"You're late."

Wooyoung does his best not to flinch as he wraps his arms around his own stomach. "I'm sorry, Sir. I was caught behind an accident."

Hongjoong's dangerous eyes narrow in accusation and he snaps his fingers. One of his workers starts typing furiously on his keyboard.

Making sure that Wooyoung wasn't lying...

"Go get changed." Hongjoong snaps. Waves of smoke billow from beneath him, hitting Wooyoung fast and hard.

It makes him stumble back a step and his vision blurs. "S-Sir-"

"No reported accident."

The smoke suddenly changes to something more solid and forms a chain around Wooyoung's neck. At the other end, Hongjoong grips it hard and yanks.

Wooyoung cries out as he stumbles forward until he falls to his knees in front of the demon.

Another tug has him being stretched up so that Hongjoong can harshly grab his chin. "What did I say about lying to me?"

"I s-swear-"

"Shut. Up!" Hongjoong uses his other hand to smack Wooyoung. The power of it would have sent him flying across the room, but the chain keeps him upright and digs into the side of his neck. "Is this your way of trying to tell me you've had enough?"

I wish...

"Do I need to remind you that I own you?!" Hongjoong's voice gets louder and more sinister with every word.

No...

Wooyoung whimpers when the chain starts to tighten a little and the smoke tugs his hands behind his back to bind them there. "I-It h-happened right in f-front of m-me..."

"Pathetic. Foolish, pathetic little worm." Hongjoong snarls.

He snaps his fingers again and this time a contract appears in front of Wooyoung's face, less than an inch away.

Which puts his signature front and center.

The message falls over Wooyoung like a metal blanket, ready to drag him down to the bottom of the ocean.

Wooyoung had signed his soul away. Inside this studio, when it comes to his job, Hongjoong really does own him.

All because of one foolish mistake that he should never have let happen...

All because of one quick scribble of his own name, binding him to the devil forever.

"P-Please-" Wooyoung chokes on his words and tries to swallow. "I-I'm sorry."

Hongjoong's eyes flash red and his lip curls up in a vicious snarl. "Oh, you will be."

There really had been an accident... And Wooyoung had taken a couple side streets to try and get here on time, nearly running a couple people over.

But that doesn't matter. Not when Hongjoong had already decided that he'd lied.

"Change of plans." Hongjoong says a little louder, tilting his head to speak with his staff while still keeping his eyes locked on Wooyoung. "Bring forward scene five."

"But Sir, we aren't set up for tha-"

"Set up for scene five!"

The room erupts into chaos around them as people scramble to follow their boss' orders.

All of it is a blur to Wooyoung, though. He can't look away from Hongjoong because he knows that it'll make things worse.

This is one of those times he has to play the demon's game.

By some miracle, Wooyoung seems to satisfy Hongjoong just enough that the corner of his lips twitch is a hidden smile right before he says, "Go. Get. Dressed."

The smoke chains disappear from Wooyoung's body with a snap of Hongjoong's fingers. Without their support, he tips forward until he has to catch himself by bringing his arms forward.

This allows him to push off the floor quickly and he heads to the dressing room without looking back.

He has to weave through a few people who are moving things around and he takes a second to stop when he sees them wheeling a cage toward the corner of the set.

A cage big enough to hold a person...

All the color drains from Wooyoung's face and he has to force himself to keep walking.

When he gets inside his dressing room, he steals a few extra seconds for himself to get into the right headspace.

"You chose this. This is the life you wanted. Do what he wants and everything will be fine. You chose this."

With every word, Wooyoung feels his anxiety start to lessen. The smoke slowly filling the room also helps and he lets the haze take complete control.

Waiting for him on the bed is his outfit for whatever scene five is.

It's barely anything... just a pair of short leather shorts, cuffs for his wrists and ankles, and a leather collar.

Interesting.

And what's even more interesting is that there's no script.

Wooyoung doesn't know if he should be worried or not, but he has a feeling this is another thing Hongjoong is using to punish him. If he doesn't know what the scene is, he doesn't know what to expect and he can't prepare...

There's no point in delaying, so Wooyoung changes and tries not to start freaking out again.

When he steps out of the room, he's greeted by darkness. Not even Hongjoong's smoke could be seen, although Wooyoung can still smell it.

A light snaps on over the stage to reveal what appears to be some kind of basement maybe?

The walls, even though they are fake, have been covered with something to make them look like concrete. A dingy couch is placed against one wall and the cage is set up in the corner.

This shoot isn't going to be a good one...

Wooyoung can already feel himself starting to tremble.

"Action."

A hand slaps over Wooyoung's mouth and he's pulled back into a man probably twice his size. It catches him off guard, so his scream is genuine.

So is his struggling when another arm wraps around his stomach, pinning his arms to his side.

"What are you doing out of your cage, Pup." The deep voice makes Wooyoung shiver and he whimpers into the large hand. "You didn't think you could try to escape again, could you?"

