He reached for the bear bottle under the seat, with one hand on the steering wheel. The car reeked of alcohol and it was by no means going in a straight line. Luckily, it was in the middle of the night, and he knew few people used the road he was currently driving on.  

“,” he cursed before he gulped down the last beer he had. How much alcohol was floating around in his system? He had no idea. He just wanted to feel that deliberating feeling he got from alcohol. He wanted to feel like a soaring bird. He wanted to feel free.

The radio was as the car picked up speed, racing past signs and trees. He blinked several times, his eyelids felt heavier than bricks.

The car swerved off the road, but he was too drunk to regain control of the vehicle. The last thing he heard before he fell into a deep slumber, was the sound of screeching tires, and a woman screaming.

“Yunho?”

The said man jumped in his seat and looked up. “Yes?”

“You fell asleep again. Come on, man. Keep this up and you’ll lose your job. What’s up with your sleeping routine these days?”

Yunho shook his head and removed the paperclip that had stuck to his sweaty forehead. “Since my boss ordered me to reorganize the entire filing system, I’m forced to pull all-nighters.”

Lies. He seems to tell a lot of those these days.

“Right.. well, you wanna meet up for lunch today?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Okay, lunch is on me then.”

“Thanks, Changmin.”

They exchanged a smile before Changmin went back into his office in his own department, leaving Yunho alone with his thoughts since his boss was in a meeting he wasn’t ‘qualified’ enough to attend.

Around lunch time, Yunho was more than ready to leave the office, seeing that people were running around, preparing themselves for the potential buyers from Japan that were arriving later that day.

“Ugh, I hate this time of day.”

With a sigh, he grabbed his jacket and dashed for the elevator, silently cheering when he was the only one getting on. He wasn’t a people-person, but he had a good reason. He knew that if he let people get too close, they would find out that he was hiding something.

As the elevator doors closed, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, quickly realizing it was a bad move. As soon as his eyes closed, visions from that night came back. Darkness, broken glass, the smell of alcohol, the sight of blood.

“Ah!” he screamed as the elevator came to a sudden halt, sending him tumbling to the floor with a loud thud. The lights went out with a loud bang, and the temperature suddenly started shifting between cold and warm.

“Black cloak, dark eyes, but I’m not Death,” a husky voice whispered from the dark corner of the elevator, making Yunho cringe. He crawled on all fours to the corner furthers away from the voice, using his hands to feel, as the darkness made it impossible to see.

“It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real,” Yunho whispered as he hugged his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth. He was having a hard time convincing himself that he wasn’t going insane, but in times like these, it was difficult. He had heard the voice before, but he knew it was only in his head. Yes, he was sure.

“Black cloak, dark eyes, but I’m not Death,” the voice repeated. “Do you know who I am?”

“No!” Yunho screamed, releasing a small sob.

The first time he had heard the dark voice, was on that night, three years ago.

The car swerved off the road, but he was too drunk to regain control over the vehicle. The last thing he heard before he fell into a deep slumber, was the sound of screeching tires, and a woman screaming.

After regaining conciseness, Yunho groaned as he could not move. He was trapped in his car, stuck between the roof and the seat. He quickly realized the car was on its roof.

He almost chuckled at the fact that he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, because in the end, that was what allowed him to crawl out of the car after a lot of wiggling to free himself.

His head hurt like hell and he felt blood trickling down his face, clouding his already messed up vision.

After crawling out of the car, he collapsed on the field he was lucky enough swerve onto.

Steam seeped out from underneath the hood of his car, and shattered glass dug into his back, but yet, he was alive.

He gasped as he heard a groan coming from the other side of the road.

“What the..?”

After managing to crawl over the cold and vacant road, Yunho fell into the ditch on the other side, coming face to face with a young woman, no more than 19 years old.

Blood covered her face, and glass stuck to her hair. He looked over her twisted body, and saw another car.

“No…” he whispered as realization hit him.

The woman coughed up blood as her eyes rolled back into her head.

