Work Text:
It’s 1AM. It’s a cold night in Seoul. The wind whistles faintly and the moon shines brightly.
“This week on BuzzFeed Unsolved we investigate the Yongma Land Theme Park as part of our ongoing investigation into the question, are ghosts real?”
Yoongi and Seokjin are standing in front of the gates of an abandoned park. From the corner of his eye, Seokjin can see Yoongi shaking his head no while staring at the camera with a tiny amused smile.
“The Yongma Land Theme Park closed in 2011 and many believe the reason behind it is the death of a little girl caused by a malfunctioning ride,”
“Or maybe they just went broke,” Yoongi says.
“It’s been told by some of the many visitors that have come to the park after it closed that her soul never left. Allegedly, they were able to hear a disembodied voice that sounded child-like,” Seokjin continues paying Yoongi no mind, “So, I’m inclined to believe that money might have not been the problem.”
“You would believe anything that is related to ghouls and demons,” Yoongi laughs, “Did something else happen there? Or are we going just for a little kid that probably just wants to be left alone to play to her non beating heart’s content?
“You are awful, you know that, right?”
“Of course I know! You make sure I know by telling me all the time,” Yoongi looks at him smiling and Seokjin can’t help but laugh. He’s so endeared by him, sometimes it becomes too much to bear.
Often - especially on nights when the moon shines brightly enough to peek through his curtains coloring everything silver and sleep refuses to come to him - Seokjin can’t help but wonder how it ended up like this. Yoongi is different from him in so many ways and yet, ever since they met, he has only grown more and more attached to the smaller man. Seokjin believes in so many things, some of them are a little too far from the known reality that people question his sanity and he gets scared very easily while Yoongi is very grounded in reality and is not afraid of things that scare the shit out of most people. Seokjin doesn’t consider himself a nerd, he likes to learn but he chooses to learn things that will be useful meanwhile Yoongi is a I-know-thousands-of-useless-facts-for-no-other-reason-than-I-like-to-learn-things-for-fun kind of nerd. Yoongi is smart and funny in ways that blow Seokjin’s mind and Seokjin genuinely appreciates how despite their differences they work so well together, like it was always meant to be. Yoongi is smart and funny but Seokjin thinks - and he has thought a lot about it - what really got him feeling like this (he refuses to give it name because giving it a name makes it real and making it real is scary) is how Yoongi is the kindest and most caring person he’s ever met.
Sure, in front of the cameras he makes fun of Seokjin’s beliefs but as soon as the cameras are off, he smiles kindly and asks Seokjin to tell him more about this haunted place or that demonic possession case he heard about and gives him his undivided attention as Seokjin rambles on. When Seokjin gets truly shaken up by one of the many horrible places they go to, Yoongi is always there ready to hold his hand or give him reassuring back rubs and to tell him he did great and that they will be leaving soon. When Seokjin can’t sleep after an investigation because he’s terrified of what lurks in the dark, Yoongi asks - he always asks, even though he knows Seokjin will say yes, he always asks because he’s mindful like that - if he would feel better if they watch some cartoons and cuddle (as Seokjin says yes, Yoongi is already pressing play on whatever cartoon he has chosen and making sure Seokjin is comfortable on his arms as he cuddles him. Sometimes they talk and sometimes they just enjoy each other’s company until they fall asleep as the sun begins to color the sky). When Seokjin is stuck on a project and growing frustrated with it, he knows he can always go to Yoongi for help and advice. When Seokjin is feeling down, Yoongi is the one to see the truth behind the smile he puts on for everyone else and gently asks him what’s wrong and how he can help. Yoongi is so gentle it throws Seokjin off his axis to the point he doesn’t know what to do with all the feelings he has for him.
“I only want you to be aware, Yoongi-yah,” Seokjin says as he composes himself, “And just so you know, we might find something else besides the little girl.”
“Oh? What else are we going to find? A demon or two?”
“Ding Ding Ding!,” Seokjin sing-songs, “You guessed right. It’s said that in various occasions people have gone there to summon demons and in one occasion, a group of college kids managed to do the summoning spell correctly! However, allegedly, the summoning as a whole did not go well and the kids fled as the demon stayed trapped in this realm.”
Yoongi laughs with his whole body now. “What a weak demon! Imagine getting trapped in here by some kids who had nothing better to do than play with spells instead of catching up with school projects.”
Seokjin can see how their camera crew - two college kids, Jeongguk and Taehyung - are trying to hold their laughter in; Seokjin is glad he can laugh freely, so he does. “Do you think he was busy doing demon stuff and all of the sudden he got brought to this realm?”
“You think he was like, making dinner for Satan or something and suddenly he got sucked by a portal and now he’s been trapped here for ages and could never give Satan his dinner?” Seokjin goes on another laughing fit. “He’s like “Ow man, now I gotta stay here forever, Satan must be so pissed I burnt his dinner! I’m never showing my face in hell again!” and that’s why he has never tried to leave?”
Seokjin keeps laughing as he looks at Yoongi, and when he sees how he’s smiling fondly at him, he quickly tries to sober up and keep the show going before doing something stupid like kissing Yoongi right there.
“Okay, now that we know what we might find, shall we go inside?”
Yoongi turns around and opens the gates, “Should I go in first?” he asks, and the question is not meant to be heard by the show’s viewers. He’s whispering gently to Seokjin only, because he knows sometimes Seokjin feels safer if he can explore these horrible places as he holds onto the back of Yoongi’s clothes or his hand. Seokjin doesn’t know what to do with himself when so much gentleness is shown to him so he simply gives him a tiny nod.
“You go first and I’ll be right behind you,” Seokjin smiles as Yoongi only shakes his head and enters the place without hesitating and as promised, Seokjin is right there behind him.
