The Seventh Encounter

Baekhyun walks into the house and you see a dried cut across his closed eyelids. You frown, taking his face in your hands. He rests his hands on your hips, staring at you.

"What happened?" you murmur, smoothing your finger along the cut. "Did your Lead cause you trouble?"

"It wasn't my lead," Baekhyun chuckles, leaning down to kiss you on the lips.

Kai walks in too, so you open an eye to peek at him. He is staring at you and Baekhyun kissing. Your gaze drops to his arm where there is a long cut. You pull away from Baekhyun, who gives you one more peck on your lips while you're distracted. You walk over to Kai, lifting his arm and examining it. He doesn't let you do it for long though, because he slips that arm around your back and pulls you close to him.

"Missed you," Kai whispers, latching his plump lips on yours.

You clutch onto his forearms for balance, pressing yourself closer to him. You hear the door opening again and you're sure it's Sehun. You open your eyes and take a look behind Kai, only to see that you're wrong. Kai pulls away from the kiss, seeing that you're unfocused. He brings you closer to him so that the side of your face is pressed against his chest.

The man that walks into your place is grinning, carrying a black puppy in one arm. He isn't Asian; his eyes are a mysterious reddish-brown colour, his eyebrows thick and straight. His nose is sharp and his nicely shaped lips are framed by a mustache. His hair is up in a clean hairstyle, and he is wearing jeans and a shirt.

"There is my number one!" the man beams, speaking in perfect Korean.

"Who's that?" you whisper to your boys, still staring at the man in shock.

"That's Hades," Baekhyun whispers, his soft lips grazing your ear.

"He's not Korean," you say.

"No, I kinda am," Hades grins, now speaking in perfect English.

"He has the blood of every race and tribe in the world," Kai informs you. "So he can speak every language, every tongue."

Hades walks deeper into your house and holds the black puppy out to you. You stare at him in confusion, then at the animal. The puppy has pointed ears and fur that is so black it shines. His eyes are wide and alert, but cute.

"Yours," Hades speaks in Korean now. He is smiling gently, prodding your arm with the puppy's side.

"Why are you giving me a dog...?" you ask slowly and carefully as you pick the puppy up from his arms.

"Because," Hades shrugs. He brushes his shirt to get the fur out as he dismissively tells you, "Oh, hellhounds are kinda fierce, by the way. That's how your boyfriends got those cuts."

"A hellhound?!" you gasp, eyes widening and arms extending.

Baekhyun quickly takes the dog from you and you stare agape at the little thing in his arms. Baekhyun catches your eye and he chuckles softly, "Dogs run away from us when they smell our unearthliness. Us Underworlders don't have an affinity with them. Including you, now."

"But hellhounds are—"

Hades cuts you off with a nonchalant wave of his hand, eyes still surveying your humble home as he tells you, "This one's kinda useless, so I decided he'd have a better home here."

"Wow, that's—"

He interrupts you once again, "Not that I'm giving him to you because he's useless. Hellhounds have jobs in the Underworld," Hades looks at you now. Kai picks a fur off your eyebrow while he stares at your side profile. "They help me keep the Dead where they are supposed to be. But those that are not cut out for the job are either killed, or let off as strays. But I saw this pup and it reminded me of you."

"Why me?" you mumble, suddenly shy that the busy Hades remembers you.

"It's cute," he hums, shrugging. "And also very stubborn. You'll probably click."

"Do hellhounds grow very big?" you look at the dog again, imagining it as the three-headed giant dog in movies.

"Not on earth, no," Hades answers, shaking his head. "It'll grow up to the size of a Great Dane, probably. It lives on forever, too."

"Ugh, that means I have to feed him forever," you grumble to yourself.

Hades laughs good-naturedly, glancing at Kai and Baekhyun, "She's so cute, I love her!"

You blush, leaving Kai's side and going over to get the dog. He stares at you with big eyes, assessing you. Reaching out for its nose, you let him smell you before he nudges your palm with its nose. You grin, going closer and letting Baekhyun circle his arm around your waist. The puppy keeps making you touch him and you giggle because it's just like a normal puppy.

