beelzebub; once hailed as the angel of dreams, has long forsaken that title to become the most sought-after demon among mortals.

unlike other demons, she doesn’t particularly enjoy the violence and depravity as they do. she’s content to aid humans as if she were still a seraph; it’s not her place to judge their actions and desires and her methods are gentle compared to others. add all of these factors together and one can understand why beelzebub has hundreds of contracts.

so when seungwan confronts her in hell the next day, asking questions about a certain bae hyungwon, seulgi can only shrug in response.

an archival file appears in the devil’s hand and she shoves it into seulgi’s face, forcing her to read it. the demon king skims through the document without expectations, but when she catches the words like bae joohyun and daughter, she pales.

seulgi turns to seungwan with a gasp, “no way…”

“you’re telling me?” seungwan exclaims, “you drank this dude’s blood!”

“come on! this was way before you met joohyun!” seulgi retorts, "our contract concluded a couple of years ago!”

the demon king sets the file aside to pace around her bedroom. unlike her best friend, she isn’t reckless. regretting her actions is a feeling that seungwan is familiar with but not seulgi. how was she to know that one random mortal would be the father of lilith’s reincarnation? it’s too late to undo everything, the contract has been signed and completed.

running a hand through her hair, fear seeps into her words as she gulps, “there’s no way we’re telling joohyun and sooyoung, right?” 

while lucifer fears joohyun, beelzebub thinks her sister is tenfold more terrifying. to provoke the ire of them both would surely mean a death sentence. 

seungwan pinches the bridge of her nose and shakes her head, “unless you want to die because i’m pretty sure sooyoung will try to murder you with her bare hands.”

wincing at the thought, seulgi nods quickly. “we can’t tell them.”

“we’re not lying to them,” seungwan shrugs, “we’re simply… not letting them know.”

seulgi bobs her head aggressively, “i agree!”

the demons nod their head in sync as if to reassure themselves that their charges will not attempt to erase them from existence. calming down slightly, seungwan decides it’s a good time to get the final bit of information she lacks about bae hyungwon.

the devil spent the whole night etching every single detail about bae hyungwon’s life into her brain — obsessed might be an understatement. 

“so what did he wish for?”

the demon squeezes her eyes shut as she searches her memory, trying her hardest to recall what the contract was about. the information sits just out of reach, it’s been a couple of years after all and seulgi has had a multitude of contracts since then.

“did you forget?”

waving a hand to shush her, seulgi frowns, “you’re interrupting my train of thought.”

seungwan releases a skeptical hum as she floats around seulgi’s spacious bedroom; of course, of all demons, it has to be her best friend who aided him. the fates have it all planned out in their signature, twisted way.

“happiness,” seulgi blurts, “he wished for happiness.”

seungwan quirks a brow, “seriously? that’s lame.”

seulgi nods confidently, “you know how mortals are, love, health and wealth equal happiness. and the tormented ones, they think asking for happiness erases all their pain.” 

“but you granted it?”

“yeah, you know abstract wishes like these are easier for me.” the demon king shrugs, “gave him a new wife who believes that her dreams are visions for the future, went into her dreams to drop tips and badabing badaboom, contract concluded.”

it’s easy to forget that seulgi has the ability to enter dreams and tweak them as she wishes, maybe seungwan should ask for a couple of nightmares for the guy.

“sooyoung will actually kill you if she finds out you’re the reason that he has a new family.” seungwan murmurs.

seulgi purses her lips, “she can’t kill me if i’m in hell.”

“her soul is coming to hell eventually.” the devil points out, “you said you’d give her a contract.” 

“wait, we were serious about it?”

seungwan shrugs, “it’s your choice, or she could summon you and get a contract like her dad.”

the demon king narrows her eyes, “i need you to swear on your soul that you won’t tell them.”

a loud gasp echoes through the room, seungwan clutches her chest in mock hurt. “you don’t trust me!” 

