Chapter 6: There's No Going Black
“You have a nice house, Mrs. Mae” Jeongguk spoke casually, “I like the doilies,” a little too casually.
“Why, thank you. What a gentleman,” Haru’s mother feigned, considering his casual tone. She smiled as she poured the tea into three teacups.
The next few minutes were spent prodding Jeongguk for more information about himself.
“A Mercedes at your age, huh. Just makes one wonder what you do for a living,” Haru’s mother remarked, much to Haru’s annoyance.
“He’s not a shady guy, mom.” Haru gave Jeongguk time to think a fake profession.
“The lot that requested this hearing, step to the front,” Ryka, the elder heading lost souls in the middle-world stated.
He was simply an apparition, similar to a demon, but in the form of a ghost.
Taehyung, Jeongguk and Hyejin looked around for kindred faces, but found none. The demons that’d promised to stand by them had all betrayed them; not a single one made eye contact.
“Told you they’d bail,” Taehyung shifted close to Jeongguk and whispered.
Their hyungs were somewhere in the back. They’d taken time out of their schedule to witness the hearing.
Jeongguk nudged both his accomplices forward, scared of making the council heads wait.
“Well, go on then!” Lucas, the one in charge of middle-world beasts was an impatient one, “Don’t keep us waiting.”
Lucas had strewn fur, showing his years of service at the council. The lines around his eyes were deep-set, letting one know all about his rigorous experiences in the demon realm. His head consisted of a wolf’s face with a majestic mane, while his body was muscular; but showed his years. His legs resembled that of a mountain lion, with sharp talons, similar to his hands.
Jeongguk decided to take initiative as Taehyung shivered behind him.
“We’re the ones they’re looking for answers from, sir. It’s about the rare event that occurred on Friday,” he was immediately cut off by the council’s attendant.
“Well, it’s utter blasphemy then!” Lucas yelled, “How dare they decide to question the council? Do the younglings not know that we are the ones who decide their fate? I swear on Iblis, these young brats don’t have a single ounce of respect for our time.”
The air within the jury was so thin, Hyejin could swear she saw someone choking in the back.
“May I speak, sir?” Hyejin spoke softly, and all heads whipped in her direction. She might have not known court etiquette but someone had to speak up among them before Lucas decided to have their heads rolling.
“You may speak,” Juwon, head of middle-world demons, interrupted Lucas’ yelling with a single hand. He had an air of refined elegance about him that Hyejin had never seen in another demon, ever. Juwon looked like any other demon, but his eyes told you about his power. He could set anyone off running with a single look. He had platinum blonde hair and upturned eyes.
“We wanted to know about Friday’s event. So many souls were crossing at the same time, so it was concerning to us,” Hyejin spoke as firmly as she could, so as not to displease the council elders.
“Why keep a hearing for this? Any attendant could have answered your questions,” Juwon sounded tired as he dusted his robes.
Before Hyejin could reply, an attendant interrupted her.
“The youngsters have to respect-”
“Yes, yes. We all know how much you like to keep hearings and put the younglings in a spot. Don’t get yours in a bunch,” Ryka said, cornering Lucas.
“Well, it’s better they hear it from us instead of half-assed information from other demons,” Lucas said, firmly.
“So much for blasphemy,” Juwon shook his head and sighed.
Imagine requesting a hearing and berating the people who stepped up for it first.
Juwon recollected his refined appearance and smiled at Hyejin.
“It was a bunch of war veterans cheating death. They made covenants during the war and failed to fulfill them, all alcoholics and old failures. That is all,” Juwon explained.
“Thank you, sir. That explains a lot,” Hyejin was so, so thankful for Juwon.
“Is that it, then? Damn, younglings-”
“You forced them to have a hearing, Lucas. Shut your trap before I smack it off,” Ryka interrupted, clearly tired of Lucas.
“You’re a ghost, you idjit. You can’t even touch me,” Lucas fought back.
“Want me to stay on top of you all the time? It’ll shut you up right away,” Ryka apparated right on top of Lucas, clearly annoying him.
“Hey, get off!” Lucas flailed his arms around, trying to shake Ryka off.
Everyone watched in awe. The air was completely different than before.
“Sir Lucas,” an attendant came running in, “Dylan from Chicago just called you a **** on CS:GO.”
