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Daehyun had never concluded a deal that involved a third party before. In fact, he didn’t even know they were possible until this human insisted that another demon had informed him they existed.
A deal with a demon usually went this way: a human would recite a spell at any time of the day and in any place they deemed fit. The nearest demon available would then come meet said human at midnight in that same place. The human would explain what they wanted from the deal, in as much details as necessary, and the demon would lay out the terms of the deal. They were always the same: the person would get whatever they wished out of the deal. In return, the same demon would come collect their souls exactly ten years later, at midnight precisely, ending the human’s life. Once a deal was sealed, there were no going back, the demon would always remind them. The soul would be collected no matter what, even if the human hadn’t made a good use of their part of the deal. It was a simple transaction: the demon would give them whatever they desired and they would give their souls ten years later. Whatever happened in that laps of time could have no effect on the original contract.
Once the human was fully informed on the terms, the demon would give them forty-eight hours to retract themselves. In these forty-eight hours, the demon had to check whether what the human was asking for fit the rules established by the demon world, and if they didn’t, the demon was allowed to decline the deal. If the deal was accepted, the demon would visit the human again after forty-eight hours, at midnight again, in the same place. The human would then confirm their intention to sign the contract. Tradition wanted that the deal was sealed with a kiss, but Daehyun was glad this rule had been made optional before he’d started working as a soul collector. The demon could now choose which ever method they preferred to sign the contract, as long as it was made clear to the human beforehand that said method would official bind the contract. Daehyun had chosen a handshake – it was simple, quick and ensured only the minimal amount of contact with the humans.
Deals were easy to make. Despite the forty-eight-hour rule, in his seventy years of as a soul collector, Daehyun had never had to decline a deal, or even check if they fit the rules. He was convinced 99.9% of them fit the rules. The only stories of deal being declined he’d heard of were always due to over the top demands: someone asking to get rid of the moon, others to stop time or go back to the past. But most people asked for same things: money, a job promotion, to stop aging… from time to time people would ask to help someone else, with their health or their careers. But there wasn’t much a demon couldn’t do anyway. Which was why Daehyun found himself dumbfounded seventy years after he’d taken full duty when a human made him the most unusual request.
It happened on a regular night in May 2007. Daehyun had responded to a spell cast a few hours earlier and found himself casting a very boring, unoriginal deal: a few million dollars for a bunch of pathetic, alcoholic losers full of hatred who had ruined their own lives and yet liked to blame it on everyone else. Nothing unusual at first until…
“If you sign the deal in forty-eight hours, I’ll come collect your soul on May 15, 2017…” he was saying, reciting the rules by heart.
“My son’s.” the human corrected him.
“What?” Daehyun said, hoping this human wouldn’t make him waste his time. He didn’t have the patience to recite the terms all over again.
“I want you to collect my son’s soul,” the human said.
“Sir, I don’t think that’s poss-“ he started.
“It is,” the guy insisted with a sly smile on his lips. “I met a demon once before and he assured me that was possible. You have forty-eight hours to check anyway, but I’m telling you it’s possible.”
Daehyun sighed.
“I’ll check with my superior then and I’ll come back to you, same time, same place, in two days.”
The problem was finding a moment to ask his superior proved to be harder than he initially thought. While he was probably the kindest, most patient demon Daehyun had ever met, Yongguk was also the busiest. As a hundred and fifty-something year-old demon in function, he not only had to fulfill his duties as a soul collector but also had to manage younger collectors like Daehyun. Except the untrained newbies often made a lot of mistakes and, when he wasn’t busy taking souls and making deals, he was almost always running around trying to fix everyone else’s contracts. Which was how Daehyun had found him later in the night.
“Yongguk, do you have a minute?” he’d asked while the other barely looked at him, busy going over signed contracts, making sure the newbies had fulfilled all the requirements before signing. Demon contracts would write themselves once the deal signed, and they consisted of everything that had been said during the exchanges with the human. “I need to ask you someth-“
“Daehyun,” Yongguk had cut him immediately, still not looking up from the papers in his hands. “I have very little time and a lot to do so make it quick.”
“Do you know if it’s possible for a human to ask to collect someone else’s soul?” he asked. “I mean, someone who has nothing to do with the contract. This human insists someone told him it was possible but I’ve never heard of th-“
“Dammit,” Yongguk said, cutting him again. “Junhong forgot to recite almost half of the terms. These young demons, I swear… Daehyun, yes, it is possible to ask for another soul, it’s uncommon but if it meets the requirements…”
“And are there any special conditions?” Daehyun continued. “Any additional requirement for this?”