“you’re bringing it up too many times! it makes me uneasy!”

seungwan pulls pinched fingers across her lips, “mouth’s shut. now come on, i need you to dress me up.”

the devil and her demon king return to the mortal realm a little later than expected — seungwan took pleasure in being a pain in seulgi’s neck.

hand it to the devil to have way too many issues with clothing choices. from too poor to too elegant, seungwan has a variety of comments for each outfit that seulgi picks out for her. they settled on an all-black attire, seungwan wouldn’t stand being in a three-piece suit otherwise. another compromise was that she could be allowed to wear her favourite jacket, though seulgi disagrees strongly with her choice. 

seulgi decides to dress a little more formally; a white suit with black lapels is what she deems fitting. she can’t show up at an old charge’s home without dressing like a proper demon. 

“you guys are late and overdressed,” sooyoung remarks the moment the two demons land in the living room. they’re dressed more casually compared to the two, joohyun wearing a simple blue button-up while sooyoung opts for a sleek black dress.

the mortals have been waiting for slightly over half an hour, at this point they are hungry and annoyed which means they’re not fun to be around.

“wardrobe malfunction,” seungwan lies with a grin, “are you guys ready to go?”

joohyun gets up from the couch with a loud sigh and nods but sooyoung stays seated, folding her arms across her chest.

“wait, i’m never going to get my contract if we don’t do it now.”

seulgi flits her gaze from sooyoung to joohyun, as if asking for permission to doom her sister’s soul to hell. no person in their right mind would say yes, but perhaps months of living with her own demon have driven her to the brink of insanity.

a wave of her hand gives the demon king the permission she needs and she moves over to sooyoung with a skip in her step.

her voice is gentle when she speaks, “let’s sign a pact instead, that way i don’t have to take your soul.”

for a demon to offer themselves up in a pact is no simple feat; to willingly give up their freedom to be under the control of a mortal is not something that most of them would do. seungwan wouldn’t either but her pact with joohyun was a welcomed mistake. 

a loud aww echoes through the room and joohyun nudges seungwan roughly in the ribs. they opt to let the two hash out the details of their new pact, though not by choice. seungwan would’ve loved to throw in a quip or two.

“doesn’t it remind you of our pact?” seungwan whispers, “time flies, doesn’t it?”

joohyun nods slowly, “just a couple more months to go.”

“just a couple of nights ago you were hoping i would stick around… was that a lie?” seungwan arches a brow, pouting as she looks at joohyun.

the mortal sighs loudly and leans in to leave a quick peck on the devil’s cheek. “there, does that make you feel better?” 

of course, it does, a kiss from the love of her life is sure to make anything better. seungwan has to turn away to hide the flush on her cheeks — why did god give angels the ability to blush? so much for god never makes mistakes.

the signing of a pact takes under five minutes. after the details, all seulgi has to do is drink a little bit of blood and they’re good to go. at the end of it, sooyoung has the smile of a child on christmas morning. how exciting it must be — she has her very own demon! 

“let’s go, i’m getting hungry.” seulgi beams as sooyoung slips her hands into hers.

“seul, you’re a demon. you don’t get hungry.” 

“i’m pretending to be a mortal now, don’t they say stuff like that all the time?”

one who has their wishes granted by beelzebub is almost guaranteed to thrive, bae hyungwon is no exception. a penthouse in an affluent residential neighbourhood, surely seulgi could’ve held back a little.

a permanent frown is plastered across seungwan’s face;  she abhors the fact that the man that hurt joohyun is seemingly leading a better life than she is. her displeasure doesn’t go unnoticed, joohyun pulls her aside to whisper something into her ears before they step foot into the apartment.

“i know something’s bothering you but can you be yourself for three hours tops? we can talk about it after dinner, okay?” the mortal is on the precipice of pleading, and how could seungwan ever say no to her?

the devil obliges with a nod, tucking away her disdain under a slightly forced smile. it’s the best she's willing to do for tonight and joohyun accepts it by linking their arms together.

