Chapter Text
The raindrops pelted unto the pavement following the rhythm of the footsteps of the being walking through it. Kim Hongjoong, an immortal and a huge hater of being soaked through with rainwater strode through the empty streets wishing that he had brought his car instead. Or at least an umbrella. Weather on Earth is hugely unpredictable and though he can do many things that humans can only imagine, he cannot predict the weather or control it.
His black tophat saved his head from getting wet but the mullet that he stubbornly decided to grow suffered in the back. His dark trench coat, his favourite trench coat, absolutely soaked.
He can simply fashion himself an umbrella out of thin air, or make his car appear, or even create a bubble around him so that the raindrops cannot attack him. However, after the time he was almost burnt at the stake for using his powers in the visibility of humans, he doesn’t like to risk it. Even if the streets are empty, humans have recently created these devices that act as their eyes for when they’re not there. Hongjoong tries really hard not to be bitter about it.
He rounds the corner and sees an old man standing in the rain holding cardboard up. The man is the only one in the streets, and he stands perfectly still holding the board. It’s eerie. And if Hongjoong were human he would have turned around and walked in the opposite direction. But he isn't so he pays the old man no heed till he comes closer and sees what is written on the board. His steps almost falter in surprise.
In writing of dripping ink, there’s the message: The Apocalypse is Here! The Apocalypse is Here!
When Hongjoong passes by, the man stares at him in utter silence. Hongjoong returns the glance and grimaces. That old man has no idea how right he is. Making it as natural as possible, Hongjoong touches the tip of his hat and flicks his fingers.
The tin can by the old man’s foot rattles with coins. Hongjoong apologizes to whoever’s piggy bank or cash box he had just stolen the coins from. After all, he can’t make money out of thin air. But he’s sure it won’t be missed greatly, they are still just coins.
Hongjoong speeds up when he nears his destination. Times Bookstore . The best bookstore in the city said to hold any book it’s visitor needs. The only downside is that it's literally open one day a week. Today is one of its closed days but Hongjoong goes up and rings the doorbell anyway.
He is met with a pair of groggy eyes, a stifled yawn and striped pyjamas that looked way too expensive.
“Kim Hongjoong,” the wearer of the expensive sleepwear says, “I had a feeling it was you. Is there is a reason why you’re at my door at one am?”
“Park Seonghwa,” Hongjoong replies roughly, “You seem delightful as always.”
Seonghwa runs his fingers through his hair tiredly and his eyes roam on Hongjoong’s tense stance, “It is always a gift to see you too Hongjoong, but why are you so wound up?
Hongjoong raises his head and looks at Seonghwa straight in the eyes. The sharpness of his glance sends shivers down Seonghwa’s spine.
With the voice as harsh as the wind outside Hongjoong retorts, “Didn’t you feel it? He was born today. The Destroyer of Worlds.”
The sky explodes in light and thunder cracks. The rain pours down harder.
The first time Seonghwa meets Hongjoong he’s a mixture of emotions. The sun was glaring down on him making him feel uncomfortable in the white suit he is wearing. Even the wind rushing past him is warm and he tithers on each foot in anticipation. He’s been waiting for way too long. Though it would be expected that someone like him would be late.
He digs his black shoes onto the sand to stop himself from moving around heedlessly, it’s such a human thing to do, and he’s more than that. He shouldn’t feel these many emotions.
He quietly watches the waves of the sea crash into the sand. It’s the first time he had seen such blue water up close. He’s so focused on the richness of the sea that he doesn’t hear the footsteps approaching him.
“Park Seonghwa,” a voice whispers with the wind rushing past him.
Seonghwa startles and looks away from the sea, and blinks at the being staring at him.
For being the former leader of a rebellion that still made the higher-ups tremble, Kim Hongjoong is an incredibly delicate-looking man. For one he’s easily shorter than Seonghwa, and something about him just screams tiny and it has nothing to do with his height. His features were sharp but kind and delicate. If Seonghwa were to put it into human-like terms, Hongjoong is simply pretty. Probably the prettiest of their kind that he has seen.
