Hyukjae, Donghae fic
title: tilting downward
Hyukjae, Donghae
humor, weirdness
... I have nothing to say about this |:
It was late afternoon on the day before Hyukjae's first day of university and he was feeling very good about his life. Everything had gone right-- from the moment he had woken up, to finishing unpacking the last of his things and settling in to his dorm, and even to finishing the books he was supposed to have read before class the next day. In a rare moment of perfect cosmic alignment, his life was actually rather okay.
Then it started to rain and as Hyukjae opened the door to the bathroom the lights flickered and went out. He reached over to the wall to hit the light switch, though he didn't expect any results, but his hand only hit empty air. Gradually, light returned to the room and he could see around him, except what he saw wasn't what he had expected.
There were flames everywhere and black rocks and pillars of fire and over to the side he thought he might have seen lava, though he couldn't be sure and he was too paralyzed by shock to really reflect on it. Hyukjae didn't think he was in his dorm anymore.
Carefully, he reached behind him for the doorknob and opened it. Hyukjae took a step back and through the doorway and turned around. However, on the other side of the door was more of the same, except now the place he was in was even hotter. He could hear screams coming from somewhere off in the distance and the faint sound of a whip cracking and Hyukjae's eyes widened as he ran back through the door and slammed it shut behind him.
"Oh, good, I found you. You are Lee Hyukjae, right?"
Hyukjae looked around as a young man came up in front of him, dark eyes with no white that Hyukjae could see, and small red horns poking up through the front of his hair. "Hello? Lee Hyukjae?"
Slowly, Hyukjae raised his hand up, pointing at the demon in front of him. "Ah!" he shrieked.
The demon blinked in bewilderment. "Are you not Lee Hyukjae?" he held up a clipboard and flipped a few pages over. "The photo we have on file is a little out-dated, so I really need you to confirm your name for me."
"Ah!" Hyukjae repeated.
"Please stop doing that," said the demon. "It's rude."
Hyukjae lowered his hand, arm shaking slightly.
"Your name, please," the demon demanded.
Hyukjae whimpered. "Lee Hyukjae."
"Okay!" said the demon happily. He snapped his fingers and the clipboard went up in flames and then disappeared. "Well, Lee Hyukjae, there was a slight mixup in some paperwork and you are not supposed to be here. I mean, you're not even dead! Do you know how impossible this situation is? Hundreds of papers had to have been misfiled, not to mention countless other mistakes that could only have happened in the most ridiculous of circumstances. Actually, we caught the problem an hour ago and everything would have been sorted out before you would have gotten here, but there were some communication issues. You know how it goes."
"I'm in Hell!" Hyukjae cried.
"Yes," the demon said gravely. "We all are sometimes. But," he added, brightening up, "We'll just get this situation fixed and you'll be back home before you know it."
"So you can send me back?" Hyukjae asked, hopeful.
"Er," said the demon. "No. It's a lot easier to get people into Hell than it is to get them out. We'll have to go see the guy in charge."
It suddenly felt as if all of the air had been sucked out of Hyukjae's lungs. "Guy in charge?"
"Yeah, he can send you back easily. I think. I don't know for sure since, as I said, this kind of thing never happens. But he says he's all-powerful so he probably can. Don't worry about it." The demon smiled, sharp, pointed teeth showing. "My name is Donghae, by the way."
"Guy in charge?" Hyukjae repeated, eyes widening.
"You're very weird," said Donghae. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at Hyukjae as if he were a fascinating specimen, the likes of which he'd never seen before.
Hyukjae took a deep, shuddering breath and tried not to cry.
Donghae grabbed hold of his hand and stepped forward. Then he stopped, pivoted on his heel and turned left. The he stopped again and looking around. "I'm not really sure where we're going," he said. "One wrong turn and we'll end up on level five and these are new shoes." Donghae lifted his foot and wiggles it around a little. "Genuine mad cow leather. Very expensive."
Hyukjae took another deep breath and suppressed the urge to curl up in a fetal position.
"Get outta my way," said a small, angry voice. Hyukjae glanced down to see a rather short, round demon covered in red scales and dripping with some kind of slime. Behind him were a dozen or so more, all nearly identical. "Move," another one said.
"Hey," Donghae grinned. "Do you know how to get to the main offices? We need to speak with the guy in charge."
