Devastation 2/2
Title: Devastation
Pairing: Yoochun x Changmin
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Genre: AU, angst, fantasy, romance
Length: Chaptered
Warnings: Unbeta-ed, religious themes
Summary: Demon Changmin is bored. His new victim is human Yoochun.
Chapter 1
“I think I’ve got him,” Changmin laughs. “You should have seen the look in his eyes! It was so hopeful and delighted with just the right amount of fear. Seriously, Jaejoong. You should have some respect for me. You do know how hard it is to make humans with white auras crumble like this, right? They are the children of God, they are the ones he favours. It’s going to be so much fun when he finally gives in into temptation!”
Jaejoong is sitting comfortably on a couch, reading a book written by humans about demons. He rolls his eyes, “You know, you’re just as stupid as this book. Those humans really don’t have a perception of what demons really look like. They think we’re ugly monsters with weird complexions, think we have fangs and claws, think we love to crawl around in the blood of humans, eating their guts and stuff. It’s so gruesome. Who even thinks of this stuff? I mean... just look at us. We’re handsome, our appearance close to a human’s and very intelligent... with a few exceptions. We don’t like crawling around in human blood, we’d rather fill our life spans with theirs.”
“Why don’t you stop reading those trash books then? Do something useful with your life,” Changmin says, rolling his eyes back at his friend.
“Yunho is doing quite well, thank you very much,” his friend answers absentmindedly, his eyes still fixated on the book he’s reading, “I’ll give him a few years. I don’t think it’d be necessary to act as cruel as you are doing right now towards Yoochun... I’ve just decided Yunho will be bullied by a lot of people, bullied so mercilessly... he’ll end up begging for death. And then I’ll just appear before he kills himself, promising him looks, wealth, friends, popularity, whatever he wants. Not as cruel as your plan but I think it’ll be enough to push him over the edge. His aura isn’t as white and bright as Yoochun’s... he was born with a black one so I don’t think it’ll be too much of a challenge.”
“Aren’t you bored of the predictability of humans? Of their weakness?” Changmin sighs, his fingers running over his mirror once again until the picture starts changing, blurring, only to show the desperate face of a small boy. “I think Yoochun-ah will need one more push... One light push to break through the already crackling surface, one light push to make this all definitive...
Jaejoong, stop reading that book and watch this real life drama unfold itself. Watch how adults play this game so you can learn and improve yours.”
~
He could do everything... Could change everything with just one wish. With just one sacrifice.
He could wish his sister back to life. It’d be a fair trade; his life for hers. Hadn’t he been wishing for that? Hadn’t he been wishing that it could’ve been him instead of her? He hadn’t been lying. Yoochun knew that he’d grasp the opportunity with both his hands, never letting go, if he could change the fact that he was walking around on both legs while his sister would soon be buried under the ground.
So why wasn’t he grasping this opportunity with both hands? Why, when everything seemed so simple in his head? When everything was so simple in theory?
It was because of the strange man. How had he gotten into his room? How had he known about his wishes? How had he known his name? There was just... something so completely off. Yoochun knew he was involved into something so big, so dark, so sinister that it made him scared.
Then again... wouldn’t he be willing to do anything for his sister? Wouldn’t he be willing to do absolutely anything to give his sister her life back, to see her smile again, to see those warm eyes look at him... Wouldn’t his life be nothing compared to that? After all, Sa Rang had always been his reason to wake up every morning, his reason to live...
Giving up his life for her wasn’t a problem.
Striking a deal with someone who could possibly be the Devil... that was what scared Yoochun.
~
There was just something so off in his life. The feeling of not being able to walk downstairs, to have his breakfast while his sister would be rambling happily against him, was just so off. The feeling of not being able to walk into her room, scared of everything that would remind him of her. Scared that he’d think of her again, scared that memories would come flying at him. It felt as if something was strangling him, choking him slowly to death.
And his parents.
His parents didn’t seem to be able to cope with the death of their daughter. Yoochun didn’t blame them; he knew he was exactly the same disbelieving person who refused to accept reality... and yet, there seemed to be something in their gaze, something like blame. And Yoochun knew what they were thinking, heard the unspoken words screamed into his ears.
Why did it have to be her.
Why couldn’t it be you?
~
“Ch-Changmin?” the voice of Yoochun trembles, barely audible as he’s choked by doubt. He’s a little bit scared of what’s going to happen in the next hours. A little bit scared of the justness of the words that are going to leave his mouth. A little bit scared for the consequences of his decision. But he’s also really hopeful for the consequences of his decision. “Changmin? Can you hear me?”
His eyes are searching the room, waiting for an answer of the strange man. His eyes linger longer on the place where Changmin had appeared the last time, hoping that the man will be able to hear him even though it goes against rationality.
“You called me?”
A shiver runs down Yoochun’s spine as he feels the cool breath of the man brush against his ear. He tries to control his fear, tries to appear self composed and determined, but he feels his own fear in the air and he knows he fails miserably. “I-I did,” he says, closing his eyes in the hope that it’d give him more courage, “I wanted to tell you about my decision.”
“So... you’ve decided?” Changmin says, moving his body until he’s in front of the boy. There’s a smile on his face and Yoochun can’t help but feel even more scared, the look on the face of the man making him fear for the worse.
“Y-yes,” Yoochun takes a shaky breath, before he continues, “I want to make a wish.”
“Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want... I want to get my sister back. I want her to live life to the fullest. I want her to regain her bright future, I want her to be happy, I want her to become old and wrinkly with a man by her side. I want Park Sa Rang, my little sister, to be alive again... Please, help me with this.”
Yoochun knew nothing but bad things could be unleashed. Striking deals with persons as sinister as Changmin... The boy knew this wasn’t going to end well; but he hoped the bad consequences were only for him and not for his sister.
“I will,” a big smile appears on Changmin’s face, “To keep things on earth at ease, seeing how your sister’s funeral is going to be tomorrow, I don’t think it’d be great to revive her now. So how about this? I’ll turn times back to exactly two weeks before the robbery. Your sister will still be alive, you will be alive, everyone is alive. You can go back to the good old days. For two weeks.
After two weeks, the one who will find death won’t be your sister, but it’ll be you. You will be there when the store gets robbed, you will get shot and you will die. You should know that once you accept my help, your soul won’t find any rest. You won’t go to Heaven. Your soul will go to Hell and remain there for the rest of eternity. Do you understand that?”
“Yes. Please, please, just help me. I don’t care about the consequences...” Yoochun begs, finding his hands around Changmin’s arms, a pleading look in his eyes, “Where do I have to sign?”
~
When Yoochun wakes up, his heart is beating so loudly that it threatens to jump out of his chest. He jumps out of bed, his breathing speeding up, his feet running, until he’s finally in front of his sister’s room. He hesitantly lifts his hand, too scared to knock, but he does anyway. There's fear, the fear of everything just being a nightmare. The fear of his sister still cold and dead, waiting to be buried today, waiting to have so many people mourning and crying over her body. With him almost going insane at the sight of her unmoving body.
"Sa Rang-ah?" he hesitantly asks. When there's no answer, he feels like crying. Had everything just been a dream after all? Yoochun tries to gather the courage, tries to man up so he'd be able to face the truth instead of his delusions. It had all been too good to be true... It was time to wake up and face the harsh reality.
When Yoochun feels his legs giving out under him, the tears running over his face, the whole world crumbling under him, when he feels no more hope... the door opens.
"Whyyy?" the voice he had been missing so so much for the past days... it was filling his ears. "Oppa, why do you have to wake me this ear- yah, what's wrong?"
The whiny tone instantly disappears out of Sa Rang's voice as she worriedly eyes her brother who is resembling a rag doll. His eyes have no more light, his face wet with tears and it seemed as if he no longer had the energy to walk around on this planet.
When Yoochun hears the voice and hesitantly lifts his eyes to meet hers, a wave of relief is flooding through him. He immediately rises to his feet and before he knows it, he has Sa Rang in his arms, clutching desperately onto her, begging her to never leave him again.
When Sa Rang says oppa you're so silly why would I ever leave you, Yoochun feels a wave of relief wash through him. It was still the same girl from his memories... The girl he adored was still alive...
"Oppa will protect you," is all Yoochun's able to whisper in her ear.
He had two weeks left to live. He wanted to do so many things in those fourteen days. He wanted to spend his time with the person most important to him, his sister.
~
"Shouldn't you be working today?" there's a worried look on Sa Rang's face, "Shouldn't I be going to school too? So why are we here? Do we even have money to spend?"
"Yes, yes and no," Yoochun replies, a little bit taken back by the questions of his sister. Yet, there's nothing that can make the radiant smile on his face disappear. He's happy his sister is still there, her body warm and moving, her doe eyes bright and sparkling. "I don't have any money so I'm sorry Sa Rang-ah, that I can't do even this much for you... but I still hope you'll have some fun with me. I realized we've never been somewhere other than the shop of our parents."
And the smile that appears on his sister's face, so sweet and radiant, as she takes his hand, her fingers tangling with his, makes Yoochun forget everything.
His life had been worth it.
~
"Look how cute they are, Jae-yah," Changmin sneers, looking at the happiness plastered all over his mirror. He knows he should stop looking at the sickeningly happy scene on his mirror, but he can't. There's something so thoroughly intriguing him... The vibes that Yoochun loves to spend every last second of his life with his sister, the thrilling and bright laughs on their faces as they run around... the look filled with adoration in Yoochun's eyes as he holds out his hand, waiting for his sister to curl her fingers around it. The eyes filled with bliss and love as Yoochun puts an arm around her before pulling Sa Rang in a choking hug, never wanting to let her go. Though he knows he will.
"Bear with it. You've got your deal... while my victim is still in his diapers. Just wait until the last few days arrive for Yoochun - the look of desperation in his eyes, the look of sadness... It'll coat this sugary spectacle with the right amount of desperation. It'll become quite enjoyable to watch."
Only it didn't.
When Jaejoong wasn't at his home, Changmin would find himself plastered to the mirror. He'd watch the small boy cry himself to sleep, the feeling of heartbreak and pain pasted on Yoochun's face. Changmin would watch the boy get up early in the morning, the first thing he'd do check his sleeping sister, look at the breathing form under the sheets before letting out a sigh of relief. The demon would watch the boy prepare himself for work, still working nonstop until his last days because there's nothing else for him out there, because he has no other choice than doing this.