But what startles Seonghwa the most is that this rebel, the being that most humans (though honestly wrongfully) dub a demon, is staring at him tenderly, almost as if he cared about a stranger that he just met.
Seonghwa swallows, “I suppose that they have informed you about me. It is nice to meet you Kim Hongjoong.”
Hongjoong’s eyes twinkle, he steps forward and Seonghwa resists the urge to take a step back, “You remember me?”
Seonghwa tugs on his suit unconsciously, “No, I was created a few days ago for this particular mission. But I have heard of you.”
The tenderness in Hongjoong’s eyes disappears. Almost instantly Seonghwa feels a shift in the air, the soft lines on the other’s face that indicated kindness morphed into something hard and rough. Suddenly, Seonghwa sees the rebel Kim Hongjoong, the one that tried to take over and change the way of their kind. The air around him crackled with energy and Seonghwa feels like he was starting to choke in his power. His head feels dizzy with the sudden change between them.
That shift, the sudden annoyance in Hongjoong’s eyes irritates Seonghwa though a part of him trembles at it.
“It was expected I suppose,” Hongjoong mumbles, his voice low as if these were words Seonghwa isn’t supposed to hear, “they have sent you here to torture me.”
Seonghwa feels his temple throb in irritation, “I may be new,” he begins to protest.
“You’re a baby.”
“- but I know what I’m doing. I will be sure to stop your antics,” Seonghwa finishes off determinedly, his head held high. He will not cower in fear against someone who had betrayed their kind in the name of defending the humans.
Hongjoong’s eyes narrow, “What makes you think I’m here to do something?”
Seonghwa purses his lips, “After your banishment you have stayed in the underworld with your rebels, and suddenly you show up on Earth and buy land .”
Hongjoong puts his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, “So what? They figured that I have decided to live on Earth now and they decided to assign me a babysitter who is practically a baby.”
Seonghwa takes in a deep breath, “They want to make sure that you and your crew won’t make any more trouble. After the Black Plague-”
“Which my crew and I tried to stop.”
“Well, which you failed to stop, but only after giving them many headaches, they are warier of you. You starting to live on Earth and blend in with humans would obviously just cause more trouble, so they made me and sent me to do the same. To live on Earth and blend in with humans. To keep a watch on you.”
Hongjoong sniffs, “They have filled you in about my history huh?”
Seonghwa’s eyebrows furrow, “Well of course they did. I have to know about the person I am supposedly babysitting.”
Hongjoong snorts and looks away, “That’s why you look so terrified of me. The humans call me a demon after all. I wonder what they say up there.”
Seonghwa tilts his head, not liking the shift in the other’s tone, “That’s not true. I’m not really that afraid, more like... curious.” and nervous?
Hongjoong eyes snap back to the other, slightly wide. He clears his throat and erases the look of surprise off his face, “Well you are more of a fool than you look then.”
Seonghwa shrugs, “Maybe. But if you are as scary as they say, you would have obliterated me the moment you saw me.”
Hongjoong smirks wickedly, “How do you know that I’m not going to do that?”
Seonghwa blinks blankly, to be honest, he doesn’t know Hongjoong enough to be that confident the other wouldn't kill him, and the other is way more powerful than him. Hongjoong has years of experience using his powers to back him up while Seonghwa is basically a newbie. He could obliterate him on the spot if he wanted to. And why wouldn’t he want to? Seonghwa is practically his enemy, a spy sent by ones who most hate him. A future problem that he could easily erase (though there is no saying that the higher-ups wouldn’t send a substitute).
But Seonghwa didn’t feel like he was going to cease to exist. Though Hongjoong towered over him in everything but height, for some strange reason, Seonghwa wasn’t intimidated.
Seonghwa scrunches his nose, “Well, are you?”
