Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Seungmin:

https://pin.it/3kosaeNc0

Bang Chan: 

https://pin.it/5OsVRh925

Han Jisung: 

https://pin.it/6EhKuwiX5

Lee Minho: 

https://pin.it/FAE9PKOzm

Lee Felix: 

https://pin.it/3GMsKLww0

Seo Changbin: 

https://pin.it/53dEMyLiX

Hwang Hyunjin: 

https://pin.it/44Hfue4F1

Yang Jeongin: 

https://pin.it/2pAurhCyK

Chapter Text

Bleary eyes peeked open the minute consciousness swam to the surface. He squinted, expecting light but found himself shaded. So he was indoors. Noted. He didn't recognise the place though, and that sent his heart into a frenzy, rabbiting in his chest. Where the hell was he?

He looked around and found people in cloaks surrounding him as he lay on what seem like a table, strapped. Great. Was he going to be sacrificed? Hopefully not. He hadn't finished his english assignment yet and he was pretty sure that no matter if he landed in hell or heaven, which he hoped was the latter, his teacher would find some way to come there to ask and retrieve his homework. That was not a conversation he wanted to have if he ended up in either place. He squirmed against his restraints, peeking towards the floor and noticed what looked like a chalk outline of a pentagram.

Of all the people he could've gotten kidnapped by, cultists? Really? The stinging sensations all over his hands and fingers told him that they've been at this for a while already, as he could feel blood slowly trickling down from at least seven different places on his hand and softly splattering on the dusty floor. They could've at least bandaged him up after. Assholes.

After what seemed to be another failed attempt at their ritual of summoning a demon or something, the cultists were frustrated. They silently cursed, glaring at him as if he was the problem, which was rude, before they reluctantly set him free, claiming they had set the wrong sacrifice. If he had memorized the location after he exited and called the local authorities to the place, well, they deserved it. He came into his empty apartment, completely drained, and passed out on the bed, unaware of the eyes that followed him into the building.

-------------------------------------------

A yawn escaped his mouth as exhaustion continued to flood his being. Why was he so tired? Was it due to the kidnapping scenario yesterday? Did whatever they used to knock him out cold still affecting him? He rolled over to his left, opening his eyes to find another pair staring unblinkingly at him. He took a second to process the fact that there was a stranger in his bed before he yelped, scrambling off the bed, blanket draped around him.

The male in his bed had grey hair and wide eyes. The way he slowly blinked and laid there reminded him of a cat. He had soft features but a sharper face structure and his lips looked almost drained of colour, which was mildly concerning. "Mornin" He drawled out in a lazy tone, unphased at the other man's fear and simply observed him from a distance, not bothering to get off the bed. "Nice to meet ya."

The male stared wildly at him, judging him. He snatched his phone from the side table and immediately turned it on, punching in the number of the local authorities and slamming the phone by his ear as he glanced at the grey-haired male just lazily lying on his bed and yawning like a cat. He blinked at him and said, "Don't bother, they can't do shit." The male glared at him.

The cat-like male gazed at him, his irises changing from brown to sliver for a split second, his eyes glittering in the light, before returning to their original brown shade. The male blinked in confusion and horror, phone slipping from his hand and crashing onto the floor. His hand shook as he squished himself further into the wall. "How..?"

The male on his bed gazed at him, bored. "I'm sure you remember your little cultist run-in yesterday, don't you?" The male's memory flashed the events of yesterday and he deadpanned. "Don't tell me you're a demon or something?"

He grinned. His smile softened his appearance even further and his smile was rather cute. But he wasn't admitting that to some demon stranger that broke into his home and laid on his bed. Stranger being the key word. "Please tell me you're the only one." He grinned even further. He looked like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland with that grin. The colour drained from his face when the implication of that grin settled in. "You have got to be kidding me. How many of your idiots do you have in here?" The male curled up on the bed, grabbing his blanket and burying himself in it. "Seven including me." He answered, his soft voice trailing off as soft snores soon filled the room.

The man stared disbelievingly at him. First, he had to get kidnapped by a bunch of rude cultists which, apparently, their summoning worked because a fucking demon was summoned to his bedroom. The demon now was sleeping on his bed, using his pillow, using his blanket and bringing whatever weird bacteria that exists in hell to his bed and worst of all, there was more than one of this idiot.

"I'm moving out."

Chapter Text

As much as he would love to move out, that is but a distant dream as alas, he is but a broke university student living off convenience store kimbab and eggs. (He loves his eggs, okay?) He stepped out of his room, traumatised that his bed had now been taken over by some weird cat demon.

In a perfect world, he wouldn't have to deal with another demon encounter until much later. In a perfect world, he would have claimed back his bedroom. In a perfect world, there wouldn't be a purple haired stranger staring at him with his cheeks shoved full of his food and his arms holding a whole bunch of his snacks, both of which is paid for with his money, with the fridge wide open and the cabinets all opened. If you're going to raid someone's fridge, at least have the decency to close the all the cabinet doors. And the fridge's door.

He blankly stared at the male as he stared back. Apart from the purple hair, his stature was quite short. He looked like a dwarf. Or a gnome. Despite the somewhat cute deer-in-headlights gaze he was presented with, his arms were exposed and with those biceps, it was clear he shouldn't be underestimated. He could probably lift his entire fridge and still think it was light. His eyes were black with a light tinge of indigo.

"Want one?" He asks, offering a cookie from a packet which was already ripped open, though not by him. He stared at it, unimpressed. What was this demon thinking offering his food to him which he stole from him? Clearly he wasn't if he did. "Get out. Whatever weird friends you have loitering around here can get out as well. I'm not open to strangers in my home, let alone ones that break in here and eat my food."

The purple haired stranger looked at him and, god forbid, pouted like a five year old. "It was your blood that summoned us, it's not our fault." He stared at this demon pouting in front of his fridge in disbelief. Considering that the weird cat demon in his bed brought up the infamous cultist incident, it was clear these demons knew what brought them here and yet, they still decide to raid his home anyway. "I'm not housing seven hellspawn. Leave." Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, two arms flung around his neck as someone's chin dug into his shoulder blade. He tugged the arms away and stepped forward, turning around and coming face to face with brown, shimmering eyes and a sultry smile.

The male who stood there had short, black hair. He had pale skin and pink-orange lips but that was probably the make-up he seemed to be wearing. The faint glittery pink eyeshadow gave that away. He was wearing a cropped, white sleeveless jacket (which was fortunately closed, thank fuck) but did not seem to be wearing anything underneath, making part of the man's skin visible (he spoke too soon). He very honestly looked like every man and woman's fantasy. The perfect blend of masculine and feminine.

"Oh come on baby, we really can't leave. We're bound to you unless you die. It was your blood used to summon us and it was a pentagram of contract. We don't make the rules so won't you be a doll and let us crash here?"

Wow, listening to his voice alone, there's no doubt he's from hell. Then he took in his words. He was really stuck here with seven demons and he had no choice but to accept it? He had to let seven idiots roam around his place, sleep on his bed and eat his food while he had to suffer? He has to come back to seven of them probably causing a ruckus and burning his place down? Yeah no. He would rather drown.

"Do I have a choice in the matter?"

"Nope."

"Fuck me."

"I'd be more than happy to baby."

"Take one step near me and it'll be the end of your life. I don't care that you're a demon."

Chapter Text

The male trudged out of the classroom. Today's lesson was rather mundane but he still listened attentively and took notes. The last thing he wants is for his grades to drop. Usually, he would be glad that lesson is over and he could go back to the comfort of his own home but for obvious reasons, he would rather pass out in the middle of the road.

"Hey Seungmin-whoa. You look like shit. Did you even sleep?"

He blinked and turned his head to his friend, who was now walking beside him, eyeing him in concern. Lee Daehwi. His best friend since high school. He scoffed. "Don't even ask." Daehwi frowned and nodded his head sympathetically. He reached out and held his hand in comfort as he spoke. "I worry about you, Minnie. I know how much of a perfectionist you are but you shouldn't sacrifice your sleep just for a "good A" or extra credits. You're already one of the top students in the school as it is. Take a break."

Seungmin pursed his lips as guilt washes over him. The last thing he wants is to worry someone who's so close to him, even if that wasn't the reason. He doesn't like people worrying in general but he feels the guilt a lot more when it's someone close. He gently takes his hand away. "I'm fine Daehwi, I promise. Just a rough night, that's all." Daehwi looked at him, unconvinced, but chose to stay silent. He liked that about him.

As they went their seperate ways, Seungmin took in a large gulp of air before reluctantly twisting the doorknob to his apartment. His hopes of not meeting a single demonic entity vanished instantaneously the minute his eyes landed on the guest leaning on the back of the sofa, facing his direction with his arms folded over his chest.

This demon had his hair colour split in two. The left was red and the right was green. His eyes were dark and his gaze was deep. Like the Mariana's Trench. He, similarly to the demon who stole his food, packed serious muscle. He looked like he had enough raw strength alone to crash someone through the wall. The difference was the way he held himself compared to the others. Even he could easily tell. He was probably the leader of the group of demons stuck to him. "I just got back, what now?"

The demon looked at him with mirth in his eyes, amused at his suffering. "Don't you think you'd at least want to know who we are at this point?"

No, no he did not. The last thing he wanted was to know a bunch of demons who are stuck with him for the rest of his life. It seems that unfortunately though, this one had the ability to read his mind. Or his current facial expression. "Listen here man, I know this ain't ideal but we're just as unwilling as you are right now. We'll get to know each other and we won't kill you, got it? It can be as easy as that to end this contract, you're lucky one of us hasn't done so yet and I'm sure you wouldn't want this to be the end of your life, correct?"

Yep, this guy was definitely the leader of the group. The perfect amount of brain cells and brute force. He didn't want this to be the end of his life, he had a test coming up and he was pretty sure that his teacher would find him in the afterlife just to make sure he took it. "Fine. I'll be civil for now. Go on." The demon smiled, his dimples showing. It softened his appearance and he actually looked quite charming. Yeah, he's going to take that to the grave.

"I'll put this simply. We're what you call the seven deadly sins. That cult was very much trying to summon us but as Lust said, it was your blood used and thus, we're contracted to you. At least until you die. There's quite a bit of specifics so you might wanna sit down."

Of course they were. As unwilling as this was, he couldn't deny the curiosity about the specifics. So he followed the demon to the sofa as they both sat down. "So, what are these specifics?" The demon smiled again and, no, it was not charming. The demon the continued.

"Usually, only one of us would be summoned based on the desire of whose blood is drawn but obviously, as an unwilling participant, and the fact blood was drawn seven times, all of us were summoned instead due to the number of times your blood was used and your desire being unclear. Since it was a contract pentagram used, we are unfortunately bound to you whether you like it or not. High chance those cultists were using you as a test run. Either way, if you leave us alone, we'll leave you alone. We're a more... Controlled group. As long as you don't give us a reason to kill you, we won't. Of course I can't speak for everyone but do so and I'll control the rest of the boys, okay?"

Seungmin nodded his head in understanding. He had the feeling that this demon wasn't telling him everything but he also had a feeling that if he pried too much, he might regret it. So he had to tread carefully. "So you're all the seven deadly sins... Are you Pride by any chance?"

In all honesty, he had guessed. He knows that Pride is the most dangerous and powerful of the sins. It seemed fitting that the leader figure of the group would be that. But the thing that gave it most away was the way he kind of almost spoke for everyone. Telling him that he would 'control the boys'. He seem to value having control a lot and even when he wasn't there, he seemed aware of every action taken. He wasn't there when Lust mentioned that fact, yet he knew. That kind of behaviour seemed to suit the sin of Pride. Controlling everyone in a space above.

The demon's smile turned a bit more mysterious. Almost wicked. "You're a smart boy, aren't you?" He was quickly reminded by that almost sinister grin that this seemingly nice male was still very much a demon. The sin of Pride. The most powerful of them all. He thought back to the rest of the demons he met. Truthfully, it was all quite obvious. The cat-like male who was on his bed was most likely Sloth. The demon who raided his fridge and cabinets was probably Gluttony and Pride already mentioned Lust so he knew that was the black-haired male.

"Where are the others?"

"You'll meet them soon enough."

Okay, still mysterious. Just not as sinister.

Chapter Text

He was exhausted. School, as usual, was hectic. The test was a disaster and he knew he didn't do well. The disappointed face of his teacher said so. Sung Ho is still bugging him whether it be on doing his homework or yelling uncreative insults at him. Overall, it was a really shitty day an he'd rather just snuggle into his blanket and forget the world than deal with annoying demons in his household.

Alas, again, he was not at all lucky as when he came home, all seven demons were present. Pride was lounging on the sofa, Gluttony was eating his food again and getting crumbs all over the sofa (disgusting), Sloth was curled up on the literal floor sleeping, like a cat, Lust was looking him up and down, two of the unfamiliar demons were seemingly wrestling and the other one was seemingly watching but now was looking at him. As a matter of fact, all of them were. And he was not happy. At all.

Things were all over the place, furniture was broken (probably from the wrestling) and the furniture that was not broken had crumbs all over it (the sofa). It was disgusting. How was he going to afford all the broken furniture? Demons. What did he expect honestly?

"Hey-"

"Don't even start. Get out."

Pride looked at him in surprise.

"What are you idiots, five? Do you know how to clean up after yourselves? Do you know how much all this costs? If you're going to encroach in my space, eat my food, sleep on my furniture and use my things, I expect you all to, at the very least, treat it with respect and not treat it like it's yours. If you're not going to, get the fuck out. Be bound to me for all I care but find your own place. Don't step foot in here if you're going to treat this like your damn playground. I'm going to shower. I don't want to see any of you when I come back. Get lost. Find some place else."

Silence encompassed the room and he was on his way to the shower before one of the unfamiliar demons spoke up. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Seungmin faced the demon and was met with an annoyed expression. The demon had orange hair and a rather soft appearance. He had full cheeks and pouty lips. His eyes were narrowed, although it was obviously due to the annoyance. His voice was somewhat deep, although not as deep as Gluttony's and nowhere near Lust's. He did not look intimidating in the least and frankly, looked more like a squirrel throwing a temper tantrum. But he wasn't going to tell him that. His voice soon broke Seungmin out of his observation of him.

"I could literally kill you in a millisecond if I wanted to and I will if you don't watch your fucking mouth, got it? You're lucky you aren't dead right now."

Seungmin stared back at him, unamused. "If you get blood on floor, I will literally come back from the dead and kill you instead."

The orange haired boy scoffed, looking two seconds away from actually killing him before a voice spoke up. "Wrath. Don't." Seungmin blinked and turned to Pride, who looked at Wrath, unamused. Wrath looked pissed but in the end, listened. Pride turned back to him and grinned. "I quite like this kid, he's got bite. I like em feisty." His then gaze slightly softened and he said something that slightly surprised Seungmin.

"I did promise that we wouldn't bother him so this mess is on me. I didn't stick to my word. We'll clean this place up." He stood up and looked at the rest with an authoritive gaze. One that said that this clearly wasn't up for discussion.

Chapter Text

Seungmin's eyebrow twitched as he continued to work on his assignments. Wasn't it bad enough that they intruded in his home? They had to intrude in his room as well? He should be glad that there's only one of them here and not all seven but god it gets annoying. As the unfamiliar demon poked around his room, he felt his patience snap.

He slammed the pencil on his desk and swerved his chair around to pointedly glare at the offending creature. "What are you doing in here? Isn't it bad enough that I have to share my home with you idiots? What, you want to trash my room too?" Was he still pissed at the demons for wrecking his place? Indefinitely. The demon turned to look at him.

He looked mature. He had sharp facial features and narrow eyes. He looked like a fox. He was wearing a sleeveless top (why were all of them so ripped? This was unfair) and had black hair. Or half black anyway. The other half was white. The male looked at him in disdain and Seungmin was about to lose his mind because a bunch of demons (including him) wrecked his entire place and he's looking at him in disdain, before the male spoke.

"Why do you have so much stuff here? I don't even have half of it! This is unfair." Seungmin looked at him in disbelief. He didn't even own that many things. Apart from basic necessities, he mainly just owned books, a few electronics and his baseball equipment. He didn't even own that many clothes, what was there to be jealous of? His train of thought immediately halted. Jealous?

Ah. So this was Envy.

"I would imagine that everyday belongings are different here than wherever you spawned from. It's really not that many things."

Envy immediately started sulking, claiming that he barely owned anything compared to him and Seungmin couldn't help but raise his eyebrow at him. Why? Looking at the sheer amount of accessories this guy was wearing, (chains on his clothing, rings, earrings, necklace..) he could easily sell them all and gain probably hundreds for it. But he supposed that since this was the sin of Envy, he just couldn't help it.

His thoughts come to a halt again when he hears a soft, repeating sound. He looks at Envy to see him tossing his baseball up into the air and catching it. Envy looked at him and immediately clutched it tight. "Can I have it, please? I don't even know what it does." Seungmin almost had an aneurysm at that statement before realizing they were demons. Of course they don't know what baseball is. He glared at him. "No. That's mine. Get your own, Envy."

Envy looked at him curiously, almost as if he was studying him, before he grinned and casually said, "Jeongin. Call me Jeongin." Seungmin stared at him in confusion. Since when was his name Jeongin? Was he not also a demon? Envy (or Jeongin, he doesn't know anymore) looked at him in amusement and explained. "You humans all have different names right? We all have human names too. Depending on where we go, our names will differ. Since we're here, my name's Jeongin."

Seungmin looked at him in curiosity, processing the information. Did that mean that if they were summoned in, let's say, Russia, they would have Russian names? That's interesting. And honestly very smart. Then, a thought popped up into his mind. "Do you have first names too? I'm assuming yes." Envy looked at him before humming in response. "Right, you humans love those too don't you? Yeah, we do. My full name is Yang Jeongin."

Seungmin nodded along to the information, curiosity overcoming his anger. What were all they're Korean names, he wondered. He feels like he would get a more direct answer from demons like Sloth and Gluttony. Lust, thinking back to him, would probably ask some weird favour in exchange for information. Then he thought to Pride. He felt like Pride could go either way. Either he would just straight up tell him or he would make things difficult on purpose. He had a feeling Wrath would kill him and he didn't really know Greed. Hm. He suppose that it wouldn't hurt to try. He could try and needle them for more information in any case.

He sighed before threatening to break Envy's hands with his baseball bat if he didn't leave his room. Envy luckily took the threat seriously and ran out of his room (he did not take it seriously judging by the laughter erupting from him as he exited his room and even beyond that.) Seungmin sighed again before returning to his assignments and trying to ease the temptation of burning it in flames.

Chapter Text

Seungmin sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time before he turned to the orange-haired male beside him. "Don't you have anything better to do?" Wrath scowled him. He did not look terrifying in the least. If anything, he looked like an upset squirrel. His doe eyes and puffed out cheeks were not doing him any favours. Wrath huffed. "None of your business, human. I'll be wherever I want to be so shut up and keep walking."

Seungmin levelled his glare with an unimpressed stare of his own. Why was he being bossed around when he wasn't even the one intruding? He wasn't stupid, Wrath clearly wanted to visit the school for whatever reason and obviously knew that Seungmin attended school so he decided to follow him as he did not know how to get there, let alone not look suspicious. Wrath was honestly lucky that his school was an open space and outside visitors were very common due to the places they have here. Seungmin rolled his eyes and kept walking as Wrath muttered about skewering his eyeballs if he were to roll them again. So naturally, he rolled them again.

All was as fine as it could be considering Wrath was threatening to set him on fire, until Sung Ho and his goons showed up. "Look what we have here boys, the nerd. Finished my homework yet or do I need to flush your head down the toilet and make you choke it up?" Seungmin wrinkled his nose in disgust. Jeong Sung Ho.

As stereotypical as it sounded, he was the typical idiot who pushed nerds around all day because he had nothing better to do than to make those around him miserable. Unfortunately, Seungmin very much fell into that category and being at the top of the school made him an even bigger target. Not that he had any intention of ever going through with finishing this idiot's work. He chucked whatever work Sung Ho gave him down the bin.

Seungmin simply cast a blank look at him and didn't bother entertaining him with an answer, simply choosing to walk by him. Sung Ho, in typical Sung Ho fashion, blocked his path. "I asked you a question, you idiot." Seungmin raised his eyebrow at him. "You can't even do your own work by yourself and I'm the idiot?" Sung Ho seethed, his teeth grinding in anger. He reached out and grabbed the collar of his uniform and pulling Seungmin towards him. "I'd watch that smart mouth of yours if I were you. Otherwise you'd wish you could open it again." Seungmin flexed his fingers before curling it into a fist and banged his fist against the base of Sung Ho's throat as hard as he could.

Sung Ho choked and loosened his grip. Seungmin quickly got out of Sung Ho's hold. Unfortunately, it seemed that now he had a problem as Sung Ho's goons had him surrounded. So much for perfect attendance, Seungmin thought, slightly cringing at the thought of his teacher's disappointed expression as he had never been late before. Whatever, he'd rather be late than absent. He'd drag his beaten down body to class if he had to, he couldn't afford to tarnish his perfect school record. Also, it seemed that Sung Ho had recovered from his assault. Joy. This was going to be wonderful. As a pissed off Sung Ho approached him, a voice interrupted the entire feud.

"The hell is your problem?"

Seungmin turned to Wrath, who was glaring at Sung Ho, pissed. Sung Ho sneered at him.

"Who the hell are you?"

"None of your damn business. Get lost dickhead, or else."

"Or else what?"

"I'll fucking kill you."

Sung Ho laughed and his goons snickered. While they took it as a joke, Seungmin knew better and glared at the orange-haired male. The last thing he needed was to be a witness to a crime scene. He would rather be late due to a bunch of idiots than be late cleaning up blood or ashes. Also, he didn't want to touch Sung Ho's blood, it was probably as disgusting as he was and he didn't want to taint his very clean hands with that. Wrath simply glared back at him before glaring at Sung Ho again, his laugh seemingly pissing him off more and more.

Oh great, now he had to prevent a literal hellspawn from committing murder.

He looked at Wrath again. "You stay out of this." Wrath looked at him, annoyed but Seungmin could see the slight surprise in his eyes. Sung Ho mimicked his words, not aware of the horrible of a mistake he was about to make. "Yeah, you stay out this. I mean, what will you even be able to do? Hell, this damn nerd would put up a better fight than your tiny ass." Seungmin could practically see the moment Wrath snapped and in an instant, Wrath went up to him, grabbed him by his collar and quite literally threw him into a tree. Well, at least he had enough self control to not kill him. A pity honestly.

Sung Ho's goons stared in fear and disbelief, their heads turning to look between their leader and the male who just threw him. Seungmin sighed and shot Wrath an unimpressed look. He found himself doing that a lot with these demons. "I told you to stay out of it. What if you killed him?" Wrath shot him a look. One that clearly said that he did not care. Seungmin rolled his eyes at Wrath and went up to Sung Ho who looked at him wildly in rage. He then got up, wincing at his injuries but trying to put on a brave face. It was quite impressive and admirable actually. Too bad he was such a piece of shit.

"Look, he's an idiot and doesn't know how to respond without violence. Kind of like you. If you leave me alone, I'll get him to not kill you, got it?"

Sung Ho sneered and spit at his feet (which was absolutely disgusting) but looking at the bit of blood that was mixed in, Sung Ho made the wise decision (for once) to actually leave him be and stormed off, his goons following him while glaring at them and muttering under their breaths. He had a feeling he'd pay the price once he went to school the next day but he'd deal with it when the time comes. Seungmin took out his phone and glanced at the time, wincing at the fact that he was nearly twenty minutes late. So much for perfect punctuality.

He then pocketed his phone and looked at Wrath, who seemed adamant on avoiding eye contact with him. "I thought you hated me?" Seungmin asked, side-eyeing Wrath before sauntering off to his class. Wrath closely followed Seungmin's trail, catching up with him. "I do." He simply responded and wow, is this the first time Wrath talked normally without cursing or sounding pissed? Truly astounding. A feat never before seen. "Then why'd you help me?" Seungmin asked. Wrath looked at him before turning away. He seemed very interested in the trees around them for some reason.

"I didn't help you necessarily. That dumbass called me tiny and I got pissed. Also what kind of dude still asks people to do his homework? I thought that shit was left behind in- what do you humans call it? Middle school? So, no. I wasn't helping you."

Seungmin raised his eyebrow at his explanation. He clearly pulled it right out of his ass. The redness on his cheeks and ears said so. What a guy. He hummed out a sarcastic 'sure' and continued on until he reached his classroom. "Well, you can't be in here so I don't know what you're going to do. Just- don't make my day harder than it needs to be, got it?"

Wrath glared at him and told him to get lost to his dumb classes before he burnt him. Wrath, what a wonderful guy. Before he entered, he turned to Wrath. "Thank you though." Wrath turned to him, surprise on his face. He looked like a startled squirrel. How on earth the sin of Wrath looked the least threatening of them all was beyond him. A blush rose to his cheeks again and he muttered some excuse about how he wasn't helping him in any way and that Sung Ho and his group of idiots were just annoying. Seungmin rolled his eyes at him which earned him another glare from Wrath. So naturally, he did so again.

Before Wrath could threaten him again, Seungmin decided to ask Wrath another question. "I heard from Envy, or Jeongin I guess, that you all have Korean names. What's yours?" Wrath stared at him for a few seconds before quietly answering.

"Jisung. My name is Han Jisung."

Chapter Text

Seungmin snatched his wallet away from the offender in his room before giving the demon an unimpressed glare. He did that a lot with demons, he found. Not that he was any better before they arrived but whatever. He pretty much knew all the demons so he knew that this unfamiliar demon was the only one he hadn't interacted with yet.

Greed.

For a demon, you think he would at least try and be a little more subtle but alas, it seemed like Pride was the only one carrying a full, functional brain. The rest all had air molecules collecting in their heads instead.

Greed had bright red hair that was somewhat long for a guy. He was tall (which was very apparent considering the fact that apart from him, everyone else was stupidly short. It was hilarious honestly) and had a very slender build. He looked like he would be a model for a high-end luxury brand. He looked at his clothes. He wore a black, sleeveless top and leather pants and a chain or two hanging from his belt. He had a few rings on his fingers too.

It was the kind of look that while what he was wearing wasn't casual, he made it look like he barely spent any time on it. If he was a model for a high-end luxury brand, it would probably be a clothing brand. He looked at the way he exuded calm confidence, elegance and charisma despite his somewhat simple attire. Like he was too expensive for everyone and he knew it so he didn't bother trying. Maybe Versace? He didn't know, he never really cared much for fashion. Also, why was he even thinking about this?

