Day 28 Cloytober: Dark
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Memories were often a finicky thing, but when they do come rushing back, one couldn't help but wonder how they forgot such an integral, albeit minor part of their lives. It was funny how one could easily underestimate the power that one event could have on how their life would unfold.
To Devil Yoon, forgetting the one woman who wronged her family so deeply was a mistake she shouldn't have made in the first place.
It all came back to her.
That fateful night. That twisting feeling in her gut when she saw that monster in her red champagne dress. The crash.
And even in the afterlife, they were reminded of what she did to them.
The article. The "freak" accident Officer Kim had mentioned. The car accident on a snowy night.
Three lives lost.
That monster even had the cheek to use that exact phrase when she spoke to them for the last time.
How could someone be that heartless knowing she would be consciously tearing a family apart – an effect that they were still suffering from in the afterlife?
"Sang-ah, that monster." Yoon Seri bit out through gritted teeth.
Before either Ri Jeong Hyeok or the Grim reaper could react, the devil had shot up towards the sky with one powerful beating of her wings that held all the coldness of her anger. Both trembled from the brunt of her forceful flight, knowing without a doubt that she was wholly enraged.
The angel didn't even have time to react, let alone follow her. Which was why he was in a bit of a pickle now as he paced in front of the Grim reaper.
"Where could she have gone?" The angel wondered aloud.
"Beats me." The Grim reaper shrugged as he squinted at the darkening sky. "She didn't even say goodbye..."
Worried for his lover, the angel wouldn't stop pacing as he thought about what Seri said. Yet, his mind drew a blank when he tried to identify where she could have gone.
"You really don't know where she could have gone?" The angel checked one last time.
"If I knew, I would have told you by now. I don't read minds although if you're concerned whether she's in Death's book today, she isn't. It's not like it's easy to kill a devil." The Grim reaper spoke casually, only backing off when the angel eyed him intensely.
Fair enough...but that truly didn't make Ri Jeong Hyeok feel any better. He had no doubts about Seri's capacity to protect herself, but he didn't like being apart from her especially when she wasn't feeling the best emotionally.
What if someone takes advantage of her anger or grief?
But as he thought harder about everything the Grim reaper told them and the revelation Seri had, everything started to come together for the angel too. The angel stopped pacing abruptly then and the Grim reaper looked at him with questioning eyes. Just like that, the angel flew off too without another word.
"Goodbye, I guess...I suppose I'll see them both next year." The Grim reaper stood up slowly from the rock that he had been sitting on. "I hope."
With one last glance at Kim Dae Reul, the Grim reaper left too, sensing that the night would be an interesting one for them all.
Somewhere in Seoul, a devil landed gracefully in front of an estate that had only stepped in once or twice in her previous lifetime. Angered eyes bore holes into the very exterior of the estate as she boldly stalked up to it without a single thought.
Everything about Yoon Seri's posture screamed emotional indifference to what she planned to do. Her eyes were dark, a wordless threat to anyone who would dare stand in her way.
Tonight, she was out for blood, and she couldn't care less about reigning in her blinding, white fury.
Every step she took towards the house was deliberate, a purposeful removal of control over her suppressed grief. The warning in her eyes was as sharp as a sword freshly sharpened for a long battle ahead.
The devil's red dress billowed around her like the flames of her anger that were not ebbing away any time soon. Anger was a beautiful colour on Yoon Seri, but there was no denying that Sang-ah was in for a night of rage and pain.
It didn't take long for Yoon Seri to find the monster and she certainly wasted no time in cornering her after she had fought off her morality guardians.
As a devil, she couldn't touch a human, but she could most certainly speak to one. All she had to do was to whisper against her ear, knowing that words could wield as much pain as a knife when it came to the matters of the heart.
"Are you seriously pleased about how you tore a family apart?" Seri bit out harshly against Sang-ah's ears.
If Sang-ah showed any signs that she heard the devil, it was sickening knowing that she could keep her face impassive as she swirled a glass of red wine in her hands.
But Seri was persistent if anything.
"You're sick in the head, you know that? How could you look Haneul in the eyes, knowing that you were going to murder her?"
This time, Sang-ah hands noticeably started trembling although her gaze remained empty as she stared out of her window. Still, Seri continued, wielding her only weapon to deal justice upon this woman.
"You don't deserve to live. You murdered a child. You murdered a family. How could you not feel any semblance of guilt over what you did?"
And as she continued to speak, those hot, angry tears fell relentlessly down Seri's face, for this was a crime that was unforgivable. Even when the glass Sang-ah was holding clattered to the ground and the woman started sobbing, Seri never stopped.
Her final words to Sang-ah was spoken with untainted ferocity because each word that left Seri's mouth was carefully crafted to deliver pain to the true devil.
"I will never forgive you. You deserve to rot in hell."
Sang-ah collapsed at the weight of Seri's words, sobbing hard as she tore at the pain in her heart. For the first time since the accident, Sang-ah could feel Seri's pain; a mother's pain. A pain that was indescribable because there were truly no words to describe a mother who had lost her child.
