“You know? When I said: ‘If you want to take me on a date, then you first have to introduce yourself to my parents’; I wasn’t being serious.”

Ahyoung was in Jonghyun’s car, sitting next to him and with her heart about to explode; meanwhile Jonghyun was happily driving, he even looked excited.

“It’s your fault, you shouldn’t have said that to me in the first place.” The demon answered with a smile, still looking at the road in front of them.

“I can’t believe you.” Ahyoung said in surrender, leaning her head on the seat and closing her eyes.

Right after Jonghyun asked Ahyoung for a date, she came up with a funny idea.

“Alright, I’ve agreed to the date, but you have to do something first.”

“I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.” The demon smirked. “What is it?”

“If you want to take me on a date, then you first have to introduce yourself to my parents.” She said with a mischievous smile.

Jonghyun remained silent and had a thoughtful expression, Ahyoung then giggled and took him by the arm.

“Come on, it was just a joke.”

“I’ll do it.”

Ahyoung froze upon that answer and slowly looked at him. Jonghyun had a smile and a determinate gaze.

“No you won’t.” Ahyoung said trying to dissuade him from the idea.

“Why not? It’s a good idea if you think about it.” Jonghyun tilted his head, looking away.

“How is that a good idea?” She asked him, making him look at her again. “Jonghyun, you’re joking, right?”

Jonghyun looked at her directly in the eyes, still with a bright smile, Ahyoung kept her eyes on him, waiting for him to change his mind. It was to no avail.

“Okay, you’re not joking.” She said more to herself than to him. “We can’t just go into the assassins realm and go to my parents that easy.”

“I’ll be going with you, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Jonghyun, everyone will sense you, you naturally have a strong energy, there’s no way you can go into the realm and not be noticed.”

“Then let it be, it’d be easier for us that everyone knew, we wouldn’t have to hide.” Jonghyun said with a smirk.

Ahyoung gave him a little playful punch on the arm,  Jonghyun chuckled.

“You’re really going to do it?” Ahyoung asked in a more serious way.

“Sooner or later they’ll know, I think it’ll be best for them to know it from us.” Jonghyun took her hand.

“Alright, if that’s what you’ve decided then let’s do this.” Ahyoung smiled to him.

Even if they’d previously agreed to do that, it didn’t take away the nervousness and adrenaline she was feeling. She was being serious when she said they could be noticed and not in a good way. They could really mess everything up and that was the least thing she wanted. Not to mention that her parents would probably punish her badly.

“Don’t worry too much, it’ll be fine.” Jonghyun assured her.

“I hope you’re right.”  She answered with a sigh.

Some minutes later, Ahyoung recognized the point where the assassin realm was about to start. They agreed, along with Sanghyuk and Hyeri, who were in the car behind them, that the demons would try to hide their energy as much as they could; they thought that maybe that way it could give them enough time to reach Ahyoung’s house unnoticed.

“We’re here.” Ahyoung announced.

“Alright, the interesting part starts.” Jonghyun said with a glimpse of expectation.

Ahyoung couldn’t understand what excited him that much but she wasn’t going to try to understand it. She could only focus on her surroundings, praying that there wouldn’t be a problem, at least until they were at home.

Jonghyun sped up while Ahyoung instructed him where to go, the car behind them followed closely. They didn’t even take ten minutes to reach Ahyoung’s house. Even when she shouldn’t have been, she was surprised to see her parents already outside of the house, as if waiting for them.

Well, they aren’t the leaders for nothing. She thought with a smile.

Jonghyun quickly parked the car and Sanghyuk did the same. All of them came out from the cars and Jonghyun quickly approached Ahyoung’s parents.

“Greetings, leaders. My name is-”

“We know.” Seohyun cut him off.

“But first please come inside, it’s not a good idea to remain here for long.” Leeteuk finished saying.

Ahyoung and Jonghyun exchanged a glance and quickly went inside the house. Hyeri and Sanghyuk remained standing.

“You two also come inside.” Seohyun instructed them.

Everyone went inside the house and Leeteuk closed the door.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Ahyoung asked him.

Just when the leader was about to answer, a knock on the door was heard. Leeteuk snorted and turned again to the door.

“Such efficiency.” Seohyun said crossing her arms with a satisfied smirk.

Leeteuk opened the door just enough for the inside to not be seen.

“Greetings leader, I’m afraid we have to register the surroundings of the house, we sensed the energy of two demons, as far as we know, there shouldn’t be any today.” One of the assassins said.