“no magic, please.” joohyun reminds, “and don’t beat up my father, i’m fairly certain he’s not an angel like yong.”

seungwan grimaces at the memory but mutters bitterly, “unfortunately.”

joohyun doesn’t have time to chide her when an audible click echoes down the corridor.

the large door that leads into the penthouse swings open to reveal a middle-aged woman wearing a bright smile on her cheeks. she welcomes them with open arms, offering the sisters a warm hug as they step into the luxurious apartment.

“it’s good to see you both again, joohyun, sooyoung.” the woman nods, “these are..?”

“seungwan and seulgi, our dates.”

she extends a hand, introducing herself as jaeyoung, bae hyungwon’s current wife. the devil hides her judgment with a polite handshake — the lady looks much younger than hyungwon is, in her late thirties if seungwan had to guess.

a scummy old man with a hot wife? it seems that bae hyungwon is designed to get on her nerves.

inviting them in, jaeyoung ushers them towards the couch while she busies herself with getting them drinks.

“you couldn’t have given him someone more unpleasant?” seungwan hisses at her best friend who shrugs helplessly, “he’s living a wonderful life.”

“you’re free to ruin it.” seulgi challenges, knowing fully well that seungwan can’t do that without any consequences.

slumping into the soft couch, she folds her arms across her chest. the devil takes a moment to take in the entire place, with walls that extend high, the apartment makes her feel smaller than she already is. extravagant art pieces are littered around the place, she doesn’t have to be an expert to know that one or two could pay off joohyun’s loans. 

casting a glance at her charge, she notices that joohyun is a little tense, though she tries her best to hide the subtle grinding of her teeth. seeing her worry pulls seungwan back to the realization that this night is not about her, nor is it about the past, this is for joohyun and sooyoung to fix their relationship with their father — whatever's left of it.

seungwan reaches over and offers a comforting squeeze on her arm, a wordless it’ll be okay conveyed with a slight furrow of her brows. the gesture is reciprocated with a tight-lipped smile; a weak attempt at masking her emotions but it’s the best that joohyun can muster at the moment.

the sound of footsteps thudding against the floor follows jaeyoung when she returns with drinks. another reason to despise bae hyungwon presents itself in the form of two young children cowering behind his wife. 

of course, seulgi gave him everything he needed for a perfect life.

“this is jieun and jimin, they’re usually a little shy around strangers.” jaeyoung introduces while nudging them forward with a light pat, “say hi to the unnies.”

the two girls, neither older than seven, murmur a soft hello in unison, all while clinging to their mother. the atmosphere becomes a little awkward as one would imagine such situations to be. seungwan understands sooyoung’s reluctance all too well now, why she said she and joohyun were never good enough for him. two younger daughters to replace his older mistakes. regardless of her feelings, seungwan would be a terrible demon if she couldn’t offer some support.

“you guys wanna see a magic trick?” seungwan beams as she pulls out a deck of cards from her pockets, hiding every trace of negativity behind her goofy facade, “joohyun-unnie said no magic but i’m gonna break the rules for a little bit.”

without waiting for a reply, seungwan showcases a simple sleight of hand card trick, wowing the room and sapping the tension right out of the air. if she couldn’t be there for joohyun earlier, she’ll do her best to make up for it now. 

plus, she has plenty of experience dealing with one sister, she can easily handle two more.

the kids warm up to seungwan by the time dinner is ready and she almost forgets her initial feeling of animosity prior to coming here. that is until the man of the hour finally makes an appearance.

a second is enough for her loathing to be reignited, seungwan watches him like a hawk as he struts towards the dining table. he looks exactly like his picture in the file, specks of white hair dot the crown of his head with a neatly kept beard. his face is the very definition of emotionless, but seungwan would prefer to not see a smile.

she notices the way his jaw tightens when he makes eye contact with seulgi, a touch of recognition flashing in his gaze before he pulls away with what one could assume is fear. he greets them with a firm handshake, saying nothing beyond it’s good to see you again and it’s nice to meet you. he doesn’t question why a demon is with his daughter, nor does he seem concerned in the slightest — it seems that everything is proving him to be much worse than seungwan had assumed.