"I get your sin is greed and all but touch my wallet again and you're going to be seeing stars." Greed blinked at him before smirking (seriously, why were they all so attractive? He was going to die alone, wasn't he? With seven demons getting crumbs on his grave and stealing all his assets. Sloth would probably sleep on his grave) and looking at him with a half-lidded stare.

"You're going to make me see stars? As cute as that is, you can't see stars here."

As if to proof his point, he looked outside. It was indeed dark, you could see lights but those weren't from stars. They were from buildings. Greed then looked at him with the same half-lidded gaze again. "Unless you meant it another way."

Seungmin looked at him in utter disgust before dumping his wallet in his drawer, shutting it an locking it with a key. Not that he had any money for the demon to steal. Again, he was a broke university student. It was honestly a miracle he wasn't in crippling debt. But that was something Greed didn't need to know. He glanced at Greed's sultry stare (and briefly questioned if he wasn't Lust) before stating. "You barely see stars in the city due to light pollution but if you touch my wallet again, I will not only make you see them, I'll send you to them myself."

Greed looked at him, tilting his head to the left in question and muttering a bit about what light pollution is before processing the next bit of his dialogue and laughed. "I can go there myself if I wanted to, honey." Seungmin then deadpanned. "Then go there. I don't want to see you in my room." Greed immediately started groaning, asking why before he started asking if he could sell everything in his room, which Seungmin denied every time. Greed was soon holding his baseball, rolling and tossing it in his hand, simply fascinated by it.

"Can I sell this?"

Seungmin looked at the baseball and immediately snatched it back. "Absolutely not. You will do nothing of sort, got it?" Greed looked at him curiously. He looked at the baseball in a judgemental manner before commenting on it. "Why not? It's just... Round and dirty. Why do you even have such a thing? It's not gonna sell for much anyway."

Seungmin felt his patience snap. It's one thing having a demon invade your room when they've already invaded your home but it's another altogether when said demon insults your entire childhood. Your entire dream. A dream that he had given up long ago yet still didn't want to let go off because it still means so much to him. And here he was, calling it useless.

"It's here because it's something that matters to me. Or is something mattering to you such a foreign concept? Of course it is, you're Greed. You can't cherish one thing in your life without wanting to sell it right? You can't be happy with one thing unless you have more right? Get out of my sight."

Greed blinked at him with a stupedified expression on his face before his gaze darkened. He took a step forward, crowding Seungmin before speaking lowly. "You don't know shit about me so don't act like you do, got it?"

Seungmin stared at him in disbelief. At the absolute audacity of this demon. Now he was pissed. Not because he threatened him, oh no. He was pissed at this demon for the absolute hypocrisy that just came out of his mouth. Greed stepped back, only for a hand to meet the right side of his face. A loud sound echoed through the room and he looked at the human in front of him in mild shock, as if he couldn't process the fact that a measly human just slapped him.

"It's one thing if you insult me. I can't fault you for that as much, you don't know me. But it's another thing if you have the absolute nerve to insult me, only to be a complete hypocrite about it. I understand being pissed about a statement like that but you have no right to be pissed about it when you did the exact same thing first!"

Silence encompassed them before Seungmin spoke up again.

"Get out."

Greed didn't bother arguing with him and left his room, the object of their arguement left lying on the floor. He picked up the baseball and opened back up the drawer, carefully placing it inside before locking the drawer again. The same way he locked away his dream years ago.

Chapter Text

Greed walked out of the human's room and headed towards the living room, only to come face to face with a disappointed stare from Pride. Of course he knew what happened, he always does. It's why they all probably haven't killed each other yet. Especially Wrath. Him and Wrath were never on good terms. Price's voice broke him out of his reverie.

"What is wrong with you?"

Greed glared at him.

"I know it was out of line, fuck off."

Pride looked at him with his usual dark gaze, unphased. He never got angry, no matter what anyone says to him. Pride once said that people weren't worthy of his anger. Pride spoke again. "You knew it was out of line and yet you can't even apologize? That's pathetic of you Greed."

Greed glared at him but said nothing. In the end, he knew he was in the wrong. Seungmin had every right to be angry at him. He was hypocritical. A snap of a finger sounded and he looked up at where the sound was coming from. Pride. Who looked very unamused. "Can you not even do something so simple?"

Greed glared at him in shame. He really should apologize but he's never been good with those. "Why do you care so much? Since when did you give jack shit about apologizing?" Pride looked at him blankly before he stated. "I don't care about apologizing myself because I'm always in the right. But if you're in the wrong and you don't apologize, you're nothing more than a coward." Greed said nothing as Pride looked at him. They stood in silence (again) before Pride simply walked away.

Greed stood there, anger at himself boiling his bloodstream. Pride was right. He was a coward. He should've apologized to the human right then and there but he didn't. The last thing he ever wanted to be was one of those idiots who always think they're right and everyone else is wrong (no offense, Pride.) He needed to take accountability of his own actions, otherwise, he's really no better than those who used to own him. He clenched his fists and grimaced. That thought sickens him.

"Fucking hell, never thought I'd see this day. This is fucking hilarious." Greed immediately scowled and glared at the figure leaning in the wall, his arms crossed and grinning at his obvious misery.

Typical.

"Mind your own damn business, Wrath. This has nothing to do with you." Wrath laughed out loud. Striking. Piercing. Even his laughter always contained some weird sense of rage. Wrath asked what he did and Greed immediately went quiet. Wrath wasn't like Pride. He would only immediately know what was happening if it interested him. Rarely anything outside of Sloth interested him and Greed was the last thing he would ever take interest in. Greed cocked his head a bit. If he's asking, he must have gained some sort of interest in either the situation or the human. Either that or he was just being a bigger prick than usual. Wrath offered him a, surprisingly, genuine look and said.

"Look, I know you didn't mean it and I know you feel bad. Just apologise. As long as the human knows you're sincere, he'll forgive you. The longer you wait it out, the more pissed he's going to be at you. I talk from experience."

Greed stayed silent for a while before silently thanking Wrath for his advice. If he was willing to give him advice just to mend a relationship between a human, he must really like that human. He turned back and headed straight towards the human's room. He was about to just enter but stopped himself. Humans have this weird custom of knocking before entering, right? Humans all knocked a different amount of times though. He didn't know how many time he should knock. He settled of three and hoped for the best. The human opened the door, looking surprised before he looked at Greed warily. "What do you want, hypocrite?" Wow, he was salty. He suppose he couldn't blame the human, he would be too.

"I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me and I should've apologised earlier. I had no right to insult like that. Am I doing this right? If I'm being completely honest, I'm not sure how apologising works all that much."

Seungmin stared at him for about five seconds before bursting out into laughter. Wow, this was the first time he had seen the human laugh. Should he feel accomplished? The human then stopped and looked at him in utter amusement.

"Wow, you really suck at this but 'A+' for effort I guess. I'll forgive you but do that again and I will do more than just slap your face, got it?" Greed nodded. For a human, his slap stung like a bitch. But now, he was confused. "Effort doesn't start with 'A' though? And what in Hell is 'A+'?" The human spent the next five minutes laughing at him but at least he wasn't mad anymore.

Chapter Text

Seungmin sighed and Daehwi looked at him in concern. "Dude seriously, are you okay? You look like you haven't slept in weeks." Seungmin sighed again. Maybe he would be sleeping better if the demons weren't so insistent on being active 24 hours. Except for Sloth, he suppose.

Now if only he would stop sleeping on his bed.

Envy will whine about not having something longer than necessary, Greed and Wrath won't stop fighting, Gluttony raids his fridge and cabinets at every given opportunity as loudly as possible and Lust keeps insisting on being with him wherever he went (which Seungmin smacks him on the head for every time he asks with a no.) The only one that doesn't seem hellbent on annoying him is Pride and frankly, he was starting to get wary.

"It's fine, Daehwi. Nothing I'm not used to." Daehwi looks at him, even more concerned and when Seungmin yawns for the umpteenth time, Daehwi seem to come up with some sort of conclusion.

"I'm coming over to your place. You can't live like this, Minnie."

Seungmin almost chokes because no, that is a god awful idea. The last thing he needs is to explain to Daehwi why there are seven demonic entities crashing in his place. He has enough on his plate already as it is. "I promise I'll sleep properly. I didn't do well on my last test and it's been getting to me. I promise I'll take a break, okay?" Daehwi looked at him and for a moment, Seungmin thought he wasn't going to get through to him. Fortunately, it seemed that luck was on his side and Daehwi reluctantly agreed.

He was about to thank his lucky stars that he didn't have to explain himself when two arms wrapped around him from behind. He immediately got out of the person's grasp and turned around to see who it was, Daehwi looking in confusion as well. He looked at the familiar mop of black hair and immediately retracted all his previous statements.

He was not at all fortunate and the world was wishing on his demise. That was the only explanation.

The black haired male then spoke and Seungmin immediately had the urge to strangle him. "You're mean, babe. How could you just leave me by myself after I said I wanted to be with you wherever you go?"

Seungmin felt his eye twitch as Daehwi looked at Seungmin, a mix between shocked, betrayed and offended. "You had a boyfriend and you didn't tell me? Seung! How could you." He could see Lust look at Daehwi when he spoke, looked him up and down and smirked. Seungmin hit him on the back of his head with his textbook. Again. Lust immediately started pouting at the abuse, Daehwi now looked like a lost puppy between the two of them and Seungmin just rolled his eyes and Lust's dramatics.

What a joke.

When Lust immediately clung onto Seungmin's arm, Daehwi spoke up. "What's your name anyway, Seungmin's boyfriend?" Right. He should probably correct that. The last thing he needed was Daehwi thinking this hyperactive chicken of a demon was his boyfriend. "I'm not his boyfriend, I don't know him." Lust gasped at him, offended and immediately started pouting again (why do all these demons have the emotional maturity of five year olds?) and started prodding Seungmin's cheek with his tiny finger. Seungmin then jabbed Lust's side with his elbow, looking at the male unamused when he gasped and clutched his side. He quickly recovered and grinned at Daehwi.

"My name's Felix. But you can call me anything." He winked at him.

Seungmin looked at Lust (or as he now knows, Felix) with a disgusted glare, Daehwi stuttered a bit at the unsaid meaning and Felix's grin widened. He then turned to Daehwi and deadpanned. "He said call him anything so feel free to call him an idiot." Daehwi choked out a laugh and Felix immediately started whining at Seungmin to not bully him. Well, serves him right for ruining his day, Seungmin thinks as he continues the trek back to his apartment after waving bye to Daehwi. Felix soon catches up to him and surprisingly stays silent for a while. Seungmin enjoyed the silence for approximately eight seconds before Felix's baritone voice breaks through.

"Your friend's cute." Seungmin looks at him in the most judgemental way he could manage before speaking. "You stay far away from my friend. Hook up with anyone else for all I care but stay away from my friend." Felix pouts at him (again) before calling him boring. He stays silent for approximately two seconds before asking if family members were allowed. Seungmin nearly pushes him into oncoming traffic. The only thing that stopped him was knowing that Felix would easily survive and an unfortunate pedestrian might call the police on him for attempted murder. He paid good money for that apartment and he was not about to rent it out to a bunch of hellspawn for attempted murder. Of a hellspawn.

That would not make sense in any other context.

Chapter Text

Seungmin stopped in front of the glass door and sighed. Since it was a rare day of having nothing much to do, he decided to visit a restaurant Daehwi had recommended him some time ago which he never got around to doing. Gluttony had asked where he was going and the minute he muttered the word restaurant, Gluttony had immediately attached himself to Seungmin. Greed, unfortunately, heard about it and soon, all seven them had decided to tag along which lead him to this moment, standing outside the glass door, rethinking his life choices.

Fortunately, he was smart enough to reserve a table the minute they all said they wanted to go and they were lead to their table relatively quickly. The restaurant was quite popular so there were a good amount of people here. Seungmin saw the way customers and staff alike eyed up the demons, oggling them and since the demons knew nothing about the food humans ate, the demons were all very helpless and Seungmin had to explain what each dish was.

Which wasn't very helpful, since they didn't know the ingredients either.

When a waitress came up to them, she asked them for their order, twirling her pen and batting her eyelashes with a saccharine smile on her face, trying to seduce them. Seungmin ordered for them in the end and the waitress didn't even bother to hide her bitter disappointment when none of the demons answered her and it was him instead.

Talk about proffesionalism.

After some time of the demons prodding at the cutlery, table cloth, talking and Gluttony eating all the peanuts and chillis set in mini dishes on the table and suffering, the waitress came back with their food, leaning unnecessarily close to the demons to set them up on the table and taking her own sweet time doing so as well. Once she was done and the demons barely acknowledged her, except for Lust and Pride, who simply thanked her, she dejectedly left.

"This is so good!" Gluttony nearly yelled and Seungmin winced at the volume, turning and briefly bowing his head slightly in apology to the rest of the patrons who looked up to stare at them at the volume. "Keep it down, would you?" Gluttony tilted his head slightly in confusion but shrugged and immediately went back to his food. Felix squealed at the taste of the food in a volume Seungmin didn't even know he could make with that deep voice of his and Greed and Jeongin immediately started fighting over the food. He looked at Jisung and Sloth (he should really find out the rest of their names) and looked in mild surprise at the sight.

Jisung was feeding Minho whatever food he asked for, never complaining or glaring. If anything, he looked at him chewing his food with hearts in his eyes. As if Sloth hung the fucking stars. "It's good." Sloth commented and Jisung immediately stole ten more of the same thing to feed him.

So he was whipped for Sloth. Got it.

He looked to the right of him and looked at Pride, who's eyes were practically sparkling. As much as he would rather die than to admit it, this was nice. The right amount of chaotic. He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked to his right. Pride sat there, looking utterly amused, as he picked up a piece of chicken on his plate and pushed it towards Seungmin's mouth as he he spoke teasingly.

"Open wide~"

Seungmin gave him a disgruntled and unamused stare but Pride just giggled (which was actually adorable but that secret is coming to the grave with him) and wiggled his chopsticks in front of him. Seungmin was about to refuse when a thought hit him. This is Pride. He had enough common sense to know the type of person Seungmin is. He was expecting him to refuse. Seungmin blankly stared at the piece of chicken and thought a bit more.

Why not switch up the script a little?

Why not have a little fun?

So (admittedly a little embarrassed) he decided to lean forward and accept the food Pride was trying to feed him. Pride looked at him, surprised, and he looked back at Pride, amused, as chewed on the piece of chicken. Pride looked at him, looking pleseantly surprised, though his eyes were blank and focused. As if he was trying to analyse him or something. Seungmin put on the fakest feign of innocence to date and muttered "What?" as Pride continued to analyse him. Pride shook himself out of whatever reverie he found himself in and turned back to his food to continue eating. However, Seungmin noticed the way his eyes seem unfocused. Seungmin pondered for a bit and came to an obvious conclusion.

He noticed Pride's distinct need for control. Controlling everyone in a space above, knowing everything that happens wheather he's there or not. He has a mental script and Seungmin not following that has clearly thrown him off guard. Well, unfortunately for Pride, Seungmin doesn't plan to make it easy for Pride to make him go along with him.

He's going to learn what defeat means through the hands of a simple human.

Chapter Text

Seungmin sighed, wondering how his life had come to this. Apparently, he really can't go anywhere without a demon wanting to follow him. Not even a grocery store it seem. But considering he was going to a grocery store, he should have expected this honestly. "Ooh, what about these things? Can we get these?" Gluttony questioned for the umpteenth time.

Seungmin looked at Gluttony holding a box of Choco pies and immediately said "No" which, unfortunately, led to Gluttony pouting about it. Honestly, Seungmin wouldn't be that against getting Gluttony a few snacks. He could use a few and Gluttony can try some nice human snacks for the first time. The thing that begged to disagree however, was his bank account. A concept he envied from the demons who had no idea what that was.

Lucky, freeloading bastards. He should make them pay rent.

He then thought about it and decided against it. Greed would murder someone if they so much as asked him to pay five cents. He should really get to learning a few more of their names too. So far he only knows Jeongin, Jisung and Felix.

Well, since Gluttony is here, he might as well take advantage of this to learn more about the demons.

He looked at Gluttony eyeing the entire shelf filled with chocolates and immediately dragged him away from the shelf. "Well, since you're here, you might as well be useful. You can answer a few questions and help me shop. I'll maybe consider buying you some chocolates or chicken if you cooperate. Not both though."

Gluttony's eyes immediately lit up despite the fact he didn't even know what chocolate or chicken was and he obediently followed Seungmin, never straying from his path unlike what he was doing just two minutes ago.

"So, what's your Korean name?"

"Changbin."

"What is Hell like?"

"Really hot and kinda rocky."

"Were you all born demons?"

"Yep."

"Fascinating. Did you all commit a specific sin in your lives and that's how you became, well, the seven deadly sins?"

"Pretty much."

Seungmin raised his eyebrow at him. Wow, he was honest. He could appreciate that. Or maybe he would just answer anything as long as he got food. Either way, he was proving himself to be very helpful. And he was starting to sound more and more like a movie villain. He wanted to ask how he committed his sin but he knew what boundaries are, he wasn't going to cross them.

He made his way to the counter and paid for his groceries as Changbin rocked on his heels impatiently behind him. Once Seungmin was done, he made his way out of the store with Changbin hot on his heels, no doubt wondering when he would get his promised food. He was starting to get antsy already. Seungmin looked at him, unamused. "I still have two more questions, settle down."

Changbin grumbled a bit under his breath but immediately kept quiet when Seungmin gave him a pointed stare. Only when he was quiet did Seungmin finally speak again. "Since you're all demons, do you have any special powers or abilities? What can you do exactly?" Changbin shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded at his question, piquing Seungmin's interest. "We have our own special abilities and normal stuff every demon can do." Seungmin hummed in acknowledgment, his mind wandering briefly.

The demons all have their own unique abilities? If he had to assume, it would probably all be related to their sins. He wouldn't be surprised. Changbin then broke him out of his thoughts.

"All demons have certain abilities in common like being able to use hellfire, being resistant to the heat, using dark magic. That kinda stuff. But demons usually have abilities that are specific to them and no one else. We all do."

Seungmin raised his eyebrows. Honestly, he was not expecting Changbin just tell him that. He thought he was going to have to try harder to gain an answer but alas, it seem like he didn't have to. Changbin sure didn't have anything to hide. The truth came out when Changbin immediately started whining for the food in Seungmin's bags. Turns out he was right, Changbin would do anything for food. Seungmin couldn't complain though, Changbin gave him a lot of information.

Seungmin gave him a bar of chocolate and a plastic bag filled with popcorn chicken. Changbin grabbed them and immediately started shovelling the food into his mouth, muttering a small thanks somewhere. Seungmin didn't know as he was too busy being disgusted at the sight. He knew that he told Changbin he'd only buy one but Changbin gave him a lot of information and Seungmin wasn't cruel. He watched Changbin slightly squeal at the taste of the food, going on and on about how good it was and smiled slightly. It was endearing, watching Changbin fawn over food (and he will take this to the grave to be buried and burnt for the rest of eternity.)

They soon reached Seungmin's apartment and the minute he opened the door, many pairs of eyes looked at them. Felix immediately ran to them, wrapping himself around Seungmin like an octopus, asking if he got him anything, which earned him an unamused stare. He just giggled and started going on and on about how he didn't actually need to get him anything because him being here was enough, which earned him an immensely skeptical and judgemental stare from Seungmin again.

Seungmin was about to say something when he noticed Felix looking behind him. He carefully looked behind him and witnessed Changbin looking blankly at Felix before looking back at his food to continue eating. Seungmin picked up on the tensing of his muscles, the way his face scrunched slightly as if the food was bitter and the way his grip tightened slightly on the plastic he was holding.

Was Felix trying to make Changbin jealous by using him?

He looked back at Felix who nuzzled closer to him and saw the tired, saddened frustration in his eyes.

Ah, so this wasn't a new development.

Felix somehow nuzzled even closer and Seungmin sighed, slightly petting Felix's hair in comfort. That was, until he removed Felix entirely from him and shoved him towards Changbin. Felix, clearly not expecting it fell right into Changbin, who in surprise, dropped his chicken to steady Felix.

Wow, even in romance he was doing lord's work around here.

Felix immediately snuggled into Changbin while Changbin wrapped one arm around him and tried to reach for his chicken on the floor. A rather futile attempt but he tried anyway. Pride looked at Felix and Changbin and shook his head before turning to Seungmin and teasingly asked. "No human food for me? I'm hurt."

Seungmin looked at him before pulling out a small plastic bag filled with chicken. He grabbed Pride's hand and pulled it towards him, plopping the food in his hand and looking at him. Pride looked at the food in his hand blankly. To anyone else that is. Seungmin could see the mild confusion and frustration in his eyes and nearly laughed. Pride then looked at Seungmin before he looked back at the bag and plopped a piece of chicken in his mouth.

The confused frustration immediately melted away to pure, childlike wonder and joy, as he happily munched on the chicken. He threw another plastic bag at Jisung who immediately started yelling at him before Sloth asked what the strange food in the bag was and Jisung immediately fed him a piece. Sloth muttered that it was good and not a single complaint left Jisung's mouth again. He brought out two more bags and gave them to Greed and Jeongin. Jeongin immediately whined about how Greed's one looked better and Greed immediately told him to stick to his. Obviously Jeongin didn't listen and they started fighting. Again. They only stopped when Seungmin threatened to take away their chicken and never buy anything for them again.

What a bunch of children, he thought, a smile threatening to appear on his face.

Chapter Text

"Some people want it all, but I don't want nothing at all. If it ain't you baby. If I ain't got you baby..." Seungmin sang under his breath as he slot the key into the lock, turning it and opening the door to his apartment.

He expected to see the demons causing chaos. He expected to see the kitchen burnt down. He expected to see them fighting with each other as usual or raiding his cabinets and fridge despite there being close to nothing there (turns out being a broke student and having the literal sin of Gluttony in your home is not a good combination.) What he wasn't expecting however, was to come back to Jisung and Sloth making out on his couch (disgusting) with their hands roaming everywhere (even more disgusting.)

The sound of the door opening caught their attention and Jisung immediately jumped away from Sloth, his face looking no different from a tomato. Sloth on the other hand looked indifferent. Seungmin looked at them, unimpressed, and spoke. "I would greatly appreciate it if you don't defile my couch. Or my space in general. Find a hotel and do whatever there."

Jisung glared at him intensely although it was very hard to take him seriously. He already was hard to take seriously, looking like a temperamental squirrel majority of the time but this was next level. "It was nothing, don't worry about it." Sloth drawled out, sounding sleepy and silence encompassed the entire room.

Seungmin looked at Sloth skeptically and Sloth seemed very much unbothered. He was about to tell him that it is not nothing if he is making out with someone in his space when someone spoke up.

"Fuck you."

Seungmin turned to look to the left of the couch and Sloth opened his eyes to do the same and the sight they both saw was not a pleasant one. Jisung sat there, looking at Sloth in rage, sadness but most of all, heartbreak, his doe eyes now carrying unshed tears. Seungmin felt himself grimace at the sight and Sloth's indifferent expression immediately crumbled at the sight and yet, he didn't reach out to comfort him. Didn't say anything to mediate the situation. He kept silent while Jisung silently begged for him to say something that would tell him it wasn't true.

An uncomfortable silence encompassed them again and Jisung yelled at Sloth to go fuck himself, the first few tears slipping from his eyes before he got up and left the apartment, slamming the door and for once, Seungmin couldn't find it in himself to care. Seungmin looked at Sloth before going around the couch and sitting next to him. It was silent for a while before Seungmin spoke. It was a single word and yet, it held so much volume.

"Why?"

Sloth buried his head in his hands and screamed. A raw, unadulterated, painful scream. God, people are going to think someone was murdered here. Minutes of screaming passes and Sloth finally calms down enough to stop, his breathing heavy and throat raw. Many minutes of silence later, Sloth's voice, raspy from its previous use, finally broke the heavy silence.

"I'm scared, Seungmin. I'm terrified of this meaning something. I'm used to not meaning anything to anyone and now I have someone I, for some unknown reason, mean so much to and I don't know what to do. How to deal with it. I'm scared that the longer he's with me, the more that attraction will fade over time and I'll soon mean nothing to him. I care about him too much for me to mean nothing to him. I love him Seungmin and I don't know what to do and now I'm not going to have him anymore."

Seungmin listened on, not interrupting and letting Sloth just spill his guts out to him. He will admit that Sloth's reasoning does hit a bit close to home for him.

He's not used to meaning anything to a lot of people either.

Seungmin takes in a deep breath, taking it in and thinking it through before speaking.

"Sloth, Jisung isn't just attracted to you. He loves you. In the same pure way you love him. He looks at you like you hung the fucking stars in the sky. My advice to you is to apologize and be honest with him. Be sincere and be honest. The same way you told me all of this, tell him. You two can work through this together. Self-destructing your relationship because you don't know how to respond isn't fair to you or Jisung. You two deserve a happy ending, no?"

Sloth looks at him, his eyes sad, haunted and exhausted. Tired. He looked fucking tired. He sighed and hung his head low.

"What if he doesn't want me anymore?"

"Do you think your relationship with him is something worth fighting for?"

"Yes."

"Then fight for it."

Chapter Text

Sloth wandered in the strange place, looking around to see if it was secluded. It was dark, muddy and full of trees. He thinks he recalls the human calling it a forest once. He let out a breath, listening out to ensure no humans were nearby. Once the coast was clear, he raised his voice and spoke loudly into the clearing.

"Wrath, come out."

In a burst of flames, Wrath made his appearance in front of him. His orange hair was a mess and his eyes were still a bit glassy. He looked at Sloth and scowled, even though he looked more heartbroken than mad. That made Sloth's heart break but he knew he had to make things right. He had no right to feel heartbroken when he was the one who ruined what they had. As demons, they were never taught to apologize for their actions but that's all he could say facing him.

"I'm sorry, Wrath. It did mean something but I was too scared to say that it did and I hurt you so much. It meant so much to me that you cared about me. I didn't have anyone who did and I let my own insecurities get in the way of that and I hurt you. I love you Wrath, more than I realised and more than you think. I'll understand if you want nothing to do with me but I hope you can forgive me?"

Wrath looked at him with the same scowling expression and Sloth was fully prepared for rejection when Wrath sighed, his head falling towards the direction of the ground as he uncrossed his arms, now falling to the side as tears finally fell from his eyes.

"I know you care, Sloth. You wouldn't have come here to call me otherwise. I love you too and... I forgive you."

Sloth pulled him into a hug and buried his face into Wrath's bright orange hair, tears falling. Wrath place his head on his chest, looking towards the clearing on his left, feeling tears on his hair and closing his eyes.