“What the-” Lucas ran across the court to get Ryka off of him, “Pause the game. Fucking Dylan; I’ll be right there! We’re done here! Hearing closed.”
Lucas ran out, with Ryka rushing after him. This left only Juwon on the podium.
“But you can’t pause an online game, sir!” the attendant ran after Lucas.
The attendant then turned to the jury and gave a nervous smile, “He’s new to online games.”
“A bunch of kids, I tell you,” Juwon pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
He clapped his hands and announced, “Well then, I think we’re done here. Friday’s event was a rare occurrence. If you have any more questions, you may ask our attendants. I doubt there will be more occurrences like Friday in the future,” Juwon looked at the jury again, “Dismissed.”
The entire court started whispering and talking while heads shifted. The court was soon empty.
Taehyung decided to break the silence outside once they reached outside the court, “Well that was…”
“Intense,” Hyejin completed for him.
There are many memorable experiences a person anticipates in their school life. Having your first kiss within the school campus, planning a trip with your closest friends being some of them.
Haru, too, had a bucket list of memory-making in her mind. What she didn’t anticipate was a handsome, air-headed, older man waiting for her outside the school gate in a shiny black Mercedes.
Every; mind you, every head turned in his direction when they passed by. A man in all-black in a black Mercedes; nothing weird about it.
“Jeongguk,” Haru whisper-yelled and swiftly walked to him, “What are you doing here? This is my school, you can’t come here like this.”
Jeongguk gave himself a once-over and gave her a questioning look, “Like what?”
The clothes were a completely different story, but an older man waiting for her outside her school sounded so shady.
“Who’s this, Haru?” Raemi sounded worried, “are you in trouble or something?”
The only person she didn’t want knowing about Jeongguk had already seen him waiting for her. Haru didn’t even know when Raemi got there.
“Wait, is it drugs?” Raemi went on when there was no reply, “Damn, Haru.”
Raemi fake-gasped, still wondering about all the possibilities why this man would be waiting for her.
“He saved me from an accident,” Haru blurted out without thought, “We’ve been talking since then. Just that. He’s older, you know.”
“What accident?” Raemi actually gasped this time, “Excuse me, no one told me about any accident! Are you okay, Haru?”
Raemi hugged Haru while Haru said whispered into her ear, “Don’t let anyone know about this. I don’t want to make a scene.”
Raemi suddenly stopped acting flamboyant, “Alright, but I think everyone has already seen him. You better think of an excuse. Why don’t you introduce me to him? He’s good-looking; I was hoping it would be more than an accident between you two.”
“Jeongguk, this is Raemi. She’s my best friend,” Haru motioned to Raemi, “Raemi, this is Jeongguk. He saved me from a road accident while crossing the street. We’ve become friends since then.”
“Hello, Jeongguk,” Raemi held out her hand for a handshake which Jeongguk gladly shook.
“You came to pick her up from school?” Raemi continued the conversation, “You’re that close? You brought a Merc too; what a way to show off.”
There was a hint of possessiveness in Raemi’s eyes.
Jeongguk looked at her as if he didn’t understand a word of what she’d said. He looked back at his car and stared at himself up and down, not finding anything amiss.
What was the girl implying?
“Yeah, he’s an airhead like that. Can’t keep a low profile, whatsoever,” Haru gave a pointed look to Jeongguk then turned to Raemi, “I’ll tell you everything later, okay? I have to leave right now.”
“Fine,” Raemi huffed, “But you better let me in on everything. What kind of friend doesn’t know when their friend has had an accident? Ridiculous.”
Haru hugged Raemi and nodded, answering her question. Raemi smiled at her and walked away, waving at her again from a distance. Haru waved back and turned to Jeongguk.
“Will you tell me what the hell you’re doing here?” Haru was seriously shocked he’d do something like this, “I can’t believe you.”
“Way to be grateful to someone who saved your life and has brought you important information from our realm,” Jeongguk scoffed.
“I am grateful,” Haru reminded, “But you stand out too much, Jeongguk. Can’t you keep a low profile? You’re literally signing omens of death with your appearance, right outside my school.”
“Because I wear all black-”
“And you have a black car,” Haru interrupted.
“You want me to change my appearance for you?” Jeongguk was in disbelief.
“No, but you could really benefit from a low profile,” Haru replied, already tired.
“I don’t need a low profile,” Jeongguk bit back, “When I don’t want to be seen I just go invisible. We don’t need to blend in when we can just disappear.”
