A Deal with the Devil || K.TH

8: Afraid

Taehyung grinned as he heard Aurora stop talking, satisfied with his work. Mark shook his head as he arrived with Jinyoung.

"What'd you do now? Oh, why couldn't have you stayed smashing vases?" Mark asked aloud, pacing worriedly.

"I have just sped up the date of our wedding to tomorrow." The young king said triumphantly. Mark hit his forehead.

"I can't believe this! That is not the way you seduce someone!" He exclaimed, shaking his head at his master's stupidity and began to pace. Jinyoung grabbed his elder's shoulders and stopped him from pacing.

"Woah there Hyung, don't burn holes into the carpet. We've already got enough hellfire outside." Jinyoung said soothingly, trying to calm the worried butler.

"She'll be out here begging for my forgiveness soon enough." Taehyung said happily, grinning. Mark groaned and was almost about to pace some more when he heard soft crying coming from the other side of the door. Mark immediately hit him on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Taehyung asked as he rubbed the bump on the back of his head.

"Look at what you did! You even made her cry!" Mark scolded him, looking at him like a disapproving father. Taehyung raised an eyebrow and leaned his ear closer to the door. He heard soft sobbing and pulled away.

"Ah, seriously... God Taehyung, you're such an idiot!"

He was used to making women cry, whether it be his female consorts or the damned. But to make an female angel cry was a big no-no, whether it be for angels or demons. He knew if he didn't make it up with Aurora right away, he would be in hot water with his sister tonight.

"Aurora sweetheart?" He asked gently, but she cried harder. He sighed before trying again.

"Aurora darling, please don't cry. I didn't mean to upset you." He said in a softer tone. Aurora sniffled before whimpering.

"Why are you doing this to me?" She asked, her voice trembling. He sighed and inwardly rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he was actually going soft because of this angel.

"I'll postpone the date of the wedding back to the original terms if you forgive me. I'll make it up to you."

She opened the door and looked at him with mournful eyes.

"Do you mean it?" She asked, her voice hoarse. Taehyung looked at her from the bottom up. Even with puffy, red eyes, she still looked beautiful, wearing a strapless, pale blue gown with delicate metal straps holding it up as strands of pearls draped down onto her arm. Taehyung put on a fake, sincere looking smile before nodding.

"Have dinner tomorrow with me, alright?" He asked, kissing the back of her hand. He left, smiling maliciously to himself about how naive she was. Aurora looked at the hand he had kissed with confusion. What did he exactly want from her?

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Everything was going fine: Taehyung had made up with Aurora, Tzuyu was probably waiting for him in his room, and he was just having a nice night in general. But someone just had to ruin it.

"TAEHYUNG, YOU SORRY EXCUSE OF A BROTHER!"

Taehyung turned around, practically shaking. If there was one thing that scared the Devil, it was the wrath of his elder sister.

"Oh, N-noona, you came by." He stuttered. His Noona's eyes were blazing with anger as she stomped towards him. She grabbed his ear and dragged him away.

"AH! Noona, please! AH!"

Taehyung winced as his elder sister stomped angrily up to his room. The two passed by Mark and Youngjae; Youngjae looked at the two curiously while Mark smiled wryly.

"He's not fond of her, isn't he?" Youngjae asked. Mark chuckled.

"More like he's scared out of his wits. If there's one thing Irene can do, it's whip Taehyung into shape."

Irene continued to march up to his room, scaring all the servants in her way. Once she was there, she tossed him in and slammed his door closed.

"Noona, why have you come to visit?" He asked nervously. Irene turned around, furious. She pulled a chair over and pointed at it. Taehyung sat down as Irene began to circle around him.

"What kind of men do I despise?" She asked in a controlled voice.

"Selfish, cruel, narrow minded men." He replied back, not getting at what she was trying to imply.

"What is a man who takes away someone just to weaken his enemy?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Selfish." He said, gulping. Oh no, here it comes.

"What is a man who makes his betrothed miserable by manipulating her?"

Taehyung bit his lip as he saw her now holding a wooden stick in her hand.

"Cruel."

"And finally," Irene said, slamming her wooden rod on the handles of the chair, scaring Taehyung. "What is a man who ignores the fact he is the most feared man in the world and forces someone to love him?"

Taehyung took a deep breath before saying, "Narrow minded."

Irene crossed her arms as she shook her head at him.

"And what have you been to your fiancé this whole night?" She finally asked.

"A selfish, cruel, narrow minded man." He said in defeat. Irene hit him over the head before tsking.

"Is that how I taught you to speak to women? Is this how I raised you?" She asked accusingly. Taehyung rubbed the back of his head before saying, "Of course not, noona."

But unbeknownst to the two of them, Aurora had just arrived to scene. She had followed them after hearing loud noises outside.

"Noona?" She whispered. But it was unfortunately a little too loud, and the two turned to see her peeking through the door. Irene smiled at her as she opened the door for the younger girl.

"I'm so sorry. Let me apologize for my awful mess of a brother. Please, come in and tell me the whole story." Irene said with a smile. Aurora headed in, trying to ignore the intense gaze of the man in the chair. Irene sat down on Taehyung's bed and patted the spot next her for Aurora to sit.

"Don't be intimidated by him. He's just a big baby about everything." Irene said to her in a gentle tone before flashing a glare at Taehyung. Aurora gulped before saying, "I think he wants to hurt me."

Taehyung sneered at her.

"Believe me Princess, I would be taking that precious little soul of yours and-"

Taehyung was immediately shut down by Irene's hard glare and her threatening, "Do I need to hit you a few more times to get you to your senses?!"

Taehyung shook his head violently before crossing his arms and pouting like a little kid. Aurora looked him in confusion. It was a rare sight to see the Devil acting so childish, but she guessed it contributed to his older sister being here.

"Let's start at where it all began, alright?"