The fire constantly burning inside of him felt different. He didn't feel so angry anymore.

Once they both calmed down, Wrath decided they should head back but Sloth said he was too tired which lead them to sitting on the ground backs against a tree in a comfortable silence. That was, until Sloth spoke up. "What do you think of Seungmin?"

Wrath faced him, confusion etched on his features as he tilted his head slightly. "Who the hell is Seungmin?" Sloth looked at him and saw the slight playfulness in his eyes and laughed softly before changing his position and placing his head on Wrath's lap as Wrath laced his fingers in Sloth's sliver locks, running his fingers through them. After a beat of silence, Wrath spoke again. "He's annoying. In a very Pride-like way."

Sloth hummed at the sensation in his hair and thought about it. Wrath was right, Seungmin and Pride were quite similar. However, there was one major difference between them and they both knew what it was. They were both thinking it. Sloth spoke up again. "He's very nice."

He picked up a dead leaf from the ground just to fidget with it as he spoke, with pure adoration spilling from his voice. "He was the one who gave me the courage to come and make things right with you immediately."

Wrath's fingers momentarily stopped in his hair and Sloth briefly wondered if he had upset Wrath again with that statement before his fingers started moving in his hair again and Sloth breathed out a small sigh of relief. Wrath then spoke and Sloth couldn't help but agree with him.

"The difference between the human and Pride is that the human is caring."

Chapter Text

Seungmin decides it's time he finally got answers. He's gotten a lot of information but now he needs to piece them together. He heads to his living room where the demons reside mostly (especially after he explains what a television is. They were immediately obsessed) and calls for Pride.

They all look at him curiously but Pride willingly follows him, looking like he already knew what he was going to ask. They head to his room and he shuts the door, sitting at the foot of his neatly made bed as Pride idly looks around his room, his eyes landing on his baseball in interest. Seungmin decides to get straight to the point.

"Changbin told me that you all have unique abilities and I want to know what those are."

Pride grins at him (and no, his dimpled smile was not at all adorable) and leans against the wall, his eyes glistening in mischief. So he was not going to make this easy. Why is he not surprised?

"Now, where's the fun in that? Wouldn't it be more exciting to find out or better yet, see it for yourself?"

Seungmin looked at him, completely unimpressed. Why was this particular demon more annoying than the rest? He looked at Pride and spoke. "You know I can just ask someone else right?" His grin becomes wider and Seungmin feel the impending urge to jump out the window. Why was Pride so difficult? Yet he could probably ask his Korean name and he would answer it in two seconds flat. Maybe it was the intensity of the question? If it's a lot more important, he becomes a lot more challenging? Makes it harder? It wouldn't be that far off, it's pretty valid if he were to say so himself.

Pride broke him out of his thoughts by speaking. "I bribed them. They won't tell you shit." Seungmin clicked his tongue. Of course he did, the demons were basically children. Offer Gluttony a huge supply of food, Sloth, a room with a comfy mattress, put Wrath in that room, offer Lust a hot male or female, offer Envy literally anything and offer Greed money.

Wow, Pride really went out of his way to make this difficult for him. What a smart but evil bastard.

Seungmin sighed. "Okay, what abilities do demons have in common?" Pride taps his foot rhythmically on the floor and straightens up, answering his question. "All demons have enhanced senses, strength, speed and control over hellfire and dark magic. Flight too. That's about it." Of course he would make learning that easy, this absolute bastard.

Seungmin figured as much, given Gluttony had told him so in their grocery store run but it was definitely more information. He also already figured they had enhanced strength when Wrath threw Sung Ho into the tree. Most of these he either knew or predicted. He looked at Pride's shit-eating grin and had the immediate urge to either slap or strangle him.

Pride already knew that he probably knew all of that or predicted most of them at least, he was being an absolute prick for no other reason apart from just being a prick. Seungmin rolled his eyes, sighing. He was not going to let Pride get the better of him. "That's fine, I don't need to know that really. It was just curiosity."

Pride raised his eyebrow at him, smirking, as if he knew it bothered Seungmin.

It really didn't though.

Seungmin didn't need to know these things, he was just curious. If he was going to live with seven hellspawn against his will and have them live in his space which he paid for, the least they could do was satisfy his curiosity. He really didn't need to know, he just wanted to.

Seconds ticked away as they stood there, in his room, in silence. Pride seem to notice that Seungmin actually didn't care if he knew or not and frowned, his index finger tapping repeatedly on his crossed forearm as he started to tap his feet on the floor. He was irritated that his hard work had gone to waste it seem. Good. Where would be the fun in letting Pride win in this game?

He needed to learn failure and he'll make sure he does so through his hands.

Seungmin smiled at him as innocently as he possibly could and left the room, Pride narrowing his eyes at his exit before leaving his room as well. Felix got off the couch and made his way towards Seungmin, latching onto his side like a koala.

He looked at him then Pride and playfully asked what they were doing in a room alone together, wiggling his eyebrows (which resulted in him getting whacked on the head by Seungmin. Again.) Pride laughed and winked at Lust, saying he can't say anything (which resulted in him getting whacked as well) and Seungmin sighed. "I just wanted to know more about what demons can do but he likes making things difficult."

Felix smiled at him cheekily, grinning wide. "Sorry babe, I would tell you but Pride's a sweetheart and offered me something I absolutely couldn't refuse in exchange so my lips are sealed." Seungmin looked at Felix blankly and gave Pride a very unimpressed stare. Pride smiled innocently at him and Seungmin rolled his eyes at him before turning back to Felix. "It's not something that I need to know anyway. It's just something I wanted to know so I don't really care all that much."

Felix looked at him in mild surprise before muttering an "I see" and snuggling back to him. Pride, on the other hand, looked annoyed. Seungmin was pretty sure that Pride thought he couldn't see him but he could and it was hilarious.

Pride often likes to keep up a friendly appearance, never really showing when he's annoyed or irritated of the sort so him not following Pride's mental script must be really bothering him. Seungmin noted to himself that if he continued like this, Pride will soon expect these kind of reactions from him so he should probably change it up soon.

He broke out of his thought when Felix started whining that he wasn't paying attention to him. Seungmin pried Felix off of him and sent him stumbling towards Changbin, who was aggressively chewing his food and staring at them. Well, he was until Felix stumbled into him and Changbin reached out to steady him, Felix snuggling into Changbin instead.

A thought then entered Seungmin's head and he nearly slapped himself on his forehead. How on earth did he forget this? He turned to Pride, who was already looking at him and asked. "What is your Korean name, by the way?" Pride blinked at him and smiled (it was not adorable, that thought can burn.)

"Bang Chan. Nice to meet you, Kim Seungmin."

Chapter Text

Seungmin stared very unamusedly at the uninvited guest in his room. Again.

Why do these demons have a habit of breaking into people's spaces?

He already has to deal with Greed, Jeongin and Sloth constantly breaking into his room. Felix does so from time to time but fortunately seems to understand boundaries much better than those three. He looks at the intruder in his room observing the space around him.

He expected more from Chan. He supposed that was his biggest mistake.

"What are those?" Chan asks, observing the baseball and the baseball bat lying next to his study desk. He didn't pick it up though, simply observed it from a distance. Seems like he learnt from Greed's mistake. Seungmin looked at him blankly before sighing.

Unfortunately, he knew the only way to get Chan to leave him alone was to explain it to him. Otherwise he'll be more bothersome than Felix and he didn't think that was possible. Well, not until about a week ago when he made the mistake of not confirming if Chan was right as to what a microwave was. "It's called baseball. It's a sport."

Chan continued to observe them in interest and Seungmin didn't elaborate. Chan was smart. Just by looking at the equipment, he probably already has a vague idea of how it worked looking at the bat and the ball. He was just waiting for Chan to break and ask him. A beat of silence past and Chan opened his mouth.

"Why is it so important to you?"

There it was.

He already knew Jeongin and Hyunjin was curious but refrained from asking after his altercation with Hyunjin. The others simply didn't care enough. How he wished all of them didn't. He sighed for the umpteenth time and looked at his baseball and baseball bat, longing tugging at his heart.

"It was my dream."

Chan looked at him in curiosity and something else he couldn't name. It wasn't happiness, that he was sure. It was bittersweet? A hint of sadness and understanding at the same time. Chan must have noticed he was staring as in almost a split second, his expression was back to being blank. He looked at Seungmin, his usual somewhat friendly demeanor back in place after seemingly letting it slip. "Was? Why give it up?"

Ah, that was the question, wasn't it? Seungmin glared at him and spoke, his words sharp. "Nothing you need to know." Chan hummed in response before turning his gaze away from him.

He gave the objects of their discussion a long look before a bitter chuckle escaped his lips. A bitterness so raw that Seungmin knew that bitterness was something that haunted Chan in his nightmares. He looked at Chan in surprise and morbid curiosity as Chan turned his head to face him, a smile on his face. His eyes had never looked so melancholic. So empty. He hated it. He almost wished for the prideful bastard back.

"Dreams are stupid."

Seungmin let out a weak chuckle.

He couldn't agree more.

Chapter Text

Seungmin's left eye twitched in annoyance as the noisy demon followed behind him. Why on earth Felix decided to invade his school again was beyond him. He would let it slide if he was at least quiet but unfortunately, he were very much the opposite of that.

Half the student body was staring at them but that was probably because Felix decide to seduce said half of the student body. Unfortunately, judging by the agape expressions and jaws on the floor, it was working. He would be grateful that Daehwi, as usual, tagged along with him, but unfortunately, he wasn't safe from Felix's immense flirting either (which Seungmin still whacked Felix's head for.)

"Don't you have anything else you can run off and do?" Felix pouted at the abuse inflicted on him, rubbing the back of his head (which was bullshit, Seungmin knew Felix was not at all phased by it) and grinned at him, wrapping his arms around Seungmin's neck and nuzzling him affectionately, like a cat.

"Don't be so mean, Minnie. You were hiding all these gorgeous girls and guys from me and it was cruel. You know, unless you want to replace them."

Felix winks at him and Seungmin pulls a face of absolute disgust, pushes him away and whacks him on the head with his book. Again. Felix immediately went and clung onto Daehwi's arm, lamenting about Seungmin's rude behaviour as if he wasn't right there. Daehwi looked at Felix in confusion, laughing nervously before awkwardly patting his back in comfort while Seungmin stared at Felix unamused.

"What about Changbin?"

Felix immediately froze, his mindless lamenting halting as he tightened his grip on Daehwi's arm. He looked at Seungmin, his eye contact wavering a tiny fraction before asking, voice lower than usual. "What about him?" Seungmin looked at Felix, unimpressed before crossing his arms and speaking, raising his eyebrow in the process.

"You like him, don't you?"

Felix's grip tightened even further and Daehwi winced a bit at the unexpected strength. Felix glared at Seungmin for a second before going back to his neutral expression. "What of it?" Seungmin's gaze didn't falter for a second as he kept straight eye contact with the demon.

Out of all the demons, Felix stood out as he was the only demon that made his affection obvious to everyone. He didn't hide the fact he liked the sin of Gluttony, it was pretty obvious if one simply looked and it was quite clear that Changbin reciprocated his feelings so what Seungmin didn't understand was why Felix was so... Defensive over it?

He thought back to the day he bought chicken for everyone. When he came in through the door with Changbin in tow, Felix immediately latched onto him but while he talked to Seungmin, flirtatious as ever, he was mainly watching for Changbin's reaction. He seemed upset when Changbin didn't react.

The pieces in his mind slowly came together like the pieces of a puzzle. Ah, that was the issue wasn't it? He looked at Felix who, unfortunately, didn't look as bright as he usually was. He took in Felix's, almost bitter, expression and sighed. "You can talk to me, you know?" Felix looked at him in surprise, his grip on Darhwi's arm loosening a fraction as he furrowed his eyebrows, as if he was contemplating if he should. He let out a small breath and released his grip on Daehwi's arm altgether.

"I just... Wished he'd do something."

Seungmin looked at him blankly while Daehwi looked at him in sympathy, reaching out and patting his back a few times. Seungmin curiously tilted his head at Felix but before he could say anything, Daehwi beat him to it. "Maybe you shouldn't depend on him to make the first move, you know?"

Saying that, unfortunately, seemed to have been the wrong move because Felix immediately turned his head to face Daehwi, pure frustration and anger painted on his face, tears building up in the corner of his eyes. Daehwi took a step back in shock and Seungmin immediately stepped forward and placed himself inbetween them.

"You think I haven't tried?! I've tried for 600 years and he's done nothing! Nothing! I'm starting to question if I had read it wrong because surely he would've done something in 600 years, no?"

Silence encompassed the area as Felix clenched his small fists and Daehwi looked at him in guilt. It wasn't his fault but that was how Daehwi has always been. Sensitive to others pain. As the silence stretched on, Felix let out a depressing laugh. One that contained no sense of humour or joy.

"Maybe it's my fault. Maybe it's because I've slept with so many people. He probably thinks I'm dirty. Filthy. Nothing more than a person to hook up with because that's all I'm good for."

He started laughing in a way that would've made him sound manic if it weren't for the tears that immediately start pouring from his eyes as he starts muttering about how Changbin could ever love someone like him. Seungmin flinches at the monologue, wracking his brain as to how he can make Felix feel better.

He's never been good at anything related to emotions, he could only speak from rationality. That would maybe work if this was Chan (can you imagine?) but this wasn't Chan. This was Felix. He gritted his teeth in frustration.

He felt so useless.

Footsteps broke him out of his thoughts and he looked ahead. Daehwi walked out from behind him and encompasses Felix in a warm hug which Felix immediately clings to. He waits there patiently with the black-haired male in his arms until Felix finally calms down. Only when he does, Daehwi finally speaks.

"I'm sure he doesn't feel that way. If he did, he wouldn't have led you on for 600 years, would he? If he did, that's very shitty and would you really want someone like that? He probably has his reasons, you shouldn't push him, that would unfair to him. If you really do want answers, talk to him. Ask him. You can't just assume things. Also, don't ever talk about yourself that way. I'm sure you're an amazing person. Seungmin wouldn't let you hang around him otherwise. You shouldn't be ashamed of yourself when you've done nothing wrong."

Seungmin stared blatantly as Felix sniffled and smiled at Daehwi, who smiled back at him and moved away. Seungmin felt distant all of a sudden. Why couldn't he do anything? Why didn't he try? Why did he freeze up the minute he started crying? Even a simple hug would've sufficed and yet, he didn't even move to try. He felt rather pathetic as he watched Daehwi wave to them and leaving. Felix, while his eyes were still red-rimmed, looked happier. He immediately clung back to Seungmin as Seungmin made his way to class. Felix looked at him curiously, tilting his head and opening his mouth.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"

"I feel... Better. You have a really good friend, Seung."

"Yeah, I know."

The problem was that Seungmin has never felt less fine than right now.

Chapter Text

Envy sighed as he lazed on the couch. Lust and Gluttony went off to do some food exploration, Wrath and Sloth were invading the human's room, snuggling together (which he was not going to be happy about) and Pride seems to have taken an interest in the human, deciding to go bother him, wherever he was.

He didn't know what the human did during the day. All he knew was that it was a big place packed with sleep-deprived people in rooms listening to something or another, according to Wrath. That left him and Greed together. Here. Alone. That would've been great if it weren't for the fact that he was harbouring a massive, galactic crush on him.

He first met Greed when Greed was attempting to steal something from a higher-ranked demon. He remembered envying his guts. His bravery. He still does, it's what stands out to him about Greed.

He sighed again and rotated his body to the left so now he was lying on his side, facing the television. What a great source of entertainment, this box was, he thought as he watched some animated animals chase each other. He once asked the human how those boxes worked. Safe to say, he ended up even more lost than he was in the first place. He never asked about anything again. He just knew it would be ridiculously complicated.

He broke out of his thoughts when he felt a sharp pain on his forehead. He looked at Greed kneeling in front of him, hand in front of his face, snickering to himself. He glared half-heartedly at the male and smacked his head, which immediately shut him up. They spent the next five minutes having a teenage girl's slap fight (he's watched too many movies, he should stop) before they decided to call a truce and end it. Greed turned around, sitting with his back leaning on the sofa as he glanced at the 2D printing on the television in amusement. Silence encompassed them for a bit before Envy broke it.

"What do you think of Seungmin?"

Greed hummed in thought, his arm resting on his propped up leg. He tapped his fingers together and Envy waited patiently (a lie), knowing he was just gathering his thoughts. Envy thought the human was funny. He thought that he was passionate. He thought that he was brave. Strong. Kind. He felt that, maybe, in another life, he would've fallen in love with him for those characteristics.

He truly did like the human. Who else takes living with seven demons as well as him? He looked at Greed and let his mind wander for a bit.

Greed was so beautiful.

There was almost nothing he could hate of him. He was gorgeous, he was brave, he could be kind, he was reckless, he was charismatic and he was a charmer.

Maybe that was one thing he hated about Greed. The fact that he loved him.

Greed's voice broke him out of his shameless admiration. "He's a good person. I mean, who else just accepts seven demons living in his place, yells at us to be hygienic, acquires human food for us, takes us places and lets us know whatever we want to know about the human realm? Even after the shit show I pulled, he still forgave me. You just, can't hate someone like that, you know?"

Envy nodded along to Greed's opinion on the human, his heart growing a bit more melancholic. Maybe that was why he always felt a certain amount of bitterness and envy towards Seungmin, especially watching the respect and fondness Greed had in his eyes when he talked about him, despite mostly liking him. The human was everything he wished he was.

Would Greed finally like him the same way he did if he was more like Seungmin?

Chapter Text

Seungmin scribbled his notes down, annotating what was necessary and summarizing what needed to be learnt on the examination coming up in a month's time, drastically trying to avoid the idiot sitting across him.

Why was Chan sitting across him, bothering him and flipping through his textbook? He wished he knew the answer to that question.

Chan's eyes scanned the pages, lingering on whatever annotations Seungmin had made on the pages. The way he fidgeted with the ends of the pages told Seungmin that he was bored. Probably because Seungmin wasn't entertaining him as he usually does. Seungmin sighs and puts his pen down, shooting the demon across him a very unimpressed look. "Chan, I have to study. I have an exam very soon and if I fail this because you kept bothering me, I will personally send you back to hell myself. So if you could entertain your boredom somewhere else, that would be great."

Seungmin picked his pen up again and went back to tackling his notes while Chan stared at him with an expression between confusion and something else he couldn't name. As Seungmin continued to scribble down notes and desperately wish for a few extra hours of sleep, Chan spoke up. "Do you have anything else you're supposed to do?"

Seungmin looked at him in pure confusion. Why on earth was Chan asking? He highly doubt he was trying to help Seungmin do his work, he wouldn't allow Chan to do so anyway. Was it because he was bored but still wanted to hang around and bother Seungmin? That's probably the case.

Before Seungmin could respond, a loud ringing blasted from his phone and he immediately took it to shut it off, putting it away and packing away his materials. Chan looked at him in curiosity and followed Seungmin when he slung his backpack over his shoulder and began walking. As Chan opened his mouth to ask something (probably what was the alarm and where was he heading), Sung Ho and his minions seem to have spotted them and came up to them, chins high as usual.

Seungmin internally groaned at the sight of them and rolled his eyes. Chan seem to have quickly figured out who they were and looked at them in curiosity and amusement. "If it isn't the nerd. Look, I have homework that needs to be done so unless you want the school floors mopped with your face, you better get to it."

He took out a stack of books and papers from his bag and tossed them at Seungmin, one of the books hitting his face and falling to the floor. Seungmin gave them a disgruntled glare, bending down to pick up the books and papers on the floor. Right when Sung Ho opened his mouth, Seungmin tossed the books and papers right back at him, hitting his face as well. He took the brief intermission it would take for Sung Ho to get his bearings to escape the situation, walking away with Chan laughing at them and heading the same direction.

Sung Ho immediately ran up to Seungmin, face red from rage. He grabbed Seungmin by the shoulder and pushed him, Seungmin crashing into the bin behind him and falling, the bin collapsing and scattering its rubbish all over the floor and unfortunately, him as well. Sung Ho took his water bottle from his bag and opened it, immediately throwing the water at Seungmin right when he got up and throwing the metal water bottle at him, the object hitting the side of his forehead. Seungmin cursed, rubbing his forehead. Sung Ho's minions immediately pushed him back into the trash and Sung Ho grabbed a banana peel that had spilled out along with the trash and threw it at Seungmin's face, his minions throwing other trash at him.

As he flexed his fingers, willing to tarnish his perfect school record and possibly go to jail for when he inevitable breaks half of Sung Ho's bones for pushing him into the bin and throwing trash at him (he's a clean freak, sue him), a hand grabbed Sung Ho by his hair, pulling his head so far back he could probably see what was behind him. Which, in Sung Ho's case, wasn't a good thing as he made eye contact with dark, obsidian eyes.

Chan tilted his head, seemingly studying Sung Ho as Sung Ho screamed at the top of his lungs in pain. His minions tried to pull Chan off with no success. Chan seemed uncharacteristically serious, his expression blank and his eyes cold. Seungmin looked at the exchange in slight surprise. He looked at the way Chan's fingers flexed slightly while gripping Sung Ho's hair and the way he moved his tongue to his cheek.

Oh. He was pissed.

"Huh? What happened to all that bravado all of a sudden? You were so cocky just a minute ago, what happened?" Chan grinned as he tightened his grip on Sung Ho's hair and Sung Ho screamed even louder, tears in the corner of his eyes as his minions stepped back, their expressions terrified.

He... He was taking pleasure out of seeing him in pain.

Chan threw Sung Ho onto the ground and looked down on him. As if he was nothing more than the dirt under his shoe. He crouched down so he was at eye level with Sung Ho and slapped him before grabbing the bottom of his face so his fingers were digging into his skin and examining him. He then grabbed Sung Ho's wrist, taking his fingers in his hand gently before taking hold of his pinky finger and breaking it, the snapping sound of bones breaking and Sung Ho's blood-curdling scream echoing off the trees.

A hand grabbed Chan's wrist and yanked it away. Chan's expression immediately turned to one of annoyance until he turned back and looked at Seungmin's disapproving face. Seungmin's grip tightened around Chan's wrist as he pulled Chan away from Sung Ho, immediately approaching Sung Ho. Sung Ho looked at Seungmin in rage, humiliation and fear, cursing at him as he approached. Seungmin crouched down to look at Sung Ho and spoke.

"I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve that. I should've stepped in earlier to stop him. I'll pay for your medical bills and whatever is needed to treat your finger."

Sung Ho looked at him in shock, anger and dread, his eyes flickering from Seungmin to Chan behind him in fear. Instead of answering, he scrambled to his feet and ran off, his minions following him. Seungmin watched them leave and once they were out of sight, Seungmin rose to his feet and turned to Chan, pure anger in his eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Chan looked at him in surprise before responding, looking slightly unnerved.

"He-"

"Sure, he pushed me into a bin but did that warrant you traumatizing him?!"

"But-"

"Don't even try to make excuses for yourself! You didn't have to break his fucking finger!"

"I was protecting you! I wasn't in the wrong here!"

"Are you seriously defending your actions right now? Even if you had good intentions, you went too far! Until you set things right and take accountability for your own actions, don't even think of coming near me, got it?"

Seungmin stormed off and Chan didn't even try to follow him.

Chapter Text

Pride gritted his teeth in frustration. He had protected Seungmin, why was the human angry at him? That idiot literally trashed his human so he paid it back twicefold. Why was he in the wrong? Pride sighed through gritted teeth, his sigh sounding more like a hiss. That idiot had really pissed him off and that rarely ever happens.

Why?

Why did he piss him off so much?

Maybe it was because Sung Ho had reminded him of those in his past. It reminded him of when he was weak and he hated that feeling. In deep retrospect, it was quite obvious to him that was exactly the reason. He refused to sit idly by and let the human get trashed when he could stop it.

Usually, he would think the human was weak for getting himself trashed that way but that simply wasn't true. He knew Seungmin, he knew that he was strong. He could take care of himself just fine. Maybe it was because Seungmin was strong that seeing him weak had that much more of an impact. Maybe if was because Seungmin was as strong as him that seeing him down had made him threatened.

Because what would be of him if being strong simply wasn't enough? It was terrifying.

He sighed, ruffling his hair in frustration. He was bound to the human, weather he liked it or not. It would be beneficial to gain back the human's trust rather then to live with an antagonistic relationship, especially since he was going to be trapped here for a while. If only he knew where the human had left. Damn it, if Wrath was here, he could sense the human out from the human's own wrath but alas, luck was clearly not on his side.

That's when it hit him. The bathroom. Right.

Seungmin was a clean freak who lived by hygiene. He got annoyed at Envy for simply sitting on his bed when he was sweaty. He was definitely in the bathroom cleaning himself up. He just hoped it wasn't too late and that he wasn't gone already.

After a bit of asking around and people ogling him as he walked by, he reached the bathroom and opened the door. Lo and behold, the human was by the sink, damp paper towels in hand as he wiped down his clothes, disgust on his face. He turned his head towards the door, only to see Pride and glared at him before going back to wiping down his clothes. Pride sighed and came up to him, hands in his pockets. "Look, I'm sorry I upset you. I shouldn't have taken it too far."

Seungmin looked at him blankly, almost as if he was trying to see if he was sincere with his apology. Well, not like he would know if he was sincere or not anyway. Seungmin scoffed, tossing the damp paper towels in the bin only to glare back at him. "Save your apologies for when you mean it." Seungmin walked out of the bathroom, leaving Pride standing there in shock.

He has always prided (yes, pun intended) in appearing calm, collected and rational. A leader. Someone unreachable. Someone no one could ever put their hands on. Having Seungmin easily see through him shouldn't be this terrifying. How? How was Seungmin able to see through his perfect mask? A mask he spend literal centuries perfecting, only for someone, a human no less, to see right through it in an instant? He clenched his fists as his vision blurred.

This should not be possible. He couldn't be someone people can reach. People could hurt. He's spent years destroying the helpless and weak child he once was, he was not about to return to that state again. A state where people could hurt him all they wanted and he could do nothing.

Pride clicked his tongue and disappeared, relocating to the human's apartment. He can't go about his usual apology. Not when Seungmin can see through it and knows he doesn't mean it. It will anger him more and that strained relationship will make it harder for them to be here and to return. As his thoughts brewed, he felt the couch dip next to him and he turned his head to see who it was. Bright red immediately caught his attention.

"What are you scheming now?"

"I'm not scheming."

"You totally are. What is it? I want in."

"No, you don't."

