Kissing the Demon (Seoksoo)

Joshua

We silently made our way to the car, neither acknowledging the tension bubbling between us. I'd smelled the vodka on Seokmin the moment I'd stepped into the flat, so I held my hand out for his car keys. He handed them over without a word before getting in on the passenger side.

I tried to steady myself with a deep breath before I got into the driver's seat, moving it forward until I could reach the pedals. Seokmin stared out his window, his hand cupping his chin, lost in thought. I started the engine and headed for his place in Eastleigh. We'd initially agreed to stay at mine tonight, but if things were about to go down the way I suspected they would, I wanted to be able to retreat to my own space to tend to my wounds.

My temper was simmering below the surface, my demon still furious about Blaise. It was bad enough that he turned up here to taunt me in front of Seokmin, but the fact he'd followed him? Had turned up at his place of work?

That little indiscretion had written Blaise a one-way ticket to witnessing firsthand the things that Hell had taught me. There would be no quick end for him. Only a world of pain for daring to threaten the one precious thing in my life.

Annoyingly, the little shit had been fast enough to evade Vernon and me. Seungkwan and Seokmin were safe inside the wards of the bookshop, but we didn't want to leave them for too long. Especially as there was no guarantee that Seokmin would actually stay there, not with the mood he was in. So once the trail went cold, we headed back. Blaise was a problem, one I would eradicate soon.

But first, I had to deal with whatever had driven Seokmin to neck vodka like it was water, trusting my brothers to track down Blaise for me in the meantime.

I'd love to be able to blame Seokmin's weird behaviour on what had happened on the street outside the bookshop, but I'd be lying to myself if I did. The truth was, I'd felt him pulling away from me over the last couple of weeks. Since I'd floated the idea of investing in his business, he'd been acting differently. Distant. Even when we were fucking, I could feel him holding himself back. Because that's what it was now—fucking. There was no making love. No tender, lingering kisses. No reverent looks or words of passion. Just two people who were chasing that high together before sleeping alone.

And it was fucking breaking me.

I'd known there was a chance Seokmin would do this. Seungkwan had all but told me this. But to see him drifting further and further away each day and being powerless to stop it?

It had me wanting to meet fate and introduce them to the pointy ends of my daggers at the same time as Blaise.

Seokmin didn't comment when we pulled up outside his place, showing me I was right in thinking where this was heading. He was going to...well, not exactly break up with me. Hard for him to do that, considering we weren't technically together.

But break my heart? Yep. Regardless of what we were, that was the item firmly on the agenda.

I followed him into the house, not bothering to remove my coat or shoes. I hoped Seokmin wouldn't linger over this so I could escape before my demon lost control.

I perched on the edge of the sofa, biting on the side of my thumbnail as I waited for Seokmin to start. It didn't take him long.

"Listen, Joshua..." He was pacing, and even knowing what he was about to say, part of me wanted to comfort him. To take away the anxiety, he was feeling and reassure him that everything was going to be okay. "I think we should call this quits. Go back to being friends."

I couldn't look at him as I nodded. "Am I allowed to ask why?"

He sighed. "Of course you are, Shua. It's just...we want different things."