𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭 (𝐃𝐨𝐖𝐨𝐨)

Chapter 6 : The King's Command

Doyoung's mind was a tangle of confusion and fear as he paced the darkened lair. The glowing symbols on the walls seemed to pulse with a life of their own, reflecting his turmoil.

He couldn't shake the feeling that Jeongwoo was watching him, even when the demon wasn't physically present.

There was something in the way Jeongwoo looked at him, a flicker of something familiar, something almost... human. But the thought was too strange to hold onto, slipping away like water through his fingers.

Jeongwoo returned to the lair late one night, his expression shadowed with an emotion Doyoung couldn't quite place. The demon was silent as he approached, his steps echoing in the vast cavern. Doyoung flinched, expecting the usual cold indifference or cryptic remarks, but what he got instead was something far more unsettling-silence.

For what felt like an eternity, Jeongwoo simply stared at him. His dark eyes, usually filled with a mix of menace and detachment, seemed softer now, as if something had shifted within him. Doyoung met his gaze, his heart pounding in his chest, waiting for the inevitable cold words or harsh commands. But Jeongwoo said nothing.

Instead, he seemed lost in thought, his mind elsewhere, as if Doyoung was not the captive he had dragged to this forsaken place but something else entirely.

"Why did you spare me?" Doyoung finally asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He had asked this before, but tonight, the question felt different-more desperate, more insistent.

Jeongwoo's eyes flickered, and for a moment, it looked as though he was going to answer, to finally break his silence. But instead, he looked away, his gaze distant, lost in memories Doyoung couldn't begin to comprehend.

"Because you're different," Jeongwoo murmured, so quietly Doyoung almost didn't hear it. The demon's voice was strained, as if the admission cost him something deeply personal.

"Different?" Doyoung echoed, confusion knotting his brow. He had no idea what Jeongwoo meant by that. How could he be different? He was just a boy from a small village, a village Jeongwoo had destroyed without hesitation.

Jeongwoo turned away, walking to the edge of the lair where the shadows seemed to deepen. "You remind me of something... someone I lost a long time ago." His voice was tinged with an emotion Doyoung couldn't quite identify, but it wasn't the usual cold detachment. There was something more-pain, regret, longing.

Doyoung's heart skipped a beat. "Who?"

Jeongwoo didn't answer immediately, his eyes focused on something distant, far beyond the lair. "A part of me," he finally said, so quietly that Doyoung had to strain to hear him. "Someone who was taken from me, someone I couldn't protect."

The confession left Doyoung speechless. He had always seen Jeongwoo as a cold, heartless demon, a creature driven by the orders of the Demon King. But now, for the first time, he saw something else-a being who had once been capable of loss, of grief. It made Jeongwoo seem less like a monster and more like... something else. Not human, but not entirely devoid of humanity either.

"I don't understand," Doyoung whispered, his voice trembling. "Why would I remind you of something you lost?"

Jeongwoo's expression hardened, the brief flicker of vulnerability disappearing behind a mask of indifference. "You don't need to understand," he said sharply, turning his back on Doyoung.

"All you need to know is that your life is still in my hands. The Demon King's orders remain, and I am bound to follow them."

Doyoung's heart sank at the mention of the Demon King. He had heard Jeongwoo speak of the king before, a figure of immense power and cruelty, a being who ruled the demon realm with an iron fist. The thought of being at the mercy of such a creature filled Doyoung with a deep, abiding dread.

"Will he... will he come for me?" Doyoung asked hesitantly, fear lacing his words.

Jeongwoo hesitated, his hand clenching into a fist. "Not yet," he said finally, his voice thick with an emotion Doyoung couldn't place. "But when he does, I may not be able to protect you."

Doyoung's breath caught in his throat. Protect him? The idea that Jeongwoo would even consider protecting him was absurd, but the way the demon said it, with such conviction, made it seem possible-if only for a fleeting moment.

"Why?" Doyoung asked again, his voice small, fragile.

Jeongwoo turned back to him, and for the first time, Doyoung saw something raw in his eyes-something vulnerable. "Because he is too strong and I failed once," Jeongwoo said, his voice cracking slightly. "And I don't want to fail again."

The confession hung in the air between them, heavy with unspoken meaning. Doyoung's mind raced, trying to make sense of the words, to understand what Jeongwoo meant. But before he could ask, before he could push for more answers, Jeongwoo turned and walked away, disappearing into the darkness of the lair.

Doyoung was left alone, his thoughts a swirling mess of confusion, fear, and something else-something he hadn't felt in a long time. Hope.

It was a fragile hope, born of the realization that maybe, just maybe, Jeongwoo was more than the monster who had destroyed his village.

Maybe there was a part of Jeongwoo that still remembered what it meant to care, to feel, to protect. And maybe, that part of him saw something in Doyoung that was worth saving.

But as the darkness closed in around him, Doyoung couldn't help but wonder: Was this hope real? Or was it just another illusion in this nightmare he found himself trapped in? The uncertainty gnawed at him, even as he clung to the faint glimmer of something more in the demon's eyes.

Whatever the truth was, Doyoung knew one thing for certain: His fate was still in Jeongwoo's hands. And whether that fate would be one of salvation or doom remained to be seen.

To be continued.......