lots of people in queue waiting for him but he’s Lucifer. He can take his time. Absentmindedly, being carried away by his own music and a little dancing, he sprays the water all over his yard drawing a high-pitched scream at one area. He noticed the scream but was amused that the flowers can actually talk so, he splashed on again on that same spot.

“You, motherer!”

Hoseok was surprised his flowers cursed at him. He looked at his flowers closely and scolded them. “I know, I know. I don’t water you regularly and maybe I’m drowning you at this point but please don’t curse at me like that. For the record, I haven’t ed any mothers. I know where to draw the line, you thirsty floras!”

“Whoa, don’t Lucifers have a job requirement? Like, maybe an IQ of above 150?”

Hoseok grows irritated at how the flowers talk back at him. He points at them, “I won’t water you anymore!” He holds the hose in front of him and turns around to go back inside his house but he has drawn another high-pitched scream. In front of him stands a man of approximately 5-feet and 7-inches tall, soaked in water and has his eyes closed and his mouth opened in a wide O. “Oh, boy. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Hoseok drops the hose on the ground and wipes Yoongi’s face with his shirt.

Yoongi stands firm on the ground, trying not to burst out of anger. Hoseok continues wiping his face with his shirt which Yoongi thinks is already dirty because of the garden work he’s done for the morning. In his low tone voice, he says, “I just came here to ask. Am I really supposed to work at your office since last week? Why do I have to work as your secretary? Are you making fun of me? Knowing how much I hate to be here and now, you want me to work for you?”

Hoseok stops wiping his face and answers, “I don’t get to choose who works for me, Brenda. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t let Jaebum go anywhere. He’s the best secretary I got. Like, ever.”

Although it was already 12:15 in the afternoon, Yoongi had no choice but to go to Hoseok’s office. He has worn casual clothes and didn’t even dry his hair completely before work. He doesn’t like the idea of serving that very person who most probably did the worst of all things unimaginable.

When he has entered the office, it reminded him of the first day he went to hell. From the red walls, red ceiling-to-floor curtains, the overlooking view of the entire hell, down to the red folders and papers remind him of his hopeful self, chanting on his head that he still has a chance to redeem himself. He shakes off this thought and focuses on the view. The office sits atop a 60-storey building, there are no walls but there are glass windows that envelop the entire office. It gives a 360-degrees view of the Hell City and it shows how this city looks just like any other regular cities. It doesn’t look anything like living people’s imagination—the hotness, fires everywhere, and glow-in-the-dark Halloween-evil headband-wearing people.

Without looking at the table on the north, he proceeded to the vacant table at the south. He had no intention to look at Hoseok’s office table but what can he do? His table is facing Hoseok’s! And there sits a man so beautiful, almost identical to that of an adorable kitten, talking softly to Hoseok, uninterrupted of Yoongi’s presence. Just when that man notices Hoseok being suddenly distracted, he follows the path where Hoseok’s eye leads and it lands on Yoongi’s inexpressive eyes and lips formed into a straight line, unamused.

“So, you’re that brat?” The man stands and slowly approaches Yoongi.

Hoseok coughs quite aggressively on that remark while uttering the words, “Don’t. Please. Oh, .”

The man finally stands in front of Yoongi’s table, he puts his hands on it to support his weight as he leans and says in almost inaudible voice to threaten Yoongi, “I’m Im Jaebum. I was Hoseok’s secretary before you. You dared to disrespect me like that?” He stands straight and folds his hands on his chest, walking around Yoongi’s table. “Do you know how much of a hassle it was for me? Everyone has a designated work, Yoongi. You’re not the only one. Every year or a year and a half, we all get reassigned in work. Just last week, we all got reassigned and guess what? Right here in this office, walking slowly around you is an H-Pop idol. Do you know that I missed MC-ing a show just to relieve your position? It’s Jiok Gayo, for hell’s sake!”

It was already time for lunch and right now, Yoongi’s anticipating a text message or better yet, a phone call to remind him to eat lots and right. However, only 30 minutes left before the break ends and his phone is still deserted. He noticed how focused Hoseok is at his work and how he’s not even looking at the time. Hoseok still has his neck bent and his eyes trained on the paperwork on his desk while his eyebrows are furrowed as if he’s solving a Sherlock case. Still bothered of not being able to receive a reminder, he continued on scanning and screening almost-dead people’s profiles to see if they are really fit for hell. Did Jaebum do this and think I deserve being put here?

Hoseok is very bothered and is in a very tight situation. The clock has already reached past 12 in the afternoon and he can’t make a call. How can he when that person he intends to call is right in front of him? It has been 30 minutes since lunch break and Yoongi has not yet left for a meal or a snack. Is Yoongi still punishing himself thinking he deserves it for being evil without knowing how he became evil in the first place? Can you stop punishing yourself without reason, Min Yoongi? With the paper works stacked on his table, he focuses on it and tries focusing on other things besides Yoongi.