To be blessed with a gift from heaven, only to have it ripped away from you was cruelty beyond what could be measured in every single lifetime. The pain was one that even the devils and angels, who had been promised eternal happiness couldn't withstand.
Good, she finally understood the weight of her crimes.
Cold and indifferent to the woman's pure anguish, Seri would have continued tormenting her if Sang-ah's devil didn't step in then, having recovered from Seri's wrath.
"What do you think you're doing?! You're going to break her!" He shouted, tackling Seri to the ground.
The pair of devils struggled against each other as they unleashed their anger in its blown-out proportion, for they suddenly didn't even know why they were this angered towards each other. Feathers were ruffled, some drifting to the ground, quivering under the heat of the battle.
That was the sight that welcomed him when Ri Jeong Hyeok arrive. Horrified, the man raced over to Seri and enveloped her in his arms, using his wings to shield her from the devil's punches. White feathers soon joined the black ones on the floor, a union of light and dark.
That was when Seri began to scream through her tear-filled eyes, not so much as struggling in her lover's arms but leaning on him for emotional support. Holding her close to him, Ri Jeong Hyeok was emotional too when he felt Seri trembling in his arms, the visage of grief and anger mixed into one.
"You're the one who let her kill my family! Couldn't you both have done a better job as her guardians? Like it or not, you are accomplices to the atrocious crimes she committed against my family."
The punches stopped coming and Ri Jeong Hyeok finally relaxed slightly, although he kept his guards up as he instinctively placed himself between the two devils. Sang-ah's angel stood in the corner with his head bowed, shaken and hesitant to step in. Truly, he was a timid one and it didn't take a genius to figure out how Sang-ah could have walked down such a horribly wrong path.
It wasn't easy to guide a monster in the first place.
Despite her angel partner towering over her protectively, that still did not stop Seri from gazing past his brilliant white wings. The devil fixed the other with a steely, hardened gaze, wordlessly telling him that she wasn't backing down from this fight.
But at least the punches stopped coming. Rather, Sang-ah's devil evidently paled at the mention of the incident years ago; one that haunted them since it happened.
"Y-you're..." The devil stuttered.
"Yoon Seri." Devil Yoon choked out. "Your human murdered my family. She deserves this."
As quickly as the anger came, it dissipated into the air as Sang-ah's devil and angel hung their heads in shame. Neither of them knew what to say to the very people that they had indirectly wronged. They had both tried to stop their human ten years ago, but Sang-ah had already strayed down a path that meant that she was beyond saving.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Ri Jeong Hyeok soothed his hand over Seri's arm gently, quietly urging her to walk away. "Seri-ah, let's go."
"I'm done here anyway." Seri spat out.
Relieved, the angel led her out of the estate, trying his best to calm his racing heart. The swirling worry in his chest never once subsided because he still wished to check whether Seri had gotten grievously hurt from the fight.
The couple flew up to the trees then, using that chance to calm their hearts after the dramatic turn of events. Sitting on one of the sturdier branches of the oak tree, Seri and Jeong Hyeok gazed unseeingly into the distance as they left each other to their thoughts.
Her angry eyes spoke of a fire that had emerged because her heart was threatened. It was as though her usual, compassionate side took a backseat, leaving the protectiveness within her to take the wheel. Ri Jeong Hyeok has never seen Seri's eyes so devoid of any semblance of empathy because they were now cold and indifferent to everything around her.
He must have waited for a full hour before the flames in her heart were doused completely by her tears and the life returned to her eyes.
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Seri sighed heavily. "But I'm not sorry for what I did. That woman...she doesn't deserve any mercy."
Ri Jeong Hyeok turned his head towards her when she spoke but nevertheless kept quiet as he waited. After anger, it was always better to get everything off one's chest, or eventually, the bottled-up emotions would only end up boiling over.
"Are you afraid of me now?"
Are you going to leave me now?
"Of course not." That was what Ri Jeong Hyeok thought automatically, but he chose to mull over the reasons why instead.
Objectively speaking, he should be afraid of Seri's rage, but he wasn't. Sure, it was the first time he saw such darkness in her eyes, but he truly couldn't say that he was afraid of her.
Her rage to him was like fire. It burns hot and fast but dies as fast too. At least after the flames were doused, Seri still allowed the person she love to walk over the remnants of cold ashes to comfort her and soothe her soul. What would truly be scary would be a fire that was icy cold. Because in such a case, nothing could save them from the torment of an empty, hardened soul.
To him, Seri was every bit of the devil she was as she was a mother to their daughter. Beyond that, he understood. They had vastly different ways of dealing with their anger, but he would never hate her for that. Rather, he loved her for protecting their family.
"You're wrong." Ri Jeong Hyeok breathed.
In response, Seri bowed her head, slightly dejected over the accusation she expected from the kind, patient man seated next to her. Truly, in more ways than one, she felt as though she was wasting his honour after her meltdown. But as always, Ri Jeong Hyeok was full of surprises.
