deal | jjk

10

Since everything went according to plan—the hunters receiving their demon, and you driving home still in one piece—you can finally start to breathe again.

You don't know what they're going to do with Jeongguk, but you'd bet it's nothing fun. It rips you apart inside, how you sacrificed him for money, but the truth is that Taehyung and Dahyun wouldn't make it without it. The medical bills have put you in debt, and none of them will be able to earn any money for themselves in a long time.

It was an easy decision when first proposed. You went looking for a way to save your brother and ended up finding these people along the way. They told you about the crossroad demons, what it'd be able to do for you, and that if you managed to get one's name, you'd be generously compensated. You summoned him with the intention of healing Taehyung, nothing more. It's not like you actively tried to earn his trust only to betray him, but when he willingly gave it, you just couldn't not do it.

A demon or your family? Your family.

But it hurts.

---

Two days go by, where you spend every waking moment at the hospital. The stomach ache has evolved into a severe case of the flu, which means that you get to stay home for a few days. You're, of course, planning on milking it for as long as you can so that you can spend your last days with your family.

It's hard to sleep at night, the only thing that runs through your mind are the thoughts of the demon that you betrayed. You realize that he's probably dead by now, those men didn't seem like they were going to be very kind to Jeongguk.

A big part of you is still in shock of what you did. You sacrificed someone else's life. For what? Money? No, it's more than that. The money... it's so much that you were able to repay the debt the day after, and it's more than enough to feed your siblings and keep a roof over their heads for years. The Mins promised they'd take them in, but the couple is old, you hate to think about it, but they most likely don't have many years left. And they're nowhere near financially independent.

Maybe it's for the best that you're about to leave this world, how would you be able to live with yourself? You wouldn't.

It happens when you're cooking dinner for you and Dahyun. You can hear her humming a song from her room as she sits on the floor and draws with her crayons. The pasta has just been added to the boiling water when you feel it.

It's in the air a fraction of a second before you're grabbed. Enough time for you to realize what's going to happen. You're not dying—not yet, there are still three days left on the countdown—but he's here.

You only manage to turn your head from the stove before a hand grabs you harshly by your neck and drags you to the closest wall, where you're pushed so hard against it, it feels like your skull is going to crack under the pressure. The demon is furious, restricting the airflow into your lungs, and stepping so close to you, your noses are almost touching.

His eyes are red, but unlike the passionate, intimidating, but still warm red, there's a ruthless fire burning. The eyes aren't the only thing that's red, Jeongguk's covered in it, and you realize right away what it is. Blood. It colors his cheeks, his hands, his clothes. He's killed his captors, and now he's come for revenge.

"Good to see you again, Y/n," he seethes, but you can see that he's so angry he's having a hard time even keeping up the cocky facade. "Oh, what's that? Were you hoping I'd be dead by now?"

He knows you can't respond. It's impossible with the way his hand is crushing your throat. Your hands are on his arm by pure instinct, trying to make him release you. All you want is the chance to explain yourself, to tell him how you feel about him, but you also know it wouldn't matter. You did what you did, and there are no excuses that lessen the impact. You betrayed him.