"Thank you, Hades," you murmur shyly, glancing at the man.

"I'm glad you like him," he smiles gently. "Anyway, I came here to propose something to you as well." You an eyebrow at him, still petting the animal. Baekhyun's fingers tap against your waist. Hades starts, "You're immortal now but I'm not sure what you can do and whether or not you have the power of a Grim since you basically have their blood."

"So...?"

"So," he clears his throat. "I want to keep an eye on you and at the mean time make you my PA."

"PA as in a Personal Assistant, as in a secretary?" you confirm, unsure. Why does Hades need to have a PA?

"I'm a very busy man," he shrugs.

"Will I be paid?" The man looks at you in amusement and you shrug, "I have a dog and two men to take care of."

Kai chuckles, shaking his head adoringly, "She's so cute." Then he fixes a soft gaze on you, "We're going to take care of you, angel. Not the other way around."

"Yes, you will be paid," Hades replies nonetheless. "But we'll talk about that later, just be rest assured that your salary would be a lot better than your boyfriends'."

"We're already paid a lot," Baekhyun whispers into your ear. "Now you'll be our breadwinner, kitten."

"The three of you combined are going to be dirty, filthy rich," Hades jokes. Then he claps his hands, "So you agree to the job?" You shrug and he shows you a thumb up. "Cool. I'll call you again and we'll talk more about it." You nod and he comes forward to ruffle your hair, "See you soon. And name him."

Hades gestures to the dog that is staring at all of you with curious eyes. Kai walks Hades out the door while you stare at the puppy. You take the puppy from Baekhyun's arms, carrying him instead.

"Be careful," Baekhyun reminds you when you do a nose kiss with the animal. "It might bite."

He and Kai walk towards the kitchen, getting ready to cook dinner. You sit on the couch, placing the dog on your lap. He circles around on your legs before plopping down to rest.

"Let's name him Lucifer!" you look at the two males as you rub the dog's belly.

"It's yours, angel," Kai chuckles as he looks up from cutting ingredients. "Name him however you like."

"It's technically yours too since he's going to be with us forever. Right, Lucifer?" you coo, ruffling its fur.

"You're so cute," Kai exclaims. "I love you so much."

You laugh, standing up and going over to hug him from the back. Lucifer follows you obediently, circling your and Kai's legs.

You kiss the back of Kai's shoulder, "I love you too."

You feel a pair of arms slithering round your waist from behind, undoubtedly Baekhyun. He kisses your neck, "What about me?"

"I love the both of you, very, very much," you laugh, leaning against Baekhyun's chest. "Now go back to cooking, I'm starving. And cook for Lucifer too!"

You glide out from between their bodies, making them pout at you. You wave them off, going over to play with Lucifer. You're sitting on the ground, entertaining the restless puppy when Sehun enters the house. The dog bounds towards the newcomer, sniffing at his feet. You stand, going over to Sehun who smiles tiredly at you.

"You look like ," Kai observes bluntly.

"Yeah," Sehun sighs. You take his bag from his shoulder and he leans down to kiss your head. He mumbles, "My Lead was a tough one." Pulling away from you, he looks down at Lucifer smelling him. "Who's this?"

"This is Lucifer!" you squat and carry the black dog up to Sehun's face. "He's a hellhound!"

Sehun scrambles back a step, frightened. Baekhyun laughs, "He's not as fierce as the ones we see down there. And he'll be on earth most of the time, so he'll be pretty domesticated."

"Pretty?" Sehun repeats, giving Baekhyun dubious eye as you put Lucifer down.

"He's still smarter than the average mutt," Kai chips in, shrugging. Lucifer starts sniffing the apartment. "A lot smarter, actually. So he might be a little stubborn at times."

"And go shower, Sehun," you push the male towards your bathroom. "You stink of death."