“My bad, I didn’t notify we’d be having guests today, it’s an official matter that came up suddenly.” Leeteuk explained with a calm voice.

“Oh is that it? Then we’ll be leaving, though we’ll be near if you need us, leader.” The same man answered.

Leeteuk nodded and once the assassins went away, the leader closed the door. Leeteuk then turned around, facing all the people gathered in the lobby.

“Well, you managed to reach the house before the assassins arrived, that by itself is impressive.” The leader said with a smirk.

“Though it would’ve been easier if you told us that you were coming beforehand.” Seohyun added with a more serious voice.

The room fell silent, the first meeting was kind of rushed and almost laughable, Jonghyun missed the chance to give a good first impression and Ahyoung didn’t know how to make the conversation flow smoothly.

“Well, well, what about going to the living room?” Leeteuk suddenly suggested with a smile. “I assume that you two have something to tell us, otherwise, you wouldn’t have made such a risky move.”

Ahyoung nodded and looked at Jonghyun who waited for her to say or do something, the girl smiled at him and the demon nodded to her.

The guardians stayed in the lobby while the leaders and the heirs went to the living room. Leeteuk and Seohyun sat on one of the couches, Jonghyun and Ahyoung remained standing in front of them.

“Why are you standing there? Please sit down.” Leeteuk told them with a smile.

“First of all, I’d like to introduce myself.” Jonghyun said with a serious voice.

Ahyoung was a bit surprised by how formal he sounded, though she already expected Jonghyun would change the way he spoke in front of her parents. Leeteuk smirked and nodded to Jonghyun, letting him know he could continue.

“I know you already know who I am, but I want to do it formally.” He started. “Greetings leader Seohyun and leader Leeteuk, my name is Jonghyun, the heir of the demon realm.” He finished making a little bow.

Ahyoung wouldn’t deny that seeing Jonghyun behave like that just made him look ten times more handsome than he already was, she had to hide a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you Jonghyun, welcome to the assassins realm.” Seohyun politely answered.

Jonghyun lifted his head and noticed that the leaders had a calm expression. If he was honest, he was expecting the introductions to be harder, though the hardest part of the conversation was still yet to come.

“Well, tell us, Jonghyun, what brings you here today?” Leeteuk asked him.

The demon kept his firm standing then sighed before speaking.

“This may be hard to understand, but I’m here to make an announcement concerning Ahyoung and me.”

Ahyoung walked to him and took his hand. Leeteuk and Seohyun didn’t miss that action, their eyes went from their hand to their faces.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Seohyun asked in a more serious tone.

Ahyoung held Jonghyun’s hand more firmly, Jonghyun did the same.

“We started dating.” He said with the same seriousness. “We’d be glad if you could accept us.”

Leeteuk chuckled and denied with his head, then looked straight at Jonghyun and stood from his seat, Seohyun also stood.

“You can’t be serious.” Leeteuk narrowed his eyes.

“We are, dad. We’re together now.” Ahyoung firmly stated.

Seohyun sighed heavily and looked at her daughter.

“So it was him?” Ahyoung directed her eyes to her. “The one that you were in love with, the one for who you asked me if it was worthwhile to fight for love?”

Ahyoung nodded firmly, though she had to look down almost immediately, she wasn’t able to keep eye contact with her mother. She knew she should’ve told them before but she just couldn’t. Now there was no turn back.

“You are aware that this relationship can’t be?” Leeteuk asked them.

“To be honest, I don’t understand what’s so wrong with it. But we do are aware that this can be troublesome and risky.” Jonghyun explained.

“And what are you planning to do?” Seohyun asked, crossing her arms. “Is your relationship serious?”

“It is.” Jonghyun answered. “For now, we don’t have plans, to be honest we are just starting this.”

“The fact that this is a serious relationship only complicates everything, you know that, right?” Leeteuk asked them.

“Dad, I know this isn’t the best notice you can receive. But I really love Jonghyun, we’re willing to face all the obstacles ahead of us.” Ahyoung answered.

Leeteuk could see the determination in her daughter’s gaze, a flame inside of her eyes that he had never seen before. Her choice was made, she would go on with that despite what they said. He sighed and looked at Jonghyun.

“What about you?”

“I’m willing to go to even hell if it’s needed for her. I won’t let anything nor anyone harm her. I’ll love her with all I have.” Jonghyun said with a determined voice.

