Chapter 43: Prayers for an Answer

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A/N: hiiiiiii sup yall?

Ah well.. haha Goodluck:)

Recommended music to play:
•Redemption- Eternal Eclipse
•Wait for it- Audiomachine
•Cornfield Chase- Hans Zimmer(piano cello version)
•Experience- Ludovico Einaudi
•Prelude in C# minor- Audiomachine

T/W: mentions of suicide (read with caution)

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"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Forgive me! I wont do it! I won't do it! Dont hurt me. Tell him to not hurt me!" The man yelped maniacally, grinding his teeth.

"I've seen it... I've seen it..." he breathed, haphazardly.

"I have tasted death... I know... I know how its gonna be... I've seen it all... he's coming for me... he's going to kill me... he said he'll kill me... same as Shin and Yamamoto... they wont escape this.. they wont escape him..." he cried out, his face twisting.

"He'll find them... and he'll kill them too and then he'll kill me. He already... he already got Shin- so that means... it's either me.. or Yamamoto next... what have I done? What... what have I done?"

"I've seen his face- his eyes... his red eyes floating in a pool of darkness... and his face- the way his skin tore off... the way he showed me how I was going to die... I've seen it all- I've seen it... the Devil.. I've seen the Devil..."

Taehyung remembered.

A memory hidden deep into the folds of his brain that had been now hooked onto and pulled out to the surface like a baited fish from a pond.

The Devil?

Pool of darkness?

Red eyes?

Taehyung remembered how he was left dumbfounded beyond compare, when he first heard it.

Although he had pushed the incident far into his subconscious, it still resurfaced, letting him clearly outline the man's face in his head. Eyes filled with frantic despair and mouth stretched wide, as he shrieked with pure terror just to be spared.

Taehyung remembered.

The man let out a soft cry, mumbling with blood seeping down his nostrils "He'll kill you too... just like how he'll kill the rest of us. You're no better... you're no special.. the Devil is not kind and he wont... he wont hold back.. and then you'll believe me... when you see his eyes... when you see his face... you'll remember my words... the Devil... exists.... that... that evil exists... and he'll.... kill ... you."

Dong RoWoon, the accomplice from the Geomjeongbaem incident.

Taehyung remembered it all.

And he believed it. He finally believed it all.

The Detective's fingers had long gone cold like stiff icicles. It was unclear if it was because of the cold weather, or simply because his soul had momentarily escaped from his body as a result of the haunting reality.

Taehyung didn't know what he was even doing anymore, but sitting on a wooden bench of many empty rows with elegant sculptures and scriptures peering down at him from the higher ground, Taehyung did feel a sense of calmness and tranquility, seeping into his chest.

Faith had long been shredded to dust in Taehyung's heart, but as ironic as it sounded, Taehyung's feet had already climbed up the white marble stairs to knock at the doors, begging.

Pleading.

Praying.

For what?

Taehyung didn't know.

He didn't know what he was even praying for.

But his heart wouldn't stop constricting. His legs wouldn't stop shaking. His hands wouldn't warm up.

He felt cold with fear.

Everything that he had been brushing aside for being blatant bullshit.... all the while had been nothing but the truth.

But what about Jungkook?

What about him?

It all made sense...no- now that Taehyung really thought about it... it made perfect sense.

The way he'd talk about punishing people... the way he'd walk unscathed from fights... the way he'd make people speak with simple manipulation... the eyes.. the face...

And last but not the least...

The way he'd say, that he indeed is the Devil.

Taehyung exhaled softly, fixating his gaze at the crucifix propped upon the altar. The smell of wood permeating into the air, the lamps glowing warmly, seeming to cast out blessings.

There was no mistake in pointing out that the Detective was delving deep into paranoia. 

He knew too much than that of the rest to feel fear cave into his little trembling heart, but at the same time, he knew far too less to understand the unfathomable resolutions of someone he trusted with his entire being, but could no longer afford to after what he had witnessed.

No matter how much Taehyung thought about it.... he couldn't figure out why.

He couldn't understand what was the reason behind it all.

Why after all this time... why him? Why did Jungkook approach him?

Was it a mere coincidence?

Or was the answer same as that of all those blaring red signals in his head, that said, it was never a coincidence.

And if that's what it was.... what could possibly have been Jungkook's motive the entire time? To stay beside him... to follow him... all this time...

