Work Text:
“What are you reading?”
Namjoon glances up from his novel, an eyebrow perfectly raised. The kid looks at him, their head tilted in confusion. He glances at the front cover, understanding dawning on his face–the title’s in English. He glances back at the kid, sunglasses tipping forward on his nose.
“A book.”
The kid’s nose scrunches up, unhappy with the answer. Namjoon hides a smile; it always pissed him off as a kid whenever adults did that, too. Answer with a non-answer. He leans back a bit, crossing his ankles as he regards the kid. They’re young, probably twelve or so–their school uniform ruffled from a day of learning.
“What’s it about?”
Namjoon purses his lips, thinking. He could tell the kid, but where’s the fun in that? The kid watches him, fidgeting slightly the longer he doesn’t answer. Eventually, the kid huffs, crouching down to try and sound out the English cover.
“Tha…da…”
Snorting, Namjoon shakes his head, snapping the book shut. The kid glares at him, cheeks puffing out.
“You’re a dick.”
“And you’re a shit,” Namjoon quips back, eyebrow twitching in amusement.
The kid huffs, standing; he dusts off his pants, grumbling as he starts to turn around. Letting out a loud sigh, Namjoon runs a hand through his hair, pushing it back and away.
“You really want to know?”
The kid’s lips thin out, his eyebrows pulling down low in a glare. He turns back around, arms crossed as he looks at Namjoon. Grinning, Namjoon pulls his sunglasses up, pushing them into his hair. He turns the book around, showing the cover to the kid again. He takes a small step forward, head cocking again.
“It’s a cookbook.”
The kid’s eyes dart up to his, confusion on his face.
“A cookbook.”
“Yeah, a cookbook.”
The kid glances down at the cover again, lips pursed together.
“But…”
Namjoon raises an eyebrow.
“Yeah?”
“…there’s a person on the cover…”
Namjoon hums, considering.
“Well. I never said what kind of cookbook, did I?”
The kid looks up at him, something a little wild in his eyes. Grinning, Namjoon lets his eyes flicker, the whites and irises flattening into a solid black. He lets his glamour fade, his teeth suddenly sharp and his horns curling down along his jaw. The kid gasps, tripping as he tries to get away from Namjoon. He runs down the sidewalk, practically crashing into people as he tries to escape.
Humming, Namjoon pulls his sunglasses back down, his glamour snapping back into place. Opening the book back up, Namjoon resumes reading, humming at the viscera and gore on the pages.His stomach clenches uncomfortably in his body, gnawing and ripping itself apart in his hunger. Of course it’s not a cookbook, he scoffs. He’s absolute shit in the kitchen, ask anyone.
But it sure does look delicious, he thinks, idly flipping the page.