Chapter Text
Chan never knew why he had been sold to Gwi-Ma, only that he had been as part of some deal and was therefore bound to do whatever the demon wanted him to do. It was a fate that he hated, because he had no way to get out of it, no clause that would allow him any kind of freedom. For years he served silently, barely noting what was going on with the others because there was never a chance for him to be anything other than the servant in the corner.
Ignored, alone, forgotten.
So lost to the void, that it took the young man a moment too long to realise that Gwi-Ma was calling his name. “Chan!”
Standing up abruptly, Chan turned towards the flaming mass and bowed, keeping his black hat from falling off his head by the merest of margins, “Yes Master?”
“Hmmm” the fire demon let out a long noise, “I can see that I’ve left you a little too long in the dark, you almost forgot, didn’t you?”
Chan did not answer that question, as he didn’t know what it was that he was supposed to have forgotten but Gwi-Ma didn’t give him a chance to answer as he stated, “I have a job for you.”
“Yes Master,” was the expected response.
“I want you to go to the human realm,” Gwi-Ma stated, calm and collected, watching the black clad boy with interest, “to make yourself a boy band that will expand in popularity beyond the reach of those vile hunters and bring all of the fans to our fold.”
Chan blinked, surprised by not only the orders but the expectations on himself as well. “Why me?” he squeaked, uncharacteristically but he didn’t want to face up against the Hunters. He wouldn’t survive and he knew it.
“Because you were blessed with a gift of song, even though you may need a little time to find it,” Gwi-Ma said. “I was hasty last time, allowing Jinu to storm in when the slower approach will be better. There is a man in the human world, who runs an music company, he is making a deal with me to produce the best ever band in the world and you will be the front man for it. The leader, the one who brings them all together and ensnares all the fans.”
Chan blinked, “You want me to use humans in this group?”
“Those who are marked for our kind,” Gwi-Ma stated back, “Those mistakes will be the linchpin of the plan. Humans and demons are not meant to mix together, but there are always those who stray. But that is not for you to worry about.”
Gwi-Ma glowed brighter as he issued a final command to Chan, “Bring them together, make the honmoon shine red to open the gates and I’ll reward you with whatever your heart desires. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Master,” Chan replied, bowing low once again and accepting the contract without any regrets because realistically what did he have to loose?
~*~
Waking with a jolt, Chan sat bolt upright in his bed before bringing his hands to his mouth in the hopes that he hadn’t screamed. His roommates did not apricate being woken up due to his nightmares, and Chan had long ago given up on trying to explain. He rarely slept, because that would bring his connection back to Gwi-Ma who would remind him of all his shame, the fact that he was the unloved child, the one forgotten and left behind and if he didn’t do as was ordered, he’d never gain the thing he most desired.
A family to call his own.
Only resounding silence greeted him, causing Chan to look around the room before remembering that he was the only one in this dorm for now. He’d been in one before, as JYP had placed him with an group and there were just the smallest tendrils of things being perfect but then everything had changed. Gwi-Ma had reminded JYP that he hadn’t gifted the demon spawn to him to be an baby in an group, he was to be the leader and to make the world fall down at his knees to claim the souls of the fans.
So once again, Chan was alone in this strange world where he found it hard to blend in, to make himself friends or gain much confidence as all the humans eventually sensed something was off with him and would pull back, gently, because they all felt that he couldn’t help him any further. He had hoped, secretly, that the group he had been placed with would be able to fill the void in his chest where his heart was supposed to be and they had clearly been eager to accept him.
He could still hear the echoes of the fight that had occurred when Jaebeom had been told that Chan was dropped, could still feel the lingering touch of the hugs he and received, the tearful farewells were burned into his skin with the promises that one day everything would work out for the best. That Chan would shine the brightest of them all and they’d all still be friends. Chan had doubted it, but had never been removed from the group chat and still found himself included even though they were busy with everything else.