At the same time, Himchan, another experienced soul collector that both Daehyun and Yongguk had worked with in the past, walked in with a half a dozen contracts freshly signed by newbies.
“Most of these are wrong in some way,” Himchan said, handing all the papers to Yongguk. “These newbies manage to mess up even the simplest steps somehow.”
“Oh, god…” Yongguk groaned at the prospect of yet another day spent fixing these. “Daehyun, just sign the damn contract. You’re experienced enough, if it seems fair to you…”
Of course, it wasn’t fair. But most deals were unfair. They were selfish, and never took into consideration the consequences they could have on other humans. When someone asked for a job promotion, they took the place of someone else who’d worked long and hard to earn that job. When someone asked for money, they spent it selfishly, for their own gain and often to get even more money, not for one second thinking of how others probably needed it more than they did. But that was the way it went – if you only had ten years to live, why would you spend them on someone else anyway? For a human, ten years seemed like a lifetime but demons knew these ten years always went fast, much faster than the humans had expected and they had better make them count.
Even deals made for others weren’t that fair – after all, the recipients of the deal never agreed to have their loved one shorten their lives for them. Even if they disagreed, it wasn’t their call, their voices didn’t matter. Only the human who signed the deal could make the terms.
So, in demon language, ‘fair’ didn’t mean right or reasonable, it just meant that the deal met the requirements. And if Yongguk had agreed, then it met the requirements.
Daehyun found himself shaking the man’s hand two days later at midnight. Another day, another deal signed. He would come back ten years later, on May 15th, 2017 to collect the poor child’s soul and finish what he had started. By human standards it wasn’t fair, but for him, it was nothing but another job done.
Yoo Youngjae, he read on the contract. It seemed unusual to see two different names on the same contract but the paper had written itself as it always did. The deal was sealed. There was nothing more to do than come back in ten years.
Before he left, he made a quick detour by the living room. A child that couldn’t be older than eleven or twelve was busy watching cartoons on television. He seemed unbothered by the empty bottles of alcohol strewn all over the room. From the couch he was sitting on, the child couldn’t see the demon standing right behind him.
You deserve better, kid, Daehyun thought. See you in ten years.
It was unfair. Not demon contract unfair, but just plainly unfair. He hadn’t made a single mistake since his rookie days as a soul collecting demon – which meant roughly seventy-nine years of perfectly crafted deals, a whole human lifetime – and now he was being punished for the most ridiculous reason.
So, what if he’d collected a soul two days earlier than planned? Two days were nothing in a human life! Compared to the ten years of pure luxury this human had enjoyed, it made no difference. A mere formality. And yet, Yongguk wouldn’t hear him out.
“Two days is nothing to you,” he’d told him. “But for them it can mean a lot. Most humans spend the last days before the collecting saying goodbye to their loved ones.”
“This one was of the most selfish breed of humans you could imagine!” he’d argued back. “He didn’t care for anyone, it would have made no difference at all.”
“It doesn’t matter, Daehyun,” Yongguk had concluded. “It’s not our place to judge. The rules are the rules. If you break the terms established during the signing of the contract, then you must get the punishment that is fit for whatever mistake you made. Everyone works under the same rules, eighty-year-old demon or newbie alike.”
And that was how he’d found himself temporarily out of work. His punishment was three months without making any deal or collecting any soul. The souls he should have collected between the start and the end of his punishment – namely February 13 to May 13 2017 – would be transferred to other demons. In the meantime, he could keep all his other demon powers, except the ability to sign deals and collect souls. In other words: he was now a useless soul collecting demon.
And an extremely bored one, at that. It took him three days to get tired of Himchan nagging him because of all the extra work his mistake had given him. He’d kill to get work too – anything, even the boring deals. Except soul collecting demons weren’t allowed to kill humans outside of contracts.
So, to pass the time, Daehyun ended up doing what he usually did on his days off – explore the human world. He rarely stayed longer than a few hours at a time. Despite eighty-years working at their service (plus the short twenty years he’d lived as a human before that), he couldn’t understand the human world. Their customs changed from countries to countries – another concept difficult to grasp for someone who could just teleport wherever they wished on the globe in a matter of seconds – and some humans hated other humans for… dubious reasons. They created thousands of languages, but many of them chose to only speak one or two. They had strange rituals to choose which other humans was worthy of spending the rest of their lives with them.