-
They’ve been to three rides and two games and so far, no sign of ghosts or demons.
“I think we came on the demons’ free night, hyung,” Yoongi is sitting on the floor, paying no mind to the dirt, already tired of walking around the place.
“You just need to be a little more patient, Yoongi-yah,” Seokjin walks until he’s at the center of the next game, “They’ll come around.” He turns on the spirit box and waits.
As the spirit box croaks, Yoongi stands and walks towards him. “Hey there, whatever entities roam this place!” Yoongi begins, “My name is Yoongi and the one holding that very annoying box is my friend Seokjin. We would love to have a little chat with you guys, if that’s alright? If you understand what I’m saying, please say our names.”
Now Yoongi is next to Seokjin and for the next few seconds the spirit box just keeps buzzing, no spirits or demons trying to reach them.
“Well, it seems like-”
“Hello, Yoongi. Hello, Seokjin” the box delivers a clear reply and Seokjin can feel his face losing all its color. He looks at Yoongi, who seems to be very entertained.
“You don’t sound like a little girl,” Yoongi is looking around the place as he speaks, not a trace of fear in his voice, “So I’m going to assume you are the demon that supposedly lives here. Am I right?”
Yoongi waits patiently but for the next thirty seconds, there’s no reply. As Seokjin moves to turn off the device, a reply finally comes.
“I’m going to have so much fun with you!” The voice is deep and very, very clear. Something akin to a laugh can be heard and suddenly, the device turns off on itself.
As silence falls around them, Seokjin comes to notice how quickly his heart is beating. He can’t bring himself to move. He doesn’t understand why he feels so terrified; they’ve gotten replies from the spirit box before but there’s something different about this one, even if he can exactly pinpoint what it is.
He tears his eyes away from the device and looks at his crew. He can see how Jeongguk and Taehyung seem to be a little shaken by what just happened and that doesn’t make him feel any better. They rarely get scared; the fingers of just one hand are enough to count how many times they’ve gotten spooked during these investigations.
He looks away from them and looks towards Yoongi, hoping to find him smiling and ready to make fun of them for being so spooked but the expression on the other man’s face only makes his heart beat faster out of fear.
He doesn’t look scared, not at all, but he keeps staring at the spirit box with curiosity and a hint of concern, something that has never happened before. It makes Seokjin feel more worried.
Seokjin wants to reach out to him but he just can’t; he’s too terrified to even make a noise. However, the smaller man seems to realize that everything is too quiet and when he looks up to find Seokjin and the camera crew with their eyes on him, his expression changes. He quickly schools his face into a calm expression; he looks almost bored as he picks up the device from the floor. He walks towards the camera, spirit box still in hand, and puts himself in front of Seokjin, blocking him from the camera’s view, before speaking.
“Well demon friend, we would like to have fun with you too, but right now we are leaving to pick up some food. If you’re still here by the time we come back, we might play with you!” He winks to the camera and Seokjin doesn’t understand what’s happening because they never go for food in the middle of an investigation until Taehyung is saying “Cut!” and quickly turning off the camera. “Yoongi is trying to give us some time to recover,” his mind supplies after a moment.
As Seokjin’s mind catches up with his environment, he feels his hand being gently held and suddenly Yoongi’s face is close to his, eyes filled with worry looking directly into his.
“You with me, hyung?” Yoongi asks gently and Seokjin wants to say yes but he feels like he would be lying if he does.
He doesn’t feel present, something about the voice is making him feel uneasy in a way that’s petrifying, to the point the idea of throwing this investigation out of the window and getting away from this park as soon as possible sounds like the smartest choice.
But Yoongi is looking at him with those worried eyes and he knows Jeongguk and Taehyung are close, probably just as worried, so he tries his best to get himself together.
“Yeah, hyung’s fine, just a little scared.” He smiles at them and he can see relief flooding the kids’ faces but he doesn’t fool Yoongi. He’s never been capable of fooling him.
“We can leave if you want to,” Yoongi says; Jeongguk and Taehyung nod along in agreement.
“We can leave if you feel like it hyung, Taehyung and I have to leave in a few minutes anyway,” Jeongguk says and Taehyung quickly adds, “We could wrap it up now, hyung, and if you are not satisfied with the content, we can always find another location to go investigate this week!”
Yoongi is quick to agree with them and they’re all looking expectantly at him now. He can feel how his cheeks start to burn; he’s a little embarrassed, they’re all willing to throw to the trash all the night’s hard work just because he can’t put on his big boy pants and handle some ghosts. He can’t do that to them.
He shakes his head no and Yoongi is frowning, already opening his mouth to argue. Seokjin beats him to it. “I’m fine kids, I can keep going. I just got a little scared because, well, that’s the clearest voice we’ve ever gotten from the spirit box! But it’s fine, I can handle this!”
Yoongi doesn’t seem to agree with him. “Hyung, it’s fine if we leave, the kids need to go soon and we can just leave with them.”
Seokjin can see that if he doesn’t convince them that he’s fine, that he can do this, soon Yoongi will manage to convince him to leave (because he’s a weak man and he has never been able to tell Yoongi no) so he offers a solution. “Okay, how about we chill while we wait for Taehyung’s boyfriend to come pick you two up and then Yoongi and I film our solo parts? That way we have enough footage to work with and tonight’s work won’t be completely wasted!”
He looks at Yoongi with his best puppy eyes and apparently Yoongi is also a weak man because he just sighs, “That’s a good plan, I guess,” Seokjin is ready to celebrate but Yoongi isn’t done yet, “But as soon as you feel like you want to leave you have to tell me and we leave, okay?”
