“Demon King Seeks Queen: Who will be the unfortunate bride?”

“What kind of crap is this?” Detective Jungkook wasn’t having a good day. He threw the morning paper onto his desk. He couldn’t believe that Kim Joojin would write such BS. Just last night she was crying that the Demon King was after her and now he had to read her write about some serial killer like he was some prince searching for a princess. To top off everything, he was told last night that the FBI was going to be taking over the case. He was pissed and he needed a scapegoat. Jungkook looked at the newspaper article again. Joojin was making a name for herself by sensationalizing the deaths of three innocent women and he didn’t like it…not one bit.

Still at home…

Joojin woke up early and decided to go jogging. The sunlight streaming through her window made her feel brave. She called her editor and told him she wasn’t going to make it into work today. Joojin needed the run to clear her mind. As she walked out her door, she picked up the newspaper that was on her front porch. Was Jungkook right in saying that she was glorifying a killer by writing these articles about the Demon King? She put the paper back on her porch and began jogging to a nearby park.

Joojin loved to jog. She got her best writing ideas when she was jogging. The rhythm of her own breathing always calmed her.

She let her mind wander to the night before. It had to have been a prank. No boogey man had come out to get her last night. There were no peony crowns in her mailbox. It was just a prank. It had to have been. She thought about Jungkook's warnings. She wasn’t the only one that was writing stories about the Demon King but she had given him the name and when she wrote her articles about him, more newpapers were always sold. Would it really make a difference if she stopped writing the articles? Probably not. Should she stop writing the articles?

Joojin struggled a bit with coming to a decision. She had been running for forty minutes and was almost on her way back home. If she stopped writing the Demon King articles what difference would it make? She might as well continue. After she reached her house, she picked her newspaper back up from her porch. As she entered her house, she wondered when the hell Hyeri was going to be home.

At Jr’s House

“Jr! Wake up, you have to go to work you .” Hyeri was shaking her best friend Jr. She had spent the night at his house because they had stayed up late watching scary movies. Jr. worked as a waiter at a nearby Mexican restaurant so he had to be up. Hyeri took a pillow and hit him with it. He woke up instantly. “Que paso?” He asked.

“What happened?” Hyeri repeated him in English. “What happened is that your favorite girl in the whole wide world just woke you up so that you don’t lose your job!”

“Dios mio!” Jr. quickly got out of bed and started getting ready to leave the house. Joelynn laughed. She adored Jr. She probably
would’ve been in love with him if he wasn’t gay. Hyeri sighed and looked at the time. She should probably be getting home soon or her cousin would worry. Hyeri told Jr. she was leaving and then stepped outside. In front of his door was a newspaper. Hyeri picked it up and read the article, “Demon King Seeks Queen: Who will be the unfortunate bride?”

Hyeri shivered. She had heard the stories from Joojin on how he skinned the faces of his victims and she pitied the woman who would be the Demon King’s bride.

In an Office Across Town

Krystal sat her desk looking at her smart phone’s screen. She hadn’t gotten a message all morning from her friend who had missed their date at the coffee shop.  She scrolled the messages from last night.

“So sorry... caught at work. Forgive me?”

Krystal had responded with, “What happened?”

“Work emergency. Really want to meet you. Rain check?”

At the time, Krystal didn’t know if she should or shouldn’t reschedule. It had been a blow to her ego to have waited at the coffee shop. She had waited for over an hour before she got his message. She messaged him back, “Idk. I don’t like being stood up.”

“What can I do to make it up to you?”

As a joke, she wrote, “I like flowers.” He hadn’t responded after that. Krystal sighed, “I probably should’ve just rescheduled.”

As she was about to pull up her e-mail, in walked her boss. Her boss that had told her he was taking leave. Her boss with the beautiful eyes, Kim Seokjin. “Mr. Kim, I didn’t expect to see you this morning. Is everything okay?”

He stopped and looked at her, “What’s that supposed to mean?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He just strolled past her giving orders, “Get me some coffee and the files on Tel Corp. I don’t want to be disturbed for the rest of the day.” He walked into his office and let the double doors slam behind him. Krystal shook her head. Jin was a handsome man but he was also a cold man. Any other woman as his secretary would’ve been attracted to him but there was something about Mr. Kim that didn’t sit well with her. Her inability to be attracted to him may be why she lasted so long as his secretary. She was used to his mood swings and quick temper.

After bringing her boss his coffee and going back to her desk, she checked her phone messages again. Nothing. Krystal was about to bring up her e-mail again when a deliveryman came in her work area. Krystal smiled. He was carrying two dozen long stemmed red roses. “Are you Krystal?”

Stella laughed, “I am.”

The man asked her to sign for the roses which were meant for her. Krystal excitedly opened the card that came with the flowers, “Am I forgiven yet? Meet me at the coffee shop 9:00pm tonight.”

Krystal mentally thought of what she should wear and quickly grabbed her mobile phone to message him that she would make it. In her excitement, it never occurred to her to wonder how he knew where to send the flowers as she never told him where she worked.