But that didn’t stop him being alone in an empty dorm room, in the middle of the night whilst the rain pattered gently down on the window. For a second, Chan did entertain the idea of going back to sleep but knew that it was pointless now and instead got himself up. It was only a little before five, he had to be ready to go at eight am for the dance practice and then his classes so he might as well make use of the time.
Even if it was just to check in the mirror that his patterns weren’t showing in the slightest, as JYP always got panicky whenever they did accidentally show up and Chan didn’t want to be isolated further. There were many who called him the ‘All Star Trainee’ and gave him an wide berth. Well except a few who reached out towards him, but they had all debuted now as well so it wasn’t like he could just find them in the cafeteria or anything.
He dressed as was typical, black trousers, black overly large hoody which he pulled up tightly over his head with an black baseball cap before he grabbed the just about ready to fall apart back pack that held his laptop, an bunch of notebooks and the keycard to the main building of the company he worked for. There would be idols already in the halls, trainees attempting to cram whatever extra practices that they could and it was a running joke that if anyone ever wanted Chan then there was only three places that he could be found. In the dorm, in the main building or in the recording studio which he had sort of accidentally but not really claimed.
It just happened to be one of the few places that people didn’t really go to, as it was tucked away in a little corner and rarely observed by anyone so it was a perfect little retreat and hiding place for when things got a little too tough. The human world was far different from the demon realm, there he had been ignored and forgotten about, out here people tried to befriend him all the time until something else caused them to step away. But they’d come back whenever, just to check on him, make sure he was eating and not being an total loner even though they were all so busy and should be focusing on their careers and all of that.
Gently shaking his head, Chan tried not to focus on the soft whisperings that were always present whenever he got into spirals. JYP had told him many times that it was Gwi-Ma playing on his fears and shame, keeping him under control which Chan had no idea what to make of in the slightest as the man who had made a deal with the literal personification of want and greed, was not that type in the slightest. Yes he wanted his groups to achieve well and gain popularity but he donated to charities frequently, helped out the community and always seemed to regard the demon child he’d ended up with as something precious and special.
Chan got the distinct impression that the other was holding onto an precious secret but did not press as he feared that it may be the undoing of all things.
Stepping into the building, he made a few polite greetings towards the staff that he knew the best before following an path that he could practically walk blindfolded towards the quiet, almost hidden recording studio in the back with the intention of fixing the demo track that he was using for an upcoming evaluation. He’d been working on it and knew that it was nearly there, it just needed a little something more but he hadn’t quite yet figured it out.
“Yooooh! You cannot be eating snacks here!” a voice, deep in tone but also very high pitched at the same time yelled, startling Chan as he had not expected it.
“Oh come on,” another voice whined back, “It’s fine, I’m not going to make a mess.”
“Yes you are! You always do so,” the first voice snarked back, through the open doorway to the recording room that Chan always used. “Honestly, if I didn’t need this track to be perfected I would have left you home snoring on the couch.”
“You wouldn’t have done that to me,” the second voice called back, cheekily, “cause who else but this genius can sort out your last minute panics over an track that was done weeks ago. Plus you could have just left me sleeping, I need it.”
“Yah, Jisung,” the first voice snapped back, “You would sleep the entire day if you could do so, so don’t pull that bullshit on me.”
Chan blinked as he found himself standing at the open doorway, as the two figures within continued to playfully bicker and argue whilst the first tried to get their own recording software to open up.
The first one looked like an slightly scrawny bean who was in the process of loosing his baby fat but had short black hair and eyes that was find and fragile in an really nice way. He was tapping away on the keyboard, one earphone on whilst he playfully berated his friend without even turning around to look at him.
The second reminded Chan of an chipmunk, or maybe a squirrel with the way that he was stuffing the aforementioned snacks into his cheeks so that he could talk. If only to berate his friend. He looked adorable and cute, not quite ready to grow into the adult body that was surely coming but with glistening, boba eyes that sparkled like they belonged in an anime.