A splitting ache shot through the Detective's head, making him wince. His eyebrows pulled together, the lines on his forehead deepening.

Taehyung felt like he had slipped up, falling straight into a pit of darkness.

A pit where two blazing red suns burned him alive. Skinning his flesh and tearing his bones apart. To drain his blood and gnaw on his spine.

It all began right after he met Jungkook.

All those nightmares...

The clarity of realization couldn't always be relieving.... and same was the case, for Taehyung who had ventured far beyond human comprehension.

No- he walked right beside the said far-beyond-human-conprehension like it was just any other normal Tuesday morning.

None of it was ever normal... at least not now, that Taehyung thought about it.

Dread crept onto Taehyung's features.

His body had gone numb whilst his mind fell into a state of chaos.

Those enchanting raven irises that had enthralled him...

Was it even the same person?

Was it the same person with a face so uncannily similar... but then never familiar???

Was the Jungkook he had witnessed the night before even someone he knew?

Someone he admired?

Someone he......

Taehyung's throat dried up.

It was funny how he had dismissed Faith as Societal Monopoly game-piece but, now it was the very thing beating him up...

It was even more funnier how he hadn't been burned to ashes stepping onto holy grounds knowing goddamned well that his heart ached for someone who was the archnemesis of the Church.

It was funny.... yet Taehyung didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry.

The whole ordeal, was indeed too much for a mortal like him. The world was already too big for Taehyung... but to know the existence of a world he wasn't supposed to know, was even more scarier if not frustrating.

And amidst this insanity, memories struck his head like a sharp needle pricking him underneath his skin. It was too agonizing and irritating to his senses but he couldn't yank it away just like how he couldn't close his eyes in hopes to evaporate his thoughts.

It kept ringing in his head, as images flashed past his eyes. The murkiness hidden deep in those clear raven irises surfacing, the warmth from the refreshing bright smile eroding away, the slender milky palms that were equally soft and strong for touch, pouring black mist as haunting as a treacherous wild beast. Foaming and salivating, with fangs bared and claws drawn.

The deeper, Taehyung fell into prying open his memories, the faster his heartbeat seemed to escalate. Like a prey running away from its predator, Taehyung was running away from his own mind that had been scalded with a pair of eyes he couldn't erase.

And amidst his own solitary quietude, he could feel his veins bursting, his lungs panting for a time-out, but Taehyung could no longer stop it.

He ran. He ran away from the blazing brightness of his mind, but it wasn't any different from running through a swamp. His legs felt heavy and burdened, slowing his pace and dragging him down.

Groveling on the murky wet ground, he glanced back at the heat that never flickered, beaming at him, as if alive and breathing.

Memories and nightmares overlapped, the two red suns, fusing to form one and it was then Taehyung felt his throat dry up the moment he spotted a silhouette within the blazing ball of brightness. The figure stood Tall and firm. Unyielding and poised, with a crown resting on its head.

And the silhouette moved, slowly turning its head.

Taehyung's pupils constricted on command, realizing the silhouette was looking at him. Faceless, yet intimidating enough to make Taehyung's blood run cold.

His skin itched with panic.

No.

No...

He had to get away.

Taehyung scrambled on his feet, struggling to stand up even if the ground seemed to swallow him, wanting to bury him alive.

And Taehyung could hear his voice. Fluctuating from being distant and close. Saying the same thing over and over again, in all possible expressions. Mockery, declaration, confession.

Oh I am the Devil

I am the Devil

I'm the Devil

"I'm the Devil." The voice whispered into his ear.

Taehyung drew a sharp breath and instinctively inched away, falling to his right only to collide with the hard wooden bench. A jolt of electricity shot through his head as black spots invaded his vision.

Taehyung grit his teeth, rubbing his forehead and looked up at the figure on his left, who he mistook for being a certain someone.

"You okay son?" The man asked, his oak brown robe neatly pressed. Aging lines drew across his face. His eyes were small and lips a little too pale. His complexion was neither too bright nor too brown while his chin bore hints of stubble.

Taehyung exhaled, from relief, his chest heaving. He calmed himself down and looked up at the Priest who had approached him.

But just as soon he felt relief, he felt an odd sense of terror latching onto his skin for some reason.

He couldn't help but think, was it that he was being suspected?

Is it possible that the Church could really pick up traces of Evil? And if that was the case... what does that make of him now?