He'd watch customers scold the boy, watch the body of the boy become tired and pained, he'd watch Sa Rang come back and he'd watch Yoochun smile immediately, the worries about his own death disappearing, the pains in his body vanishing. Changmin would watch how Yoochun asked his sister to learn him to spell words, writing down shaky letters of the alphabet, and he'd watch how patiently Sa Rang would explain things to him, guiding Yoochun's hand slowly and ruffling his hair when he had done well.
It amused Changmin to see how humans would still try to learn things before they'd die. What was the point of knowing how to spell 'fish' when you'd end up in Hell?
But there was something... something in Yoochun's eyes... that made Changmin uncomfortable. There was almost no sadness in those brown orbs, always filled with love and happiness. The boy hardly felt any desperation towards his nearing death, too happy that it was him instead of his sister.
The selflessness made Changmin fidget in discomfort. There was something so off... but what?
He hated how the aura of Yoochun became brighter and brighter until it was once again the blindening light of when he has born. Did this even make sense? How was it possible for a human to be so pure?
~
When Yoochun wakes up, he feels uncomfortable and scared. Today was the final day, the last day of his life. He'd die today and spend the rest of the existence of his soul in Hell. It scares him. It would be a lie to say he didn't fear for his life, didn't fear for his soul... but it had been worth it.
To have his sister back even though she had been dead for already three days... It was sensationally strange and unbelievable but also so so good. To hold her in his arms, to see her laugh, to see her live.
It had all been worth it.
"Sa Rang-ah, I love you," he tells her that morning, "Please keep that in mind. I’ll protect you."
Please think occasionally about me, about the person lucky enough to be called your brother. I'll love you even though I'm going to die today. My life is nothing compared to yours, please be happy and live long. Please don't meet the wrong men when I'm not around anymore to protect you. Please marry a nice man in the future and become happy with him. Please have a lot of children and become old and wrinkly and happy. Please take care of our parents. I know I am asking too much of you but please... these are your brother's last wishes. Can you please do that, for me? For your brother who’s hopeless in everything and who doesn’t deserve to have been loved so dearly by someone like you. Promise? I take that as a promise.
"Oppa, what's wrong with you today? What's with the cheesey lines?" Sa Rang laughs. However, her laugh fades away almost immediately when she notices the sad look on the face of her brother. "Of course, I know. You know I love you too, right?"
It becomes almost too unbearable. Yoochun feels like crying but he doesn't, instead saying, "I know. I'll always know."
When he pulls her into an embrace, she doesn't complain. Yoochun wraps his arms tightly around his sister, closing his eyes as he nuzzles his nose into her hair, smelling her sweet fragrance for the last time. Their hearts are beating at the same pace, her warm body close against his and Yoochun knows it's all been worth it.
When he pulls away, a cold breeze brushing past the place where a moment ago the warmth of his sister had been, he finds himself wishing the past few seconds could have lasted forever.
But he knows he should be careful what to wish for.
~
"What the hell is wrong with me," Changmin breathes, one hand clutching his painfully throbbing chest while another hand is clutching the table in his chamber. His breathing is uneven and harsh as he tries to think around the pain in his chest.
He was alone in his house, Jaejoong too busy with watching his own victim to care about his best friend. Changmin gags, the pain nauseating him, as he keeps on muttering 'what the hell, what the hell, what the hell'. What in the world was happening?
He had never been into so much pain before, not even when he had gotten hurt when he had been battling other demons. Not even when he had seen his mother die before his own eyes, stabbed through one of her lungs by an angel. Not even when he had found the cold body of his father at home, refusing to refill his life span once his wife had died.
Changmin knows that the love of a demon goes beyond any boundaries. Demons appeared as cold and heartless monsters but once they found someone to love, it’d exceed everything.
But what was this damn pain?
~
“This is a robbery! Everyone freeze or else he’ll die!” Yoochun feels a firm grip on his shoulders, an arm pressuring his body close to the body of the robber. His eyes widen in shock but at the same time, the cold feeling of calmness overwhelms him. The need of having to feel scared for death disappears and Yoochun doesn’t even fight the robbers, his wide eyes just looking pleadingly at his parents.
Please take care of Sa Rang. I know you’d rather have me gone than your own daughter.
“Give me the money!”
The taller man walks in front of him, ready to get the money while Yoochun feels the chubby guy put the gun to his temple. His breathing speeds up and even though he knows he can’t fight his fate - not when the life of his sister was at stake - he still hopes for something to save him. He still hopes he’ll be able to live on, to watch his sister grow old, to see her children.
“I-I’ll give it to you. Please-please don’t hurt my son,” Yoochun’s heart breaks when he sees his mother crying, tears rolling over her cheeks as she hands the tall man the money, her hands trembling. Before he realizes it, his cheeks are just as wet as his mother’s though it isn’t because of fear.
It’s because he realizes he parents have cared about him all along. They have thought about him as more than just a free laborer all along. What a fool he had been.
He... he doesn’t want to die...
He wants to continue... wants to be there for his family... wants to do so much...
He was too young to die.
But the tall man is already walking back and Yoochun is frozen to the ground as he hears the words ‘get rid of him’ mumbled to the man who’s been holding him all along. He’s trembling uncomfortably when the weight of the gun against his head disappears and he knows that he has only a few more seconds to live. After all, his sister had been shot the moment they had gotten the money. To create the perfect opportunity to escape, to have everyone’s attention reverted to the dieing girl on the ground.
He’d be just like her.
His life would just be used like hers.
But Yoochun was glad that it was his life and not hers.
He closed his eyes, tears leaking out of the corners as he prepared himself for the pain. The sound of a bang broke through the chaos and all that was left of him was pain, excruciating pain, that left him like a whimpering mess on the floor, the white tiles colouring red.
Yoochun doesn’t even hear the screams of desperation, doesn’t even hear the heartbroken cries, doesn’t even hear the gasps around him, doesn’t even feel hands on his cold body, doesn’t even know anything other than the pain in his back. He’s taking shaky breaths, struggling to keep his conscious, struggling to keep living, even though he already knows he’ll die. Even though he can almost feel the flames of Hell around him. His face is contorted in pain but at the same time, he’s happy.
Happy that his sister doesn’t have to feel this excruciating pain. Happy that his sister isn’t the one who’s struggling to keep breathing, happy that it isn’t his sister whose clothes are soaked with blood, happy that his sister isn’t the one who’s coughing up blood. Happy that it is just him, Park Yoochun.
~
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Changmin can’t stop cursing.
He realizes what has happened. The pain has finally subdued and there was just one thing different - his heart had started beating, had started fluttering, had started aching at the sight of Yoochun lying on the floor, bleeding to his death.
“HOW THE FUCK IS THIS POSSIBLE?!” his fist makes contact with the wall but instead of his fist ending up bleeding, the wall ends up crumbling under his touch. Changmin hisses in frustration, feeling the need to destroy, to ruin, to kill.
And yet, the only person he had destroyed, had ruined, had killed was the person he had fallen in love with.
Shim Changmin had fallen in love with a lowly human being.
A lowly human being had given Shim Changmin a heart, a heart that would beat only for him.
Changmin had spend the past two weeks almost nonstop for the mirror, looking how Yoochun poured his heart out to his sister. Looking how every small move of the human being was so filled with love... that it made the demon want to feel the same amount of love. That it made Changmin want to feel just as loved as Sa Rang, that it made him want someone to talk to, to touch, to hold close.
That it made Changmin want Yoochun to look at him the same way he looked lovingly at Sa Rang. He wanted him to smile the same way at him.
How pathetic.
How could an aristocrat demon like him fall in love for one of the most despicable creatures on earth? This was so against the laws of nature and yet... it had happened completely against his own will.
One look in the mirror made Changmin shudder. The person he now loved but also hated was dieing. Because of him. And if he wanted to stop this on time, he had to suppress his feelings of frustrations now and face Park Yoochun.
He was one soul he didn’t want to end in the burning flames of Hell, tormented by his sins for forever and ever.
~
It choked him to see the human lie in his own blood, struggling to keep breathing, struggling to keep living. It made Changmin want to throw up because it reminded him of a fly, one who had been swatted unsuccessfully and was trying to fly again even though the injuries obviously were lethal. It made him even more nauseous to think that he had fallen in love with such a low being.
The steady beating of his heart was proof enough.
And his heart, his heart was aching at the sight of the human in so much pain. It made guilt eat him from the inside to see Yoochun take raspy breaths, to see him coughing up blood, to see him almost choke on his own blood. It made him want to fall on his knees, made him want to hold Yoochun close, to caress his cheek as he made the pain stop.
However, his pride was stopping him. How could a demon like him kneel in front of a human and weep like a crybaby? That was unheard of!
With only one snap of his fingers, time stands still. Changmin looks at the chaos in the store, the blood on the floor, the crying woman next to the body of Yoochun, the shocked bystanders. He knows he should act fast or else he’d lose the soul of the human to the burning flames of eternity.
~
“Ch-Changmin,” a smile of bliss appears on Yoochun’s face as he sees the man appear out of nowhere. His dark clothing and the fact that he’s the only thing moving make him stand out and even in his dazed state, Yoochun knows death is close. Maybe because he’s foolish, maybe because he wants the pain to stop; the boy doesn’t mind dieing anymore. He knows that there might be an even greater pain beyond this but for now, he just wants everything to stop.
“Yoochun-ah,” the man comes closer, stretching his hands out until he softly touches Yoochun’s cheek.
“So... I guess... this is it,” Yoochun breathes. His vision is starting to swim in black spots and he wants to end it all. The pain is just too much for him, too incomprehensible, too excruciating. And yet, he refuses to let go now. He wants to say one more thing, one more thing to the man he owes his sister’s life to... “Th-thank you. Thank you... f-for my sis-sister.”
There’s a sad smile on Changmin’s face. “I really should hate you... but now that I’m standing face to face to you, my heart is beating like crazy. I can’t... can’t make it stop, can’t control it. I don’t want your gratefulness, I want you, living, breathing, but we all know that that isn’t possible. Your injuries are lethal just like they were for your sister... The only thing I can do for you, Yoochun-ah, is this.”
Before Yoochun loses his consciousness, he sees Changmin move, getting a paper from his pocket which looks awfully much like the contract the boy had signed two weeks ago. He loses himself into the dark nothing right at the moment he hears paper ripping.
