Hoseok probably should have been wary with his choice of company, since he was in Hell and all. But, for some inexplicable reason, Hoseok found himself almost calmed by Yoongi. Maybe it was just the post-breakdown syndrome talking. Hoseok wasn't in any hurry to find out; to be left wandering the depths of Hell all alone again.
They walked about and talked about nothing in particular—passing comments on a city structure here, burning inquiries about Hell lore there.
It was so...normal. So tame and tranquil. The complete opposite of what Hoseok imagined a tour of Hell to be. If he had been doing it by himself without a mild local to point out the dos and don'ts of Hell life, he probably would have found his soul in the pits of a demon's stomach. So, he was glad to have Yoongi around to keep him sane from the stares of the wandering souls.
Speaking of...
"Why do they keep staring at me?" Hoseok asked, interrupting Yoongi's run-down of the history behind the statue of Lucifer they stood in front of. "The...shadows, I mean," Hoseok elaborated when Yoongi turned toward him with a blank stare.
Hoseok watched as Yoongi gave a broad sweep of their surroundings. "They're curious," he said plainly as he met Hoseok's gaze. He shrugged when Hoseok returned his explanation with a frown. "The last live soul to come down here was some seven thousand years ago," he continued. "None of them were here for that visit, so now they're crazing over yours."
Hoseok hummed. "I'm guessing you were around back then? Since you're not acting like them." Hoseok ended his statement with a jerk of his thumb toward a cluster of souls that moaned and groaned at Hoseok's every move.
"Yeah, you could say that," Yoongi said. "It's been a while, so my memory's fuzzy." He rubbed the back of his neck and sent his gaze skyward as he pondered in thought. "I think it was...a kid. A boy. Younger than you," he continued after a beat. "He didn't wander down here by accident. He was looking for something—no, no, it was definitely someone."
Yoongi halted and stayed silent for a long moment. Hoseok thought he had lost his train of thought and was ready to remind him when Yoongi suddenly shook his head. "Nah, it's no good," he said with a sigh. "I can't remember what that little squirt was after."
"Your age is really starting to show," Hoseok said with a laugh.
Yoongi waved him off with a flippant hand. "Please. I doubt that half of the demons that were there would remember even that much."
"Now that I think about it, demons are immortal, right? Isn't overpopulation a problem down here?" Hoseok asked.
"That's why we have annual lynching sprees."
"Please tell me that's a joke."
Yoongi motioned his hand to a far-off slab of concrete with indistinguishable inscribing. "Gaze upon our history and marvel at our cruelty."
Hoseok held his hands up in hasty refusal. "I'll pass." His eyes flitted over to the slab before settling on Yoongi's bemused ones. "What are the requirements for getting lynched, then?"
Yoongi held up his index finger. "There's only one requirement for that, actually: not consuming a single soul for an entire year." He threw his hands up in nonchalant admittance. "Hence why a bunch of slacker newbies never make it past their first year down here."
"What happens to the demons killed? Since this is the afterlife, where else do they have to go?"
"Purgatory."
"Wouldn't that just want to make even more demons slack off?"
"Oh, no, you misunderstand. Since they've already been sentenced to Hell, there's no way Heaven's letting them in. So, they're stuck there. For all of eternity."
Hoseok sucked in a sharp breath of pity through his teeth. "Yikes. And you don't tell the new demons that?"
Yoongi chuckled. "They don't have the mental capacity for that in their first year. All we do with them is sic them on uncontracted sinners and let them fulfill their annual quota—if they're willing to do it."
Hoseok grimaced at the information before fixing Yoongi with a wary stare. "So, do you do the bare minimum, or are you aiming for employee of the year?"
"Bare minimum," Yoongi said hastily. "If I went above that, I'd probably be exhausted before the year was up."
Hoseok thought back to how much Jungkook was doing with their contract and felt a dawning sense of sympathy.
"Anyways," Yoongi continued. "Let's end the discussion here and get out of the cold."
Hoseok followed after Yoongi as he set a brisk pace opposite of where they had come from. "Yeah, I don't get why Hell's cold. Because, I mean, it's closer to the earth's core, right? Wouldn't it be, like, really fucking hot?" As he said this, he rubbed his palms across his goosepimpled arms.