Fear of the unknown is no greater than the Fear of the known. They're infact the same. Whether it be walking across the blazing red suns or whether it be walking across the divine halo.

Fear was fear nonetheless.

And Taehyung, who had very little to do anything with Faith... faced the worst from his crumbling ideals.

He lowered his lashes and straightened his back, giving a soft nod for a reply.

He heard the priest sigh softly, followed by ruffling of fabric.

Taehyung heard the bench creak a little,  as the weight distributed to the both the ends.

The priest said nothing, sitting quietly beside him.

Taehyung was already awkward as he was and didn't initiate a conversation. The presence made him anxious, but at the same time it also gave him a little bit of strength,  having him be relieved from the stiffening solitude-ness.

"Is there something you'd want to get off of your chest?" The man finally spoke up, his voice surprisingly warm and gentle. It almost felt like Taehyung had taken a bite from a fresh baked brownie.

Even if the man didn't say anything too extensively astounding, the words were enough to bring comfort in Taehyung's turmoil-stricken chest.

The Priest continued, "If its so, I can help with listening... or if its just the presence you seek, then I'll accompany you."

Taehyung didn't reply immidiately. He thought about it carefully for a while. What was he even wanting to push off from his chest that didn't sound any less than a lunatic's insanity?

That he witnessed a plausible murder of his colleague?

That his ex partner is the Devil?

That he... admired this so called ex partner? The Devil?

What in the world was he supposed to say?

Taehyung pursed his lips, his fingers clasped together. He chuckled bitterly, burying his thoughts. He'd rather suffer alone rather than being pushed into the Psychiatric Ward or an exorcism for the worst.

"Its.... not something I can... explain." Taehyung muttered, his eyes lowered.

The priest hummed softly "every single person who had walk in through these doors with a heart as heavy as yours, were plenty in numbers... but in the end, most of them did find the answers they were looking for..."

Taehyung chewed his bottom lip, not letting the words surge up his throat. He was aware of the fact that he didn't know the consequences of letting a secret this big to slip out, even of it were to be with a slip of a tongue.

Taehyung wasn't that stupid.

He wasn't going to fill his hands with trouble he couldn't handle.

Taehyung drew in a breath and lifted his chin up , his eyes falling onto the altar.

"I wish it were that easy to find then..."

The older man smiled warmly, his gaze seeming distant. He shook his head and turned to look up at the altar as well  "well if it were that easy, could there have been a meaning to life?"

Taehyung glanced at the Priest. Somehow his side profile seemed to be even more wrinkly. The lines deepened around his slit eyes narrowing down. His hair and eye brows were a shade of ashened grey. Although the man seemed a lot older, his eyes twinkled with the energy of that of a youth, bright and sharp.

He continued, earnestly "We are all just mere flowers in a garden. Sometimes its too sunny... sometimes too rainy... some days it'd be too windy, some days it would snow too harsh that we'll wilt away.... but as long as we remember to firm up our roots, to continue searching even when deep under the ground, we will eventually open our eyes to a new spring."

The Priest turned to look at Taehyung, who had remained silent through the words of wisdom. The old man's black eyes shimmered a little, "Anguish and pain are the same as that of joy and happiness. Neither will stay for too long just the way the seasons would change with its own turn of time"

He pressed his hands to his knees, gently rubbing it; his gaze momentarily flickered to the altar, falling upon the wooden crucifix "sacrifices and sufferings, no matter how great or small, all have a purpose and its own meaning."

"And Life... well life indeed does feel like a struggle... but its a gift, isn't it?" He jutted his lips together giving a smile with a subtle shrug, before he stood up to his feet.

"There's always an answer to what you seek for... it might not appear before your eyes immidiately.. but its always out there. It just depends... where you're looking for it."

And with that, the priest turned away and left, his robes fluttering like brown leaves in autumn. Taking a turn around the corner, the man disappeared from Taehyung's sight, leaving the Detective alone to his thoughts.

Where... you're looking for it?

Taehyung momentarily relaxed his jaw, before clenching it all over again.

Where even in the world am I supposed to look for it? Taehyung thought, frustrated and miserable.

**********

"Detective Kim! We're here!"

Taehyung blinked, snapping out of his trance when the man in the front seat spoke.

"Ah.. Mr.Lee thankyou for the ride... I'll make sure to pay you tomorrow." Taehyung muttered, a little uneasy but sincere nonetheless.