The first demon tapped his hoof against the black brick that paved the road, causing sparks to fly up around him. "Yeah, just follow this down and it'll lead you right to the city."
"Thanks," said Donghae, moving out of the way and pulling Hyukjae behind him, allowing the demons to pass by. A few of them were pushing wheelbarrows full of the same slime that covered all of them. Hyukjae's eyes began to water at the stench that surrounded them.
Donghae whistled happily to himself as they walked down the road. Hyukjae could only stare at their clasped hands, wondering if Donghae's skin was supposed to burn him or if demons were usually so friendly or, more importantly, if he was perhaps having some kind of nervous breakdown. He'd never experienced one before, but he couldn't help but to think that such a thing would easily explain his current situation. "I think I might be having a nervous breakdown," he said aloud.
"No," Donghae answered. "You're just in Hell."
"Oh," Hyukjae mumbled. He suddenly felt very sad- partly because he really was in Hell and partly because he didn't think he was supposed to be wishing that his mind had snapped and everything was only a part of his delusions.
"Cheer up," said Donghae. "It could be worse!" Hyukjae didn't want to know how.
After they had walked a short time longer, a loud yell sounded out somewhere nearby and echoed off the walls of stone around them. Hyukjae very nearly wet himself. Instead he squeezed Donghae's hand and pressed up against his side, hoping that Donghae would shield him from anything terrifying or potentially hungry for his flesh.
"Damn it all!" A large, imposing demon stormed out onto the road in front of them, waving a severed head around by its hair. The head wailed and moaned and its eyes were rolled up into its skull. "Rot in purgatory, you bastards." He threw the head into the flames of the pit below, hard enough for Hyukjae to hear the wet crunch as it hit the bottom.
"Kangin?" Donghae said, walking forward. Hyukjae had no choice but to follow, too afraid to let go.
Kangin smiled when he saw Donghae, all of his pointed, vicious looking teeth in full view. "Donghae!"
"Is something wrong?" asked Donghae.
Kangin scowled and the air around him became thicker and heavier, the shadows longer and darker. Hyukjae felt dizzy with fear. "They cut the funding for my department," Kangin growled. "Hell cut the funding for torture. The harpies are threatening to go on strike."
"There's something wrong with that," said Donghae.
"Hell has funding?" Hyukjae questioned. Kangin turned to him and all of his willpower was necessary to keep from squeaking or running screaming in the opposite direction. He felt very proud of himself that he only shuddered and moved partially behind Donghae.
"We're going to see the guy in charge; why don't you come with us?" asked Donghae. "Maybe you can get him to change his mind. Torture is very important around here. Everyone knows that."
Immediately, the atmosphere around Kangin changed and he was smiling again and agreed to join them on their way to see the guy who ran Hell.
And so they started off down the road again, except that now there were three. Hyukjae held onto Donghae with a vice-like grip, using both of his hands just to make sure they didn't get separated at any time. Kangin kept a slight distance behind them, which Hyukjae though might have been because it was somehow funny to the demon that every sound made Hyukjae jump and that having Kangin at his back only increased his terror. They passed by walls of flames and a river of boiling blood and sometimes the screaming would get so loud that Hyukjae had to make sure it wasn't actually coming from himself.
Not too long after they had run into Kangin, they came upon another demon sitting on a charred rock, stirring a puddle of blood with a human bone, looking forlorn. Donghae paused mid-step, nearly causing Kangin to collide with Hyukjae's back.
"What are you--" Kangin started angrily.
"Quiet," Donghae whispered, none too quietly, interrupting Kangin. "It's Sungmin."
Sungmin looked up a them and sighed despondently. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said. Hyukjae had never seen a cuter demon in his life and never one that sounded so tragic. Though he had to admit his knowledge of demons was rather limited and he really very much preferred it that way.
Kangin let out a soft breath and Hyukjae felt Donghae relax somewhat. "What is it?" he asked.
"Sungmin is one of the scariest, most terrifying demons in Hell," Donghae answered.
"He makes the guys that work for me look like angels," added Kangin, practically spitting at the word 'angel'.
Sungmin tossed the bone to the ground and stood up. "Not that any of that matters," he said. "With a face like this, no one is afraid of me. Especially not the new kids. How am I supposed to reign terror among the damned when I look so cute? It takes me ages to get the new recruits to fear me properly."
"That's so sad," said Donghae, dragging Hyukjae over to Sungmin so he could pat him on the back.
