Are you ready to meet the absolute sweetheart? 🥰🫶🏻
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Part 44: Henry
Grinning, Anya takes the phone out of Kyun's hand and walks around the counter. While heading to the couch, she stares at the display, trying to find the right words to respond.
"Wait!" Kyun says and turns around to her. "Okay, babygirl, wait!"
She raises her head. "What?"
"You don't really wanna sleep with that guy, do you?!"
"Yes!" she says firmly. "Yes, Changkyun, this man ruined my life! He's the reason I'm in this mess, he's the reason for all of this! He's—"
"The reason for every damn trauma in your life!" Kyun interrupts her. "Your love for this man dragged you into this mess, dragged you almost to hell! And now you just wanna sleep with him again? Babygirl, please, I need you to think about this!"
She totally gets where he's coming from. Of course, all of this was traumatic and horrible, but that is the reason she has to do this. She can finally come to peace with herself, with all this, when she's given that bastard what he deserves.
"There's nothing to think about! Kyun!" She takes a deep breath. She doesn't want to become angry again, or hysterical. She wants him to see how rational she is being about this decision. "This man is pure evil. He deserves to rot in hell! And I wanna be the one to send him there! I want him to remember me first thing when his dark, rotten soul lands in hellfire!"
Kyun chuckles and his hand on her waist pulls her closer. "Your wish for revenge is brutally sexy, not gonna lie! But please. I need you to think this through, okay? Don't act impulsively again, do me that favor!"
It has taken Anya way too long to realize that this demon would never insist on something like this if it wasn't for her own good, and that ignoring him was always the wrong move to make. So she takes a deep breath and looks up at him.
"Okay. Why shouldn't I sleep with him?"
Kyun sits on the backrest of the couch, his hand still resting on her waist.
"Well, apart from the fact that he deflowered you and then left you after taking your parents' money and your soul—okay that was me, but you get the gist!" Anya chuckles at his words. "This thing with the two of you was eleven years ago. Don't you find it a little suspicious that he's texting you only now?"
Cocking her head, she looks at him. "What do you mean?"
"You're a fucking superstar, babygirl!" He chuckles. "Everyone knows you! And not only since yesterday. If I were him, and you were my ex and if I heard all the songs you've written about me, I would've come to you sooner...why now?"
This question kind of annoys her. She's not quite able to think properly, way too distracted by her revenge.
"I don't know..." she mumbles and looks at Kyun. "Does that matter?"
The demon bites his lip and nods. "I'm afraid it does. I don't trust him..."
He's scared for her. This makes her heart throb yet another time. But this isn't about him. It's about her and Henry.
Sighing, she lays her hands on his shoulders and he tightens his grip on her waist. "I wanna do this, Kyun! Please! I wanna send him to hell so, so bad!"
He clenches his jaw while maintaining eye contact with her; then his hand takes hers from his shoulder and holds it.
"Okay! But before you text him, give me a little time. Give me time to do some research and find out what he might be up to!"
Gulping, she stares at him. She made a lot of mistakes in the past months that could've been avoided if she'd listened to Kyun. She always claimed she trusted him but in the end, she did many stupid things despite his warnings. She has to put a little faith in him.
"Okay!"
"Yeah?" He sighs with relief as he pushes himself away from the couch and cups her cheeks. "You're not getting mad?"
Anya can't help but laugh. Seems like she traumatized this demon with her outbursts over the past few weeks. "I won't! It's a good thing that you wanna find out what the reason might be."
The demon's crimson eyes light up as his lips form into a smile. "Good girl!" he whispers and softly kisses her head.
She has no idea where Kyun's softness lately is coming from and actually, she doesn't wanna know. She's scared that the moment she confronts him about this, he'll stop. That's the last thing she wants.
"I'll be back by tonight. Wait for me, okay?"
She nods. "I wanna go practice anyway..."
She has a performance coming up so she's trying to spend as much time as possible in her practice room—despite her sore muscles from all the sex she's had.
The demon's hands slip off her cheeks and he looks at her with furrowed brows. "How are things with Hyungwon?"
Hearing his name is like hearing Joo's or Ki's... it's damn painful.
"Weird..." she admits and shrugs. "I think he accepts the fact that it was only sex and is cool with that, but he can't understand why I've been avoiding him. I try not to think about it too much..."
This is the only way to retain her sanity. Because if she'd really think about all the decent men she'll send to hell, she won't be able to close her eyes at night. She has no idea what she'll feel once these men are actually dead...
Ah, stop thinking!
"It's probably for the best..." he whispers and kisses her forehead another time. Gulping, she closes her eyes when his saliva gets in contact with her skin. This is still torture.
"See you tonight, babygirl!"
Late in the evening, Anya walks into her apartment. It's dark, so Kyun doesn't seem to be back yet. She drops her bag in the hall and walks into the kitchen. When she turns on the light, Kyun stands by the counter and she flinches, gasping.
"Jesus Christ, do you wanna scare me to death?"
Kyun snickers. "Sorry, I just got in! Didn't have time to announce myself!"
