Chapter Text
~* Part 1: Summoning *~
The whole ordeal begins because your stupid little brother Jimin accepts a dare from his friend Jungkook. The bratty werewolf Jungkook wouldn’t have known the meaning of the word consequences if it slapped him in the face. And your younger brother, childish and eager to prove himself, does not know how to back down from a dare. The dare is to summon a demon.
It’s a stupid dare because its incredibly rude to just pull a demon from whatever they are doing through a summoning circle just for one’s own amusement. But it’s also stupid because demons are the most despised species in the world. People hate them because there were one too many demons in the past with too much power and a propensity for misusing it. It is only natural to fear beings with such chaotic power, but it also means they are horribly mistreated in society. Of course, Jimin doesn’t have the maturity or understanding to realise why it’s so wrong to attempt to summon a demon into his own living room, and if you or your father had picked up on his intentions earlier, you would have gladly explained it to him. But neither of you do.
Your father is busy preparing for a month-long business trip- a great opportunity for his thriving glamour potion business and your hands are full with your studies, and that’s how Jimin is able to execute his mischievous plan without detection. Why would anyone notice him secretly gathering supplies, or pouring through magic texts when you are all so busy with your own lives? It is far too late when you finally detect something amiss- when you return home from dropping your father at the airport.
You walk in at probably the most opportune and inopportune moment. Opportune because had Jimin attempted a summoning spell without you present he surely would have died. This is because summoning circles are like vacuums you can’t turn off. They suck any available magic in the immediate vicinity out of the air until they have enough to achieve their purpose. Jimin, at a mere 14 years of age and a with a meagre magic supply to match, would have been completely drained and no doubt died of magic exhaustion. Inopportune because summoning circles are magic vacuums. So when you walk in at the exact moment Jimin finishes the magic incantation, the summoning circle instantly latches onto and begins draining your much larger magic supply rather than his.
“Jimin!” You screech, taking in the summoning circle in your living room, the various magical supplies he no doubt stole from your father’s shop and the eerie glow that is filling the room as soon as the circle leeches from your magic supply. “You’re summoning a demon? Dad’s gonna kill you!”
“Jungkook dared me!” Is all Jimin can shout in his defence while you attempt to shoo him out of the room to safely. But the magic circle drains a little too much of your magic for you to handle and you promptly pass out.
When you regain consciousness, the room is filled with smoke and Jimin is also passed out. Immediately concerned, you crawl over him, braving through the wave of nausea that washes over you at the action of sitting up. You breathe a sigh of relief when you feel the comforting thrum of his pulse beneath your fingertips, and you roll him onto his back. He is pale but seems to be just sleeping. You doubt the magic circle required Jimin’s magic as well, given the ample supply you had as an adult witch. It is more likely the pressure and sheer amount of magic in the air that knocked him out. But with your brother’s safety confirmed, you turn to face and apologise to the bigger problem in the room- whatever poor demon your brother summoned, the one who is currently screaming his head off in terror.
But when the smoke clears and you glance to the figure now standing in the middle of your living room, you find yourself wishing you were still unconscious. For the figure staring in complete shock and horror at you is none other than your campus’ beloved Jung Hoseok.
Hoseok’s gaze flickers down to where his dress shirt is half-buttoned and hangs open. He must have been in the middle of getting dressed when Jimin summoned him. His eyes widen and he goes to fix it but it is far too late. Already you have seen and registered the brand that sits just below his clavicle, the brand that all of his kind and their descendants are forced to wear, to mark them as different and alien and dangerous. Your father says the brand is a reminder of how hateful and awful society can be towards an entire species. If the fact that Hoseok is here because of a summoning ceremony weren’t enough proof of Hoseok’s true identity, then the brand your gaze is now anchored onto certainly is.
It is the mark of a demon- which means Hoseok is a demon, probably the most hated species on earth. The scream dies on his throat.
++
If it weren’t embarrassing enough that because of Jimin you would have to apologise and help whatever poor demon Jimin had jerked out of their daily routine, the fact that it is Jung Hoseok of all people makes it a million times worse for two reasons.