Even if it had only been eighty years, Daehyun felt like his human life had never happened. He didn’t understand how he’d managed to survive in this everchanging world. Demons had set rules; and these rules could only be changed during demon summits, which only happened every two hundred years or so. The last one had taken place only eight years before Daehyun had turned into a demon so he’d never experienced what it was like to readapt to new regulations. Humans followed thousands of different rules – some they called laws, others just morals – and they rewrote them constantly. It was like everyone could decide which ones to follow, which made no sense to Daehyun.
The demon was always worried his confusion would show and he would get found out. Even so, nothing would happen – most humans didn’t believe in demons, and even those who did didn’t expect to casually bump into one on the street – but it felt safer to only spend a few hours at a time in the human world and go back safely to his own before he screwed up some more.
Demons didn’t age and most of them had kept a youthful appearance from their previous lives. Daehyun was no exception. He still looked the same as the twenty-year-old he’d been when he’d lost his life and signed his oath as a demon. To blend in, he’d go over to places twenty-something-year-old humans seemed to gravitate towards.
A week after his punishment had started, he’d been to a couple of bars, attended a concert, seen a few movies, petted a few dogs and eaten a lot of ice cream. While he missed his job and hanging out with other demons, he enjoyed discovering simple human pleasures.
He was surprised to find out how much humans liked parks. Curious as to what attracted them so much, he’d chosen to visit one near a university campus, believing he would blend just fine among students. Despite the cold February weather, a lot of young people with bags full of homework and warm coffees in their hands had chosen to spend some time outside, in this wide square of nature in the middle of a busy city. Some would sit down for a little bit, most walked around in an attempt to keep their bodies warm.
He was walking around as well, looking around with curiosity, when he felt a familiar pulling sensation in his chest. Every soul collecting demon had felt it countless times. It was an unequivocal sign that a soul to be collected was nearby. They could only feel the sensation when they passed by a soul that was theirs to collect. For the first nine and a half years of the contract, the sensation was nothing more than a faint buzzing feeling in their chest. However, once a human had only six months to live, the feeling would get stronger. If the demon went anywhere near the human, it felt as if they were physically pulled towards them. This facilitated soul collecting, as humans could change a lot in ten years and become unrecognizable to the demons.
It was rare, however, for a demon to randomly bump into a soul soon to be collected. Daehyun found it even odder that he’d met one at such a time, when his collecting scheduling was empty until May 15. Curious, he followed his instinct, walking around the park until the pulling grew stronger in his chest, telling him that the human was very close.
He turned around to see a man that looked roughly his age standing a few meters away from him. He was only a few centimeters shorter than him, yet his thin body made him seem a lot smaller. His short brown haired fell gracefully over his forehead as he tried to balance his phone and a plastic cup in his hands without spilling coffee over himself. It was clear that he was struggling between the bag that kept sliding off his shoulder, the phone that kept on buzzing and the half-consumed drink. Daehyun found it endearing to look at, especially when the pulling in his chest clearly indicated that he was the one.
In fact, he was his next one. Daehyun had enough experience to recognize the strength of the pulling sensation indicated only a few months to live. He was trying to recall what deal he had written on his schedule on May 15 when the human looked up. It was only when their eyes crossed that Daehyun realized he’d been staring.
“What are you looking at?” the human yelled, but it somehow didn’t sound aggressive.
“I… I was just…” Daehyun stuttered, taken off guard. He usually limited his interactions with humans to paying for drinks or ice creams.
To his surprise, the human walked closer to him.
“Are you a student here?” he asked.
“I…” Daehyun said, still searching for an excuse. “Not really.”
“So, what are you then?” the human asked before taking a sip of his coffee. “A pervert that roams around the campus to stare at people?”
“No, I just…” Daehyun continued stuttering helplessly.
The human laughed, a brief high-pitched sound that filled the air around them.
“Chill, I’m just joking,” he said. He gave him a quick once over, making Daehyun feel uncomfortable under his stare. “Aren’t you cold?”
Daehyun was only wearing a light jacket. Demons didn’t feel the cold as acutely as humans so he hadn’t considered that it might look odd given the weather. Now that the human had gotten closer, Daehyun realized he was much more covered in comparison. He was wearing a long black coat that engulfed most of his body as well as a big fluffy scarf. His dark irises were still fixated on the demon, who could now spot a mischievous spark in the man’s eyes.
By human standards, he was most likely considered handsome, Daehyun guessed. And by demon standards he was, without a doubt, above average.
Daehyun realized the man was still waiting for an answer and just shook his head, unsure of what explanation he could give for walking around in a light jacket mid-February.
“Lucky you,” the man added, taking another sip of his warm coffee. “Well, it’s not that I don’t enjoy your company, Mister ‘I walk around a campus that’s not even mine’, but I unfortunately have classes to attend. See you around maybe.”