"If only I had big, black wings, some bigger horns, pointier teeth," said Sungmin.
Kangin snorted. "No one has wings anymore."
Sungmin frowned and Kangin shut his mouth, teeth clicking together.
"We're going to the city to talk to the guy in charge, why don't you come with us?" Donghae suggested.
"Maybe he can make me look more intimidating!" exclaimed Sungmin.
"Yeah!" Donghae pumped his fist in the air, Kangin rubbed at his temples, and Hyukjae hoped none of them liked the taste of human.
As they continued down the road, Sungmin and Kangin started up a discussion on the best methods of torture while Donghae added his own opinions on the subject every few minutes. This lasted for so long that Hyukjae was nearing the edge of a panic attack and his breathing was so deep and frequent that there were definite white spots around the edges of his vision. Donghae appeared oblivious, but Sungmin must had figured him out because the conversation took a sudden turn to mental torture and scaring someone until they wished for death using only words. Kangin joined in by describing his bloodiest tortures in more detail than could have possibly been needed.
Hyukjae squeezed Donghae's hand so hard that he was afraid he was going to hurt him, though Donghae didn't seem to mind.
They stopped talking as their small group approached a lone figure on the road ahead of them. The demon walked with an air of purpose, his mouth was set in a determined line, and his hands were clenched at his sides.
"Hello," said Donghae.
The demon nodded his acknowledgment, but didn't say a word, and continued to stare forward as he walked.
"We're going to see the guy in charge," Donghae continued. "Is that where you're going, too?"
The demon nodded again.
"My name is Donghae," added Donghae.
"Hankyung," said the demon. "I work in advertising down here."
"So why do you need to see the guy in charge?" asked Kangin.
Hankyung stopped walking and turned to face them. "For the past decade I've been getting these," he lowered his voice, "pictures. They're all very graphic. I get calls late at night that say things like 'What are you wearing? Take it off' and sometimes the flames in my office turn into scenes of me and someone else doing...things. I can't work under these conditions!"
Hyukjae was thoroughly confused at the behavior he'd seen in Hell. Doubly so when Donghae wrapped his free arm around Hankyung and told him gently that everything was going to be all right.
Hankyung joined there group and finally they came to the city. Hyukjae had to pause to look at it, standing before the giant gates inlaid with the skulls of humans and other creatures he didn't recognize and was just as happy to never see alive. Their group moved closer to the gates and a window slid open. "What do you want?" a small demon yelled down to them. It looked similar to the ones Hyukjae had seen before, except instead of being covered in slime, it wore many pieces of jewelry made of human teeth.
"We're here to see the guy in charge. Open the gates!" Kangin yelled back.
"No!" snapped the demon. "Go away."
"Please?" asked Donghae.
The demon looked at Donghae and appeared to consider his request carefully. "Okay," he said, and opened the gates. Hyukjae didn't think he understood what had just taken place.
The city itself was dark and foreboding and the stones it was carved from all glowed with a green light. Hyukjae straightened his back and gathered up his courage, only to deflate almost instantly as the sound of low, pained moans hit his ears. They made their way to the castle, beyond the main city, and were escorted inside by a hooded figure who seemed to float just above the ground. He lead them to a large hall filled with thick black smoke and told them all to wait there for the guy in charge to arrive.
When the door shut behind them, the smoke grew thicker and the room turned darker and a voice boomed out from every corner. "What brings you here?"
Hyukjae gasped, startled, then began to cough as smoke filled his lungs. His eyes watered as he choked and tried to breathe, only to inhale more smoke until finally it dissipated and the room was clear. He stopped coughing soon after and Donghae rubbed his back comfortingly.
"Who is the idiot who did that?" asked a man, coming out from behind a small enclosure.
"He did it," said Kangin, pointing to Hyukjae.
"What kind of demon are you?" asked the man. "Can't even breathe in a little smoke!"
"He's not a demon," said Donghae. "He's human."
"Then what is he doing here? Send him to his appropriate level and leave me alone." The man sat down on a large throne and swung his legs up over the side.
"He's not dead either," said Donghae. "There was a slight mixup with some paperwork."
The man raised a delicate eyebrow, "And what about the rest of you?"
"You cut my funding, Heechul," growled Kangin. "Give it back."
"I want to look scarier," said Sungmin.
"Stop sending me pictures of you!" demanded Hankyung.
