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Kim Dokja wondered who was the first person to think of creating the hell prison also known as a university.
Whoever they were he was sure they must be a sadist who enjoys the pain and suffering of young people.
Or maybe they were a demon, and they created this ‘study place’ as a trap to suck the souls of oblivious students who were desperate for a better chance at getting a job.
It made sense, what with the countless youths he had seen walking around the campus, barely awake, while holding their liquid energy- coffee- in their hand with eerily empty gaze and dark bruises under their eyes.
…
Okay, Kim Dokja REALLY had to go back and do his Latin assignment that is due at 8 am sharp tomorrow, instead of getting lost in more conspiracy theory.
“Come on Kim Dokja, you did this class for a whole semester surely you can write 1000 words about middle-age philosophy,” he encouraged himself.
Still, the clock continues to tick and Kim Dokja’s paper remains empty. He spent hours staring blankly at the opened journals in his laptop before attempting to read said journals.
His four AM alarm rang, reminding him of the amount of time he had left.
Less than four hours now, actually three because he needs an hour to eat breakfast, look presentable and go to his class.
Thankfully the lack of time finally triggered Kim Dokja’s last-minute brain mechanism, and he could feel his mind works faster and his heartbeats increased from the adrenaline rushing in his blood.
He gulped down his last black coffee portion in his cup, before he started reading and writing at a speed, his self from an hour ago could not relate.
By the time he was done, he felt a bit light-headed, probably from the amount of information he had to absorb in such a short time or from his lack of sleep, but he was finally done!
But then when he raised his head to look at the time again, he felt something dripped from his nose.
Shit!
It was blood!
Brilliant red blood staining the white paper containing his labour of the past hours!
He had to submit this paper in- he glanced at his phone- 2 hours!
Shit!
‘Well too late to cry over spilt milk now’ he thought as he took a recently washed shirt he had yet had the time to fold from his desk, and placed it in front of his nose and bend his head down to stop the nosebleed.
When the blood flow finally stopped, he went to his bathroom to clean himself, it was only then that he noticed the shirt he used was one of his favourites.
‘What an unlucky day’ he grumbled in his mind while rinsing the clothes with some soap, hoping that it would remove some of the stains.
He has no time to dilly dally though as his paper is now ruined so he had to rewrite everything.
He grabbed his pen and ruler, then copied the essay. It was actually a good thing that he did because then he realised that he had miswritten some words or drew the diagram wrongly. Because of these mistakes, he began to read the words out loud to proofread them.
He finished his assignment with just enough time to take a bath and make himself some toast before he had to rush to his class. When he was wearing his socks, he noticed that he had yet to dispose of his bloody paper on his desk but decided he would clean it up later as he was almost late to his lecture already.
...
It was a Mistake.
Yes, with a capital M, it was only fitting considering how stupid yet grave his mistake was.
In retrospect, this IS the real world after all and not a fiction novel or -Heaven forbid- a badly written romantic fanfiction!
So, there is no way you can accidentally summon a demon, or another supernatural being because Kim Dokja was 99% sure humans are not supposed to have horns on their head or fangs unless this man is wearing a Halloween costume… in September.
Right???
Especially not one that looks like he could make Edw*rd C*ll*n hides in his coffin in shame.
Gulp
He forcefully swallowed his saliva, this demon is just exactly his type too!
Tall, broad-shouldered with defined looking pectoral and abs peeking from his well fitted black uniform and looking like he could lift Kim Dokja like a barbel if those bicep muscles are real… Dokja hoped he is not drooling right now, that would just be the cherry on top for embarrassing things Kim Dokja did today.
‘There is no way he is not a demon with a face that sinful’ Kim Dokja lamented in his mind as he observed the man’s strong jaw, dark beautifully-arched eyebrows and those startingly red eyes that seemed to pierce into his soul...
“Kim Dokja,” the handsome stranger called his name.
