Chapter Text
"You dare test my patience?!"
Jungwon merely gave the God of the underworld a look of disdain. He didn't feel at all guilty—he doubted he was even capable of such emotion—but he also couldn't help the shivers that engulfed his entire being as he stared at the glowing red eyes looking back at him in spite.
Jungwon could merely hold onto his perpetrator's wrist as if it would lessen his grip on his velvet top and plant his feet back to the ground.
'This is wrong! This is all wrong! Screw Ni-ki that son of a-'
Jungwon's train of thoughts dispersed when the God, Junseo, hurled his body roughly into the ground. Jungwon groaned from the inhuman impact as his back made contact with the hard surface, feeling the ground molding into a deformed bowl as a result of Junseo's extraterrestrial strength.
This was Hell. Literally and figuratively.
"You trespass in my domain, corrupt my guards, and you still dare to look at me like that as if you are my equal?" Junseo's voice echoed in a menacing tone, his wrath penetrated deep into his bones. Jungwon's brow twitched, whether in pain or arrogance—only he knew.
"Do you know how many souls have begged on this floor? I could unmake you now where you stand. A low life demon like you should have perished by now. Your kind is meant to vanish. Be careful Yang Jungwon, for I am feeling merciful today," Junseo continued, the echoes sounding more malevolent despite his mercy. But then his frown turned into a sickening smile.
"It so happens that a kin of ours is planning on breaching the peace treaty between Heaven and Hell. Solon is his name and he now walks on Earth. Find him and bring me his head, lest you wish to witness my wrath and the world meet its end. This is your only chance for redemption," he ordered with finality, and with a flick of his hand, the demon that had laid pitifully on the ground vanished into smoke.
Yang Jungwon blinked and the next thing he knew, he was in the world of mortals, his back on the ground as he stared at the star-speckled sky.
It was maddening, truly—but it was mostly shameful. Jungwon could accept any form of punishment, but being banished to the human realm had been the last thing on his list.
Co-existing with these… greed-driven apes wrapped in morals they abandon when convenient was simply disgusting to even think of. Demons, at least, weren't hypocrites.
Jungwon rolled his eyes. 'Great now I have to live with these wretched creatures and find that fuckass Solon to behead. Otherwise I'm as good as dead!'
He recalled Junseo's words, the memory of their meeting planting a deep instinctual fear that Jungwon didn't want to admit—he really needed to find Solon, quick.
'This is all Ni-ki's fault! That lying deceitful traitor! If only I could lay my hands on him-' Jungwon internally complained as he recalled the events that lead to his banishment.
Jungwon and Ni-ki were demons of the same kind and it was a given that they'd be mischievous creatures with bad intentions—especially since they were imps—and it didn't matter to whom they wronged. Humans, angels, their own kin, and even the god of the underworld were all subject to their shenanigans. And imps were notorious for their childish traits. They were reckless, impulsive, prank-ish.
It was in their nature to be so. It was also in their nature to be illicitly curious about the chamber that belonged to the god of the underworld and in it the fiery orb that sat on the grand goblet that everyone had only heard through rumors.
The two imps had agreed to slip into the god's chamber without his knowledge and they'd even planned on borrowing the orb to brag to other demons if they were lucky enough. It wasn't like they were underestimating the god and his capabilities—they knew the least the god would do when he found out was to lock them up in a cell where they'd be forced to do horrid labour.
What Jungwon didn't know, though, was that Ni-ki would bail out on the plan last second—just like the imp he was—and leave Jungwon to bear the consequence of being banished to the human realm alone.
It was unacceptable! If only that punk hadn't left him, then he would at least deal with this forsaken world with someone knowledgeable enough about it. It was mildly annoying him that he'd admitted Ni-ki's existence to be of help, though.
Just the thought of the younger demon who had abandoned tugged at his soul—a sensation he recognized as his killing intent, and it was inevitable that he opened his mouth to voice his aggravation.
"Fuck that lying ass bitch."
Except, that wasn't what he let out at all. The profanities never reached his ears—instead, it was the aggravating sound of a meow in distress.
'What the fuck?'
