A Demon's Angel - Seongjoong

Part 9

    Seonghwa was nervous. Incredibly so.
    He tugged on the collar of his black sequined sweater dress, but that did nothing to ease the tightness in his throat.

    All around him were high ranking government employees and military leaders in fancy dress, sipping wine and eating "puff-pastry cocktail sausages" that were nothing more than rebranded pigs-in-a-blanket.

    He never understood why they bothered to call it a ball. Sure, there was a dance floor and live music, but in reality it was a schmoozefest. Dancing? Enjoying community and socialization? Unheard of. Everyone was too busy being up each other's asses to create any real enjoyment out of these events.

    Seonghwa knew that his skepticism was just a result of his die-hard romanticism. He had watched the 2005 movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice one too many times and had some unfounded expectations placed upon anything that used the term "ball."
    He shook the idiotic thoughts out of his head, knowing that he was only using them to distract himself from the mission at hand.

    Seonghwa's mission tonight was a tough one for him, even though it shouldn't be. It should be cut and dry. He should just follow orders. But someone had gotten into his head and suddenly he was thinking about things a little deeper. He was observing patterns.
    And this case had sent him into a mental spiral.

    He hated himself for it, but he ached to see that familiar flash of white hair because for the first time, Seonghwa was in a real conundrum and there was only one person with whom he felt he could talk about it.
    Hongjoong, the demon.
    If Seonghwa from a few months ago could see himself now, he'd have a heart attack.

    The angel tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear and nodded politely at a couple that passed him. When he saw where they were headed, he followed them.
    He didn't drink alcohol of course, but he found himself making his way over to the open bar to obtain something to occupy his shaky hands.
    "A seltzer water, please." The bartender nodded and reached for a glass.

    "Now what's a pretty thing like you doing standing over here all alone?"
    "Hongjoong." Seonghwa breathed, turning to see the demon leaning against the bar with his hip jutted out and a smirk on his face.
    Seonghwa was so relieved to see the demon he didn't even have the chance to be embarrassed with how desperate his voice had sounded.

    The bartender handed him his water and the angel fixed his eyes on Hongjoong as he ordered a whiskey neat.
    The demon kept his gaze on Seonghwa as he waited for his two-finger pour, but neither of them said anything yet. They just looked at each other, a complicated tension thickening the air around them.

        "Here's your drink, sir."

    Glass in hand, Hongjoong broke away from the bar first and headed towards a table like he knew Seonghwa would follow.    
Which is exactly what Seonghwa did.

    He had tried not to notice before, but now as the demon's hips swayed in front of him, Seonghwa had to admit he looked really good. He was in a black designer suit with red accents that fit him in all the right places, accentuating his shoulders, waist and straight legs. To the angel's surprise, Hongjoong's platinum hair was actually tamed for once. Glancing down, Seonghwa bit back a smirk as he saw the dress shoes that Hongjoong was wearing gave him a bit more height than the heels suggested.

    Seonghwa neutralized his face as Hongjoong reached a table and turned to look at him, placing his glass on the table.
    "Fancy seeing you here, my angel."
    Seonghwa couldn't do anything but keep still as the demon slowly looked over Seonghwa's outfit and then back to his face.
    "You look absolutely stunning."
    The angel shivered as he met Hongjoong's eyes. His face grew hot at the attention.