̶G̶o̶s̶h̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶v̶o̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶s̶e̶x̶y̶,̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ n̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶u̶n̶d̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ *cough* He meant RIP there goes 20% more of his chance for survival.
“Who are you?” he asked because he would prefer to know the name of the handsome man who is going to take his soul duh!
Also, he remembered that article that said you can use a demon real name to drive them out, who knows this guy would be stupid enough to tell him and gives him an escape route.
“I’m the northern demon king, and you summoned me here” the demon king did not tell him his name.
Wait.
What?
He did what?
Kim Dokja might not be the most religious boy in Seoul, but that does not mean he followed satanism nor have he ever tried doing those rituals. While college is a pain-in-the-ass he still managed to pass all his subjects with decent grades so far, he is not that desperate to sell his soul for a degree!
“Look buddy, I think you got the wrong person here. I’m a good catholic child who routinely goes to Sunday services, there is no way I would try to summon a demon” it was technically not a lie, he went to church every week though not really to hear the sermon but more for the free lunch after the service. Do not judge him, there is no broke college student that would miss a chance for free food!
The demon just looked at his reason disinterestedly before holding up a rather familiar paper.
“A drawn summoning circle, a blood sacrifice and vocalised spell, you did all three of the requirements” he explained and Kim Dokja could feel his blood run cold.
“What?” he squawked not unlike a parrot.
“You summoned me, now just state what you want and make a contract with me!” the man said impatiently at Kim Dokja’s slow response.
“Umm, I’m sorry! I really did not mean to summon you! I don’t even know demon exists until like five minutes ago. Please can you just leave and pretend this never happens,” Kim Dokja practically begged, he even dropped to his knees and put his hand together in front of the demon king.
Because his head was bowed, he missed the way the demon king observed him silently. The man red eyes looked at the face of the pleading mortal and noticed how despite his desperate actions and words, there was no fear in that tired-looking face. Other demons, much more humans, would tremble in his mere presence, yet this small mortal was even brave enough to bargain with him.
Interesting.
“No, I won’t go back” the demon king was curious how the human would react next.
“Why? It’s not like you would lose anything?” there was deviance in Kim Dokja’s tone and irritation inside his eyes.
The corner of the demon king’s lips crooked upward slightly,
“I’m a demon king, where is my pride if I go back empty-handed, who knows you will change your mind later,” he teased the human.
“I would not, the only thing I want to have is a peaceful afterlife, I don’t want to burn in hell” Kim Dokja replies the persistent demon with no hesitation.
The demon king did not reply again, but he also did not go away and instead he locked his eyes with Kim Dokja.
They must have stared at each other for at least a minute because Kim Dokja’s eyes had started to water. He blinked back his overly produced tear, before admitting his defeat the man,
“You win!”
“It’s fine if you want to stay, but where are you going to live?” he then asked.
The demon king finally blinked -Kim Dokja unconsciously let out a sigh of relief at this- but then he looked at Kim Dokja as if his question before was foolish.
Kim Dokja somehow understand the look and blinked back,
“You want to stay here? My bed is a single bed?” thinking back, his main concern should had been a stranger, much more a demon king- a powerful evil creature that could kill him with a snap of his hand- wanted to live with him… maybe Kim Dokja was really the desperate single his best friend liked to call him.
“That should not be a problem,” the supernatural being flicked his fingers and suddenly they were inside his bedroom, that looks way neater than he remembered, and his previously single bed had turned into a double bed.
“Wow!” Kim Dokja clapped his hand, not unlike a child witnessing a magic show for the first time, somehow his room did not feel more cramped despite the increase of the mattress size. He was impressed already.
“Can you turn this studio into like a bigger apartment?” he only asked out of curiosity, not actually wanting it as he knew the demon would easily catch his greed.
The demon king shook his head, “not enough probability” was all he told Kim Dokja.
“Ah I see” he nodded his head solemnly in faux understanding.
