"How wonderful, how strange - to be loved by something that hates all else."

"I cannot believe you, Faye!" Yoongi seethed, slamming his hand against the wheel as I observed his nervous meltdown calmly.

The things with demons is they can get quite... temperamental. Mood swings weren't rare with them.

"You're actually going out on a date with this guy?" he spat out, running a hand through his blond locks in a frustrated manner. "What's next, spending the weekend together? Meeting his parents?"

"Chill out, it's just one date." I scoffed softly, fiddling with the hem of my black lace dress. "No biggie."

"No biggie?" he shot me an exaggerated incredulous look. "Yes biggie. Big biggie. Huge biggie!" he nearly yelled.

"Damn, how many times did you just say the word 'biggie'? a giggle erupted through my mouth. As always, at the most inappropriate time.

"Do you realize how reckless you're being?" he thundered, paying no attention to my sarcastic remark. "You're getting too involved with this mortal. This could never end good, Faye, need I remind you?"

"No, you do not," I cut him off harshly, gripping on the door handle. "And I'd very much appreciate it if you stopped behaving like an overbearing, possessive older brother!"

"I just have your best interests at heart," his tone went down by a couple octaves, his breathing more regular now. He puffed his cheeks. "I'm so worried and..."

Yoongi's heated speech became just background noise to me as I pivoted my head to look throughout the window. My gaze traveled to the fancy restaurant we were parked in front of, the one me and Taehyung were supposed to have dinner together at.

Deliberately, I had arrived there fifteen minutes late. I wanted to make him wait for me, this always made my entrance all the more satisfying as they struggled to collect their jaw from the floor.

My eyes scanning the restaurant, I finally spotted him sitting at a table by the window. He seemed as if he were absolutely calm and poised but from where I was standing, I could very clearly see the tapping of his foot against the floor. He was pretending to flip through the menu's pages, but it didn't go by unnoticed by me the way his gaze would occasionally dart at the door and he would fidget with the edge of the page.

He was nervous.

"... and I just wish you'd be more responsible..." Yoongi's voice reached my ears just as I looked back at him.

"Okay stop," I raised my hand against his face which fortunately got him to shut up. "First of all, I'm a big girl and I can totally handle myself. Can't you just trust me? I know what I'm doing. This date is all I need to get him alone later tonight so that I could do my thing and punish him for all eternity. I just need some privacy with him and that's my only opportunity."

Yoongi sighed, sulking darkly. "I really can't argue with you, Faye," he said in a small voice. "I give up. No matter what I say you're just gonna end up doing your thing, so go ahead. I can't deal with your hard-headed ass anymore."

"Great," I beamed. "See you later Yoongs."

"Just," he gripped on my wrist just as I opened the car door, his face creased with concern. "Don't forget who this guys is. He's a ruthless womanizer. A liar. Seducing women comes easily to him. Don't fall another victim under his charm."

"I won't," I promised, giving him a reassuring look. "Now, can I please go on my date before the guy turns ninety?"

Still looking at me with worried eyes, he finally let go and I hurried to hop out of the car, slamming the door shut behind me. Tugging my dress down, I made sure my cleavage was on point before strutting towards the restaurant door.

Part of me was screaming at me to turn back and walk away. It was probably the same part that made my heart race just a little bit. I glanced down at my dress yet again, just checking if everything was flawless. Shyness wasn't usually my gig, so that was weird. I shoved the thought aside, stepping in.

Once I stood at the door, I halted just to observe him for a bit without him noticing. In the brief ten seconds while I did, he checked his phone three times, chewing on his lower lip in nervous anticipation. It made me content.

Slowly, I started swaying in between the tables and in his direction. I didn't fail to notice the hungry looks some men were throwing my way, even in front of their wives. I could never get apprehensive about it; I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being adored and marveled at - what's the harm in that? Being desired made me feel confident and powerful, and right now this was helping me shake off the bizarre feeling I got before walking in.

Eventually, Taehyung noticed me, his eyes widening at the sight of me. Letting out a nervous cough, he stood up as we simply stared at one another for a while.

"I thought you wouldn't come." he admitted in a breathy voice as he took my hand.