Yoongi is looking at him with those kind eyes of his and Seokjin really, truly is weakweakweak. “Okay, we can do that.” Yoongi squeezes his hand before letting go to help Jeongguk with the equipment. They quickly gather up their stuff and head towards the entrance of the park.
Twenty minutes later, Taehyung’s boyfriend, Jimin is parking in front of where they are sitting at the park’s gates. Taehyung and Jeongguk quickly grab their stuff and they look apologetic about having to leave them after what happened. Before either of them can get a word out, Seokjin hugs them goodbye.
“Don’t look so guilty about leaving, Yoongi and I will be just fine,” Seokjin gives them his most reassuring smile, “I will take care of hyung, kids, you two go and study hard.” Yoongi adds as he holds Seokjin’s hand. Jeongguk and Taehyung still look unsure about them staying but know best than to argue so they agree reluctantly. After more goodbye hugs and having the kids telling them at least five times that they can call them if they need anything as they get dragged into the car by Jimin, they’re left alone.
Now it’s just Yoongi and him.
He’s eyeing the gates and he can feel Yoongi’s eyes on him but he can’t let him see how terrified he is.
“We really, really don’t have to go back, you know?” Yoongi is speaking softly and Seokjin is so close to giving up, “This place is… odd, I don’t like it and I think it would be better if we don’t go back in.”
Seokjin finally turns his eyes to him at that because is Yoongi finally scared of something?
Seokjin studies Yoongi’s face and he doesn’t look scared, but there’s something in his eyes and Seokjin’s rational brain is yelling at him that something must be very wrong for Yoongi to have that look in his eyes, but he has learned a long time ago that rationality is out of the equation when he is focused on YoongiYoongiYoongi, especially if he can challenge the smaller man. He decides rationality can wait; he wants to have some fun.
“Are you scared, Yoongi-yah? Is that why you insist on just leaving? Seokjin asks, sweet smile on his lips and brow arched in a mocking way, just like Yoongi usually teases him.
Realization seems to down on Yoongi. “No, Jinnie, I am not scared, just thought it would be nice to let you know that I think this place is a little unsettling.” Seokjin just laughs at his answer and Yoongi is looking at him like he has gone insane. To be fair, Seokjin feels a little insane.
The rational side of Seokjin’s brain is still screaming “See! You need to leave! If Yoongi finds this place unsettling you need to get out of here!” but he has his mind set on showing their viewers this worried side of Yoongi and his reckless side, “This is going to be a very interesting episode, they’re going to love it!” he thinks, and with the excitement of showing good content to their beloved fans overshadowing his fear, he turns on his solo camera, opens the gates and ignoring Yoongi’s confused look, he marches in.
“Okay, everyone!” He smiles to the camera, “It’s solo time! Tonight is very special because I’m going first! And you might be wondering: why is Seokjin going first? Well,” He looks at Yoongi, who is walking behind him and doesn’t look amused in the slightest, “Apparently, my dear Yoongi is scared!” He gasps for dramatic effect and hears Yoongi sighing. “I know, an absolute shocker! That’s why I’ve decided to be a good hyung and investigate the place first, so if anything is out there, it will get me and not him!”
“Hyung.” Yoongi sounds deadly serious now; it makes Seokjin turn off the camera to look at him.
“I think there’s something really wrong in this place, I am not joking.” Yoongi is looking around the place, the concerned look on his eyes again and Seokjin just doesn’t get it.
They’ve been to so many places; most of them more horrifying than this park and Yoongi has never said anything like this about any of them. He usually plays around or looks for a comfortable place where he can rest and talk with the kids as Seokjin goes batshit crazy as he investigates on his own.
It occurs to Seokjin, suddenly, that maybe it’s all an act.
Maybe Yoongi thinks Seokjin can’t handle getting too spooked; maybe Yoongi thinks Seokjin is not strong enough to investigate this stupid park on his own. Seokjin feels embarrassment coloring his cheeks.
He knows he can be a little too much when he gets scared. He’s been told before that he becomes too clingy and annoying when he is nervous or scared; he has lost count of how many times he has apologized to Yoongi for not letting go of his hand when he gets too scared and every single time, Yoongi told him that there’s no need to apologize and that he doesn’t need to feel embarrassed either, that is okay to be scared.
“But what if you’re starting to annoy him and he doesn’t want to deal with you tonight? What if he’s growing tired of you clinging to him like your life depends on it when there’s nothing hurting you? What if he just doesn’t want to take care of you anymore?” A deep voice whispers from somewhere behind his back, and he doesn’t want to believe Yoongi would ever grow tired of him but what if.
As shame and anger overwhelm him, the rational side of his brain that is screaming “Yoongi would never grow tired of you; he has never, ever been annoyed by you! He cares for you!” gets overshadowed by the same voice from before saying “He thinks so little of you, why don’t you go in there and prove him that you are totally capable of handling this stupid park on your own?”
As the voice keeps mocking him “He thinks so little of you; he is tired of you”, Seokjin decides he is going to prove he can handle some stupid ghosts by himself, so he simply ignores Yoongi and turns the camera on again.
“So, my adorable partner here is trying to convince me about leaving but worry not guys! You will see what this place has to offer, no matter how scared Yoongi is!” And before Yoongi can protest again, he begins to run towards the center of the park.
He hears Yoongi calling his name and his faint steps as he runs after him, but Seokjin speeds up until he can no longer hear him.
-
He doesn’t know for how long he’s been walking around, calling out to any ghosts and demons who may call the park their home but he’s having a great time. He has never felt this calm when investigating before, he feels great with himself.