jaeyoung handles every aspect of a conversation, asking for updates about the sisters’ lives, along with getting to know seungwan and seulgi better. she’s a pleasant woman and seungwan feels sorry that she’s stuck with a man who’s indifferent to spending time with his family and estranged daughters.

while seungwan’s resentment builds up, so does joohyun’s disappointment. 

the slight dip of her charge’s lips goes unnoticed by most, but not seungwan, not the devil who has spent lifetimes with her soul. that’s all it takes for seungwan to decide that she has to do something about the man that sits across the table, enjoying his dinner as if his impassiveness isn’t hurtful in the slightest. as long as joohyun doesn’t find out, the devil assumes she can get away with a little bit of demon magic.

seungwan keeps up her act for the entire evening until they return home. sooyoung gripes about how their father acted, while joohyun opts to not speak. seulgi is mostly glad to have survived the night without having her big secret leaked. it’s overall an unpleasant night, judging from the reactions of her fellow companions.

for the first time in months, joohyun requests a night without her guardian demon. multiple thoughts cloud her mind and it’s easier to think without the presence of another. though seungwan hates the idea of leaving her charge alone with her thoughts, giving joohyun space is probably the best thing she can do for now.

on the bright side, if one can even say that, it creates a perfect chance for the king of hell to dish out punishment against a deserving mortal.

the ache in her chest is suffocating, yet it is barely the extent of joohyun’s disappointment. lying in the darkness of her room all alone amplifies that feeling, maybe she shouldn’t have sent seungwan away, but at the same time, she doesn’t want the devil to see her cry.

it’s hard to admit that papa is never coming back, sometimes it feels as if his existence is proof of the happiness she once had. it stings to think about how he treats his younger daughters, joohyun can only wish he loves them more than he had loved her. 

sooyoung has always been right, but joohyun has been too stubborn to admit it. maybe they will never be good enough for him, maybe they are reminders of the miserable life he had before. either way, the distance he puts between them makes it evident that he doesn’t want them around.

the thought of it is enough to make joohyun tear up, but she swallows her tears and swears to find a way to heal with or without him. yet, her determination is not enough to combat the fates’ plan for him.

an unknown number lights up the screen of her phone and joohyun has half a mind to ignore it, but a gut feeling convinces her otherwise. clearing , she musters a soft greeting.

“hello?”

“joohyun.”

the familiar voice on the other end forces her to sit up in bed, holding her breath as she attempts to formulate a response. 

what could her father possibly want?

“hello? are you there?”

“yeah, sorry,” she blurts, “i’m here.”

a grunt of acknowledgement is the only sound before a long silence seeps into the call. it leaves joohyun wondering why he would call in the middle of the night when he has never done so before. the occasional sound of breathing that gets picked up is the only hint that he’s still there. 

after what feels like an eternity, her father finally speaks. “i… i wanted to talk.” he exhales slowly, “if you have time.”

nothing about this screams that it’ll be an easy conversation, in fact, it’ll probably be the exact opposite. she can’t even remember the last time they’ve had a proper conversation beyond small talk. hoping for something along the lines of an amicable outcome, she agrees despite the nagging feeling that she’ll only be let down once again.

“i’m sorry.”

the words she’s been waiting for years to hear escape his throat in a choked whisper, yet it hardly brings any relief much to her disappointment. the thought of receiving a long-awaited apology through the phone sparks a sharp stab of pain in her chest — he couldn’t say it to her face.

with a sigh, he continues. “i haven’t been a good father, and this isn’t how i wanted to do things, but it’s the only way i can get my words out.” his voice cracks and he swiftly clears his throat, “hearing about your life and seeing that you have someone who loves you, i doubt it was easy… but i… i’m glad.”

his words force joohyun to draw a shaky breath to hold her tears at bay, “it wasn’t easy,” she heaves, “but thank you.” 

whether she’s thankful for his apology or for showing a tinge of recognition that she’s been so desperate for, it’s hard to tell. for a brief moment, before the call slips into another pocket of silence, it feels like papa is back.

