"You can't keep dancing with the devil and wonder why you're still in Hell."
"And this was the story of how Faye locked me in a freezer for a whole day." Jimin concluded calmly.
"As a prank!" I protested vigorously.
It has been a full hour since Jimin has been spitting whatever nonsense he could think of to undermine me in front of Taehyung.
Well I admit, he has suffered quite a lot from me throughout the millennia. But only because this overbearing angel didn't seem to mind his own business, always putting his nose in mine. As you've probably noticed, I have a rather short temper, and Jimin fell victim to it rather often.
"Woah," Taehyung gulped, wide eyes jumping back and forth from me and Jimin. "You were quite rambunctious, weren't you Faye?"
"You have no idea," Jimin countered. "She can be quite... devilish."
"Enough." I let my hand fall heavily on the table, eyes throwing daggers at Jimin. You think you're so witty with your puns, don't you.
"What about you, Taehyung?" Jimin turned to the beautiful man in front of him. Freaking finally. He's either too slow to notice my rage burning under the surface or he was simply doing it on purpose to infuriate me. "Any exciting stories from your childhood?"
Uh oh. This is not good. Jimin shouldn't have asked Taehyung about his childhood as it wasn't a positive experience. I know because he told me and I saw the pain his eyes held when talking about it. I held my breath behind pursed lips, not sure of how Taehyung would react to this touchy subject.
"No actually I was a pretty chill kid," he shrugged, not seeming the least bit fazed by the question. "I was very obedient and always did what I was told, I wasn't really problematic or anything. Wait, this reminds me. There was actually one occasion..."
He stuffed his hand in the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his phone.
"Wait a second, let me check if I still have it," his brows furrowed slightly as he started scrolling down his gallery. "There it is!" he exclaimed, turning the phone to show us a certain photo. "One time when I was four or five years old, my parents were repainting the whole house. Apparently I decided it would be fun if I plunge my whole body in the paint bucket... it was blue, so I became a Smurf for a day."
He laughed shyly, tilting his head to the side. I took the phone in my hand and Jimin scooched closer to see as well.
It was an old photo showing a young Taehyung covered in blue paint from head to toe. He was grinning brightly, little hands pressed against his squishy baby cheeks. I instantly picked on the one thing that hadn't changed throughout the years – his adorable rectangular smile. It was the same contagious phenomenon, a picture of genuine joy and happiness.
Behind him was sitting a woman, shiny hazel hair cascading down her shoulders. She was dressed in a denim jumpsuit, stains of the same blue paint scattered over the fabric. The photo was old so I couldn't see her features clearly, but she was smiling too. She wasn't looking at the camera but instead was gazing upon little Taehyung with love and affection.
Is this Taehyung's mother?
"So cute." I uttered, surprised at my own heart that was swelling in my chest.
"Can I just say that you were extremely adorable as a child?" Jimin said, surprising me with his compliment.
"Thank you." Taehyung gave a coy smile. It was still adorable how shy a man as strikingly handsome as him got even as an adult.
It was endearing.
Yet my mind couldn't stop contemplating the woman standing behind him. Knowing what a difficult time Taehyung had during his childhood I didn't feel comfortable bombarding him with questions about it.
As dense as he was, Jimin seemingly picked up on that too, as he didn't press on with many questions either.
"Ah shit," Taehyung cussed as he glanced over at his phone screen again. "My boss is texting me. There's some kind of emergency at the hospital and I need to be there ASAP."
"Oh my god, of course," I nodded rapidly. "Go, they need your spectacular doctor skills. Go save lives."
Taehyung abandoned his seat with haste and straightened up his shirt.
"I'm sorry, I really wanted to spend the day with you, Faye," he sounded genuinely apologetic. "Rain check?"
"Sure." I gave a reassuring nod.
"And it was very nice to meet you, Jimin," he turned to the obnoxious angel next to me. "I hope we see each other again."
"Likewise." Jimin smiled, waving Taehyung goodbye.
Both of us watched him walk out of that coffee shop in silence. Once the door shut behind him, I whipped around to glare at Jimin.
"Do you get off on being a pain in my ass?"
He was unfazed by my hostile demeanor. Instead, his eyes were still fixated somewhere over my shoulder.