“Now I kind of understand why Yoongi likes to fool around; once you get past the fear, this is actually really fun!” he smiles to the camera and he’s about to wrap up his shoot when suddenly, he hears laughter.
He immediately stops in his tracks because that’s not Yoongi’s laugh. Yoongi’s laugh is warm, like lazily basking in the sunlight during the early hours of the morning; this laugh makes him shiver, makes coldness settle in his bones.
“Are you having fun, Seokjin?” Seokjin recognizes that voice and the calmness he was feeling before is now gone, replaced by paralyzing fear. It’s the deep voice he heard whispering earlier.
“You know, Seokjin, you were so easy to trick. It’s a little pathetic, if you ask me,” It hits Seokjin then, he had heard this voice even before he heard the whispers. It’s the voice that replied through the spirit box. “So insecure, so full of doubt. People like you are the easiest to lure in and the most fun to play with.”
The disembodied voice is now laughing and Seokjin is still frozen, he can’t bring himself to move. Suddenly, the wind blows violently, too violently, knocking Seokjin off his feet.
When he looks up, he notices two things: He feels ill, like he is about to pass out as constant shivers make his body shake and there’s something standing a little far away from him.
“Aw little Seokjinnie, maybe you are indeed too weak to handle this place. Just a little wind managed to knock you off your feet? No wonder why that man who was with you earlier is growing sick of you.”
The words sting and the only thing Seokjin can do is make himself as small as possible on the ground, waiting for that thing to do whatever it wants with him.
“Look at me, Seokjinnie,” Seokjin doesn’t look up and he hears a growl. “I said, look at me!”
He feels his face lifting up on its own and when his eyes are set on the entity that’s toying with him to its will, his panic goes overboard.
The creature is tall, much taller than him and dark grey skin covers its long body. It has small horns, black eyes and teeth that look like blades. The creature is smiling, a wicked smile, and is now walking towards him. Seokjin begins to cry.
“What are you and what do you want from me!?” Seokjin asks as he sobs, he trembles as pure panic pulses through his whole body.
“What am I?” The creature laughs once again, “Oh Seokjinnie, what is the one thing that terrifies you the most?”
Seokjin doesn’t want to believe it. Don’t get him wrong, he is a believer of all supernatural things but now that he has a fucking demon, of all things, in front of him, he refuses to believe it; believing it makes it real and if he makes it real he feels it would be like accepting his death.
The demon only laughs. “You better believe I am a demon, Seokjin,” it says, and he realizes the demon can read his thoughts. “And yes, you are going to die tonight! The sooner you accept it, the sooner we can get on with it!”
The demon is now just a few steps away from him and the only thing Seokjin can do is cry. He’s going to die alone, murdered by a stupid demon in a stupid abandoned park and why the fuck didn’t he listen to Yoongi when he said-
Seokjin opens his eyes as realization dawns on him. “Yoongi is still out there” he thinks, and it’s like his survival instincts finally kick in. Yoongi is still out there, waiting for him to get out and if he doesn’t get out, he’ll come looking for him. Yoongi won’t find him, he’ll find a fucking demon instead and he’ll die and Seokjin can’t let that happen. Seokjin won’t let that happen.
With the little strength he has left, he gets up on shaky legs and faces the demon. The creature has stopped walking and is just looking at him, amused, as if it’s really interested in seeing what Seokjin is planning to do.
“Y-you won’t kill me tonight,” Seokjin whispers to himself, “You won’t kill me tonight!” he screams to the demon and as he turns around to run, he feels the floor beneath his feet shake violently, knocking him off his feet once again.
He’s lying on his stomach, his arms and knees sting from the sudden landing he did on them and now he is sure he’s going to die. As the demon laughs, the sound getting closer, whatever braveness he felt is now gone and Seokjin can only send a silent apology to Yoongi, for not listening to him, for not being able to protect him, for never telling him how much he loves him.
“Now if you’re done with playing the brave act, I am going to have some fun with you and then, you die!” The demon says, sick joy filling its voice.
Seokjin curls into himself and waits for a strike that never comes.
For a few moments, he doesn’t understand what’s going on. He heard a shriek and he thought it was his, but he slowly realizes he has no other injuries aside from the ones on his arms and knees; he realizes he’s still alive.
He hears another shriek; a high pitched one, full of rage and pain. He tries his best to sit up without further hurting himself to find out where the noises are coming from, to find out what the fuck is going on, and when he finally manages to do so, he only gets more confused.
He can no longer see the demon because Yoongi is standing in front of him, blocking the creature from his view. And he knows it’s Yoongi, he would recognize him anywhere, but there’s something odd about him.
Yoongi has a dark aura surrounding him and the aura is thrashing around so violently it looks like it has a will of its own. He looks his usual height but the aura makes it seem as if he is larger than the whole park.
Another shriek is heard and when Yoongi speaks, his voice is not the gentle and warm voice Seokjin adores. His voice is deeper than ever, filled with murderous rage.
“How dare you try to hurt him. How dare you try to kill him.” He says, and he’s not screaming but his voice echoes throughout the entire park and Seokjin doesn’t know what’s going on but he is terrified and that is not right because he is terrified of Yoongi and he doesn’t want to be terrified of him, never of him.
More shrieks are heard and Seokjin needs to know what’s going on.
“Y-yoongi? What are you doing?” His voice sounds so little, even to his own ears, and he’s sure Yoongi won’t hear him.
But Yoongi does hear him, he always does, and when he turns around, Seokjin feels his blood run cold and his rushing thoughts coming to an abrupt halt.
Yoongi is looking at him, eyes filled with worry, and it would be sweet if his eyes weren’t red and if he didn’t have large horns on top of his head. Seokjin can’t understand - doesn’t want to understand - what he’s seeing.