" ha ha no need, no need... I was going this way anyway and besides you've helped me before, I can only do so much to help you back.." Mr.Lee explained, chuckling.

Taehyung gave a soft nod and stepped out of the cab. The cold wind lashed him in the face and Taehyung shuddered.

"Take care Mr.Lee." Taehyung bowed once more to the older man and the man smiled behind the window.

Taheyung watched the car rev by and then looked up at the dark sky, sighing softly. The ground was ladened with snow, the cold seeping through his shoes.

He pressed his hands to his pockets, feeling the little souvenir he had picked up from a spontaneous decision. Taehyung clenched his teeth, his lashes lowered and gaze hardening as he quickly skipped his way to his house.

He fumbled around the lonesome flower pots near his doorstep, until he heard a jingle.

Taehyung picked up the spare key and stood up straight, pushing the metal into the keyhole and opened the door.

Darkness and silence greeted him, sending a shiver down Taehyung's spine.

Taehyung chewed his bottom lip, grimacing at the atmosphere, wishing he hadn't rushed on and asked Areum to leave, having her delay at least for one day.

Taehyung sighed.

What was done was done... and there was no point in trying to turn back time.

He shut the door close, and put the keys in the small bowl placed on top of the hardwood desk.

And that's when Taehyung's eyes drifted to several pairs of familiar leather boots sprawled on the ground that didn't belong to him.

Taehyung froze.

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.

He had been too focused over Jungkook that he didn't even take the time to think about all the other things that had come along with the said raventte.

And if Jungkook....

If Jungkook is the Devil....

Then... he... Jimin... he...

Taehyung gulped, no longer feeling his own presence but a whole different ominous one that had been latched onto the darkness of his apartment.

Cautious, Taehyung stepped into his living room. His fingers slightly trembling as he felt the wall beside him to hit the switches.

He fumbled around for a bit, scared that if he wouldn't find the switches in time, he'd find a pair of glowing eyes looking at him from the dark.

Taehyung finally found the sleek switchboard and hit the lights on, letting out a sigh of relief.

He calmed his racing heart and muttered few consoling words to himself, trying to ease the tension in his veins.

Shaking his head, the Detective turned around and his eyes landed on the figure strapped in leather, who hadn't yet spoken a word.

Startled, Taehyung instinctively stepped behind, his back colliding with a portrait hooked onto the wall. The glass shattered and crumbled to the floor along with the portrait.

It was only then the pink haired male looked up, his eyes dark. Unfathomable and eeiry, glimmering with a murderous intent.

Taehyung remained stuck to the wall behind him like a gecko, freezing on spot.

The last time he had this look on Jimin, goes back to the day where the pink-haired male might have truly wanted to kill him on their first encounter.

Taehyung clenched his jaw.

What was he supposed to say?

What could he even possibly say?

The air was icy silent and it wasnt the cold of January that was freezing up the room.

Taehyung's cautious eyes watched the pink haired male. Jimin didn't say anything and simply proceeded to lift his arms up. The silver metal clinked, when the male showed his cuffed wrists.

"I'm cuffed. Sit." Jimin spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"We need to talk"

Although it seemed like Jimin wanted to make amends of some sort, to present himself with his arms cuffed, but Jimin certainly didn't sound like someone who was there to make amends. Instead it seemed like he was there to chop his body up into infinite pieces.

Taehyung swallowed a lump in his throat and detached himself from the wall, moving a little forward.

He didn't take a seat, maintaining a few good meters of distance from the pink haired male.

"What... what do you want?" Taehyung asked and it seemed like the question pricked the other.

Jimin started chuckling with disbelief and malice floating in his eyes.

"Is that the first thing you want to ask? What I want?" Jimin grit his teeth, seeming to hold himself back.

Taehyung was frightened, his hand subconsciously inching towards his pocket. Jimin, who noticed this action, dropped his menacing smile and then lowered his gaze, countless emotions flickering in his eyes.

"You must have a lot to ask.... go on." He spoke, a lot more calmer this time.

Taehyung stilled, not wanting to believe the words that were about to spill from his lips. "You... you are..."

"Yes. I'm a Demon." Jimin cut in, gritting his teeth, but his gaze became clearer and firm when he finally lift up his gaze "And I serve Jungkook."