Greed tilted his head curiously, hand in Emvy's hair as Envy propped his head up on his hand on Greed's lap. Both Wrath and Sloth appeared from the human's room, curious as to what was happening. Lust sat up from the armchair he was curled up in, curious as well, and Gluttony trudged out if the kitchen, a cup of multiple strange, thin, orange snake-like human food in hand. Pride sighed. He hated that these idiots were so nosy.

"Someone trashed the human today."

Greed froze, Envy's eyes widened, Wrath's eyes immediately turned from brown to the colour of molten lava, Sloth's gaze immediately turned sharp, Lust dug his nails into the armchair, hissing as his eyes turned a dark shade of pink and the metal chopsticks in Gluttony's hand snapped into two halves as he stopped chewing his food. Pride gritted his teeth, his anger flaring at the situation.

"Calm down, I already taught the prick a lesson. The human got pissed at me for it because apparently, I went too far. The hell am I supposed to do now? I even fucking apologized for it for he pretty much said it was bullshit. I did nothing wrong."

Silence encompassed the room after his statement and it was pretty clear why that was. None of them knew the answer as to why Seungmin was truly mad. In their eyes, the idiot who trashed Seungmin was at fault and deserved it. So why was Seungmin so mad at Pride when Pride had defended him?

Chapter Text

Seungmin sighed to himself as he reached the apartment. He was still angry and frankly, didn't know if he had the patience to deal with another half-assed apology he was sure Chan would pull just to try and maintain the slightest semblance of normalcy in their relationship so he could continue to stay here with no palpable tension in the air.

Whatever Chan did was always for himself, never for others. He suppose it came with the territory. He was the sin of Pride for a reason, after all. What did He expect?

He opened the door and stepped into his apartment, only to immediately be brought into a crushing hug by Felix. Felix let go of him before Seungmin could even push him away, his eyes immediately drawing Seungmin's attention.

They were a dark shade of pink.

Before Seungmin could ask about his eyes though, a hand gripped his left bicep. He looked to his left, confused and came face to face with Sloth (how does he still not know his name?) staring intently at him, confusion in his eyes.

"Seungmin, why are you mad at Pride? Whoever started it, they deserved it, don't they? They got it coming to them. I don't understand."

Seungmin sighed. Sloth, unlike the rest of them, was usually pretty unaware. If someone else had asked, he would've told them to figure it out themselves but Sloth, as proven in his previous feud with Wrath, had next to zero understanding of emotions so it came from a place of genuine confusion.

Seungmin faced Pride and spoke, answering Sloth's question. He could see the way Pride tensed up at his response and he had half the mind to roll his eyes. Which he did, as he left the area and leaving the demons in silence.

"If you do something worse to someone who's already done awful things, how are you any different then them? If anything, aren't you worse off then them?"

Chapter Text

Seungmin walked to his school, a demon and Daehwi in tow. Typical, after quite some time living with the demons. Not that Daehwi knows, he just thinks their some friends Seungmin made over some time that he didn't know about. He should probably get to telling him. At some point. He looked at the demon next to him, his eyebrow raised.

"Why exactly are you following me here? Again?"

Jisung looked at him, his face twisted in annoyance. Why was he annoyed when Seungmin is the one letting him follow him, feeding him and providing them a place, rent free? Seungmin supposed he was called Wrath for a reason but this was just ridiculous.

Jisung huffed, muttering some invalid excuse. Seungmin stared at him, unimpressed and Jisung looked away, speaking of the actual reason. Probably because Daehwi's class is on the other side of the school and he had long left. Safe to say, he didn't expect Jisung to throw a question at him instead.

"I did the same thing as Pride. If anything, much arguably worse. I threw him to a tree for just insulting me. Why weren't you pissed at me then?"

Seungmin looked at him for a few seconds before turning his head away from Jisung and looking forward, answering Jisung's question. "We weren't close then. We were strangers. At that point of time, it wasn't my place to say anything. Don't get me wrong, I was still against it."

Jisung hummed in response, looking away with a bashful expression on his face, his cheeks and ears stained red as he tugged lightly on his left ear. "You think we're close?"

Seungmin looked at him in amusement, laughing a bit and nodding. A silence encompassed them before Jisung decided to break it once again.

"Can you really make Pride apologize for something if he doesn't mean it?"

"Apologizing isn't what I want from him."

"Then?"

"What I want is for him to understand why what he did was so wrong. That's it."

"Oh."

Another silence encompassed them and Seungmin went into his own thoughts. What he said was true. He wasn't looking for some half-assed apology from Chan. You can't make someone apologize, especially if they don't mean it. If anything, in his book, it's arguably worse. In retrospect, Sung Ho had it coming.

While yes, he was angry that Chan broke his finger when there were infinitely better ways, his anger wouldn't have lasted this long if it was just that. Not only did Chan not see what he was doing was wrong, he refused to take accountability for his own actions.

That was what truly pissed Seungmin off.

He could argue, saying that they are demons. More specifically, the seven deadly sins and so obviously, it is in their nature to do so. But Seungmin believes that to be stereotypical. They might be the seven deadly sins but Seungmin liked to believe that they had more complexity than that.

Also, it's one thing if the demons all just did horrible things. If they were all truly heartless, Seungmin might not have said much because then that is in their nature. But they aren't, the time he's spent with them proved so.

Maybe that was the true reason he was mad? Because he had expected more from them and yet?

He supposed he expected more especially from Pride, who had been partially the reason Greed had apologized to him. Who seemed to especially have a good sense of what he should and shouldn't do. Who knew how to get his way without any sort of violence.

Seungmin sighed. Usually, if this had been anyone else, while he would've been pissed, he wouldn't have said anything because he simply wasn't close to them. But he was close to them. Close to Pride. In the end, he was angry because he cared. Wanted them to become better people.

People beyond the sins of their pasts.

Chapter Text

It took at least one more day before Chan finally came up to him, asking to speak with him. Seungmin, holding his room door open with an eyebrow raised at his presence, moved to his right, letting Chan in. Chan moved to sit on the edge of Seungmin's bed, placing his right leg over his left and gripping his bedsheets as he sighed through his nose.

"I'm sorry and... I mean it, this time. Not about Sung Ho, I don't feel bad for him in the least but... I've done some reflection and... You were right, I shouldn't have done that. I realise that I could've handled that a lot better than I did and that's on me. I was trying to protect you but... I took it too far. So. Sorry. I won't do it again, if that's anything?

Seungmin stayed silent for about six seconds before finally breaking it by sighing, shooting Chan a small smile. "You better not."

Chan immediately loosened up, no longer looking so tense and letting out a small breath of relief. He uncrossed his legs and threw his head back, letting out a long, suffering sigh, which quickly landed him a whack from Seungmin.

He giggled a bit at the abuse and no, Seungmin did not find it adorable.

He kicked at Chan's shins until he moved a bit so Seungmin could sit next to him at the edge of the bed. They sat in silence for approximately ten seconds before Chan spoke up.

"I can pay for that dick's hospital bills if you're still mad."

"I already did so like I said I would."

"Fine, I'll pay you back the money you wasted on my mistake."

"Good. You're lucky I don't charge you for extra."

"Extra for what?"

"For making me mad."

"Please, you're sexy when you're mad- ow, ow, ow, okay, okay! Stop hitting me!"

"You should thank me honestly."

Chan laughed before flashing Seungmin a smile, albeit a bit pained. "I should, shouldn't I?" Seungmin nodded before taking in the mischevious glint in Chan's eyes and immediately regretting his words.

Before he could even try to go back to his plan of defeating Chan at his own game like he had done previously, Chan leaned forward and pressed his lips on Seungmin's left cheek before quickly moving away.

"Thank you."

Seungmin blinked, absolutely stupedified by the exchange, too shocked and confused to process Chan giggling at his expense. Or the fact that Chan had actually bested him. He raised his hand and put it on his left cheek, still blinking in confusion, his cheeks and ears now harbouring a slight tint of red.

He didn't hate it.

Chan decided to lie down on his bed, sighing as he got comfortable. Seungmin raised his eyebrow at the splash of red and green hair now occupying his pillow as if it was his own and shook his head, trying to clear it.

A few minutes passed as Seungmin started scrolling through his phone as Chan continued to lie on his bed, head on his pillow, his right hand inbetween his head and the pillow and his left on his stomach, his eyes closed. It continued on for a few more minutes before Chan sat up again, catching Seungmin's attention. He clicked off his phone, placing it on the small table next to his bed and looking at Chan in confusion.

Before he could ask why Chan and gotten up, Chan suddenly wrapped both his arms around Seungmin's middle and pulled him down with him back on the bed, Seungmin letting put an indignant squeak in the process. A sound he wasn't even aware he could make. Before Seungmin could process the fact that he was on top of Chan, his back to his chest, Chan rolled them over to the left so that he was hugging Seungmin from behind.

"What are you doing?"

"Just let me have this, okay?"

Chan buried his face into the back of Seungmin's hair, Seungmin sighing for what felt like the millionth time in these past few months and making himself comfortable, knowing he was going to be here a while.

Chapter Text

Safe to say, after the day Chan apologised for his actions, kissed his cheek and cuddled him, things haven't been the same between them ever since. Now that Chan knew Seungmin wasn't against his affection, he used it completely to his advantage. He loomed over him in the morning, poking him awake, constantly hugged him and started peppering his face in kisses whenever he was happy, excited, thanking him or apologising to him. It was... A lot, to say the least.

He wished he hated it but he didn't.

He's never been the main object of affection for anyone before and he liked the feeling.

Seungmin also found that Chan now occupied his mind a lot more than usual. A lot more than the rest of the demons too. In fact, Chan occupied his mind a lot more than necessary and it was infuriating.

The demons, apart from Felix, seemed quite shocked at Chan's sudden display of affection for him. Felix just whined about not receiving the same amount of love from him. Seungmin figured pretty quickly that Felix and Chan were pretty close and Felix was the only demon Chan actively showed his affection to. He learnt that he did so with Jisung and Minho as well but that was mainly to annoy them as they didn't seem to enjoy it unless it was from each other.

Seungmin sighed as he walked through the forest, earpiece in his ears. While Seungmin usually didn't venture out here, he did so occasionally. When he really needed to clear his head and being anywhere else didn't work. He looked up, observing the darkening sky. He should probably head back. As he turned around, about to head back to his apartment, he came face to face with a hideous creature that he certainly did not recognize as anything from earth. The creature stood up to its full height and Seungmin's eyes widened, his throat going dry.

The black entity had bright, blood-red eyes and razor sharp teeth that were inches long. It was nearly the height of the forest trees surrounding him and had razor sharp claws as well. He wasn't been sure if those were claws, nails, or if its fingers were simply that sharp on its own.

Before Seungmin could even turn to run, the creature used the back of its hand to violently shove him from his left towards a tree. Seungmin slammed against it, groaning in pain as he felt the sharp bark of the plant dig into his skin, scratching it as his head pounded at the impact. He immediately place his right hand on the trunk of the tree to stabilize himself, aware of the fact that he couldn't run. There was simply no way he could outrun a demonic entity, Changbin had told him that one of the common abilities all demons share was enhanced speed.

As his mind raced to that thought, he paused for a second. Because one of those common abilities demons have that Changbin told him might actually increase his chances of getting away. Not only that, if worst came to worst, the sins in his apartment would hear him and one or if not all of them would come out.

If he survives this, he's buying Changbin all the food in the world, being broke be damned.

Before the creature standing before him could land another hit, its disgusting laugh reaching his ears (the psychopath), Seungmin took in a deep breath and opened his mouth, letting out a deafening, ear-piercing scream from the top of his lungs. The demon flinched violently, its large, sharp hands covering its pointed ears at the top of its head.

With the demon now currently in pain for a bit, he made a break for it, turning his back on the creature and running, jumping over tree roots and trying to spot a place he could at least hide for a some time before the demon inevitably found him. He spotted a tree with plants and vines hanging everywhere, the base of its trunk covered in bushes, shrubs and foliage. The trunk was quite wide and thick as well.

Perfect for cover.

He quickly ran towards it, going behind the trunk and sliding down to the forest floor, breathing laboured. He wouldn't have been able to run as fast as he did if he didn't have years of baseball practice. He suppose he should be thankful. He heard a loud roar in the distance and immediately held his breath, cold sweat forming on his forehead and dripping down as he internally groaned.

So much for his peaceful walk in the forest to clear his head.

This was a fucking nightmare. He heard loud, thundering footsteps, growling and the crunching of leaves, twigs and roots alike and desperately hoped the demon wouldn't pick his presence up despite knowing his efforts were worthless. Futile. Demons had an enhanced senses. That creature would easily be able to pick him up through heartbeat, breathing and the smell of his sweat. He turned behind to look past the trunk and saw the demon staring directly at him and gulped.

Was he really going to die like this?

As the creature's hand reached out, ready to rip him to shreds, he shut his eyes in fear. A bit of time passed and nothing came. He opened his eyes in confusion to see the demon on the ground and seven figures standing there. The sins.

Huh.

Looks like his plan worked.

Thank fuck because if it didn't, he would come back from the dead to skewer them.

Chapter Text

The demonic creature growled and grumbled before looking at the sins and seemingly freezing as the seven of them loomed over it, despite the demonic entity's huge stature. The demon then stood at its full height, seemingly trying to intimidate them with its height alone.

It didn't work as the sins looked at it in either anger or boredom.

Chan looked at Sloth and spoke in such a flat and bored tone, Seungmin thought Chan was watching him do homework again for a split second. "Sloth, make sure no other human gets wind of this. It'll become very complicated otherwise. I'll get the human out of here. The rest of you can have fun torturing this thing."

Jisung cracked his knuckles, Greed and Jeongin started arguing over who could kill it first and Felix smiled at it sadistically. Yeah, he probably shouldn't wait around here to see what happens to that demonic creature. It wasn't going to be pretty.

Chan knelt down to look at Seungmin, his face blank but tense as he roved his eyes around Seungmin. As if he was checking if he had gotten hurt in any way. His face became less tense once it seemed that he found no injuries on him.

He reached out his hand and Seungmin grabbed onto it, pulling himself up and dusting himself off. Chan then took hold of his wrist and lead them out of the forest, leaving the creature alone with the six sins. He internally laughed a bit. He could only wish that poor demon good luck.

As they reached Seungmin's apartment, Chan opened the door and lead them inside, shutting it and locking it. Seungmin immediately beelined for the couch, sitting on it and removing his phone and earpiece from his pocket, placing it on the table and letting out a huge sigh with only a single question on his mind.

"Why me?"

Chan laughed a bit at his exasperated claim before turning serious. "It could probably sense us nearby and came looking for us. It bumped into you instead, smelt us on you and... I think you can figure it out for yourself." Seungmin let out a long, suffering sigh. They sat in silence for a bit before Chan wrapped his arms around him in comfort. "I'm glad you're okay though."

Seungmin let out a sigh, slightly leaning into the touch. Chan seemed to have noticed, if the slight look of surprise was anything to go by. Which made sense. Seungmin was usually never one to actively seek out comfort. Chan tightened his wrap around Seungmin, whispering to him.

"Don't worry, I'll kill anything and anyone that will even try to come close to hurt you."

"How romantic."

"I know. I should be the prince in one of those human films."

"Please don't."

"You're right, I shouldn't. I'd put everyone out of a job if I did."

"Right."

The banter helped calm him down a bit. But that was probably because it brought back a small semblance of normalcy (in Seungmin's case anyway). About a few minutes later, the door burst open with the six other demons coming back in, covered in blood to Seungmin's absolute horror. They were not going to get blood on his precious carpeted rug.

Especially not when he just dry-cleaned it.

"Don't even think about going anywhere until you all have showered. If a single drop of blood so much as touches my carpet, I will personally kill you all myself."

The six of them stared at him for a good second before they immediately headed to the shower, knowing Seungmin would revoke all food, bed, couch and entertainment services if they weren't clean.

They've learnt in the past few months how much of a clean freak he was.

Chan laughed at the demons immediately taking off before turning to face Seungmin. "You've sure learnt how to control them, huh?" Seungmin laughed a bit.

Realistically, it wasn't all that hard. Most of them operated on food, bed or couch and entertainment and cried if it was taken away. They were basically children.

A silence encompassed them and Seungmin realised that Chan still had him wrapped up in his arms. He was about to push away, when Chan started peppering small kisses around his face. He's gotten a bit more used to it, considering he does so a lot more often now.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean he still doesn't get flustered by it every single time.

He could feel his face getting slightly warm as he attempted to stutter out a response. Chan finally ceased his attack and the sudden display of affection made sense when he spoke.

"I'm glad you're not hurt, Seungmin."

Seungmin flushes a bit but smiles at him nonetheless.

"I'm glad I'm not either."

Their moment is quickly interrupted by Greed and Jisung, who had gotten into yet another arguement as Changbin's boisterous laugh reaches their ears. Chan glares at the offending demons, immediately yelling at them and contributing to all the yelling. Seungmin looked at all the demons just yelling and screaming at each other with only one thought in his mind.

Yeah. This feels right.

Chapter Text

"What is your Korean name anyway?"

"Oh? Did I not tell you?"

"No. No you did not."

"Oh... Well, you didn't ask."

Seungmin stared, unimpressed at the demon on his right, who was leaning against the armrest of his sofa and grinning mischievously at him. All the demons hair colours were quite vibrant but Greed's bright red hair took vibrant to a whole new level. Sure, you could say the same for Chan, even though only half his hair is red, but his red was a lot more faded. Unlike Greed, whose red hair could be seen miles away.

How on earth this guy is able to be discreet was beyond him.

He figured Greed wouldn't give him anything for free. Not even his name it would seem. Seungmin looked at Greed smiling smugly to himself, like an idiot, and decided to rain on his parade. "I will charge you for everything I'm offering you for free right now. Food, shelter, entertainment, you name it."

The smug grin on the red-head's face immediately fell and he glared at Seungmin, who met his glare with an even stare, raising his eyebrow at him. After a while of silently challenging each other, Greed sighed, albeit a bit reluctantly and grumbled out his name.

"Hyunjin. My name is Hyunjin."

Seungmin hummed in response, now only having to ask Sloth for his name. Realistically, he could just ask Hyunjin for it but he'd rather hear it from Sloth himself. The sat in silence for a while before a thought popped into his head. He had been especially curious about this after the whole demon-in-the-forest fiasco. Maybe Hyunjin could give him the answers he needed. "Say, Hyunjin. What is your ability exactly?"

Hyunjin looked at him in curiosity, tilting his head slightly and seemingly pondering. As if he was thinking if he should tell Seungmin or not before grinning. If that mischievous grin on his face was anything to go by, it was probably going to come at the cost of his wallet. He couldn't let that happen.

"I'm still providing you a roof, food and entertainment. Just putting it out there if you so much as try. I will, however, buy you one thing if you give me answers. I still have a budget though so I won't buy you anything above it."

Hyunjin looked at him in curiosity and intrigue, humming to himself a bit as he thought about Seungmin's condition before smirking back at him. "Deal. What do you want to know?" Seungmin raised his eyebrow at him before repeating his question. Hyunjin let out a small 'right' in recognition to the question before answering.

"My ability is to grant wishes. For me to grant them though, you have to exchange, give up or sacrifice something of equal importance."

Seungmin nodded his head to Hyunjin's statement, absorbing the information. It was certainly a very powerful ability, he would expect nothing less from the seven deadly sins. It especially suited his sin of Greed, since that ability exploits the greedy and corrupt nature of humans in general. It was actually terrifying how well this ability would work on people in power. He was pretty sure Hyunjin probably also knew that fact and probably used it to his very advantage whenever he was summoned.

To be fair, if the sins are summoned based on the desire, as Chan had mentioned before, Felix, Hyunjin, Jisung and Chan probably got summoned the most out of everyone. They've probably learnt how to exploit their respective sins out of humans to benefit them, he wouldn't be surprised. Although, he doubted that was an immensely difficult task to begin with. If those people were going as far as to summon the sins, it's quite blatantly obvious the kind of character they have and obviously, make it that much easier to manipulate them to work in the demons favour.

He thought back to when Felix hugged him after the entire demon-in-the-forest fiasco, when his eyes had turned from brown to pink and looked at Hyunjin, who was eyeing his wallet already. He shook his head, exasperated, and decided to ask him another question. "Do your eyes change colours when you use your powers or feel something strongly?"

Hyunjin brought his eyes up from his wallet, confusion on his face before processing Seungmin's question and answering.

"Those are our regular eye colours. It's more... We disguise it when we're summoned to appear more human but, yeah, the more we use our power, the stronger the power we use is or when we feel something strongly, the less human we will appear here. Our eyes our the biggest indicator of that."

Seungmin hummed in acknowledgement. Looks like his guess was prettt accurate. To be fair, it wasn't rocket science. It was quite obvious.

"Okay, since you answered my questions, I'll buy you one thing."

"Nice! I want this jacket I saw in this... What do you humans call that booklet?"

"You mean a magazine?"

"Yeah, that."

"Your budget is $10."

"Huh?!"

"I said I had a budget but I didn't tell you what it was."

"Oh fuck you! I told you what you wanted to know!"

Seungmin laughed at Huunjin's sulking face before thinking about it a bit and deciding that he at least deserved something, considering that Hyunjin did answer his questions.

It would be one thing if it was Sloth or Changbin who answered him, considering their both honest to a fault but this was Hyunjin. He never gave anything unless he was going to be compensated and truthfully, Seungmin was rather scared that Hyunjin would find his wallet while he was asleep. That thought itself was terrifying. He looked back at Hyunjin, who was grumbling in the corner and spoke.

"Fine, I'll buy you a jacket, okay?"

"Seriously?"

"Not the one in the Magazine though. I'm not rich."

"Fine, fine."

Chapter Text

He looked at the demon stretching on his once perfectly made bed and felt his eye twitch. The demon yawned out loud and curled up into a ball, ready to continue his hours long nap and Seungmin stared in utterly disbelief. Not at how long this demon was able to sleep for but rather the fact that this demon was sleeping on his bed, on his pillow while using his blanket. He wouldn't have minded that much, usually, he's gotten used to the demons invading his personal space. It's more... He wasn't even sure when the last time this demon showered was.

For the demon's sake, he hopes it was today.

He looked at the demon in mild disgust and decided to question him. "Did you even shower today?" The demon opened one eye and looked at Seungmin before nodding a bit. Seungmin looked at him, utterly unconvinced and the demon spoke, drawling out his response. "Pride said he'd make sure I couldn't sleep again if I didn't so I did. He's so mean." Seungmin sighed in relief and internally thanked Chan for his threat against his fellow demon. Thank god, otherwise he might actually have an aneurysm.

It was enough that just yesterday, Jeongin decided to run around everywhere and then sit on his clean bed with his sweaty butt. Which he told him off for. Which Jeongin laughed at his face at.

That menace.

He looked at the demon on his bed and thought. Well, might as well make use of him since he's here. And he's starting to sound more and more like a cartoon villain, he needs to stop. He sat on the bed, the demon looking at him curiously. Time to get some information. "What's your Korean name?" The demon looked at him for a bit before tilting his head and answering.

"Minho. Why do you want to know?"

"Curiosity. I remember Chan saying to you "don't let any human get wind of this." Does that have something to do with your ability?"

Minho sat up on the bed and yawned, stretching his arms above his head before looked at Seungmin in amusement. He looked at Minho, unimpressed and Minho softly laughed at his expression before deciding to answer him.

"My ability is to manipulate dreams, in very simple terms. I can trap people in their own dreams or imaginations and manipulate them. That's how I can kill people and demons alike without anyone finding out." Seungmin stared at Minho in mild disbelief.

In a similar fashion to Hyunjin, he knew that the demons abilities were bound to be strong, them being the seven deadly sins and all, but this was ridiculous. Just how strong were these abilities? He thought about it a bit more and his thoughts returned to his conversation with Hyunjin. The drawback of Hyunjin's ability was that it had to be an equal exchange, otherwise he couldn't grant wishes. Or at least he assumed.

There was no way you could have abilities that strong without a drawback.

He looked at Minho, who looked two seconds away from falling back asleep before he decided to ask. "What kind of drawback does an ability like that have?" Minho looked at him in mild surprise before grinning like the cheshire cat in Alice in wonderland. Again. "Perceptive." He commented and Seungmin looked at him in confusion.

He didn't think that was being perceptive really. Chan said it loud and clear and he didn't know what his ability was. It's rather easy simply putting the two together, it's simply common sense. His confusion must have shown because Minho laughed at his face before speaking.

"Most people don't think of that. Humans have a pretty one-track mind. They usually only focus on the ability itself, not what it entails until it's too late."

Seungmin hated the fact that he agreed.

If people heard Hyunjin had the ability to grant wishes, they would immediately think of what they would want so they could make a wish, not what it would mean for them or Hyunjin. If they heard Minho had the ability to manipulate dreams, they would probably ask if he could see their dreams, be in it or remove their nightmares. Their abilities were a subtle and almost manipulative system that almost always worked in their favour due to people's narrow mind and corrupt desires.

It's truly terrifying how well it works.

He shook his head to clear his thought and looked at Minho expectantly. "It's incredibly draining. My ability feeds off my own energy." Ah. That's probably why Minho slept so much. Sloth was about laziness, not being in hibernation. The whole reason Minho slept so much was either to refuel his energy after he used his ability or to conserve energy in the case he needed to use it. Especially on a large scale or for an extended period of time. Minho made a bit more sense to him now.

He nodded his head to the explanation and made a mental note to confirm with Hyunjin about the drawback of his ability. He grimaced at the thought. His wallet was not going to be happy. He looked at Minho to find him already soundly asleep, curled up under his blanket like an actual cat. He sighed and reached out his hand, tugging the blanket further up and getting off the bed, silently making his way to the door and opening it as silently as he could. He exited the room and shut as silently as possible, again, and exhaled through his nose.

Minho could have his room. For now. He gave him the information he needed, that was all he could ask of Minho since he never made things difficult for him, unlike the others. He looked at Jisung fidgeting on the couch, immediately glancing away the minute Seungmin looked at him and rolled his eyes at him. "You can go in and keep your boyfriend company. I'm sure he'll appreciate it." Jisung huffed, his ears turning red, but didn't hesitate to launch himself off the chair and heading to his room, shutting the door behind him.

Seungmin shook his head, a smile creeping on his face. It was endearing, the love they had for each other. He wondered if he could ever love someone like that. He doesn't think he even likes anyone. A mop of red and green curls, pale skin and dimples came to the forefront of his mind and- no. He does not like that idiot. He cares for him, yes. Likes him platonically, yes. Does his face get red when that dork kisses him every single time? Well, yes, but that's only because he isn't expecting it and gets flustered. He doesn't like him romantically.

"What are you thinking about, puppy?"

