Seonghwa didn't take his eyes off the demon when he sat down opposite him on the couch. The stranger had opted for a chair, and now he neatly dusted off the sleeves of the uncanny tie-dye shirt he wore by now. The coffee table between the two served as divination of the two sides, but Seonghwa still held onto Wooyoung as if he feared the demon might take him away.

The man had... shifted. Apparently, he had had a human form all the time and the moment that Seonghwa had hissed at him to get into the house because the neighbours had begun to stare at his front yard curiously, he had changed into that. Seonghwa hadn't caught the moment of it, still busy smiling reassuringly at old man Kim opposite the street. The man had rubbed his eyes disbelievingly as he had stared after the man disappearing in the house, but he had passed on without further issues. Only then, Seonghwa had quickly closed his car and hurried inside to follow the demon.

The idea of being alone in a house with him had the fear bubble in Seonghwa's chest. He doubted that the police was responsible for weird demons that appeared in people's driveways after their kids played with chalk. If anything were to happen, Seonghwa would have no other choice but to practise violence with the help of a cooking pan. And if Seonghwa hated one thing, then it was the possibility of damaging his precious cooking pan.

The man he found neatly seated in his living room might have been a completely different person, however. Gone were the mighty horns and the giant wings. What stayed was a boy that nearly seemed small without the imposing characteristics. The light surrounded him as it normally would, and his colourful tie-dye shirt matched the piercings in his ears and his dark blue hair that he had tied into a messy ponytail. He looked nothing like the demon just seconds ago.

The demon had sweater paws.

Seonghwa needed an ice-cold shower and a good night's sleep. If it weren't for Wooyoung's squirms in his arms as he wanted to run over and explore the other man, he would have played it off as a dream.

But now, they sat tensely opposite of each other, and Seonghwa suspiciously eyed the demon up and down. His visitor lazily leaned against his chair, looking close to bored as he played with his painted nails.

"I can imagine your confusion; you don't look like a person who usually plays with dark magic. But fear not, the responsible department will send someone here soon. Since this is a popular misunderstanding, we can certainly nullify the contract. Wouldn't be the first time one of my kind got summoned accidentally."

Seonghwa blinked at him with big eyes. Was he supposed to believe that demons oftentimes infiltrated the humans casually? Despite his extensive knowledge of books and movies about the topic, Seonghwa could hardly find himself to adjust to that idea.

"What do you mean summoned on accident..." Still, Seonghwa's questions were cautious. He expected the man to fall into a rage any time. Even if he hadn't been a whole demon who had just crawled up from the depths of hell, then this man was still a stranger in his home who claimed to have a bond with his son.

"A distant cousin of mine once got summoned by some teenager who distributed the jam on her sandwich in just the way it took to summon him. The ways of the universe are full of wonders."

Grumbling, Seonghwa adjusted Wooyoung when the boy nearly managed to slip off his lap. He protested with a yelp.

"Shouldn't it be more difficult to summon you? I dare say that's something not every child should be able to do."

The demon giggled amusedly. Seonghwa was glad to discover that his revolver dentitions had disappeared with his spectrum of unnecessary extras. They had made him the most nervous. A shark's mouth full of teeth on a human skull was a sight he would have nightmares about for a long time.

"Oh no, not at all! Sometimes, all somebody wants from us is a prank or simple tasks. Demons like me who aren't too powerful can be summoned easily and leave just as fast. Those with actual might are sealed well, worry not."

Why was Seonghwa sitting in his living room and chatting with a literal demon? His mind reeled to catch up just how he had gotten in this situation.

In a gossiping mood, the demon crossed his long legs. His interested pose had Seonghwa nearly cry in hysteria about how human and natural it was. His mind was held on thin strings that were ready to snap and succumb him into madness any time.

"Now tell me about you guys, though! Sadly, I can't fulfil whatever the little one was talking about, but maybe I can make it up to you! Hey, kid, what's your name?"

Wooyoung wasn't a shy boy. When prompted, he immediately became the most social chatterbox one could imagine. This time was no different. With a huff, he twisted in Seonghwa's lap until he could at least turn and grin brightly at his newest demon friend. He accepted the cage that Seonghwa's stiff arms had formed as he just waved cutely at the other man.

"I'm Wooyoung!"

"And how old are you, fledgeling?"

"I'll be six soon! I'm basically an adult." Proud, Wooyoung sank back against Seonghwa's chest as if he was the boy's throne to reign over. With a sigh, Seonghwa brushed him some of his overgrown black hair out of his forehead. At least the sight of Wooyoung and his behaviour was familiar to him.

Overjoyed, the demon clapped his hands. Seonghwa grew uncomfortable once more when he noticed that his fangs still were elongated, despite his shift. He looked less like a demon now, and more like the fairies that Seonghwa liked to imagine in urban fantasy. Not the good fairies, though. More like one of those who lured unsuspecting humans into their forests and mushroom rings and ate them there.

"Oho, then you are nearly as old as me!"

Intrigued, Wooyoung bent his body forwards. Seonghwa inwardly complained about his constant need to be near the demon. His fingers tightened around Wooyoung's stomach.

"How old are you?" Wooyoung's high-pitched voice carried no sense of fear or respect. Wary, Seonghwa oversaw their interaction in case the demon would flip on them.

"What is the biggest number you can imagine?"

"Five-hundred and twelve!"

That was their house number. Seonghwa saw where the connection came from. Wooyoung could count to two hundred, but when he had asked about their house number, he had been astonished to learn that it was even more significant than two hundred.

"That is how old I am!" With a grin of satisfaction, the demon sprawled out in his chair. Wooyoung regarded him with all the amazement in the world.

"You're so old! You're even older than my daddy!"