Taehyung didn't know how to respond to that. This was the first time, something so terrifyingly real was being shoved down onto him to face and Taehyung truly found himself lost with words.

A silver line pulled taut from his scattered memories of the night before. Taheyung took a cautious step forward "You were the one who took me to the hospital..."

The Demon didn't reply, but simply averted his eyes.

"Then- Dr. Min! he- Jungkook he att-"

"He's not dead." Jimin interrupted, not wanting to hear the accusation. "Dr. Min... he's a celestial. He wouldn't die from few of his organs being ripped out."

A feathered breath left the Detective's throat "Celestial?"

"See-er. Immortal." Jimin bluntly replied, his voice holding a tinge of anger "or if it could be described any easier... Dr.Min is the same as us freaks"

The pink haired male's tone was doused with icy hatred. Although there wasn't a clear distinction whether this hatred was being projected straight at the Detective or rather himself. The air enveloped tremendous emotions that weren't spoken out too loud, conjuring up a silence as stiffening as a cold casket.

Jimin curled his fingers into a fist.

There never was a time, where Jimin had to face such a dilemma. His intuition had always been his strongest  weapon, never letting him go astray. But this time... this time as he gazed into those quivering mortal eyes, Jimin felt his intuition crumble.

Such a terrified expression... was simply everything that made Jimin disgusted about everything he was.

Is this what Jungkook felt? Jimin wondered.

To be stared at like this.... by him...

Was this what Jungkook felt?

It hurt to imagine.

Jimin closed his eyes, wishing he could turn back time.

Even after pushing the See-er beneath his feet, Jimin didnt understand how he had ended up being the one with the noose tied around his neck.

How did it happen? When did it happen? How did he even not notice?

If Yoongi truly was a cripple, how did he conjure up such a spell?

Entranced, not only did it manage to hold Jimin's hands back against the See-er, it even made him draw his weapon against his own master.

Against Jungkook.

He wanted to know how it ended up the way it did, he wanted to know what happened after he was sent to the void, but neither was Yoongi awake to answer him, nor was Jungkook anywhere to be found.

And Jimin couldn't help but blame himself.

In efforts of wanting to protect, all he managed to do was more trouble. Cause more irreversible pain.

And Jimin hated it. He hated himself for all of it.

For being so oblivious. So dumb. So fucking dumb.

How could he never see past those raven fiery irises? How could he never see Jungkook's real intentions, until a critical point where his hands are already stained with his Master's blood?

How could he be this pathetic?

Jimin winced, drawing a sharp breath when he felt a splitting ache explode in his abdomen that hadnt been healed yet.

But the pain in his heart was even more deeper and stronger, strangling him round the neck with guilt and shame.

Jungkook wasn't trying to fight him the night before...

He was removing the poison that had festered into his guts.

And what did Jimin do in return?

He fought him...

His Savior.

He tried to kill his Savior.

Jimin clenched his eyes tight shut, being able to recall every moment that had been clouded from his eyes the night before.

All of those hateful things that were thrown at him... they weren't threatens at all... instead it was Jungkook, telling him to wake up.

He was asking him to wake up and see.

But Jimin failed at it, he failed so badly.

It wasn't until the old nickname slipped out of his Master's lips, that Jimin finally managed to break out of the spell... but it was far too late to make things right.

That single half an hour of the night he had spent in the void, felt like an eternity to Jimin. He was anxious and in pain, realizing what he had done, but Jungkook didn't let him out, not until of-course, for the very first time, Jimin felt the void crumble on its own.

And that is when fear rocked Jimin's chest.

If an imaginary world were to crumble it could only mean its caster had been harmed. And Jimin was terrified.

He was terrified when he realized Jungkook had been harmed.

His blood had rushed up his veins, fuming and hot, as the air around him filled with a stench of bloodlust. His irises flaring red whilst his porcelain skin, eroding away in a mid-shift of his true form.

Jimin couldn't really remember much of what happened after he was brought back to the penthouse. It reeked of blood with broken furntiure strewn all across the floor, with no sight of Jungkook.

The See-er laid limp in his own pool of blood with a gaping hole in his torso, barely alive.

And then there was him... Detective Kim.

Eyes clouded and face twisted with terror, shaking to the bone with his gun strewn across the ground.

And it made sense.

The desire to kill... it all made perfect sense. It was rational.