“No, no, no.. no..”

He could taste the tears on his lips as he watched the young girl die. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry..”

He panicked and did the only thing he could. He left.

A few weeks after the accident, Yunho tried to get his life back on track. It failed miserably and his entire life was falling apart. He lost his job, his apartment and himself.

After he moved to Seoul to try and escape his problems, and met up with Shim Changmin, an old friend, he was lucky enough to land a job at Trax Industries. It paid well and it kept him busy. That was, until he heard the voice.

The first time he’d heard it, was in his apartment. He was about to go to bed when he heard a light chuckle followed by, “Empty soul, hollow heart, but I’m not an illusion. Do you know who I am?”

The second time he heard the voice, was 5 weeks later, just as he was leaving work.

“Different shapes, same purpose, but I’m not human. Do you know who I am?”

The third time, was at his parents’ house, a year later.

“Pale skin, dark thoughts, but I’m not dangerous. Do you know who I am?”

No, Yunho didn’t know, and he didn’t want to know.

As he hugged his knees tighter to his chest, still in the elevator, he started thinking about everything that had happened to him since the accident. He was never caught, so he should feel relieved. But fact of the matter was, he had killed a girl, and his quilty conscience failed to provide him with the rest he so desperately needed.

“I’m sorry.. I’m sorry..” Yunho chanted, tears threating to spill over.

“What are you sorry for, Yunho?” the voice asked, never revealing its owner.

He wanted to tell someone, he so desperately wanted to tell someone. Telling the voice in his head surely couldn’t do any harm. But right at that point, he made up his mind. He was gonna turn himself in, he was tired of living a lie.

'But you're lying to yourself now,' his inner taunted.

“I… I killed a girl on Sejong Pike three years ago. I was never caught.”

The lights started flickering, revealing a being in a black cloak, standing in the corner across from Yunho.

“Do you think admitting it will make you good?”

Yunho’s entire body shook with fear. “N-No.”

“Do you think you can be forgiven?”

“No.”

“Do you know what lies in your future?”

“Hell,” Yunho whispered, and as the words fell from his lips, he knew. He knew who the being was, and he knew what was about to happen.

“Black cloak, dark eyes, but I’m not Death. Now, do you know who I am?”

“Yes…”

The being stepped out of the shadows, staring Yunho straight in the eye.

“Who am I?”

“You’re… the Devil.”

The Devil sent a cold gust of wind across Yunho’s face as he rushed to the other side of the elevator, bending down to Yunho’s level, dark eyes peering into his.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Take me,” Yunho nearly cried. “I deserve this.”

“You don’t really mean that.”

The elevator moved, only an inch, but it was enough to make Yunho nearly jump out of his skin.

“Y-Yes, I do. Take me.”

“I’ve wanted you for so long. Killing is a sin, Yunho. Do you admit that you have sinned?”

“Y-Yes.. I-oh God!”

The elevator moved again.

“God doesn’t reside here, Yunho. Admitting that you have sinned, will not grant you forgiveness. You waited too long, and now, you’re mine.”

The Devil traced Yunho’s jawline with his sharp nails and roughly grabbed his chin, forcing him to look him in the eye. “I banish you to the depths of hell, where you shall reside forever.”

Yunho felt his heart beating slower and slower, and eventually, his breathing returned to normal. He recognized the feeling. A soaring bird. He felt free. Yes, he had sinned, but he was now getting what he deserved.

The Devil leaned closer, his breath mingling with Yunho’s, as he was claiming his soul. “To fall into a sin is easy. To fall out is impossible.”

“I envy those who can float through life without falling into a sin.”

With a loud bang, the elevator started moving again, the lights stopped flickering, and everything went back to normal. The doors opened, but the elevator was empty.

Somewhere, deep inside the earth’s core, the Devil whispered in Yunho's ear, “Envy is one of The Seven Deadly Sins.”

A/N:

- Yunho went to hell, because he was never going to turn himself in, and the Devil knew that.