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hamsphin · 4 years ago

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EYES OF A DEMON, HEART OF A HUMAN

chensung kimestu no yaiba!au

☆ jisung would never and could never hurt chenle. even if he was turned into a human eating monster.

winter had came as fast as autumn left, leaving the town buried in a blanket of snow. as tranquilly beautiful as the sight was, humans cherished their time in the daylight. when nighttime arrives is when all fear is let loose. where humans are locking their doors tight and hoping demons won't come and steal them of their life.

to flinch then tremble in fear when you are in the presence of one. to beg and hope that you'll make it out alive if a demon ever catches you, though it was very unlikely that they will.

with his parents brutally murdered by demons, zhong chenle had no choice but to try and find a home somewhere else and live on for his parents. the sight had been brutal; enough to leave a constant imprint in the young boy's mind. blood splattered onto every inch of wood that held up their small home. limbs that were ripped off thrown carelessly onto a part of the floor. but nothing could compare to the paper pale skin and dulled eyes of his parents. it felt like as if his throat closed up on its own, preventing him from being able to take in a single breath. he felt sick to his stomach.

"chenle! what's..." the boy's best friend came to a halt in front of the two mounds of dirt on the ground and chenle himself covered in dirt and what seemed to be blood. even when the latter tried to move forwards, he stayed still in his spot, his gaze never tearing away from the two mounds that were slowing being lit up by the waking sun's light. "oh chenle...i'm sorry..."

that was enough for him to engulf chenle in a tight hug. it didn't matter if he was covered in dirt or blood. there was a need for comfort and he was there to deliver it, it was the most he could do at the moment anyways. he wished he could do more. a frown never suited the boy and it broke him to see his best friend like this.

"jisung..."

"hm?"

"can i go with them too...?"

the question came as a surprise to jisung, tears unknowingly brimming his eyes.

"is it selfish of me to say that i don't want you to?" finally letting his emotions boil over, he held tighter onto his best friend's smaller frame.

once he felt chenle's own arms make their way around his torso, it was safe to assume that his request wasn't so selfish after all.

"don't tell me you're going to go sell coal in this weather. c'mon lele, you're going to get sick and you know it." nagged jisung, following the boy who was loading coal into his basket.

"i have to. the townsfolk need some kind of warmth during this harsh weather. besides, we can't keep this all to ourselves ji." chenle countered, hoisting the large basket onto his back like a backpack.

"mom's gonna be mad and start to nag at you crazily. and you know it's ten times worse that what i'm doing now." he pointed out, in a matter of factly tone.

"please come back early. you know what happens at night." jisung intertwined their pinkies and pushed their thumbs against the other's, sealing the promise.

"yes i know that way too well. just take care of mom, dad, and little soobinnie alright?" reaching up, he ruffled up jisung's hair out of pure habit. he always did this whenever he was going off somewhere, it was like a routine for him now.

"i will i will." with that, jisung bid chenle off, watching his back disappear downhill. please come back safely.

for a good few years now, chenle had been taking shelter with jisung and his family. the park's had always considered chenle family, so it wasn't hard for them to welcome the broken boy into their comforting arms. he couldn't be more grateful to know such a generous family as theirs.

their house is perched around midway of a mountain close to a village right at the bottom of it. jisung had told chenle that his father chose that spot, believing that the spiritual energy was positive and would most likely defend them from any bad energies. so far, the house has been living up to its expectations and none of them had encountered a demon as of yet.

once chenle finally reached the village, he was already greeting people left and right. to say that he was well known in this town was an understatement. everyone knew him as an angel sent down from the heavens. he'd help as many villagers as he could, barely asking for any money in return because he enjoyed helping them and that was enough for him.

"chenle dear, what are you doing down here in such weather?" asked a towns lady way into her late sixties. chenle knew her as miss kang. she usually made beautiful tapestries that she'd sometime gift the boy for helping her out so much. (he usually hung of the small tapestries in his room, admiring the colorful scenes that the depicted)

"i'm just delivering coal." chenle responded with a big smile that reached up to his eyes, causing them to wrinkle at the corners. "do you need some miss kang?"

"no no, it's quite alright. i should have enough to last me a good two more weeks." she declined politely, waving her hand. "but, i do have something for you. stay there for a second yes?"

chenle nodded and stood at her door as she went back to fetch something. when she came back, she had a steaming cup of sujeonggwa in her hands. "i just bought some fresh cinnamon so this should taste delicious."

"i'm sure it's going to taste delicious either way miss." chenle carefully took the cup into his hands and blew on the cup, trying to cool it down before he took a sip. once he did, the strong taste of ginger and cinnamon hit him instantly, but it was toned down a tad with the sweetness of the dried persimmons. warmth spread down to the male's stomach and he couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh. "you truly are the best at making sujeonggwa miss kang. it never fails to warm me up from the inside out."