And amidst this rationality, a deep scalding urge shook through Jimin's body. His nerves fired with hatred and disbelief and for that singular split second there was nothing Jimin wanted to do other than shredding the mortal into irreplaceable pieces.

But in the end the Demon couldn't. Even if the pot was boiling with hot oil, hissing and pouring down the stove, Jimin couldn't do it. His hands trembled, his heart clenched in his chest and unshed tears cascaded down his cheeks.

Only managing to ask...

What have you done?

What have you done?!

And that was all he could ask.

Even now, as he looked at the mortal's face.

Hatred.

All he could feel was hatred.

And pain.

Taehyung, who had witnessed all of the infinite fleeting emotions in the Demon's eyes, stiffened, unyielding to let his guard down.

Dr. Min wasn't human?

Neither are Jungkook nor is Jimin....

Then... those men he had met, who were supposedly introduced as Jungkook's brothers.... they aren't human either.

Taehyung chewed his bottom lip with anxiety gushing through his veins.

He couldn't help but wonder, who else wasn't a human and playing around his  everyday life.

It was scary to even think of.

"Why... why did- why did Jun-" Taehyung paused, correcting himself with panic "I mean... why did he and Dr.Min fight-"

Jimin narrowed his eyes "do you think you can handle a situation that has got to do shit with immortals?"

Taehyung zipped his lips, lowering his gaze.

"Whatever it is, it's between them. Stay out of it." The pink haired male snapped.

Taehyung felt his conscience eat him up, there were so many things he wanted to ask yet in the face of the Demon he couldn't even word out a correct sentence.

This atmosphere of salt on wounds was familiar with the pink haired male, but those days Taehyung had an odd sense of intuition that told him, no matter how many death glares he'd be shot by Jimin, it wouldn't be a big deal.

But now... that intuition was no longer existent.

Taehyung feared that if he'd even breathe wrong, he'd be laid 6ft below.

It wasn't teasing humor anymore.... Taehyung was truly scared.

"Jimin... look I.." Taehyung swallowed a lump in his throat "why have you... what do you both want from me? Why are you here?"

A scoff left the Demon's lips "you know... I should be the one asking you that Detective Kim."

"Why have you walked into our lives?" Jimin grit through his teeth. "If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened. Its all because of you that everything's going wrong. The prophecy, the revolt, the chaos. It's all because you summoned him!"

Taehyung stared, dumbfounded "w-what?"

Jimin let out a puff of air filled with disbelief, his gaze latched to the ceiling. "You can't blame and ask us why we're here, when you're the one who summoned the Devil, Detective Kim."

Jimin chuckled darkly, devoid of any humor "what was it... sandwich? Yeah... a sandwich..."

Taehyung's eyes widened.

Right.

That was the first time he had seen him.

Hair slicked with a fresh suit, a bright smile and twinkling dark eyes.

He remembered how Hoseok had playfully warned him, that he was inviting evil.

He remembered how he had pricked his finger with the tooth pick.

He remembered how the said stranger had popped up put of the blue, and slid across his seat, borrowing his fries.

"Ah.. you seem to remember now" the Demon chided. "The only fault Jungkook committed in this shit hole, was accepting to visit you."

"That. Was his only fatal mistake. And I'm sure he regrets meeting you as well." Jimin continued, biting blood with each of his words while Taehyung's heart bled in silence.

"You're pathetic Detective Kim..." Jimin spit venomously "carrying around a little rosary in your pockets like some insect repellent"

Taehyung stiffened, his hand zipping straight to the pocket where the little beaded rosary hid within the fabric.

"You think I didn't notice it?!" Jimin asked, his tone laced with anger. He abruptly stood up to his feet and twisted his wrists. The metal handcuffs broke in a single go, alerted, Taehyung began stepping back until he could no longer escape.

"If either of us wanted to harm you Detective Kim, you would have been dead from the very first day you met us!" The Demon hissed, stomping ahead and no longer giving any care to the fact that he was infact scaring the mortal.

Jimin curled his fingers, the metal clinging onto his wrists. His irises flickered red, as he stared deep into the Detective's soul "But Jungkook is a fool to even think of you..."

"All of this... just because we are said to be evil as we are and damned to perish...." Jimin breathed out harshly, seething with anger and pain.

"You don't deserve his kindness... you don't deserve him..."

"None of you filthy mortals do..."

Taehyung lowered his eyes, shaking and trembling, as he held onto his tongue.

