A Demon's Soul

Chapter 1

A/N: this story was inspired by an Angel/Demon drawing by vk_leaharte on IG. I will add chapter for chapter this time. :)

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Past

August, 1950

The mood was on a new level of low, and the comrades around him looked tired, haggard, and malnourished. Had he lost the shine in his eyes as well?
Taehyung guessed he was looking the same, but he hadn't seen his face properly in the last few weeks. The little mirror, which was almost clouded, gave him only a rough image to shave. But he knew his body, felt his ribcage more prominently when he hugged himself and his cheekbones when he ran his hands over his face. His clothes didn't fit from the beginning, but it was worse now.

He listens to a mosquito flying past his ear and swats in the direction in hopes of killing it before it can bite him. There were a lot of mosquitos in the forest during summer that bothered everyone, disregarding the rank in the army. That thought felt kind of satisfying to Taehyung.

They were close to his hometown, Daegu, trying to hold the line along the Naktong River to fight off the advances from the Korean People's Army. The enemy was like the mosquitos, unwanted and still there. Despite everything.

They were closed in, but it was important to stay strong and protect the port of Busan farther south. Taehyung knew that ships arrived there from the United States and other allies to plan a counterattack. He knew they would fight them off soon and succeed. But he had to contribute to this now before the major counter-strike started.

The August night was humid and his uniform stuck sweatily to his body. His lips are dry and he licks over them and feels a sting. There was a little chap on the corner of his mouth and he tasted some blood. But this was the last of his problems now.

He felt Yeomra next to him, walking slowly and almost noiselessly through the woods. The other soldier had been guarding his back ever since they met. He was always by his side and made Taehyung feel secure, but lately, the other soldier creeped him out. Not only because he chose the name of the god of death, but it was in Yeomra's eyes and how he looked at Taehyung, like he desired him in many different ways.

Taehyung shakes his head, shaking off the feeling. It was the wrong time to think about this now while they were hunting the 13th Division of the KPA in the mountains to prevent them from advancing on the main road to Daegu after they crossed the Naktong River.

Taehyung holds his rifle in front of his body, alert and ready. But he can only hear the other soldiers carefully advancing through the forest with him. Otherwise, it is quiet and it feels eerie. The tension in the air is not only caused by the humid summer air, it was the harbinger of a gruesome fight, and he has a feeling it will break any second now.

Suddenly a shot rings out and more flashes light up the night in a close distance, accompanied by musketry.

„Take cover!" their squad leader yells, and Taehyung doesn't need to be told twice. Wood splinters around him, and shreds of leaves rain down on him, and he falls to the floor to take cover in the underbrushes. The adrenaline is pumping in his veins, making him focused and alert. Yeomra lies next to him. They share a quick look and his white teeth gleam manically in the short flickering light, like he enjoys it. He was such a crazy bastard.

The peaceful forest is a battlefield now, and it is a cruel game of hide and seek and life and death. Lights flicker in the darkness, illuminating the forest for a second and leaving them in secure darkness afterward. At first, Taehyung and his comrades advance, gaining one crucial meter after another. But suddenly, it seems they are outnumbered and KPA soldiers break their lines. He sees soldiers fall to the ground, wounded or instantly dead on his left and right. It feels so surreal.