~
When Yoochun wakes up, he finds himself thinking that Hell probably isn’t as bad as he had initially thought. It’s warm but not burning hot. There’s no fear in his head, no pain, just... bliss. It makes him scared to open his eyes, scared to see what Hell looks like, scared that everything might change the moment he opens his eyes.
“You can wake up now,” a bored voice sounds, “I know you’re awake.”
A little bit shocked, Yoochun hesitantly opens his eyes. He’s surprised to find himself lying on something that looks like a bed though it looks entirely different than the beds he knew. “Where am I?” he asks, looking around in bewilderment, “Am I dead? Is this Hell?”
“You are dead. Kind of. Not really, though,” Changmin rambles, looking a bit pissed off. When Yoochun looks at him, an expectant gaze in his eyes, the man lets out a sigh, “I guess it’s a long story.”
“Well, I’d like to know. I think it is important to me after all to know whether I’m alive right now or not.”
“Your heart is beating. I think that’s enough proof of you being alive,” Changmin snapped. Yoochun frowns, putting a hand against his chest to, indeed, feel a steady heartbeat. It surprises him just as much as it surprises him how the normally composed and cold man seemed to lose his cool in front of him. “I really feel like killing you. I really want to. And yet, it’s because of me that your heart is still beating right now, it’s because of me that your soul isn’t burning in the flames of Hell right now, it’s because of me that you can be comfortable right now instead of working your ass off. I-I... what are you doing to me?”
“Wh-what are you talking about?” He’s scared. The man in front of him seemed completely out of his mind. “What could I be possibly doing to you? The only time I’ve seen you before today was two weeks ago... I-I only signed a contract with you.”
“That might be the only time you have seen me... but that really isn’t the only time I have seen you. Yoochun... do you know what I have done for you? Do you know what you have made me do for you?”
When Yoochun shakes his head, his eyes big and scared, Changmin comes closer, his dark eyes digging into his brown ones, “I gave up my blood line for you. My blood line with no single drop of human blood in it. I gave up the future of my children, my grandchildren, my great grandchildren, my great great grandchildren... I gave it all up for you. I gave up my strength, my sanity, my life span... All because of you, a mere human, who I wanted to use for immortality... how ironic that the very same thing is making me mortal right now.”
“What are you talking about?” Yoochun frowns.
“What am I talking about? You still don’t get it?” there’s a frustrated look on Changmin’s face. It scares Yoochun, it makes him want to run away as fast as he can... This was so completely different from everything he had been expecting - he had prepared himself for death, for Hell, not for... a lecture from the man who had offered him his death.
But Changmin is already moving closer, closer, until his mouth makes contact with Yoochun’s.
The boy feels a hand behind his neck, pulling him closer to the demon, as he feels lips moving over his own lips, a tongue ravishing his mouth, exploring it. There’s no love in the kiss, just a kind of desperation that makes Yoochun scared. When he tries to fight the man off, the kiss only becomes rougher, and he knows it’s hopeless. Of course his strength was nothing compared to the man’s who could turn back time and revive people from the death.
When Changmin finally pulls away, both men stare at each other, gasping for air after the kiss. Their chests are heaving at the same time and it takes the demon a few moments before he can finally pull himself together.
“Don’t you see it? You made me fall in love with you.”
The desperate look in Changmin’s eyes scares Yoochun.
~
Yoochun soon loses track of time. He doesn’t know how long he has been in Hell, neither does he know the full story behind his survival. The first other living being he sees is a strikingly beautiful man. However, the man takes one look at Yoochun, then at Changmin, before he lets out a gasp. Why isn’t he dead yet? What... what am I sensing? Shit, Changmin, what did you do, why is this human half demon now, why do you have a beating heart in your chest, shit shit shit, what did you do?!
He had left even though Changmin had begged him to stay.
After that, Yoochun hadn’t seen the man anymore.
“Look at what you’re doing to me... You’re ruining my life...” Changmin says one day, his eyes filled with anger and frustration. He’s pacing through the room, everything in him so filled with frustration that it scares Yoochun, before he finally gives up and places himself opposite from him, his sad eyes pleading. “Please... Can’t you at least make my sacrifice worth it?”
But there’s nothing Yoochun can do. His hands rest uselessly in his lap and there’s no spark when Changmin’s lips crush against his in a desperate kiss. When the demon pulls away, a look of expectancy in his eyes, the boy feels his heart break. Nevertheless, he doesn’t lie.
“I’m sorry,” he says, “I feel nothing.”
“Why can’t you love me like you loved her?”
“I’m sorry.” It’s all he can say.
~
Life isn’t very exciting but it’s bearable. Yoochun can see it in every movement Changmin does, sees it in his eyes, sees how hard the demon is trying... trying for him. The boy had not once stepped out of the house ever since he had lost his human body, too scared that he’d meet other demons. The demon, who had exited the house upset and angry, had been enough indication for Yoochun to know how other demons would react.
Changmin had told him not to think about it. However, the troubled look in his eyes was enough for Yoochun to know the man had a hard time dealing with his own feelings as well.
When the demon steps into Yoochun’s room one night, opening the creaking door, the boy is immediately awake. Yoochun has had a hard time sleeping soundless ever since he had left earth. “What’s it, Changmin?” he asks, eyeing the man sleepily.
“I... I didn’t mean to wake you,” Changmin said. “I err... forgot something.”
When the demon starts rummaging through drawers, a distraught look in his eyes, Yoochun already understands what had been the original intention of the man. His lips form an ‘o’ though no sound leaves them. “Would you-would you like to tell me something?” he finally asks. There had been a lot of questions ghosting through his head but he hadn’t had the courage to ask them. Now that Changmin appeared so vulnerable... it encouraged Yoochun to ask.
“What is it?” The man halts his frantic rummaging, looking suspiciously at the boy. He then finally comes closer until he places himself on Yoochun’s bedside.
“Could you tell me what you did? What you did to me and yourself?” a blush appears on Yoochun’s face. He wishes he had never started talking about this subject... “I-I heard the man who visited your house the first time screaming. He said... I had become a half demon? He said... you had a heart?”
Changmin sighs. “I think you’ll have to know it sooner or later. The reason you aren’t burning in the flames of Hell right now... it’s because I ripped the contract you signed just in time, thus nullifying it. The reason you are still alive; it’s because of me. You should know that I used to be one of the strongest demons here. I used my powers to save you - you, who had made my heart start beating again. I gave you half of my remaining life span and in return for that, you aren’t human anymore. The whole process is quite complicated but even though you’re half demon, half human right now, you’re too vulnerable. I wouldn’t suggest walking outside or else other demons will sense your weakness and shred you apart before you even have the chance to turn around and run.”
Yoochun wants to ask why the man did it for him. But he already knows the answer and instead, he asks, “Why was that man so angry?”
“He’s been my friend since childhood. We’ve grown up together... You might think we’ve known each other only for twenty-five years because of our youthful appearance but we’ve been knowing each other for centuries and centuries. You might get startled if you’d hear my real age,” Changmin laughs, before a frown appears on his face, “He wasn’t angry because of you. I think he was more angry at me. I would have been the last person in Hell who would have fallen in love with a human - just ignore it, it’s Jaejoong’s pride. We’re both prideful persons... though I guess, my pride has gotten a hit lately.”
Yoochun ignores the painful words, continuing, “Is it that bad to fall in love with a human? Is it that humiliating?”
A silence.
“Yes,” Changmin finally says, “It’s downgrading. Especially if you’re from highly respected families like Jaejoong and me. It also makes us vulnerable... Suddenly, we become so much more easier to kill.”
“To kill? Can demons die? But... aren’t they dead already?” Yoochun asks, his eyes wide, gasping.
“Even the undead can die,” Changmin smiles wryly, “Initially, demons thought they could only find death when they would battle other demons, fighting until one of them collapsed. The occurrence of fights was quite often: every demon was made of the most intense darkness and occasionally, there’d be fights about land or just random fights because one was moody or felt like killing.
Death could also be found when there’d be fights with angels. This, however, had only occurred twice in history. Both times, it had ended with huge losses on both sides. There had been fallen angels joining our sides, traitors who couldn’t resist the temptation of the dark side, and the fights had seemed to be never ending, both sides equal in strength.
Both times, we had been forced to make peace.
Sometimes, demons would choose for death willingly. They’d have enough of the boring life in Hell, seen things repeat themselves over and over again that nothing was entertaining anymore. They’d stop striking any deals with humans and they’d wait for their remaining life span to tick away.”
There’s a silence, before Changmin finally continues, “The final thing that can kill a demon is love. Not love itself, but falling in love with a human. It causes the dead heart of a demon to start beating again, to flutter and to feel warmth. Every time when a demon had fallen in love with a human, they had ended up giving up their immortality. They had used their powers for the last time and divided their remaining life span in two, sharing it with their other half. The human became stronger, leeching off the powers of the demon, while the demon grew weaker.
They’d find death at the same time.
That’s why Jaejoong is so upset. Death has become something inevitable for me.”
Yoochun doesn’t dare asking more. He’s scared for the truth behind all the things he doesn’t know. Instead, he reaches out his hand, his fingers intertwining with Changmin’s, before he pulls the man with him onto bed. When the startled man doesn’t resist his pull, a smile appears on Yoochun’s face and he puts the sheets over both of their bodies.
Just for today, he wants to show his gratefulness for the sacrifices this man has made for him.
Just for today, he wants to ease the pain of sacrificing.
Because he knows how painful it is to sacrifice things precious to you; but he knows it all becomes worth it if you get something even more precious in return.
~
“Jae?” Changmin is surprised to stand face to face with his friend. He had tried so many times to talk to Jaejoong but his efforts had failed every time. It’s a relief to see that this time, his friend was the one who came to him first. A smile of hope breaks through on Changmin’s face, “Please, listen to me, let me explain everything!”
He turns around, intending to let his friend walk behind him, but he’s completely caught off guard when he hears the words, “I’m sorry, Changmin-ah.”
And then everything becomes black.
~
“Changmin?” Yoochun hesitantly asks, surprised when he hears a dull thud. “Is everything okay?”
His legs are already moving through the rooms and Yoochun is looking where Changmin might be, though he’s surprised when he suddenly stands face to face with a handsome man. It takes Yoochun a few seconds to realize that it’s the same upset man he had seen a few days ago. “H-hi,” he stammers, bowing quickly when he sees the man.
