“Are you really going?” Cheon Sa grumbled.  She had followed Jongin up the stairs and into his room.  “Can’t you just fake an illness or something?”

Jongin rolled his eyes.  “Demons don’t get sick, Cheon Sa.  Besides, I can’t just refuse the boss’s call.  If he requests me, then I must go.”  He took a backpack out of his closet and stuffed some clothes inside.

“But—”

“And you were the one who brought the rookie in the house,” he muttered.

“I’m sorry.”

At the tone of her voice, Jongin looked up, alarmed.  Did I hurt her feelings?  He tried to make eye contact with the girl, yet she refused to look at him.

“It’s because of me that you’re in this contract.  It’s because of me that you’re stuck living with a stupid human who can’t seem to do anything right—”

He wanted to tell her that none of it was her fault, though it was, in a way.  He wanted to comfort her, to tell her that despite her bringing all of this bad luck upon him, that he still liked her.  Jongin would go to the end of the world for her and back if it was her request.

“I’m going to leave you to your packing, then,” she said, walking back toward his door.  “Have fun.”

“Wait,” he called out with a sigh.  “Don’t go off sulking by yourself.”  He crossed the room so that he was right behind her and reached toward her.  Wrapping his arms around Cheon Sa, Jongin wondered if all humans were this warm.

“I was just worried about you, that’s all,” she finally spoke.  “Doesn’t this whole thing seem like a trap to you?”

Jongin chuckled.  “That, my dear Cheon Sa, would be very cliché of the boss.  If he wanted to kill me, I’d be dead by now.” 

<:>

Suho chuckled to himself as he heard footsteps coming closer.  He sniffed the air.  Chen and Kai, but no Baekhyun.  How…inconvenient. 

“Thank you, Chen,” he said with a smile.  “You failed to bring back Baekhyun, but that’s okay.  There’s always next time, right?”

“Um…yes sir.”

Suho wondered why new recruits always looked nervous in front of him.  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with Kai alone.”

“Yes, sir.”  He smiled as the rookie bolted out of the office.

Turning to Kai, Suho sighed.  “Ah, what to do with you, Kai.”

“Am I in trouble, my lord?” Kai bowed again.  “If I have overstepped my boundaries, I will accept any punishment that you deem appropriate.”

Yes.  “Not really.”

“Might I ask why you’ve called me here?”

“Yes, Kai,” Suho replied.  “I just wanted to ask you if you’ve ever wondered about your past as a human.”

Jongin shrugged.  He had never bothered to think about his past when his life as a human seemed insignificant to him.

“Why don’t you try to remember?”

“Yes, my lord.”  Jongin closed his eyes and tried to think.  Nothing.  He tried to recall his human mother’s face, the woman that gave him life, but nothing.

“Can’t remember?” Suho asked, almost as if taunting him.

He clenched his fists.  “I’m not giving up.”  He scanned his memories for something, anything, from his past life but failed again.  The only thing that came to mind was his first day working under Suho as a secretary.

“You don’t have to try so hard, Kai,” Suho laughed.  “You don’t have to bother searching for something that isn’t there.”

Jongin paused.

“You must be wondering why I’m revealing this to you, right?” Suho said.  “Well, I’ve been watching you, Kai, and I'm beginning to worry that my faithful employee is not as loyal to me as he used to be.”

“W-What?”

“And I’ve come to the conclusion that this is all due to the human girl.  That’s why I sent Baekhyun.” Suho stared at Kai with a smirk.  “Oh, don’t look at me like that.”

“Baekhyun told me, and I didn’t believe him.”

“I sent the angels, but she refused to go with them.  I'm not as evil as you think I am, Kai.  She brought this on herself.”

Weakly, Jongin replied, “So what do you want from me.”

“Well, I don’t know,” Suho said.  “How would you prove your loyalty to me?”

“I—”

“I know!  Why don’t you break off the contract with that human and kill her?”

Jongin couldn’t move.

“C’mon, Kai.  Humans are replaceable, but your status here is not.  Why don’t you just kill her and come back already?”

He could not form words.

“Unless…you can’t?”

Jongin closed his eyes.  He knew that he didn’t want to kill Cheon Sa.  But your status!  Everything that you’ve worked for!  You’ve betrayed your lord for a human girl!  “Fine.”

The corner of Suho’s mouth curled up.  “I knew that you would never go against me, Kai.”