Jungwon paused. Surely, Junseo wouldn't have been that cruel, right? He'd said it himself! He'd been feeling merciful! Jungwon could feel his nose twitch as he slowly brought his hands to his line of sight to check reality. And sure enough, it wasn't the slender fingers he'd expected to see.
Instead, he saw paws and black fur.
Jungwon stared at them with profound disgust.
He was a fucking cat.
Jungwon cursed out loud again and his cat self could only deliver his indignance through a sharp hiss.
'I'm fucked.'
Jungwon knew he should have expected the worst from Junseo—he was the God of the underworld after all, but getting sent to this wack world and tasked to apprehend a criminal from hell in this lousy cat form was full on barbaric.
Jungwon truly felt like giving up. It's been a few weeks since Junseo had sent him here, and all he's been doing was roam mindlessly through the streets, scrapping for any edible food from trash. It was pathetic, the lowest of the lows and Jungwon's pride had been stepped on and thrown out the window.
He was now trudging along a dark alley in the night, sniffing for something he could eat. Attempting to eat something delectable in this condition wasn't an option and having spent weeks like this had become a routine for him. Even stumbling upon a leftover fish was a luxury. So, really, Jungwon had to make do with anything this fuckass world had to offer.
His breath hitched when a bitter smell offended his olfactory receptors.
This must be those self-destructive sticks that humans like using. Cigrats or whatever—he'd heard Ni-ki rambling about how these mortals would stupidly consume something detrimental to their health and Jungwon had agreed then on the "stupid" part. Jungwon didn't really understand Ni-ki's obsession in knowing about Earth and its contents, but he couldn't exactly deny that his rambles helped him avoid being too clueless when he woke up here.
Jungwon's face scrunched in disgust in a way his cat features could allow. The smell of the smoke was foul. He decided he'd rather continue his search for food elsewhere than to stick around these morons praying for their own death. Being in his cat form had stripped him off the immortality he used to pride on—the smoke smelled extremely toxic and there was no way it was good for his or anyone's health.
He turned around, thinking of other places where he could possibly find food. 'Maybe the cafe down the stree-'
"Oi, look at 'tis scrawny lookin' cat!" A heavy but scratchy voice said, and Jungwon was suddenly lifted off the ground. By the neck. Jungwon instinctually hissed, trying to scratch the person's skin despite being in the air.
"Lay your filthy hands off me, you degenerate!" Jungwon cursed at the bald headed man, but the snarls were treated as a spectacle by the person holding on to him and his friends who laughed boisterously. This infuriated Jungwon. How dare they treat a higher being like this? Don't they know what he's capable of when he's not in his cat form?!
But Jungwon was in his cat form, and there was only so much he was capable of. He moaned in resignation at the thought of running away from these losers as his only way out. He'll have to set aside his pride for now. Not like he had a lot left anyway.
Jungwon finally landed a scratch on the creature holding him hostage, earning a yowl of pain in return. The pain was fortunately enough for him to let go of Jungwon and the cat victoriously landed on his feet. He quickly set off, swiftly dodging legs that blocked his way out.
But then one of the vermins sent Jungwon flying to a wall with his kick. Jungwon unwillingly whimpered from the pain and he silently cursed at this embarrassing scenario. A demon being ganged up by humans! This is nightmare fuel!
Jungwon swiftly stood on four of his feet, ready to launch his body to one of the faces he wished to mutilate with his claws. But he merely stumbled when he put pressure on his feet to jump.
'Shit!' He internally cursed. He hadn't noticed that the impact against the wall had bruised one of his front legs. Even the littlest pressure sent a shiver through his body. The ache finally climbed to his entire limb, rendering him unable to walk properly as he lifted his pained foot to avoid the ground.
"Yer gonna pay for that ya vermin," the bald head said threateningly and Jungwon swore he'd never been this pathetic in his life.
The black cat laid lifelessly in the dark alley by the wall he was thrown on. He'd been tortured by the burly men who left once they finally deemed that the black cat had compensated for the single scratch he'd sent to the bald man—but Jungwon would rather die than to admit of this ever happening to him. This will be a secret he'll keep to his own demise. Getting sent here as a cat was embarrassing enough and being played around by mortals was the cherry on top he didn't want to speak of.