“Yoo Joonghyuk” the man then told him, and Kim Dokja gazed at him in confusion.
“Excuse me?”
“That is my name… you can try to exorcise me but you will just be wasting your energy” the confident and slightly mocking smirk that grace the demon- Yoo Joonghyuk’s lips had no right to look so good.
“Well Joonghyuk let’s be the best buddy from now,” he told his new roommate with pretend confident that he wished he really has if he wants to get any sleep tonight.
Although, his panicked-gay self was currently screaming at the prospect of lying down next to this handsome Greek-statue-like male.
Surprisingly, the sleeping part was not a problem, although the fact that a demon also needs rest bewildered Kim Dokja at first.
‘Woah demons also sleep?’ Yoo Joonghyuk just stared at Kim Dokja like he was stupid.
Yoo Joonghyuk did not snore and he also did not move around. In fact, he was so still that Dokja would forget he was not alone on his bed if it was not for the constant warmth the male radiated.
From when he was young, Kim Dokja had always been weak to the cold and often opted to crank his heater to its maximum in winter.
That night he was not sure if the heater in his room malfunctioned or the temperature just dropped, but the air was so chilly, that his thick duvet could not shield him from the cold. He must have shivered and tossed around for warmth, that he felt a strong arm stilling his body.
He stopped his rather erratic movement, “sorry” he apologized to the other for disturbing his sleep.
Yoo Joonghyuk did not say anything, but then he felt the male’s larger body surrounding him, blanketing Kim Dokja in warm. He practically melted into the embrace.
“Better?” he heard the mumbled question somewhere near his ear.
“Mmm,” Kim Dokja remembered humming out a reply before sleep ebbed his consciousness away.
Kim Dokja woke up the next morning to the smell of fried egg and toasted bread, feeling the most refreshed in two years since he was enrolled in Seoul University.
“Morning,” he greeted the demon/his new roommate.
“Your diet sucks, I’m surprised you are still alive now,” Yoo Joonghyuk commented instead of greeting him back.
“What do you expect I’m a broke college student with tons of deadline” Kim Dokja argued, he did not need an immortal supernatural being to nag about his eating habit, thank you very much.
Kim Dokja did not have a super hearing, but he could still gather ‘time money and management’ that Yoo Joonghyuk muttered from where he was frying an egg in front of his stove.
He pretended he did not hear the criticism anyway.
“I’ll cook for you now, I can’t have you dead from malnourishment or stomach cancer before you could make your wish” the demon had declared the next morning.
“Uh sure, do whatever you want” Kim Dokja had told him and that was how the demon king new career as his chef began.
Later in the evening, he cried when he tasted Yoo Joonghyuk’s food.
“How can something be this good,” he claimed with tears dripping down his face, but his hand continued to feed himself more curry rice to his mouth.
Yoo Joonghyuk gave him a self-satisfied smile as he brought a tissue and dabbed it to Kim Dokja’s eyes, his hand was surprisingly gentle.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full” he reprimanded Dokja.
Then, Yoo Joonghyuk criticised his lifestyle again when he noticed that Kim Dokja’s did not iron nor fold his recently washed clothes and merely pile or hang them up.
“The clothes will be wrinkled like that!” the demon scolded him.
Kim Dokja’s knows of course, but he still cannot be bothered.
“It’s fine, no one cares anyway,” he told the complaining man.
“I do,” countered Yoo Joonghyuk.
Kim Dokja blinked at the declaration, “why it’s my clothes, not yours?”
“But I can see it,” he watched how his roommate started to look more frustrated at his apathetic ‘so what’ face.
“Whatever, I’ll just do it for you” he claimed while grabbing the full laundry basket from Dokja’s hand.
“O…kay? Thanks I guess,” he replied unsurely but Yoo Joonghyuk merely grumbled in response.