You're curled on the side with Baekhyun hugging your waist and his chin tucked in your shoulder when you hear a hiss of pain. You moan, fluttering your eyes open. Baekhyun rubs the flat of your stomach with his palm calmly, trying to get you to go back to sleep. You hear a frustrated groan and you turn your head towards the door. Your cheek grazes Baekhyun's nose and he kisses the side of your lip.

"Kai, baby," you call out, your voice hoarse from sleeping. Baekhyun rubs his nose into your cheek and pulls you closer. "Is everything okay?"

Kai enters the room a few seconds later. When he walks over to your side of the bed, you see him looking down distractedly as he tries to sew the hem of his shirt. Him being shirtless and in jeans while attempting to sew is so cute but hot at the same time, it makes your heart flutter. Not to mention Lucifer prancing into the room behind him. You chuckle sleepily and he looks up from his work. You stretch your arm out and he comes closer, placing his shirt in your palm. He sits on the mattress next to you.

"Late for work?" you ask, easily amending his shirt.

Kai shakes his head, watching you with loving eyes. "Just wanted to go out to get coffee."

"Can you grab me one too?" Baekhyun murmurs from behind you, his lips moving against your ear shell.

"You?" Kai leans towards you, staring at you.

You glance up from your work, smiling softly at him, "I'm fine, thank you."

He places a hand over yours, stopping you from sewing temporarily. Kai swoops in to kiss you on the lips. You moan and Baekhyun uses his foot to push at Kai's stomach. Kai doesn't budge though, if anything, he flexes his abs to stay in position. Baekhyun cuts through the kiss with a hand on the other side of your jaw, turning you to face him. It effectively breaks off the kiss, but he doesn't give you time to catch a breath when he captures your lips with his.

You make a noise at the back of your throat, the kiss getting steamier and hotter. Baekhyun breaks away from you and you take in a deep breath.

"What a wonderful morning," you murmur, your lips. The both of them laugh and you tell Kai, "Wear something else, baby. I'll get this fixed by the time you're back."

"Okay," he nods, pecking you on the lips again before standing. He walks to the wardrobe in front of the bed, going through his clothes.

"Can you bring Lucifer for a walk too, while you're at it?" you request, looking at the puppy that is staring at you with curious eyes.

"Anything for you, angel," Kai mumbles, now facing you as he throws a shirt over his body.

"Thanks, baby."

You go back to sewing, but Kai walks over to you and takes the apparel from you. You stare blankly at him and he tips his head towards the bed, "Go back to sleep. Do this later."

You hum, closing your eyes blissfully and snuggle against Baekhyun's chest more. The older male hugs you tighter and Kai kisses your temple.

"I'll go now," he murmurs. "Call me if you need anything."

You hear Lucifer's toenails clicking against the floorboards as he follows Kai out. Baekhyun hums, kissing the back of your neck. You hear the front door closing faintly before you let sleep pull you in again.

You're not sure how long you have been sleeping for but when you're awake again, Baekhyun is gone and Kai is next to you on the bed. He is sitting up against the headboard, watching a rerun of a soccer match on television. He is playing with your hair with one hand, the other holding onto his coffee. His eyes are intent on the TV in front of him. Lucifer is between the both of you, sleeping on his paws.

"Where's Baekhyun?" you mutter, rubbing your eyes.

"Work," Kai answers, looking down at you adoringly. He massages your scalp a little as he asks softly, "Are you hungry?"

You shake your head, lifting your head so you can lie on his lap. You watch the game with your boyfriend as he rakes his fingers through your hair. You feel him tense every time the team he supports is close to winning a goal. He curses when the opposing team makes a good defend or scores a point. It's amusing to observe guys watching soccer. When the game is over and Kai's attention is no longer on the screen, you find yourself asking him for a request.

"Can I watch Baekhyun work?"

"Watch?" Kai repeats, eyebrows furrowing.

You nod, trying to sit up. He helps you by holding onto your arms and once you've sat up, he pulls you to him. "I wanna see how you deal with your Leads."

"But it's gory," he makes a face, rubbing your arm. "Not something girls like to watch. We can go catch a movie, you know, chick flicks and stuff."

