*italicized = the devil speaking inside of Baekhyun’s head.

_________

Baekhyun shot up from his bed the next morning with bullets of sweat dripping down his face. One thing he knew for sure, he remembered everything. From the kidnapping, the beating, the devil waking up, the rescuing, and the intimate moment between the pair. Baekhyun blushed slightly, recalling the steamy memory in his head. Though he quickly shook off the thought because he also remember one very crucial piece of memory.

“Are you going to kill him?” he recalled Aera saying.

What did she mean by this. Why would the devil kill him? 

The CEO marched into his walk-in closet, stopping in front of the full body mirror before trying to communicate with the devil again. Looking at himself first thing in the morning caught Baekhyun a bit off guard. He even flinched as he saw his unwounded face in the mirror. But how, he thought to himself while gliding his fingers over his once-injured face. He could have sworn that he was badly beaten. It must be the devil’s work. Nonetheless, he pushed his discovery aside to deal with the current situation. He wasn’t quite sure how he did it last time, but he was hoping that it’ll reach him somehow.

“You!” he pointed to himself in the mirror.

“W-what do you mean by not killing me? Am I dying? Who’s killing me?!” he continued shouting at himself in the mirror. 

“This is so stupid,” Baekhyun muttered under his breath.

As he was about to give up, an inner voice echoed inside his head. 

“I’m leaving your body,” the voice said.

“Am I dying?” the CEO asked, somewhat skeptical.

“I need two more days,” the voice continued, “…one to finish collecting the souls to reverse the process and the other…for myself.”

Without even asking, he knew what or should he say who, the second day was for. 

“How do I know you’re not lying?” Baekhyun challenged.

“If I wanted to kill you, I could have done it a very long time ago. You really have no other choice but to trust me,” the devil said as a matter of fact.

He does have a point, Baekhyun thought. Was it his only option left to trust this devil that apparently could kill him. But this was also the same devil that pull him out of a near-death experience. His mind was conflicted. 

“Just give me access to your body for two days and I’ll cancel our deal. You’ll get all your life years back.”

The devil could care less about losing his end of a deal. He wanted this chapter to end promptly before it’s too late to end it.

“Deal.” 

~~~

The devil spent his first full day obtaining the remaining years that he needed to reverse the fusion. It was successful as he was able to have access to the vessel for more than just half the day. Just a few more hours before dawn, he went to visit an unlikely acquaintance. 

“What now?” Sehun opened the door just enough to catch a glimpse of the devil outside.

He instantly rolled his eyes when the devil easily pushed through his entry. Baekhyun held up two cans of beer and threw one harshly at the other devil. Sehun swiftly caught the beer without even looking.

“Tell me why you’re here at 3 in the morning then leave my house please,” he said while already sipping on his beer.

“How are you not bored, doing the same thing everyday,” Baekhyun also took a sip of his beer.

“Should I join you and fall desperately in love with some human and risk my life? Is that more entertaining?” Sehun instantly began to mock him again. It became a habit of his now.

The devil scoffed, accepting his sarcasm just this one time since it was spot on. But he also agreed by nodding his head slowly with a soft smile plastered on his face. Sehun mimicked a disgusted expression while watching his acquaintance smiling from ear to ear like an idiot. A lucky one, Sehun thought to himself. This idiot managed to break out of their structured routine to experience something so pure and innocent. A small part of him was envious of Baekhyun, a secret that he’ll never reveal. This lucky idiot, he mumbled as his lips curved into a small smile for Baekhyun.

~~~

The next morning, Aera arrived at work without a single clue of what lies ahead. Before she had a chance to sit down, she was informed that the CEO was was waiting for her outside. A business trip, they told her. Somewhat confused, she headed down anyway. 

“Morning,” a familiar devil beamed.

It was definitely delighted to see him again after that night. Though she had already prepared her herself to not see him anymore. In a way, this could go horribly wrong if her heart can't handle the pressure. Still, she placed on a bright smile because she promised herself, and for his own sake, to live happily. 

“What’s going on?” she took notice of the bouquet of flowers in his hand and a gift box on the other.

“Happy birthday!” he cheered while waving the gifts around. 

Aera held back her laughter, unsure of what to tell him when it wasn’t even her birthday. She accepted the gifts nonetheless, thanking him. He urged her to open the gift, and she did. It was a gift card to the convenience store near her house with a very hefty amount included, but also incredibly hilarious that he got her this as a ‘birthday’ gift. 

“Just for today, it’ll be your birthday,” he playfully winked.

After putting the gift back into the trunk, Baekhyun drove off to their first destination. They stopped by a cute brunch spot with an outdoor seating area. The restaurant was also surprisingly very empty during peak hour. 

“Welcome,” the waitress greeted the two.

Aera looked around the space, it was absolutely gorgeous though. Brick walls surrounded the patio area with vineyards growing over the surface. The overall vibe was very vintage-like.

“Don’t tell him but…I rented this whole place out with this,” the devil held up Baekhyun’s black card proudly.

“I am definitely reporting this,” she .

“What occasion are we celebrating today, if I may ask?” their waitress came back with the menus in her hands.

The devil shrugged, turning his head over to Aera for an answer.

“What occasion should we celebrate today?” he asked her.

The girl shook her head, not knowing the answer herself. To be fair, she was just as dumbfounded.

“We’ll celebrate our one year anniversary today then!” Baekhyun suddenly declared. 

As speechless as she was, Aera finally understood what he was trying to do. 

“