“mama would be proud.”

a simple sentence is all it takes for joohyun to crumble. pinching the bridge of her nose, it barely helps to control her tears. they come in waves and she doesn’t wail. a garbled mix of relief and sorrow threatens to crush her, and a mirthless laugh slips despite how overwhelmed she feels.

“i’ve always wondered if you still think about her,” her breathing hitches as the words leave in a strangled whisper, “and... whether you think about me too.”

“i miss you both more than you know,” he swallows, “but i couldn’t face you after…”

the accident. 

“i know.” is all she says, though it conveys much more than an acknowledgement.

joohyun knows more than he thinks, he wouldn’t have guessed his nine-year-old daughter would be able to sense his contempt and she knows his guilt is one of the reasons why they haven’t been able to mend things.

using the back of her hand, she wipes away her tears to hear a sniffle come from the other end. it’s a pivotal moment in their relationship, and the question that hangs on the tip of her tongue is harsh but she might not get an opportunity again.

“why now?” she demands, a tinge of anger lining her voice, “why? after so long?”

a sigh escapes from her father and it’s followed by more silence. perhaps this question is too much, joohyun can't help but regret it.

“i needed you to know that i’m happy for you.”

however short it may be, hearing his honesty is good enough for her. they still have a long way to go when it comes to healing but any progress is progress regardless. 

“okay,” she bobs her head slowly, taking in his words.

her father’s voice quivers slightly, “we… we can work through this... if you want to.”

they will never return to the way things were but perhaps, they could redefine their relationship with new memories that don’t hurt.

“i do.”

“okay, then we will.” he hums, “goodnight, joohyun.”

“goodnight.”

despite the conversation ending on a good note and the fact that this is the first time in a long time that he's said goodnight to her, an immense feeling of dread fills joohyun's chest. her phone is still pressed against her ear even after her father has hung up, not because she wishes their call lasted a little longer but rather due to the voice she heard in the background.

the voice of the devil usually brings her comfort, but not tonight.

leaving joohyun’s apartment, seungwan only has one destination in mind. the devil warps herself to a building across from bae hyungwon’s penthouse where she could get a clear view of him pacing around in his office. she watches him make a phone call while she hesitates about her next step, but she quickly psychs herself up with a reminder that she is still the devil. if her kings saw her thinking twice about hurting a mortal, they would think that joohyun has made her soft and she can’t have that.

teleporting into his office, seungwan does what she does best — ignore the consequences.

“i wonder if you have any idea how much you hurt your daughters.”

bae hyungwon jumps at the sound of her voice, swivelling around with a threat edged at the tip of his tongue. recognizing that it is his daughter’s girlfriend, he maintains his composure. though, he doesn’t take it lightly when it comes to intruders. 

“how did you get in?”

“the same way you got this house… your money… and basically your entire life,” seungwan lists with a light scoff, the realization on his face builds up slowly until he connects the dots. “demon magic.” she winks.

the devil allows her eyes to glow red for a moment, just to confirm his fears. she savours his terror, running her tongue against her teeth slowly to appear less humanlike. 

“w-what do you want?” the quiver in his voice is undeniable, but he tries to keep a strong front.

seungwan takes a step closer to him and he retreats, maintaining a safe distance between them — it wouldn’t matter if she actually wanted to kill him though. hanging her leather jacket over her shoulders, seungwan begins rolling her sleeves up to her forearm.

she relishes the fear in his eyes, it grows with every step she takes. seungwan scoffs and shakes her head, “how’s life after your contract with beelzebub? are you happy now? happy with your shiny new wife? ecstatic to raise new kids without any trauma?”

hyungwon swallows, casting his gaze to the ground momentarily before glaring at the devil. “i don’t know what you want from me, but you stay away from my family.” he snarls.

in one swift move, seungwan teleports in front of him and pins him against the wall with one hand. her fingers tighten around his throat, not enough to kill but enough to convince him otherwise.