“Hyung, I-” Yoongi is walking hurriedly towards him, but something moves behind him and before Seokjin can even think of warning him, the aura that surrounds him is already moving to protect him. Another shriek is heard and Yoongi only sighs. “Wait a moment, please. I’m going to take care of this asshole and then I’ll explain… everything.” He turns around and as he walks away, Seokjin tries to move around a little to see what’s going on. When he finally manages to move just enough so he’s no longer right behind Yoongi and sees what’s lying on the ground, he can only stare in disbelief.
The demon that was hovering above him minutes ago is now on the ground, curling into itself, long and deep looking cuts covering all its body. It looks so small now, as it bleeds and pleads for mercy.
Seokjin only looks away from the creature when he hears Yoongi speaking again.
“You know I am perfectly capable of annihilating you with lifting only one finger, right?” He is speaking calmly but there’s an edge to his voice that causes Seokjin to instinctively make himself smaller; he hates it. The demon is still whimpering. “I could end your suffering right now, I could simply make you disappear, but you don’t deserve my mercy. You played with his mind and his feelings, you hurt him and now, I am going to make sure you suffer for the rest of eternity.”
Yoongi raises his hands and the aura surrounding him lurches towards the whimpering creature and envelops it wholly. Shrieks, sobs and whimpers can be heard for a few overwhelming moments and then, absolute silence.
The aura dissipates and there’s nothing where the demon used to be.
As Yoongi slowly puts down his hands, the remains of the aura begin to disappear into the night.
Seokjin is still sitting on the ground, petrified. His mind is going a mile a minute and he wishes it would slow down for a moment so he can make sense of what just happened because apparently he just saw a real demon, almost got killed by said demon and got rescued by Yoongi who is also a fucking demon?
His head is spinning and his chest is getting heavier and he just wants, needs, a moment to-
“Hyung?” Yoongi’s voice, the warm and gentle voice he knows, makes him look up; the smaller man is approaching him slowly, carefully, but his horns are still there and his eyes are still red and Seokjin, for the first time ever, doesn’t want him nowhere near him.
“Do not come closer. Don’t you dare come near me!” Seokjin shouts at him and Yoongi flinches and immediately stops walking and no no no, that’s wrong, Yoongi shouldn’t be afraid of him-
But a lot of things are wrong right now and it’s too much, too much, too much; he’s breaking apart at the seams.
“Oh? Are you scared of me? You are a fucking demon! You have funky horns and red eyes and you can manipulate shit however you want but you are scared of me?”
It takes Seokjin some time to notice someone is laughing hysterically; it takes him even more time to realize it’s his own laugh. He can’t stop laughing though, doesn’t know how to.
“You could do with me whatever you please! You could tear me apart! You could break me in two! You could fucking kill me-”
“I would never hurt you, hyung.” Yoongi’s voice sounds so hurt, it makes Seokjin look at him and his laughter dies on his throat.
Yoongi looks so terribly sad, eyes filled with worry and Seokjin’s chest hurts-
“Hyung, you’re hyperventilating, please try to breathe slowly.”
Oh, that explains why his chest hurts so badly.
Seokjin starts to notice how breathing is getting harder and harder; he starts to notice the black dots on his vision and that’s not helping him at all because he feels like he’s going to die for the second? third? time tonight and he just wishes it would all stop-
“Seokjin-hyung! Please, let me help you,” Yoongi pleads once again; he hasn’t gotten any closer, he’s not coming any closer simply because Seokjin told him to stay away from him and of course he’s respecting Seokjin’s wishes even though it makes him sad and Seokjin feels so stupid because he needs Yoongi and-
“Hyung, please try to match my breaths, please listen to me!” There’s a desperate edge to Yoongi’s voice that snaps Seokjin out of his spiraling thoughts and as Yoongi breathes in and out slowly as loud as he can, Seokjin tries his best to focus on it and follow along.
For a few minutes, the only thing that can be heard in the park is their loud breaths. It takes Seokjin some time, but he manages to calm down and breathe slower.
He hears a thumping sound and his eyes immediately fly open and his breathe begins to pick up again-
“It’s just me! I just sat down!” Yoongi is now sitting in the spot he stopped at when Seokjin yelled at him; he has his hands in the air to signal he means no harm.
Seokjin remembers what happened when he raised those same hands earlier and his uneasiness only increases. Yoongi seems to sense his distress and he quickly puts them down.
Neither of them speaks for some time after that.
-
Seokjin’s head hurts, too many things happened all at once and he’s tired of trying to make sense of it, he’s so tired.
He looks up and finds Yoongi still sitting on the same spot, hands on the floor and looking up to the sky. Seokjin realizes he wants Yoongi near him, he wants Yoongi’s comforting hands and reassuring words, he wants Yoongi to explain everything to him and wants him to tell him it will be alright; and he wants Yoongi, he always does. He’s tired of pretending he doesn’t.
“So,” he begins, and he can feel Yoongi’s eyes immediately on him, “You got something to share with the class?” He finally looks at Yoongi, really looks at him, and his traitorous heart threatens to come jumping out of his chest at the sight; Yoongi is looking at him with eyes filled with worry and hope, a silent question in them.
“Can I come closer?” his eyes ask and Seokjin is so weak, he can’t tell him no, never again.
“Come here and tell hyung what the fuck just happened.”
Yoongi is quick on his feet but approaches carefully, slowly and Seokjin can feel the last shreds of his fear melting away because this cautious, understanding and patient Yoongi is the Yoongi he has always known; is the Yoongi he loves.
“Is it okay if I sit here?” He’s standing in front of him now, hands intertwined where Seokjin can see them. The horns are gone and his eyes are back to their normal color.