After the laundry, now it was his cluttered studio. Kim Dokja thought he was not so bad, his place may not be the neatest, but it was sort of an orderly mess. Like he could see where everything was, even though he did not organize his belongings. But apparently, that was not good enough for Yoo Joonghyuk.
“I cannot live in such a messy place,” the man had proclaimed before he began to clean and sort his living room. Leaving Kim Dokja on the bed with his laptop and assignment alone.
“But no one asked you to stay here,” he said to himself with a small voice, forgetting about the demon king’s enhanced hearing.
Those words triggered said demon king and made him vacuumed the floor and wiped the table with extra vengeance.
“Kim Dokja chose only the things you need, we’re throwing out everything else” announced Joonghyuk once the man was done with his living room.
Dokja eyed Marie Kondo’s book in his roommate’s hand warily, “but everything is useful?” he tried to argue.
“Nonsense,” Yoo Joonghyuk’s tone left no room for more debate.
“I’ll help you,” this time the words came out softer, and they spent two hours sorting out Kim Dokja’s two years’ worth of items.
“I like that pencil case and those markers!”
“Dokja it was literally still at the bottom of your moving-in box”
“But – ”
“I think the children in the charity foundation would like it”
“… fine”
Three months later, he finally came to a sudden realization.
It was during the time he finally had the time to visit his adopted parents and he was separated with Joonghyuk for several days.
“It’s just going to be for two night and no Joonghyuk-ah you cannot join me, did you forget you are a demon?” it was surprisingly quite difficult to convince his rather clingy roommate and the man only made it harder by giving him a sad look.
“I will bring you a Christmas gift back and I will spend the new year with you,” he had promised the male and only then Joonghyuk finally relented.
“Dokja-ah I missed you so much,” his mother Persephone greeted him with her big hug, next to her his father, Hades, ruffled his hair.
“I miss you too, sorry school was so busy I can only come back now” he apologized to them.
“Quick come inside, you’re never good with the cold,” he felt his mother’s hand tugged him inside and heard his father closed the front door.
When he was chatting on the dining table with his mother, as his father was bringing out the dinner they had prepared before from the oven, the older woman pointed out something in him.
“Dokja-ah did something good happen?” she asked him and he looked at her with confusion.
“You look better, you used to be so skinny and pale, but now you have a healthy glow on you,” she elaborated her words.
Kim Dokja glanced down to look at his body, then at the mirror on the wall on his right. His mother was right he did look better, his persistent under eyes did not look so dark anymore as he had good rest every night. His skin also had some colour, most likely thanks to all the time he chose to accompany Joonghyuk’s on his morning walk/grocery trip.
And Kim Dokja also realized that a well-ironed shirt and properly brushed hair, made him looked way more well put too.
“I have a roommate often scold me for my eating habits,” he told her.
“Oh? Tell me more about them,” Persephone said with a curious tone.
“His name is Yoo Joonghyuk, and he is good at cooking and is very organized,” that was all he shared with her, he was just unsure, and a bit scared he would slip up and tells her that Yoo Joonghyuk is a demon.
Surprisingly, she did not ask any further and only gave him a knowing smile and then his father returned with their food and so they began to have their Christmas Eve’s dinner.
The rest of his stay had been comfortable, his mother did not bring up the topic of his roommate again or at least until the morning when he had to go back.
“Tell Yoo Joonghyuk if he dares to break your heart, I will deal with him myself,” Hades whispered to him as he was holding Dokja in a goodbye hug.
He froze, “what?” he asked out loud.
“Oh, you! Don’t do that, shovel-talk is so old fashioned,” his mother scolded his father, before stealing him into her embrace.
“Bring him here next time, I want to meet the boy that makes my son happy,” she told him while brushing his bangs before she placed a soft kiss on his forehead.
Kim Dokja became even more confused at her words, but she had looked so content so he did not have the heart to argue with her.
He was still pondering about his parents’ words through the cab rides and until he reached back home, that his driver thought he was asleep and had tried to wake him up.