Seohyun huffed and looked down with a smile. Jonghyun and Ahyoung looked at her with confusion and Leeteuk chuckled with a smirk.

“How are we supposed to dissuade them if they’re like this?” Seohyun said with a smile, looking at her husband.

Ahyoung and Jonghyun looked at each other, not knowing what to say and then looked back to the leaders.

“I guess we can’t.” Leeteuk smiled to his wife.

The leaders then looked back at the couple and Leeteuk spoke again.

“The only thing I was waiting for was to know your feelings for each other. I don’t know for how long you two have been together, but I can really see and sense the love you have for each other, and your determination tells me that you’ll go on with this no matter what. So, we’re not going to oppose to this relationship.”

“However.” Seohyun spoke up. “You have to be careful, you won’t be accepted that easily by others. I suggest keeping this a secret, at least for some time until we all can come with an idea of how to proceed.”

“I agree.” Jonghyun nodded. “Ahyoung and I already decided that we’d keep it a secret for the time being. Just a few people know about it.”

“Even just a few people means a risk. Be aware of your surroundings.” Seohyun frowned.

Ahyoung looked at Jonghyun, she was wondering if they should tell her parents about the whole thing with Tiffany. Now that she thought about it more calmly, Sojin’s idea about bringing the parents into the trouble didn’t seem that bad anymore. However, Jonghyun seemed to know what she was thinking and lightly denied with his head, she decided to trust him and also gave him a little nod.

“Is there anything you aren’t telling us?” Seohyun asked them.

Both looked at Seohyun, Ahyoung noticed that her mother was aware of their silent conversation, since she had that look that always gave her when she already knew something was going on. Even so, she decided to lie.

“No.” Ahyoung denied with her head. “We’ve already told you everything.”

Seohyun narrowed her eyes for a second and then nodded to her daughter, showing a little smile.

“Then if that’s all, you don’t have to worry about us, just take care of yourselves.” Seohyun said.

“What about having something to eat? Jonghyun you’re gladly invited.” Leeteuk said with a smile.

“I’m glad to accept your invitation, I’ll stay.” The demon answered also smiling.

“Perfect, then please excuse us for a moment, we’ll let you know when the food is ready.” Leeteuk said.

After that, the leaders went to the kitchen, leaving the heirs in the living room. Both of them let out a big sigh and then sat on one of the couches. Some seconds later, they looked at each other and then laughed.

“For a moment I thought my heart was going to explode.” Ahyoung said still in between laughter.

“Same here, your parents are nice but when they are serious they do are scary.” The demon admitted.

They took some seconds to calm down before speaking again.

“You really think we’re making the right decision, about not telling our parents what’s actually happening?” Ahyoung asked Jonghyun, without looking at him.

“That’s what we all agreed, I still believe we’re good for now. Let’s not worry them for something like that, I guess they’ll be worried enough with our relationship.” Jonghyun looked at her and took her hand.

“I guess you’re right.” Ahyoung said with a chuckle.

Jonghyun didn’t stay long after the meal, after all, he and Hyeri had to go back to the demon realm; Sanghyuk also went home after eating. Ahyoung was expecting to be interrogated after Jonghyun was gone, however, that didn’t happen.

“Um, are you really not going to scold me or something like that?” Ahyoung asked her parents who were sitting comfortably at the living room.

“Why? We already talked with you both, why would we scold you now?” Leeteuk asked his daughter.

“I don’t know, I was expecting you to be furious or something. I mean, this is kind of a huge matter isn’t it?”

“It indeed is an important matter.” Seohyun said. “But not that much unexpected.”

“What do you mean?” Ahyoung asked in confusion.

“We were aware of your close friendship with Jonghyun. So we thought it’d be just a matter of time.” Leeteuk answered with a smile.

“After all, we have to accept that he’s a handsome boy.” Seohyun finished tilting her head.

“Mom!” Ahyoung said aloud with a little blush.

“You didn’t deny it.” Seohyun said with a chuckle.

Ahyoung just wanted to run to her room in that moment, she was too embarrassed.

“Jokes aside, we just want you to be happy.” Leeteuk said with a calmer voice. “We’ll always support and care for you, if Jonghyun is the one you chose, then we won’t stop you. But you both should take our words seriously, you have to take care, I know you’re already aware of this but this world is more complicated than the human world.”

“I know dad, I promise we’ll be cautious.” Ahyoung reassured him. “And thank you for being so supportive, it really means a lot.”

“Come here and give us a hug.” Seohyun said opening her arms to her daughter.