Having spent hours laying down motionless gave Jungwon the time to contemplate his life. He was trying to figure out how to get his hands on Solon. Finding Solon in his cat form was almost impossible. He didn't have any single clue on where that traitor was and he didn't know how much time he had left before Solon eventually breaches the peace treaty.
Jungwon believed he was truly the most unlucky demon. Him being a black cat was quite on brand, so perhaps Junseo was onto something. He closed his eyes as he laid on his side, unable to move an inch as the pain was too unbearable—his pain tolerance as a demon proved non-existent in his cat form.
The alley was dead silent with only the occasional rustle of rats moving through trash bags and their tiny squeaks which seemed to mock the cat's situation. But Jungwon was too tired to spew profanities on them. He'd be chasing them away if it weren't for those worthless sacks of flesh by now.
Suddenly, his cat ears twitched as they caught sound of someone walking his way, but Jungwon had his back on them so he couldn't tell who was onto him. He grumbled, 'Not again!'
The way this person walked, though, was different from how the burly men carried themselves. It was clumsy and uncalculated from the inconsistent sound of footsteps. He was clearly stumbling and swaying… 'Like how a drunkard would,' Jungwon's mind supplied. Great! Another one of those morons sending themselves to their own demise!
Jungwon silently applauded his deduction ability.
To his horror, the moron stumbled closer to his lifeless body. Jungwon could hear them mumbling something incoherent before the mortal stretched their hands to lean on the wall next to Jungwon. From here, Jungwon could see that the drunkard was a man from his short hair and lean frame. The darkness didn't really help him in making out the man's face though.
Jungwon was taken aback when the man who leaned on the wall abruptly made gagging sounds. 'Oh no… This must be the side effect Ni-ki mentioned when humans drank those weird potions!'
Jungwon accepted his fate when the man spilled the contents of his stomach near Jungwon's head. The disgusting smell permeated through the air and penetrated his nose the same way the smoke from the 'cigrats' had. The cat hissed in revolt as the abomination of a smell seemed to make him even more irritated.
The man's attention quickly shifted to the cat and Jungwon immediately covered his eyes in hopes of the man leaving him alone.
"K-kitty cat?" The honey-like voice surprised Jungwon into opening his feline eyes. The man was now squatting right above his head and Jungwon could fully see his face now. He had a face of an angel to say the least—Jungwon admitted—and Jungwon thought that maybe dying to this decent looking mortal was the least embarrassing option he could choose from in this situation.
"What are you doing here kitty cat?" His voice slurred. "Are you hurt?"
"No shit human," Jungwon said, but the meow he let out sounded too piteous to his liking. The cat suddenly heard a sniffle and he looked up to the human to see him releasing rivulets of water from his eyes.
'What is he doing? Is this some kind of ritual?! I'm… Going to die to this… Waterfall ritual?!'
Jungwon was sent to another episode of shock when the man wailed. "D-did… Someone do this to you kitty?" he asked in a fit of hiccups 'like an idiot,' Jungwon internally said. "H-how could they?! What did they do?!" The man continued to reprimand no one whilst tears flowed continuously. "I'm sad! I'm so sad!" He sobbed.
'How is this mortal still alive at this point?' Jungwon wondered, unimpressed as he came to a realization that the man had no intention on killing him off. He huffed as the man's acts were starting to annoy him. 'Please just kill me already. Anything is better than this.'
Instead, the man stretched his right hand toward Jungwon's head who was ready to hiss in disagreement. But what came out instead were merely vibrations. He was purring.
Jungwon was in distraught! How dare a mere human touch him like this! And make him feel this way!
"Kitty," the man said once he calmed down, dragging the last syllable as he pouted. His scratches were traveling further to Jungwon's chin and the cat couldn't help the purrs that became even more audible. 'This is embarrassing!'