A chuckle escapes from the lips of Jaejoong but it’s humorless, cold. It sends shivers right down Yoochun’s spine. “This low human dares to talk to me? Changmin really has no taste.”
And then Yoochun is pinned against the wall. “Wh-what are you doing?” he’s scared, his breathing uneven. The brown eyes of the man are dark with rage and the boy feels like he could be drowning into an icy lake if he’d lose himself into them.
“One move...” Jaejoong whispers, his breath brushing against Yoochun’s cheek, “One move... and I’ll snap your neck.”
“You’re intending to do that anyway,” Yoochun says bluntly, looking Jaejoong in the eyes, “Stop playing around with me. I’m not your toy. End it now if you only want to see me beg and grovel in front of you.”
A smile appears on Jaejoong’s face. “Courage. I appreciate that. Too bad it won’t get you anywhere.”
When Yoochun closes his eyes in fear, waiting for a choking grip on his head, he’s surprised to hear a snarl, followed by the sound of a light laugh. “I knew I should have hit you harder on the head,” Jaejoong laughs. Yoochun’s eyes fly open, only to see a cursing Changmin, awake and well.
“Fuck it, Jae, why are you doing this?”
“For you. You’ll be grateful once I’ve killed him. I don’t know what he has wished for, what kind of black magic skills he possesses, but I know this is so unlike you. You detest humans. You would never fall in love with one, let alone sacrifice your family name for them. Sacrifice your immortality for them. There’s still time left - he’s not entirely transformed yet. There’s still a chance to regain your pride.”
Jaejoong once again lurches forward, flinging his body at Yoochun who’s been frozen to the ground. When their bodies collapse on the floor, he feels an excruciating pain in his right leg and a scream of pain escapes from Yoochun’s lips. However, he isn’t able to dwell on the pain as he feels firm hands being placed on both sides of his head and even though he’s struggling, hoping he’ll have a chance to fight the demon off, he already knows he stands no chance. He was still as weak as when he was human.
“No, no, NO, you’re not going to touch him!” There’s another snarl and the sudden weight on Yoochun’s body disappears. He gasps when he hears the sound of two bodies colliding into the furniture. He tries to scramble back onto his feet but he knows he can’t when his right leg gives out under him. However, he fears more for Changmin’s life than for his own. “Fuck it, fuck Jae, why do you have to go this far?”
Yoochun doesn’t hear the answer, a scream filling his ears and when he looks again, he isn’t able to believe his eyes.
Both demons are standing opposite each other, Changmin’s eyes burning with anger while Jaejoong looks slightly amused. Yet, that isn’t the thing that had gotten Yoochun’s attention. When Changmin moves his hand, making a shooting gesture in the air, there are fire bolts shooting from his palms. The other demon dodges them skillfully, the couch behind him catching fire. “Pity. That was my favourite couch,” Jaejoong mutters, before bringing his attention back to the fight.
There are lightning bolts shooting from Jaejoong’s hands and the two demons are moving so fast that they become one big hazy blur. Yoochun’s eyes aren’t able to see the two, his gaze too slow to catch their movements. He wants to help but his hands hang helplessly by his side and he knows there’s nothing he can do except watch and try not to get hurt.
Suddenly, he’s able to see Jaejoong again. The demon stops in the mid of his tracks, looking around, listening carefully while his eyes wander the space. “Playing hide and seek now, Min-ah? You know you’re at a disadvantage. I’ve known you for so long, I know your strategies. We were equally strong before but you’ve been weakened so much by your sacrifice - you know it and I know it.”
Without a warning, a fire bolt appears out of nothing and Jaejoong dodges this one, once again, with ease. He immediately turns around to let a thunder bolt explode from his palm and Yoochun’s heart skips a beat when he hears a groan, a man appearing out of nowhere. Changmin clutches his chest, puffing, “Even though you spend your days reading badly written human books, I see that you’re still just as agile and fast as when we were children.”
“What did you expect?” a grin flashes on Jaejoong’s face as he lurches forward, his fist making contact with Changmin’s chest. The demon once again grimaces but it doesn’t stop him, his fists flying against Jaejoong’s, as they’re trying to overpower one other. Their bodies are moving, dodging each others attacks, until Jaejoong’s body finally gets hit with one of Changmin’s fists and he’s thrown back into the air, his body making contact with the solid wall.
The two demons are breathing heavily, both having their own injuries, “Stop this nonsense, Jae,” Changmin huffs, “You know this will be a fight till death. I don’t want to kill you but you leave me no choice if you want to kill Yoochun.”
It doesn’t help. Jaejoong only gets angrier, the pained expression on his face only growing more intense, “Are you saying that that little human over there is more worth than our friendship? We’ve grown up together! We’ve known each other for centuries, Changmin, what happened to your mind? You’ve always been incredibly smart. You really want to let that human ruin our friendship?”
“I’m not the one who lets a human ruin our friendship. It’s you,” Changmin snaps, “Why don’t you try to regain your mind? You really want to kill me because I’ve fallen in love with a human? You really want to destroy our friendship because of your damn pride? I’m begging you, let’s talk about it. At the rate we’re going now, we’ll kill ourselves. I don’t want to kill you and I’m sure you don’t want to be the one killing me either.”
Changmin’s eyes are pleading, his hand stretched out. However, Jaejoong’s eyes remain hard, “I’m sorry. I can’t. You would have done the same thing if it had been me in your shoes. Once I’ve killed that human, you’ll come back to your senses. I’m not intending to kill you, Changmin-ah.”
“That’s rather unfortunate then,” Changmin grinds his teeth, crouching back into his fighting position, his hands balled into fists. “I’m not intending to let you go without any lethal wounds if you dare to touch even one hair on Yoochun’s head. I don’t care if that means I’ll have to die.”
With these words, both demons once again become one big blur of fighting bodies and even though Yoochun tries to beg them to stop, both hands clutching his swollen leg, his voice is lost in the sound of screams and bodies moving around each other. He sees hands making contact with limps, sees thunder and fire bolts appear out of nowhere, only to disappear in thin air when they didn’t hit their opponent.
Yoochun’s heart is beating so fast that he finds himself thinking it might jump out of his chest. At first, both demons seemed to be equal in strength. Yet, Yoochun knows he’s wrong. Even though Changmin has the ability to predict Jaejoong’s moves, to see what he’s going to do and how he’s going to counterattack it, his agility isn’t able to keep up with Jaejoong’s. There’s sweat dripping down both their faces but even though the older demon looks like he could have gone on for a few more days like this, Changmin already looks exhausted.
Yoochun remembers the words... Initially, demons thought they could only find death when they would battle other demons, fighting until one of them collapsed. At this rate, he knew who was going to be the first one who’d collapse... “No...” he gasps, a look of pure horror painting his face, “No! Please, stop!”
Who was he to think two demons would listen to him.
He tries to get back onto his feet - shifting his weight onto his left leg because the other one starts to shake uncontrollably when he puts even a little bit of pressure on it - and he’s already limping forward. He knows he’s foolish. But he’s too scared for Changmin.
“No, no, no, please stop,” he says, hopelessly. He can’t do anything else but beg and hope the two men would come back to the right state of mind.
“You really found a courageous yet stupid human,” Jaejoong laughs, eyeing him, “Let’s end it now, okay? I’ve had enough of our warming up.”
And suddenly, there’s a thunder bolt flying at Yoochun. He doesn’t even have the reflexes to dodge it - complete failing compared to the epic battle the two demons just had - but something in him says it would be better this way anyway. He didn’t want to see the look of suffering in Changmin’s eyes anymore, the look of hurt pride. Neither did he want to be the cause of broken friendship or even more importantly; the reason behind Changmin’s death.
However, the expected pain of a thunder bolt hitting his body never comes.
Yoochun gasps when he sees why.
He drops on his knees, ignoring his throbbing leg, as his hands grasp the arms of the man lying on the ground desperately. “No, no, no!” he finds himself screaming, his hands desperately clutching onto the man, desperately hoping this would just turn out into a nightmare. He’s pulling the body of the man close to his own, Changmin’s new heart beating right next to his own, desperately begging the man to hold on, to stay with him, to be with him, to... to... to...
“Fuck fuck fuck,” he hears Jaejoong cursing. The demon is pacing, looking panicked at his friend, “Shit, what did I do, shit shit shit.”
Yoochun doesn’t even know anything anymore, doesn’t know anything but the brown eyes of Changmin fluttering, fighting to remain conscious. The boy finds himself weeping over the body, his heart breaking at the thought of being alone in Hell for the rest of his life, his heart breaking at the thought of not being able to be ever held by Changmin again. His hand trails off, finding Changmin’s, his fingers lacing through the demon’s once again, the warmth of his palm radiating onto Changmin’s. “I’m holding on onto you. Please hold on onto me as well,” Yoochun croaks, his eyes pleading.
When the slack hand answers his grip, tightening its fingers around Yoochun’s, a voice saying, “Geez, you guys are such dramaqueens. The day that Jaejoong is powerful enough to kill me with one single thunder bolt, will be the day that God is stoned enough to create unicorns and place them on earth.”
Jaejoong hurries himself to the men on the ground, squatting as he hits the man’s arm, “You bastard! I thought I’d killed you!”
When Yoochun looks up, he sees tears running over the demon’s face. He doesn’t know if they were tears of sadness or tears of joy or both. He knows for sure that both kind of tears are running over his cheeks, mingling with each other until there are only tears of joy left.
“Never do this again, you fool,” he frowns, though there’s no anger. He couldn’t feel more joyous at the moment.
“Why? I would’ve been willing to catch thousands of thunder bolts if I would’ve known it would make you realize your love for me,” Changmin says. Somewhere on the background, there’s the sound of Jaejoong gagging, but Yoochun doesn’t hear any of it. There’s only him and Changmin.
Changmin once again tightens his grip on their hands before he says, “I’m holding on onto you as well.” The man smiles sweetly, raising his head to let his lips make contact with Yoochun’s. Their mouths mold together and they’re kissing each other passionately, the thought of losing one other unbearable. Their lips mold perfectly together and Yoochun feels as if he had been created for this sole purpose only - his life on earth had been just a dream, had been just the beginning of something so much greater.
When he puts his head in the crook of Changmin’s neck, his head fitting perfectly, a smile of bliss painted on his lips, he whispers, “You’d better. Because I won’t let go even if you wanted me to.”