Good. Then I've succeeded in making him feel insecure.

"Then why haven't you left yet?" I purred, altering my voice to sound as seductive as possible as I accepted his handshake, holding onto his hand a little bit too long.

"I kept wishing you would come eventually." he confessed sheepishly, his Adam's apple bobbing with a tight gulp.

"Looks like your wish came true." I grinned smugly.

"By the way, these are for you." he mumbled nervously, reaching down for something on the table and extending his arms out stiffly, offering me a bouquet of roses.

I couldn't suppress the small laugh that escaped my throat as I accepted them, noticing the subtle blush covering his cheeks.

"I really love them," I admitted as he walked over the pull my chair for me. "Thank you."

"I ordered us some Chardonnay," he pointed at the wine bottle on the table. "I had no idea what you'd like to drink, so I had to guess. I realize now that it was really stupid of me, I should have waited until you arrive. Anyhow, we could order something else, whatever you say, you name it." Obviously he was trying to keep a cool demeanor which came crashing down once his rambling surfaced.

Could it be that he was already so whipped? Or was it all just an act?

"Relax," I cooed, placing my palm over his hand and he took in a deep breath. "I love Chardonnay, let's just have what you ordered."

His shoulders dropped with relief. "Oh okay. I was worried I had made a mistake and you'd accuse me of being presumptuous."

"I'd never do that," I shook my head lightly. Damn, what kind of uptight women was he going out with?

Even though Taehyung carried himself in this innocent and coy manner, his gaze was relentless. There was something in his behavior, maybe it was the way his stare would linger on me a bit too long. As time went by, the nervousness slowly washed from his face and he grew to be more comfortable in front of me.

We placed our orders and after an appropriate amount of small talk, I figured it was time for me to commence my interrogation. I wanted to know all of his flaws and weaknesses and if he really was delusional enough to think I was a good listener, well that just made the whole ordeal even easier for me.

"So, heart surgery?" I arched a brow, looking at him over my glass. "What's the big inspiration behind your choice of career?"

"It's hardly inspirational," he grumbled and I saw something swimming in his deep coffee brown orbs. Sorrow? "I guess it just kind of happened. I had to find a way to get myself out of the gutter somehow."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't exactly have what you would call a happy childhood," he became dark, his sharp jaw clenching and releasing. "My parents were drug addicts."

"Oh my god," I gasped, my hand clutching at my chest as my face creased in a sympathetic expression. "I'm very sorry to hear that. You don't need to talk about it if you feel uncomfortable."

"No, that's alright," he shook his head. "I mean, I'm over it now. But times were pretty tough. They would fight, all the time. I was scared, you know? I was so young so I didn't understand what was happening, why they were like this. Until I was sixteen years old I didn't get even one birthday card. I never celebrated Christmas, or any other holiday."

"That's horrible. I'm so sorry you had to go through something like this."

"It was almost a miracle that a boy with such terrible upbringing like mine could get into med school. So once I did it, I grasped onto it like a life jacket. I finally had a purpose in life. I swore that whatever happens, I'd keep studying and studying, never fail, always soar high. Never go back down to this hell again."

"I admire that." My breath hitched in my throat as I realized I really meant that.

"Somehow I'd like to view this in a positive way. It would make it easier. I'm who I am today because of what happened to me in the past and I can't exactly turn back time, right? So there's no point in sulking, but sometimes..." he took a deep breath in. "Sometimes I admit I have those moments where I end up in my feelings and it just... sucks. I struggle with it a lot, so thank god it doesn't happen that often."

"Are your parents still together?" I asked.

"No," he gave a sad smile. "They broke up of course, their marriage was doomed from day one. They'd yell and scream and hit each other, throw objects at each other. It was literal hell, so toxic and unhealthy even without the drugs and the alcohol. So naturally it couldn't go on for too long, they fell apart eventually."

"How did you take it when your father left?"

Taehyung scoffed, pausing for a bit. "Actually it was my mother who walked away."

I fell silent. There it is that odd feeling again, crawling its way up into my heart. Ugh, go away, stupid feeling.