The first is that Hoseok hates your guts. You never did learn the reason why and most people you disclose this little tidbit of information didn’t believe you. No one really thinks Hoseok capable of hating someone, but he does and it’s you. It’s not an overly obvious, antagonistic hatred which is why it’s so difficult to convince others that he does. No, Hoseok is subtle- ignoring you, turning away from you when you’re in the room, sometimes glaring at you for no reason and most importantly avoiding you at all costs. You might have been able to write this behaviour off as shyness were you not aware of who Hoseok is as a person. The joke around your campus where Hoseok is concerned is actually that Hoseok is sunshine on legs. Though his species wasn’t known to anyone, the general consensus has always been that Hoseok, with his bright and sunny personality and subtle good looks, was probably something like a sun sprite or a water nymph. Something gentle and beloved, with powers that could only heal and protect and a kind and loving nature to boot. No one would have ever guessed he is one of the most reviled and hated (and underprivileged according to your kindhearted father) species in the world. So while it turns out the speculation about his species is wrong, it doesn’t change the fact that if kind, extroverted, happy Hoseok treats you like you have some sort of disease, then he must really truly hate you for some reason.
Which brings you to the second reason, the only reason you could provide for Hoseok’s odd disdain for you. And that was that you and Hoseok had history. If it could even be called that. The story starts in highschool. Even back then, Hoseok’s bright personality and kind demeanour had sucked people in, left them vulnerable to his charms and you were no exception. The strength of your crush is humiliating for you now to remember. So when your friend has insisted she had convinced Hoseok to go on a date with you, you had been ecstatic! A date, with the guy of your dreams? You would have been a fool to refuse.
Only when you had showed up at the movie cinema at the assigned time, it hadn’t just been Hoseok going to see the movie with you. Rather than just tell you she had been dating Hoseok, your supposed friend had felt the need to very publicly stake her claim. And so you had endured the most humiliating movie of your life while she and Hoseok engaged enthusiastically in public displays of affection, wondering why she hadn’t just told you she was dating him. It hadn’t ended there, and when she showed up to the restaurant where you had you first ever part-time job as a waitress, you hadn’t hesitated in not-so-accidentally dumping her pasta all over her lap. She had always envied you and you suppose that the way you had been so vocal and open about your crush who happened to be her secret boyfriend had driven her to extreme measures.
The fact that the pasta incident hadn’t fully been an accident was a fact your ex-friend made known to nearly the whole school. Rumours of your intense jealousy and desire to bully her had spread quickly, easily slaughtering your social life. You had long since recovered from what you felt was a huge injustice, but lingering feelings of humiliation and misery still lingered whenever you looked at Hoseok and remembered what has transpired.
That particular incident is probably why Hoseok hates you, but to hold a grudge for so long over something so petty doesn’t seem consistent with his character. Yes, you dumped pasta on his highschool girlfriend’s lap in a petty rage, but apart from him having been your crush at the time, it hadn’t really had much to do with him and had been more to do with the betrayal you had felt at her actions and inability to properly communicate. Maybe his demon origins explain this unnecessary grudge-holding, but your dad had always stressed to you the fact that it is not the species that determines a person’s character. And you love and respect your dad above all else and if he insists that demons don’t deserve the discrimination they receive, then that’s what you will insist as well. So that means something doesn’t add up with Hoseok’s unexplained dislike of you, you just don’t know what.
Still, those two reasons combined are the reasons you generally try and avoid Hoseok. Yes, you went to highschool together and are among the few students from your school who had chosen to attend the local magic university, but you had been determined for that to be the end of your connection. With your farewell to highschool and avoidance of Hoseok, you had thought you had successfully distanced yourself from that turbulent era of your life.
Yet here you are, your brother still unconscious, magical components scattered around your living room, the remnants of a summoning circle permanently burned into the living room carpet and Hoseok half-dressed. He looks like he’s trapped in his worst nightmare. So you blurt the only reasonable thing that comes to mind.
“Jimin did it!” You accuse, pointing to your brother who is slowly starting to rouse. It takes a few goes but Hoseok finally recovers his voice.
“(Y/N)? You summoned me?” He cries out in horror as the reality of his situation dawns on him.
“No!” You protest. “It really wasn’t me! It was him.”
Jimin, who had been subtly trying to make an escape while your attention was fixed on Hoseok, freezes mid-crawl. He sits back on his heels.
“In my defence I didn’t know it would actually work!” He complains, glaring at you with only the audacity a fourteen year old who has done the wrong thing can manage.