Heechul folded his arms. "No," he said. "To all of it. Kangin, you're just going to have to live with the budget cuts. Sungmin, I'm not changing the way you look because it confuses the guys upstairs. I like that. Just think of your looks as an asset. No one will suspect your true nature and you can use that to your advantage." He waved his had dismissively. "And definitely no to you, Hankyung. Stop asking for that, you'll never get it. And you," he stared Hyukjae right in the eye and Hyukjae felt a cold shiver run down his spine. "You're mine now." Heechul tilted his head back and laughed and laughed and--
Hyukjae's eyes snapped open and he woke up in his own bed as the sound of his alarm clock resounded through the room. He blinked his eyes sleepily and hit the off button on the alarm, noticing too late that he only had ten minutes to get out of bed and dressed and to his first class before he was late.
He ran all the way to his class only to come to a screeching halt right at the doorway. "Ah!" he yelled, pointing into the classroom. The room went silent as everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him.
At the front of the room, behind the large desk, sat Hankyung, paused in trying to keep Heechul, who wore a nametag that said 'Teacher's Assistant', from getting too familiar with him in the middle of a classroom. Kangin had stopped tugging on the small ponytail of the boy who sat next to him, and Sungmin, in the desk in front of them, had stopped batting his eyelashes as a female student and attempting to convince her to do all of his homework for the year. "Ah!" Hyukjae said again, an edge of hysteria in his voice.
"Are you okay?" asked Donghae, coming up behind him.
"Donghae!" Hyukjae squeaked.
"Oh," said Donghae. "You know my name! That's great! I'll guess yours."
"Lee Hyukjae," Hyukjae said quickly.
"I was going to guess that. Really." Donghae grinned, and Hyukjae noted that his teeth were normal human teeth, and not those belonging to a demon. "So, is there a reason you were screaming, or is that just something you like to do?"
"I..." Hyukjae trailed off, feeling silly. "No, it's nothing. I'm just a little nervous."
"Okay," said Donghae, taking hold of his hand. "Come on, we can sit together."
Hyukjae smiled and followed Donghae into the classroom. As he sat down and began to unpack his things, he failed to notice the slow, knowing smirk that graced Donghae's lips.
Hyukjae, Donghae
humor, weirdness
... I have nothing to say about this |:
It was late afternoon on the day before Hyukjae's first day of university and he was feeling very good about his life. Everything had gone right-- from the moment he had woken up, to finishing unpacking the last of his things and settling in to his dorm, and even to finishing the books he was supposed to have read before class the next day. In a rare moment of perfect cosmic alignment, his life was actually rather okay.
Then it started to rain and as Hyukjae opened the door to the bathroom the lights flickered and went out. He reached over to the wall to hit the light switch, though he didn't expect any results, but his hand only hit empty air. Gradually, light returned to the room and he could see around him, except what he saw wasn't what he had expected.
There were flames everywhere and black rocks and pillars of fire and over to the side he thought he might have seen lava, though he couldn't be sure and he was too paralyzed by shock to really reflect on it. Hyukjae didn't think he was in his dorm anymore.
Carefully, he reached behind him for the doorknob and opened it. Hyukjae took a step back and through the doorway and turned around. However, on the other side of the door was more of the same, except now the place he was in was even hotter. He could hear screams coming from somewhere off in the distance and the faint sound of a whip cracking and Hyukjae's eyes widened as he ran back through the door and slammed it shut behind him.
"Oh, good, I found you. You are Lee Hyukjae, right?"
Hyukjae looked around as a young man came up in front of him, dark eyes with no white that Hyukjae could see, and small red horns poking up through the front of his hair. "Hello? Lee Hyukjae?"
Slowly, Hyukjae raised his hand up, pointing at the demon in front of him. "Ah!" he shrieked.
The demon blinked in bewilderment. "Are you not Lee Hyukjae?" he held up a clipboard and flipped a few pages over. "The photo we have on file is a little out-dated, so I really need you to confirm your name for me."
"Ah!" Hyukjae repeated.
"Please stop doing that," said the demon. "It's rude."
Hyukjae lowered his hand, arm shaking slightly.
"Your name, please," the demon demanded.
Hyukjae whimpered. "Lee Hyukjae."