He jumps and immediately glares at the demon, who is giggling at his reaction (which is not at all adorable, fuck off intrusive thoughts) and speaks.

"Puppy? That's new."

"I came up with it myself. You know, cause you look like one."

"Thanks, I hate it."

"You're such a hater. Would you rather I call you pup?"

"I will kick you out of this house."

"Right, it sounds a little- okay, okay, I give up! Stop hitting me, you're stronger than you look!"

"What do you mean stronger than I look?"

"Ow, ow, okay- I'm sorry!"

"You better be. If you want a nickname, just call me Seung or Min."

"Okay Minnie."

"That is not at all what I said."

Chapter Text

He looks at the demon sprawled out on the couch like a wet noodle in concern as said demon sniffled at some generic drama playing on the television and wolfed down a concerning amount of strawberries.

It was honestly depressing.

Why was he subjected to this?

He sighed, pushing the demons legs further up the couch to make space for himself and sat down, glancing at the demon who just swallowed an entire strawberry. Whole. Without chewing. With the stem and leaves still intact.

Okay, he had to do something about this, it was starting to get ridiculous.

"Felix, you've been wallowing in your own misery for the past four hours and it's getting immensely concerning. What's wrong?" The male looked at Seungmin with glassy eyes (which made him look a little too much like an abandoned kitten in a cardboard box trapped in the rain) and sniffled.

"I'm just watching a sad 3 hour video, that's all."

"You mean a movie?"

"Yes, that."

"Seriously?"

"It's heartbreaking watching the female lead pine over a guy that's never going to love her back, okay?! Leave me be!"

Ah, that's what it was.

Seungmin let out a long, suffering sigh and looked at Felix in mild pain. "Did you talk to him?" Felix sniffed and nodded his head, grabbing a cushion behind him and hugging it, burying his face in it. Seungmin raised his eyebrow at him and crossed his arms. "What did he say then?"

A silence encompassed the room for a split second before the sounds of muffled crying reached his ears. Seungmin ruffled his hair in confusion and mild sympathy before deciding Felix was in no way ready to talk about it. He sighed again.

Looks like he was going to have to take this up with Changbin then.

He headed towrds the kitchen, hoping Changbin would be there. Changbin was, majority of the time, in there but sometimes he would head outside. Usually, it was either to eat or to use the gym. Changbin had found out what a gym was when he had followed Seungmin out and they passed by the building and Changbin got curious.

Seungmin knew Changbin probably did some form of working out in Hell, he wouldn't have the amount of muscle he did otherwise. His guess was correct when Changbin's eyes lit up the way he usually saw food when Seungmin told him what a gym was.

He stepped into the kitchen to see Hyunjin raiding his fridge instead. Typical. Hyunjin looked at him, slices of ham shoved into his mouth and Seungmin looked at him in absolute disgust before leaving.

If Changbin's not here, he's probably at the gym.

He grabs his phone and wallet and leaves his apartment, internally begging the demons to not burn his place to the ground while he tries to resolve Felix's issue with Changbin.

He reaches the gym and true enough, Changbin was there, lifting weights. He looked at Changbin closely. He looked frustrated and his body language was tense. Looks like he was going to have to be a bit more careful. He walked up to Changbin, his footsteps alerting the demon.

Changbin looked up from where his eyes were trained on the floor and flashed him a grin. Seungmin sighed and looked at him as seriously as he could and Changbin immediately set down the weights, wiping away at the sweat on his face with the back of his hand as he stood up. They both left the gym and a silence encompassed them for a few seconds before Changbin decided to speak up.

"Is this about Lust?"

"Pretty much. Why are you doing this to him?"

"Doing what?"

"Doing what- Changbin, are you serious? You cannot expect me to believe you don't know what I'm talking about. Cut the bullshit, I saw him crying earlier today and you're out here saying doing what?"

"He-he was?"

"Yes, what's going on?"

Changbin looked to the ground, guilt and anger filling up in his eyes as he curled his hands up into fists. Seungmin looked at him, the irritation and mild anger he felt to Changbin's ignorant question slowly dissipating. He sighed, exasperated, and waited for Changbin to collect his thoughts (and wallow in his self-pity). After some time, he decides to finally ask.

"So?"

Screw him. After all Changbin put Felix through (and by extension him, for trying to fix this mess), he found it to be appropriate to at least be a little snippy about the situation. Changbin sighed, still looking at the ground before finally deciding to address the situation.

"It's not that I don't like Lust, I do. It's just... I don't really know how I feel about him. Like- I know I like him to a certain extent but... I don't know if its romantic or if it's an infatuation or... If I just like feeling wanted. I just, I can't tell what I feel right now and I can't give him a definite answer which is what he's looking for. I didn't... I didn't mean to lead him on."

Seungmin nodded his head, feeling sympathy for the demon next to him. Who was trying to eat his nails now. He immediately reached out his hand and gently took hold of his wrist, pulling his hand away from his mouth.

From the nervous look on his face, he could tell it was probably an unhealthy coping mechanism. Well, food was. But since it was clear that there was no food around, he resorted to trying to chew his own nails.

It was rather disgusting but he supposed he can't judge people for what they do to cope. It would just be cruel.

Seungmin thought about the situation and tries to come up with an answer that at least made sense. "Have you told him that? Or did you just not answer and he assumed that was it?" Changbin stayed silent and Seungmin let out a small hiss, feeling the oncoming headache before it even came.

Why?

Why couldn't these demons just talk to each other? It would help make their feeling clear and so much if this could have been prevented.

He looked at Changbin, unimpressed, and spoke.

"Just talk to him, Changbin. Talk to him. Tell him that. He's not unreasonable, he'll understand. Don't you think, out of everyone, someone like him would understand your troubles the most out of everyone if anything?"

"You think so?"

"Yes."

"But-"

"Just go and talk to him. Please."

"Okay. I will."

They reached his apartment and Seungmin opened the door, walking in with Changbin. Felix looked up from the couch with big eyes, immediately freezing when he saw Changbin, his fingers tightening their grip on the cushion in his grasp. Seungmin gave Changbin a pointed look and Changbin cleared his throat, looking at Felix.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

Felix nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly and Seungmin headed into his room to give them a bit of privacy, flopping down onto his bed.

He better get paid for this, he's doing lord's work out here.

Chapter Text

The two demons stood in silence. Gluttony shuffled his feet uncomfortably as Lust glared at his through wet lashes and red-rimmed eyes.

"You wanted to talk so talk."

Gluttony exhaled shakily, trying to stop himself from bringing his nails near his teeth and chewing them. He didn't need to be seen as disgusting. Well, more so than most people think. People already thought he was disgusting, he didn't need to give them more of a reason to. He took in a deep breath and forced the words to come out of his throat.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I lead you on and I'm sorry I made you cry, Lust. You don't have to forgive me but just know I'm sorry."

He blinked back his tears, the haze of his past attempting to cloud his mind. He shook his head, trying to stay focused. He tentively looked at Lust, who looked at him with both sadness and forgiveness in his eyes. "Why..? That's all I want to know, Gluttony. Why?" Gluttony gulped, his throat becoming excessively dry.

He had to tell Lust the truth. His true feelings. Seungmin told him Lust would understand but deep down, he feared Lust wouldn't. That Lust would be too angry to accept his apology. Worst of all, he feared Lust would be heartbroken and he would never find someone who would look at him with love in their eyes again. Lust was the first and now he was scared he ruined what was Lust's only attempt at a healthy crush.

Turns out it was not at all healthy.

He was just another asshole who treated Lust like shit. He didn't see him as just an object, like everyone else in his life did, but it didn't change the fact that he was but another shitty idiot who treated Lust horribly. Who was he kidding, he didn't deserve Lust. Not in the least.

"Gluttony!"

He snapped out of his reverie to look at Lust, who had called out to him. A look of disappointment adorned his face and Gluttony repressed the urge to just straight up bite off his nails. Nailbeds included. His thoughts became a jumbled mess and why did he feel so lightheaded all of a sudden?

He felt dizzy and he could feel his lungs trying to grasp onto any sort of oxygen it could. He swayed on his feet a bit before ultimately collapsing onto the ground, knees hitting the apartment floors. Why couldn't he breathe? He could hear a voice but barely. Did someone else enter? Did Lust leave him there? Got someone else to deal with the problem? He felt a hand rub circles onto his back as someone knelt down in front of him. He looked up, his vision blurred to see pink.

Ah. So Lust didn't leave him.

He didn't know how glad he was about that. He could see Lust breathing exaggeratedly and- oh. He wanted him to copy his breathing. He tried to imitate Lust's exaggerated breathing, focusing on the hand rubbing circles onto his back.

Minutes and minutes of sitting there, he finally got his breathing back to something normal. He looked away from Lust, embarrassment creeping up on him. It wasn't that big of a deal, why was he like this? Lust looked at him, his eyes kind and understanding and Gluttony kind of hates him right now. He suppose he should probably spill it. The faster, the better.

"Listen, Lust... I- I don't know how I feel about you. I know I like you but I don't know if I just like the attention, it's romantic or I'm just infatuated and I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just- I... I don't know, Lust. You're looking for an answer and I don't have one."

His nerves spiked the more he talked and wow, he could make those rap artists he grew an interest in a run for their money with how fast he spoke. Astounding, really. Lust blinked at him in surprise, as if he was trying to process what he was saying before he spoke, a small smile on his face.

"It's okay not to have the answer to what you feel right away, Gluttony. Please, don't punish yourself over this. I can wait for you, whether you feel the same way or not. Just take your time, no need to rush. Go at your own pace."

Gluttony sniffed, his heart slowing down from its rabbiting pace. He understood. Lust actually understood. He wasn't angry or heartbroken. He was kind and patient and understanding. He pressed the his palms to his eyes to try and stop even more tears from spilling out.

"Thank you, Lust. I mean it. I'm sorry you have to wait for me."

"Nothing to apologise for."

Lust headed to the kitchen and brought out some snacks (well, Seungmin's snacks) and handed them over to Gluttony before dragging him to the couch and sitting him down. Just as Lust himself sat down, the rest of the demons entered the living space.

"Fucking hell, I could smell the misery from outside. That's coming from a guy who smells anger."

"Why did we have to stay outside?"

"It's called privacy, Greed."

"I don't mind, I met this cute creature. It's so cute."

"A cat. It's called a cat, Sloth. I swear, am I the only one who tries to learn things around here?"

"Rude and uncalled for, Pride."

"Shut it, Wrath. Get your boyfriend to stop napping on the goddamn floor, it's filthy."

"You're starting to sound more and more like the human, you know?"

Gluttony and Lust both laughed at the demons arguing nonstop, Lust deciding to contribute to the arguments as Gluttony munched on his (Seungmin's) salted egg yolk chips, watching the demons in amusement.

He noticed a specific demon not contributing to the arguments when he usually does one of the most and tilts his head curiously. Envy was staring at the human's room in what almost looked like discomfort. Gluttony decided to end the demons arguement by speaking up.

"Envy? What's wrong?"

The demons immediately looked in Envy's direction, said demon slightly jumping in surprise at the sudden attention. He shuffled his feet a bit, glancing at the human's room every now and then, fidgeting with his fingers as if he was contemplating if he should bring it up or not. Before Pride could demand he say what he was thinking, Envy clicked his tongue and turned back to them, his expression blank.

"The human is kind, isn't he?"

The demons looked at him in confusion. Yes, they knew the human was kind no matter how much he looked at them like they were the dumbest creatures to ever grace the earth. This wasn't news to them, they've all witnessed it. Experienced it even. Envy sighed and spoke, bringing light to a situation none of their minds had crossed.

"That human got kidnapped by a wannabe cult, got seven demons bound to him, witnessed our breakdowns and our rage, got bullied by some human and nearly got killed by a demon and yet still helps us through our problems when he's got, no doubt, some of his own. Did you see how exhausted he looked when he came back with Gluttony? He didn't even threaten him to shower, he just went to his room and, I don't know, crashed?"

The demons looked at each other with worry and guilt eating at them inside. The human has done so much for them without so much as blinking an eye. No matter who it was or how close he was to them, he helped them. No questions asked.

Did they demand too much of the human without realising it?

Were they burdening him?

There was only one thing running through their minds when Envy finished his speech.

"Oh shit."

Chapter Text

He was exhausted. From helping the demons with their problems, being jumpscared by one and trying to manage his schoolwork, he could barely even relax at this point.

His bank account was slowly being drained trying to feed seven insatiable demons and he feared he was going to have to pick up more shifts at his work to compensate. He was already wary of doing so, not knowing what kind of trouble the demons could attract. Worst of all, he still hasn't told Daehwi.

Well, he wouldn't be surprised if Daehwi already knew, considering Felix said he had been chasing Changbin for 600 years in front of him but he was not looking forward to the explanation. If Daehwi doesn't have an aneurysm with how much Seungmin has gone through already, that is.

He was groaning into his pillow when his phone pinged. He moved his head away from his pillow and grabbed his phone, angling it so he can view the screen while his face stayed squished on his pillow. The reminders app on his phone was open with the word "results" staring back at him with a ferocity.

Seungmin blinked at it a few times before immediately scrambling up so he was sitting down and snatching his glasses off the table and putting it on his face. He navigated his school's website for a bit before looking for his results, his heart hammering in his chest.

He looked at the top of the list and he gulped, seeing an unfamiliar name instead of his own. That wasn't good. His eyes roved the screen before landing on his name and his eyes widened, his fingers shaking a bit as he stared at the position of his name in horror.

Seventh. He was seventh place.

How? How did his grades drop so much?

He quickly exited the page of overall standing in the school (in terms of grades) and shakily navigated himself to his own grades, his eyes taking in the letters before landing on a specific one.

B minus. He got a B minus.

He felt his throat close up as the device slipped from his hands and landed face down on his crumpled bedsheets. At least he didn't have to look at that atrocious letter anymore, he supposed. He stared at the space his phone was as he lowered his left hand onto his lap, his hand shaking. He felt it slowly climb up his throat and-

No. He couldn't do this.

He raised his right hand to cover his mouth, immediately scrambling off his bed and immediately running towards his bathroom, unaware of the gazes following him in confusion and concern.

Throwing open the door, he fell to his knees by the toilet bowl, dry heaving into it and feeling sick to his stomach. His stomach turned and this time, substance actually spilled from his mouth and into the bowl. He felt himself burn up, tears in his eyes from him throwing up a bit.

How?

How was he going to explain this to his parents?

Did he not study enough? That had to be it.

Ever since the demons came into his life, it had been a little more hectic than his usual monotonous routine. He studied slightly less than he usually did, especially when the demons were having problems of their own. Like Sloth and Gluttony with their relationships.

He shouldn't have neglected his studies as much as he did, this was his fault.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and only then did he register a faint voice and someone's hand rubbing his back. He looked up from the bowl, nose wrinkling at the smell of his own puke before turning around and seeing bright pink eyes look at him in worry.

"Felix..?"

"Did you contract some sort of human virus? Are you sick?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong?"

Everything. Everything was wrong. His placement being seventh was wrong. That B minus was wrong. Him not studying more was wrong. He should be studying right now, not throwing up in the toilet. What was he doing? He felt the oxygen slowly leave his lungs as he gasped for air, his mind fogging and his vision blurry. Why was he wasting so much time? Why wasn't he studying? Why wasn't he trying to get his grades up?

He has nothing else outside of his grades, he can't fail.

He grabbed where his heart was beating rapidly, trying to breathe. The oxygen wasn't staying in his lungs, the smell of puke was still wafting in the air, his vision was blurring, his head was pounding, he was sweating profusely, he felt both hot and cold at the same time and Felix was still in front of him, witnessing this, which was just embarrassing and he never wanted to die so much his entire life.

"Someone get Pride in here, I don't know what to do!"

He heard Felix faintly yell, which was a miracle in itself considering how loud the ringing in his ears were. Then he processed through command and felt like throwing up a second time.

No. He couldn't let Chan see him like this. Not when his feelings towards the man were still unclear.

He gripped his hair, slightly pulling on it in an attempt to drown out the noise and ground himself. The last thing he needed was anyone seeing him in this state, let alone Chan.

What was Chan going to think?

What were his parents going to think when they inevitably found out about his failure?

He felt hands around his own, trying to detangle them from his hair and felt his skin crawl. He curled up into himself even more in an attempt to get away from those hands. There were voices everywhere and everything was just too loud and too bright and the smell was getting worse. He could feel his brain slowly shutting down and the tears in his eyes finally dripping down his face.

His parents are going to be so disappointed in him, he thought as the voices around him got further and further. They sounded muffled. As if he was underwater. Someone suddenly cupped his face with their hands and when he looked up, the last thing he saw were silver eyes before he passed out on the floor, now fast asleep.

Chapter Text

Light shined on his face and he groaned, head pounding, eyes sore and throat dry. Did he go into another caffeine-induced coma from trying to cram for his exams again? Just as his mind was about to wander, it backpedalled for a bit. Exams? The memories immediately came rushing in.

The results, the drop in ranking, the B minus, the crippling panic that took hold of him, seeing Felix, knowing Chan was about to see him in such a state... He groaned, wishing he didn't gain consciousness so soon.

God, why was everything so complicated?

He missed his boring, routine-filled, monotonous life.

As he was about to get up, he found that he couldn't. In curiosity (and pure annoyance), he looked to see what was keeping him on his bed. There was an arm thrown around his waist. Had quite a lot of muscle. Changbin? But it was also quite long. Not Changbin then. God, how he wished it was Changbin and not who it actually was, it would make things a lot less harder than it was now. Against his better judgement, he brought his eyes away from the male's arm and to his face.

Curly red and green hair sat in a mop, especially messed up and frizzy from lying on the bed and presumably moving around quite a bit in his sleep. His face, for the first time, looked serene. No plotting, planning, smirking or blank expressions. He looked at peace for once.

His eyes slowly moved down to his lips and he was about to slap himself for doing so when a loud snore escaped from the demon and Seungmin stared at him in utter disbelief before slapping a hand over his mouth instead, trying not to burst into laughter.

The demon continued snoring and Seungmin didn't try to resist the temptation of bringing out his phone and recording the demon, snores and all. He stopped the recording and put it in his private folder for leverage against the demon, should he ever need it. He turned to place his phone on his table when the thought hit him like a truck. A thought that came from something he remembered Chan had said.

Demons didn't need to sleep.

Sloth always does so because he's always conserving energy. Hibernation, if you will. But demons, in general, didn't need it. They could sleep, although it would mostly be out of boredom or fun he supposed, but they didn't need it. It wasn't a necessity to them. This was the sin of pride. A demon that looked down on everyone from a space above, prided himself on always keeping tabs on everything and everyone.

There was no way he voluntarily fell asleep when he didn't need to.

He saw Chan's fingers twitch and his mouth close, only to start twitching as well. As if he was trying not to laugh.

Oh, this demon thought he was hilarious, didn't he?

That's fine. Seungmin will show him something even more hysterical than that.

He took out his phone, turned to the recording app and with all his strength, shoved Chan off the bed. A small yell and a loud thud reaching his ears and he started laughing like a maniac, panning his phone to a disgruntled Chan sulking on the floor, tangled in Seungmin's blanket. Chan huffed in annoyance, slowly standing up and wrapping Seungmin's blanket around him like cocoon and waddling towards the bed like a penguin, sulking about Seungmin being a bully.

Seungmin wasn't even going to try to lie to himself. Chan looked downright adorable.

That doesn't mean that thought will see the light of day though, it can burn and bury.

Chan plopped himself next to Seungmin, still huffing about the "abuse" he inflicted on the demon before deciding even he couldn't take himself seriously and shook his head, a dimpled grin adorning his face.

A silence encompassed the room and for a second, Seungmin forgot that he was in the presence of a demon who has made it his life's mission to smother him in unwanted affection (not unwanted in any way but that thought will burn along with the rest). Unfortunately, by the time he realised his mistake, it was too late.

Strong arms wrapped around his middle before dragging him towards the demon's direction. He was now sat in between the demon's legs as Chan hugged him from behind, slightly swaying them side to side and humming a random tune under his breath. A comfortable silence encompassed them before reality came crashing into Seungmin.

He should be studying, shouldn't he?

He should be trying to get his grades up so he won't be a disappointment to his parents, shouldn't he?

He should. He doesn't need his grades to drop even more.

He squirmed, trying to get out of Chan's hold. Chan let out a small questions hum, placing his chin on Seungmin's shoulder. Seungmin shot him an unamused stare. "Let go, I need to study." Chan looked at him, his face turning blank for a moment. As if he was observing him. Analysing him. Seungmin raised his eyebrow at Chan as the silence stretched on for a few more seconds before Chan released him from his hold, his face going back to its casual friendliness.

"Okay."

Seungmin looked at him in suspicion. Usually, when a panic attack or mental breakdown happens, people would usually tell those who had suffered to try not to do or think of the cause of it so it was strange that Chan was just so willing to let him get back to studying.

Maybe he didn't want Seungmin to but didn't know how to say it?

That wasn't believable, this was Chan. If he didn't want someone to do something, he would flat out tell them. The suspicion must have shown on his face because Chan simply tilted his head, mouthing a small "what" in his direction.

"You aren't going to stop me?"

"Why would I?"

"Usually people would. Especially after a panic attack, you know? They would try to prevent the person from doing the very thing that caused it. Or related to it, in any case."

"If you want to study, study. I'm not going to stop you."

Seungmin furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance, about to tell Chan that he was not at all answering his question when Chan interrupted him. Seungmin's glare softened as he looked at Chan in surprise. Chan's face went back to being blank though the vulnerability in his eyes and the words he said spoke volumes.

"I understand. Really. I've been where you are so many times. I'm not going to stop you because I know how it feels. How crushing it is, having no one who even remotely understands it and gives you the worst advice in history. I know how you feel. The only thing I can do for you is... Be there for you. And I will. I'll be here if you need me."

Seungmin stared at Chan, who now seemed adamant on avoiding eye contact by all means. He grimaced, as if he just chewed on something ridiculously bitter and that was precisely how Seungmin knew he wasn't lying.

Chan wasn't open to compliments or praise, especially when it came to other people so having him openly admit it, disregarding his sin must have taken a lot of courage on his part. Seungmin nearly felt the need to cry.

For so many years, he's only had very few people in his life and to Seungmin, that was really all he needed. But for the first time in his life, he felt truly understood. Truly seen. No one knew why he was the way he was. No one understood. No one tried to understand. The first person to try was Daehwi and they've been good friends since but he didn't understand either. Daehwi was someone who would try and distract him from his source of panic. Steer him away from it, like most people do.

This was the first time he's had someone actively support him with full understanding. He had a feeling Chan might understand a bit due to their shared belief of dreams being stupid but to have someone understand everything... It was so much more than he could ask for.

He's learnt over the time they spent together that Chan liked physical affection. No matter who the demon (or human, in his case) was, he enjoyed it and that was rare, considering the only other demon who enjoyed it as much as he did was Felix. The others weren't as open to physical affection and Seungmin was the same. He wasn't that open to physical affection either.

However, all he could think of to do in this moment was to turn around and wrap Chan up in his arms. He could hear Chan's breath hitch, as if he wasn't expecting that. Although a moment later, Chan hugged Seungmin back, a pleased him escaping him. After quite a bit of silence, Chan spoke.

"Do you have to? I'm quite enjoying this."

Seungmin laughed a bit at Chan's statement, deciding to ignore the steady increase of his own heartbeat.

Chapter Text

"It is seriously hard to watch you sometimes."

"Then don't. No one's asking you to."

"But I'm bored! I thought we could have fun but you're just boring to watch."

"I'm studying, what did you expect?"

"Come on, play with me!"

"What are you, two?"

Seungmin gave the demon an exasperated stare as the demon flopped onto his neatly made bed, sulking. Seungmin briefly wondered if all the demons had the emotional maturity of children before smacking the demon's leg and telling him to get off his neatly made bed.

Did the demon listen? Of course he didn't.

The demon sat up on Seungmin's bed, crossing his legs. Before he could open his mouth, Seungmin let out a loud sigh and slammed his book shut, turning around in his chair and fixing the demon with a glare that told him not to continue his complaints. When the demon stayed quiet, Seungmin spoke up.

"Since you're so bored, you can entertain me instead. What is your ability?"

Jeongin looked at Seungmin, humming to himself a bit. As if he was contemplating if he should tell Seungmin or not. He slightly swayed on the bed as he thought, the motion reminding Seungmin of Chan. And he needs to stop thinking of that idiot every two seconds, it was bordering on unhealthy. He shook his head to clear his head and looked at Jeongin, raising his eyebrow.

Okay, now the demon was just stalling.

He smacked the demon's leg again and Jeongin burst out into laughter. Again. Only after Seungmin smacked him did Jeongin finally enlighten him on his ability.

"I can turn envy into a physical manifestation."

Seungmin blinked at Jeongin's absolutely horrific explanation of his ability, his mind loading before slowly piecing it together.

"Do you mean that your ability is to turn people's envy into a physical object?"

"Uh, not exactly."

Seungmin looked at Jeongin in confusion and asked.

"Then?"

Jeongin grinned at him, mischief in his eyes, making him look even more fox-like than usual. It seemed almost as though he was going to have fun telling Seungmin what his ability entailed for whatever reason. The minute he opened his mouth and explained though, Seungmin understood why.

"It's more I can turn a person's envy into a physical form. That entity will basically torture them with their own envy of others and their insecurities for as long as I want them to. It's a more psychological approach. And it's not like people can see it. Since it's a manifestation, only the person's envy I used can see it. It's like, having a demon there wherever you go which you can never get rid of."

Gee, he had no idea what that was like.

"That is absolutely horrifying."

"I know. But it works because everyone is filled to the brim with envy and insecurity."

"What about the weakness? It's got to have a huge drawback right?"

"It does."

"And that is?"

"The ability itself affects my own psychological state so the longer I use it for or the more power I use for it, the more I'll go insane."

"That is somehow even worse."

"Yeah. It's why I don't really like to use it."

Seungmin stared at him for a bit before going into his own thoughts. While Hyunjin and Minho's abilities were powerful in their own right, Jeongin's ability, while not seeming as powerful, was a lot more terrifying in his opinion. It really preyed on the insecurities of others, literally putting it in their face that they will never have whatever they envied of others. It makes sense that such an ability would, of course, impact the user in the same horrifying way.

It's no wonder Jeongin hated to use it. Although he figured it wasn't because he particularly cared about people, it was more about preserving his own sanity.

If these three were already this powerful, he was almost scared to find out how powerful Chan's ability was, being the strongest sin and all.

While Hyunjin and Minho's ability more subtly exploits human greed, Jeongin, on the other hand, his ability has no subtlety. Fortunately for Seungmin though, this ability was granted to someone who didn't really like to use it and if anything, would rather avoid it.