Haru sighed, “Why are you so difficult? You can go invisible; I can’t. You are drawing attention to me right now, while waiting for me.”
“Alright then,” Jeongguk was tired too, “You could’ve just said that. I just had to get information about your situation to you as soon as possible.”
“What information? You found a solution?” Haru immediately perked up.
“Get in the car. I’ll drop you home,” Jeongguk motioned to his car, signifying he’d let her know everything on the ride home.
Haru immediately got in the car as Jeongguk followed suit.
“We recently had a reaping kind of thing,” Jeongguk began, “It happened right as you fainted.”
“What’s a reaping?” Haru was listening keenly.
“A large number of souls crossing – no, dying at the same time in this world,” Jeongguk explained.
“Oh,” was all Haru could muster, scared of what was coming.
“Many war veterans had almost exceeded their time on earth, so they were taken away together. Minutes between each other,” Jeongguk went on, “It means they were supposed to die either within the war’s time-frame or they would die in a reaping. It’s really painful; not a thing to boast about.”
“Huh? Did they cheat death or something?”
“It’s complicated…you know how people say their earnest prayers in hospitals and during calamities? Well, sometimes people end up making covenants with their prayers. A huge number of soldiers must’ve made some deals with demons, without knowing so. It’s laying out a condition such as ‘giving up on cheese sandwiches if I survive this war’ kind of thing, but much more complicated.”
“Makes sense now. That’s scary. Wish I didn’t know that,” Haru’s voice made her feeling apparent.
“They mostly forget about their deals, once they get what they want. This happens because they don’t really believe in gods, so they think they survived by fluke, and not because of their prayers. War will bring anyone to God’s doorstep. Basically, the prayer is made to both heaven and hell – if the condition is met, good will happen. If they disrespect the deal, bad will happen. Which is why; the reaping.”
“Man, I wonder if I’ve ever made such a deal,” Haru began thinking of all the times she’d said a prayer. But no, she hadn’t ever asked for something from the gods. She only remembered one time when she’d asked for Sungho’s wellness after his mother’s death.
“Yes, us heaven and hell-dwellers both, don’t take disrespect very well,” Jeongguk stated plainly. It was believable.
“How does this correlate with me though?”
“It definitely correlates to you. You fainted right as the reaping started. We almost lost you, Haru.”
There it was, the way he said her name as if patting her head like she knew nothing.
“Do you know anything about the 1950s?” Jeongguk continued.
“Why would I know anything about that era?” Haru immediately replied.
“I guess we’ll have to find out more about this phenomenon then. The council has already explained everything we asked them. I don’t know how long we can keep your existence from them…” Jeongguk said.
“What will they do if they find out?” Haru questioned.
“For starters, they’ll ask why I decided to save you.”
“Right. We’re toast on the first question itself. Nobody knows jackshit. Great. Understood,” Haru flailed her arms up in the air, giving up promptly.
Haru was quiet and reserved as Jeongguk pulled up in her neighborhood’s driveway.
“This is why you should be careful of your words and thoughts, all the time,” Jeongguk got out of the car and shut the car door after parking the car, “It doesn’t just happen in prayer. If you ask earnestly, someone will listen. Someone is always, always listening.”
Haru, too slid out of her seat and got out of the car.
Abruptly, a crow decided to let loose on Jeongguk’s black Merc.
“What the fuck- that asshole. I swear that stupid crow is following me everywhere,” Jeongguk muttered, to himself more than Haru.
“Well you’re very easy to spot and follow if you choose to show yourself…” Haru clicked her tongue.
“No, that crow is a fucking grown dude. It’s a fucking demon,” Jeongguk was getting angrier by the minute.
Haru promptly took out some pocket tissues from her satchel and wiped his car roof.
“There you go. All shiny again.”
That calmed Jeongguk a bit.
“How is the crow a grown person? And why’s it following-”
“Huh? What do we have here? Haru has brought home a handsome young man!” Haru’s mother, Chaerin came to the porch.
She gasped as she took in the sight, wiping her rimmed glasses.
“He’s so good-looking! And he has a Mercedes. You’ve hit the jackpot, finally. I’m so proud of you, my baby.”
“It’s not what you think-”
“Why don’t you come inside, young man? I’ve got some tea brewing and biscuits ready,” Chaerin’s voice was all flowery with Jeongguk.