-----
A/N: I succeeded in finishing this fic without any extensions lololol sweet victory 8)
Pairing: Yoochun x Changmin
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Genre: AU, angst, fantasy, romance
Length: Chaptered
Warnings: Unbeta-ed, religious themes
Summary: Demon Changmin is bored. His new victim is human Yoochun.
Chapter 1
“I think I’ve got him,” Changmin laughs. “You should have seen the look in his eyes! It was so hopeful and delighted with just the right amount of fear. Seriously, Jaejoong. You should have some respect for me. You do know how hard it is to make humans with white auras crumble like this, right? They are the children of God, they are the ones he favours. It’s going to be so much fun when he finally gives in into temptation!”
Jaejoong is sitting comfortably on a couch, reading a book written by humans about demons. He rolls his eyes, “You know, you’re just as stupid as this book. Those humans really don’t have a perception of what demons really look like. They think we’re ugly monsters with weird complexions, think we have fangs and claws, think we love to crawl around in the blood of humans, eating their guts and stuff. It’s so gruesome. Who even thinks of this stuff? I mean... just look at us. We’re handsome, our appearance close to a human’s and very intelligent... with a few exceptions. We don’t like crawling around in human blood, we’d rather fill our life spans with theirs.”
“Why don’t you stop reading those trash books then? Do something useful with your life,” Changmin says, rolling his eyes back at his friend.
“Yunho is doing quite well, thank you very much,” his friend answers absentmindedly, his eyes still fixated on the book he’s reading, “I’ll give him a few years. I don’t think it’d be necessary to act as cruel as you are doing right now towards Yoochun... I’ve just decided Yunho will be bullied by a lot of people, bullied so mercilessly... he’ll end up begging for death. And then I’ll just appear before he kills himself, promising him looks, wealth, friends, popularity, whatever he wants. Not as cruel as your plan but I think it’ll be enough to push him over the edge. His aura isn’t as white and bright as Yoochun’s... he was born with a black one so I don’t think it’ll be too much of a challenge.”
“Aren’t you bored of the predictability of humans? Of their weakness?” Changmin sighs, his fingers running over his mirror once again until the picture starts changing, blurring, only to show the desperate face of a small boy. “I think Yoochun-ah will need one more push... One light push to break through the already crackling surface, one light push to make this all definitive...
Jaejoong, stop reading that book and watch this real life drama unfold itself. Watch how adults play this game so you can learn and improve yours.”
~
He could do everything... Could change everything with just one wish. With just one sacrifice.
He could wish his sister back to life. It’d be a fair trade; his life for hers. Hadn’t he been wishing for that? Hadn’t he been wishing that it could’ve been him instead of her? He hadn’t been lying. Yoochun knew that he’d grasp the opportunity with both his hands, never letting go, if he could change the fact that he was walking around on both legs while his sister would soon be buried under the ground.
So why wasn’t he grasping this opportunity with both hands? Why, when everything seemed so simple in his head? When everything was so simple in theory?
It was because of the strange man. How had he gotten into his room? How had he known about his wishes? How had he known his name? There was just... something so completely off. Yoochun knew he was involved into something so big, so dark, so sinister that it made him scared.
Then again... wouldn’t he be willing to do anything for his sister? Wouldn’t he be willing to do absolutely anything to give his sister her life back, to see her smile again, to see those warm eyes look at him... Wouldn’t his life be nothing compared to that? After all, Sa Rang had always been his reason to wake up every morning, his reason to live...
Giving up his life for her wasn’t a problem.
Striking a deal with someone who could possibly be the Devil... that was what scared Yoochun.
~
There was just something so off in his life. The feeling of not being able to walk downstairs, to have his breakfast while his sister would be rambling happily against him, was just so off. The feeling of not being able to walk into her room, scared of everything that would remind him of her. Scared that he’d think of her again, scared that memories would come flying at him. It felt as if something was strangling him, choking him slowly to death.
And his parents.
His parents didn’t seem to be able to cope with the death of their daughter. Yoochun didn’t blame them; he knew he was exactly the same disbelieving person who refused to accept reality... and yet, there seemed to be something in their gaze, something like blame. And Yoochun knew what they were thinking, heard the unspoken words screamed into his ears.
Why did it have to be her.
Why couldn’t it be you?
~
“Ch-Changmin?” the voice of Yoochun trembles, barely audible as he’s choked by doubt. He’s a little bit scared of what’s going to happen in the next hours. A little bit scared of the justness of the words that are going to leave his mouth. A little bit scared for the consequences of his decision. But he’s also really hopeful for the consequences of his decision. “Changmin? Can you hear me?”
His eyes are searching the room, waiting for an answer of the strange man. His eyes linger longer on the place where Changmin had appeared the last time, hoping that the man will be able to hear him even though it goes against rationality.
“You called me?”
A shiver runs down Yoochun’s spine as he feels the cool breath of the man brush against his ear. He tries to control his fear, tries to appear self composed and determined, but he feels his own fear in the air and he knows he fails miserably. “I-I did,” he says, closing his eyes in the hope that it’d give him more courage, “I wanted to tell you about my decision.”
“So... you’ve decided?” Changmin says, moving his body until he’s in front of the boy. There’s a smile on his face and Yoochun can’t help but feel even more scared, the look on the face of the man making him fear for the worse.
“Y-yes,” Yoochun takes a shaky breath, before he continues, “I want to make a wish.”
“Tell me, what do you want?”
“I want... I want to get my sister back. I want her to live life to the fullest. I want her to regain her bright future, I want her to be happy, I want her to become old and wrinkly with a man by her side. I want Park Sa Rang, my little sister, to be alive again... Please, help me with this.”
Yoochun knew nothing but bad things could be unleashed. Striking deals with persons as sinister as Changmin... The boy knew this wasn’t going to end well; but he hoped the bad consequences were only for him and not for his sister.
“I will,” a big smile appears on Changmin’s face, “To keep things on earth at ease, seeing how your sister’s funeral is going to be tomorrow, I don’t think it’d be great to revive her now. So how about this? I’ll turn times back to exactly two weeks before the robbery. Your sister will still be alive, you will be alive, everyone is alive. You can go back to the good old days. For two weeks.
After two weeks, the one who will find death won’t be your sister, but it’ll be you. You will be there when the store gets robbed, you will get shot and you will die. You should know that once you accept my help, your soul won’t find any rest. You won’t go to Heaven. Your soul will go to Hell and remain there for the rest of eternity. Do you understand that?”
“Yes. Please, please, just help me. I don’t care about the consequences...” Yoochun begs, finding his hands around Changmin’s arms, a pleading look in his eyes, “Where do I have to sign?”
~
When Yoochun wakes up, his heart is beating so loudly that it threatens to jump out of his chest. He jumps out of bed, his breathing speeding up, his feet running, until he’s finally in front of his sister’s room. He hesitantly lifts his hand, too scared to knock, but he does anyway. There's fear, the fear of everything just being a nightmare. The fear of his sister still cold and dead, waiting to be buried today, waiting to have so many people mourning and crying over her body. With him almost going insane at the sight of her unmoving body.
"Sa Rang-ah?" he hesitantly asks. When there's no answer, he feels like crying. Had everything just been a dream after all? Yoochun tries to gather the courage, tries to man up so he'd be able to face the truth instead of his delusions. It had all been too good to be true... It was time to wake up and face the harsh reality.
When Yoochun feels his legs giving out under him, the tears running over his face, the whole world crumbling under him, when he feels no more hope... the door opens.
"Whyyy?" the voice he had been missing so so much for the past days... it was filling his ears. "Oppa, why do you have to wake me this ear- yah, what's wrong?"
The whiny tone instantly disappears out of Sa Rang's voice as she worriedly eyes her brother who is resembling a rag doll. His eyes have no more light, his face wet with tears and it seemed as if he no longer had the energy to walk around on this planet.
When Yoochun hears the voice and hesitantly lifts his eyes to meet hers, a wave of relief is flooding through him. He immediately rises to his feet and before he knows it, he has Sa Rang in his arms, clutching desperately onto her, begging her to never leave him again.
When Sa Rang says oppa you're so silly why would I ever leave you, Yoochun feels a wave of relief wash through him. It was still the same girl from his memories... The girl he adored was still alive...
"Oppa will protect you," is all Yoochun's able to whisper in her ear.
He had two weeks left to live. He wanted to do so many things in those fourteen days. He wanted to spend his time with the person most important to him, his sister.
~
"Shouldn't you be working today?" there's a worried look on Sa Rang's face, "Shouldn't I be going to school too? So why are we here? Do we even have money to spend?"
"Yes, yes and no," Yoochun replies, a little bit taken back by the questions of his sister. Yet, there's nothing that can make the radiant smile on his face disappear. He's happy his sister is still there, her body warm and moving, her doe eyes bright and sparkling. "I don't have any money so I'm sorry Sa Rang-ah, that I can't do even this much for you... but I still hope you'll have some fun with me. I realized we've never been somewhere other than the shop of our parents."
And the smile that appears on his sister's face, so sweet and radiant, as she takes his hand, her fingers tangling with his, makes Yoochun forget everything.
His life had been worth it.
~
"Look how cute they are, Jae-yah," Changmin sneers, looking at the happiness plastered all over his mirror. He knows he should stop looking at the sickeningly happy scene on his mirror, but he can't. There's something so thoroughly intriguing him... The vibes that Yoochun loves to spend every last second of his life with his sister, the thrilling and bright laughs on their faces as they run around... the look filled with adoration in Yoochun's eyes as he holds out his hand, waiting for his sister to curl her fingers around it. The eyes filled with bliss and love as Yoochun puts an arm around her before pulling Sa Rang in a choking hug, never wanting to let her go. Though he knows he will.
"Bear with it. You've got your deal... while my victim is still in his diapers. Just wait until the last few days arrive for Yoochun - the look of desperation in his eyes, the look of sadness... It'll coat this sugary spectacle with the right amount of desperation. It'll become quite enjoyable to watch."
Only it didn't.
When Jaejoong wasn't at his home, Changmin would find himself plastered to the mirror. He'd watch the small boy cry himself to sleep, the feeling of heartbreak and pain pasted on Yoochun's face. Changmin would watch the boy get up early in the morning, the first thing he'd do check his sleeping sister, look at the breathing form under the sheets before letting out a sigh of relief. The demon would watch the boy prepare himself for work, still working nonstop until his last days because there's nothing else for him out there, because he has no other choice than doing this.