Thank god. Otherwise, he would be living with a deranged demon who most likely would've already long killed him by this point.

Jeongin immediately started whining about being bored again and Seungmin sighed, knowing Jeongin wasn't going to shut up until he was entertained. "Why don't you ask Hyunjin to entertain you? You two are always together." Jeongin immediately started sulking, rocking slightly on Seungmin bed as he lamented.

"He's off flirting with some random person so I'm just here. All by myself. Well, technically not all by myself but- you know."

"He's... Flirting?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Cause he's bored and he wants money."

"And you aren't upset?"

"Why would I be?"

"I know you like him, Jeongin."

"How did you know...?"

"The way you look at him is the same way Felix looks at Changbin. Or Minho looks at Jisung."

Jeongin stayed silent for a short while before bursting out into laughter.

"Hyunjin only ever flirts if he wants something so I'm not worried."

Thank god for Jeongin being an emotionally mature individual and actually understanding his own emotions. If Seungmin had to help another pair of idiots who couldn't talk to each other for the life of them, he might actually lose it. Especially since he's now dealing with a crush of his own that he doesn't know how to handle.

He broke out of his thoughts when the demon reached out and tugged on Seungmin's sleeve, asking him once again to entertain him because he was also bored. Seungmin sighs, thinking of a game he could teach (and one he owned. He doesn't own a lot.).

About half and hour later, Seungmin was now in a fierce competition of UNO with the demon. The demon seemed extremely intrigued when Seungmin explained to him the game and now wanted to play it until he won. Which he hadn't until now. Which he was also currently sulking about. As he screamed about having a rematch when Seungmin beat him a third time, Felix popped in, wondering what all the screaming was about.

It was the beginning of the end when Felix found out because he announced it to all the demons who then proceeded to invade his room to play this human game. Seungmin and Jeongin explained the rules and they all immediately got to playing.

So why did Seungmin say it was the beginning if the end? Simple. The demons were very competitive.

Many, many games later ended with a worn out Seungmin now lying on his bed, listening to Jeongin and Jisung scream at each other, Chan wheezing when Felix thought he was going to better him with his plus twos only for Chan to put down a change colour plus four and watch Felix gape at his loss, Minho cheating by peeking at everyone's cards while they were distracted and Changbin "upset eating" because he was the first to lose. It was messy, it was chaotic and it was so them. He shut his eyes for a brief second and thought to himself.

Next time they play this, he wants all eight of them (including him) to be here. Nothing was better than eight.

He promptly kicked them all out of his room when things started to get heated.

Chapter Text

Seungmin came to the kitchen only to immediately halt his steps. Jisung stood in the kitchen, seemingly attempting to cook... Whatever concoction was in that pan. He was pretty sure the food wasn't suppose to look black and brown and disturbingly like sludge. Also, he was pretty sure that the fire wasn't supposed to be that high. He added a strange white mixture into the sludge and- no.

He's not about to let his kitchen burn down.

"What on earth are you doing?"

Jisung jumped a bit, turning his head to face him. He found that, for a demon, Jisung actually got scared quite easily. It was hilarious. He was the absolute opposite of Chan. Chan never got scared as he always knew where everyone was. He was also phenomenally good at predicting an outcome so he was usually never caught off guard. Jisung, however, it was very easy to scare him.

Jisung huffed. Sadly, Seungmin found his blender wasn't safe either as there was a strange, almost pinkish substance inside of it. It looked disgusting.

"I figured I would try to cook. You humans can do it so it shouldn't be that hard."

"Your sludge is literally on fire."

"What sludge- fuck!"

He stared in morbid fascination as Jisung literally stuck his hand into the flames emitting from the pan. The flames moved on their own, circling around his fingers before seemingly getting absorbed into him, the veins in his arms emitting a lava-like glow before disappearing. Did that have something to do with his ability? Seungmin wondered as Jisung turned back to face him, putting his hands on his hips as he glared at him.

"See? No more fire."

Seungmin gave him the most unimpressed stare he could manage before something caught his eye. He glanced past Jisung to look at the pan, confused, until the sludge in th pan moved on it's own and Seungmin didn't know if he wanted to scream, cry or throw up. Maybe all three. Part of the sludge broke off and dropped onto the floor, somehow melting onto the floor into a strange liquified state and he made a mental note to never let Jisung near his kitchen again.

"Is that thing alive?"

"It's in the process of being alive."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't you eat food when it's alive?"

"No. No you don't."

"But I saw on your, what do you call it? Television, that-"

"Some foods like oysters and maybe octopus, yes. Most foods, no."

"Oh."

"Also, now it's my pan's that's on fire."

"Why is something always on fire?!"

"Because the fire's on high."

Seungmin walked towards the stove and turned the knob so the fire was turned off as he took the pan away from the stove and put it on the countertop so it could cool down as he put out the fire on his pan. He then took a paper towel and grimaced at the alive creature melting on the floor, cleaning up in disgust and throwing it into the trash, making a mental note to take it out as soon as he gets Jisung out and far away from his poor kitchen.

"You owe me."

"Why do I owe you?!"

"For ruining my kitchen. I'm going to need life-long therapy now."

"What's therapy?"

"Ugh, one day I'll tell you. Now get out of my kitchen, you've ruined it enough as it is."

"What exactly do I owe you?"

"An answer. What's your ability?"

Jisung blinked at him, looking eerily similar to that of a startled squirrel. He huffed, again, his cheeks puffing out as he looked to his left and started thinking. As if he was wondering if he should tell Seungmin or not.

Silence encompassed them as Seungmin watched Changbin stroll into the kitchen, sniffing the air and looking at the sludge in the pan before digging in with his bare hands and yeah, Seungmin has officially lost every last bit of his appetite.

He still didn't know what the strange substance in the blender was and frankly, was terrified of finding out.

Jisung looked back at Seungmin, remaining silent for a bit before finally speaking up.

"I can manipulate heat."

That was... Underwhelming, Seungmin thought to himself before thinking about it. As underwhelming as it seems though, if it is heat in general, he can easily make people or the things around him freeze or burn. It becomes a lot more terrifying when you realise everything has heat, the air included. As long as the sun shines on earth, there is going to be heat. So Jisung is kind of always going to be powerful, got it.

Another beat of silence passed them before Seungmin spoke up. "What about weaknesses? An ability like that, there needs to be some sort of downside, correct?" Jisung looked up from poking at whatever remained of his sludge (did he mention that it was disgusting?) and back at him, doe eyes wide. It was so hard to take this demon seriously sometimes. Jisung hummed in thought for a bit before speaking.

"The angrier I feel, the stronger it becomes, the harder it is to control. If I'm not careful, I'll end up killing hundreds of people."

Considering that this was the sin of Wrath, Seungmin felt a whole new sense of dread. The world was in danger. The country was in danger. He was in danger. He's going to start hunting down these cultists soon.

Why did he agree to housing these demons? Right. He didn't.

These demons are going to accidentally kill him one day. They'll take over his house. They'll get crumbs and dirty his furniture. They were going to wreck everything. Okay, he's aware he is very much exaggerating but his point remains. He soon snapped out of his thoughts as his gaze moved to his poor blender that definitely didn't deserve this.

"What is that anyway?"

"It's milk ham."

"Don't tell me..."

"I blended milk and ham."

"Get the fuck out of my kitchen. Step near this kitchen and I will hack your hands off with a butter knife."

"I'd like to see you try, motherfucker."

"Get out."

Chapter Text

He stared at the two demons cuddling on the couch in disgust as he sat at the end of the couch. Funny how despite this being his couch, he rarely ever is able to sit on it since the demons always hoarded it. He should make them pay rent, honestly. He suppose he should start milking them for information on their abilities. It's the least they can do.

Apart from providing protection, he suppose.

He looks at the two demons and for a dangerous second, his mind returns to the day he initiated affection towards Chan for once and the way Chan looked. The day Chan comforted him after his breakdown about his grades. He looked pleased and not in his usual 'I got you to break first and accept me' kind of way, like he was since their time at the restaurant.

After days (and he means days) of his mind unhelpfully returning to every memory possible he has of Chan, there was no denying it (like he was for a while). He liked the demon, unfortunately. Somehow, at some point, his heart decided he liked the demon and not in a platonic way. He couldn't trace back to a definite time it hit him, he thinks that it was probably something a lot more gradual. Something that happened overtime.

Ugh, that sounds just like him. To fall for someone over a period of time and not know when.

And he now realises that he is doing the exact same thing. Thinking about Chan when he wasn't even there. He wasn't here. Where did he go during the day when he wasn't here? He didn't know. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He turned his head back to the two demons cuddling on the couch and cleared his throat, trying to get their attention. It worked (thankfully) as the two demons turned to face him, confusion etched on their faces.

"What are both of your abilities, if you don't mind me asking."

"What if I were to say that I do mind?"

"I am still letting you live here. Rent free. I can charge you. Or let you live on the streets. It's your choice."

"Okay, damn. No need to be so serious, baby."

"I thought I was your baby?"

Felix turned to look at Changbin, who playfully pouted at Felix calling Seungmin baby. Felix giggled, his voice rising an octave as he looked at him with all the love the world probably had to offer.

The only couple he thought could rival that amount of whipped was Jisung and Minho and that was because they were simply inseparable. If anything, Seungmin would argue that they are worse. They look at each other like they created the entire universe for only each other.

It was impressive and honestly, really sweet.

He watched Felix boop Changbin on his nose, spouting some sweet gibberish to him as he watched them judgementally from his side of the couch. He cleared his throat, a little louder to gain their attention once again. Felix stared at him blankly before snapping his fingers in remembrance, giggling at the fact he forgot as Seungmin gave them an unimpressed stare. Felix then spoke.

"My ability is that I can make anyone fall in love with me. I can make them anywhere from attracted, to lustful, to in love, to straight up obsessed. Of course, the downside is that it's kind of like a double edged sword. If I make them obsessed, they will do crazy shit like stalk me so I'm also putting myself at risk. Of course, they would also kill for me so others are at a risk too, I suppose."

"My physical capabilities are enhanced the more I eat. That's all there is to it. I guess the downside is that I can't control it? I might accidentally break something like a door, I guess?"

Seungmin blinked in morbid fascination at their abilities. Both very powerful in their own right. Felix literally makes people fall head over heels for him. Which, he can understand the drawbacks well.

People can be terrifying when they love or idolize people or things. Especially when you look at the amount of terrifying things a number of celebrities have to endure due to obsessive fans. He's seen countless articles and news covering these crazy stories, he could never imagine being in that position.

Changbin's ability, similarly to Jisung's, seemed a little underwhelming at the beginning. That was, until it hit him that this was the sin of Gluttony. Someone who is constantly eating, no matter what. He had to stop him from eating detergent once. That thought gave a lot more insight as to how powerful Changbin actually was and he wondered just how good he was at controlling his ability considering the fact he hasn't accidentally destroyed something already.

He turned to look at them to see they were cuddling already, watching television. They were laughing at the female lead crying over her best friend dying. As if it was some sort of comedy.

Demons.

He decided to let them be, getting off the couch and slowly inching away from them. He turned around, ready to head back to his room and study only to come face to face with Chan.

Oh God, save him. He's going to need it.

His pained expression must have shown if Chan's amused face was anything to go by.

"I just came back and that's the greeting I get? I'm hurt, Minnie."

"Where do you even go during the day? You're unemployed."

"Rude. But that's none of your business."

"Why are you being secretive about it? You're not secretly dealing drugs, are you?"

"Me? Never. I'm a good citizen."

"Says the guy that broke a student's finger once."

"Why do you want to know so badly? Jealous? Think I'm sneaking around with someone behind your back?"

"We're not dating, why would I care?"

Chan stared blankly at him before grimacing a bit. As if he ate something bitter and couldn't get rid of its taste. He let that expression slip out for a split second before he went back to his usual amused smirk. Seungmin furrowed his eyebrows a bit, briefly wondering if he said something wrong.

That thought, however, was quickly cut off when Chan suddenly placed his hands on Seungmin's waist, pulling Seungmin towards him. Chan gazed at him with an emotion in his eyes Seungmin, for the life of him, couldn't name as Seungmin placed his hands on Chan's shoulders, trying to keep his balance after being pulled towards him without warning. Seungmin could feel the blood rushing to his face, no doubt painting it red as his breath hitched. He could feel his heartbeat increase rapidly as Chan continued to look at him.

After a beat of silence, Chan finally spoke.

"Don't you worry that pretty little head of yours. I wouldn't do anything to upset you. Again."

Seungmin snappe out if his daze, willing the static in his head to leave. Seungmin knew that. Knew Chan wouldn't do anything to upset him. As much as Chan wouldn't verbally admit it, it was obvious Chan cared for him. With the way Chan constantly hugged, teased and kissed him, it was quite clear that Chan probably liked him.

The only reason Seungmin hasn't done anything was because he needed time to come to terms with his own feelings. He sighed, giving Chan a weak smile. He was so down bad for this demon.

"I know so I'll trust you."

Chan grinned at him, quickly dragging him to his own room and shoving him onto the bed, quickly crawling on it and towards him to lie down and wrap his arms around Seungmin's middle, preventing him from escaping his affection.

Not that he would anyways but would he admit it? No.

He sighed wearily, as if Chan's affection exhausted him but ultimately gave in, getting comfortable in his bed and letting Chan snuggle him like a giant teddy bear. He bit back a smile.

Unfortunately for Seungmin, he had yet to learn to never take what Chan says at face value.

Chapter Text

"So, let me get this straight. You got kidnapped by a bunch of cultists, got seven demons bound to you, nearly got killed in a forest by a demon and now you have a crush on one of them?"

"Pretty much."

Daehwi looked at Seungmin with a look that he didn't even know how to describe. Seungmin let out a sigh, taking a sip of whatever was in his cup and grimacing. Daehwi, like Seungmin predicted, figured something wasn't quite right when Felix mentioned that he waited for 600 years for Changbin to do something. He just waited for Seungmin to approach him at his own time to finally tell him.

Seungmin appreciated that.

Daehwi took a large gulp of whatever drink was in his cup and scrunched his face as Seungmin laughed at his expense. The minute Daehwi saw Seungmin's complexion and the dark rings around his eyes, he decided Seungmin could not stay in his apartment, studying himself to death any longer, deciding (against his will, should he add) to drag him to a club to loosen up. Seungmin was about to argue but he took one look at Daehwi's face and knew that it wasn't up for discussion.

Thus, now he was here. Standing in a corner, chatting with Daehwi and sipping whatever strange concoction was in his cup. What wasn't a good idea, was letting Daehwi order their drinks at the bar because whatever this was, it was disgusting. Seungmin took another sip of his drink, making sure to give Daehwi the most judgemental stare he could muster before deciding to chuck the cup in the bin.

Whatever was in the cup was strong though. He wasn't drunk, far from it actually, but he wouldn't exactly say he was fully sober either. He want tipsy yet but if he decided to drink more, he would be. Seungmin sighed. He should probably get some water in him to fully sober up. Some food too. Maybe he could buy a bit more to give those hungry gremlins back at his house, he thinks as he heads to the bar.

When he reaches the bar, however, a chuckle from someone reached his ears and he perked up a bit because why was that voice so familiar? He looked around the bar for a bit before his eyes finally caught it. A bit further away, a familiar mop of red and green hair sat there and confusion overcame him.

Why was Chan here?

Chan didn't look around in confusion and he seemed pretty comfortable... This wasn't his first time here. He's come here before. He didn't think much of it, he knew what Chan was like. He probably wanted to familiarise himself with the place around him as much as he could and explored, finding this place in the process. He briefly wondered if Chan came here to get drunk or to have fun before his eyes landed on something that made him freeze.

A woman.

He was talking to a woman.

The woman was talking and Chan was listening to her. He was sitting on the stool sideways so he was facing her, his right elbow resting on the countertop, his right hand resting on his face as he absorbed whatever the woman was saying in interest. He felt a slight twinge of jealousy but quickly shook it off. For all he knew, she could simply be a friend Chan made here. Or someone he was using for whatever scheme he decided to conjure in his head.

He decided to observe them a bit more.

Observe Chan a bit more.

Chan seemed relaxed and he showed genuine interest in whatever the woman was talking about. He would lean in closer and ask questions. His eyes were soft as he looked at the woman. He had never seen Chan look at anyone that way before. Not even him. He had a certain level of softness in his eyes when he looked at him, Seungmin wasn't blind. But it was nothing compared to how he looked at her.

Chan, while he was also somewhat relaxed in his home and with him, it was nowhere near how relaxed he seemed with her. He would occasionally reach out his arm and place his hand on her arm, squeezing a bit in comfort whenever she talked about something that seemed a little hard, his expression changing to one of sympathy. An expression Chan never has. Not even with him.

Whoever this woman was, she and Chan were really close.

He wondered if maybe she was a demon as well who had disguised herself as human to blend in. Like Chan. No matter what he reasoned, however, that didn't stop the ugly shade of green that swirled inside of him. One he desperately shoved down.

It simply wasn't his place.

He didn't even know who she was to him yet. If someone got jealous of him because him and Daehwi are friends and they liked him or Daehwi, he would seriously question them. Not for being jealous, he knows how irrational emotions can be. He would question them for not just asking. He would be hypocritical if he were to do that and not even know what they were to each other.

Just when he thought that he should probably get to know her since she clearly matters a lot to Chan and well, he likes Chan, the woman leaned in and kissed him. On the lips. And Chan didn't move back or anything. He didn't even look surprised. In fact, he closed his eyes and kissed back. Seungmin stood there, trying to process what was happening. They broke apart and then they got off their stools, Chan leading them to the dance floor, a hand on her back as Seungmin stood there alone, his heart now on the floor.

He had thought that Chan returned his feelings with the way he acted around him. He was sure of himself but now? He wasn't. The way he acted around him wasn't platonic, he didn't think. But if he had a girlfriend the entire time, was he two-timing?

No. He knew Chan.

Even if Chan didn't have a lot of morals, there were some things he strictly didn't do. One thing he looked down upon was cheating. He said so when they were watching a movie together and there was a scene where someone's girlfriend cheated on their boyfriend. There was no way he woould do that when he clearly looked down upon it.

He had read Chan's feelings towards him incorrectly. That was the only explanation. Seungmin had read Chan's feelings wrong and had thought Chan reciprocated his feelings when he didn't. He could argue that if Chan didn't see him in a romantic light (of some version), he wouldn't kiss Seungmin all over like he usually does but Seungmin knew that was nothing more than affection.

He's seen him kiss Felix's face before Changbin finally told Felix how he felt. Not to the extent he does with Seungmin, of course, but still did so nonetheless. Seungmin did doubt himself a bit witnessing that but overall thought that he was right.

Yeah, now he feels like an idiot with his heart trampled on the floor.

Why? Of all people, why did he have to fall for Chan? Why did he have to be so hard and yet so sweet? Seungmin kind of hates himself now.

He sighed, keeping his eyes strictly away from the dance floor as he looked for Daehwi. He spotted him talking to a another male in a corner, clearly having fun if the way he was looking at the other male said anything. He sighed again. If Daehwi was having fun, he shouldn't ruin it. Daehwi spends so much of his time looking after him even when he doesn't have to. He's having fun on his own now and Seungmin didn't want to ruin that for him.

Seungmin stalked out of the club, letting out a breath at the cloud air of the night. He shrugged his jacket closer to himself as he trekked towards a fast food place he knew was open for 24 hours. He kind of wanted to drown his sorrows in an unhealthy amount of fries.

As he walked, a hand reached out and gripped his wrist. He turned to look around and saw a tall male with brown hair and a greasy looking smirk on his face. The male then spoke and Seungmin looked at the male in disgust.

"You seem lonely. Want to come back to my place?"

"I'll pass."

"Oh come on. Why not?"

"I'm not interested."

Seungmin snatched his wrist away from the male and turned his back to him, walking away. As he walked off, he could hear the male whistle loudly and Seungmin, absolutely disgusted now, turned back around stormed up to the security of the place and pointed them towards the male, saying he was harrassing him before continuing his trek back to the fast food place, the male now yelling, which fell on deaf ears.

He walked to the fast food place (unfortunately for his now grieving heart) hoping that the incident would've caught Chan's attention and he wouldn't have to be alone, no matter how unhealthy it was to hang around the very person who didn't even need to speak to you to crush you. It never did. The male was dragged away and Seungmin reached the place on his own, ordered on his own, sat in the booth by himself and ate the greasy food by himself.

The worst part was that he would stare at the door, hoping to hear the bell and hoping Chan would come in and sit across from him. Or next to him. And they would talk, like nothing happened. They would tease each other, like nothing happened. Chan would probably still make his heart race, like nothing happened. They would probably make their way back, like nothing happened.

Seungmin wished nothing happened. Seungmin wished that he wasn't hoping Chan would come in. Seungmin wished that he didn't see Chan sitting across from him and laughing. Seungmin wished he didn't see Chan with that woman. Seungmin wished he fought harder against Daehwi so he didn't come here.

Seungmin wished that he never met Chan. And yet, he was still waiting for that door to open and for Chan to come through.

He never did and Seungmin isn't sure how glad he is about that.

Seungmin never made it back to his place. He went over to Daehwi's place, using the key Daehwi gave him to open his door. He shut it behind him and slipped off his shoes, walking in and curling up on his couch, texting Daehwi that he will sleep in his apartment tonight as he shut his eyes to go to sleep. Tears slipped down from his eyes and his body shook. For the first time in years, Seungmin cried himself to sleep.

All because he fell in love with someone he shouldn't have. He wanted to be happy for Chan, he really did, but in his moment of weakness, he silently hoped to himself that Chan wouldn't find his happiness in her.

Chapter Text

It had been days since he last talked to Chan. Days of subtly avoiding Chan as much as he could and spending a lot more time in either Daehwi's house, his school or the library. His brain told him that the distance was good as it would give him the space needed to sort out his feelings and emotions. His heart, on the other hand, wholeheartedly (yes, pun intended) disagreed. His heart was broken and begging for Chan to return. To talk to him. To tell him everything would be fine and she meant nothing, as immensely cliché as it sounded.

His plan was working, unfortunately. Seungmin had a lot of time to himself to sort out his emotions and completely ignore his heart's desire. On the flip side, however, the demons seem to be aware that something had happened between them and were getting increasingly concerned.

However, considering the fact that majority of them could barely even communicate their own emotions to each other (ehem, Minho, ehem, Changbin), he proved them to be highly unreliable. Chan wasn't stupid, Seungmin knew that Chan had noticed their distance and that it was only a matter of time before he was confronted.

He just didn't think it would be so soon.

Which lead him to his current predicament of sitting at a bench outside but in the quarters of his school with nearly every student that was outside glancing in his direction and a demon standing across from him, in front of the bench with a serious expression and his arms folded across his chest. He could hear the students whispering. Everything from a simple "who is that" to "wow he's hot." and he was highly unamused.

Great.

The last thing he needed when he just got his heart broken was the very guy who broke it.

He looked down at his papers, tidying them up and packing them away, ready to take his leave. Chan picked up on that, his frown deepening and his eyebrows furrowing. Seungmin got off his seat and slung his bag on his shoulder, immediately walking away only for Chan's hand to reach out and grip his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. Seungmin turned back to Chan, who almost looked angry. Why the fuck was he angry?

"What is your problem?"

"Excuse me?"

"You've been avoiding me for days."

"So? Why do you care?"

"What do you mean why do I care? Of course I care."

"Be honest. Do you get some sort of sick entertainment watching me suffer?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Who was that woman at the club?"

Chan looked confused for a second before he seemed to understand what Seungmin was referring to. His expression went from confusion to recognition before going back to his usual blank expression. He tilted his head as he looked at Seungmin, his eyes analytical. As if he was trying to read him. Observe him. See what kind of reaction this was going to be.

"You saw-"

"Yes. I did. Who the fuck was that?"

"Why do you care?"

"Why do I-? Don't play dumb with me, I'm not some toy you can play around with when you're bored, Chan."

"But you're not."

Chan looked at him, surprised and the more Seungmin looked at Chan, the angrier he became. Angry that Chan made him think he had a chance only to crush it. Angry that Chan kissed someone else. Angry that Chan then had the nerve to come here and look angry for Seungmin avoiding him.

He was just so tired. Tired of being angry. Tired of being heartbroken. Tired of having to be strong all the time. In hindsight, that was probably what lead him to lash out at Chan. To make a scene in front of so many students.

"Don't you dare lie to me! You really went out of your way to make me think you were someone special. Someone I could trust. Well, guess what? It worked and I fell for you. I thought you reciprocated my feelings with the way you acted around me only for you to fuck off and kiss someone else?! What is wrong with you?!"

"Nothing is wrong with me! She was my ex!"

"Oh because that makes it sooo much better, doesn't it?!"

"She was my ex. I don't have feelings for her anymore. She has her own crush on someone and she was going through a hard time and she used me as a rebound!"

"You kissed her back!"

"Because I liked you but didn't think you liked me back!"

"I literally let you kiss me!"

"Only for you to turn around and say 'we're not dating' and 'I don't care'. You keep giving me mixed signals, I didnt know what to believe!"

"Why didn't you ask me if you were confused then, I would've told you!"

"Because I was scared you would say no and I read things wrong! I don't just like you anymore Seungmin, I love you, and I wouldn't have known what to do if you had said no!"

Seungmin paused for a second, staring at Chan in disbelief, who was a bit out of breath after the yelling match between them and was now trying to avoid eye contact with him, his face and ears red. The entire cause of his heartbreak was because Chan's ex-now-friend was going through a rough time with her crush and put of pure desperation, kissed him and he reciprocated because he wasn't sure what Seungmin felt towards him?

Seungmin could feel the guilt slowly creep into his system. He thought he was being really obvious and that Chan would know but he didn't. He was very hot and cold with his affection and in return, it confused Chan. Chan was perceptive but Seungmin forgot that despite being a demon, he still has his own insecurities to deal with. He shouldn't have assumed Chan would just know how he felt becuase they were similar.

He didn't bother to hear Chan's side of the story and immediately assumed the worst, taking out his frustrations and heartbreak on Chan in the end. He always prided himself on knowing how to communicate, constantly flaming the other demons for not knowing how to but in the end, he made the exact same mistake and just assumed.

He was going to do better. He was going to be better. He needed to be better than this. He walked up to Chan and took both his hands in his, looking into his dark eyes, hoping Chan would see that he is being open and sincere.

"I'm really sorry, this is my fault. I should've asked you but I just immediately assumed the worst and didn't. I'm sorry I made you suffer for so long with how I acted as well. I thought you knew and I shouldn't have just assumed you would know or understand. Please, find in your heart to forgive me."