And just like that, his next soul to be collected walked out towards the tall buildings that neared the park, continuing to live his life, unaware that he only had three months left to live.
Daehyun was intrigued. He’d checked his schedule to find the identity of the human – Yoo Youngjae, the kid from the one special contract he’d signed ten years ago – and, for a reason he could not explain, he wanted to know more. While he could hardly judge a book by his cover, it seemed like the boy was already doing better than his parents.
He didn’t know if it was misplaced curiosity – he would take away the young man’s soul in a few months only after all – or if it was because it had been his first proper social interaction with a human outside of his job but Daehyun was drawn to the man. There were no rules against befriending humans, it just wasn’t something demons did. They tended to stick to visiting the human world for work and avoided other interactions.
Still, after a few days of trying to move on, Daehyun found himself walking around the same park again. Soon it became a new routine. He’d come here hoping to feel the same pull in his chest as he did the first time and would leave disappointed when it wouldn’t happen. It made sense; the campus looked big, there were no reasons for the boy to walk by the same park again. He probably had better things to do.
It was only two weeks after he’d first bumped into the man that he felt it rise again in his chest. He was sitting on a bench, thinking of giving up on his ridiculous obsession when the sensation came back in full force. He didn’t have to look for long as it was the man who’d stopped in front of him this time.
“You again!” he said. “I thought you weren’t a student here.”
March had rolled around, and the weather was slowly starting to get warmer. The young man was still wearing his long coat but it was open this time, revealing a grey sweater over a black pair of jeans. He was once again sipping on a cup of coffee.
“I don’t really have anything to do,” Daehyun confessed shyly.
“So, you walk around parks all day?” the human replied. “A blessed life.”
The young man walked over to the demon and sat down next to him without asking for permission.
“Do you have a job, at least?” he asked.
“Um… Sort of?” Daehyun replied. There was no way he could explain what he did to a human, especially not one he would kill in a few short months.
“Sort of?” continued the other man. “I hope you’re not doing anything illegal. I don’t want to be seen around a criminal. I’m here to have a career.”
Daehyun could tell he was joking and yet he still felt the urge to defend himself.
“It’s not illegal,” he replied. “We have strict rules to follow.”
“Good to know,” Youngjae said before going back to sipping his coffee.
“I’m just out of work at the moment,” Daehyun continued for some reason. “I broke one of the rules and… yeah, I was asked to stop working for a while. Now I’m just… bored.”
“What kind of dream company tells you to stop working as a punishm-“ Youngjae started before stopping himself and suddenly turning towards the demon, eyes wide. “Wait, you broke a rule? So, you’re a bit of a criminal after all.”
“I’m not-“ Daehyun started only to be cut off immediately.
“That’s fine,” Youngjae said, and the demon could see that same mischievous spark he’d spotted the first time they met reappear in the man’s eyes. “I love a bit of a dangerous man.”
Daehyun could tell he was messing with him, and if it had been Himchan or Junhong, he would’ve found something smart to retort back. But sitting next to Youngjae, he was just… speechless.
“What’s your name, bad boy?” Youngjae spoke again after a minute.
Daehyun felt his cheeks get warmer at the nickname. Could demons blush? He wasn’t sure.
“Daehyun,” he replied.
“Daehyun…” Youngjae said pensively. “I expected something crazier from someone who roams around parks but it’ll do. Mine’s Youngjae, in case you were wondering.”
I know, he thought but kept it to himself.
Soon, meeting in between Youngjae’s classes became a habit. Daehyun knew the human’s schedule better than his own. Youngjae had told him he worked at the coffee shop near the campus, and would often bring free coffee for him. Daehyun had never been much of a coffee person before but he liked the gesture.
At first, Daehyun rationalized his fascination by the deep connection between them, as a demon and soul to be collected. That pull in the chest when they walked near a soul that would soon be theirs – it was strangely addictive to demons. They’d feel it so often that it would just become an indispensable part of their lives. And being deprived of it for a while made Daehyun crave it all the more, which was why sitting next to Youngjae a few days a week felt so soothing.
But soon he realized he also enjoyed the human’s company. Youngjae was funny and easy-going. He was quick-witted too, always finding a way to tease Daehyun. And most of all, he respected his boundaries. Youngjae would sense which topics the demon found uncomfortable and he wouldn’t push him, even when he was visibly curious to know more. He’d always accept Daehyun’s strange answers to simple questions without questioning, however odd they must have seemed from a human perspective.
One time Youngjae’s shift had changed last minute and he couldn’t meet Daehyun at their usual bench in the park.