“you are a bold, bold man.” the demon laughs humorlessly, “you think i can hurt them more than you have?”

the mortal chokes for air, but seungwan doesn’t let go.

“you left joohyun to die while you crawled out and pretended you were drunk and injured,” she says quietly, her rage bubbles and she knows she’ll make this man suffer the same fate before the night ends. “you got lucky, a minor head wound and some bruises. but your daughter? she almost burnt to death.”

hyungwon stops struggling, “b-but…”

“but she came out unscathed?” seungwan quirks a brow, the tips of her fingers heating up with blue hellfire. “i’ll tell you why. your daughter is alive because of divine intervention, but trust me, she remembers every minute of being in that burning vehicle, remembers how you left her there, and most of all, remembers how you slowly resented her existence.”

the devil releases him with a toss, sending him sprawling onto the ground. she touches a finger to the blinds in his office and a beautiful blue blaze begins to grow. it spreads fast, travelling from one surface to another with the intention of devouring everything in its path. 

seungwan rests her weight on his desk as she watches the mortal scramble to his feet in a panic. 

“wait, please!” he pleads, “why are you doing this?”

seeing his pitiful face only pisses the devil off even more, but she isn't devoid of mercy, this man should understand why he’s being punished.

“because i love joohyun, always have and always will.” she replies, “in spite of your actions, she still became a wonderful person. she’s the reason why the daughters you abandoned still decide to show up year after year. they have given you more kindness than you deserve, but you don’t see it. instead, you treat them with indifference. you are a crummy excuse of a human and i can’t wait to welcome your soul to hell.”

the heat of hellfire is much hotter, making it unbearable in mere minutes. on the bright side, seungwan has learnt how to control how much smoke it produces so that she could watch the humans suffer.

beads of sweat roll down his temple as he tries to make an escape, but the entrance to his office is blocked by large flames. attempting to put it out with his shirt only caused the article of clothing to catch fire and disintegrate in seconds. he tries the windows in an attempt to escape to the balcony, but the surface is too hot, burning him on contact.

crying out in pain, hyungwon cradles his hands and looks for another way of escape. the slow collapse of his face when he realises there aren't any pleases the devil immensely.

“if only someone could save you, hmm?” seungwan hums, “if only daddy could swoop in and get you to safety.”

the mortal turns to her, his expression a mix of desperation and despair. his knees meet the floor with a thud as a single tear falls from his eyes.

“i… i deserve this…” he croaks, “kill me, take me to hell!”

his sudden confession takes seungwan by surprise, she never would’ve thought that he’d be capable of admitting it.

“i would love to, but i can’t. joohyun would never talk to me again.” the devil shrugs, “i’m only here to remind you that you should be treating your daughters with more love and respect. you’ve cast them aside long enough, it’s time to finally mend things.”

the mortal fixes his gaze on the ground as more tears begin falling from his eyes, “i swear i’m trying… but it’s hard when i can’t even look joohyun in the eyes!” the guilt in his voice is edged into every word.

it makes sense that he wished for happiness, seulgi was right. the act of leaving his daughter to die has tormented him, new love and money can’t erase the fact that he’s wracked with guilt. seungwan takes a few steps towards him and sends her foot to the side of his head, kicking him to the ground.

she crouches beside him with a low growl, “you are selfish, through and through. do you think you were the only one who suffered when your wife died? joohyun lost her mother too. you had to cope without your wife but what about your daughter? she lost both her parents.”

lifting him up by the collar, she continues to berate him. “you don’t get to feel sorry for yourself when your daughter has to learn how to survive on her own. you deserve to live with this guilt even if it haunts you every time you look into her eyes.” seungwan mutters through gritted teeth.

ignoring the urge to throw him into the fire, seungwan inhales deeply and drops the man. there are burns on his skin from the hellfire but nothing that won’t heal. she has to stop now or she might never. the hellfire is put out with a wave of her hand, and without the deafening crackle of the fire, the sirens coming from outside attract her attention. 

biting the inside of her cheek, seungwan crosses to the window where she takes a peek. there are emergency vehicles lined up in the streets below, firefighters yelling out orders at each other and a crowd of concerned neighbours watching from a distance.

watching firefighters carrying out bodies and paramedics tending to them instantly makes her heart plummet to the depths of her stomach.