Wooyoung tries bending his knees to slip through his captor's arms but the grip is too tight and all it gets him is being lifted off the ground.

"You've been a bad boy."

Those are the last words he hears before something sharp pokes his neck and Wooyoung feels something being forced into his system.

This proves to him how upset Hongjoong is...

He's never been drugged before, so either this truly is a punishment or someone is paying an ungodly amount of money for this kind of scene.

It doesn't take long for the serum to work. Seconds maybe. Wooyoung eyelids grow heavy and his body gives out just before his vision goes black.

~~

Jongho knows he doesn't have to sleep, but there's something about being on Earth that seems to make him drowsy.

He hates it, honestly, because it's not something he was expecting, but he starts to notice it when he's sitting in a park watching a group of children play.

At first he was worried something was wrong, until he closed his eyes for what he thought was a few seconds and ended up being several minutes.

With that thought in mind, Jongho looks for some place he can find a mirror so he can call Seonghwa.

He ends up at a nicer looking hotel with a restaurant attached that has a public bathroom.

Jongho waits until everyone has left before he closes and locks the door. Then he approaches the large mirror and taps it.

Ripples spread across the surface from the point where his finger meets glass, creating a beautiful illusion of shimmering silver.

Then the image starts to still as Seonghwa's face appears, an amused smile teasing his lips. "Need help already?" The head angel chuckles.

Jongho twists his lips to the side and scowls. "No. Of course not. I'm not that pathetic."

"I never said you are." A twinkle enters Seonghwa's eyes and Jongho nearly walks away. Thankfully Seonghwa starts to control himself and asks in a more serious tone, "How are you doing?"

"Fine. It's been really... freeing." Jongho admits, lifting a hand to rub his neck.

"That's nothing to feel bad about. It means you're in the right place, right where Fate wants you to be."

"Then why do I feel tired?" Jongho asks, not wanting to dally too long in case someone comes and needs to use the bathroom.

Seonghwa tilts his head a little. "It could be that your body is still getting used to the transition. While it's not common, it's not uncommon either. Finding a place where you can safely rest may not be a bad idea. Then you'd have a place you'll feel comfortable if you need to get away from humans for a bit, too. Don't forget, you have access to unlimited money, so you can get some place nicer if you'd like."

The concept of money seems strange to think about now. There's no need for it in Heaven and Jongho has no full memories of his time on Earth, so he hadn't even thought about using it even though Seonghwa had told him he could before he left.

"Try not to worry." Seonghwa smiles softly. "Everyone reacts differently to being back on Earth, and..." he pauses and quirks his lips for a second. "You really haven't been with us for that long."

Jongho's eyes widen a little in surprise. It was usually very hard to get Seonghwa to say anything remotely close when angels appeared in heavy or anything to do with their deaths.

He knows enough to respect this knowledge and bows his head. "Thank you for the advice, Seonghwa. I really appreciate it."

"It's my pleasure!" Seonghwa's eyes sparkle a little as he smiles. "I'm always here for you. Let me know if you need anything else, and Jongho?"

"Hmm?"

"Try to enjoy yourself." Seonghwa winks before the mirror shimmers again and his image disappears.

Jongho takes another few seconds to think about everything before he brushes himself off and steps out of the bathroom.

Thankfully no one is waiting so he's able to slip through the restaurant unnoticed.

Since he's in a hotel, he decides to go to the front desk to ask for a room.

"Hello!" The young man behind the counter says with a bright smile. "Welcome to The Aurora Palace, do you have a reservation?"

"No, but I'd like to inquire about a room, please." Jongho sticks a hand into his pocket, and with one thought, a credit card manifests between his fingers, which he pulls out to set on the counter.

The man's eyes widen when they catch a glimpse of the black plastic and he starts typing on his computer. "I have a couple of openings."

Seonghwa's words echo in his head and he finds himself saying, "Give me your best room."

"Absolutely, Sir. How long will you be staying with us?"

That... was a great question.

One that Jongho doesn't have an answer to.

"Can we say indefinitely?" He asks, hoping it doesn't come off as too weird.

"That's not a problem at all." A few more quick strokes of the keys and Jongho has a brand-new keycard in his hand along with his credit card back. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, thank you." Jongho gives him a small nod, then heads to the elevators.

Turns out the best room is the penthouse suite. A gigantic, two-bedroom suite complete with two bathrooms, a living room, dining area, kitchen, and large patio overlooking the city.

"Wow." Jongho slips his shoes off and starts to walk around, admiring everything around him. "There's no wayI ever stayed in a place like this when I was human."

As he was getting ready to lay down in the room he decided he wanted to claim, Jongho lifts a hand to rub at his chest again.

This is the first time it's started to ache since leaving Heaven and he frowns a little. It feels... different this time... but he can't explain how.

Hopefully it's just a residual effect from making his choice to follow this path.

With a sigh, he lays down on his bed and gives a content sigh.

Before long, the odd weariness takes over and he drifts off into a perfect, dreamless sleep.