"Faye, I think I need to tell you something." He assumed an air so serious that I shuddered.
"What? You've got more of those shenanigans of yours cooking up?" I mocked.
His jaw tensed as he regarded me with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Come on, bring it up," I was beginning to grow annoyed. "Whatever it is, I'm sure I can take it."
"Actually," Jimin's dubious attitude was starting to get on my nerves. "Forget it, there's nothing to talk about."
"What?" I frowned.
"I don't want to meddle."
"Don't toy with my patience, Jimin."
"I've been trying to find the right way to tell you," he drew in a long controlled breath. "At first I wasn't sure, but now, after I saw that photo... I know why your aura doesn't work on Taehyung, Faye."
I froze instantly. "Wha- what?" I stammered.
"Haven't you thought about why you're so different around him? How you're experiencing real human emotions, like sympathy, compassion, affection?"
"I'm just acting." I snorted.
"No," Jimin whispered. "You're becoming more human by the second, Faye. And it's all because of him. He's influencing you in that way."
"What is your point, Jimin?" I countered. "Where are you getting with this?"
He inhaled a shuddering breath, readying himself for what he was about to tell me. By the looks of it, it made him rather uncomfortable and I couldn't help but wonder what in God's name was it going to be.
"A long time ago, I was sent to a young couple who struggled with having kids. The woman was infertile. Over the years, they kept praying to God for a miracle. They wanted it so much and their desire was pure, genuine. I, as the Creator's most powerful angel, was given the task to bless them with a kid. So I did. And they had a little boy," he gulped. "That was twenty-five years ago."
"You mean..." I trailed off, trying to digest this new piece of information.
"I recognized the woman from Taehyung's photo, Faye," Jimin said. "It was the same woman from twenty-five years ago. The one I blessed."
"No," I shook my head. "This can't be true. Taehyung's childhood was a living hell. This loving couple you're describing to me can't be his parents. No, it can't. They caused him so much pain, Jimin. He's how he is because of them."
"They weren't always like this," Jimin went on. "When I met them they were young and very in love. They desperately wanted to bring a life into this world. I lost track of them after that. Maybe things went downhill for them afterwards and their life took a dark turn, I don't know. Perhaps they had their issues which resulted in them falling apart. But they wanted this child back then, more than they've wanted anything else in their entire life. Taehyung was very loved even before he was born, Faye."
"Did you know?" I hissed. "Did you know who Taehyung was when he was assigned as my target?"
"No!" Jimin exclaimed softly. "Faye, I swear I had no idea. I, too, was manipulated by greater forces."
"So this was all some big arrangement by the Big Guy up there," I glanced up, face creasing with disgust. "Or even worse, by my father. Taehyung was put in my path on purpose. And you were in on it!" I accused, my anger boiling up underneath the surface.
"I told you I didn't know-"
"This plan has been crafted for twenty-five years and more!" I involuntarily raised my voice in my frustration, making Jimin flinch. "Why is this happening? Is this a test? Is this some cosmic way to teach me a lesson? To make me vulnerable? Answer me, Jimin! Why am I being put through this?!"
"I don't know, Faye!" he replied, eyes glistening with sincerity. "I, too, was manipulated. I was just a pawn in this, used to catalyze and initiate this celestial plan."
"I knew this wasn't an accident!" I slammed my fist against the table. "And Taehyung? Is he simply another pawn as well, or..." I trailed off, overcome by despair. The idea of Taehyung being dishonest with me hurt me way more than I wanted to admit. Not that I was being totally genuine with him, but... he had worked his way inside my heart somehow and now I was vulnerable, exposed. Susceptible to him. How did he manage to do that so quickly?
"I have no idea," Jimin uttered, his eyebrows dipping slightly. "I'm not sure if he's even aware of this."
"I've been played like a puppet." I breathed out. A dull ache tugged at my heart. My bitterness and spite climbed their way back into my heart.
I thought I had some power over my existence, but turns out I don't. Taehyung had been modeled and designed completely deliberately as a way to hurt me and make me vulnerable. Me, Lucifer's daughter, the devil's spawn... hurt.
I blinked away the tears that had pooled in the corners of my eyes.
It had been centuries... no, millennia since I had cried for the last time.
author's note:
Poor Faye is upset. Do you guys think Tae knows more than he lets on?