JL OS

A Deal

Chaeyoung opened her door early one morning to see the Devil standing on her welcome mat. She screamed, closed the door, and leaned against it.

"No, no, no, no," she whispered frantically to herself. "This isn't happening."

But...was it? Surely not. It couldn't be real. Right?

With shaking hands, Chaeyoung cracked the door open again and peered out from around it.

"Good morning," said the Devil with a winning smile.

"What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?"

"No!"

The Devil's face fell. "Why not?"

"Because—" Chaeyoung spluttered. "You're the Devil! I'm not inviting you in for a cup of tea on a Monday morning!"

"Oh! Should I come back later?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"You're the Devil!"

"Strictly speaking, I'm not actually the Devil, because I'm not on the job right now." A hopeful look. "I took a day off."

"Leave me alone!"

"Please?"

—

Five minutes later, Chaeyoung stomped out of her kitchen and unceremoniously shoved a paper cup into the Devil's hands. Then, she crossed her arms and stared.

Now, an ordinary human wouldn't have known that this was the Devil. First off: no horns, no scale-tipped tail, no wings. Skin was definitely not red and more of a nice shade of honey-tan. Long, well-kept nails and flowing hair. A casual pair of skinny jeans paired with a shirt (with a puppy on it) and very tasteful sneakers, which had been left outside politely. Twinkling eyes and a smile that could kill if it wanted to.

If Chaeyoung was an average human, she would've walked past this woman on the street and not given her a second glance. But Chaeyoung definitely recognized her — because Chaeyoung had sold the Devil her soul.

"This is nice quality stuff," said the Devil appreciatively, holding the cup up.

"It's tap water."

"Very nice."

"What are you doing in my house? I kept my end of the deal!"

The Devil set the cup down and held up her hands placatingly. "Now, let's not get too angry, shall we?"

"No! I want to know why you're here!"

"A...house visit?"

"The Devil doesn't make house visits!"

"Alright, before we go on, let's just make things clear. I'm not the Devil today, alright? I told you, it's my day off."

Chaeyoung just stared.

"What, I get days off, okay? Anyway, just for today, you can call me Jennie."

"Why are you in my house?"

"I'm getting there, Chaeyoung. Man, someone's on edge today."

"If the Devil barged into your hous—"

"Jennie. And I knocked."

"—at 6am on a Monday, you'd be angry too!"

The Devil (Chaeyoung couldn't reconcile the name Jennie with this...this apparition in front of her) pulled out an envelope out of her pocket. She handed it over to Chaeyoung, who took it with some suspicion.