You laugh, shaking your head. You look at Kai and plead, "Bring me... Please?"

Kai sighs, clucking his tongue, "I can't be around you, I'll only turn into jelly." You laugh and he relents, "I think he's somewhere in Myeongdong... Go take a shower first, angel."

You quickly jump out of bed, going to the bathroom to get ready. Half an hour later, you're all ready. You leave after feeding Lucifer. Kai drives his Mercedes while you sit shotgun. He doesn't hold your hand like Baekhyun does, but it's just as heart fluttering to watch him drive. He stops at a neighbourhood park and cuts the engine. Kai motions to the park with a tip of his head.

"Baekhyun hyung's there."

"Are we going out?" you wonder, since he isn't making a move to leave the car.

When you asks that, he pulls the key out from the ignition and opens the door. "We'll take a stroll at the same time."

You grin, excitedly getting out of the car too. When you're out, Kai takes your hand in his before folding your arm under his so that he is holding you tight. It is a nice day out and many people are in the park. You wonder how Baekhyun would be carrying out his work here in front of everyone. But then you remember that he doesn't necessarily have to bring his Lead to their death right now.

Kai is looking out for the older male as you watch him. There's always something about Kai's aloofness that you like. He always seems to be unaware of the stares he is getting from girls, or even the way you look at him. He doesn't seem to care much about anything that has got to do with love, but then here he is as your mate. You have to admit that you were extremely shocked when you found out that Jongin liked you. Because the boy didn't even give any hint, unlike Baekhyun.

Presently, he glances in your direction and sees you staring at him. His lips curl up into a soft smile before he leans into you and kisses the corner of your lips. You let out a blissful sigh when he leans back.

"Oh, I see Baekhyun hyung," Kai mumbles, his eyes locked on somewhere far on your left.

You trace his line of vision and find Baekhyun after a little bit of searching. He is walking alongside an old lady, his steps slow and matching with hers. His hands are behind his back as he converses with the grandmother. They look like they have a pretty good relationship with each other if they can walk in the park together like this.

"She doesn't have much time..." You hear Kai muttering to himself. You turn to him and he stares back at you. He shakes his head.

"She looks healthy though," you mumble quietly as you observe the old lady again.

"Sometimes, healthy people die faster than the ones who have unstable health," Kai tells you. "Life is always unpredictable."

"I wonder how I would have died if we hadn't bonded," you muse, thinking about 100 ways of dying.

"You were meant to die in a car crash," Kai whispers. You stare at him, but he doesn't want to look at you. "It is one of the few ways young and healthy people to die. But it was terrible for me to even bring you out, I just had the urge to take care of you. I was unknowingly trying to protect you from myself."

"Was that why you always walked close to me when we crossed the streets?"

Kai nods, still not looking at you.

"Did you have any thoughts of even finishing the job?"

You watch his Adam apple bob in his throat. Then he mumbles softly, "I don't know."

You sigh, about to drop the topic. But then you feel him squeeze your hand.

"But I know if I ever had to finish you, I'd get someone else to do it." He seems to choke on his breath when he whispers, "I-I can't... I can't see you die..."

"What are you guys doing here?" you suddenly hear Baekhyun behind you. You turn around to see his eyebrows raised, no grandmother accompanying him.

"She said she wanted to watch you work," Kai answers for the both of you. He looks around, "Where's your Lead?"

Baekhyun walks forward and places a hand on the small of your back. The three of you start walking as he mumbles, "She's going home..."

When he trails off like this, you vaguely get the idea of what he is implying. "She's going home and I won't be seeing her again" is what Baekhyun really means. You're glad that at least no one has to see the goriness happen. Maybe being a Grim isn't too bad, right?

A year has passed and Sehun has become so used to his job that it makes you wonder how. He has matured so much over the year as well, as if dealing with deaths has made him ancient. You have been working as Hades' PA too and you finally understand why you're being paid so much. There are so many things to do. It doesn't help that your boss is the king of the Underworld. On top of that, you even have to take care of his personal life, like scheduling facial appointments, dealing with that one night stand he had last Saturday...