The demon directed his wry smirk at Seonghwa. His eyes were still unsettlingly dark, and Seonghwa suspected that might not change even with his shifts.

"How old is your daddy?"

Wooyoung had to count on his fingers for that. While he was busy, Seonghwa curiously looked up when he heard a car pull into their driveway. Was it time for the mail already?

When the bell rang through their house shrilly, Seonghwa ignored the relevant conversation he was interrupting. He stood up with Wooyoung still in his arm to hurry to the door. Wooyoung yelled his age over his shoulder so that the demon could do whatever with that information.

The person in front of the door wasn't the mailman. Or any other person Seonghwa had ever seen before, for that matter. This stranger had no horns though when he politely bowed his head. He wore a beige suit that fit his blond locks and a briefcase as well as a gift bag in his hands.

"Hello, I'm Kang Yeosang from the Department of Demon Contracts in this district. We have been notified that somebody who lives here has signed a contract with one of the lovely inhabitants from hell. May I come in?"

Dumb, Seonghwa nodded at him.

"There is such a department?"

Yeosang let himself in with careful attention and kicked his shoes off in the designated area. Nothing like the demon who had just stomped in with his biker boots still on his feet.

"But yes, there is! It's just very unlikely to hear from us if there are no demons involved. Worry not, I am part of the heavenly court, and I can make sure that you are accounted for fairly. I'm on your side." With a wink, Yeosang passed Seonghwa to wander into the living room. On his way, he cooed at Wooyoung who made funny faces at him.

More disoriented than he had ever been, Seonghwa followed this other stranger. His arms felt numb when he dropped back onto his place.

"Delighted to meet you, I'm Kang Yeosang!"

"Hongjoong." The demon offered his hand to the other man, and they politely greeted each other. Then, Yeosang put his things down before he also got himself a chair. He found a place right next to Hongjoong and Seonghwa felt as if he was visiting a job interview with an oversized worm on his lap that threatened to slip from him and mess everything up. With a sympathetic glance at him, Yeosang handed the gift bag over.

"This is for you since you might have difficulties to adjust to the sudden change of perspective in this world. It's an aid package; every new customer gets one."

With his every movement slightly off timing and precision, Seonghwa accepted the bag. He put it down on the couch next to him. Wooyoung peeked inside curiously.

"Now, let's go over the contract. I printed it out for both of you." With an award-winning smile, Yeosang looked from Seonghwa to Hongjoong. His professionalism eased the earlier tension a bit, but at the same time, he made it all the weirder. Seonghwa felt as if he had tumbled into an awkward sit-com.

Yeosang pulled a bunch of papers from his briefcase. He handed them out to everyone so they could attend. With no other option of what he could do, Seonghwa just followed along. Even if his mind had been clear enough to question his situation, he wouldn't have known where to begin.

"So, this contract starts today between you, Hongjoong, and the recipient, Jung Wooyoung. That is you, I presume." Yeosang's eyes fleetingly passed Seonghwa as he checked on his facts. At the shy shake of his head, however, he halted. His mouth already opened to speak up when his eyes fell on the kid, and it audibly closed again.

"Oh. Oh, that is how it is. Now, that changes things. To the better." He threw a quick smile at Seonghwa that disappeared nearly too fast to catch.

"Kids' wishes are usually easy to fulfil. You will be home in no time, Hongjoong."

The demon in question had crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling. He just waited for Yeosang to catch up with the next issue. Seonghwa worried his lips between his teeth.

"Then, what did the little friend wish for? A toy, maybe? Or a pet?" Yeosang chuckled to himself. He adjusted his glasses as he skimmed over the lines to the correct information. Then, he squinted hard. Hongjoong exhaled.

Seonghwa had also found the line in question. Indeed, it was a jumbled mess of letters and numbers that crossed over each other. It reminded Seonghwa of one of these annoying captchas, but decidedly without any sense and too hard to understand.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Seeking help, Yeosang glanced at Hongjoong. The demon shrugged just as clueless as him. The multiple necklaces he wore jingled in place.

"Nothing I can understand. We had hoped you could nullify the contract and file it as impossible to fulfil."

Seonghwa was astonished by how much sense their system made. It even accounted for exceptional cases such as this one. As odd as this all seemed to him, at least he could place his trust in the cooperation of a legal firm and the demon by now. It seemed as if Yeosang was his spokesperson for any troubles now. He feared less that Hongjoong might run off with his child.

With a worried hum, Yeosang shifted his glasses up his nose once more. The frown on his face spelt trouble.

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

This had Hongjoong snap his head around. Impatience crossed his features. Protective, Seonghwa petted Wooyoung's hair.

"What?! Why?"

Yeosang tapped on something on his paper. Seonghwa couldn't see what it was from this angle.

"To nullify a contract, I need the legal approval of both the promiser and the promisee. To do that, the promisee needs to be of age, however. And I might have no idea about kids, but he doesn't look to be of age to me."

Hongjoong rolled his eyes as if it was a minor inconvenience.

"Then, just ask his daddy to sign it for him. He won't have any dramatic losses."

Yeosang threw the demon a glare. Then, he scrunched his nose up.

"Listen, this isn't about a casual online account. The heavenly court makes no exceptions in these regards." Yeosang stuffed the papers back into his briefcase and snapped it shut. The loud noise startled Seonghwa.

"You either keep your promise on him and return to your home, or you await his coming of age. Now, please go over the rules of your contract together. I will hurry back to the office to hand this case to the higher-ups and see what I can do. You can call me anytime via the number on the contract or visit the office. We close on Sundays and open on Saturdays only from eight to twelve."

Helpless, Seonghwa stared at the papers in his hands.

He didn't feel helped at all.