"I'm not afraid of you, Seri-ah. I love you for doing your best to protect our family. It was something I couldn't do in the end...You're right. She doesn't deserve our mercy."
Revenge was never the answer, but the line between justice and revenge was often blurred, wasn't it?
Yoon Seri's act could have been seen as a cold act of revenge, but Ri Jeong Hyeok knew better. Seri would never hurt someone unless they hurt her so grievously beyond what her emotional generosity could handle. That was when one ought to realise that they had wronged the devil deeply.
Justice. What she served Sang-ah mercifully was justice. It was only fair.
His only regret was not being able to save them on time. It was a guilt that he didn't know had been ingrained in his heart all this time even though he knew that he wasn't being fair with himself.
"Ri Jeong Hyeok, none of that was your fault. You tried your best. I-I just don't understand how someone could be this cruel." Seri uttered weakly.
Just like that, Ri Jeong Hyeok could set down the stone in his heart.
Shaking his head slightly, Ri Jeong Hyeok let out a heavy sigh. "I asked myself that too when someone who we once saw as family was behind my brother's murder."
Opening and closing his wings slightly, Ri Jeong Hyeok gazed over at Seri with a small smile as he shook his head in amusement.
"We've been learning to be morality guardians for years now, but I still can't say that I have figured humans out. I doubt we ever can. They truly work in the most unpredictable ways."
"We were once like that. We still are." Seri saw the humour in the situation too.
"Life is just like that. We can only make the best out of it." Ri Jeong Hyeok reached over to hold Seri's hand, running his fingers lightly over her bruised knuckles. "My love, I know you have scars in your heart. I do too. But it wouldn't be fair if we let that take control of our lives again. I hope that after today, you'll be free."
Ri Jeong Hyeok expelled a light breath, as he smoothed down Seri's wayward hair and ruffled wings. "Be free Seri-ah. Laugh freely, live freely but most importantly, know that you can show me your pain. You're not alone in this world anymore. I'm here."
For the first time that night, Seri smiled with tears shining in her eyes. Peering over at Ri Jeong Hyeok, she wondered, "Do you think we can be happy like we were back then?"
"I have reason to believe that we can make that a reality again."
Humming quietly next to him, Seri leaned her head lightly against his broad shoulder. Ri Jeong Hyeok naturally kept his arms tight around her, drawing comforting circles on her skin. Beyond fury, there was peace, and just as Ri Jeong Hyeok desired, Seri would be set free soon.
They could be free again.
Sirens. In the dead of the night in a forest in Seoul, the hopeful sounds of sirens were clearly welcomed to the angel's beating heart and his devil's drying tears. The leaves swayed around them, rustling slightly as the police cars passed by them in a blur of red and blue. Moments later, the officers, sworn to civilian safety, swiftly got out of the car, carrying justice with them.
A justice long overdue.
"Watch." Ri Jeong Hyeok gestured over to Sang-ah's estate, prompting Seri to watch the scene unfold before their very eyes.
Moments later, Officer Kim emerged with a hand-cuffed Sang-ah, who still had streams of dried mascara staining her face. The pair disappeared into the waiting police car, never to be seen again.
"H-how?" Seri's eyes were wide when she saw what happened.
"I figured it out too. I told Officer Kim's angel to help me out. It seems our dear friend solved the puzzle too." Ri Jeong Hyeok chuckled.
While Seri had confronted the monster head-on, Ri Jeong Hyeok had approached Officer Kim, knowing that their friend needed that closure too.
Tonight marks the start of new beginnings. It had been one hell of a rollercoaster ride, but the future remained optimistic not just for the angel and devil, but their child too.
Speaking of their child, Dae Reul had been catching fireflies in the backyard with her brother when Ri Jeong Hyeok and Yoon Seri visited her that night.
The fireflies danced against the dark backdrop of the night, as though they were radiating the joyous, innocent dreams of the children. Watching them, the former parents couldn't help but laugh as Dae Reul eagerly showed the jar to her brother.
Soon, the man they had been waiting for came home, eliciting a warm greeting from Dae Reul. Vaguely, they heard Officer Kim's confirmation that it was done as he wrapped his wife in a hug.
The next thing they knew, his wife had clapped happily, congratulating her husband. "You mean...Omo, I never had any doubts! Children, your father solved a case! Let's give him a hug."
"Appa solved a case? Daebak! Appa's a hero!" Dae Reul clapped too.
Yoon Seri and Ri Jeong Hyeok left the house soon after, eyes soft from what they had witnessed.
Ri Jeong Hyeok was right, they were finally set free. And though there was still some regrets in their hearts, they were grateful for another opportunity to live their life to the fullest again.
At the very least, they could be there for Dae Reul as she grows into the wonderful human that she was and hope that one day, they would be able to embrace her again in the afterlife.
At the very least, they could heal together as a family. The guilt would take time to recede completely, but they were together now.
None of them would ever be lonely again.
Which was why neither of them wished to part that night.
"Ri Jeong Hyeok." Seri turned to him with eyes devoid of any remnants of anger or coldness from before. "Come to hell tonight."
He nodded.