Jeongguk stood stunned between the two women, and decided to let Haru speak for him.
“He’s a friend, mom,” was all Haru said.
“A friend with a Mercedes,” Chaerin corrected, “If not today, then some other day.”
“I’m sorry about my mom. She’s quite animated when I bring new people,” Haru turned to Jeongguk, slowly shifting the conversation, “Let’s just have the tea and get it moving.”
Chaerin grinned brightly, making light out of her daughter’s words and welcomed Jeongguk inside.
There was a lot of doily in the living room. A doily rug, doily cloth on the tv shelf, doily coffee table and doily covers on the couches. It matched Haru’s mother’s personality, Jeongguk thought.
“I’m Chaerin, by the way. Haru has told me a lot about you,” Chaerin continued.
“He knows I haven’t said a word about him, mom,” Haru immediately topped with a poker face.
“Well I’m sure you’re good company if Haru chose to be your accomplice,” Chaerin plastered a smile on her face.
Haru sighed, knowing what she meant.
“I’ll bring the tea and snacks,” Chaerin announced, softly clapping her hands, “Why don’t you help me, Haru?”
Haru nodded, anticipating what was coming. She looked at Jeongguk, basically signalling him to make himself comfortable while she helped Chaerin.
Chaerin spoke softly, “I hope it’s not something I should be concerned about,” as she poured the tea in a porcelain teapot.
“Before you start,” Haru prepared a tray from a cabinet, “It’s not drugs. Jeongguk saved me from an accident.”
“Jeongguk,” Haru’s mom clicked her tongue, “We’re on first name basis then? How’s it gonna be, after this?”
“We’re not going to be a thing, mom. We began talking, and found some things common. That’s all. He’s much older, y’know.” Haru was tired.
“Well then, I hope I’ll know in case of any developments?” her mom always made things complicated before they actually started becoming complicated.
“There will be no developments,” Haru decided to not argue this time, “but you’ll know when there are any.”
She just had to assure her mother that she wouldn’t get into any trouble.
Chaerin was happy with that, and simply hummed in response.
“You have a nice house, Mrs. Mae” Jeongguk spoke casually, “I like the doilies,” a little too casually.
“Why, thank you. What a gentleman,” Haru’s mother feigned, considering his casual tone. She smiled as she poured the tea into three teacups.
The next few minutes were spent prodding Jeongguk for more information about himself.
“A Mercedes at your age, huh. Just makes one wonder what you do for a living,” Haru’s mother remarked, much to Haru’s annoyance.
“He’s not a shady guy, mom.” Haru gave Jeongguk time to think a fake profession.
“My family owns an automobile company. It’s led by my dad and a few of his siblings. That is all for the Mercedes.” Jeongguk didn’t like the flow of the conversation anymore, given he had to mull over every sentence before speaking them into existence.
“Ah. Wonderful,” Haru’s mother beamed, “I know I’m being a total detective here. But I hope you can understand what this looks to people in general. No worries on you both hanging out though. I’m fine with it.”
Haru breathed a sigh of relief as she finished her tea. Jeongguk hadn’t touched a single biscuit, much to Chaerin’s dismay.
“But you’re to keep your room’s door open if you take him upstairs,” Haru’s mother motioned at her.
“Fine, mom,” Haru said in a robotic voice as she rolled her eyes, tired.
“You haven’t touched any snacks, dear. Don’t like biscuits? Should I get you something else?” Chaerin turned to Jeongguk again, always being the hospitable one.
“I actually ate before coming here,” Jeongguk excused himself, “So I’m already full.”
“Ah. No worries about that,” Chaerin assured.
“We’ll go upstairs then, Mom?” Haru cut in between.
“Off you go. Don’t give the handsome lad any trouble, if you can,” Chaerin grinned.
Haru gave her a look of ‘ugh’ and motioned Jeongguk to follow her.
Jeongguk gave Haru’s mom a small bow and smiled politely, and then followed Haru upstairs.
Haru’s room was pretty clean. Jeongguk had already seen it before, while loitering on the tree outside her window. She’d probably run away forever if she ever came to know that.
Her room was a lot of yellow and pink. Pink pillows with yellow bedsheets, a yellow-cream wallpaper, and a light wooden desk in the corner. He felt pretty familiar in her house.