He'd watch customers scold the boy, watch the body of the boy become tired and pained, he'd watch Sa Rang come back and he'd watch Yoochun smile immediately, the worries about his own death disappearing, the pains in his body vanishing. Changmin would watch how Yoochun asked his sister to learn him to spell words, writing down shaky letters of the alphabet, and he'd watch how patiently Sa Rang would explain things to him, guiding Yoochun's hand slowly and ruffling his hair when he had done well.
It amused Changmin to see how humans would still try to learn things before they'd die. What was the point of knowing how to spell 'fish' when you'd end up in Hell?
But there was something... something in Yoochun's eyes... that made Changmin uncomfortable. There was almost no sadness in those brown orbs, always filled with love and happiness. The boy hardly felt any desperation towards his nearing death, too happy that it was him instead of his sister.
The selflessness made Changmin fidget in discomfort. There was something so off... but what?
He hated how the aura of Yoochun became brighter and brighter until it was once again the blindening light of when he has born. Did this even make sense? How was it possible for a human to be so pure?
~
When Yoochun wakes up, he feels uncomfortable and scared. Today was the final day, the last day of his life. He'd die today and spend the rest of the existence of his soul in Hell. It scares him. It would be a lie to say he didn't fear for his life, didn't fear for his soul... but it had been worth it.
To have his sister back even though she had been dead for already three days... It was sensationally strange and unbelievable but also so so good. To hold her in his arms, to see her laugh, to see her live.
It had all been worth it.
"Sa Rang-ah, I love you," he tells her that morning, "Please keep that in mind. I’ll protect you."
Please think occasionally about me, about the person lucky enough to be called your brother. I'll love you even though I'm going to die today. My life is nothing compared to yours, please be happy and live long. Please don't meet the wrong men when I'm not around anymore to protect you. Please marry a nice man in the future and become happy with him. Please have a lot of children and become old and wrinkly and happy. Please take care of our parents. I know I am asking too much of you but please... these are your brother's last wishes. Can you please do that, for me? For your brother who’s hopeless in everything and who doesn’t deserve to have been loved so dearly by someone like you. Promise? I take that as a promise.
"Oppa, what's wrong with you today? What's with the cheesey lines?" Sa Rang laughs. However, her laugh fades away almost immediately when she notices the sad look on the face of her brother. "Of course, I know. You know I love you too, right?"
It becomes almost too unbearable. Yoochun feels like crying but he doesn't, instead saying, "I know. I'll always know."
When he pulls her into an embrace, she doesn't complain. Yoochun wraps his arms tightly around his sister, closing his eyes as he nuzzles his nose into her hair, smelling her sweet fragrance for the last time. Their hearts are beating at the same pace, her warm body close against his and Yoochun knows it's all been worth it.
When he pulls away, a cold breeze brushing past the place where a moment ago the warmth of his sister had been, he finds himself wishing the past few seconds could have lasted forever.
But he knows he should be careful what to wish for.
~
"What the hell is wrong with me," Changmin breathes, one hand clutching his painfully throbbing chest while another hand is clutching the table in his chamber. His breathing is uneven and harsh as he tries to think around the pain in his chest.
He was alone in his house, Jaejoong too busy with watching his own victim to care about his best friend. Changmin gags, the pain nauseating him, as he keeps on muttering 'what the hell, what the hell, what the hell'. What in the world was happening?
He had never been into so much pain before, not even when he had gotten hurt when he had been battling other demons. Not even when he had seen his mother die before his own eyes, stabbed through one of her lungs by an angel. Not even when he had found the cold body of his father at home, refusing to refill his life span once his wife had died.
Changmin knows that the love of a demon goes beyond any boundaries. Demons appeared as cold and heartless monsters but once they found someone to love, it’d exceed everything.
But what was this damn pain?
~
“This is a robbery! Everyone freeze or else he’ll die!” Yoochun feels a firm grip on his shoulders, an arm pressuring his body close to the body of the robber. His eyes widen in shock but at the same time, the cold feeling of calmness overwhelms him. The need of having to feel scared for death disappears and Yoochun doesn’t even fight the robbers, his wide eyes just looking pleadingly at his parents.
Please take care of Sa Rang. I know you’d rather have me gone than your own daughter.
“Give me the money!”
The taller man walks in front of him, ready to get the money while Yoochun feels the chubby guy put the gun to his temple. His breathing speeds up and even though he knows he can’t fight his fate - not when the life of his sister was at stake - he still hopes for something to save him. He still hopes he’ll be able to live on, to watch his sister grow old, to see her children.
“I-I’ll give it to you. Please-please don’t hurt my son,” Yoochun’s heart breaks when he sees his mother crying, tears rolling over her cheeks as she hands the tall man the money, her hands trembling. Before he realizes it, his cheeks are just as wet as his mother’s though it isn’t because of fear.
It’s because he realizes he parents have cared about him all along. They have thought about him as more than just a free laborer all along. What a fool he had been.
He... he doesn’t want to die...
He wants to continue... wants to be there for his family... wants to do so much...
He was too young to die.
But the tall man is already walking back and Yoochun is frozen to the ground as he hears the words ‘get rid of him’ mumbled to the man who’s been holding him all along. He’s trembling uncomfortably when the weight of the gun against his head disappears and he knows that he has only a few more seconds to live. After all, his sister had been shot the moment they had gotten the money. To create the perfect opportunity to escape, to have everyone’s attention reverted to the dieing girl on the ground.
He’d be just like her.
His life would just be used like hers.
But Yoochun was glad that it was his life and not hers.
He closed his eyes, tears leaking out of the corners as he prepared himself for the pain. The sound of a bang broke through the chaos and all that was left of him was pain, excruciating pain, that left him like a whimpering mess on the floor, the white tiles colouring red.
Yoochun doesn’t even hear the screams of desperation, doesn’t even hear the heartbroken cries, doesn’t even hear the gasps around him, doesn’t even feel hands on his cold body, doesn’t even know anything other than the pain in his back. He’s taking shaky breaths, struggling to keep his conscious, struggling to keep living, even though he already knows he’ll die. Even though he can almost feel the flames of Hell around him. His face is contorted in pain but at the same time, he’s happy.
Happy that his sister doesn’t have to feel this excruciating pain. Happy that his sister isn’t the one who’s struggling to keep breathing, happy that it isn’t his sister whose clothes are soaked with blood, happy that his sister isn’t the one who’s coughing up blood. Happy that it is just him, Park Yoochun.
~
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Changmin can’t stop cursing.
He realizes what has happened. The pain has finally subdued and there was just one thing different - his heart had started beating, had started fluttering, had started aching at the sight of Yoochun lying on the floor, bleeding to his death.
“HOW THE FUCK IS THIS POSSIBLE?!” his fist makes contact with the wall but instead of his fist ending up bleeding, the wall ends up crumbling under his touch. Changmin hisses in frustration, feeling the need to destroy, to ruin, to kill.
And yet, the only person he had destroyed, had ruined, had killed was the person he had fallen in love with.
Shim Changmin had fallen in love with a lowly human being.
A lowly human being had given Shim Changmin a heart, a heart that would beat only for him.
Changmin had spend the past two weeks almost nonstop for the mirror, looking how Yoochun poured his heart out to his sister. Looking how every small move of the human being was so filled with love... that it made the demon want to feel the same amount of love. That it made Changmin want to feel just as loved as Sa Rang, that it made him want someone to talk to, to touch, to hold close.
That it made Changmin want Yoochun to look at him the same way he looked lovingly at Sa Rang. He wanted him to smile the same way at him.
How pathetic.
How could an aristocrat demon like him fall in love for one of the most despicable creatures on earth? This was so against the laws of nature and yet... it had happened completely against his own will.
One look in the mirror made Changmin shudder. The person he now loved but also hated was dieing. Because of him. And if he wanted to stop this on time, he had to suppress his feelings of frustrations now and face Park Yoochun.
He was one soul he didn’t want to end in the burning flames of Hell, tormented by his sins for forever and ever.
~
It choked him to see the human lie in his own blood, struggling to keep breathing, struggling to keep living. It made Changmin want to throw up because it reminded him of a fly, one who had been swatted unsuccessfully and was trying to fly again even though the injuries obviously were lethal. It made him even more nauseous to think that he had fallen in love with such a low being.
The steady beating of his heart was proof enough.
And his heart, his heart was aching at the sight of the human in so much pain. It made guilt eat him from the inside to see Yoochun take raspy breaths, to see him coughing up blood, to see him almost choke on his own blood. It made him want to fall on his knees, made him want to hold Yoochun close, to caress his cheek as he made the pain stop.
However, his pride was stopping him. How could a demon like him kneel in front of a human and weep like a crybaby? That was unheard of!
With only one snap of his fingers, time stands still. Changmin looks at the chaos in the store, the blood on the floor, the crying woman next to the body of Yoochun, the shocked bystanders. He knows he should act fast or else he’d lose the soul of the human to the burning flames of eternity.
~
“Ch-Changmin,” a smile of bliss appears on Yoochun’s face as he sees the man appear out of nowhere. His dark clothing and the fact that he’s the only thing moving make him stand out and even in his dazed state, Yoochun knows death is close. Maybe because he’s foolish, maybe because he wants the pain to stop; the boy doesn’t mind dieing anymore. He knows that there might be an even greater pain beyond this but for now, he just wants everything to stop.
“Yoochun-ah,” the man comes closer, stretching his hands out until he softly touches Yoochun’s cheek.
“So... I guess... this is it,” Yoochun breathes. His vision is starting to swim in black spots and he wants to end it all. The pain is just too much for him, too incomprehensible, too excruciating. And yet, he refuses to let go now. He wants to say one more thing, one more thing to the man he owes his sister’s life to... “Th-thank you. Thank you... f-for my sis-sister.”
There’s a sad smile on Changmin’s face. “I really should hate you... but now that I’m standing face to face to you, my heart is beating like crazy. I can’t... can’t make it stop, can’t control it. I don’t want your gratefulness, I want you, living, breathing, but we all know that that isn’t possible. Your injuries are lethal just like they were for your sister... The only thing I can do for you, Yoochun-ah, is this.”
Before Yoochun loses his consciousness, he sees Changmin move, getting a paper from his pocket which looks awfully much like the contract the boy had signed two weeks ago. He loses himself into the dark nothing right at the moment he hears paper ripping.