"I have no idea where she is right now," he went on bitterly. "I suppose she's with her one true love, cocaine. At the end of the day, she loved it more than she loved her own son."

Silence fell upon us as I just stared at him taking a sip of his wine wordlessly. The left corner of his lips twitched upwards and he groaned softly, using his finger to draw circles around the glass.

"As for my father, he's staying at a special clinic for drug addicts," he swallowed heavily. "I put him there, they take good care of him. I guess it brings me a sort of comfort that I'm being a good son to him. Even though it's been years since he stopped using, it's impossible for him to go back to normal, too much damage already. There isn't a single organ in his body that is functioning properly. Sometimes when I visit him, I even doubt that he recognizes me."

I hadn't even realized my gut had knotted up at this intense revelation. It was very rare that a mortal being would move me in any way, but his story did the trick. It was head-spinning. Was it true? It seemed like it was. Who would be ruthless enough to lie about something as tragic as this?

"Thank you, Taehyung, for trusting me enough to confide in me. This was heart-felt and I feel kind of bad for bringing you back to this horrible time." I whispered, reaching over to squeeze his hand. Much to my surprise, he took it in his again and tugged lightly at it, long sensual fingers wrapped around mine.

"I don't know what's gotten into me," he husked, his tongue poking out to sweep over his lower lip. "I usually don't talk about this, let alone on first dates. I hope I'm not weirding you out," he laughed nervously.

"Not at all," I denied warmly, my gaze drifting back to his dark eyes.

"What about you?" he questioned and I could tell he wanted to drive the conversation away from himself as he probably felt deeply uncomfortable. "Any family drama or pent-up frustration you'd want to take off your chest? I'm all ears."

"Well, I was raised by my father only," I stated. "He's been taking care of me all my life."

"Do you guys get along?"

"I guess," I shrugged, my gaze drifting somewhere in the distance. "My father, he's a person with a lot of... power. I mean, influence. He's used to people obeying him and if they don't, he can get quite ruthless, vindictive even. He has a really strong sense of justice. He won't stop in front of anything until he's made sure that whoever's committed a wrongdoing gets the punishment they deserve."

"Sounds like a pretty intense dude. Is he a lawyer or something?"

"A what?" my brows knit together.

"You said he had a strong sense of justice and didn't hesitate to chase after the bad guys. The first thing that came up in my mind was that he is a lawyer, or works in law enforcement." Taehyung explained.

"Yeah, well," I pursed my lips, wrapping my fingers around my glass of wine. "He certainly deals with a lot of... sinners. Some may even call him the actual devil."

"Oh wow," his eyes widened. "What an amazing metaphor. So he's that good, isn't he?"

"Mhm." I took a sip of my wine. Yeah. Metaphor.

"Sounds like a badass to me. Doesn't he want you to follow in his steps?" Taehyung asked, staring at me curiously.

"I suppose he does," I said. "But I don't want that, at least not now. And I think he realizes there are other things for me out there so he kind of keeps his distance, not wanting to intervene with my choices."

"Your dad sounds pretty cool," Taehyung concluded. "What about your mother?"

"I don't know who she is," I confided. "My father says she isn't of importance, and I'm inclined to trust his judgement so I've never tried to search for her."

He nodded slowly, his face boring a thoughtful expression. "I guess I understand that. Digging up the past very often bring us pain, and personally I think that all people would be happier in general if they decided to live in the present moment. The right people would never leave us anyways, so there's no point in looking back."

As the words escaped him, he smiled. I had come to notice that Taehyung had a very nice smile. It was so wide that you could see all of his teeth, his cheeks would lift and become more prominent as his large eyes transformed into crescent moons.

It would almost melt my heart how endearing all of this was, but let's be honest - that's not happening any time soon.

"Hey, do you want to get out of here?" he suddenly asked, waving down the waiter for the check. "It's so loud and noisy and I'd much rather be able to actually enjoy listening to your voice without straining my ears."

"I would like that very much."

***

After taking a small walk around the park, Taehyung insisted that he walked me to my place and made sure I was home safe. I, on the other hand, had no intention of letting him leave without taking a ride on his stick tonight.

I had to get him alone somehow.