“This would be easier if you had a phone like everyone else,” he nagged him the next day after apologizing.
“I don’t need one,” Daehyun replied.
“How do you survive in the 21st century?” Youngjae said. “What happens if your boss needs to reach you? If your shift changes or whatever?”
“My… shifts never change,” Daehyun replied seriously, unsure of how much he could say. “They’re planned years in advance.”
Youngjae stared at him in disbelief for almost a minute, but he didn’t push the subject any further, knowing his new friend preferred to avoid any discussions about his mysterious job.
From time to time, Youngjae would come with a pile of papers in his hands.
“Homework,” he’d say with a sorry smile.
The two boys would then spend most of their time sitting together in silence, Youngjae studying assiduously while Daehyun sipped on the cup of coffee he’d been offered. Sometimes he would help the student revise for an exam but he was mostly useless, as the last time he’d been in any sort of academic context was over eighty years ago and he was certain they taught kids different things back then.
“You don’t have to come if you’re too busy,” the demon told him once. “We can meet another day, it’s fine.”
“Don’t worry,” he answered without looking up, his eyes focused on his lesson. “I like the company.”
Youngjae had explained he didn’t have a lot of friends on campus, except for his roommate Jongup. He’d gone from foster home to foster home during most of his teenage years after his parents had kicked him out and it wasn’t easy to build lasting relationships when you moved around so much. Daehyun had still found it hard to believe since Youngjae had instantly appeared to him as an easily approachable person. If the human still wanted to hang out with Daehyun despite knowing very little about him, he had to be somewhat social with regular humans who didn’t dodge half of his questions.
Yet, it seemed all the time he didn’t spend on working at the coffee shop, being in class or sleeping was spent on Daehyun. Soon the demon found himself become more comfortable around him. While the idea of having a human friend was still odd to him, he couldn’t deny spending time with Youngjae was as easy as being around Himchan and Junhong, fellow demons he had known for years.
By the end of March, they’d opted to meeting in the coffee shop where Youngjae worked instead. The human’s shifts kept changing, and as spring rolled around, more students started going to the park, which made finding a free bench more difficult.
Daehyun would just sit patiently while the other boy served customers. The human would come meet him when the coffee shop was mostly empty and they would chat around as they did back on the bench.
“You’re so damn loud,” Youngjae would say sometimes after they both laughed at one of his jokes. “You’ll scare away the customers.”
“You’re one to talk,” Daehyun replied, throwing him a defying look.
“I preferred you when you were all shy and cute,” Youngjae teased him before childishly sticking out his tongue.
Sometimes Youngjae’s shifts were long and busy, customers after customers coming in, not leaving one moment for the boy to entertain his friend. Daehyun had to wait for the end of his shift, which on some days would go past midnight. He’d then walk Youngjae home. The demon wasn’t used to having to walk everywhere, teleportation being his usual means of transport. Walking was slow, especially on days where Youngjae was tired and it would take almost twenty minutes to reach his dorm. Yet Daehyun also found it calming, a stroll around the mostly silent university campus, under the cloudy night sky.
One night, after a very long and exhausting shift, Youngjae was moodily strolling behind Daehyun. He’d had to deal with more annoying customers than usual and, since his coworker had been sick for a few days, he’d done it all on his own. Daehyun had tried to be comforting in some way but the human had been unusually quiet the whole way home.
“I have a question,” Youngjae finally spoke as they’d almost reached his dorm. “And you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, of course.”
“Ask away,” Daehyun said.
“You’re always nagging me about how it’s not safe to go home alone in the dark blah blah blah,” Youngjae continued while searching his pockets for his front door key. “But once I get home, where do you go? In the middle of the night, like this. Do you… get home?”
Daehyun shifted around from one foot to the other, unsure of how to answer his friend. The truth was he wanted to tell him everything but he couldn’t. Youngjae would just think he’s a madman and their friendship would be over in seconds.
“Yes, I just go home,” he replied hesitantly and he knew the human could sense the uneasiness in his voice.
“But… how? Do you live close to here?” he kept asking anyway. “I mean you must, to be able to come here every single day and come home in the middle of the night.”
“I… don’t actually,” Daehyun simply said. “I live quite far away.”
Youngjae didn’t speak again, looking at his friend expectantly instead.
“I can’t tell you where I live Youngjae,” the demon said again after a minute. “I’m sorry.”
And he really was. It was unfair that he knew so much about Youngjae but he couldn’t share even the simplest parts of his life to his new friend.