“What did you think would happen? Why wouldn’t a demon summoning work?” You argue back, and then your eyes go wide as once more you are struck with a realisation. “You...” you say, turning slowly back to Hoseok. “You’re a demon?”
Hoseok winces at your realisation, and flails around wildly before wilting in resignation- his secret is out and there’s no putting the toothpaste back in the tube.
“Obviously!” He exclaims and the open flaps of his shirt shift when he waves his arms in emphasis, once more exposing the demon brand. “What did you think you were summoning? A horse?”
You open your mouth to protest.
“Again, it was Jimin- Jimin you brat if you leave this room I’m setting your video game console on fire.” You hiss, and Jimin freezes with his hand on the doorknob and says a word that would definitely get him grounded if your father wasn’t currently on a plane to the other side of the world. You grab him by the back of the shirt, pinning him in place while you turn your attention to Hoseok. “Anyway, I’m sorry my brother is like this. Don’t feel like you’re stuck here or anything, he was just acting on a dare.” You tell Hoseok in a cautiously polite voice. He just looks around, antsy and stressed, before sighing in resignation.
“I wasn’t planning on staying.” Hoseok tells you as the shock of the situation settles in. He finishes buttoning his shirt and glances at his watch in distress. “But it would be great if you could tell me where you live?”
When you inform him his current location, his eyes bug comically out of his head.
“That’s on the other side of town from where I need to be! Public transport won’t get me there in time!” He almost wails. You blink, confused at his devastated reactions.
“D-do you have plans?” You inquire hesitantly. Falling to his knees, Hoseok nods.
“A date.” He admits quietly. “A really, really important date. Of course something like this would happen today- and with you of all people, of course! Of course it has to be you.”
Were you younger and less jaded by your past, you may have been disappointed to hear that your first ever crush currently had an important date, and a little offended at his implication that you are the cause of all the trouble in his life but you are proudly past that stage of your life. Instead you now have the capacity to be the bigger person.
“I... can give you a lift? It’s the least I can do after Jimin summoned you here- which I will be telling Dad about just so you know.” You hiss at your brother. Hoseok pays no mind to the death glares you and your brother direct at each other, and instead contemplates your offer. He looks like he would rather do literally anything else, but a quick glance at the antique clock your father keeps over your fireplace confirms he doesn’t really have a choice.
With a promise to Jimin that you will be doling out consequences when you get back, you and Hoseok hop into your car and set off for the location of his date. It’s near your campus, on the other side of the city, and it’s most definitely going to drain the power crystal supplying your magic to your car. You almost go to complain at Hoseok- magic crystals aren’t cheap, but one look at the frazzled look on his face has you shutting up.
The car ride to the restaurant is awkward and silent. It is Hoseok who finally breaks the silence.
“Will you tell anyone?” He asks softly. You frown.
“That you’re a demon?” You ask. “I wasn’t planning to... does anyone know?”
“No. No they do not and I would love to keep it that way.” He says softly, almost timidly.
“Then I won’t tell anyone.” You answer sincerely. Hoseok doesn’t respond but you think you may hear the slightest relieved exhale from him.
The rest of the trip is silent apart from Hoseok’s occasional instruction of what lane to be in and whether to turn left or right. When you finally pull over, you don’t bid him goodbye as he scrambles out of your car, legging it for the restaurant entrance. He doesn’t even bother to shut the car door behind him. With a sigh, you prepare to leave, leaning across the console to shut the door he rudely left open. You are fully intending on never acknowledging Hoseok ever again and pretending this whole incident never happened, when something strange happens.
Hoseok makes it maybe 20 meters from you when you feel the sharpest pulling sensation on your whole being. It’s not just physical- it’s like your whole soul is being yanked on and you are jerked forcefully across the console in Hoseok’s general direction. Alarmed, you look up to find Hoseok flat on the ground like he’s tripped. Slightly concerned, you try to get out of the car, only to find yourself unable to move in that direction. But you are free to move forward, and so you clamber over the console and out of the car on the passenger’s side.
“Hoseok!” You shout, running over to him. He sits up, looking slightly dazed like he’s just crash into a brick walls. “Are you ok?”
He glances at you, disorientated, but gradually horror dawns on his expression.