“I can apparate inside your house now that I’ve been here once,” Jeongguk stated plainly.
“But you’re not doing that,” Haru said, without missing a beat, “This is my private space. You can’t barge in whenever you want, Jeongguk.”
She’d decided to explain, because hanging out with Jeongguk had made her realise how much of an airhead he was. The dude simply didn’t know a lot human gestures and emotions. So it was important to know where he was coming from, and also letting him know the reasons for things he didn’t understand.
“Right, I won’t,” Jeongguk nodded and surrendered his hands in the air, “I can still tap on your bedroom window from outside, if I ever need to talk to you.”
Jeongguk motioned at the window, and promptly, his demeanour changed.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now? He followed me here too?” Jeongguk picked an eraser from Haru’s desk and threw it outside, shooing the damned crow that had been following him.
“What the hell, Jeongguk. Don’t throw my things like that,” Haru scolded when she saw Jeongguk looking for something else to throw.
“That asshole crow. I can’t believe this. He actually followed me here too. He’s staring at us from that tree!” Jeongguk had completely lost it.
“Calm down, Jeongguk. It’s just-“
“That’s a grown-ass demon, Haru! It’s not some unintelligible bird. It’s a pervert!” Jeongguk cut off explained, annoyed.
He decided to apparate to the branch the crow was sitting on, but the crow flew away before Jeongguk could grab it. Jeongguk re-apparated into her room.
“A pervert, you say?” Haru repeated.
“Close the blinds when you’re changing and don’t let any strangers inside your house. I’ve got one more hellish issue to take care of now.”
Haru nodded, putting her trust in Jeongguk.
“If it’s following you, then it’s something to be concerned about. It might not be just a silly dude poking fun at you,” Haru said, understanding what was happening.
“It probably saw you, Haru. I mean, your soul’s color. I need to get my hands on it. If word gets out about you, we’ll be in lots of trouble. I’ll have to trade him something, like hush money of sorts,” Jeongguk explained.
“I’m sorry for putting you through so much, Jeongguk,” Haru peered at the floor.
“It’s been following me for a long time. Before you came. It’s not you. I don’t know what he wants. All the crows are in on it too.”
“What does that mean now?”
Jeongguk picked up a notebook from her desk and opened a page, handing it to Haru.
Haru was puzzled for a moment, but grabbed a pencil anyway.
The sheer dumbfounded look of disbelief Jeongguk gave her was indescribable. She’d drawn a ‘V’ for a crow, the way kids drew in their mountain scenery with a sun and a house.
He snatched the book from her and drew a random bird.
“Which bird is this?” Jeongguk pointed at the drawing and asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe a sparrow?”
Jeongguk then proceeded to scribble on the page, coloring the bird all black.
“Now which bird is this?”
Haru gasped, “It’s a crow.”
“Draw another bird,” Jeongguk said, then changed his mind because of her previous show of talent, “Wait, give the book here.”
He drew three more birds and showed them to Haru in outline. Then, he proceeded to fill them in black granite.
“Crows!” Haru gasped, yet again.
“Any bird is a crow in all black.”
Haru coughed, as she painted a mental picture of Jeongguk with his car…
“Jeongguk…you’re always in all-black too.”
“Well, this isn’t about me. It’s about the damn crows!” Jeongguk was quick to counter, “They’re signature arch demons when it comes to birds. All crows, Haru. All of them are grown-ass demons. They’re not birds, but demons. I hate them.”
He made it sound like he was looking for accomplices in his hate parade for crows.
“Okay, they’re perverts. I get it. But it’s really weird how every bird looks like a crow when painted black. So weird.”
“I know. The crows are all jerks. I don’t know where to start from about this stalker crow,” Jeongguk said, exhausted.
“Have you told Hyejin? She might be able to help,” Haru suggested.
“Yes, she knows. But today is just too much. Fucking pervert. I bet it’s an old bastard too.”
“I’m gonna go talk to Taehyung. You, keep the blinds closed. You see any stupid activity among those bastards, you let me know. Anything amiss? Use your mark and give me a call.”
Haru nodded as Jeongguk instructed her like a little girl.
He promptly disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.
That was the first time she’d talked to with Jeongguk for such a long time. He was so on edge the entire time after that crow had decided to loose his bearings on his car.
If Jeongguk was showing this much concern, it was definitely serious.