“It’s alright,” Youngjae said, and while he looked a lit bit disappointed, Daehyun also spotted a quick but unmistakable fondness in his eyes when he said goodnight to the demon before closing the door.
The day that followed was just as infernal for Youngjae. Customers after customers came in, an unusually long line spreading in front of the counter, while others would come to him to complain about not having enough milk or sugar every ten minutes.
When the coffee shop closed around midnight, Daehyun did his best to help Youngjae clean, forcing the other boy to sit down for a minute before they left. The entire way home, the human walked far behind Daehyun, the demon turning around every minute or so to let him catch up a little.
It was right as he turned around for the fifth time that he saw the human, who looked frankly exhausted, strip over one of the steps that lead to his dorm. Without thinking, he rushed towards him, safely catching the man in his arms before his head hit the hard floor.
“Are you okay?” he asked, panicked. Humans were fragile, Yongguk had always told him, they broke easily.
It was only when he saw the human looking at him back with wide eyes, rendered speechless, that he realized he’d made a mistake. On the spur of the moment, he’d teleported to where the boy was falling. He was quite ahead already when Youngjae had tripped and there was no way a human could have made such a leap.
“What the fuck,” Youngjae said, still in Daehyun’s arms. “How did you do that?”
Daehyun couldn’t meet Youngjae’s eyes. He scanned his brain for an explanation that would sound rational to humans but he couldn’t find one.
“I… I just…” he stuttered, at a complete loss for words.
“You teleported from here to there,” the human continued. “I saw it. That’s…”
Daehyun braced himself for the judgment that would surely come. Youngjae, as always, surprised him beyond belief.
“…awesome!” Youngjae said excitedly.
He pushed himself off Daehyun’s arms and stood up. When he looked back at Daehyun, he was almost bouncing on his feet, looking as excited as a child on Christmas Day.
“You can teleport?” the human continued. “That’s amazing! You should’ve told me that, we would’ve saved so much time.”
“I can’t bring someone else with me,” Daehyun replied, unsure of whether he could say this or not but he couldn’t exactly back down now. “I can only teleport myself.”
“Oh,” Youngjae said sadly. “That’s a bummer. Still, it’s so cool! Do you have other powers?”
“Um… I guess? A few?”
They walked a few more meters before stopping in front of Youngjae’s door.
“Is that your secret?” Youngjae said. “Are you an uncover superhero?”
“No, Youngjae,” Daehyun laughed, amused by his friend’s excitement. “I’m not a superhero.”
“Tell me one thing then,” Youngjae asked again before going inside. He looked more serious this time. “Are your powers related to your secret job?”
“Yes,” Daehyun replied. “They are.”
“Only three weeks left and you’re free,” Himchan told him one morning while he was preparing to go down to the human world.
“What?” Daehyun replied, only half interested in what his friend had to say.
“Your punishment. It’s over in three weeks,” Himchan said before leaving.
Daehyun felt like the sky had fallen over his head – except the sky couldn’t fall, this was the kind of nonsense humans would believe. He had been so caught up in his new friendship that he’d completely forgotten he’d have to take Youngjae’s soul in less than a month. Effectively ending his friend’s life for good.
He didn’t meet his human friend this day. Neither the day after, or the week that followed. He needed to get his distance away from the human. This was the only solution. The only way to do his job properly. They’d only met a month and a half ago anyway, he told himself. And what kind of demon had human friends? He’d get over it eventually.
Except he didn’t. He hadn’t stepped a foot in the human world in days, and yet, the pulling in his chest hadn’t left him at all, the human boy constantly on his mind. The sensation wasn’t exactly the same as when he was standing next to a soul – it was less of a pull and more a warmth that spread through his chest every time he thought of Youngjae. It was torture, not being able to get him off his mind when he knew the outcome would be the same.
He only had a week left when he couldn’t take it anymore and confessed everything to Himchan, bursting into tears in his friend’s arms. He told him about how he met Youngjae, how his contract was unfair but it had been sealed anyway, how they’d spent almost every single day together for weeks, how the pulling never left him even when he took his distance.
“The pulling you’re describing,” Himchan told him. “That’s not it. That’s not because he’s one of your souls. You can only feel that when you’re next to them and it’s certainly not supposed to be warm.”
“What is it, then?” Daehyun said in between two sobs.
“That’s love, you idiot,” Himchan said. “You’re in love with your human.”
Himchan was sympathetic, he really was. But as an older demon, he also had to remind him of his duties. A contract could not be broken under any circumstances. It was a grave offense for a demon to voluntarily omit to collect a soul, and not only would he receive a harsher punishment but the soul would be collected anyway by another demon. He had no way out.