He only came back to himself, when Joonghyuk welcomed him with a too long of an embrace and he automatically patted the larger male’s hair.
“I’m back Joonghyuk-ah,” he greeted his roommate, and the man had yet to release his body.
Several minutes had passed and they were still in the same position.
“It’s cold,” he said out loud.
As expected Yoo Joonghyuk relented and pushed him inside the house, but his bigger hand still enveloped Kim Dokja’s smaller hand.
He wondered when they had become so comfortable with each other.
They live in the same space and sleep in the same bed, so it was almost natural that they grew close to each other.
Or at least that was what he assumed, he did not know what Joonghyuk was thinking.
Kim Dokja cannot read minds, Joonghyuk claimed he cannot too- he did not know it was only with him - despite being a demon king but between the two of them the taller man was always the sharper and more intuitive one. Often times, he knew what Kim Dokja wants or needs before he realized it himself.
Like those times when they were on a morning walk and Dokja was cold, Joonghyuk would wound his scarf around Dokja's neck or when he was so tired from studying for his exams and other man would cook him his favourite foods.
“Joonghyuk-ah you take care of me so well, I almost hope you never leave,” he had told the other male while lying on said male’s lap.
“Then I would stay here for as long as you want” Yoo Joonghyuk replied, as he stroked Dokja’s hair.
“But don’t you have to rule the Northern hell,” Kim Dokja remembered Joonghyuk’s introduction.
“You’re more important” the man had declared with a tender voice and even more tender look.
“Ahh… ”
Kim Dokja blinked at the memory, suddenly realizing the root of his puzzlement.
“Joonghyuk-ah wait a minute,” that made the taller male stopped in his tract, Kim Dokja had just realized they are inside their living room already.
Yoo Joonghyuk gave him a gentle look that Dokja just realized he had always overlooked before. His heart skipped a beat as warmth bloom on his chest, he wondered if he also looked at Joonghyuk with eyes full of affection too.
“Are we dating?” the question sounded absurd even in his ear.
Yoo Joonghyuk stared at him and he stared back, this felt nostalgic.
But then Joonghyuk blinked first and replied, “if you want to?”
Then Kim Dokja too blinked, “are you sure?”
“You’re the one that asked first,” somehow Dokja could hear Joonghyuk’s unspoken ‘of course’.
“I’m messy, lazy and cannot cook,” he listed his weaknesses, “oh and I’m annoying when I talk”
“I’ll take care of you, like always” Joonghyuk promised, then he added, “I like listening to you speak”.
Ah…
Kim Dokja realized that Yoo Joonghyuk really does know him well, the people that he knows care about him would still ask him ‘who told you that’ when he said depreciating words about himself. But Joonghyuk did not, whenever he was feeling horrible about himself, Joonghyuk would just tell him good things about him.
“But you are the demon king, and I am a human, won’t we eventually have to part then?” he stroked the handsome face of the once stranger he accidentally summoned and now his roommate and companion that he grew to love.
“You can use your wish,” Yoo Joonghyuk told him, his hand cradling Dokja’s hand on his face.
Kim Dokja is tempted, if he let Joonghyuk owned his soul, then they could be together forever. But then he would not be able to have the peaceful afterlife he so desires, then he would lose his freedom.
Can he cut his own wings and live in a place of eternal fire for the sake of love?
He does not think so, life is not like a romantic movie, he knows love does not always burn brightly forever.
“You know my only dream is to have a peaceful afterlife,” he reminded the taller male.
“I know, I used to think you are odd because of this” Joonghyuk chuckled at the memory.
“Then you know I cannot make a contract with you,” Kim Dokja felt sad, he is selfish like this, unwilling to sacrifice but still wanting Joonghyuk’s love and affection.
“Not a contract, I said a wish” clarified Yoo Joonghyuk, “you just have to ask, I will give you anything,” he whispered the last sentence.