Chan looked at him, looking even more surprised than before, his eyes widened even further as he opened his mouth, as if to say something before closing it and staring at Seungmin again. Seungmin looked at Chan, albeit a bit nervously, before Chan moved his hands from Seungmin's to his wrists, gently grabbing both of them. Seungmin looked at him in pure confusion before Chan tugged Seungmin closer to him and kissed him, Seungmin's eyes widening this time.

He could feel his face heat up and his hearrate pick up as static filled his head. It felt like his brain was malfunctioning, not a single thought to be found outside of Chan. Seungmin then finally closed his eyes, kissing back and moving his hands away from Chan's grip to his face. They broke away from each other, eyes only looking at each other until the sound of clapping made its way to their ears.

Seungmin looked around to see the students who witnessed the entire drama unfold clapping in congratulations and he wasn't going to lie, it was quite embarrassing, in all honesty. Chan just looked around, amused at the clapping before pulling Seungmin back towards him, Seungmin helping a bit at the sudden action. Chan wrapped his arms around Seungmin's waist, kissing him again and looking at him in pure adoration.

"I'm guessing this means that I am now your boyfriend?"

"Yes, you dork."

Chan giggled as they looked at each other again, nose to nose as Seungmin sighed. He was going to do better. Communicate better. Listen better and assume less. He was lucky that despite Chan being a demon, he had such a beautiful soul.

God does he love this stupid demon.

Chapter Text

It's been about two weeks since him and Chan have gotten together at school and things could not be looking better. The demons are happy, his grades have been improving and Daehwi has given their relationship his regards. Not to mention, he has met someone of his own.

Chan is absolutely great. Seungmin wakes up to him, gets ready with him and Chan always puts in the extra effort to do things with him, no matter how small or insignificant it seems. Like walking with him to school and back. The only downside he would say, is the fact that people will not stop staring at him. Which, he understands, Chan is very attractive but still. Nothing too big really.

That was, until he got a call.

He was sitting on the sofa with his boyfriend and a few other demons, who were in a heated discussion about the worst foods on earth. They didn't know what a lot of the human foods were called so they came up with their own versions of how to call them, which Seungmin found hilarious, despite him having trouble identifying what food they were talking about half the time.

Jeongin was in the midst of talking about how black beans were the worst food to ever grace this plane of existence (which, okay, he doesn't think he's ever seen someone hate a food that much) when his phone started ringing, interrupting their heated discussion.

Seungmin moved out of the living room and into his own room, shutting the door for good measure to drown out the increasingly loud volume of the demons. He looked at his phone to see the caller ID. He blinked at his phone. Why was she calling him? He picked up the call and raised his phone to his ear, the familiar voice immediately making him smile, a sense of homesickness filling him as the woman spoke.

"Hello Seungmin. How are you this fine evening?"

"Stop trying to be formal, it's weird."

"Okay, okay. How you doing?"

"Fine. More or less."

"Enough about that. When were you going to tell me you had a boyfriend, huh?!"

"How- Daehwi."

"Damn right. My own baby brother gets a boyfriend and he didn't tell me?!"

"Sis, calm down. He only became my boyfriend, like, yesterday."

"Yesterday?"

"Okay, a little more than two weeks ago. It's still new."

"Well, unfortunately for you, mom find out."

"Because you can't shut up?"

"Rude. But yes. They want to meet him. Today."

"Today? Oh god, please don't embarrass me."

"I'll think about it. I'll see you soon. Love you."

"Yeah, yeah, love you too."

As Seungmin hung up the call, a wave of nervousness washing over him. High chance, they knew about his drop in grades and there was no doubt that it was going to raise questions. Questions he was scared to answer. He wasn't worried that Chan would accidentally drop the bomb that he's a whole demon on them, Chan was careful.

If his family wanted to meet the others, then he would be worried.

Chan was sweet, caring and a massive romantic. An idiot too but he gets a pass on that. He's Seungmin's idiot. He had confidence that his family would accept him and his sister would very much embarrass him. He was mainly nervous about his drop in grades. If he said the truth and that his friends were having issues so he focused less on his studies to help them, he already knows what his father would say.

"You shouldn't concern yourself with others affairs. You must put yourself over others sometimes, Seungmin. Your future is dependent on how well you do and how much you learn. If you concern yourself with others so much to the point your grades drop, they are not your friends."

He felt his hands shake slightly and he quickly placed down his phone on his desk so he wouldn't drop it, the dread in his stomach sinking lower and lower. God, they're going to be so disappointed. He didn't want them to be disappointed, he wanted them to be proud of him. It's why he gave up baseball. His father loved baseball too and didn't mind him playing it.

Until Seungmin said he wanted to pursue it.

His father said that baseball was only a hobby and shouldn't be a career. His mother said that it was a waste of time altogether. He remembers his mother coming into his room and sitting on his bed, telling him that he should give up baseball altogether and focus on his studies because that silly hobby of his won't get him anywhere and he'll want to continue to play it if he was given the chance and it might put the wrong thoughts in his head. Like secretly practicing instead of focusing on getting into a good school.

So, he gave up the first thing he ever fell in love with.

He wished he could say that he didn't resent them (especially his mother) for it but he did. He still loved them, just resented them for that incident. Just as he was about to spiral, his thoughts halted at the feeling of a weight around him. It was warm. Calming. Grounding. He shut his eyes to try and breathe for a second. The male behind him placed his chin on Seungmin's shoulder as his arms slightly tightened around his middle.

"Hey baby, what's going on?"

"Nothing much."

"Don't you start with that. Even nothing is important to me as long as it concerns you. Talk to me."

Seungmin sighed, turning around in the male's arms, coming face to face with sleepy brown eyes looking at him in concern. He felt a wave of affection wash over him. He really got lucky, didn't he?

"It's just- my parents want to meet you and I'm just a bit... Scared. I know they'll bring up my drop in grades and... Yeah."

"Don't worry about that Minnie. You picked it up and your grades are at the top again. I'm sure your parents won't be mad at you and if they are..."

Chan kissed the tip of his nose, flashing him a sweet smile, his dimples showing and his ears slightly red as he directed his eyes away from Seungmin's, slightly embarrassed.

"I'll be here if you need me."

Seungmin scoffed lightly, his smile betraying his nonchalance. He shook his head in exasperation before leaning in and placing his lips on Chan's. Chan's eyes widened slightly before he shut it, leaning into the kiss. Time passed as they stood there in Seungmin's room, kissing.

Taking in each other.

Chan's hands slipped from Seungmin's waist to underneath his sweater as Seungmin brought his hands up to Chan's neck, slowly sliding his hands up his neck and to his head as he raked his hands through his curls. They felt rough to the touch and yet so unbelievable him. Chan's hands felt cold on his bare skin. He felt Chan tighten his grip on his waist, pulling him slightly closer to his body. Seungmin could feel his own heartbeat increase and his face heat up when Chan slowly lead them to Seungmin's bed, pushing him down on the soft mattress. He couldn't help but think.

This burning passion, this love. It feels right.

So right.

Chapter Text

Hours later, they found themselves in front of a rather high-end apartment building. It was clean, polished and the glass panes they used as windows sparkled in the sunlight. Chan raised his eyebrow at the building and looked at Seungmin curiously, who adamantly refused to meet his gaze and walked into the apartment complex. Chan let out a small, disbeliefing laugh and entered the building after him, his hands in his pockets.

They took the elevator to the thirteenth floor before they got off and were now standing in front of a dark wooden door, a golden plate on the front with their floor number. He rung the doorbell. He could pick up voices talking over each other and a bit of shuffling before the door opened, revealing a middle-aged woman with an apron tied around her waist. She smiled widely upon seeing Seungmin and immediately ushered the both of them inside, shitting the door.

"Hi mom. It's nice to see you again."

"Oh dear, I missed you so much! Come here and give your mother a hug, why don't you?"

Seungmin laughed at his mother's enthusiasm, bringing her in for a hug. Once he released her, she turned her head towards Chan, curiosity in her gaze as she smiled politely at him, asking him for his name. Chan, ever the actor, bowed to her and folded his arms politely in front of him, a sweet smile on his face, dimples present.

"I'm Bang Chan, Seungmin's boyfriend. It's very nice to meet you. You must be Mrs Kim, correct? Seungmin's told me so much about you."

His mother nodded in approval, whispering to Seungmin about how he's found himself a catch and that he was such a polite boy. Seungmin couldn't help but feel the a certain level of pride and joy with Chan. Chan was never this polite to anyone and here he was, acting this way towards Seungmin's mother. He knew this meant a lot to Seungmin and he was doing his absolute best for Seungmin's parents to approve of him.

He was the sin of pride, this could not have been an easy feat for him. Especially bowing to someone, let alone a human. He could tell, he could see a very bitter kind of uncomfortable in Chan's eyes when Seungmin's mother turned away to head back to the kitchen. Chan seemed to notice Seungmin's gaze and turned to him, raising his eyebrow at him. Seungmin simply laughed at his face and Chan rolled his eyes at him, despite the small smile making its way onto his face. Seungmin gestured to the sofa and sat down, Chan doing the same thing.

Just as thy sat down, a tall middle-aged man walked in, immediately eyeing the two on the couch. Chan immediately stood up, bowing and greeting the man with that same sweet smile on his face as Seungmin watched the interaction, his nerves buzzing under his skin, a nervous energy thrumming through his veins. The man eyed Chan for a good minute before looking at Seungmin and giving a slight nod before turning back to Chan and speaking.

"Please, join us for dinner. I insist."

Seungmin prayed for his nerves to simmer down, feeling his hands get clammy from the pure amount of anxiety running through him. Like a ticking time bomb, waiting for the explosion to inevitable blow up in his face.

His grades.

They made their way to the dinning table, just as Seungmin's mother placed a steaming pit of food at the center. They washed their hands and sat down, slowly digging into their food. An uncomfortable silence encompassed the room and Seungmin was pretty much forcing the good down his throat.

The food was delicious. Seungmin missed his mother's homecooked meals and usually he would savour the taste as much as he could before he had to leave but the knot in his stomach wouldn't loosen and the food felt like it was on a journey back up. He decided to start the conversation.

"Sis couldn't make it today?"

"Unfortunately, no. She has work at the hospital all day today, she couldn't make it. Such a shame, it would've nice to have the family together again, it's been too long."

"I see."

"So, Chan, was it? How did you meet our little Seungmin? How did you two fall in love? I'm quite curious."

"Coincidence, really. I just happened to move to the apartment complex near Seungmin's. We would cross paths often and I like making friends so I would just start up conversations with him whenever we saw each other. Our friendship and love just... Kind of built over time, I guess."

"Aw, that's so sweet!"

Seungmin nearly snorted at Chan's story. He was a great as hell liar, he'd give him that. Able to lie so smoothly and with such a straight face and convincing tone. Seungmin anticipated that question but Chan simply told him that he would handle it when the time came. Seungmin put his trust in Chan, having faith that Chan would know what to do when the time came.

Chan always planned ahead, whatever questions his parents threw at him, there was a high chance Chan had already thought that through. Seungmin's mother interrupted his thoughts when she looked at Chan and asked.

"Moved? Where did you move from?"

"Australia."

"Oh? Why did you move?"

"To pursue my own aspiration."

"What is your aspiration?"

"To become a producer. It's always been a dream of mine."

The silence after Chan's final statement was loud. Deafening, even. Still, he couldn't help but look at Chan curiously.

Why music producer?

He looked at Chan and noticed his stiff smile and the slight pain in his eyes. He saw Chan's fingers twitch, as if it was something he didn't want to talk about. He thought back to the time when Chan was in his room and he said dreams were stupid. He wondered if being a music producer was truly his aspiration and he was forced to give up his dream one way or another. He turned his head back to his parents, silently begging them not to start a commotion. Unfortunately for him, in the end, his prayers were left unheard as his mother spoke.

"A music producer..? That's a waste of time."

"Excuse me?"

"It's just- you should think long-term, no? Silly hobbies like music or Seungmin's baseball should be left as hobbies. Those aren't sustainable career paths."

"You think it's a waste of time?"

"Well, frankly, yes. Those "hobbies" of yours aren't suitable for a career. You should be doing something more useful."

Seungmin ducked his head, anger boiling under his skin. It's one thing if his own parents say that to him but how could they disregard Chan in the same matter? He clenched his hands into fists on his lap, his fingernails biting into his skin. He saw the pain in Chan's eyes when he talked about his aspirations.

How could they say that to Chan when they've barely known each other? Out loud as well. It's one thing if they thought that but didn't say anything but to say that in front of someone. Someone they haven't known for a day.

This was a new low.

Before Chan or Seungmin himself could say anything, Seungmin's father cleared his throat. They all turned to look at him and he simply looked at Seungmin.

"We need to talk about your grades."

Oh no. Oh god no.

"Seventh place? What happened?"

"I- uh- it's just... My friends... They- they needed my help. They were going through a hard time and I wanted to help them..."

His father sighed, exasperated, placing his utensils down onto his plate and wiping his mouth with a piece of tissue before looking at Seungmin, gaze filled with disappointment. Seungmin ducked his head down, attempting to avoid eye contact with him. His father then spoke, his voice stern.

"You look at me when I talk to you, son."

Seungmin gulped as he slowly raised his head to meet his father's disappointed stare, the food churning in his stomach. Why did he feel like such a failure under his father's gaze? He knew his father wasn't an especially open man but he knew he loved him. Wanted what was best of him. He flexed his fingers which was resting on his lap, the urge to make any sort of movement simply to distract himself in some way or form strong.

"As kind of a gesture as that is, Seungmin, you can't be generous with your time. Sometimes, you have to be selfish. Your mother is right, your grades should be your top priority, not some trivial problem between your friends. Look where that has gotten you. From being first to seventh is a jump, Seungmin. I expect more from you."

Seungmin gulped, nodding his head slowly as he cut up a small piece of fish and shoved it in his mouth just for the sake of having something to do as he tried not to think about his parents words. They loved him, he knew that. They were just looking out for him. They were just being realistic. He was also quite the realist. Not to their extent but still. He knew they meant well but it never hurts less no matter how many times he's heard their words.

A tense silence encompassed the room as they ate and Seungmin turned to the only person he could get any sort of comfort from. The man sitting next to him. He turned to Chan only to freeze. His eyes were sharp and his jaw was tense. He looked down to see Chan flex his own fingers as he started to idly tap his foot in an uncoordinated rhythm.

Oh no.

He was pissed.

Seungmin immediately shot out his hand under the table and slotted his finger through Chan's, giving him a glare when Chan turned to look at him. Chan did not look happy but took in a deep breath. As if to calm himself. He took a second to collect himself before giving a smile to Seungmin's parents, as if he wasn't about to lash out had it been a second later.

What an actor.

"What do you two do for work? I must say, I am rather curious."

Seungmin let out a small sigh at Chan's conversational tone but still couldn't help but worry. Chan's anger wasn't something that went quietly and he only hoped he would keep it down long enough until they got out of here. If he lost his temper with Seungmin's parents and if they don't approve of him, Seungmin isn't sure what he'll do. He loves his parents, he wants them to like Chan. Approve of their relationship. His parents looked at Chan in mild surprise before his mother spoke.

"Oh, I work as an accountant. My husband is the CEO of some baseball club he founded."

"Sorry if I sound a bit rude but you must be an avid fan of baseball if you founded a club for the sport. If anything, I thought you would be proud that your son would have such an aspiration. Why are you so against it?"

"I don't mind him playing baseball just as long as he focuses on his studies. His grades are top priority and everything else comes below that. Besides, as his mother said, it is not a sustainable career path to follow."

Chan blinked at Seungmin's father and hummed in response before muttering a small thanks in appreciation for the food. Seungmin's mother brightened at the compliment while his father remained silent. Before the silence could drag on, Seungmin's father spoke.

"Seungmin, I have a gift for you. It's in my room, you can go there and open it yourself."

Seungmin knew he was lying and simply didn't want him there for whatever questioning he was about to put Chan through so he simply squeezed Chan's hand in comfort and left.

And now, it was just the three of them.

His father, his mother and Chan.

Chapter Text

Chan sighed once Seungmin left. Fucking hell, it had been so hard to keep himself in check but how does one tell their boyfriend that they hate his parents? Especially when said boyfriend loves his parents? That's... A rather complicated situation an frankly, as much as he despises the fact that apparently there are two humans who can somewhat read him, it's pretty clear where Seungmin got his quick with and intuition from. Once Seungmin was away, out of sight and out of earshot, did Seungmin's mother finally speak up.

"So-"

"You are actually unbelievable."

"Excuse me?"

"I understand being realistic but seriously? Is that how you treat your son? Your own flesh and blood?"

"I don't understand-"

"Of course you don't. What kind of parents do that to their own child?"

"We don't do anything to him, what are you talking about?"

"What kind of parents belittle their child, tell them their only worth comes from their grades and standing, disregards their child's dreams and aspirations, telling them it'll amount to nothing and worst of all, treat him like a disappointment when he gets seventh in the school? Still one of the best in the school, still in the top ten and you can't even be happy for him? All because he helped his friends? Let me guess, then you ask him about why he only has one friend as if you aren't the problem? You make me sick."

Seungmin's parents stood there, stunned into silence, Chan's harsh breaths being the only sound in the room. Chan looked at them, daring them to say something and when no words came out, he scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. He knew, to a certain extent, that he was projecting. It was clear that thy loved him, even if they unintentionally hurt him in the end but Chan still couldn't help but feel rage. To tell their own child that dreams and aspirations were nothing. Again, he knew that he was projecting his own past experiences a bit but still. At least one of the two of them deserved a happy ending.

Seungmin's parents did love him unconditionally and there was where their differences lay.

Chan's parents never loved him.

He was only a trophy. A prize. Bragging rights to their name. They had no love for him whatsoever. No matter how hard he tried to win their affection, to make them proud of him, he was always a disappointment to them. Could never do anything he wanted, he lived as a shell for nearly three decades. He only existed when it benefitted his parents.

Countless hours every day dedicated to pleasing them, even if it meant sacrificing his sleep only to find out that no matter what he did, his parents would never care. Worst of it was when he failed to meet their expectations. Hours of being beaten and starved were nothing to being isolated in a dark basement or locked out of his home in the dead of winter.

So much of his rage, in the end was just the little child in him wanting someone to just tell him he was worth it.

That he was doing a good job.

That he was loved no matter what.

He spoke up.

"You have a good son. Please, don't take his dreams away from him. Be proud of him. He's truly one of a kind. He might end up like me and that's the last thing I want for him. I love him. Don't you?"

A silence encompassed them and when Seungmin's parents said nothing, he sighed, feeling defeated. He'll have to apologize to Seungmin for losing his temper later, he just hope that his parents would still allow them to date. He didn't care but it was clear Seungmin did and if they didn't...

Seungmin might break up with him.

That thought was terrifying.

Before he could start spiralling into how he could make it up to Seungmin, Seungmin's mother's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"You're a good man, Chan. Please, take care of our little boy for us. Don't fail him where we have."

Chan turned his head back up from staring at the floor, surprise written on his face. They... What? Seungmin's mother had a sad smile on her face, tears filling up her eyes while his father said nothing. His head hung slightly in shame as his eyes reflected guilt. Seungmin's mother slowly walked up to Chan and took his hands in hers, looking up at Chan with both guilt and pride.

"You're a wonderful man, Chan. Please, don't let anyone dim your light like we did to our Seungminnie. Please, take care of him for us. I have so much to make up for with my baby boy. Promise us you'll invite us to your wedding when you two get married, okay?"

Seungmin's father coughed into his hand at her last statement and Chan curbed his curiosity for the time being. He had no idea what a wedding was, let alone what being married was about. He should probably ask Seungmin about that. He nodded.

Just then, Seungmin came back down the stairs, his usual face of indifference immediately contorting into one of concern when he saw his mother holding Chan's hands and crying. He immediately rushed to her side, asking what was wrong only for his mother to immediately pull him into a hug. Seungmin looked at his mother in confusion before looking at Chan in nothing but suspicion. Before Chan could react however, Seungmin's mother spoke, making Seungmin freeze.

"I'm sorry, Seungmin."

"For what..?"

"For making you give up baseball. You loved it so much, dreamt of it and I tossed it away like it was nothing. No amount of sorry's can fix what I've done but I promise, my little puppy, I'll try and be a better mother from now on."

"I'm sorry as well."

"Dad? What-"

"I'm sorry, son. I didn't realise how awful I've been to you. Please, just try and be happy from now on. Promise me you'll do well in whatever you do."

"What is going on?"

"You've got a good man, Seungmin. A wonderful man. He truly loves you."

"Chan..."

Seungmin sighs as he pulls away from his mother. He looks at both of his parents in contemplation, biting down on his bottom lip as he looked down, the years turning in his head. After about a minute of silence, Seungmin spoke up again.

"I can't pretend I wasn't hurt but... I think we can move past that. I still love the both of you."

His mother started crying and Seungmin went up to hug her, patting her back in comfort. His father soon stepped up, encompassing them both in a hug as well. Chan took it all in, face written in mild shock before it melted into happiness. His Seungmin was happy. So genuinely happy. A happiness he hasn't really seen from him but damn did it look good on him. Seungmin looked at him, beckoning him closer. Chan looked at him in confusion, raising his right eyebrow before Seungmin rolled his eyes and spoke, Chan's heart thuddering in his chest at Seungmin's words.

"You're family now to, idiot. Get in here."

Chan smiled, face exasperated, before slowly coming in, Seungmin forcefully pulling him into their hug. It felt nice. Warm. A familial love he has never felt in his life. After hugging, Seungmin and Chan moved to put on their shoes, Seungmin promising his mother to call her as Chan waved bye to them. As they made their way out of the apartment complex, Seungmin glanced at Chan, his face etched in suspicion once again.

"You had something to do with this, didn't you?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Why?"

"Just- family is supposed to make you happy, no? I don't want you to end up with a strayed relationship with your parents. I don't want you to... End up like me."

"... Seriously?"

"Hey, what's with that answer?"

"God, I love you."

"I love you too, pup."

"Never mind. I despise you."

"No you don't."

"By the way, I have a question."

"What?"

"What is a wedding and what is married?"

"Ugh, mom!"

When they reached Seungmin's apartment, the minute Chan opened the door, Felix bounced towards them, tackling Seungmin in a hug and immediately started rambling, asking them how was their visit and if they liked Chan and if the food was good.

Chan laughed, patting Felix's head as he walked past them and sitting in the couch, sighing. Which gained the attention of a certain red-head and oreo head on the couch. Who both started snickering at him. Typical.

"The both of you, shut it."

Hyunjin straight up cackled and Chan rolled his eyes, shooting him a very unamused and unimpressed stare. Which Hyunjin ignored, as per usual. Again, typical. Jeongin, still snickering, lightly slapped Hyunjin's arm saying something that immediately made Chan freeze and perk up at the same time.

"Babe, no need to be so mean."

Babe?

He looks at them in pure confusion as Seungmin voice his thoughts from behind, where he was still being smothered by Felix.

"Since when did you two start dating?"

Jeongin grinned.

Chapter Text

A large sigh echoed through the walls as fox-like eyes stared, unblinking, at the wall. He was so bored. Pride went off to meet Seungmin's parents, Wrath and Sloth went out on their own date and he was currently ignoring Lust as he fed Gluttony chocolate.

He has tried multiple times to get them to move somewhere else so he wouldn't be subjected to watch or listen to such atrocious affection but alas, his efforts were in vain.

Lust got annoyed enough by his complaining that he attempted to murder him with the chocolate. Usually, he would use a more effective weapon, like a fridge, but he knew better than to test the human. Besides, Lust like the human so he didn't really want to anger him.

He doubted the human could even get angry with Lust. As annoying -Seungmin's words, not his- as Lust was, everyone could tell that Seungmin had a slightly softer spot for him compared to everyone else.

He was aware that he sounded very salty but he couldn't help himself. Everyone else had their partners already and were all very happy. Everyone but him and he was starting to feel left out. He had asked Greed if he ever felt that way (and yes, he is aware that Greed is his crush but he was his best friend before that and he had no self-preservation left) but Hyunjin said he was fine and if anything, couldn't be happier.

Which left Envy in this slightly depressed, bored and immensely salty state on the couch.

Lust started getting a little too handsy and he decided- nope. He was not about to witness the unspeakable. He got off the couch and headed out, still bored out of his mind. Usually, he would go bother Greed but he wasn't here. He was out hunting for who knows what and he knew better than to disturb Greed on one of his hunts. Last time he did, he nearly landed in the fiery pits of Hell's hottest lava pit.

Did he mention that despite being a demon born in the underworld, he actually hated the heat?

He actually preferred earth in that sense. It wasn't so hot all the time, there were different climates.

He wandered into the forest Seungmin got attacked in that one time and breathed in the fresh air. He can see why the human like it, it was nice, dark and secluded. He was walking, thinking about Greed because honestly, what else was new? Greed occupied his thoughts more and more and it was starting to get concerning. He briefly wondered if this was how Seungmin felt coming to terms with his feelings towards Pride when he paused.

There was a demon in this forest.

His gaze sharpened as his eyes roved around, observing the endless trees. He turned around, his eyes sweeping over the foliage before stopping at a corner, diagonally to his left. There.

"I know you're there. Come out."

Silence echoed through the forest. No voice, no footsteps, no rustling of leaves. Just dead silence. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, his eyes narrowing at that particular spot. He flexed his fingers, ready to fight it out if this demon decided to try something.

"Don't make me drag you out myself, I know exactly where you are."

A sinister laugh made it's way into his ears before the demon came out of its hiding spot, dead leaves crunching under its feet. The creature was pitch black with red claws, curled horns of the same colour and had razor sharp teeth, upturned into a menacing grin.

Yeah, he was lying. It was not at all menacing and if anything, made it look stupid. Despite its arrogant facade, Envy could tell it was simply trying to be tough. It was scared, he could smell the cold sweat and the subtle tremble of its fingers.

The demon than grinned wider, a tiny demon hopping onto its shoulder. He looked in confusion for about a second before his eyes widened. Whatever that thing was, it was the true threat. It's magic was awfully powerful. The tiny demon looked at him before it's eyes flashed red. Envy immediately started puking onto the ground, falling onto his knees as he desperately gasped for air, spit and tears falling to the ground.

Reversal magic.

Able to reverse things. Apparently able to reverse anything internal too, seeing as that's why he was puking and gasping for air.

This wasn't something he could win without his power it seemed.