Twenty-four hours before the end of the deal, Daehyun was miserable. Himchan and Junhong had tried their best to make him feel better but all he could think about was the deal, and how he would be responsible for his friend’s death. He felt awful. Collecting souls was one thing when humans had brought it upon themselves. They asked for it when they summoned a demon, knowing full well what the outcome would be. But this time Youngjae had no idea about the deal, he’d gotten nothing out of it and yet Daehyun still had to take his life.
“Think of it this way,” Himchan told him, trying to sound reassuring. “He must have done something awful in the past to end up on a third-party contract. He wasn’t always a good human anyway.”
“What do you mean, something awful?” Daehyun retorted. “He was a kid! His parents were the awful ones, they sold their son’s soul away!”
“Third-part contracts only work if the other soul involved has seriously wronged the signer of the contract,” Himchan explained. “By seriously, we’re talking rape, attempted murder, kidnapping… not ‘I stole twenty bucks from you once’. Otherwise they can’t be valid.”
“But… there’s no way,” Daehyun said. “When I signed the contract, it had the child’s name on it, I’m certain of it.”
The two demons sneaked into Yongguk’s office to find Yoo Youngjae’s contract. Daehyun didn’t have much hope – he remembered seeing the contract in his hands that day, which had been validated years ago. Even if it was wrong, nothing could be done less than a day away from the collecting.
“Found it!” Himchan screamed after twenty minutes.
The older demon handed the contract over to Daehyun with a mysterious smile.
Daehyun couldn’t believe his own eyes. It was exactly the same piece of paper he’d signed ten years ago and yet Youngjae’s name had vanished off it, replaced instead by his father’s name.
“But… How…” he tried to say.
“Yongguk,” Himchan said matter-of-factly. “He still checks over our contracts sometimes, you know? He probably thought you made a mistake and fixed it for you before it was too late.”
After weeks of pure agony, Daehyun was over the moon. Youngjae would live. His human would live!
“You still have a soul to collect,” Himchan reminded him.
Gladly, he thought.
After swiftly taking care of the father, the demon didn’t waste any time and teleported himself to the coffee shop. He sighed in relief when he saw Youngjae right in front of him in one piece, the human finishing to clean the now closed shop by himself. Daehyun felt unbelievably nervous. It almost seemed like a miracle, to see Youngjae standing here alive and well past midnight. But he had vanished weeks ago with no explanation and he wasn’t sure the human would be as pleased to see him.
Youngjae still had his back turned to him, unaware of the other’s presence, when he finally found the courage to speak up.
“Youngjae,” he said.
The human jumped, looking horrified until he realized who was standing behind him. And sure enough, once as soon as he recognized the demon, the soft features Daehyun had missed so much went from scared out of his mind to furious in a second.
“You,” he said in a low tone he’d never heard him use before. “You almost gave me a heart attack! You disappear for weeks with no warnings and that’s how you reappear, in the middle of the freaking night after I just closed the coffee shop?! How dare you be so inconsidera-“
He was cut off by the demon who, after teleporting right in front of him, planted his lips over the human’s. It was spontaneous, something he knew he’d regret soon after but he was too excited to listen to any more of Youngjae’s scolding. At least he would’ve regretted it, if Youngjae hadn’t kissed him back immediately. The human unsurprisingly tasted like coffee but still he was somehow the sweetest kiss Daehyun had ever experienced.
“You’re alive,” he said once they broke apart, cupping the human’s cheeks in his hands.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Youngjae blinked a few times, gathering his senses. “Is that your big mystery? Are you a secret agent? Were you protecting me from the mafia this whole time?”
Daehyun laughed loudly, unable to contain his joy.
“No, Youngjae, I’m not a secret agent,” he said. “I’m a demon.”
He felt like a huge weight was lifted off his chest. His friend, however, had never looked more confused.
“A fucking what?”
It took a lot of explanation for Youngjae to accept the truth. And it was understandable; while the human seemed inclined to believe just about anything, Daehyun hardly matched the myths humans had created around demons over centuries. Learning about the deal and the circumstances in which it first took place was also quite a shock for the human. He’d given up on his family a long time ago, he knew his parents were rotten to the core but murderers? Even he had thought they wouldn’t have stooped that low.
What surprised Daehyun the most was the human’s ability to easily adapt to any situation. Youngjae questioned everything but, once he had his answers, he could accept anything, no matter how impossible it would sound to any other rational human being. It had already struck him when the boy had just received the news that he had the ability to teleport with more excitement than fear, as if it didn’t completely defy every human belief.