Ahyoung went to her parents and they shared a hug. It definitely made her feel better, she was calmer now that her parents knew everything and she didn’t have to keep the secret with them.

The next day, Jonghyun went to her house to get her, Ahyoung decided to wear a lilac dress that she really liked but didn’t have the chance to use it until that moment. Since Ahyoung’s parents already notified that a demon would be coming to their house, there was no problem for Jonghyun to go there and wait for Ahyoung outside of the car.

The moment Ahyoung came into his vision, his expression changed to a surprised one and then to one full of fondness. Ahyoung noticed it and blushed a little, she looked down and went downstairs.

“What?” She asked him once she was in front of him.

“You look beautiful.” The demon sincerely said.

Ahyoung smiled and took one of his hands.

“You also look handsome.”

Jonghyun chuckled and then gave her a kiss on the forehead. Ahyoung could feel her blushing becoming redder.

“Let’s go.” She quickly said, averting his eyes.

The demon laughed a bit and nodded. Once inside the car, Ahyoung looked at him.

“So, where are we going?” The girl asked with a smile.

“To the human realm.” He answered with a smirk.

“What?” She asked lifting an eyebrow. “You can’t go there.”

“That , why are you allowed to go but we aren’t?” Jonghyun said with a pout, leaning on the seat.

Ahyoung found adorable his reaction, with each passing day, she discovered more and more sides of the demon that she was unaware of. He never ceased to surprise her.

“Anyway, I’ll take you to a secret place. I know you’ll like it.” He said with a smile.

Without further details, Jonghyun started driving; he refused to tell her anything else about the place they were going, so Ahyoung just decided to relax and try to recognize the places they were going through. When they went out of the assassin realm Ahyoung found it strange but it still had some sense. It was only until they were near the human realm that Ahyoung spoke.

“I wasn’t joking when I said that you can’t go to the human realm.” She said with a serious voice.

“I know.” Jonghyun answered still with his eyes on the road.

“Then why are you going towards there?”

“We aren’t going exactly to the human realm.”

Ahyoung frowned and in that moment, Jonghyun turned the car to the left side and went some meters into the woods. She was surprised by that action, since there was no road inside there.

“What are you planning to do?” She asked a bit concerned.

“Sorry for that, I had to make sure that the car wouldn’t be visible.” Jonghyun answered at the same time he parked the car.

“You’re aware that this is only getting more and more suspicious?” Ahyoung frowned to him.

“I admit that maybe I didn’t do things the best way.” Jonghyun said with a smile, scratching his head. “But I can assure you that you’ll like this place, come with me.”

The demon went out of the car and Ahyoung sighed heavily.

Just what in the world is he thinking? She thought with a smile.

Ahyoung also went out of the car, Jonghyun extended a hand towards her and she took it. The demon smiled and he started to walk, Ahyoung following him. The first thing she noticed was the fact that she’d never been in that forest, but since Jonghyun seemed really confident about where he was going, she was calm. After walking for some minutes, Jonghyun stopped and turned to see her.

“We’re here.” He said with a smile.

Ahyoung frowned and looked at her surroundings.

“I do like forests but this looks exactly like the rest of them.”

Jonghyun chuckled and then put away some plants that were in front of them, the moment he did that, Ahyoung could see some rays of sun coming through it. She frowned and took some steps towards there, she put away some other plants that were ahead of her, she came outside of the forest and had to cover her eyes for a moment until her eyes got used to the light, once that happened, she widened her eyes in surprise.

The view in front of her was like a dream, it was an open space where a lake with clear water could be seen, grass in the entire place as well as some flowers here and there with various colors, the clear blue sky of that day only made the place even more magical.

“So? Do you like it?” She could hear Jonghyun’s voice behind her.

“It’s beautiful.” She could only say.

Jonghyun put his arms around her and rested his chin on her right shoulder. Ahyoung could sense his calm breathing and in that moment, she could feel pure happiness and peace, she just wanted to stay there forever, in that place with Jonghyun, not caring about things like races or status, just them there.

After some minutes, they went to sit in front of the lake, Jonghyun already prepared something and he brought along everything needed for a picnic, so they started to eat the snacks he brought with him.

“How did you know about this place?” Ahyoung asked him with a smile.

“Long ago, my mother brought me here, actually it was just one time, we never came back but since that day I searched for this place by what I could remember until I managed to find it again.” Jonghyun explained.

“Then this place belongs to the demon realm?”