~
When Yoochun wakes up, he finds himself thinking that Hell probably isn’t as bad as he had initially thought. It’s warm but not burning hot. There’s no fear in his head, no pain, just... bliss. It makes him scared to open his eyes, scared to see what Hell looks like, scared that everything might change the moment he opens his eyes.
“You can wake up now,” a bored voice sounds, “I know you’re awake.”
A little bit shocked, Yoochun hesitantly opens his eyes. He’s surprised to find himself lying on something that looks like a bed though it looks entirely different than the beds he knew. “Where am I?” he asks, looking around in bewilderment, “Am I dead? Is this Hell?”
“You are dead. Kind of. Not really, though,” Changmin rambles, looking a bit pissed off. When Yoochun looks at him, an expectant gaze in his eyes, the man lets out a sigh, “I guess it’s a long story.”
“Well, I’d like to know. I think it is important to me after all to know whether I’m alive right now or not.”
“Your heart is beating. I think that’s enough proof of you being alive,” Changmin snapped. Yoochun frowns, putting a hand against his chest to, indeed, feel a steady heartbeat. It surprises him just as much as it surprises him how the normally composed and cold man seemed to lose his cool in front of him. “I really feel like killing you. I really want to. And yet, it’s because of me that your heart is still beating right now, it’s because of me that your soul isn’t burning in the flames of Hell right now, it’s because of me that you can be comfortable right now instead of working your ass off. I-I... what are you doing to me?”
“Wh-what are you talking about?” He’s scared. The man in front of him seemed completely out of his mind. “What could I be possibly doing to you? The only time I’ve seen you before today was two weeks ago... I-I only signed a contract with you.”
“That might be the only time you have seen me... but that really isn’t the only time I have seen you. Yoochun... do you know what I have done for you? Do you know what you have made me do for you?”
When Yoochun shakes his head, his eyes big and scared, Changmin comes closer, his dark eyes digging into his brown ones, “I gave up my blood line for you. My blood line with no single drop of human blood in it. I gave up the future of my children, my grandchildren, my great grandchildren, my great great grandchildren... I gave it all up for you. I gave up my strength, my sanity, my life span... All because of you, a mere human, who I wanted to use for immortality... how ironic that the very same thing is making me mortal right now.”
“What are you talking about?” Yoochun frowns.
“What am I talking about? You still don’t get it?” there’s a frustrated look on Changmin’s face. It scares Yoochun, it makes him want to run away as fast as he can... This was so completely different from everything he had been expecting - he had prepared himself for death, for Hell, not for... a lecture from the man who had offered him his death.
But Changmin is already moving closer, closer, until his mouth makes contact with Yoochun’s.
The boy feels a hand behind his neck, pulling him closer to the demon, as he feels lips moving over his own lips, a tongue ravishing his mouth, exploring it. There’s no love in the kiss, just a kind of desperation that makes Yoochun scared. When he tries to fight the man off, the kiss only becomes rougher, and he knows it’s hopeless. Of course his strength was nothing compared to the man’s who could turn back time and revive people from the death.
When Changmin finally pulls away, both men stare at each other, gasping for air after the kiss. Their chests are heaving at the same time and it takes the demon a few moments before he can finally pull himself together.
“Don’t you see it? You made me fall in love with you.”
The desperate look in Changmin’s eyes scares Yoochun.
~
Yoochun soon loses track of time. He doesn’t know how long he has been in Hell, neither does he know the full story behind his survival. The first other living being he sees is a strikingly beautiful man. However, the man takes one look at Yoochun, then at Changmin, before he lets out a gasp. Why isn’t he dead yet? What... what am I sensing? Shit, Changmin, what did you do, why is this human half demon now, why do you have a beating heart in your chest, shit shit shit, what did you do?!
He had left even though Changmin had begged him to stay.
After that, Yoochun hadn’t seen the man anymore.
“Look at what you’re doing to me... You’re ruining my life...” Changmin says one day, his eyes filled with anger and frustration. He’s pacing through the room, everything in him so filled with frustration that it scares Yoochun, before he finally gives up and places himself opposite from him, his sad eyes pleading. “Please... Can’t you at least make my sacrifice worth it?”
But there’s nothing Yoochun can do. His hands rest uselessly in his lap and there’s no spark when Changmin’s lips crush against his in a desperate kiss. When the demon pulls away, a look of expectancy in his eyes, the boy feels his heart break. Nevertheless, he doesn’t lie.
“I’m sorry,” he says, “I feel nothing.”
“Why can’t you love me like you loved her?”
“I’m sorry.” It’s all he can say.
~
Life isn’t very exciting but it’s bearable. Yoochun can see it in every movement Changmin does, sees it in his eyes, sees how hard the demon is trying... trying for him. The boy had not once stepped out of the house ever since he had lost his human body, too scared that he’d meet other demons. The demon, who had exited the house upset and angry, had been enough indication for Yoochun to know how other demons would react.
Changmin had told him not to think about it. However, the troubled look in his eyes was enough for Yoochun to know the man had a hard time dealing with his own feelings as well.
When the demon steps into Yoochun’s room one night, opening the creaking door, the boy is immediately awake. Yoochun has had a hard time sleeping soundless ever since he had left earth. “What’s it, Changmin?” he asks, eyeing the man sleepily.
“I... I didn’t mean to wake you,” Changmin said. “I err... forgot something.”
When the demon starts rummaging through drawers, a distraught look in his eyes, Yoochun already understands what had been the original intention of the man. His lips form an ‘o’ though no sound leaves them. “Would you-would you like to tell me something?” he finally asks. There had been a lot of questions ghosting through his head but he hadn’t had the courage to ask them. Now that Changmin appeared so vulnerable... it encouraged Yoochun to ask.
“What is it?” The man halts his frantic rummaging, looking suspiciously at the boy. He then finally comes closer until he places himself on Yoochun’s bedside.
“Could you tell me what you did? What you did to me and yourself?” a blush appears on Yoochun’s face. He wishes he had never started talking about this subject... “I-I heard the man who visited your house the first time screaming. He said... I had become a half demon? He said... you had a heart?”
Changmin sighs. “I think you’ll have to know it sooner or later. The reason you aren’t burning in the flames of Hell right now... it’s because I ripped the contract you signed just in time, thus nullifying it. The reason you are still alive; it’s because of me. You should know that I used to be one of the strongest demons here. I used my powers to save you - you, who had made my heart start beating again. I gave you half of my remaining life span and in return for that, you aren’t human anymore. The whole process is quite complicated but even though you’re half demon, half human right now, you’re too vulnerable. I wouldn’t suggest walking outside or else other demons will sense your weakness and shred you apart before you even have the chance to turn around and run.”
Yoochun wants to ask why the man did it for him. But he already knows the answer and instead, he asks, “Why was that man so angry?”
“He’s been my friend since childhood. We’ve grown up together... You might think we’ve known each other only for twenty-five years because of our youthful appearance but we’ve been knowing each other for centuries and centuries. You might get startled if you’d hear my real age,” Changmin laughs, before a frown appears on his face, “He wasn’t angry because of you. I think he was more angry at me. I would have been the last person in Hell who would have fallen in love with a human - just ignore it, it’s Jaejoong’s pride. We’re both prideful persons... though I guess, my pride has gotten a hit lately.”
Yoochun ignores the painful words, continuing, “Is it that bad to fall in love with a human? Is it that humiliating?”
A silence.
“Yes,” Changmin finally says, “It’s downgrading. Especially if you’re from highly respected families like Jaejoong and me. It also makes us vulnerable... Suddenly, we become so much more easier to kill.”
“To kill? Can demons die? But... aren’t they dead already?” Yoochun asks, his eyes wide, gasping.
“Even the undead can die,” Changmin smiles wryly, “Initially, demons thought they could only find death when they would battle other demons, fighting until one of them collapsed. The occurrence of fights was quite often: every demon was made of the most intense darkness and occasionally, there’d be fights about land or just random fights because one was moody or felt like killing.
Death could also be found when there’d be fights with angels. This, however, had only occurred twice in history. Both times, it had ended with huge losses on both sides. There had been fallen angels joining our sides, traitors who couldn’t resist the temptation of the dark side, and the fights had seemed to be never ending, both sides equal in strength.
Both times, we had been forced to make peace.
Sometimes, demons would choose for death willingly. They’d have enough of the boring life in Hell, seen things repeat themselves over and over again that nothing was entertaining anymore. They’d stop striking any deals with humans and they’d wait for their remaining life span to tick away.”
There’s a silence, before Changmin finally continues, “The final thing that can kill a demon is love. Not love itself, but falling in love with a human. It causes the dead heart of a demon to start beating again, to flutter and to feel warmth. Every time when a demon had fallen in love with a human, they had ended up giving up their immortality. They had used their powers for the last time and divided their remaining life span in two, sharing it with their other half. The human became stronger, leeching off the powers of the demon, while the demon grew weaker.
They’d find death at the same time.
That’s why Jaejoong is so upset. Death has become something inevitable for me.”
Yoochun doesn’t dare asking more. He’s scared for the truth behind all the things he doesn’t know. Instead, he reaches out his hand, his fingers intertwining with Changmin’s, before he pulls the man with him onto bed. When the startled man doesn’t resist his pull, a smile appears on Yoochun’s face and he puts the sheets over both of their bodies.
Just for today, he wants to show his gratefulness for the sacrifices this man has made for him.
Just for today, he wants to ease the pain of sacrificing.
Because he knows how painful it is to sacrifice things precious to you; but he knows it all becomes worth it if you get something even more precious in return.
~
“Jae?” Changmin is surprised to stand face to face with his friend. He had tried so many times to talk to Jaejoong but his efforts had failed every time. It’s a relief to see that this time, his friend was the one who came to him first. A smile of hope breaks through on Changmin’s face, “Please, listen to me, let me explain everything!”
He turns around, intending to let his friend walk behind him, but he’s completely caught off guard when he hears the words, “I’m sorry, Changmin-ah.”
And then everything becomes black.
~
“Changmin?” Yoochun hesitantly asks, surprised when he hears a dull thud. “Is everything okay?”
His legs are already moving through the rooms and Yoochun is looking where Changmin might be, though he’s surprised when he suddenly stands face to face with a handsome man. It takes Yoochun a few seconds to realize that it’s the same upset man he had seen a few days ago. “H-hi,” he stammers, bowing quickly when he sees the man.