"Okay!" said the demon happily. He snapped his fingers and the clipboard went up in flames and then disappeared. "Well, Lee Hyukjae, there was a slight mixup in some paperwork and you are not supposed to be here. I mean, you're not even dead! Do you know how impossible this situation is? Hundreds of papers had to have been misfiled, not to mention countless other mistakes that could only have happened in the most ridiculous of circumstances. Actually, we caught the problem an hour ago and everything would have been sorted out before you would have gotten here, but there were some communication issues. You know how it goes."
"I'm in Hell!" Hyukjae cried.
"Yes," the demon said gravely. "We all are sometimes. But," he added, brightening up, "We'll just get this situation fixed and you'll be back home before you know it."
"So you can send me back?" Hyukjae asked, hopeful.
"Er," said the demon. "No. It's a lot easier to get people into Hell than it is to get them out. We'll have to go see the guy in charge."
It suddenly felt as if all of the air had been sucked out of Hyukjae's lungs. "Guy in charge?"
"Yeah, he can send you back easily. I think. I don't know for sure since, as I said, this kind of thing never happens. But he says he's all-powerful so he probably can. Don't worry about it." The demon smiled, sharp, pointed teeth showing. "My name is Donghae, by the way."
"Guy in charge?" Hyukjae repeated, eyes widening.
"You're very weird," said Donghae. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at Hyukjae as if he were a fascinating specimen, the likes of which he'd never seen before.
Hyukjae took a deep, shuddering breath and tried not to cry.
Donghae grabbed hold of his hand and stepped forward. Then he stopped, pivoted on his heel and turned left. The he stopped again and looking around. "I'm not really sure where we're going," he said. "One wrong turn and we'll end up on level five and these are new shoes." Donghae lifted his foot and wiggles it around a little. "Genuine mad cow leather. Very expensive."
Hyukjae took another deep breath and suppressed the urge to curl up in a fetal position.
"Get outta my way," said a small, angry voice. Hyukjae glanced down to see a rather short, round demon covered in red scales and dripping with some kind of slime. Behind him were a dozen or so more, all nearly identical. "Move," another one said.
"Hey," Donghae grinned. "Do you know how to get to the main offices? We need to speak with the guy in charge."
The first demon tapped his hoof against the black brick that paved the road, causing sparks to fly up around him. "Yeah, just follow this down and it'll lead you right to the city."
"Thanks," said Donghae, moving out of the way and pulling Hyukjae behind him, allowing the demons to pass by. A few of them were pushing wheelbarrows full of the same slime that covered all of them. Hyukjae's eyes began to water at the stench that surrounded them.
Donghae whistled happily to himself as they walked down the road. Hyukjae could only stare at their clasped hands, wondering if Donghae's skin was supposed to burn him or if demons were usually so friendly or, more importantly, if he was perhaps having some kind of nervous breakdown. He'd never experienced one before, but he couldn't help but to think that such a thing would easily explain his current situation. "I think I might be having a nervous breakdown," he said aloud.
"No," Donghae answered. "You're just in Hell."
"Oh," Hyukjae mumbled. He suddenly felt very sad- partly because he really was in Hell and partly because he didn't think he was supposed to be wishing that his mind had snapped and everything was only a part of his delusions.
"Cheer up," said Donghae. "It could be worse!" Hyukjae didn't want to know how.
After they had walked a short time longer, a loud yell sounded out somewhere nearby and echoed off the walls of stone around them. Hyukjae very nearly wet himself. Instead he squeezed Donghae's hand and pressed up against his side, hoping that Donghae would shield him from anything terrifying or potentially hungry for his flesh.
"Damn it all!" A large, imposing demon stormed out onto the road in front of them, waving a severed head around by its hair. The head wailed and moaned and its eyes were rolled up into its skull. "Rot in purgatory, you bastards." He threw the head into the flames of the pit below, hard enough for Hyukjae to hear the wet crunch as it hit the bottom.
"Kangin?" Donghae said, walking forward. Hyukjae had no choice but to follow, too afraid to let go.
Kangin smiled when he saw Donghae, all of his pointed, vicious looking teeth in full view. "Donghae!"
"Is something wrong?" asked Donghae.
Kangin scowled and the air around him became thicker and heavier, the shadows longer and darker. Hyukjae felt dizzy with fear. "They cut the funding for my department," Kangin growled. "Hell cut the funding for torture. The harpies are threatening to go on strike."
"There's something wrong with that," said Donghae.
