"Hey, could it be that you have been pranking around the house a bit?"

Hongjoong pointed at his chest as if Seonghwa could have meant anybody else. They had found themselves once more in Seonghwa's workroom as Seonghwa gave the jacket some finishing touches. Today, Hongjoong had been reading a book about reindeers that he had found in Wooyoung's room. Upon Seonghwa taking a break, the man had decided to speak up, but Hongjoong feigned innocence.

"Me? What would I be pranking about?"

"I found my shoes in the dishwasher this morning."

Hongjoong didn't even attempt to hide the wry smirk that showed off his fangs. He was a bad liar.

"Who tells you that wasn't Wooyoung's idea? It could have been him."

"Wooyoung can't reach the top of the shelves to hide my keys there. Not even I can."

Lowering his book into his lap, Hongjoong grinned at him like an evil little hamster. He had lost all of his initial scary points now that he kept appearing in oversized sweaters and played lego in the living room with Wooyoung.

"Then how dare you think it was me? I'm smaller than you. Not much, though, don't think I am tiny."

Seonghwa merely nodded at him before he reached over to his bottle of sparkling water. He purposefully held the bottle over the ground beneath his table where no items or carpet covered the floor. One twist of his wrist and the contents spilt over. Hongjoong erupted in gleeful giggles and applause. Snorting, Seonghwa twisted the cap shut and placed the bottle on the desk. Then, he fetched a towel to clean up.

"So, according to you, it wasn't you who shook all the bottles to have this happen?"

The grin on Hongjoong's face was similar to that of a mischievous imp. Still, he shook his head no.

"That's a thing Wooyoung does! Because he always runs when he gets drinks to be back faster. I think you should cut me some slack."

"So you didn't use your wings to get my keys on that cupboard?"

"No."

Seonghwa turned fully on his chair and leaned forward to stare more intently at the other man. The demon squirmed under his glare, but his satisfied grin never disappeared.

"And you didn't switch the sugar with the salt, resulting in an awful surprise in my coffee this morning?"

Hongjoong's giggles nearly broke over his lips, but he still resisted. Instead, he tried to clamp his lips shut and sunk further into his bean bag the closer Seonghwa got.

"You would never teach Wooyoung to put milk before cereal?"

His laughter shook the demon's whole body soundlessly as he attempted to get even more distance between them. As threatening as possible, Seonghwa stood up -

And stepped on a strategically placed lego.

Loud and carefree, Hongjoong's laughter filled the house while Seonghwa jumped around and held his foot. He wanted to be mad at the man, but he just couldn't. Not when Hongjoong threw his head back in laughter, and his whole face lit up with happiness. Seonghwa smiled through the pain.

"I'm evil, aren't I? More surprises await you."

Seonghwa couldn't tell him he was plain adorable in his attempts. He merely sat down to listen as Hongjoong crossed his legs and spread out on his beanbag like an evil reincarnate. But tiny.

"See, this is the true nature of demons. The darkness is our mighty mother, and she grants us minds that are intelligent and out for evil. No human could ever withstand the curse that any demon brings upon them. This is our exchange. The suffering of humans for our services." He laughed, loud and echoing and maybe just the slightest bit bass-boosted by his demon voice.

Seonghwa chuckled to himself.

"Truly, the doom of mankind. Humans must underestimate what they are playing with a lot," he agreed. Hongjoong looked about ready to purr from the praise. Would he meow if Seonghwa pets his head? He looked like someone who meowed when pet.

"Right, good that you got it. See, there's nothing I can do. My mere existence is a carefully constructed creation of unholy diabolism forged in the depths of damnation that not even the worst of your sinners will ever get to see. You could say I'm pretty badass."

A hum in response was enough to keep Hongjoong going. His little sweater-pawed hands gesticulated wildly as he underlined for Seonghwa just how much of a monster he was.

"Devils such as I are so rotten and twisted to the very core of our souls already that even if the sweetest angels were to cast forgiveness upon our hellish existence as mere vermin of darkness, not even then could we deny our call to foul play. The need to taint and corrupt anything we touch is our very own drug." He nodded his head approvingly, proud of his speech. As if he were the most interesting thing Seonghwa had ever seen, the man watched the demon on the beanbag with his chin supported by his hands.

"So what I'm getting out of this... Is that you are indeed a prankster and just tried to push it on a five-year-old."

Hongjoong's eyes widened. Then, he sat up, huffing and crossed his arms. The glare Seonghwa received for having logically deducted what the man had been trying to tell him was withering.

"He is nearly six. Basically an adult."

Satisfied by the indirect confession, Seonghwa just swivelled around to continue with his work.

"Just don't overdo it. I can accept your evilness."

"You shall wield under the throes of underestimating my true power." Angrily, Hongjoong collected his legos from the floor.

"Speaking of which, does making phone calls count as one of your true powers? Because I would like to hear from Yeosang again, and it would be great if you could call since you have so much more knowledge in the field than I do."

Again, the no effort tactic worked. Flattered, Hongjoong rose from his seat.

"Well, you are right. Of course, I can try."

With his nose high up in the air, Hongjoong snatched the house telephone from Seonghwa's side and strutted out. Only the noise of a spring in the forest and birds singing their merry songs remained.

