deal | jjk

11

Jeongguk's never felt bad for humans, never sympathized, or cared for them. Until he met you. The first time you summoned him, you also surprised him. Humans run on greed. Always have, always will. Money, power, love... it's all they want, and they're prepared to sacrifice their lives for it.

But you. You summoned him in the middle of the night, out at that ominous crossroad he'd been assigned, to save your brother's life. To pay Jeongguk yours for your brother's. At first, that was the reason for his curiosity. What human would sacrifice their short life for another?

Ever since the second time you summoned him, he started following you around, getting to know you. Except for a few occasions where he stepped out to secretly help you with something, he remained watching you from the shadows where you couldn't see him.

And he felt bad. Horrible. You carried such a heavy sadness with you, everywhere you went, it weighed you down. All of his existence, he never knew humans could feel such strong emotions. They'd always been dirt under his feet, and along with a few messed up missions and his inability to tell ethically right from wrong—often concerning humans—those feelings were what caused him to get cast out.

Falling for a human was never a plan of Jeongguk's, but that's undeniably what happened. He wanted to be loved by you the way he was starting to love you, that's why he gave you his name. That 'big love' you spoke of... he felt it. But something was restraining him, and the feeling that stemmed from his heart and grew all the way through his limbs when he finally revealed his name, and you repeated it back so softly... he was free.

Only to have his heart absolutely shattered the very next day.

Imagine the shame when Jeongguk, a fallen angel and made demon, had to pray for help? The hunters and their knowledge of his name prevented him from doing anything to them. He thinks they planned to keep him in order to grant themselves wishes, but they didn't even get to try since an angel called Jimin showed up and freed him. It's incredible how scared humans can be when their ability to speak is taken from them.

Jeongguk had spent around two days locked up in a cellar with direct orders to stay there and not attempt an escape. It gave him a lot of time to boil his blood and plan out his revenge. He knew he wouldn't be able to hurt you before the fourteenth, but when the hunters' blood was everywhere but inside their veins, he couldn't stop himself from paying you a visit.

The fear in your eyes felt immensely satisfying. Until he left, and it wouldn't leave his thoughts.

Like Jeongguk told you, he'd spent the last weeks either watching you from the shadows, with you, or trying to find a solution. He didn't want to watch you die, nonetheless end your life, himself. So to see you dreaming of him and wake up terrified, only to still drive out to the crossroad and offer yourself up to him... It devastated him, and he couldn't stay.

But he didn't expect to return a few hours later to see the crossroad emptier than ever before. Where had you gone? Fuck, his plan would only work if you were still alive when he got to you.

Jeongguk is an exceptionally strong and powerful demon, but his senses are less potent than when he was a purebred angel. He could sense your presence as if he could smell it, but like smell, it's often hard to pinpoint the exact source. Especially in a huge building like the central station.

He searches for you everywhere, his senses telling him 'there! no, there!' only to end up fruitless. Time is starting to run out, and he begins to panic. What time was it, the time you'd chosen? Five-forty? Five-fifty? Somewhere in between?

It's easier, but more attention-grabbing, to appear as a human, and people aren't ashamed to stare as Jeongguk rushes through the crowds that are waiting for the afternoon trains. His head whips back and forth to search every face that passes him by, but you're nowhere to be seen.

Fuck.

The stress is taking over him, the thought that he might not find you in time is eating him alive. Please, he begs. The colossal golden clock that's mounted above the screens displaying trains and their tracks tells him that it's five forty-four already. He wills himself to close his eyes and just... feel.

It's so loud; announcements are sounding, people are talking, suitcases are being rolled, and it's too loud.

Deep breath. In and out. He feels something pull him. A little to his left. He opens his eyes and almost cries out in frustration; he just searched there.

Then he sees it; a small sign. Behind the little built-in store selling magazines and sandwiches are bathrooms. He dashes over there, ignoring the loud complaints of the two humans he accidentally elbows on his way.

When the door swings open, it reveals numerous things. There are multiple closed doors on one side. Toilets. A row of pristine sinks underneath a large mirror on the other. And you, lying lifeless on the floor in between.

Jeongguk hasn't cried in centuries, but now he does. The tears are blurring his vision as he rushes over and bends down. There's no pulse, and he was too late.