“No, it actually doesn’t belong to any realm, it’s exactly in the limits of the human world so you could say it belongs to no one.”

Ahyoung was surprised that such a place could exist, she thought that all the land was owned by one of the realms; but at the same time she felt even more comfortable, it was nice having a place where they could be themselves and won’t be punished by it.

“To be honest, I don’t know why my mother never came back to this place again. It was the first and only time I saw her sad. She looked at her surroundings with a nostalgic expression. At first I thought it was something that had to do with my father, but she never mentioned him about that visit or this place. I’d like to know what secret of her lies in here.”

Ahyoung listened attentively to what Jonghyun was saying, the demon had a thoughtful expression. Then he looked at her and chuckled.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you this right now.” He looked away with a smile.

“I guess keeping secrets is something all the parents do.” Ahyoung said.

Jonghyun looked back at her with confusion.

“Why do you say that?”

“Actually, I haven’t been completely honest with you.” Ahyoung started to say, Jonghyun frowned a bit and put his complete attention on her. “There are a lot of things you still don’t know about me and I believe you need to know them if we’re going to be together from now on.”

Ahyoung then revealed to him all of her doubts about her own life, how things changed since her 16^th birthday, how she’s sure that her parents were keeping a lot of things from her, her suspicions about something happening in the previous change of leadership and the strange connection with the secrets surrounding her. Jonghyun listened to her in silence, not missing even a single word. After Ahyoung was done, he sighed heavily and looked to the sky.

“Turns out you’re even more cryptic than what I thought.” He let out a little chuckle. “I guess you feel pretty overwhelmed by all of this, thanks for telling me.”

Ahyoung smiled to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. Jonghyun smiled to her.

“Hey, an idea comes to my mind. What about I introduce you to my parents?” The demon said with excitement.

“You really think that’d be a good idea?” Ahyoung asked unsure.

Jonghyun thought about it for some seconds and then chuckled.

“Maybe not.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to meet you parents but to be honest I don’t think this will be good news for them.”

“You’re right, it won’t be good news for them. There’s no need to tell them for now.” Jonghyun answered with a little smile.

After that conversation, they finished what Jonghyun brought for the picnic and kept on talking about everything and anything until the sun started to go down. They were sitting in front of the lake, enjoying the sight of the sky.

“What if this secret of ours some near day comes to light?” Ahyoung asked and Jonghyun looked at her. “I can’t imagine what will happen.” She finished with a huff, looking to the ground.

Jonghyun took her hand.

“No matter what will happen then, I’ll be by your side and protect you.” He then approached her more and cupped her cheek with the other hand. “I promise, I’ll always love you and protect you, no matter what.”

Ahyoung smiled and put her hand above his.

“You shouldn’t promise something like that too lightly.” She started to say and lifted her gaze to look at him with a little smile. “We’re too different and you may change your mind once you’re older or maybe even once you take your place as the leader.”

Jonghyun chuckled and showed her a smirk.

“I see you still don’t understand my love for you.” He made a pause. “Now listen here my assassin heiress, demons don’t marry each other because of love, all of the marriages are for convenience; with the passing time, they get used to their presence and maybe treat each other nicely, but love is never there; in fact, not even with my parents. My father says that love isn’t in demons nature and maybe he’s right, but what I’m sure of is that I found love in you, that impossible feeling for a demon, I developed it for you and to be honest I can’t think of anything better than that. I’m not willing to let you go, never.”

Ahyoung could feel tears gathering in her eyes, a warm feeling in her chest after Jonghyun’s words. She didn’t want to cry after such beautiful words so she decided to hug him, Jonghyun immediately answered the hug and held her tightly.

“I don’t know how it happened but I’m deeply in love with you.” She said to his ear. “And I’m sure I’ll always be, no matter what.”

Jonghyun broke the embrace to look straight into her eyes, he showed her a smile; she was able to feel the fondness and huge love he had for her, it was almost overwhelming.

Ahyoung was aware that they haven’t spent that much time as a couple but somehow their feelings grew exponentially in that short time. But she wasn’t going to question those feelings, what they felt was true and strong, that was the only thing that mattered.

Ahyoung also smiled to him and they sealed their words and promises with a kiss.

A/N: So here it is, the fluff chapter with our two lovebirds. Just two more chapters for the end of this first part! Please expect them :3

As always, thank you so so much for reading, and your patience, comments are appreciated ^^ stay safe and have a beautiful day <3