But everything is fun. You've been to the Underworld a few times now and it's not as scary as you thought it was. But then again, you haven't been there for long, a maximum of an hour each time. You mostly work from above (as in earth) while attending university like a normal 23-year-old girl.

What isn't so normal is the two attractive guys who live with you in a huge mansion. The three of you look young, but you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Baekhyun and Kai are probably richer than the richest man on earth, it was a shock how they kept it from the banks at first, really. They eventually bought a mansion in the outskirts of Seoul, the only house in the radius of 5km. Sehun stays with you ocassionally too, he even has his own room. But the three of you share the master bedroom, which is so big that it is probably the size of a normal living room.

Lucifer has grown to his largest form already, which is a little bigger than a Great Dane. He is still as affectionate and cute despite his size and the fierceness of his features. He plays as a great guard dog but also as good company when you're the only one at home.

You're presently lounging in the mansion in just your underwear because you can and because no one else is home except Lucifer. You're humming to yourself as you cook lunch when you hear the door opening. You think it might be one of the guys, but Lucifer is barking incessantly. He doesn't bark at any of you unless he is excited. You turn from the stove, only to see two men clad in black staring back at you.

Lucifer jumps on one of them and bites so hard you cringe because he has to have sharp canines as a hellhound. The man screams in pain while the other smirks at your ness. You're more afraid than you are embarrassed right now, so you throw your spatula at him. But he dodges and advances on you. Lucifer immediately abandons his victim and pounces on this man, crunching on his hand.

"Angel?!"

"Kitten?!"

Baekhyun and Kai run over to where everything is happening. They take in your form, appreciating your beauty for a bit, their eyes dancing. Then they turn to the able man, simultaneously punching him hard in the face. He groans and holds his nose with a bloody hand, courtesy of Lucifer. Kai's phone rings and he answers it quickly, punching the man again until he passes out.

"You'll really let us kill them?" he asks incredulously. "What about their expiration—" he eyes narrows on the groaning men and Baekhyun kicks the ribs of one of them hard until he's quiet. Kai looks at you, eyes raking your body slowly from head to toe. "Do you want them to die?"

You shake your head, "Just leave them outside, or something."

"Cruel," Baekhyun chuckles, making you laugh.

Kai ends the call with, you assume, Hades and joins Baekhyun and Lucifer in dragging the two men out. You get out a new spatula and continue cooking, glad nothing is too burnt. The door opens again, Kai and Baekhyun entering the home.

"A spatula?" Baekhyun comes over, throwing the dirty utensil into the sink. "Really?"

"It was the only thing I had on hand!" you argue, chuckling when the other two laugh. "Thank Hades you came home on time."

"We actually had a sense of you being in danger," Baekhyun mutters, his hand running up and down the curve of your spine.

"A mate thing, probably," Kai joins in, his hand resting on your .

"I'm cooking," you sigh tiredly when he squeezes your .

"We're not doing anything," they say, laughing. You roll your eyes but let them do whatever they want to anyway.

"Why are you , anyway?" Baekhyun murmurs against the curve of your neck.

"Because I can."

"Sassy," Baekhyun laughs.

"More like y," Kai corrects, leaving a trail of kisses along your bare shoulder.

"What's with the bloody men in front of the house?" you hear Sehun's confused voice.

Baekhyun and Kai immediately hover behind you, shielding your body from your best friend. You turn to see Sehun staring at the three of you, amusement and exasperation flickering through his expressions. You are hundred percent sure he knows how you are.

He sighs, shaking his head tiredly as he walks off in the direction of his room, "I don't wanna know."

Author's note:

Finally!!!! It took me so long to just write this up, I was so close to discontinuing this fic, but I couldn't because I already planned for this to be the last chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this fic as much as I did. Please tell me if you guys are keen on a PDF file of this story or if it's okay for me to just leave it as it is. :-)

See you around 
xoxo