"L-let's get you home. I have… Uh…" The man paused, seemingly trying to recall something. "Fish! Cats eat fish!" He bursted. "Wait! Vet! I have to bring you to the vet first! Yes!" Jungwon didn't know who or what a vet was but his eyes widened at the mention of 'home.'
'This is an opportunity! Yes! Yes human! Bring me to your chamber so I can leech off you!' Jungwon cackled in his mind.
"Kitty!" He called, bringing Jungwon back from his moment of bliss. Jungwon eyed him lazily. 'He's weird though!' He groaned in discontentment. Just then he saw the human's face contort into a frown. "Name…" The man trailed off. "I have to give you a name!"
Jungwon tried to ignore the annoyance building up further with the fact that he at least wasn't going to die a pathetic death. He realized he'd have to deal with this moron and suppress the urge to sew his mouth shut if he wanted to survive.
The cat growled in pain as his body was gently brought into the heat of the human's body. For a moment, he thought that maybe he could live with this. But that thought remained fleeting as the moron opened his mouth again. "Dumpling! Your name is Dumpling kitty cat!" Jungwon's cat brows scrunched in dislike. 'What kind of-' his thoughts stopped as a white carton caught his peripheral vision. It was a carton waste with "Dumpling" written on it.
Jungwon thought dying in the alley wasn't really that bad of an idea.
"Doctor! Please save Dumpling!" The man cried out and Jungwon lowered his ears in an attempt to tune the man's annoying voice smaller. They'd just arrived in a place called "Smile Pet" minutes ago. The man who brought him was currently performing the waterfall ritual he had done back in the alley, this time his victim was the person in front of them dressed in a white attire that seemed clinical. Jungwon tried to ignore the sickening smell.
"Ah! Please calm down for a moment-" The doctor said to the person who randomly barged in in the middle of the night. "Dumpling! Save him or he's going to die!" The man continued dramatically and Jungwon would've given him the middle finger if his paws allowed him to.
"I'm not weak like you humans!" He said instead, but his protest was useless.
"See! See! He's crying in pain!" Jungwon stared at the moron in horror. "Right, right, let me take a look at him. You can sit here and wait until I'm done patching this little guy up, okay?"
The moron sniffed in reply as he handed Dumpling to the man he called doctor.
Jungwon could only stare at him betrayed.
Jungwon decided that the vet was a place of torment and agony for animals and he shook his head once again at the fact that humans were immoral enough to let such an organization run legally. Even demons drew the line at torturing animals. They all went to heaven anyway.
The trip back to the moron's humble abode had felt like a death ride for Jungwon. He'd been forced to wear a cone (torture device, according to him) on his neck and was unwillingly put into a cage with minimal space.
Jungwon begrudgingly admitted that being carried by the moron was ten times better than being held hostage in that prison cell for rats. Not to mention the drunkard's careless movements! He'd hold onto the cage and skipped like a child on his way home, swaying the box Jungwon was ensconced in as he paid no mind to the well-being of the cat inside it. Jungwon had started to regret his decision of letting himself be taken by this incompetent human.
Jungwon had been in his survival mode for an approximate of one hour (it was actually 15 minutes) and he was convinced he might actually die in an even more pathetic way than if he were to be killed right then and there by the burly men in the alley.
Once the moron arrived and opened the door to Jungwon's cage, the cat leapt out with all his might—which wasn't a lot considering his beat condition—and immediately tried to take the cone-shaped torture device off his neck with his back leg.
"Dumpling!" Jungwon paused his act of trying to free himself from the life-threatening device. He'd forgotten the fact that he still had to deal with the drunk moron who brought him here—the distress of having been forced into a vomit-inducing ride with a cone that could kill him anytime overcoming his main objective. 'Great.'
"Human, take this peculiar contraption off me," he deadpanned.
"Fishhh," the human dumbly replied, shoving a fish to the black cat who hissed in return. This time, Jungwon became more wary of his surroundings, the suspicious fish the human offered included. Jungwon twisted his head arrogantly in an act of rejection. Who knew what the moron could've put into the fish? It could be laced with poison for all he knew and Jungwon really didn't want to end up like the moron in front of him. Brainless, dumb, and… well… moronic!