My guilty conscience raised its monstrous head again as Yoongi's face ran through my mind. I could imagine how pissed he'd be if I didn't get the job done tonight, but frankly, I was having so much fun with Taehyung that just for a tiny second I managed to forget the real reason I was on this date with him.

He would tell these cheesy jokes that I'd heard so many times before and he would still make me laugh. His eyes sparkled under the dim street lights and every time he looked at me I felt light-headed. I had never met another mortal that was so magnetic, so captivating. What was it about him that was drawing me in so intensely?

The other day when he had pushed me away at the hospital he had come across as so mean and rude, but now he was being warm and sweet. Which one had been an act?

"So, that's me." I pointed to the apartment building we stood in front of after wandering the empty town streets some more.

"I had a wonderful time tonight." he said in a low husky tone. His voice felt like dripping chocolate, so rich and silky as it caressed my ears. All of a sudden it felt like this was the very first time I was hearing how deep and velvety his voice was, like up until now I had been deaf. Why hadn't I noticed it before?

"So did I," I mumbled as he kept staring deeply into my eyes. The silence that hung around us caused my stomach to knot up in anticipation. His dark brown orbs fixated on me mercilessly, making me feel like I was completely exposed and vulnerable.

Slowly, his gaze dropped to my neck and then trailed back up to my jaw before halting at my lips. We hovered there, relishing in each other's presence.

Ever so gently, he brought his hand next to my face, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and gliding to the back of my hair where it stroked lightly. It was such a sensual gesture, and I found myself wanting him to touch me more as his fingertips slid down my shoulder and to my arm, tracing lines on my skin where the nerve endings seemed to have multiplied by a hundred.

A chaotic cluster of emotions exploded in me as he inched forward, taking my face in between his palms. He leaned in so close that our breaths mingled and his lips just slightly grazed mine. It wasn't a kiss, at least not yet. At least not until he brought our lips together and stole my breath away.

Taehyung's kiss was soft and sensual, comforting even. His tender lips moved very slowly, savoring mine. His hand traveled to the small of my back, pressing my body against his warm chest and holding me tightly into place. His very scent was flooding my senses. Oh dear lord, I have to pull away. I have to. But I just can't.

My brain lit on fire, drunk on endorphine, as the delight spread throughout my whole body. I realized I was completely unprepared for this, I never imagined how sweet he'd taste and how well our lips would fit, like two puzzle pieces. I let out a small whimper as his grip around my waist tightened.

We broke apart to catch our breaths, both of us gasping. The swirl of emotions I saw in his orbs knocked all the wind out of my chest. Lust and desire. Passion. Still holding onto each other, the both of us broke into soft laughter as we stared deeply into each other's orbs. He held me gently and I could still feel the warmth emitted from his body.

"Do you want to come upstairs?" I asked gingerly, terrified to realize how much I dreaded his rejection. I wanted him to come up desperately, I wanted to spend more time with him, even if it wasn't just for sex.

Pulling away, his hands slid down from my waist and trailed down to hold my own. "I-," he sighed. "I really want to, believe me. There's nothing I want more at this moment, but there's this issue."

"What issue?" I frowned, feeling a smoldering heat burning deep within my chest.

"I really like you," he pressed his palm against my cheek, caressing my jaw. "And I'd like to see you again."

"You like me?" I was confused. If he liked me, why didn't he want to have sex with me? Was I not attractive enough?

"Of course I do," he chuckled softly. "You're so smart, so funny and eccentric, not to mention breathtakingly gorgeous. Tonight I had the best time in such a long time. I want to keep seeing you and I just feel like if we do this tonight, we'd end up rushing things."

"Oh." Was the only word my rattled mind could form.

Leaning forward, he pressed his forehead against mine. Sparks flew in every direction as he pressed his lips against mine softly and then pulled away.

"Good night, Faye." He whispered before stepping back and disappearing into the night.

My fingertips lightly pressed against my lips where the warmth from Taehyung's soft kisses remained. Even though I was still confused, I could admit that I felt kind of victorious, having achieved my goal for the night. Not entirely, but still. Step by step.

What truly bothered me however, was something else. I didn't have to use my aura on him.

Not even once.