House of the Nefarious

Chapter 15

I sat on my bed staring at the new marking on my arm. I had literally made a deal with the devil. Yoongi hadn't bothered me since but something was telling me that he wanted me to stay away from Minhyuk.

Everytime the man came to drop off paperwork for Seokjin the magic in the necklace around my neck would practically scream at me to run away. It had me growing wary of the always smiling man.

Was he part of the reason why Yoongi was locked up in the attic? Minhyuk seemed to know a lot more than he let on.

A loud knock echoed through my room and Sushi jumped beside me. "Hello?" I called.

"It's Taehyung, Hoseok and I are going to the fair now if you are interested plebeian."

I had been stuck inside for the duration of the weekend and even though it was Taehyung....

"Sure," I replied with a sigh, getting up from the comfort of my mattress. I grabbed my stuff and Sushi clambered into my bag, peeking his head out so only his eyes were visible. I hoped it made Taehyung feel unsafe.

Hoseok and Taehyung were already waiting by the door and we began our trek to the annual fair.

We walked along the sidewalk which was barred from the grass because apparently there had been an increase in vegetarian lesser demons with a taste for grass.

The whole area itself was rather strange but it was bustling with tons of students today. It was basically a long weekend because of some holiday called black butterfly day.

Yerim told me it was to celebrate the spirit of the messenger. Apparently he worked for Lilith during the great war and was a witness to the agreement made between Heaven and Hell. The messenger was often called the black butterfly because of how swift he was so I guess this was the demon's way of thanking him (or an excuse to party) as he disappeared shortly after Lilith.

The fair was bustling with vendors and laughter as small demon children ran around. "I vote we play the game with the skulls," Taehyung said raising his hand in the air.

Hoseok groaned. "You try playing that game every year and lose."

"I can feel it in my bones, this time I'm going to get that Tata plushie," he declared, before marching towards the mentioned stall.

"For the last decade he's been trying to get that stupid toy and fails everytime, I wouldn't be surprised if old man Daichi just gives the damn thing to him."

We followed after the determined male and arrived at an inflatable kiddie pool filled with floating skulls.

They looked oddly realistic and I hoped they weren't from actual people.

"Ah Taehyung, it's been a while," a frail looking old man spoke up. His hair was white and he had the mustache and beard combo. He was dressed in a polka dot suit and I noticed two tiny horns poking out from his head.

"I want to play for Tata," Taehyung explained pointing at a heart plushie at the back of the stall.

"Ah that one again huh? I heard he came from outta-space," the old man cackled.

I could see Hoseok roll his eyes beside me and I couldn't blame him. Daichi had a very odd sense of humour.

He passed Taehyung a toy fishing rod when he noticed no one was laughing at his joke.

I watched him attempt to real in a skull and when he finally did, the bottom of it was green.

Ohhh it was like the duck game where you have to match the colors.

The next one was blue and he let out an irritated groan.

"Can I play again," he whined, staring angrily at the skulls in front of him.

"You know the deal Taehyung first rounds free but then 5 coins," the old man chided.

"Fine," he groaned, casting a longing look at the currency he dropped into Daichi's awaiting palm.

He got a red one this time and I noticed the slight pink hue under another skull. "Try that one," I suggested, pointing at the object that had drawn my interest.

He looked hesitant but eventually heeded my suggestion. I let out a triumphant grin when it was revealed to be red and Taehyung's aura flared a bright yellow.

"Well I'll be damned," Old man Daichi muttered, "It only took ya 10 years."

He passed the excited male the Tata doll and Taehyung turned to face me. "Not too bad for a human, you have a talent for the skull game."

"Thanks I guess?" I replied, not too sure whether that was a backhanded compliment.

"Let's go get some of that funnel cake stuff," Hoseok said.

"Wait! Um," Taehyung glanced down at the plushie in his grasp before holding it forward, his cheeks dusted a light pink. "I suppose you can have this."

"Thanks?" I said, surprised he would give me something he'd wanted for over a decade. It confused me when he acted nice.

I turned to face Hoseok who looked equally stunned. "I never thought I'd see the day Taehyung willingly gave someone something."

"So funnel cake right?" Taehyung said quickly, his voice a pitch too high. He ran off and we waved goodbye to Daichi. "So you guys have funnel cake here?" I asked Hoseok, squishing the soft plushie in my arms.

"We do have human cuisine, it's just not as popular here," he explained. "You can almost always find funnel cakes at any fair though."

I nodded and we made our way over to the busy booth. "A strawberry funnel cake," Hoseok ordered sliding a few coins across the counter.

In return the American desert was slid towards us. It smelt just as good as I remembered and I could feel my mouth water at the sight.

We made our way over to a picnic table dug into the delicious dish. It tasted even better than it did back on Earth.

"You really like funnel cake huh?" Hoseok said, a brow raised in amusement.

"I'm not a huge fan of fried food, but funnel cake is definitely my favourite," I admitted. "It also reminds me a bit of back home."

He nodded in understanding, pulling out a small notebook from his back pocket. "Sometimes when I feel too much of one emotion I like to write down how I'm feeling and then turn it into music. It helps with my anger issues."

He flipped through a couple pages and I was amazed by the thought that went into the lyrics. This must've been what Taehyung meant when he called it angsty rap.

"What I'm trying to say is that maybe if you're feeling homesick you should try and find something to help you cope with that," he explained, aura tinged orange.

"Thanks Hoseok," I said with a genuine smile. "Usually when I'm feeling a little down I like to squish Sushi, but it'd be good to find something constructive to do. "

His tense shoulders fell and he smiled at me in return.

"I'm back," Taehyung screeched running up to our table. He almost broke three lamp posts, tripped a student and sent someones ice cream hurtling towards the ground but he made it.

"Someone was giving out goblin apples for free, so I had to get one."

I almost laughed at that when I felt a crushing presence.

A few tables away sat a man. His hood was up and his aura was pitch black. He slowly turned around, and my head began to pound.

I noticed a glimpse of a smile and then he was gone, taking along the drowning feeling with him.

"Are you alright human?" Taehyung asked, frowning at my tense form.

I'm fine," I said, shooting him a forced smile as I eyed the place where the man once sat.

"Everything's great."