"Hell has funding?" Hyukjae questioned. Kangin turned to him and all of his willpower was necessary to keep from squeaking or running screaming in the opposite direction. He felt very proud of himself that he only shuddered and moved partially behind Donghae.
"We're going to see the guy in charge; why don't you come with us?" asked Donghae. "Maybe you can get him to change his mind. Torture is very important around here. Everyone knows that."
Immediately, the atmosphere around Kangin changed and he was smiling again and agreed to join them on their way to see the guy who ran Hell.
And so they started off down the road again, except that now there were three. Hyukjae held onto Donghae with a vice-like grip, using both of his hands just to make sure they didn't get separated at any time. Kangin kept a slight distance behind them, which Hyukjae though might have been because it was somehow funny to the demon that every sound made Hyukjae jump and that having Kangin at his back only increased his terror. They passed by walls of flames and a river of boiling blood and sometimes the screaming would get so loud that Hyukjae had to make sure it wasn't actually coming from himself.
Not too long after they had run into Kangin, they came upon another demon sitting on a charred rock, stirring a puddle of blood with a human bone, looking forlorn. Donghae paused mid-step, nearly causing Kangin to collide with Hyukjae's back.
"What are you--" Kangin started angrily.
"Quiet," Donghae whispered, none too quietly, interrupting Kangin. "It's Sungmin."
Sungmin looked up a them and sighed despondently. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said. Hyukjae had never seen a cuter demon in his life and never one that sounded so tragic. Though he had to admit his knowledge of demons was rather limited and he really very much preferred it that way.
Kangin let out a soft breath and Hyukjae felt Donghae relax somewhat. "What is it?" he asked.
"Sungmin is one of the scariest, most terrifying demons in Hell," Donghae answered.
"He makes the guys that work for me look like angels," added Kangin, practically spitting at the word 'angel'.
Sungmin tossed the bone to the ground and stood up. "Not that any of that matters," he said. "With a face like this, no one is afraid of me. Especially not the new kids. How am I supposed to reign terror among the damned when I look so cute? It takes me ages to get the new recruits to fear me properly."
"That's so sad," said Donghae, dragging Hyukjae over to Sungmin so he could pat him on the back.
"If only I had big, black wings, some bigger horns, pointier teeth," said Sungmin.
Kangin snorted. "No one has wings anymore."
Sungmin frowned and Kangin shut his mouth, teeth clicking together.
"We're going to the city to talk to the guy in charge, why don't you come with us?" Donghae suggested.
"Maybe he can make me look more intimidating!" exclaimed Sungmin.
"Yeah!" Donghae pumped his fist in the air, Kangin rubbed at his temples, and Hyukjae hoped none of them liked the taste of human.
As they continued down the road, Sungmin and Kangin started up a discussion on the best methods of torture while Donghae added his own opinions on the subject every few minutes. This lasted for so long that Hyukjae was nearing the edge of a panic attack and his breathing was so deep and frequent that there were definite white spots around the edges of his vision. Donghae appeared oblivious, but Sungmin must had figured him out because the conversation took a sudden turn to mental torture and scaring someone until they wished for death using only words. Kangin joined in by describing his bloodiest tortures in more detail than could have possibly been needed.
Hyukjae squeezed Donghae's hand so hard that he was afraid he was going to hurt him, though Donghae didn't seem to mind.
They stopped talking as their small group approached a lone figure on the road ahead of them. The demon walked with an air of purpose, his mouth was set in a determined line, and his hands were clenched at his sides.
"Hello," said Donghae.
The demon nodded his acknowledgment, but didn't say a word, and continued to stare forward as he walked.
"We're going to see the guy in charge," Donghae continued. "Is that where you're going, too?"
The demon nodded again.
"My name is Donghae," added Donghae.
"Hankyung," said the demon. "I work in advertising down here."
"So why do you need to see the guy in charge?" asked Kangin.
Hankyung stopped walking and turned to face them. "For the past decade I've been getting these," he lowered his voice, "pictures. They're all very graphic. I get calls late at night that say things like 'What are you wearing? Take it off' and sometimes the flames in my office turn into scenes of me and someone else doing...things. I can't work under these conditions!"
Hyukjae was thoroughly confused at the behavior he'd seen in Hell. Doubly so when Donghae wrapped his free arm around Hankyung and told him gently that everything was going to be all right.