A chuckle escapes from the lips of Jaejoong but it’s humorless, cold. It sends shivers right down Yoochun’s spine. “This low human dares to talk to me? Changmin really has no taste.”
And then Yoochun is pinned against the wall. “Wh-what are you doing?” he’s scared, his breathing uneven. The brown eyes of the man are dark with rage and the boy feels like he could be drowning into an icy lake if he’d lose himself into them.
“One move...” Jaejoong whispers, his breath brushing against Yoochun’s cheek, “One move... and I’ll snap your neck.”
“You’re intending to do that anyway,” Yoochun says bluntly, looking Jaejoong in the eyes, “Stop playing around with me. I’m not your toy. End it now if you only want to see me beg and grovel in front of you.”
A smile appears on Jaejoong’s face. “Courage. I appreciate that. Too bad it won’t get you anywhere.”
When Yoochun closes his eyes in fear, waiting for a choking grip on his head, he’s surprised to hear a snarl, followed by the sound of a light laugh. “I knew I should have hit you harder on the head,” Jaejoong laughs. Yoochun’s eyes fly open, only to see a cursing Changmin, awake and well.
“Fuck it, Jae, why are you doing this?”
“For you. You’ll be grateful once I’ve killed him. I don’t know what he has wished for, what kind of black magic skills he possesses, but I know this is so unlike you. You detest humans. You would never fall in love with one, let alone sacrifice your family name for them. Sacrifice your immortality for them. There’s still time left - he’s not entirely transformed yet. There’s still a chance to regain your pride.”
Jaejoong once again lurches forward, flinging his body at Yoochun who’s been frozen to the ground. When their bodies collapse on the floor, he feels an excruciating pain in his right leg and a scream of pain escapes from Yoochun’s lips. However, he isn’t able to dwell on the pain as he feels firm hands being placed on both sides of his head and even though he’s struggling, hoping he’ll have a chance to fight the demon off, he already knows he stands no chance. He was still as weak as when he was human.
“No, no, NO, you’re not going to touch him!” There’s another snarl and the sudden weight on Yoochun’s body disappears. He gasps when he hears the sound of two bodies colliding into the furniture. He tries to scramble back onto his feet but he knows he can’t when his right leg gives out under him. However, he fears more for Changmin’s life than for his own. “Fuck it, fuck Jae, why do you have to go this far?”
Yoochun doesn’t hear the answer, a scream filling his ears and when he looks again, he isn’t able to believe his eyes.
Both demons are standing opposite each other, Changmin’s eyes burning with anger while Jaejoong looks slightly amused. Yet, that isn’t the thing that had gotten Yoochun’s attention. When Changmin moves his hand, making a shooting gesture in the air, there are fire bolts shooting from his palms. The other demon dodges them skillfully, the couch behind him catching fire. “Pity. That was my favourite couch,” Jaejoong mutters, before bringing his attention back to the fight.
There are lightning bolts shooting from Jaejoong’s hands and the two demons are moving so fast that they become one big hazy blur. Yoochun’s eyes aren’t able to see the two, his gaze too slow to catch their movements. He wants to help but his hands hang helplessly by his side and he knows there’s nothing he can do except watch and try not to get hurt.
Suddenly, he’s able to see Jaejoong again. The demon stops in the mid of his tracks, looking around, listening carefully while his eyes wander the space. “Playing hide and seek now, Min-ah? You know you’re at a disadvantage. I’ve known you for so long, I know your strategies. We were equally strong before but you’ve been weakened so much by your sacrifice - you know it and I know it.”
Without a warning, a fire bolt appears out of nothing and Jaejoong dodges this one, once again, with ease. He immediately turns around to let a thunder bolt explode from his palm and Yoochun’s heart skips a beat when he hears a groan, a man appearing out of nowhere. Changmin clutches his chest, puffing, “Even though you spend your days reading badly written human books, I see that you’re still just as agile and fast as when we were children.”
“What did you expect?” a grin flashes on Jaejoong’s face as he lurches forward, his fist making contact with Changmin’s chest. The demon once again grimaces but it doesn’t stop him, his fists flying against Jaejoong’s, as they’re trying to overpower one other. Their bodies are moving, dodging each others attacks, until Jaejoong’s body finally gets hit with one of Changmin’s fists and he’s thrown back into the air, his body making contact with the solid wall.
The two demons are breathing heavily, both having their own injuries, “Stop this nonsense, Jae,” Changmin huffs, “You know this will be a fight till death. I don’t want to kill you but you leave me no choice if you want to kill Yoochun.”
It doesn’t help. Jaejoong only gets angrier, the pained expression on his face only growing more intense, “Are you saying that that little human over there is more worth than our friendship? We’ve grown up together! We’ve known each other for centuries, Changmin, what happened to your mind? You’ve always been incredibly smart. You really want to let that human ruin our friendship?”
“I’m not the one who lets a human ruin our friendship. It’s you,” Changmin snaps, “Why don’t you try to regain your mind? You really want to kill me because I’ve fallen in love with a human? You really want to destroy our friendship because of your damn pride? I’m begging you, let’s talk about it. At the rate we’re going now, we’ll kill ourselves. I don’t want to kill you and I’m sure you don’t want to be the one killing me either.”
Changmin’s eyes are pleading, his hand stretched out. However, Jaejoong’s eyes remain hard, “I’m sorry. I can’t. You would have done the same thing if it had been me in your shoes. Once I’ve killed that human, you’ll come back to your senses. I’m not intending to kill you, Changmin-ah.”
“That’s rather unfortunate then,” Changmin grinds his teeth, crouching back into his fighting position, his hands balled into fists. “I’m not intending to let you go without any lethal wounds if you dare to touch even one hair on Yoochun’s head. I don’t care if that means I’ll have to die.”
With these words, both demons once again become one big blur of fighting bodies and even though Yoochun tries to beg them to stop, both hands clutching his swollen leg, his voice is lost in the sound of screams and bodies moving around each other. He sees hands making contact with limps, sees thunder and fire bolts appear out of nowhere, only to disappear in thin air when they didn’t hit their opponent.
Yoochun’s heart is beating so fast that he finds himself thinking it might jump out of his chest. At first, both demons seemed to be equal in strength. Yet, Yoochun knows he’s wrong. Even though Changmin has the ability to predict Jaejoong’s moves, to see what he’s going to do and how he’s going to counterattack it, his agility isn’t able to keep up with Jaejoong’s. There’s sweat dripping down both their faces but even though the older demon looks like he could have gone on for a few more days like this, Changmin already looks exhausted.
Yoochun remembers the words... Initially, demons thought they could only find death when they would battle other demons, fighting until one of them collapsed. At this rate, he knew who was going to be the first one who’d collapse... “No...” he gasps, a look of pure horror painting his face, “No! Please, stop!”
Who was he to think two demons would listen to him.
He tries to get back onto his feet - shifting his weight onto his left leg because the other one starts to shake uncontrollably when he puts even a little bit of pressure on it - and he’s already limping forward. He knows he’s foolish. But he’s too scared for Changmin.
“No, no, no, please stop,” he says, hopelessly. He can’t do anything else but beg and hope the two men would come back to the right state of mind.
“You really found a courageous yet stupid human,” Jaejoong laughs, eyeing him, “Let’s end it now, okay? I’ve had enough of our warming up.”
And suddenly, there’s a thunder bolt flying at Yoochun. He doesn’t even have the reflexes to dodge it - complete failing compared to the epic battle the two demons just had - but something in him says it would be better this way anyway. He didn’t want to see the look of suffering in Changmin’s eyes anymore, the look of hurt pride. Neither did he want to be the cause of broken friendship or even more importantly; the reason behind Changmin’s death.
However, the expected pain of a thunder bolt hitting his body never comes.
Yoochun gasps when he sees why.
He drops on his knees, ignoring his throbbing leg, as his hands grasp the arms of the man lying on the ground desperately. “No, no, no!” he finds himself screaming, his hands desperately clutching onto the man, desperately hoping this would just turn out into a nightmare. He’s pulling the body of the man close to his own, Changmin’s new heart beating right next to his own, desperately begging the man to hold on, to stay with him, to be with him, to... to... to...
“Fuck fuck fuck,” he hears Jaejoong cursing. The demon is pacing, looking panicked at his friend, “Shit, what did I do, shit shit shit.”
Yoochun doesn’t even know anything anymore, doesn’t know anything but the brown eyes of Changmin fluttering, fighting to remain conscious. The boy finds himself weeping over the body, his heart breaking at the thought of being alone in Hell for the rest of his life, his heart breaking at the thought of not being able to be ever held by Changmin again. His hand trails off, finding Changmin’s, his fingers lacing through the demon’s once again, the warmth of his palm radiating onto Changmin’s. “I’m holding on onto you. Please hold on onto me as well,” Yoochun croaks, his eyes pleading.
When the slack hand answers his grip, tightening its fingers around Yoochun’s, a voice saying, “Geez, you guys are such dramaqueens. The day that Jaejoong is powerful enough to kill me with one single thunder bolt, will be the day that God is stoned enough to create unicorns and place them on earth.”
Jaejoong hurries himself to the men on the ground, squatting as he hits the man’s arm, “You bastard! I thought I’d killed you!”
When Yoochun looks up, he sees tears running over the demon’s face. He doesn’t know if they were tears of sadness or tears of joy or both. He knows for sure that both kind of tears are running over his cheeks, mingling with each other until there are only tears of joy left.
“Never do this again, you fool,” he frowns, though there’s no anger. He couldn’t feel more joyous at the moment.
“Why? I would’ve been willing to catch thousands of thunder bolts if I would’ve known it would make you realize your love for me,” Changmin says. Somewhere on the background, there’s the sound of Jaejoong gagging, but Yoochun doesn’t hear any of it. There’s only him and Changmin.
Changmin once again tightens his grip on their hands before he says, “I’m holding on onto you as well.” The man smiles sweetly, raising his head to let his lips make contact with Yoochun’s. Their mouths mold together and they’re kissing each other passionately, the thought of losing one other unbearable. Their lips mold perfectly together and Yoochun feels as if he had been created for this sole purpose only - his life on earth had been just a dream, had been just the beginning of something so much greater.
When he puts his head in the crook of Changmin’s neck, his head fitting perfectly, a smile of bliss painted on his lips, he whispers, “You’d better. Because I won’t let go even if you wanted me to.”
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A/N: I succeeded in finishing this fic without any extensions lololol sweet victory 8)