.

one second she’s in bae hyungwon’s office, and the next seungwan finds herself on the street. masking her presence from the mortals, she swiftly locates the children she’d been playing with earlier. the burns on their skin are bad since it’s caused by hellfire, but she can easily reverse them. 

her body moves on autopilot while her magic pours into the frail bodies of the two children. the chaos makes it hard to think and even harder to notice that someone can see her.

yet, the sound of the world is drowned out by her voice.

“seungwan…”

the despair coming from the voice of her beloved fills her with dread. it’s as if time has slowed for a mere second, enough for the adrenaline to fade, and for her to realise the extent of what she has done.

joohyun is the last person that should be here, the last person that should see her act out as a demon again.

the question digs into her soul, “what have you done?”

“joohyun… i…” she can't finish her sentence.

let my anger get the better of me. again.

she doesn’t have to look up to know that joohyun is fuming, she can already feel the disappointment rolling off her.

“you… you almost kill them…” she chokes.

the devil knows she’s really ed up when she can’t bring herself to look at her charge. how ironic it is that just moments ago, she was punishing a mortal for the same reason. maybe she’s just as selfish as him. 

“i-i… i’m sorry… i didn’t mean to…”

a sharp burst of pain erupts from her cheek, joohyun might be a petite human but her slap certainly did some damage. dazed, seungwan freezes in her spot.

“you didn’t mean to? you didn’t mean to start a fire that only a demon could put out?” she seethes, “you knew what happened to me and yet you put those kids through that same nightmare, what the were you thinking?”

she opens to speak, but the words feel trapped in . clenching her eyes shut, she stammers, “i just… i wanted to teach your dad a lesson… i didn’t expect the fire to spread so quickly…”

“what for, seungwan? what is putting anyone through what i’ve been through going to do?” joohyun explodes, her fury ripples through the air, forcing seungwan to confront her actions, “you wanted revenge on him for what he did to me and you’ve hurt his family in the process! you’re not doing this for me, don’t you ever dare tell yourself otherwise!”

right, she isn’t.

seungwan swallows to soothe the tightness in but she doubts it matters, anything she says at this point is futile, joohyun will only see it as an excuse.

“leave.”

the order makes her stomach clench, seungwan has never seen this side of joohyun. 

“hyun… please…” she pleads. “i can fix this.”

joohyun hardens her stare, snapping harshly, “you want to heal them with your magic? what about their memories? if i could never forget, then what about them? you’ve done enough. now leave.”

“i…”

“leave, seungwan!”

“please, let me fix things…”

joohyun glares at her, the same desperation she felt when seungwan was beating up yongsun resurfaces with every word she says. this time, it’s not fear. in a quiet, yet terrifying tone, joohyun sentences her to her fate.

“i command you to leave, lucifer.”

seungwan finally meets her gaze as an icy chill runs down her spine. on top of joohyun rarely using her god-given name, this is a command and a higher power will ensure she obeys. yet, without a location, she will be forced into nothingness.

into darkness, into death, who knows where she will end up?

the wish is beginning to take effect from the way she feels herself weakening, every ounce of magic is being sapped from her soul. at any moment, she will vanish.

the desperation to strip off her jacket causes her hands to quiver. for the first time ever, seungwan understands the true definition of fear. her prized jacket lands on the pavement with a soundless thud while her heart thrums violently against her ribs. 

she can barely force a weak smile, let alone speak clearly. her voice trembles, “i… in case i don’t come back, i need you to know that i have always lov—”

seungwan doesn’t get the luxury of finishing her last words, she disappears from joohyun’s sight in obedience to her wish, leaving nothing but her jacket behind.

joohyun doesn’t realise it instantly, but with time, she will understand that even the devil can be killed.

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guys i don't think lucifer feels good :/