Angel ✦ Nomin

41

Jeno gasps awake with wide eyes as he looks around, attempting to gain some sort of grasp on his surroundings. Unfortunately, there is only one source of light: an indiscernible spotlight which shines overhead, and it is very much concentrated on the area which he is bound to.

Thorny vines bind his wrists and ankles to a freezing cold stone wall. He writhes against the restraints, but the thorns pierce into his skin, tearing the flesh as blood oozes from the wounds.

"What the fuck?" Jeno bellows just as he notices a silhouette cross the room in the shadows, "Show yourself!"

"As you wish," a familiar voice responds, sending a chill down Jeno's spine.

The sound of heavy footsteps comes closer and closer to Jeno, revealing a man with a wide grin in a completely black suit. His hair is much longer than the last time he had seen him, and it is pulled back into a low ponytail. He stops just a few feet from Jeno and cocks his head.

"You look surprised to see me," he points out, earning no response from Jeno aside from a wild gaze, "Normally my favourite demon, Sicheng, oversees this level of Hell, but did you really think I would miss out on the opportunity to watch you fail? I think we both know just how weak your self control is when it comes to your anger."

"Back again with this bullshit, are we?" Jeno snaps, "You were never there for me. You have no idea who I am."

The man laughs for a brief moment before retorting:

"On the contrary. I know you better than anyone else. Jaemin believes in a lie. He believes in a version of you that doesn't exist. He believes in a boy that has changed from being the son of the devil to an angel ready to vanquish all demons that stand between their love."

He steps closer to Jeno and smiles even wider than before.

"Tell me, does he realize that nothing will change the fact that you will always be my son?" he asks.

"Fuck off!" Jeno hisses.

"Succumbing to your anger so soon? What a pity you don't put up a fight," his father taunts him, "Let's see just how angry you can get."

Jeno struggles against the vines, but they continue to tear into his skin deeper and deeper. He shrieks in pain, instantly ceasing his efforts. He has to find another way out.

"Struggle all you'd like, you know they will not break," his father states casually as he walks back into the shadows, "I mean, unless you like to be harmed in that way. That would be very masochistic of you, but I'm not one to judge."

A loud scraping sound fills the air as his father pushes a large lounge chair made of black leather out into the light. He sets it so that he is just across the way from Jeno, then plops into it with a sigh of relief.

"You do realize that soul mates are a bogus concept created by the angels, correct?" his father finally speaks.

"Wh...what?" Jeno stammers.

"Oh yeah. The angels don't like to tell you things like that, but...it's a very real thing," his father answers as he crosses his legs and interlocks his fingers.

"You're lying!" Jeno accuses him.

"Am I?" he chuckles deeply with a shake of his head, "Should you ever see Taeyong again, you should ask him what happened to Nakamoto Yuta."

Jeno's jaw clenches tightly as he listens to his father. He isn't quite sure why he believes his father. Perhaps he was only waiting for Jeno to call his bluff. He was not certain.

"Or you can choose not to believe me. Whatever helps you survive Hell, right?" he shrugs nonchalantly.

"Who's Nakamoto Yuta?" Jeno asks cautiously, causing his father to lower his head and chuckle dryly.

"That's a discussion for you to have with Taeyong," he dismisses him, "How about we get to the real reason you're here."

His father leans forward in his seat and places the pads of his fingers together, resting his elbows on his knees.

"You have a score to settle, but it isn't with me. No...not yet," his father continues, "Xiaojun sent an incubus out to deceive Jaemin into believing they were you. They drained nearly every ounce of life out of him. They broke him down until he was hardly a shell of the boy he used to be, then they lured him all the way to the graveyard to see what everyone else already knows...you can't change. You're the same evil half demon you've always been."

"How do you-"

"I see everything, Jeno," his father cuts him off, "He showed Jaemin what he needed to see, then dragged him straight to Hell. You are angry, but not at yourself for being the same as you've always been. No...you're angry at Xiaojun for exposing your façade that helped keep Jaemin closer to you."

"No," Jeno denies, "I've changed."

"You are no different than the boy I raised to be the antichrist," his father snaps, "You lied to him, pushed him away, treated him as a lesser being because he didn't understand you. You are exactly who you've always been."

"You can't stand that I have found love and acceptance and friendship apart from your control," Jeno retorts.

"You have changed your fate and brought a dead boy back to life," his father growls, pausing a moment to breathe and collect himself, "Tell me, do you know what happens when you change the course of events as severely as you have?"

"A...a ripple effect?" Jeno responds questioningly.

"Do you know what that implies?" his father inquires, giving him a second to answer; when he doesn't, he goes on, "Of course you don't...No matter. I'll allow you to continue on your journey to find Jaemin. If you manage to reach him, how about you ask him about his life since you last inserted yourself into it."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Jeno yells, "Answer me!"

"You'll see it my way. Just you wait," his father ignores him, "Have fun on your little...quest for some sense of heroism."

Jeno's father snaps his fingers and a large, intense fire burst into flames around him, engulfing his entire being.