SHE HAD COME TOO close to the devil's lair.
A lavish party in Berlin promised many things to the young and aspiring music producer, but this seemed far out of bounds, even for the celebrity. She stumbled out of the hotel, late into the night, out of the part she soon got tired of, walking aimlessly through the streets.
This was her third and final night in the beautiful city, the first day she had spent sleeping and lounging around and the second, she had been out exploring the tourist spots, trying to find inspiration for her songs. Even with all the wonders she had been presented with, she could not turn them into tangible melodies or lyrics that were worth rereading.
Her feet took her away from the heart of the city and outside a strange bar.
Shrugging off her weariness, she entered the silence building with quick steps, stumbling every once in a while. Once her eyes were adjusted to the dim lighting inside the building, she noticed that the place was not as desolate as it seemed as first glance. Men and women occupied the couches situated close to the walls, drinking and laughing amongst themselves. The music was a dull background noice that she could not enjoy one bit, not even if she had drunk the entire bar. She made a beeline for the counter, sitting herself upright with great struggle on the bar chairs.
She did not realize this now, but this, this was the Devil's Den. Quite literally too, as that was what the building had been legally named.
"Hi." Before she could flag down a bartender, a man was sitting in the chair beside her, too close for her liking but she plastered a superficial smile on her face anyways.
"Hello."
"I don't think I've seen you around here often." He nodded his head towards her and she couldn't help but be drawn to his eyes. They were a warm brown, but clear amber specks floated within his irises and they almost illuminated in the dark setting making it stand out even further. His eyes looked almost unreal, too beautiful to be deemed real.
She nodded, her movements coming off slightly exaggerated due to the alcohol in her system. "This is the first time." She replied, her voice low and barely audible but he managed to catch it anyways.
He grins wide, the light catching onto his pearly white teeth. "That so?"
She hums in return, craning her head in search of the bartender that was nowhere to be found. "Is there no bartender in this place?" She murmurs, more to herself than to the man beside her. Breathing out a sigh, she pushed out the hair that was framing the sides of her face, tickling her flesh in an annoying manner.
"Pick your poison."
In a flashing moment, he was standing in front of her, on the other side of the counter. She blinks her eyes in disbelief before chuckling quietly under her breath at herself assuming that she must have drunk more than she thought.
"Pick for me."
A round glass containing clear gold liquid was placed in front of her and she eyed the drink curiously before raising the glass to her lips, taking a tentative lips. Her eyes widened when the taste was all too wonderful, a sweet nectar that snaked down her throat perfectly. It was heavenly but before before she could take another sip, she felt a presence behind her.
"Trying to get mortals drunk again, Taehyung?" The voice confirmed her suspicions and she twirled around on her seat, head hurting with the movement, facing another man just as beautiful as the first. He was looking at her with a flicker of amusement in his dark eyes. If she looked closely, she could see the flecks of red that adorned his black irises. He had black hair, wisps falling over his forehead and eyes slightly as he continued to gaze at the shorter woman. Then, ripping her eyes away from the seemingly perfect male, she rummaged into her wallet, picking a crisp fifty amongst the cards and bills, placing it on the counter. She saw the boy who had given her the drink grin mischievously before turning to his friend from the corner of her eyes.
"Just a precaution, Yoongi."
She didn't bother to finish the drink. No matter how heavenly it tasted, it didn't feel right drinking the gold liquid. So she gathered her things, she got down from the chair and began to walk towards the door which she entered from.
The atmosphere now, was much different. It was as if she had entered a different world as strange as it sounded. Her eyes scanned over the men and women that were sat, chuckling under their breaths. And she noticed a little late that they had eyes that matched the man she had met- dark with amber specks. Furrowing her eyebrows, she shook the jeering gazes off of her and stumbled across the spacious room that seemed to tighten with every step she took. Beads of perspiration collected at her forehead and her vision was blurring with every step.
To breathe seemed to require so much energy now. Something was wrong and she didn't need to be sober to figure that out.
Closing her eyes momentarily as she tried to push open the door, she fell towards the floor, knees hitting the hard floor painfully. Breaths coming out uneven, she willed herself stand up and finally exit the room which felt like it was taking a lifetime. Out of sorts with reality, it was difficult to even move an inch without feeling like the whole world was pushing back on her.
"Mortals." She heard a huff behind her and before she could blink, she was being pushed outside the building by the weight on the small of her back and was suddenly gulping the air greedily.
Her eyes travelled up to find the man with red eyes staring at her expectantly.
"Well? Are you done wheezing like an old person who just ran a marathon?" He raised an eyebrow.
She heaved another large breath before straightening her posture. "Okay, I know I didn't drink that much so what the fuck just happened in there?" She pointed a finger at the innocent building. The world beneath her seemed to sway the slightest.
He smirked, a curl of the lips that was both dangerous and cold but elicited the most foreign feelings within her.
"Be more careful next time, sweetheart. This is where demons come out to play."