That explains why she didn't feel his presence when she entered the apartment.
"And?" She opens the fridge to get some water. "What did you find out?"
"A lot!" Kyun's hand roams over to the bowl of peaches. He takes one of them and bites into it.
"You know you should wash them before eating, right?" She grins and takes a sip from her bottle.
"Why? Cause the pesticides might kill me?"
They laugh and Anya slips onto the stool.
"Tell me about this son of a bitch!"
Kyun takes another bite and sits next to her. "Okay, seems like Henry made quite the career as a financial advisor on Wall Street!" he says before his tongue glides over the fruit.
"Okay, can you stop that!" She lays her hand on his.
He tilts his head. "Ten months and suddenly you don't like the way I eat my peaches?"
"First of all: they're my peaches! And second, yes I do, I like it too much, so would you stop? I don't wanna be horny while you talk about him..."
Kyun throws his head back, laughing.
"Alright!" He snickers and puts the fruit on the counter. "So! Henry took care of big ass companies, big names. Did you know about that?"
"No..."
Anya left for California only a few weeks after their breakup and the last thing she heard was that he left too a few months later. She's glad he did. Because if he were still living in that town, people would've constantly confronted her with him.
"Okay. Doesn't matter anyway. Apparently good old Henry embezzled a shitload of money from his clients... and we're not talking about peanuts here, we're talking millions!"
She didn't expect anything less from him.
"Suits him..."
"Many people wanna see him dead—"
She can't help but chuckle. It doesn't even scare her how little compassion she has for this man. Kyun eyes her, amused.
"—so there are only two reasons why he would want to meet you!" he explains. "Number one, he wants to come clean with all the wrongs he did and apologize to you for what he did before he gets killed—"
"That's not it," she interjects. Henry is capable of a lot of things when he's close to dying, but regret is not one of them.
"Yeah, I didn't think so either," Kyun nods. "So he wants money..."
This definitely fits better. He pretended to love her to get her parent's money in another life-or-death situation ten years ago and he didn't face any consequences for it. It's only logical that he wants to try it again. He's desperate. So desperate that it will be ridiculously easy to fuck him.
"Okay!" She gets up. "That works for me!"
Kyun wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her closer. "I still don't like this, babygirl..."
For a long moment, she looks at him. He's really worried.
"I know..." She sighs. "I know that this is hard to understand. But all of this is his fault! And I know nothing can happen to me cause you'll be there."
The demon wrinkles his nose while eyeing her carefully.
"Fine..." He lets go of her. "But I don't like it!"
With Kyun's help, she texts Henry. He helps her find a way to pretend that she has long forgotten what happened and that she's okay with a meeting. The demon suggested that they meet in a café but, as much as she gets why he prefers a public place for this, she wants Henry here in her apartment. Because she doesn't want to waste time and get right down to business. She wants to seduce him and get rid of him as soon as possible.
In the days leading up to meeting Henry again, she felt confident in her decision that she could easily handle this meeting, but when the day comes, she's a mess. With shaky legs, she stands in front of the mirror in her bedroom and adjusts her tight, black dress, pushing up her boobs.
"Is it really necessary to look this hot?" Kyun asks while leaning against the doorframe.
Grinning, she looks at him. "He ruined my life and dumped me. I am a super sexy rich-ass superstar and he's nothing. I want him to notice that..."
The demon is just about to say something when the doorbell rings. Their eyes meet for a long moment and she takes a deep breath.
"Say the word and I'll make him leave..." Kyun says and when she passes him, she lets her fingertips glide through his.
With shaky hands, she opens the door.
"Hey, Anya!"
She knew when she opened the door, she'd feel things. She'd expected to feel some kind of nostalgia, she even expected her heart to race a little—because after all she used to love him...a lot. But when her eyes fall on the slender dude Anya feels nothing but anger and hate and disgust. She can see that he tried to clean himself up but his greasy long hair he tried to hide in a manbun and the circles under his eyes so dark that she wonders whether he's even alive give away his desperation. The hate in her overwhelms her so much that for a long moment she just stands there and stares at her ex until she catches herself.
"Hey!"
To Anya's pure horror, he takes a step closer and hugs her. Her body tenses under his touch.
"It's so great to see you again!" he coos. His scent–a combination of ashtray and cheap booze—almost makes her vomit. Sleeping with him won't be easy with his disgusting scent in her nose.
"Come in!" She steps aside and closes the door behind him. Henry looks around the hall with a huge smile.
"Wow..." he breathes. "This is amazing!"
Before she can say something, Kyun's voice interrupts her. "Fuck! No, babygirl!"
Confused, she looks at him and notices Henry is following her gaze, a little irritated.
"Sorry!" She fakes a smile. "Um... I'll be with you in a minute! Feel free to look around!"
She points to the living room and Henry nods. "Alright!"
Still confused, she turns to the demon. "What?" she whispers when her ex is out of sight.
"Babygirl!" Kyun seems on high alert, bristling with anxious energy. "His soul is rotten! Under absolutely no circumstances are you going to sleep with that bastard!"