Kim Dokja gazed into Yoo Joonghyuk’s red eyes and saw the honest sincerity in them, he contemplated for some time.
Then he found his answer,
“Be my mortal companion, stay with me until I’m old and wrinkly, then after I have my final rest, you’re free again you can go back and do whatever you want,” he thought a human lifespan should be nothing to a demon so this long should be fine right?
But he underestimated Yoo Joonghyuk, if Kim Dokja cannot sacrifice his dream, Joonghyuk who does not have a dream but have an eternal life, would throw away that immortality with his own hand for a lifetime with Kim Dokja.
But he did not tell Kim Dokja this, he only said
“Okay, I’ll be with you as long as you’ll have me”.
Kim Dokja felt himself flushed at the romantic answer, it was not fair for such an attractive man to say such sweet words.
“Why do you even like me?” he is an average college student, he is not especially good looking, and he is pretty depressing. Surely if someone as good looking as Yoo Joonghyuk wants to have a lover, they could choose someone better.
Yoo Joonghyuk was silent, Kim Dokja understood, he did not even know his good points.
“Do you need a reason to love someone?” there was no mockery in Joonghyuk’s tone, only genuine curiosity as he peered down to look at Kim Dokja.
Huh?
“I guess not?” he replied unsurely.
“Then what about you?” Yoo Joonghyuk asked back.
Kim Dokja fluttered his eyes in confusion for a second before he realized that Joonghyuk was returning his question from before.
“You understand me, I like how I don’t have to pretend to be strong in front of you” he answered, unconsciously a smile bloomed on his lips.
Then he felt something warm and soft landed on his lips- Joonghyuk’s lips- and he closed his eyes. The kiss was innocent and comfortable, Kim Dokja felt his legs became like jelly and he would drop to the floor if it were not for Joonghyuk’s strong arms around him.
Joonghyuk’s smelled like home and Dokja felt like staying there for a long time.
When they parted, they locked eyes again, this is their little quirk, and Kim Dokja wondered if Joonghyuk’s eyes were always this shade of grey. They reminded him of the dark clouds on his favourite rainy days.
A lot of people dislike thunderstorm, but Dokja actually likes the smell of wet grass, the pitter-patter of the water droplet on his window and the low rumble of the thunder.
But maybe he just liked everything about Yoo Joonghyuk.
“Does that mean we’re boyfriends now? You never said yes be- ”
Kim Dokja’s was cut in the middle of a sentence by a familiar pair of lips, this time the kiss was more insistence and less innocent, as he felt teeth lightly bit on his lower lips, telling him to open his mouth. When he did, Joonghyuk’s tongue immediately surged inside his opened cavity.
He felt heady, maybe from the lack of oxygen but also from Joonghyuk’s secret talent in kissing. Who knows a single kiss could make his body grew so hot.
When they parted again and Dokja was busy gulping for air, he felt a pair of hands cupping his face. Then he saw Joonghyuk looking straight into eyes before he replied,
“Yes, of course, I can be your boyfriend” there was amusement and a little bit of frustration in his voice.
Kim Dokja beamed, “hello boyfriend” he greeted his new boyfriend and for the first time in the three months they spent living with each other, he heard Yoo Joonghyuk laughed. Kim Dokja gaped for a few long seconds, mesmerized at the rare view.
“Hi boyfriend” Joonghyuk greeted back and this time Kim Dokja laughed along with him.
Later that night when Kim Dokja was comfortable under his blanket and inside Joonghyuk’s arm, he remembered something else.
“Joonghyuk-ah does that mean you like me?”
Yoo Joonghyuk stared at his boyfriend with an incredulous expression,
“I love you, now sleep” he tucked the smaller male body closer to him.
“Mmm I love you too~” he heard the muffled reply below him and felt his lips curved into a soft smile.
‘Screw the demon world’ Joonghyuk’s thought, then, 'I'll rather screw Kim Dokja' he closed his eyes satisfactorily.