Yoongi hummed and threw a wry grin over his shoulder. "There are two reasons. One: we demons have hellfire running through our bodies. So, hellfire plus concentrated heat surrounding us at all times would melt our fully developed forms. Two: Lucifer didn't want unwanted visitors to overextend their stay." He pointed an accusatory finger at Hoseok. "Meaning, you're on a time limit."
Hoseok matched Yoongi's steps with his own and walked shoulder-by-shoulder with the demon. He sent Yoongi a frown. "How long do I have?" he asked cautiously.
"One to two weeks, give or take."
Hoseok released a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank fuck. I'll be out of here by then."
Yoongi's gaze was steadfast to the road ahead of him, but Hoseok could still see the pity in his eyes. "We'll see."
--
Their destination ended up being Yoongi's apartment. Hoseok was a bit reluctant to enter a demon's home. He was afraid of encountering a gore-y or horrific scene that was hidden from public viewing.
But, much to Hoseok's relief, Yoongi's home looked about as modern as his own apartment. Granted, they had only encountered the front entryway so far, Hoseok was sure that the general vibe of Yoongi would stick to his own home.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Yoongi said with a broad sweep of his hands across the apartment's entryway. "I don't think I've gone grocery shopping this week yet, so you'll have to make do with a cookie or something."
Hoseok snorted as he slipped on the pair of slippers Yoongi brought out for him. "It's better than what I have," he said as he followed Yoongi further into his home. "I'm pretty sure Jungkook ate everything in the fridge yesterday."
Yoongi suddenly halted, causing Hoseok to stumble into his back. Hoseok muttered an apology and backed away, giving Yoongi a concerned look from behind. "What's up?" he asked.
Yoongi whirled around and met Hoseok's startled eyes with a stern stare. "Are you telling me," he began, "that Jungkook is the demon you made a contract with?"
Hoseok smiled wryly. "I'm guessing you guys are acquaintances?"
Yoongi dragged a palm down his face as he released an exasperated sigh. "We're coworkers," he said after a long moment.
Hoseok paused and snapped his fingers as an early memory resurged from the depths of his mind. "Oh! He's mentioned you...once. Or twice."
"Did he tell you I'm the reason he's got this shitty job?" Yoongi asked as he glanced at Hoseok through the slight gaps of his fingers.
Hoseok averted his gaze with a guilty flush sweating above his brow. "Perhaps." He pursed his lips and drew his eyes back to meet Yoongi's, which were tightly closed with what looked to be regret. "He said you never told him what the deal he made with you was," he said slowly, carefully. "Why did you never tell him? I'm sure he would appreciate your honesty more than you keeping hush-hush."
Yoongi dropped his hand and opened his eyes. His gaze strayed to the ceiling above them. "He wanted acknowledgment," he finally uttered.
Hoseok blinked, startled by the unexpected answer. He never really thought about what Jungkook had wanted so badly that he'd put his life on the line to earn it. He figured it would be something materialistic since he seemed dumb enough and was definitely young enough to think that was worth everything in the world.
But acknowledgment? That cut deep. That put some layer to Jungkook's humanity.
Acknowledgment at, what, fifteen years old?
"What kind of life..." Hoseok muttered aloud.
Yoongi sighed in agreement. "He wanted to be acknowledged by someone he respected," he said. "He wanted to prove his worth to that person and, I dunno, earn their affections or something."
Hoseok barked out a startled laugh, heart stuttering for a moment. "Jungkook was in love? At fifteen?"
"Madly in love," Yoongi corrected with an ironic smile. "I don't know if you've noticed, but the kid put his life on the line to get this person's attention."
Hoseok brought a hand up to cover his disbelieving smile. Because, honestly, what the fuck? Jungkook, some twenty-three-year-old man-child, had, at one point in time, been so profoundly enamored by another person he made a fucking deal with a demon what the fuck—
The door slammed open, and Hoseok and Yoongi whirled around toward it.
"Yoongi-hyung!" Jungkook called, audibly and visibly distressed with a limp Taehyung in his arms. "I need help!"
A/N - more drama!!!!