He desperately clawed the ground, his brown eyes turning fully green as he stood up, legs shaking and spitting out saliva and bile. His nails grew slightly longer, taking on a grey-ish tint as his human canines turned to fangs. Intricate chain-like patterns appeared on his skin in a faded grey shade as well. He couldn't risk fully transforming. Not unless he wanted to kill nearby humans in the area.

Ugh, where was Sloth when you needed him?

However, his ransformation did seem to spike fear into the small demon. As powerful as it was, the strongest demons that weren't Hell's ruler itself, was the seven deadly sins.

And he was one of them.

He reached out his right arm, his eyes flashing a bright green. The chain-like patterns on his arms turned green and started moving around his arm, as if they were actual chains.

"I see your envy."

The demons froze, the large one starting to shake as the tiny one let out a squeak. Envy's scowl slowly turned into a grin, his eyes darkening into something a lot more crazed. As if his sanity was slowly slipping away like sand. Green figments slowly formed beside the two demons. Green figments that looked just like their shape. Apart from his intended targets, only he could see them as they are his creations. He could see the way the demons fidgeted and murmured, trying to cover their ears. Trying to escape their envy for others.

Too bad that wasn't going to work.

Envy walked up to the demons, grabbing the large one's hand and pulling it, slamming it onto the ground, the tiny demon following. He let out a small laugh, a small on that slowly turned louder and more sisnister as Envy repeatedly smashed them into the ground, punching, kicking and hitting the demons repeatedly. The way the demons screamed and cried were like music to his ears in his crazed state.

It was why he hated using his powers. They stripped him of his sanity and control, turning him into a sadistic beast, laughing at the misery of others, laughing at their deaths. He'd rather end things quickly for his enemies so they don't have to suffer a much but he couldn't. Not when he was like this.

He ripped the tiny demon off the -now dead- big demon, swinging it and tossing it around like a beach ball, smashing it everywhere and ignoring its pleads and screams, his laughs becoming more pleased and hysterical. He was about to start ripping the small demon, limb to limb when two arms grabbed him from behind, pulling him away and making him drop his little toy. He growled in annoyance, yelling at whoever it was to release him, struggling against them.

This person wasn't human.

Whoever it was, they were strong.

They kept saying words but Envy yelled out in frustration, repeatedly kicking at the person's legs behind him. He could hear them hissing in pain and- oh. Pain. The familiar rush of euphoria filled his veins as he repeatedly kicked harder and harder. It seemed as though this person had enough as whoever it was let go of him. He turned around only to immediately be knocked onto the ground, his wrists pinned against the foliage-covered ground.

He struggled against the person, kicking and yelling at them, drowning out whatever the person was saying. His eyes flashed. Brighter green once again and the gray chain-like markings on his arm started moving, a figure about to be conjured until he felt something press into his lips.

His eyes widened, the shock of someone kissing him temporarily stopping him from using his ability. As (admittedly) nice as it felt, he didn't want it to be anyone but Greed. Whoever it was immediately parted from him and before he could even push them off, they leaned down (again) and whispered in his ear.

"Come back to me, Envy. I know you're there somewhere."

First it was shock. Then it was dread. Then last but not least, sorrow filled him, his green eyes dimming. Greed. He hurt Greed. He hurt him. His eyes slowly turned back to brown and his vision cleared from the haze his mind was, seeing bright gold eyes staring back at him, a smile slowly gracing the red-head's face. He was about to attempt to apologize to Greed when the red-haired man leaned down, kissing him again.

Before he could even think of kissing back, Greed separated his lips from Envy's, leaning down so their foreheads were touching as he stared at Envy with an emotion so pure, it was almost foreign to see on a man like him. Greed then spoke.

"Welcome home, Envy."

Tears slipped out of Envy's eyes as he kept looking into Greed's, reaching out his trembling hands to grasp onto Greed's shirt, moving his head so he could hide his face in between the left side of Greed's neck and shoulder, his voice coming out unstable as he spoke through his tears.

"It feels good to be back here. With you."

Greed smiled, his voice slightly teasing but softer than it has ever been.

"You love me?"

"I love you. More than anything."

Flash forward to the present where they were in the human's couch, all the demons (and human) staring at them in surprise. Lust squealed, Gluttony clapped, Sloth smiled, Wrath fondly rolled his eyes, Pride muttered a "huh" under his breath, the human muttered a "goddamn" that was not, in fact, under his breath and Greed laughed, glancing down at Envy with love in his eyes. The same love Envy looked back at him with.

Seungmin then spoke.

"So, my gues is that you talked about it and got to get her afterwards?"

"Yep."

"Thank fuck, finally. Someone who can actually talk to people without all the emotional constipation."

"Rude."

"It's not rude, it's true."

"How dare you."

"You live in my house rent-free, Felix, think wisely before you speak your next sentence."

Lust pouted and Gluttony laughed, patting his head in comfort.

Envy looked around. Wrath had his head on Sloth's shoulder, Sloth kissing his hair as Wrath basked in the affection. Gluttony now had Lust in his arms, Lust looking at Gluttony with all the lov in the world. Pride was now off the couch and with Seungmin, hugging him from behind and slightly swaying them where they stood. He closed his eyes, welcoming the way his, now boyfriend, ran his finger through his hair and thought.

He loved this place.

He loves his new found family.

He loves his boyfriend.

An most of all?

He loved the fact that he found a place where he belonged.

Chapter Text

"If you destroy my remote, you're buying a new one."

"Then tell the remote to start working!"

"I can't tell it to start working, it's an inanimate object."

"Then get a new one."

"Did it never occur to you that maybe you're doing something wrong?"

"What would I be doing wrong?"

Seungmin snatched the remote from the offended demon, pressing the red button at the top most left corner. The television immediately turned on to some cooking channel (unsurprising considering the fact that Changbin was using the television before) and turned his head to the left to stare bemusedly at the squirrel-like demon. Who very pointedly avoided his stare, muttering a thanks as he took back the remote and started flipping through the channels.

Why was Jisung always so angry?

In an objective point of view, that question seemed rather stupid. He's the sin of wrath, why wouldn't he be angry? But that was exactly where the problem lay, in Seungmin's opinion. Changbin had told him that they all committed their sins in their lives and that's why they were labelled the seven deadly sins.

Just what happened to make Jisung such so... He looked to his left again, watching Jisung repeatedly bash the remote onto the sofa in an attempt to make it work. Again.

He suppose it wouldn't hurt to try to ask him, the only problem was that there was no guarantee he'd tell him and if he did, there was always the possibility he'd end up dead. He would rather not ask them and let them tell him on their own because he had a feeling that there was probably a lot of trauma to unpack but he knew they would literally never tell him otherwise.

But it also came down to morals because Seungmin was not about to make them unload all their trauma just to satisfy his own curiosity. Even through a lot of them needed to, seeing as how emotionally constipated a lot of them were. He supposed he could still ask nonetheless, they weren't obligated to tell him anything and he certainly wouldn't force them to. A voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Quit staring at me, weirdo."

"You talk to a remote and somehow I'm the weird one?"

"Shut up."

Jisung huffed, turning away from him and back to the television, staring at the screen with wide eyes as the chef cut into the octopus, its tentacles still twitching as Seungmin kept alternating his gaze between the television and Jisung, eyeing the demon warily.

Hopefully the demon doesn't get any bright ideas about cooking again. Last time he cooked, he made a sludge that was somehow alive and milk ham. Milk ham. Milk blended in with ham. Seungmin suppressed a gag at the memory, his stomach suddenly feeling queasy at the thought.

Time to get his thoughts away from the memory.

Far, far away.

Seungmin looked towards Jisung once again before deciding that simply asking couldn't really hurt. Could it? He supposed that apart from possibly bringing up memories, it couldn't really hurt? It would just be curiosity and Jisung could easily decline. He snapped out of his thoughts to see Jisung staring at him, annoyed. Seungmin thought to himself "fuck it" and decided to ask.

"Why are you always so angry anyways?"

"Uh, because I'm the sin of wrath? What?"

"Yes and Changbin told me that you all have committed certain sins in your demonic lives and that's why you are the seven deadly sins. There's no way you were always this angry."

A silence encompassed them and Seungmin wondered if he went too far. If maybe his curiosity got the better of him and he asked something he really shouldn't have. Granted, he had a whole internal monologue as to why he shouldn't but still didn't heed his own advice so really, if he died, he had no one to blame but himself. So much for morals, he really should've known better than to ask. Damn his curiosity.

He looked at Jisung, who he a conflicted look on his face. His expression, the hesitence, the way he didn't immediately shut it down. The way he didn't even seem angry that Seungmin asked such a question...

He was actually considering it.

That came to a surprise to Seungmin because out of everyone, he really thought that Jisung would be the most against telling him anything. And it wasn't like Seungmin was going to force him. If Jisung simply said that he didn't want to share, Seungmin would curb his curiosity and respect his wishes before changing the topic to something more lighthearted. Like the abuse against his remote. What he didn't count on, however, was the fact that even though he was conflicted, he was actually considering it.

"Look, you really don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm not forcing you."

"It's fine. I kinda wanna tell you..."

Jisung looked away, huffing as his ears burned a bright red and Seungmin stared at Jisung in bafflement (and mild amusement). Seungmin, for a split second, wondered if Minho had anything to do with this but ultimately decided against it. Minho, if anything, probably already long knew Jisung's past. He wouldn't say anything about it unless Jisung himself brought it up first, that was simply the kind of man Minho was.

Jisung was doing this by himself and frankly, Seungmin was impressed. That took a lot of courage and if Jisung, for some unknown reason, decided he wanted to open up to him, he will accept it. Jisung let out a sigh as he began talking, his eyes taking on a slight orange hue as he spoke.

"You are right, I wasn't always like this. I mean- I did tend to get angry easily but... Not like this. People constantly made fun of me when I was a kid. Too soft, too loud, too emotional, too... Everything. But it wasn't like I could help it, I was simply that way. I was simply me. It's one thing having to deal with this when you can barely understand the world around you but it didn't stop there. I've had to hear that all my life.

Music was my escape. It was a way for me to express all the frustration I felt and when an entertainment company hired me to produce music for Hell's finest, it was like a dream come true.

That didn't last long. It was project after project, deadline after deadline. I got no sleep, could barely eat... I was barely functioning. My songs just kept getting rejected over and over again, artists and everyone alike criticizing my every work.

As if they knew anything about it. As if they didn't just chuck my blood, sweat and tears down the bin without even looking at it. Too emotional, too generic, too raw, too sad, too happy. Nothing was ever good enough for them.

The day my brother died, I tried to quit but they wouldn't allow me. So, I still went there. They tore up my work, ridiculed me, humiliated my lyrics in front of everyone. The artist that was supposed to sing made fun of me to his fans. His audience. I couldn't take it anymore and I just- snapped. I killed everyone in that company and burnt the place to the ground. I became the sin of wrath after that."

Seungmin grimaced at the information, unsure of how to react to it. That sounded beyond stressful and in all honesty, he could understand why Jisung was so angry all the time. It stemmed from a place of frustration and it slowly brewed into resentment.

Hatred.

Anger.

Jisung spent his entire life trying to please others, trying to bend to their whims. In Seungmin's opinion, it made sense that he snapped the way he did. This was, quite literally, centuries (he wasn't sure if it was) worth of anger that had always been surprised. To him, it made sense that Jisung was now in a state of perpetual rage.

He looked at Jisung, who's eyes were slowly becoming the same hue as lava from a volcano and- maybe it wasn't a good idea to make those memories resurface.

He felt a wave of guilt rush over him as he reached out his hand, placing it on Jisyng's forearm in an attempt to calm him down and show his support. Jisung looked at him like a startled squirrel and Seungmin decided to speak since he had the man's attention.

"I'm sorry, Jisung. It was clearly a sensitive topic I knew that and yet I still- it was wrong of me, I shouldn't have asked the way I did. That aside, I hope you know that you don't have to suppress your emotions around me. Around us. We would never push you to do things you don't want to do, we'll accept you for who you are just fine. The rest of the sins already do. Or did you not realize that?"

Jisung looked at him, his eyes widened. He stared at Seungmin for a while before surprisingly placing his left hand on top of Seungmin's hand that was on his forearm, shooting him a look of pure sincerity, a rare smile on his face (that wasn't for Minho).

"I know that now. Thank you, Seungmin. I don't think you've realized just how much you'very done for all of us."

Chapter Text

The smell of meat and potatoes wafted through the apartment, making his stomach grumble a bit as he scooped some rice out from the rice cooker and placed them into bowls. Eight bowls to be exact. He looked at the pan with the meat and potatoes in it. It was nearly done cooking. He scooped the last bit of rice from the rice cooker and plopped it into the last bowl, slowly bringing the bowls over to the dining table which now contained seven extra chairs.

A lot of those chairs were bought by him and Daehwi, who went shopping with him and helped share the cost. Seungmin had rejected his offer multiple times but Daehwi insisted, saying that Seungmin's wallet was suffering enough feeding the gremlins in his house and that if he could shoulder Seungmin's financial burden, he would.

Seungmin didn't bother arguing with him because attempting to convince an insistent Daehwi is the same as chasing a hungry Changbin away from the cooking meat and potatoes. Next to impossible. The only way he could manage was to give an alternate. A snack to keep Changbin occupied long enough for his meat and potatoes to finish cooking.

Seungmin sighed, placing his -now cooked- meat and potatoes into a large container, bringing it to the dining table where the rice and a few other side dishes were already placed. Once he set down the container and made at least two to three trips to the kitchen to get glasses of water for everyone, he went to the living room where his boyfriend was settled, amusedly watching him argue with Felix for a few seconds before clearing his throat.

Chan turned to look at him, his face brightening at the sight of him despite them pretty much living together already. It was cute, how happy he always was to see him even though he did so everyday. Seungmin then decided to speak.

"Call the rest of the idiots, lunch is ready."

"Smells delicious."

"Thanks but it's really nothing to complicated."

"Ah, is that why you still cook for all of us?"

"Shut up."

Chan laughed, his dimples showing and Seungmin felt his heart skip a beat. Maybe many beats, his stomach feeling like a swarm of butterflies entered it. Chan got off the couch and gave Felix a look.

"Go call them, Lust. Take your time. I wouldn't mind a few extra seconds with my boyfriend."

Chan walked up to Seungmin, placing his hands on his waist as he said that, his eyes sparkling in pure adoration. Seungmin looked back at Chan, feeling a familiar heat on his neck and cheeks before deciding.

He couldn't keep letting Chan get the upper hand on him.

He couldn't keep letting him win like this.

Instead of lightly slapping him or telling to shut up like he usually does, he wrapped his arms around Chan's neck, locking his fingers behind it and lurching up to kiss him deeply. Chan's eyes widened slightly and Seungmin could feel his breath hitch for a split second before Chan closed his eyes, pulling Seungmin closer to him. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever before a whistle sliced through the air. They parted from each other, startled. Seungmin looked past Chan as the curly-haired also turned to look behind him.

Hyunjin stood there, a smirk on his face as Jeongin pretended to puke before leaning his head on Hyunjin's shoulder. Chan huffed out a small laugh as Seungmin untangled himself from Chan, making his way to the dining table where the rest of the demons were already settling in. They all ate their food, conversation easily flowing between all of them. Seungmin was content to sit back and listen to them bicker like children, eating his food with his heart full.

He forgot how lonely his own apartment used to make him feel, it seemed like such a long time ago.

Jisung and Hyunjin were having a competition to see who could eat faster, Jeongin was helping Hyunjin cheat by secretly stealing some of his food, Felix was talking animatedly to Changbin about why he loved chicken so much (his answer being "chicken has meat in it" which made absolutely no sense to Seungmin but whatever), Changbin was listening to him while stealing Felix's chicken in the process as Felix, blissfully unaware, continued his tangent and Chan was talking to Minho about the food, which Minho was barely paying attention to.

Seungmin snapped out of his content daze, eyeing Minho with suspicion. Minho had always been rather reserved and frankly, had the awareness of a peanut but something seemed a bit off about him. He seemed like he was lost in his own thoughts and rather fidgety. He was nervous. What about, he wasn't sure because as far as Seungmin knew, he wasn't about to propose to Jisung soon so he shouldn't really be nervous. Apart from that, Minho himself never really got nervous.

So what exactly was happening?

He didn't think Minho would appreciate him asking in front of everyone so he decided to ask once they all finished lunch and went their own seperate ways. Once they all finished lunch, they all split.

Hyunjin and Jeongin immediately started fighting for the remote, scrambling all over the couch, Felix and Changbin decided to occupy his room, which he was already wary of, Jisung, surprisingly, left Minho alone for once, joining the couple's fight for the remote. Chan kissed Seungmin's cheek, telling him he was going to head out.

He started clearing the table of its dishes, glancing at Minho who still sat there, spaced out. As he placed the last of the dishes in the sink, rolling up his sleeves, armed with a sponge to start cleaning did he hear soft footsteps approaching his direction. He turned to look behind him and lo and behold, Minho stood there. He raised his eyebrow in his direction and Minho cleared his throat, shuffling forward like a newborn kitten. Minho then spoke and Seungmin immediately understood why he seemed so nervous.

"I heard that Wrath told you about his past..."

"You mean Jisung told you? Well, he did. I'm sorry, I was curious and asked. It must have been unpleasant for him to bring it up, I shouldn't have asked. It was rather insensitive of me."

"I think I want to tell you too."

"You really don't have to."

"I kind of owe you though... For helping me talk to Wrath."

"You really don't owe me anything. You don't have to tell me-"

"But I want to. If Wrath can do it then so can I. Besides, you helped me when you had no reason to. I think I can trust you..."

Seungmin stared at him with a mix of dread and curiosity, hoping Minho simply wasn't telling him out of a need to. If he was, Seungmin would feel that much more guilty and he doesn't think he'd ever be able to look them in the eye after this.

"Minho, I'm serious. You don't owe me anything. Don't feel pressured to just because Jisung did so. You should tell me when you feel ready to."

"I know but I think... I think I want to tell you. You're my... Friend? Are we friends?"

Minho looked at him with his eyes wide, with all the sadness of a drowned kitten abandoned in a cardboard box on the side of the road and Seungmin felt himself die a little internally.

Did he watch a short film about that exact situation just hours before for him to come up with that analogy because Minho reminds him of a cat?

Maybe.

But that was no one's business but his own.

"Yes. Yes we are friends."

Minho gave him a small smile and Seungmin nodded, a nonverbal gesture telling Minho he could tell him whenever he was ready. Minho inhaled, taking in a deep breath before finally speaking.

"My parents never wanted a child to begin with so... I was a mistake. They abandoned me. I worked for most of my life. For as long as I could remember, I was working. I had to, I had no other choice. But then... Burnout. Burnout hit me like a bitch. I worked so much I could barely do anything anymore. I laid down, not even in my own house but on the street. On the sidewalk and... All I did was stare into space, sleep and dream.

Dream of a life where I didn't have to work. Dream of a life where I had people who actually loved and cared about me. I didn't eat anything, didn't drink anything. I didn't even brush my teeth or shower. All I did was lie there and dream. Even when people would at spit at me and kick me around for being there and stinking up the place, I didn't move. I would just... Dream. That's how I became the sin of sloth. It was because of my refusal to do anything even if it meant I would suffer as a result."

Seungmin stared at him, disturbed at the revelation but with a new profound understanding for Minho. The poor guy just wanted someone to love him. Someone who would care for him. It made sense as to why he was so lathargic and refused to do any sort of work. It also explained as to why he was so... Spacey, for a lack of better term. Going all his life without any sort of love, he's learnt to just go into his head where there is a space for him. Where there is love. Where there are people who care for him.

There was only one thing Seungmin had in his mind though when he walked up to Minho, who looked at him, a well-hidden nervousness in his eyes. Seungmin held both if Minho's hands in his own as he made direct eye contact with him, saying what he thought and hoping Minho would know that whatever he was saying, was coming from his heart.

"You've suffered so much Minho and I'm happy you decided to share this with me. But now, you don't have to worry anymore. You don't have to live in your head anymore. You have a home here. You now have friends who love you and a boyfriend who loves you to the moon and back. You might have to work when you decide you want to have your own life with Jisung but it's okay. Because you have a family now."

Tears slipped from Minho's eyes as he bit his bottom lip to contain his cries, moving forward to hug Seungmin and bury his face in his neck as Seungmin hugged him back, his heart breaking at the words Minho kept repeating into his skin.

"I'm not alone anymore."

Chapter Text

It had been only a few days when Seungmin noticed the difference. The demons were more open with him. Usually, they didn't share their problems (or things about themselves in general) and Seungmin himself would usually have to straight up ask them for them to say anything. But it seemed that Jisung and Minho both sharing their pasts with Seungmin had opened up a level of trust that wasn't there before.

Just two days ago, Felix opened up to him about his own past and it was rather... Heavy, to say the least. It even made Seungmin uncomfortable and he has very good nerves and a strong stomach. But Seungmin was ultimately quite glad that the demons trusted him enough to start opening up on their own.

Jisung and Minho has especially opened up to him since they had nothing to hide now. Imagine his absolute shock when Jisung and Chan were bickering and to save himself, Jisung ran behind him and clung onto him like a squirrel who had grown attached to the human feeding it nuts everyday. Minho sometimes lays his head on Seungmin's lap when going to sleep as well. His legs go numb because Minho is pretty damn heavy and insists on curling up like a whole cat but Seungmin chooses peace since Minho seems happy enough.

For now anyway.

Seungmin leaned his head back on the couch, his thoughts wandering back to about two days ago, when Felix decided to tell him about his past.

The couch dipping next to him caught his attention and he looked up from his phone, turning his head to see a certain raventte sitting next to him. He didn't immediately cling onto him or start chatting like he usually did. No. In fact, he just stared at his lap, his bottom lip inbetween his teeth.

Something was definitely wrong.

He wondered if he should say something first or if he should let Felix work out his own thoughts and talk to him first. The silence stretched on, Seungmin now fiddling with the phone in his hand, uninterested on the content on it now. He heard Felix inhale sharply and turned back to look at him, raising his eyebrow in question when he turned to look at Seungmin, the nervousness in his eyes very poorly concealed.

"Minnie, can I talk to you about something?"

"Always."

"I heard Wrath and Sloth told you. About their pasts."

"That they did."

"I think it's time I told you as well."

"You don't have to, Felix."

"I don't have to but I want to. You are now my friend. I don't want to hide things from you."

"Everyone's allowed to have secrets, Felix. Really."

"I know but I don't want this to be a secret."

"If you're sure."

Felix nodded, his lips slightly trembling and his eyes shaky as he looked away from Seungmin and back to his lap, his fingers opening and closing as if he was trying to grasp onto something but couldn't. Seungmin reached out his right hand, gently wrapping his fingers around Felix's left hand. Felix grabbed onto it tightly, sighing deeply before finally looking up at Seungmin and speaking.

"Look, I'll try to leave out the worst details because they really aren't pretty but there really is no nice way to say this. I grew up in a pretty wealthy family and I had parents who loved me so... That counted for something at least. But when I was 13, I found my parents were pretty shady people. Made shady business deals and all that. Everyone found out, the news went public and they were publicly executed.

No one wanted to take me in so I was alone and on the streets. I tried to work but no one would hire me due to who I was. However, I did have good looks. I'm- I'm not prod of the decision I made but I was desperate. A demon told me he'd pay me to be his personal... Plaything. I agreed. News spread like wildfire. I was a whore who'd pretty much sleep around with anyone and everyone. People would pay me to be their toy, their date, their hook-up, only to throw me away like it never happened.

I never thought it was possible to be with people every day and still feel so isolated.

At that point, I wasn't desperate to live anymore. I was desperate to be loved. But no one did. So I continued doing what I did because, I guess to me, being something to someone for a few minutes was better than being no one to everybody. I was at my lowest when I met Pride. He was also at his lowest at the time. I think it's why we became so close. We were both so miserable..."

Well, that explained why Chan and Felix were so close.

Seungmin's grip on Felix's hand tightened as he took in a deep breath. Seungmin considered himself to be someone with a pretty strong stomach and even he felt a little queasy at Felix's story.

Felix... This absolute sunshine of a demon. Who always wore his heart out in the open, always made the room a little brighter with his personality, who always tried to help them any way he could. He really didn't deserve this. Deserved none of what happened to him. Didn't deserve to be used in such unspeakable ways.

Seungmin wished those demons who made him suffer die a very slow, agonising and beyond painful death. Yes, it did sound quite morbid but Seungmin thinks that after all they've done to Felix, that's the least they can do to atone. Also, yes, he very much has a soft spot for Felix and will throw hands at anyone who tries despite Felix being a demon who could end countless lives without thinking about it.

Seungmin, moved his hand away so he could wrap his arm around Felix, tugging him closer as Felix nuzzled into his shoulder, slowly letting his tears fall, his eyes turning into a bright pink. Seungmin held him for minutes on end, nearly an hour, long after Felix finished crying. Once he fully calmed down, only a few sniffles remaining, Seungmin spoke.

"I promise you, Felix, if anyone so much as looks at you the wrong way, not only will Changbin break their bones and Chan will gouge out their eyes, I will personally burn them alive."

Felix let out a small giggle at his words and Seungmin couldn't help but feel, not only relieved, but a sense of pride when Felix spoke, his words calling any sense of rage or sadness Seungmin had.

"I know you will. You guys are my family."

Seungmin snapped out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps. He looked towards the kitchen, where the footsteps wer headed, judging by the volume of the sound and noticed Changbin rummaging through his cupboards, as per usual. He noticed Changbin grabbing all of Felix's favourite snacks as well and felt something warm spread insid of him.

Ever since Changbin finally decided to make things official with Felix, after many days (centuries actually) of confusion, it seems like he was doing all he could to make up for lost time. Always letting Felix cling onto him, always letting Felix sleep or rest on him, always being considerate of him, always thinking of him.

When he learnt Felix hated the sound of Velcro, whenever he had to open or close something that was Velcro, like shoe straps, he went out of the way to go as far as possible from Felix to do so just so Felix wouldn't hear it as loudly. He still could, demons have enhanced hearing, but it was the thought that counted. Even something as simple as bringing snacks (more like stealing them), he always thought of Felix and brought his favourite snacks as well.

It was adorable honestly.

And immensely sickening.

Changbin walked out, briefly locking eyes with Seungmin before turning away to his side, clutching the snacks to his chest as he pouted, glaring at him.

"These snacks are for Felix."

Changbin waddled away with all the grace of a penguin on cocaine and Seungmin rolled his eyes, yelling at him that those were still his snacks, which Changbin dutifully ignored, as per usual. Once Changbin was out of sight, Seungmin let a smile creep through.

Because now, after centuries of being used, Felix had someone who loved him unconditionally for him and there was truly no greater gift than that.