CHAPTER 8: DEMON IN DISGUISE
1479 Words
I never thought my life would become this strange.
A few weeks ago, I was a normal woman planning her wedding. I had a fiancé, a best friend, and dreams of a happy future. Then everything fell apart in a single day. I lost my love, my trust, and the person I thought I was.
Now, I was standing in my kitchen at six in the morning, staring at a powerful demon who had nearly died protecting me.
Kang Si-Hwan was asleep on my couch, one arm hanging off the edge while a blanket covered his body. The morning sunlight slipped through the curtains and landed on his face. Even while sleeping, he looked unfairly handsome. His long lashes cast shadows under his eyes, and his expression, usually cold and arrogant, looked surprisingly peaceful.
I carefully changed the bandage wrapped around his chest. The wound was deep. It should have healed already, but it hadn’t.
I sighed.
“You’re an i***t,” I muttered softly.
His eyes slowly opened. The first thing he did was frown at me.
“You should stop staring at me while I sleep.”
I nearly jumped.
“I wasn’t staring!”
“You were.”
“I was changing your bandage.”
He looked at the clean cloth around his chest and then back at me.
“You should’ve let me die, at least, you can still save your soul.”
The words struck me harder than I expected. I frowned.
“Don’t say things like that.”
He looked toward the window.
“Dying would’ve been less embarrassing than needing help from the woman controlling me.”
I crossed my arms.
“You almost got yourself killed.”
“I’ve survived worse.”
“No, you haven’t.”
He looked back at me, surprised by my tone. I swallowed hard.
“You keep getting hurt because of me.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then he said quietly, “I made my choice.”
Those words stayed with me long after our conversation ended.
…
Later that morning, I went to work while Si-Hwan followed me because, apparently, the magical contract still wouldn’t let him wander too far away.
The moment we entered the office building, I could feel eyes on us. Whispers immediately started.
“Isn’t that the woman from the wedding scandal?”
“Who’s the handsome guy?”
“They look good together.”
I felt my cheeks grow warm. Si-Hwan looked completely unbothered.
At lunch, Ji-Eun practically attacked me with questions.
“Who is he to me actually?”
“No one.”
“Nobody looks like that.”
“He really is nobody.”
She leaned closer.
“You’re lying.”
I groaned. Before I could answer, I noticed something. Three women from another department had approached Si-Hwan.
They were smiling. Laughing. One even touched his arm. For some reason, I didn’t like it, at all. It felt uncomfortable.
“Why are you glaring?” Ji-Eun asked.
I replied to her rhetorical question simply.
“I’m not glaring.”
“You look like you want to fight someone.”
“I don’t.”
“You sound jealous.”
I nearly choked on my coffee. “Jealous? Of what?”
She grinned. “Oh, you’re definitely jealous.”
I ignored her, completely, mostly. The problem was that I kept looking at him. And he kept smiling at those women.
Why was he smiling? Didn’t he hate people?
A few moments later, he suddenly walked away from them and sat beside me.
“They’re annoying.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“The women.”
I tried to sound casual. “You looked like you were enjoying yourself.”
He looked confused.
“I was waiting for you.”
I forgot how to breathe. He said it so naturally, so casually as if all that moment with them meant nothing. But my heart skipped a beat anyway.
I hated that. I hated that my heart had started reacting to this impossible man.
…
That evening, we infiltrated Min-Jae’s company.
I wore a temporary employee’s uniform while Si-Hwan disguised himself as someone else with his power of camouflage..
When I saw him, I couldn’t believe my eyes. His black hair had become silver. His face looked different. Even his voice had changed.
I stared.
“You can become another person?”
He smirked.
“It’s useful.”
“You’ve used it on women before, haven’t you?”
“Many times.”
I frowned. Why did that answer annoy me? I didn’t understand my own feelings anymore. This also made me to think that this face of his I am used to might not actually be his real face. I wondered.
We got in. As we searched through the company’s files, I discovered something terrifying. Belphegor had invested in dozens of companies connected to disappearances. Every victim was a woman. Most of them had been heartbroken, abandoned, lonely.
A chill ran down my spine. Suddenly, I understood and remembered. I wasn’t special. I was another target, another broken woman.
I looked at Si-Hwan. Was that what I had been to him too? Just another lonely soul?
The thought hurt more than it should have.
…
We were leaving the building when someone blocked our path. A man wearing a long black coat stood in the middle of the street.
His eyes were sharp, cold. He held an old sword wrapped in cloth. The air around him felt dangerous.
He looked directly at Si-Hwan. “You smell like the souls of a thousand women.”
I stepped forward.
“Move.”
He ignored me. Instead, he kept staring at Si-Hwan. “I finally found you.”
Si-Hwan sighed. “You again.”
The man slowly drew his sword.
“I’m Kang Tae-Joon.”
The moment the blade left its sheath, spiritual energy exploded around us. I took a step back. This man was powerful, terrifyingly powerful.
“You’ve protected humans before,” he said. “But you’ve also taken countless lives.”
Si-Hwan moved in front of me.
“You came to kill me.”
“I came to decide whether you deserve to live.”
Then he attacked. I barely saw him move. The sword flashed. The ground exploded with combustion energy. Windows shattered. Si-Hwan blocked the attack with crimson chains, but the impact sent him sliding backward.
The battle was unlike anything I had ever seen. Tae-Joon moved like lightning. Every strike was perfect. Every movement carried the weight of years of training. Si-Hwan fought back with his wives’ powers.
Crimson energy filled the night.Ghostly figures appeared behind him, chains, illusions, shields.
The street became a battlefield. But for the first time… Si-Hwan was losing. Tae-Joon’s sword stopped inches from his throat.
I couldn’t explain why, but panic suddenly gripped me. I didn’t want him to die. I really didn’t. Before I could think, I stepped between them. The pendant around my neck exploded with golden light.
The sword stopped. The entire street fell silent. Tae-Joon stared at me. Then at the pendant. Then at Si-Hwan.
Realization filled his eyes.
“The Shaman’s Pendant…”
He looked shocked.
“The two of you are bound together.”
I didn’t understand what that meant to him. But his expression changed completely.
He lowered his sword.
“If the Demon Council is after you…”
He pointed at Si-Hwan.
“…then killing you can wait.”
I exhaled in relief. Only then did I realize my hands were shaking. I had been terrified, really terrified of losing him. Why? I still didn’t know.
…
That night, I stood on my balcony and looked at the city lights. The cool breeze brushed against my face. I heard footsteps behind me.
Si-Hwan joined me.
“You almost got yourself killed.”
I looked at him.
“You almost got yourself killed first.”
He actually smiled, a small one. For some reason, I liked seeing it. After a long silence, I asked quietly,
“Did you really mean it earlier?”
“What?”
“When you said you were waiting for me.”
He looked away.
“I don’t remember.”
I laughed softly.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
He didn’t answer. Instead, we stood there together beneath the stars. The silence between us wasn’t awkward anymore. It was comfortable, warm. And for the first time since my world had fallen apart…I didn’t feel alone.
I looked at the man beside me. The demon who was supposed to steal my soul. The demon who kept protecting me. The demon who somehow kept making my heart beat faster. I didn’t know what these feelings meant yet. But I was beginning to realize something terrifying.
The more time I spent with Kang Si-Hwan…The harder it became to imagine my life without him.
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