"Criminals, thieves, murderers... that's all you. All. You. Killing each other and staining your hands with your own brother's blood... that's all there is to your kind. And you dare say, we are somehow worse?" Jimin scoffed, his face standing inches apart from Taehyung's "all Jungkook does is, punish those who have committed crimes... he never kills and never lies... how is that you think he is worse than you?"

"How dare you think, that you're better than him?!"

Taehyung didn't know what to answer, he grit his teeth, heart trembling.

"And to say, Jungkook saved you from dying..."

Taehyung looked up with surprise, his lips quivering.

Jimin fumed, irises flickering red. "You really think that that was some God-given miracle when you walked out of the hospital alive even with fatal gunshots?"

Jimin chuckled darkly "no... you were supposed to die that day."

"..It was no God who saved you Detective Kim... it was no sparkling divine miracle. It was Jungkook. It was all Jungkook. Yeah... This very evil that you're cursing in your head. The Devil. Saved your life."

"So now do us all a favor and stay away from Jungkook. Stay away from him. Be afraid and stay away. Don't ask him anything. Don't beg him anything. Dont even speak his name. Forget him. If you want to live, stay the hell away from him"

And with saying that the Demon moved aside, trembling with anger.

Taehyung's eyelashes fluttered, his chest squeezing painfully and incoherent words squeaked out of his lips, ceasing the Demon's feet.

Jimin turned around to look at the mortal, with his back turned to him

"What did you say?" Jimin questioned and pursed his lips together.

"He... Jungkook... how.. how is he?"

Jimin's eyes widened with surprise, but it soon reduced to mockery "oh? So you do remember that you shot him huh?"

"I still don't understand how he managed to hurt himself with a mortal weapon...." Jimin muttered to himself, and then looked back at the wide expanse of the mortal's back.

"He's gone. Just like you wanted." Jimin sliced through, his tone harsh.

"I considered you as my friend for one point of time... and for that alone I am letting you live...." Jimin paused, gritting his teeth.

"..But know this Detective Kim.... I will never forgive you for what you did." Jimin cursed out, venomous and relentless like a blood thirsting viper.

Jimin shut his eyes, not wanting to spare another glance but just as he was about to turn he heard the mortal speak, his tone as soft as a pair of quivering wings of that of a butterfly.

It was so soft, that Jimin almost didnt catch it... but when he did, he couldn't believe his ears until he opened his eyes and witnessed the Detective's shoulders tremble.

Jimin's eyes widened, when he heard it, when he felt it and the Demon abruptly took a step behind as if he had been singed by a flaming red hot iron beam.

What... what is this...

Horror and disbelief flashing by his eyes.

This couldn't be real.

This just couldn't be real.

Jimin felt his lungs constrict, his fingers trembling.

Not when he just told Taehyung to stay away for his own good.

All in hopes, that there would never come a day where the Detective would make a demand off the contract.

All in hopes, that he'd never have to make a choice between two people that he truly wanted to protect.

All in hopes.... that he would be able to bury it... bury this one-sided insanity that Jungkook had conjured up.

To bury it all....

But it was only then, Jimin had realized...

It was only then had he realized as he witnessed the esteemed and high wall, of a mortal, crumble right before his eyes....

That this insanity... wasn't one-sided.

Jimin backed away, turning on his heels and bolted out of the door, sprinting away into the dark of the night, hoping he'd outrun the nightmare.

Cold air swirled in through the open door, whistling death's tune, embracing the Detective who stood still with a tear-stained face.

Ofcourse he didn't deserve warmth.

He was supposed to be dead.

He wished he were dead.

_________________

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Author's Note

Yes. I came from yall's blood and tears.

I wasn't kidding when I said the angst is gonna be more elevated in this book.

But. But.

Don't lose hope in my trash work. Good times will come around soon.

Ahhhh I can't wait to write the next chapters...  I shouldn't be enjoying this so much. I don't even get paid to write this book😭💀💜👋

But I love yall so 😔💕

Anyway,

Any guesses what Tae might have told to Jimin in the end?

And any guesses to what Jimin's nickname might be???

Oh btw I've put up the pictures to what Yinan, HyunHo, Segi, KiWoo and the rest look like in the charcater description so yall can check it out.

Haha thanks for all views, comments and votes. Yall are the best.

Take care and stay safe♡

Love,
J