“Sure,” Seokjin replies as easily as ever.
Yoongi sits in front of him, hands still intertwined on his lap, and he waits for Seokjin to speak.
“Can you explain to me exactly what just happened?”
“Uh,” Yoongi looks like he would rather be anywhere else, “Where do you want me to start?”
Seokjin snorts. “How about you start from the demon that tried to kill me?”
Yoongi’s jaw clenches and his eyes suddenly go red again. Now that he can see them up close, Seokjin notices they shine like rubies; “they are lovely, just like him” he thinks, and before his mind can start to wax poetic about Yoongi’s red eyes he snaps out of it when Yoongi finally clears his throat and begins to speak.
“We weren’t so wrong earlier, you know?” Yoongi says and Seokjin only stares at him because he has no idea what he’s talking about, “That demon was indeed a weak demon; probably did petty things like robbing souls already collected by demons more powerful than him-”
“Weak?” Seokjin asks in disbelief, “That thing was like seven feet tall and made the wind knock me off my feet, Yoongi. How is that weak?”
Yoongi has the decency to look a little embarrassed. “All of them-” he pauses and looks up, directly into Seokjin’s eyes, “All of us are pretty powerful in front of humans, hyung.”
Seokjin only nods for him to continue.
“I couldn’t sense them; I mean, I sensed something odd in this place but couldn’t figure out what it was. That means they’re weak and that they hid their energy throughout the whole park in a desperate attempt to survive.”
Before Seokjin can ask what that means, Yoongi carries on with his explanation.
“You see, weak demons can be easily found by other demons, especially by stronger ones thanks to their energy; their energy is corrupted. They are souls that became polluted in Hell and turned into petty demons, full of dark desires.
Their energy loses its strength and becomes almost unnoticeable to stronger demons if it’s scattered around and since this demon knew they were weak, they hid bits and pieces of it all around until they became nothing but an odd feeling to stronger demons.” He scratches his cheek, “I guess that’s how they managed to stay on the low for so long in this realm.”
“Okay,” Seokjin says after a beat of silence, “I’m going to pretend I understood all of that and put it aside because I have a pressing question.”
“What is it, hyung?”
“If you could weakly sense them, how come they couldn’t sense you? It didn’t seem like they knew there was another demon around here when I, uh, encountered them.”
“Oh?” Yoongi tilts his head and he has no right to be so cute when he has red eyes. “Oh! Petty demons can’t sense us; they are not able to sense our energy.”
Seokjin nods, “Who exactly is us though?”
“Uh, us, as in stronger demons; demons born in Hell itself.”
Seokjin can feel his headache getting worse; all this demon stuff is more complicated than he ever expected it to be. Yoongi seems to sense his growing frustration and nudges him with his feet.
“I can explain it to you again from the beginning, if you want me to,” Yoongi waits for Seokjin to give him the okay. Once he does, Yoongi starts talking again.
“The weakest demons in hell are petty demons. They used to be human souls that were collected when their debt with a demon who granted them a wish caught up to them, even if it wasn’t their time to die yet according to their time of death set by Heaven. Since their existence in their human vessels was abruptly interrupted, they were too weak to survive in Hell and they were slowly corrupted by it until they turned into petty demons. Being a petty demon means that although you have a certain amount of energy to fend for yourself in Hell and in any other realm, you actually are pretty weak when facing demons who were born in Hell.”
Although he kind of hates the topic they’re currently discussing, Seokjin is absolutely fascinated by it so he keeps asking.
“Okay, and why are demons born in Hell stronger?”
“Demons who were born in Hell are stronger because their energy is pure; Hell can’t corrupt their energy since their energies are parts of Hell itself.”
“Okay,” Seokjin says again, because it’s kind of the only thing he can say, “Let me recap what we have so far real quickly.”
“The demon who tried to kill me-” Yoongi’s expression darkens and Seokjin makes a mental memo of stop repeating he was almost killed, “- was some petty bitch and you managed to save me because you are a demon who was born in Hell, which makes you more powerful than them.”
Yoongi only nods.
“Okay,” he replies once again, and neither of them says anything else after that.
Seokjin is kind of proud of himself for how quickly he has accepted the fact that Yoongi is a fucking demon (he’s not really sure if he has accepted it or if he is in denial, but he guesses he can figure that out later).
He looks at Yoongi, who is once again looking up to the sky and since the other man seems to be lost in his thoughts, Seokjin allows himself to openly stare at him.
He doesn’t look any different from what he looked like hours ago; he’s still wearing his black turtleneck and his favorite denim jacket; he’s still wearing the necklace Seokjin gave him two years ago (he has worn it every single day ever since). Even though he saw what they are capable of, his hands still look as gentle as ever; he still has those little marks on his knees, visible through his ripped jeans, that were caused by Seokjin when he accidently bumped into him out of terror and sent him to the floor where broken glass was scattered around (Seokjin had profusely apologized but Yoongi just smiled and told him that he was fine); he still looks like the Yoongi he knows, respects and adores and it hits Seokjin then, he truly doesn’t give a shit about the fact that Yoongi is a demon, he still wants him.
“Yoongi-yah,” he hears himself saying, he doesn’t even know what he’ll say; he just wants Yoongi’s attention on him, always on him, “you are stronger than that demon, right?”
Yoongi nods slowly, not knowing where this is going. Seokjin doesn’t know either.
“Like, super stronger or just a little bit stronger?” Seokjin wiggles his eyebrows and Yoongi snorts, and he’s pouting in an attempt to hide his smile. Seokjin is so endeared endeared endeared.
“I would say I’m just a little bit stronger,” Yoongi says and Seokjin pauses before he starts to laugh because he just remembered what Yoongi said to the demon before making them disappear.