She's not surprised by this and it won't stop her. "But I have to!"
"Babygirl, listen to me!" he says desperately. "He's doomed anyway... you don't wanna see what I see in his soul but he already has a special place reserved for him in hell!"
"But I want it to be me!" she whispers, trying hard to keep her voice down even as it tries to climb louder in frustration. "I wanna be the one sending him there, okay?"
"He's worthless for the deal! We don't even feed souls like his to the hellhounds!"
For the first time, Anya freezes and looks at him wide-eyed. "But can you still take his soul when he signs the contract?"
Kyun groans. "Yeah, but you'd still have to get four more souls after his. I can't bring him down there as a trade for your soul. They'll laugh at me!"
With a relieved sigh, she nods. "That's okay!"
"Babygirl!" he says and wraps his arm around her waist yet another time. "If you're really going to do this, I won't leave your side! I don't want you to be alone with him!"
Smiling, she looks up to him. "I know you won't, that's why I know I can do this!"
"How come you met Kihyun?" Anya asks Henry as they sit on her couch, drinking coffee. The awkwardness is gone but with every look at him, she wonders if she was on crack when she fell in love with him. He of course wants to know everything about her career and the way he's asking sneaky questions about her income proves her assumption that this is the reason he's here....
His arrogance is so disgusting, and the way he talks about his own job and success is almost ridiculous. It's so amusing for her to know the truth while he keeps lying to her face. He's such a bad liar, and she wishes she'd been mature enough back then to see through him.
"Visited my parents and met up with some of the old crew, you know..." Henry says and smiles. "He told me you went to his Christmas party. I thought you didn't like him?"
One of those mistakes she made. It's Henry's fault Ki is facing hell.
"I did!" She nods. "Then I found out all the things I thought he said about me were a lie..."
With a pointed gaze she looks at him and his eyes widen.
"Oh..." he stammers. "Um... I'm sorry but I can be quite the unfair player when I want a girl..."
"Is that so?" Angry, she tilts her head until she remembers her plan. So she clears her throat and sits straight. "Forget it. I'm over it..."
For a long moment, he eyes her carefully before he opens his mouth. "So you mean you're over what I did to you as well?"
With her hands clinging to her coffee mug to control her anger, she takes a deep breath.
"You mean for using me and my parents' money and leaving the moment you recovered?"
Henry shifts his body; she can sense that this topic is uncomfortable. Of course it is.
"I didn't plan all this! I mean, I really liked you but the feelings didn't develop the way I hoped they would...and then Haylie showed up and you know how much I always loved her—"
"Wait—you went back to Haylie?"
Startled, she puts the mug on the table and stares at him in utter disbelief.
"I thought you knew..."
"No? I left for California a few weeks after if you remember... I did not know..."
So many times she worried about him still being in touch with his ex, but he had explained to her over and over again that they were just friends and she'd even adored that! She'd adored his mature way of handling the relationship with his ex.
Fuck, what if...
What if he never broke up with Haylie while he was with her? What if Anya was just part of their plan to keep him alive and make money? Quickly, she shakes her head. Hurting herself even more with things he'd lie about anyway won't help her here.
"Sorry... I never meant to..." Henry bites his lip and sighs deeply.
With a racing heart, she tries to get her temper under control.
"How's she doing?" she asks. "Your beloved Haylie?"
"Didn't work out... She married some billionaire..." he mumbles and she has to suppress her grin.
"Ah, I'm not sorry!"
Henry groans. "Don't be like that, Anya! It was hard, okay? The illness, hurting you, losing her..."
How dare he?
How dare he claim that he's the victim here?
How dare he ask for her compassion?
Anya's pulse quickens and the urge to peel the skin off his face becomes unbearable. With her last bit of strength, she puts on a smile. "Would you excuse me for a second? I need to go to the bathroom!"
As quickly as she can without seeming suspicious, she walks into the bathroom and supports her hands on the sink with a loud gasp.
"I hate him so much!" She lifts her head and looks at Kyun in the mirror.
"I know you do," he says in a low voice and approaches her. "You don't have to do it, I told you..." He gently turns her by her shoulders and tucks some loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Babygirl, he'll end up in hell anyway!"
All this isn't enough. Hell isn't enough.
"But I wanna be the one sending him there!" she repeats for what feels like the hundredth time. "I wanna be the reason he goes there. Not in a few years but in eight weeks. I wanna see him dead!"
This is the first time she's wished this for someone. She's not proud of it, but if anyone deserves it, he does!
"And please... when it comes to it, I need you to leave—I know, I know!" She sighs as Kyun is about to open his mouth. "You don't wanna leave but I need to focus on this. I don't want you to watch this! And if something happens, I know you're only one call away... please?"
The demon stares at her for a long moment until he nods, but she sees how reluctant he is. Smiling, she kisses his cheek, takes another look in the mirror and walks back to the door.
"And how do you plan to do that?" Kyun asks behind her as she turns the lock. "This dude makes you so angry, you'll be as dry as the Sahara!"
"Lubricant!" she spits. "The whole tube if necessary!"
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