“I’m fine, I just…” He says slowly, as he tries to comprehend what just happened. “Hey… (Y/N)… What kind of summoning circle did your brother make?”
You blink, contemplating the circle that was still burned into the carpet of your living room.
“Well, off the top of my head...” you say sarcastically, before frowning. “I would say demon summoning circles aren’t exactly my area of expertise.”
Hoseok looks pained, and he glances skyward as if he’s praying for patience which is ironic given his demon origins.
“I need you to stand here, (Y/N).” He instructs you, getting slowly to his feet. “I just need to test something.”
And just like that, he is walking away from you. For a second, you think you’ve been rudely rejected, and just stare after him in disbelief. But then he comes to a halt about 20 metres away from you. His fist comes up and starts waving in the air like he is knocking on a door rather than air. Then he is hurtling towards you at full speed.
You flinch as he skids to a stop in front of you, eyes wide and panicked. He plants both hands on your shoulder.
“Walk that way!” He pleads. “Please.”
You are confused, and for a second you want to refuse. You have no duty to this rude demon, especially when he’s been nothing but unfriendly to you for almost as long as you’ve known him. Also, he’s been deceiving you as long as you’ve known him! (Admittedly with good reasons - demons weren’t exactly accepted with society but you’re being petty now is the point)
But then you look at his desperate, pleading expression. The clock is ticking- his date could arrive any minute and something strange is going on. With a sigh, you turn around and begin to walk away from him.
You make it about twenty metres, much like Hoseok did, before you find yourself stopped. By some sort of invisible barrier.
Suddenly panicking, you bang your arm against it and it’s solid as a brick wall and smooth as glass. Are you… trapped? It seems to be a moving barrier, and it seems to affect Hoseok as well… what on earth did that summoning circle do? Horrified, you whirl back to where Hoseok is standing 20 metres away only to find him talking to a girl you recognise as always being around him when you happen to see him around campus. He catches your eyes over her shoulder and even at this distance you know his gaze is just as desperate and pleading. Slowly, he turns, as if to walk away, and just pauses, waiting for your answer to his silent request. You glance down at your attire, before glancing at the restaurant. You’re wearing jeans and a tshirt, not exactly appropriate for the fancy restaurant.
Hoseok is beginning to panic, and you sigh as you realise there’s really only one way out of this, for now.
Looks like you’re sitting in on Hoseok’s date.
++
“He was supposed to be here an hour ago.” You say forlornly, staring at the two dishes set in front of you. Yours is half eaten but the other is untouched and has long gone cold. “He said it was really important.”
The waitress and waiter standing beside you let our devastated sounds of sympathy.
“You poor thing! Have you tried calling him?” The waiter asks. You nod your head sadly and you’re so into your lie that your eyes began to tear up.
“I did- it went straight to voicemail! I even thought about casting a location spell but I couldn’t betray his trust like that.” You nearly sob. The waitress is near crying on your behalf.
You aren’t sure how your lie got elaborate enough that you ended up ordering a second dish to keep up the ruse. It started because you were too confused and embarrassed to admit the truth- that you’re stuck here like a fool until Hoseok’s date finishes and you didn’t want people thinking you were a loser who came to fancy restaurants by yourself in a tshirt and jeans. You aren’t sure why it is such an important date but Hoseok sure seems nervous. So far he’s spilled a glass of wine on his lap, stabbed himself with a fork and his date is slowly getting more and more agitated. You shoot a glance at him to see he’s holding a napkin to his hand, trying to stop the bleeding. You wonder if you should wonder over and offer to heal him but his girlfriend may recognise you from around campus and ask questions.
Not that you seem to have a problem at lying when asked too many questions! The waiter, so sympathetic to your lie, has summoned a dessert from the kitchen and levitated it onto your table.
“It’s on the house- the chef here got left at the alter and is super sensitive to when people get stood up.” He tells you seriously. “Do you want me to pack this for you?”
Panicking, you deliberate for a second. You can’t leave once it’s packed! You’re stuck here until Hoseok finishes his important date. A glance at his table confirms that it’s getting steadily more disastrous- he’s accidentally sent a piece of steak flying right into the eye of the cyclops who is serving their table. Gritting your teeth with second hand embarrassment, you summon your highschool drama skills from deep within.