"oh stop the flattery. i just hope that's enough for you to carry on for the day. i heard it's supposed to be storming in the evening, so make sure to get home by then." miss kang warned, patting the boy of his shoulder.

"i understand!" and he was off again to deliver coal to the townsfolk who needed it. along with some minor jobs like helping mister kim with his load of potatoes or finding jeno's cat who's ran away for like the fifth time that month.

time passed by so quickly, he hadn't realize the winds picking up and heavy clouds starting to cover up the bit of light they had left. when he did though, he began hiking up the mountain as fast as he could. he promised jisung he'll get back early but by being so caught up with everything, he's totally lost track of time.

as chenle was passing mark's, a former demon slayer's son, cabin he heard the latter calling out to him. "chenle! what are you doing out at this time and weather?"

"ah, i was just heading back home hyung. nothing to worry about!" he responded.

a concerned look overcame the elder's features, "i can't let you climb that mountain lele. come back here and just stay the night, i don't want anything bad happening to you, understand?"

it was hard to say no to mark when he was whipping up his favorite; dried salted fish with a side of kimchi and rice. even though the bones were a pain to get out, it was well worth it for the yummy meat of the fish. he sat on his cushion happily consuming the food mark had provided him.

mark here had also fell victim to the demon's foul ways as his parents were taken away from him too. maybe that's why him and chenle clicked so well when they first met. it was a mutual understanding they had, and a beautiful friendship it became.

"i can feel the scoldings i'm going to get from jisung and his mom once i get back." chenle groaned, flopping back onto the futon mark laid out for him a few moments prior.

"then maybe you should actually listen to him for once?" mark suggested in a playful manner, as he laid down on his own futon next to chenle's.

"it's not my fault that the townsfolk need my help." the latter huffed petulantly, crossing his arms from underneath the covers.

"you can always politely decline lele."

"you know i can't do that!"

"yeah yeah, just go to sleep now okay? jisung's going to be waiting for you tomorrow morning with a sandal in hand, so might as well prepare yourself."

"i know. goodnight hyung."

"night lele."

the morning came and something wasn't sitting right in chenle's stomach. he left mark's place with thanks and promises of returning to hang out before he began hiking up the mountain again. when he was only five minutes away from reaching home, he started to shake uncontrollably for as the feeling intensified the closer he got. something wasn't right. something wasn't right. something wasn't right.

and that's when he made a break for it.

"jisung!" no answer.

his breath became ragged and every intake of air stung due to the frozen air. the house came into view, and at first everything seemed fine, but a closer look and he could see that it was eerily empty. too quiet to be the park's household. soobin should be out and running about around this time, playing with the snow while jisung tailed him.

scanning the place, he finally saw it.

crimson dotted the fresh snow, bright and unforgiving. memories from that morning came back to him like a punch to the gut, and he couldn't bare to think of what happened in that house. yet, he made his way forward. heavy steps imprinting in the new layer of snow that conjured up last night.

a familiar mop of black caught chenle's eyes, and his breath halted.

there laid his best friend with his arms wrapped tightly around another, much smaller body. soobin.

"no no no no no no no no..." he stumbled onto the scene, dropping his basket somewhere along the way. dropping to his knees, his hands hovered over the two bodies, shaking violently. if i touch them, it just makes this all a reality. he didn't want this to be a reality. he didn't want any of it to be.

"jisung, you have to wake up. soobinnie, hyung's back, please open your eyes huh?" chenle started to mutter absolute nonsense, eyes darting everywhere so see any signs of what was left of the demon.

but no, not even a cloth from its clothes nor a strand of hair to mark its identity. only death and destruction lie in its wake.

looking into the house, two figures lie deathly still. red painted the walls as if it were some revolting mural. turning back to jisung and soobin, he tried to feel for any warmth on their bodies. maybe it wasn't too long ago and they still had a chance to live. yeah, that's right, they're going to be okay, he told himself.

chenle's heart dropped to his stomach. soobin's skin was ice cold, no warmth could be detected at all. he then moved to jisung, already accepting that the latter would be cold too. but no, a sparse fire could be felt and chenle didn't know whether or not he was imagining it. deciding to take the chance, he hauled jisung's body onto his back.

at this point, it didn't matter that jisung's stupidly long and lanky limbs weren't hanging awkwardly around his smaller figure, or if the metallic smell of blood filled his nostrils. it didn't matter because there was a chance that jisung was alive. and you bet he's going to take that chance.

running down the mountain terrain was a difficult task, yet it didn't stop him from running even faster.