“Only a little bit? Sounds like bullshit to me Mister “I am perfectly capable of annihilating you with lifting only one finger” but okay!”
Yoongi blushes, his face almost as red as his eyes were before and Seokjin can’t help but laugh even more.
“C’mon Yoongi, tell me the truth! How powerful are you?”
“I, uh, I-” Seokjin stops laughing when he hears the hesitance in Yoongi’s voice. When he looks at him, Yoongi is looking right back, doubt written all over his face, as if he thinks the truth will scare Seokjin away.
Seokjin doesn’t think anything else can scare him so he grabs one of Yoongi’s hands and squeezes it; the gesture seems to surprise Yoongi. “You can tell me Yoongi-yah, it’s okay.”
Yoongi visibly gulps, closes his eyes, breathes in and, “I’m a Prince of Hell.”
Okay, that is definitively something Seokjin did not see coming.
“What the fuck?” he notices too late his tone was harsher than he intended when Yoongi slightly flinches, so quickly squeezes his hand reassuringly.
“I’m not mad or scared or anything! I’m just… impressed? I mean, you are a fucking Prince of Hell? Aren’t you like, Lucifer’s son? Holy shit, you are the Devil’s son!”
“I’m not Lucifer’s son,” Yoongi lets out an exasperated sigh and Seokjin can hear the relief behind it; he smiles. “He created me, yes, but I’m not his son. I’m just next in line after him.”
“Just next in line after him?” Seokjin makes quotations marks with his hands to emphasize his point, “Are you hearing yourself? You are next in line after the fucking Devil! You are a Prince of Hell! You could be doing so much more than sitting in a dirty abandoned park with a simple mortal-” Seokjin pauses because he realizes he hasn’t asked something very important yet.
He squeezes Yoongi's hand to get him to look at him, “why are you here?” he asks softly.
Yoongi's eyes widen just a fraction and he can see fear and something else in the other man’s eyes.
After a few seconds, Yoongi squeezes his hand and just as softly, he replies.
“I like it here, with you.”
Everything seems to still.
“What?” is the only thing Seokjin can ask before Yoongi starts to speak rapidly.
“I like it here, with you. I was supposed to stay here just for some time to fix a mistake; Min Yoongi’s brother made a deal with a demon and when the time to collect his soul came, the demon who came for him mixed up the brothers and took Yoongi’s soul instead.
When Yoongi’s soul arrived in Hell, I immediately noticed it wasn’t supposed to be there. Yoongi was a good kid; such a gentle soul had no place in Hell so I collected him and came to this realm as soon as possible to see if I could save him, but it was too late. His vessel didn’t welcome his soul anymore so I had to send him to Heaven, where he belonged.
I was about to go to back to Hell when Yoongi’s brother came into his room, crying for him. He kept saying he was sorry, so sorry his soul had been taken away from him; I felt bad for him. He had made a deal with a demon to save his father’s life; the man was terminally ill.
He hadn’t wished for money, fame or success; he just wanted his family to be together for a little longer, so I decided to fix the situation the best I could: I made the crying man pass out and manipulated his memories so he would no longer remember his original deal or how his brother’s soul had been taken and then I possessed Yoongi’s vessel.
Everything went smoothly and I carried on in this realm as Min Yoongi.
Years went by, life here was nice but my duties as a Prince of Hell were starting to pile up; I needed to leave this realm, even if I didn’t want to; I had to leave life as Min Yoongi and go back to Hell.
I kept pushing it back and when I was about to give up, I met you.”
Yoongi lightly squeezes his hand again before continuing.
“I met you and I immediately knew I couldn’t leave. You were so funny and kind, full of life and also full of doubts but you never let that stop you, always trying your best to achieve all your goals and dreams. I was mesmerized by you, I wanted to stay just to see the wonderful man I knew you were going to become.
So I didn’t leave, and I stayed by your side simply because you were too good and before I even noticed, I-” he pauses and he’s not looking at Seokjin anymore, “I was already in love with you.” Yoongi’s voice shakes a little.
Seokjin realizes tears are running down Yoongi’s cheeks.
“If I’m being honest, it didn’t take me by surprise. It felt like it was the only possible outcome, as if me falling for you has been written in the books of Heaven and Hell and of every realm since the beginning of times, like I’ve been fated to love you even before we met for the very first time when you bumped into me and dropped my coffee and spilled yours all over me.”
Seokjin laughs and when it turns into a sniffle, he realizes he’s crying too.
“I love you so much, Kim Seokjin. For eons I thought it was impossible for an entity like me to fall in love but here I am, in love with a man who does believe in my supernatural existence; a man who is so kind and so selfless; a man who would carry all the burdens of every single person he loves if he could, just so they could be happy; a man who deserves the whole world and I wish he would let me be give it to him. I love you so much, Kim Seokjin, because you are the best person I’ve ever met and you make me better and I want-”
Seokjin is kissing Yoongi like his life depends of it.
It’s a weird kiss because they’re both crying and when they separate to breathe, they immediately start to kiss again because they don’t want to let go and then they both begin to laugh at each other’s desperation as they try to keep kissing.
When they finally calm down, their foreheads are touching and for moment, they only breathe each other’s air.
The silence doesn’t last too long though, Yoongi has never been one to leave things halfway done; he’s always been an all or nothing kind of guy.
He gently cradles Seokjin’s left cheek on his hand and softly kisses the right one before speaking again.
“Did you hear me, Seokjin-ah? I love you. I want you and I hope you want me too,” he smiles, “otherwise all the kissing we just did is going to become a really awkward incident.”
