The Way It Burns - BbangNyu

[28]

Jieun came back into the room, this time holding a blanket, and a cup of warm tea. She sat beside Chanhee, gently handing him the tea, then wrapping the blanket around his shoulders. "Ignore the noises, they're not the most pleasant." She giggled, addressing the array of sexual grunting floating through the walls. 

"Is this..." Chanhee paused, not wanting to sound insensitive. He didn't know the correct term for places like this, I mean, it's not like he'd ever been to one before.

"Yeah, but don't stress, I'm not trying to recruit you into sex work or anything. I can assure you that you're safe here" Jieun replied, crossing her legs up on the sofa. "Ask me anything, if you'd like. I know you probably have a bunch of questions." 

Chanhee wasn't quite sure why he followed Jieun here, when he could have just gone straight to Younghoon. Though, something about this girl intrigued him, and his curiosity took over. An angel in downtown, who seemingly sells her body, this was a tale he'd been told many of times. It was almost unbelievable to see in person, the life he'd been brought up to fear.

"And what about the questions you have for me? Will I have to answer those?" Chanhee asked. Nothing came for free in this world, and it was proven that you cant trust anyone downtown. So Jieun's openness definitely concerned Chanhee.

 A cheeky smile curved the girls lips, as she leaned back against the sofa. "You're way more switched on than I thought. How about we agree on this? You answer whatever you feel comfortable to, and I'll do the same. No forcing, and whatever we say, stays in this room, ok?" Jieun proposed, reaching her hand towards Chanhee. 

After contemplating it for a moment, Chanhee shook the angels hand. He wanted to learn more about this world, what happens to 'unpure' angels, and in short, the truth. This may be his only chance, he had to make the most of if.

"You go first."

Chanhee nodded, thinking about his question. They'd agreed to not answer anything that made them uncomfortable, so he had to word things very carefully. "What actually is this place?" 

"It's known as a 'Heaven house', a rare type of establishment, where dark creatures come to have paid sexual experiences with angels." Jieun answered. "My turn, what were you doing downtown?" 

"I came to see my boyfriend." Chanhee stated, feeling a little thrown off by the question. "Why do you work here?" 

Jieun scoffed, since it was a pretty long story. "I needed a place to stay. Whose your boyfriend?" 

"Why do you want to know-"

"It's my turn to ask, It's obvious you don't want to answer, so I'll go again." Jieun cut in, sounding more harsh than before. "Do you know what you're risking by being here?"

"What? I'm done with this-"

"I'll rephrase, Do you know how risky it is for you to be here, Choi Chanhee?" She interrupted again.

Chanhee's mouth hung slightly open, as he didn't know how to respond to that. Jieun knew who he was, this was incredibly dangerous for him. He shouldn't have followed her, he should have never agreed to these questions. His heart raced, he debated whether to just run out of there, or to try and bargain with Jieun, he'd got himself into a big mess.

With his mind wondering, Chanhee suddenly broke his train of thought, over the eruption of laughter coming from the angel next to him. Jieun was nearly crying, rolling around on the sofa, holding her stomach.

"Oh you should have seen your face!" She squealed, sitting herself up again. "Don't be so scared, I'm not going to expose you. I just couldn't help myself, I had to scare you a little."

A wave of relief rolled over Chanhee, yet, he still wasn't feeling safe. Even if Jieun was telling the truth, he'd only just met her, he couldn't trust what she says. "That was evil." Chanhee huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm sorry, it was funny though." Jieun said, grabbing the pillow from beside her, and resting it in her lap. "Now lets chat for real, you can actually ask me anything." 

"You really expect me to trust you now?"

"I guess not, but I'll get you to. I'll tell you some things about me, and answer any questions you have, I won't ask for anything in return." 

Chanhee was hesitant to believe Jieun, he barely knew her. Plus she knew who he was, this only put him in more danger, it would have been smart to just leave, but something seemed to stop him. "So what's in it for you?"

"First, I understand you, I grew up sheltered from the world as well. It's overwhelming, and confusing discovering the truths behind what we've been told. I was lucky enough to find someone to help me, so I'd like to be that person for you." Jieun replied, her voice more gentle. She picked up the pillow from her lap, squeezing it in her arms. "Secondly, I want a friend. Sure the girls who work here are great, but sometimes I forget what my old life use to be like. I just want some form of escape, to remind me that I'm not this disgusting 'unpure' creature, I'm normal like you." She added, looking down in shame.

"You're definitely not disgusting." Chanhee said, bringing his hand to rest on the girls cheek. "And you're not 'unpure'." 

Jieun looked up at Chanhee, placing her hand over his. She never thought she could be seen as anything other than what her people labeled her as. Hearing those words from another angel, especially from one as high value as Chanhee, brought her more joy than she had felt in years. 

"Thank you Chanhee, you don't even know how much that means to me." Jieun smiled.

"You literally saved my life earlier, it's the least I could do." Chanhee chuckled. He brought his hand back to his lap, fiddling with the denim of his jeans. "You've been treated unfairly, I'm sure whatever you did, didn't justify the reason you're here."

"It kind of did, I literally couldn't have done something worse." Jieun commented, squeezing her pillow even tighter. "I can't really blame my parents for disowning me, no one wants their daughter to fall in love with a demon."

Fall in love with a demon.

This sent shivers down Chanhee's spine, he was more like Jieun than he thought. He could just as easily end up in the same place as her, this could be his life. It hurt, but it was reality, he'd never be accepted if people found out about his relationship with Younghoon.