“I’d love if you could pack it... but do you think I could wait a little longer? He might still show up! I thought... I really thought tonight was the night, you know?” You stay, and the tears of humiliation are real this time- but just because you’re so embarrassed that you’ve taken the lie this far, rather than having thought your imaginary boyfriend has been about to propose.
The fairy waitress shakes her head.
“No way, girl, I’m making an executive decision.” She says, planting her hands on her hips and fluttering her wings indignantly. “You’re going home! What’s the use in waiting around for a useless guy who doesn’t have the decency to call?”
She waves her hand, and the bill appears- you panic, swiping your magic signature across it. In the next moment, she’s pushing you out of the restaurant, your takeaway dish levitating behind the two of you.
“W-wait!” You protest, coming up against the barrier that stops you from going home at the entrance to the restaurant. “Y-you’re right! I... I just have to call my lift home. I’m just gonna wait here.” The waitress pauses, giving you a soft, concerned expression, before acquiescing and leaving you to stand pathetically at the entrance.
It is because you are waiting outside by yourself hoping Hoseok’s date will end soon that you bear witness to the scene that follows. You’ve probably been milling outside, grateful for the warm evening, for a half hour when Hoseok’s gorgeous elf girlfriend comes racing out of the restaurant looking like she’s on the verge of vomiting.
Hoseok comes skidding our behind her, his eyes pleading and desperate. The top button of his shirt is undone, exposing the dreaded brand on his skin.
“Wait!” He cries, grasping at her hands and tugging her towards him. She flinches, looking horrified.
“Let go!” She screeches. There’s no one on the street but you, but you’re kind of huddled in the shelter of a stone pillar, so she doesn’t seem to have noticed you. “Don’t touch me!”
“I thought you loved me!” Hoseok cries, still gripping her hand. “Were you lying? Does my species change how you feel about me?”
“I don’t know!” She exclaims. “I didn’t know you were one of those when I said that!”
Hoseok drops her hand like she’s burned him, his eyes going wide with hurt.
“Y-you don’t mean that.” He says softly, though his eyes fill with tears. You wonder if you should leave to give them some privacy but you’d be lying if you said that the drama scene unfolding on the street in front of you wasn’t entertaining, as awful as a person as that makes you. “I... I love you.”
She scoffs, and her next words suddenly make the scene less entertaining.
“Can demons even feel love?” She asks scathingly. “You don’t have to worry about your secret- I won’t tell anyone. I don’t want anyone knowing I was dating one of your kind. Goodbye, Hoseok.”
Your heart actually breaks a little for him as he just gapes after her, frozen in his hurt and pain. Finally, he turns slowly and sees you standing stupidly in the street. He glares.
“Did you enjoy the show?” He asks coldly. You shake your head.
“Hoseok...” you say slowly, though you haven’t the foggiest idea how you could comfort him. His demeanour softens just the slightest bit.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude… I just… today was our one-year anniversary.” He admits softly. “I thought I could tell her what I was and that she loved me enough to accept me... but I... but I...”
His voice cracks and hesitantly you raised a hand to comfortingly rub along his shoulders. He clears his throat and sighs heavily.
“We’re stuck together, by the way. That’s what that barrier is.” He informs you. “Your brother performed a binding circle and so we are stuck like this until we figure out how to undo it. Its called ‘soul-binding’ and no, I do not know how to undo it. And thank you for sitting in on dinner. That was… nice. Not a lot of people would have put up with what you have tonight.”
He just stares forlornly in the direction his date left in after that, and you only pluck up the courage to speak to him when the silence becomes too much to bare for you.
“Hey… Why don’t we go home and we can sort out this whole mess in the morning?” You suggest, ushering the heartbroken demon into your car. “We’ll stop off at yours and you can grab some stuff. We have a spare bedroom. You can sleep off whatever just happened and we’ll deal with everything then, ok?”
The car ride back to your house is silent. When you arrive at his place he doesn’t say a word- he lives out of home in an apartment by himself and so there’s no one for him to answer to or speak to or inform about his unusual predicament. He just gets out of the car and returns with a duffle bag and some sunglasses. You almost ask what the sunglasses are for, especially when he puts them on. It is, after all, the middle of the night. But then you spot the tears that trickle down Hoseok’s cheeks the whole way and you realise why he’s wearing them.
You choose not to say anything.