Seokjin laughs in disbelief. How can Yoongi think he doesn’t want him? How can Yoongi even dare to think Seokjin doesn’t love him just as much?
“Yoongi-yah, you have no idea how much I love you,” Seokjin kisses Yoongi’s hand that is still cradling his cheek. “You are so kind to me; you take such good care of me. Even when I didn’t know how to ask for what I needed, you always managed to get it right. You’ve always made sure I’m doing well; you have always supported me, no matter how big or how small my idea is, you are right there next to me already asking if I need help and how you can help.”
Seokjin takes Yoongi’s hands between his.
“My dear Yoongi-yah, you have already given me the world. Would you let me give it back to you?”
Yoongi’s eyes fill with more tears as he throws himself into Seokjin’s arms and buries his face on the taller man’s neck.
“You don’t care I am a demon?” he asks in a whisper, “You love me even though I’m not really Min Yoongi?”
“Yoongi-yah, I don’t want to hear nonsense!” he pulls the smaller man away from his neck so he can look at his face, “You are Min Yoongi. You told me Min Yoongi was a good kid, a kind one?” He kisses Yoongi’s left cheek. “You are one of the kindest people I’ve ever met,” he kisses Yoongi’s right cheek. “You are kind not only to me, but to everyone else,” he kisses Yoongi’s forehead. “You always put everyone else above you. You help me out with my projects even if you have yours piling up; you help the kids with their homework and projects whenever they ask you, as soon as they ask you.” He kisses Yoongi’s lips. “You are Min Yoongi, the kindest and most supportive person I’ve ever met,” he kisses Yoongi again. “You are Min Yoongi, the person I am in love with.”
This time, Yoongi is the one who kisses him.
“I am Min Yoongi, the person Kim Seokjin loves,” he smiles and his gums are on full display, “what an honor it is to bear that title.”
Seokjin is in love in love in love, the only thing he wants to do is kiss that smile until he forgets his name. And he can now, so he does.
“Seokjin-ah,” Yoongi says in between kisses, “Do you want to be my boyfriend?”
“It would be an honor to be your boyfriend, Yoongi-yah.”
And they kiss and kiss and kiss.
-
They kiss for what feels like hours and Seokjin only gives up on it when he realizes how numb his entire body is getting.
“Yoongi-yah, we need to leave,” he stops Yoongi from kissing him again, “we’re too old to stay in this cold, dirty floor for too long.”
Yoongi pouts but easily complies and gets up, gently helping Seokjin to do the same.
When he gets up, Seokjin realizes two things: exhaustion is finally catching up to him, his entire body aches and he feels like he could sleep for twenty hours straight and that his camera lies on the floor, crushed to nothing.
“Well, it seems like we will have to find another location after all,” Yoongi says but he doesn’t sound too upset about it.
“Yah, I finally got something good on camera and the thing broke? Life hates me.”
Yoongi stops him by grabbing his hand. He looks nervous, almost scared, and Seokjin never wants to see him like this ever again.
“Hyung… you won’t tell anyone what I truly am, right?”
“Of course I won’t, my love,” Seokjin doesn’t miss how Yoongi’s cheeks get red at the petname; he can feel his own burning. “I really don’t need people to question my sanity more than they already do.”
Yoongi laughs and pulls his hand to get them walking again. He doesn’t let go.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” he smiles mischievously, “but I think people won’t stop questioning your sanity any time soon.”
“They can do whatever they want; after all, I’m right! Demons do exist, contrary to what my demon boyfriend has been telling me for years; a little rude of him, if you ask me.”
They are reaching the gates of the park now and Seokjin can’t wait to leave this place behind for good.
“Oh, I am so sorry I didn’t tell you I am a Prince of Hell before; must have slipped my mind!”
“You are forgiven because the red eyes are extremely hot-”
“Oh, now they’re hot? If I remember correctly, you yelled at me to stay away from you as soon as you saw them for the first time!”
“Don’t hold my meltdown against me, Min Yoongi, it was a lot to process!”
They are now outside of the park. They stop in the same place where their night began.
“I’m sorry for scaring you, hyung,” Yoongi says and he sounds really apologetic. “As soon as I sensed the demon’s energy I ran towards it and I was so scared I was going to be late; I was so mad anyone dared to hurt you.” Seokjin kisses his cheek to let him know that he’s okay now; Yoongi squeezes his hand. “I was so mad at myself for not stopping it from the beginning, and when I saw them about to k- about to hurt you, I lost it.”
“It’s okay now, Yoongi-yah. I’m fine. A little sore but nothing that some cuddles and some extra care from a certain person can’t fix.”
Yoongi kisses him so gently, Seokjin melts. He’s so in love.
“By the way, what did you with the demon?” Seokjin asks as they begin walking away from the park’s gates holding hands.
“Oh? I sent it back to Hell to my pets!” he smiles and it’s a terrifyingly sweet smile.
Seokjin thinks he shouldn’t find it so hot but he decides he will judge his own choices another time.
“What do you mean?” he asks instead.
“I’ve been away from so long; they probably miss me a little, but I made sure this gift will last them for a few decades so they will be fine.”
“Do I want to know what that means or ignorance is bliss?”
Yoongi only kisses him and that’s enough answer so, he just kisses back.
“I love you so much, Seokjin-ah,” Yoongi says when they separate. He’s looking at Seokjin like he’s the most precious thing in the world; Seokjin knows his eyes reflect the same adoration for the him.
“I love you too, Yoongi-yah, I love you too.”
It’s 5:14AM. It’s a chilly morning in Seoul. There’s only a soft breeze. As the last traces of the moon can be seen and the sun starts to color the sky, two lovers walk down the quiet streets holding hands and for a brief moment, the world is theirs and theirs only.