Chan opened his mouth to ask then what they were doing, before the first finally found the track that he wanted and pressed play. The music that came out of the speakers was fast paced, designed for a rap clearly, but held so much emotion behind it that Chan found himself routed to the spot. The beat pulsed through him, sought out all of his troubles and expanded them before crushing through them in an breathtaking moment that was so painful it almost brought tears to his eyes before he found himself resetting as an new beat joined and the sensation of being lifted up high after being so utterly destroyed filled him.
But it was far more comforting and gentle this time, like an hand holding onto his to guide him out of the darkness and into the light.
The music stopped and Chan blinked himself back to being in the doorway of the recording stupid and felt only a little bit disappointed that the moment was gone. He wanted the music back, wanted to feel that moment again because it had been wonderful.
“Yah, why you stop, it was getting to the really good bit,” the squirrel boy on the couch snapped towards the boy on the controls, further breaking the moment and bringing Chan more back to reality.
“I’m sorry, sunbaenim,” the words cut through Chan further as the boy on the computer looked ashamed, “I didn’t realise that this was your space. We’ll pack up and go.”
“No, wait,” Chan started before he could even get control of his mouth, shaking his head as he placed an hand on the door handled, “It’s fine, you can keep using this place, it’s not mine in the slightest.”
There was an awkward silence for a few long seconds before another thought escaped out of Chan’s mouth before he could stop it, “If you want to add to the track, I’d recommend an backing vocal in contrast, more like it’s being sung rather than rapped…but you’d need someone with an higher pitched voice…something to contrast but compliment you know?”
There was another silence before the one at the computer blinked and relaxed a little, “Huh, I would have never thought of that, thank you, sunbaenim.”
“Call me Chan, I don’t hold with honorifics,” Chan said, only mildly panicking when he realised what he had just said out loud. They weren’t really a thing in the demon realm and he never felt like he deserved any of them anyway so he just played it off as being from somewhere different even if it made everyone a little uncomfortable.
“Oh, okay, Chan,” came the slightly confused voice of the other but he smiled and the weight lifted once again from the demon’s heart, “Would you mind staying for a bit longer to give me some further advice on the track? It’d really help to have someone as experienced as you on board.”
“Yah, I’ve been helping you loads, Changbin,” squirrel boy piped up, sounding a little put out.
Changbin sent a glare towards the other, before shaking his head, “Forgive this impolite squirrel, Chan, this is Jisung and he gets cranky when he doesn’t sleep enough. Especially when an track doesn’t work the way he wants it to.”
“Meanie,” Jisung pouted but then seemed to go into himself a little, “I just don’t like sharing unfinished stuff is all.”
“But how else will you improve it?” Chan asked, softly and gently, like he was coaching the other a little bit which was an odd feeling, “Sometimes you need fresh ears and eyes to see the faults and correct them, I’d gladly help out though I’m really not anything that some others say.”
“No, you’re not the golden child of JYP,” Jisung said sarcastically back, “the one who’ll seal the honmoon indefinitely with his song.”
Chan frowned whilst Changbin grabbed an pillow to throw at Jisung. It smacked him straight in the face. “Ignore him, he’s overtired, overstimulated and really needs an proper nap but we both need our tracks sorted so I had to drag him out else we’d be cramming at the last minute.”
It was then that Chan remembered that the evaluations were due next week and wondered why the pair were working so hard when they still had plenty of time. But he shook his head, pretended that he knew nothing about the honmoon for now because he had heard the same statement several times and thought it was silly. An demon couldn’t seal the honmoon, so it was silly to think. He sat down, still feeling a little nervous but also wanting to feel that sensation again with the music that he had just heard. “Let’s listen again to it in full and I’ll make some notes,” he smiled politely.
Further down the corridor, JYP slightly lowered his glasses and watched as the lines of the honmoon shifted and pulsed to the sweet sound that was coming from the room. There were sparkles of silver and gold there, the beginnings of the strengthening of the honmoon and he couldn’t help but smile. “Oh Gwi-Ma, when you realise what you gave up,” he whispered to himself, twisting the jade bracelet he wore around his wrist as a way to hide some of his thoughts from the devil who waited down below.
Gwi-Ma may have his soul, but Chan would seal him away forever once they were all together.