"it's okay ji, i've got you. you're going to be alright. i'm going to get you some help so stay strong for me okay?" the latter encouraged, feeling parts of his nose and cheeks start to go numb from the cold.

while he was busy running, he didn't notice the male on his back slowly rising from his back. his eyes weren't its usual dark brown as it took on a stormy gray hue. he bared his teeth, canines unnaturally sharper than usual. the smell of human flesh was so pungent and he couldn't resist the animalistic hunger that overtook him. there wasn't one reasonable thought in his head besides the fact that he need to eat.

right when he was about to bite down, chenle stumbled in his steps while trying to take a sharp turn, causing them both to fall over the cliff and onto the ground below them. thankfully it wasn't that far and that a thick layer of snow lined the once grass filled terrain.

chenle's mind was going into overdrive. there was no time for recovering from the fall or to catch his breath. he needed to get back on the trail with jisung...

speaking of said male, chenle shot up from the snow as his eyes darted around to find the familiar cerulean of his kimono. he couldn't even lay an eye on it before he was harshly pushed down onto the snow again. on instinct, his hands came up and held on to the person's shoulders then adjusted his vision to see who knocked him over. the answer came as a total shock.

"j-jisung? y-you're—" he couldn't even finish before jisung pushed down with inhumane force, ready to bite off his head.

reacting quickly, he was able to shield himself with his sheathed hamidashi. the covered blade was shoved horizontally between jisung's teeth, preventing him from biting down much. yet, it wasn't enough for jisung to stop relenting. chenle's eyes were blown wide at the boy in front of him; eyes a dark gray, canines obviously larger and sharper, with veins popping out of his forehead.

"JISUNG! LISTEN TO ME, I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! PLEASE..." chenle screamed, hoping—no, knowing the jisung he knew was still in there, somewhere. he flinched when he felt jisung's nails digging into his forearm through the fabric of his own kimono. "stop...please...y-you're hurting me..."

chenle's eyes were squeezed shut, trying to block out the pain that was running along his forearms. then, out of nowhere, he felt some warmth on his cheeks. last time he checked, he hadn't shed any tears, or did he without knowing.

to find out, he opened his eyes and was met with jisung's glossy eyes. i'm sorry, they seem to say. it was clear that jisung was fighting to let go, but the demon blood that had entered his system was too strong for him. his hands were shaking violently from how much force he was putting into stop the urge. he didn't want to hurt chenle anymore.

"jisung breathe. it's just me. there's no need to cry alright? i-i'm fine, see?" chenle mustered up his best smile to show that he was okay. to show that he was in no pain at all.

little by little, he could feel jisung's grip weakening then finally loosening completely. his bangs fell over his eyes, covering them from chenle's sight. sitting up on the elder's hips, his hands curled up into tight fists at his sides. using every bit of willpower he had left, he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to restrain his hunger. don't think about it, he told himself. don't hurt chenle.

chenle watched as the boy before him went into an internal battle with himself. he was biting so hard onto the covered blade, chenle was sure he'd shatter it at any second now. unconsciously, he picked up his hand and gently placed it upon jisung's head, petting it lightly like how he always did when he was going off into town. except this time, it wasn't a goodbye. it was an 'i'm here for you, it's going to be okay'.

after helping chenle fight his own battle of losing his parents, and wanting to end his life every minute of the day subsequent of that fateful morning, it was his turn to be there for jisung all the way. it didn't matter that jisung was now a demon, as jisung was still jisung. and it held clear that he was fighting back to the best of his abilities.

cautiously, chenle removes the hamidashi between the latter's teeth. from there, he sat up too, cupping jisung's face in his own hands so that they could be eye to eye.

"y-you should run while you still can." his words came out frail and shaky. "i...i don't know how much longer i can hold this off."

"i'm not going anywhere, ji. i'm staying right here. with you." chenle replies stubbornly as always. sometimes, jisung wished chenle wasn't so stubborn. to care about his own wellbeing for once instead of others.

"please...i don't want to hurt you. you have to go." tears were still spilling out of his eyes, marking up his flushed cheeks.

"no. i refuse to let you suffer alone like this. you were there for me when i felt like the whole world had collapsed on me. now it's my turn to be here for you." chenle used his thumb to smear away the younger's tears. "it's okay if i get hurt. i'm fine with that."

hearing those words never felt so good but it also stung like an open wound exposed to salt. jisung was glad that chenle refuses to leave him, but the other side of him felt so so guilty. why should he risk the life of someone he loves so much? he wanted to push away, but his hands wouldn't respond to him. all they did was pull chenle closer until he could feel the other's heartbeat against his own.

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