“You’re expanding my world view,” Youngjae would say every time Daehyun questioned him on it.
As for their relationship, well… Daehyun had to promise he would never vanish like that again. Not that he ever wanted to. Youngjae kept nagging him to buy himself a phone until the demon explained him it would be obsolete once he’d go back to the human world.
It was now Youngjae’s turn to wait for the demon to finish his own work before he could visit him. He’d still learned the human’s schedule by heart so it was easy to just teleport to him once he was done sealing a deal or collecting a soul. It was odd, having a human boyfriend that needed to be fed every four hours or so, got tired after long walks and could hurt himself at any moment. Although he imagined it wasn’t as odd as having a demon boyfriend who’d teleport himself into the boy’s room almost every night, once he was done collecting another soul.
They were perks though. Although Youngjae slept twice as much as the usual demon, he looked ironically angelic when he did so and Daehyun would never get tired of that sight. Even though the demon didn’t need to eat, the human would always insist on having him try everything he cooked – “I just need to know if it’s any good!” – and Daehyun discovered dishes he’d never even heard of before.
Humans, he’d decided, were fascinating. They were complicated, all had their own personal rules that they’d choose to follow – they called those ‘morals’ or ‘principles’ – and it was hard to follow. But what impressed him the most was how different they all were. Sure, demons came in a variety of personalities too – but, ultimately, they all had the same occupation and purpose. Until then, Daehyun had only known humans through his job, and the ones who set deals always wanted the same thing in the end: to cheat their way through life. But humans were truly fascinating, he found out, because they chose their own purpose.
Youngjae was the most fascinating one of all. He was easily excitable, and he’d listen to any of Daehyun’s stories with untamed curiosity, no matter how gloomy some of them would get. He was eager to meet Daehyun’s other demon friends someday – “I’m not sure you and Himchan in the same room would turn out well for me” – and he always wanted to know more, to learn more. His insatiable need for new discoveries turned him into an excited five-year-old, making Daehyun melt in the process. The demon loved to surprise him with new tricks he hadn’t shown him yet, like his ability to lift a car over his head with one hand. He’d use his demon powers at the most unexpected moments just to see the bright smile that would bloom on his boyfriend’s features.
Despite his lack of special powers, Youngjae wasn’t short of surprises either. In fact, he was even better at catching Daehyun off guard. It had been almost a year since they’d first met. The boys had somehow managed to create a routine out of their unconventional relationship: Daehyun would come by every evening once the collecting was over and, on days where Youngjae could stay up late, they’d find different ways to enjoy each other’s company. Watching films and going for midnight walks were among their favorite activities. They had other, more intimate ways to enjoy each other’s company but they had to wait until Youngjae’s roommate Jongup was out.
On that Friday night, they’d opted for a romantic comedy and pizza. Youngjae would patiently explain all the cultural references the demon couldn’t grasp, pausing the film when necessary. It was almost 2 am when the credits rolled in and Daehyun could tell Youngjae was starting to become sleepy next to him. He was stood up and started to clean the leftovers of their cozy evening, ready to tuck his human into bed when the boy spoke up behind him.
“Move in with me,” Youngjae said, his voice filled with sleep.
Daehyun froze on the way to the sink at the unexpected request, a half empty glass in his hands.
“I mean…” Youngjae spoke again when he sensed no reaction would come off his boyfriend. “I know you have to go back to the demon world frequently anyway, for work and stuff but… I’m graduating in a few short months, and I’ll have to move out of the dorm and I’ll hopefully have a nice flat all to myself soon. And I’m not saying you have to be there all the time but… wouldn’t it be nice if that flat was your home too?”
Daehyun didn’t know what to respond. It wasn’t something he’d ever considered before.
“I just… want to see you more, I guess,” Youngjae continued. “And I assume humans can’t go into the demon world…”
“Not unless they’re dispossessed of their souls, no.”
“Charming,” the human snorted. “So, it seems like the best option… maybe…”
But the demon remained speechless in front of him, and Youngjae’s courage visibly deflated.
“You know what, never mind,” the human spoke again after a minute. “It was a stupid idea, and I understand if it’s inconvenient for y-“
“Yes,” Daehyun replied belatedly. “I’d love to live with you.”
It was Youngjae’s turn to freeze, before a wide smile spread on his face. In the blink of an eye, the human threw himself over the demon in excitement. A human being would have surely fallen over, releasing the glass in his hand in the process, but thankfully any average demon could easily handle sixty-something kilograms of happiness being thrown at them while maintaining their balance.
“I love you,” Youngjae said, his sleepy eyes filled with fondness.
“I love you too.”