His head snapped back when a wail threw an offense on his eardrums. "Quiet human! Don't you know that we have sensitive ears?!" He snarled at the moron who once again put a play on the waterfall ritual. 'This moron really likes waterfall rituals, huh?'
"Dumpling you have to eat! Or you'll die!" The man cried harder. Jungwon merely stared at him wide-eyed, trying to convey the fact that he was extremely offended by the moron's take on his behavior. His pride is being wounded!
Jungwon may be a cat, but he was definitely the strongest kind walking Earth! Not eating for a few days is nothing for a demon like him.
"Dumpling!" The moron suddenly shouted and Jungwon flinched. 'Fuck! If this goes on-'
"If-… If you don't eat…" The moron said in a whisper, "You'll DIE!" He continued with a shout, tainting his face with liquid once again. Jungwon's fur rode up from the uncomfortable situation he was in—but he really didn't want to risk consuming poison from a dumbass!
"And if you die… I'll die!" The moron wailed. "I don't want to die, Dumpling!"
Jungwon was left in a predicament. The urge to run away and escape from this hellhole was strong, but the rational part of him reminded him of the task he was assigned to. 'Am I… Really going to live with this moron?' He asked himself, still baffled at the fact that he was more inclined on opting for self-torture.
"Dumpling!" The moron shouted and Jungwon immediately caved.
'I'll have to find Solon quick,' he decided, munching on the fish offered to him with urgency as an attempt to shut the human up, the thoughts of the fish possibly poisoned quickly thrown out the window.
And it worked—somewhat. The moron shifted to giggling after Jungwon eventually ate the fish and Jungwon didn't know if it was worse or better than having to deal with the moron's blood-curling cries. 'He's fucking weird!' He complained. How could humans choose to live like this for the rest of their lives?!
If he weren't in this current situation, Jungwon would've instead been admiring the unique human product this idiot in front of him had most definitely consumed. He recalled that Ni-ki once mentioned its ability to render humans dumb and drunk. Though, at this point, Jungwon wondered if the word "drunk" was a synonym of "dumb."
But why humans chose to be dumb willingly was a question that lingered on his mind. They were already dumb enough, so this potion they created was a confusing innovation for Jungwon. He didn't understand them and probably never would.
Once Jungwon had finished indulging his palate with the surprisingly delicious fish, the human quickly gave Jungwon a bowl of water. The cat was slightly taken aback by his act of service, but he didn't complain. He quite liked being treated like the higher being he was.
"Dumpling, drink," the man slurred and Jungwon replied with a meow devoid of hostility. His reply wasn't in gratitude, no; he was just acknowledging the human's service!
This time, Jungwon accepted the drink without any act of defiance. He'd been fine after consuming the fish he'd thought was poisoned. Surely the water was as harmless. He did think the water offered to him had been the same one coming from the moron's waterfall ritual. But Jungwon eventually pushed that thought away as his throat clenched in thirst. The moron had been conducting the ritual multiple times and he'd been fine all those times too, it was safe to say his rituals were harmless. Even if it weren't, it was probably not something Jungwon couldn't handle! What was a moron even capable of?
Maybe the moron wasn't as bad as he thought. His stupidity might be to his advantage after all!
"Dumpling, I'm so tired!" The moron complained out of nowhere. Jungwon merely gave him a side-eye as if to say "you wouldn't know what tired means!" As he reflected back on the rigorous journey he had to embark as a cat.
"Let's… Go to bed," he said as he slumped his shoulders. Jungwon didn't have time to protest when he was suddenly lifted off the ground and brought into the moron's warm embrace. Jungwon grumbled, begrudgingly accepting his situation.
The man clumsily walked into a room, occasionally bumping into furniture that fished several 'ow's from his mouth. "Sleep…" he mumbled under his breath once they reached the bed. He then sat on the edge before laying down. "Sweet dreams Dumpling, I love you so much," he muttered, pressing his lips onto Jungwon's forehead who unknowingly purred at the act.
If Jungwon felt his forehead and cat heart tingle weirdly, he blamed it on the fact that he was a cat.