Hankyung joined there group and finally they came to the city. Hyukjae had to pause to look at it, standing before the giant gates inlaid with the skulls of humans and other creatures he didn't recognize and was just as happy to never see alive. Their group moved closer to the gates and a window slid open. "What do you want?" a small demon yelled down to them. It looked similar to the ones Hyukjae had seen before, except instead of being covered in slime, it wore many pieces of jewelry made of human teeth.
"We're here to see the guy in charge. Open the gates!" Kangin yelled back.
"No!" snapped the demon. "Go away."
"Please?" asked Donghae.
The demon looked at Donghae and appeared to consider his request carefully. "Okay," he said, and opened the gates. Hyukjae didn't think he understood what had just taken place.
The city itself was dark and foreboding and the stones it was carved from all glowed with a green light. Hyukjae straightened his back and gathered up his courage, only to deflate almost instantly as the sound of low, pained moans hit his ears. They made their way to the castle, beyond the main city, and were escorted inside by a hooded figure who seemed to float just above the ground. He lead them to a large hall filled with thick black smoke and told them all to wait there for the guy in charge to arrive.
When the door shut behind them, the smoke grew thicker and the room turned darker and a voice boomed out from every corner. "What brings you here?"
Hyukjae gasped, startled, then began to cough as smoke filled his lungs. His eyes watered as he choked and tried to breathe, only to inhale more smoke until finally it dissipated and the room was clear. He stopped coughing soon after and Donghae rubbed his back comfortingly.
"Who is the idiot who did that?" asked a man, coming out from behind a small enclosure.
"He did it," said Kangin, pointing to Hyukjae.
"What kind of demon are you?" asked the man. "Can't even breathe in a little smoke!"
"He's not a demon," said Donghae. "He's human."
"Then what is he doing here? Send him to his appropriate level and leave me alone." The man sat down on a large throne and swung his legs up over the side.
"He's not dead either," said Donghae. "There was a slight mixup with some paperwork."
The man raised a delicate eyebrow, "And what about the rest of you?"
"You cut my funding, Heechul," growled Kangin. "Give it back."
"I want to look scarier," said Sungmin.
"Stop sending me pictures of you!" demanded Hankyung.
Heechul folded his arms. "No," he said. "To all of it. Kangin, you're just going to have to live with the budget cuts. Sungmin, I'm not changing the way you look because it confuses the guys upstairs. I like that. Just think of your looks as an asset. No one will suspect your true nature and you can use that to your advantage." He waved his had dismissively. "And definitely no to you, Hankyung. Stop asking for that, you'll never get it. And you," he stared Hyukjae right in the eye and Hyukjae felt a cold shiver run down his spine. "You're mine now." Heechul tilted his head back and laughed and laughed and--
Hyukjae's eyes snapped open and he woke up in his own bed as the sound of his alarm clock resounded through the room. He blinked his eyes sleepily and hit the off button on the alarm, noticing too late that he only had ten minutes to get out of bed and dressed and to his first class before he was late.
He ran all the way to his class only to come to a screeching halt right at the doorway. "Ah!" he yelled, pointing into the classroom. The room went silent as everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him.
At the front of the room, behind the large desk, sat Hankyung, paused in trying to keep Heechul, who wore a nametag that said 'Teacher's Assistant', from getting too familiar with him in the middle of a classroom. Kangin had stopped tugging on the small ponytail of the boy who sat next to him, and Sungmin, in the desk in front of them, had stopped batting his eyelashes as a female student and attempting to convince her to do all of his homework for the year. "Ah!" Hyukjae said again, an edge of hysteria in his voice.
"Are you okay?" asked Donghae, coming up behind him.
"Donghae!" Hyukjae squeaked.
"Oh," said Donghae. "You know my name! That's great! I'll guess yours."
"Lee Hyukjae," Hyukjae said quickly.
"I was going to guess that. Really." Donghae grinned, and Hyukjae noted that his teeth were normal human teeth, and not those belonging to a demon. "So, is there a reason you were screaming, or is that just something you like to do?"
"I..." Hyukjae trailed off, feeling silly. "No, it's nothing. I'm just a little nervous."
"Okay," said Donghae, taking hold of his hand. "Come on, we can sit together."
Hyukjae smiled and followed Donghae into the classroom. As he sat down and began to unpack his things, he failed to notice the slow, knowing smirk that graced Donghae's lips.