En-Magine

Hell Week (Heewon)

🎧 Listen while you read: En-Magine Spotify Playlist (linked in story description) 🎧

⏪ Highlight songs: Devil by the Window, Lucifer, Teeth ⏩

Finals week is finally over and Heeseung walked out of his last exam with the weight of the world finally lifted off his shoulders. You know that feeling you get when you just know you aced a test? Yeah, that was Heeseung when he practically strutted out of the lecture hall that he will (hopefully) never have to see again. (All of his classes next semester are in a bigger and newer lecture hall – thank heavens.) As a matter of fact, the fourth-year undergraduate has sauntered out of all of his exams this past week with such ease and relief. In retrospect, he wasn't sure what he was so stressed about last week. Heeseung always passes his exams at the end of each semester.

But now, on a random Thursday evening (Heeseung purposefully avoids Friday lectures like the plague which means he had Friday evenings free and he's done with finals one day earlier than most other students), the fourth-year student finds himself stressing for a completely different reason. He's supposed to meet Jay, Jake, and the rest of their small friend group for lunch tomorrow. Normally he'd be beyond excited to finally catch up with his friends especially having not seen them in person for over a week when they normally hang out every day. But tomorrow, he's supposed to bring Jungwon.

When the two third-year roommates had 'pressured' Heeseung into bringing his supposed new lover during their call last week, Heeseung was beyond excited. All he could think about was the prospect of seeing Jungwon again. That night and all throughout the next week, Heeseung couldn't stop thinking about the cute little demon who rocked his world for one night. 

Now, Heeseung's world – no, his entire universe seems to revolve around Jungwon. He constantly daydreams about Jungwon's breathtaking features. And at night, when Heeseung finally welcomes sleep with open arms, the demon is always appearing in his dreams.

Tonight, instead of feeling the light fluttering sensation in his gut that he's grown accustomed to, Heeseung feels a deep sense of dread with each thought centered around Jungwon. In theory, his initial plan was simple. He would summon the demon, offer himself again in exchange for Jungwon accompanying him to his lunch tomorrow, and they would never see each other again...right?

Heeseung is starting to realize that he's greatly miscalculated one crucial factor. He seems to have forgotten how fickle human emotions are because a week ago, he was simply excited to see the pretty demon for another amazing night. But now, he already dreads parting ways with Jungwon and he hasn't even seen the demon yet. Not to mention, Heeseung doesn't even know how or where to begin in order to summon a demon.

Naturally, the ever-so-resourceful student finds himself hours deep, spiraling down a crazy rabbit hole of deranged internet consultations. He stares at his laptop screen, his eyes wide and dry. He's been scrolling through pages and pages of search results, consulting ChatGPT left and right, deep into the bizarre world of online forums dedicated to the occult. Who knew some so many people naively believed they could summon demons in the comfort of their own homes? Oh wait.

"How to Summon a Demon in Five Easy Steps," Heeseung mutters under his breath, reading aloud as he clicks on a link that looks particularly promising. The page is filled with neon colors and cheesy gothic fonts. Heeseung rolls his eyes but isn't exactly in a position to judge. He is trying to summon a demon – a cute demon – for a second time, after all.

His eyes move fervently as he skims through the article. "Draw a pentagram... light black candles... chant these words..." Heeseung frowns. This all sounds like something out of a low-budget horror movie. But then again, Jungwon had appeared the first time because the fourth-year student was simply desperate to get his schoolwork done. So at this point, what the hell does Heeseung know?