The room wrapped into peaceful solitude for a while until Hongjoong returned. This time, surprisingly, he knocked on the door first before he entered, and Seonghwa called him in very confusedly.

He wasn't sure exactly how it worked, but Yeosang's blond curls peeked over the shoulder of the demon. At Seonghwa's disbelieving stare, he waved at him with an awkward smile. Just as weirded out, Seonghwa copied the gesture.

"Do you want to talk here, or would you prefer the living room? You see, Yeosang, the mortal is quite particular about where he welcomes his guests since his rooms are decorated and cleaned differently. This one usually doesn't seem fit to show to people outside of his household."

Hongjoong beamed at Seonghwa when he stood and shooed them over to the living room. Yeosang had brought his suitcase once more, and this time, too, he opened it ominously once they were all seated. Once that was done, he handed out sheets for them to read. Seonghwa took one and gave the last to Hongjoong on the other end of the couch.

"So, what we are dealing with is a case of Clause 9. Said clause defines the utter loss of control we have once a contract is made, and not both participants are legal adults willing to nullify it. I sent the issue to the higher-ups, but since the people in the offices on the way there are the slowest sloths you could ever imagine, it might take a while until it gets back to me. I asked my superior about it, though, and she advised me to gather some more information from you for now. You said that Wooyoung murmured nonsense, right? Since it was the first thing you heard when you arrived here, it is the binding part. Could you maybe make a wish of it over lengths? For example, if he muttered about cookies, then your task might be as easy as providing him with cookies."

Expectant, Yeosang's calm eyes looked between Seonghwa and Hongjoong. Seonghwa also merely stared at his resident demon. He had been way too far to hear anything from Wooyoung.

"From what I gathered, he was talking to his friend. I presume that since it wasn't the first thing directed at me, it might not be binding?"

Yeosang smartly shook his head and pointed at some other paragraph that had Seonghwa's vision grow fuzzy with how many numbers and references it had.

"What is important is whatever he said in the moment of binding, hence why most summoners act alone and don't keep radios or televisions around when they greet a new companion. Did you understand him?"

With a sigh, Hongjoong shook his head.

"Just some jumbled words, but nothing of sense. I asked him about it, too, but he can't remember since it wasn't important."

"Then what about his friend? Certainly, he must have been startled by your sudden appearance and maybe memorised it?"

Hesitant, Seonghwa waited for a reply to that. Wooyoung had been alone that day, and he had no idea which friend Hongjoong was even talking about.

"Maybe so. He hangs around here a lot; I will ask him once I see him next time. He's one of the B ranks."

Yeosang leaned back with understanding. Now, a triumphant smirk played around his lips.

"Then he might know best of all people. Your arrival probably alarmed him."

Seonghwa would have loved to be part of this conversation, but he barely understood a word that was exchanged. A person who was around here a lot? Yunho? A neighbour? And what ranking were they talking about?

"Presumably. I will ask once the fledging is back from kindergarten. Maybe he can help us understand just what it was that Wooyoung said. I wouldn't be surprised if he made a joke about his dad from all I've heard."

With an offended gasp, Seonghwa stared at Hongjoong. The man merely grinned at him triumphantly and as if he knew more than Seonghwa.

"How dare you say that? Wooyoung would never joke about me!"

Wooyoung was a cheeky little kid; Seonghwa knew that. The boy was always out for trouble, and even at his young age, he already didn't disguise his words into anything they weren't meant as. He fit right into the trouble-making agenda that Hongjoong had going on, too, and Seonghwa bet they would become an insufferable duo if they were left to roam.

"Oh, but he does! Yesterday, he rolled his eyes at your excessive cleaning habits! Did you teach him to roll his eyes? I bet you did!" Hongjoong pointed his finger at Seonghwa's face as if mocking him. Seonghwa's teeth narrowly missed him when he snapped after the bratty man.

Yeosang giggled awkwardly at their antics. Then, he rose from his seat.

"Anyhow, I will be on my way, then. Oh, here is the book that Hongjoong wanted me to give you. It contains all the knowledge you need about his kind and how these sorts of deals work." He dug through his briefcase, and several little note pads tumbled to the floor when he shifted through them. Messily, he picked them up before he placed the book on the coffee table in front of the jostling couple.

A colourful picture and the title 'Wonders of Learning: Demons and Satanic Rituals' shone at Seonghwa like the cover to a children's book. Seonghwa could safely assume it was a picture book.

"Wow, thanks," he commented, completely underwhelmed. Yet, Yeosang bowed his head as if he had graced Seonghwa with the highest of all presents.

"I hope you enjoy it and that it might help. By now, you surely have noticed that having a demon around is not half as bad as it sounds. I'm sure the book will clear up even the last questions."

Yeosang grinned at the duo one last time before he showed himself out. His dramatic exit through the window that led out right to the gardens and that had been open since earlier to let some fresh air circulate through the room seemed excessive, but Seonghwa had promised not to judge.

Instead, he now stared at the book in front of them cryptically. Then, his eyes swished over to the novel he had been reading recently. Yesterday, he had spent his evening supervising Hongjoong and Wooyoung in the living room as they played, and he read on the side. He knew to have placed his green bookmark in there right at the page he had left off on.

It had disappeared.

Sighing, Seonghwa grabbed for the book on demons.

Maybe he would understand Hongjoong's devious self better once he had worked through it.