Hongjoong sighs as if he was defeated, but Seonghwa didn’t even know they were fighting in the first place.
It unsettles him. He feels like he’s missing something important like the higher-ups didn’t brief him about something pertinent about Hongjoong. He tugs on the collar of his suit uncomfortably, “I’m curious. Why did you accept the invitation to meet at São Tomé and Príncipe?” Why did you accept the invitation to meet me?
What did the higher-ups say to make Kim Hongjoong, of all beings, to follow their instructions? The Kim Hongjoong who doesn’t believe in the rules of the world.
Hongjoong smirks but his eyes don’t hold the mockery that his mouth does, “Don’t take it personally. I only accepted because São Tomé and Príncipe is beautiful this time of the year.”
São Tomé and Príncipe, the closest land to the middle of the world.
Hongjoong looks away at the horizon, the sun is slowly dropping to the sea. Seonghwa follows his glance.
Seonghwa peers at the orange-ish hue of the shy. The sun saying its goodbyes till the next morning and the sea reflecting it all.
Earth is a beauty.
So sure they were enemies, but they were also the only of their kind on Earth at the moment. Hence, without any exchange of words they decided to watch the sun’s farewell, together .
“Didn’t you feel it? He was born today. The Destroyer of Worlds,” Seonghwa hears Hongjoong say, and everything slots into place.
No wonder he is so wound up.
Seonghwa opens the door wider with a soft smile gracing his features, “First come inside it’s raining pretty hard today.” Hongjoong scoffs and steps inside, bringing in a wet trail. He takes off his top hat and shakes his head to ward off the raindrops clinging unto his hair. Seonghwa bites his lips to stop himself from laughing at how the gesture is so cat-like, like a disgruntled cat who has just caught itself in the rain.
“Should I bring you a towel?” Seonghwa asks, locking the door behind him.
Hongjoong glares at him, “No I don’t need a towel Seonghwa. The Destroyer of Worlds was just born today.”
Oh it’s going to be difficult to bring him away from this mood.
“Well technically it’s The Destroyer of World, only one world is going to be destroyed,” Seonghwa corrects as he leads Hongjoong to the seating area of the bookstore.
He plops on the couch and gestures Hongjoong to sit on the couch across from him. Hongjoong obliges but not before throwing him a dirty glance.
“Earth is going to be destroyed,” Hongjoong reiterates, “We have to do something.”
Seonghwa sighs, he feels tiredness seep through his bones which is ridiculous because his kind is not supposed to get tired. Sleep is supposed to be just a luxury to a being like him. But these days he feels exhausted and Hongjoong coming to his place with a ridiculous request is not helping.
“No Hongjoong, I will not do anything. If anything I will stop you from doing something. That is my job. I make sure that what is written in the book happens, remember?”
Oh the book . The reason why Hongjoong rebelled. The reason why he was kicked out of the above and sent below.
Also the reason for Seonghwa’s and Hongjoong’s existence.
With the creation of humankind, a book was written. Inside it is every single thing that could possibly happen and the job of their kind is to make sure that what the book has written happens. Even if the book says destruction and doom for humankind, it is their kind’s job to ensure that the humans follow the path laid out for them. The higher-ups are obsessed with rules and instruction, and the book is like an instruction manual for Earth. Hongjoong had disagreed with the whole practice, and the rest was history.
Hongjoong scrunches his nose and Seonghwa’s heart clenches at how cute it is, “I thought we were past all that. Are we really going to do this little dance that we always do? Earth is at stake.”
Seonghwa rests his elbow on the arm of the couch and places his chin on the palm of his hand. The storm outside rages on and Seonghwa feels an echo of it within himself. Hongjoong has always had that effect on him. He was constantly battling something inside him when he was with Hongjoong.
“From what I recall,” Seonghwa replies trying to choose his words carefully, “You have never won these dances Hongjoong. The book is always right.” He feels like a broken record player, he has probably said these words to Hongjoong a billion of times. He doesn’t know why he bothers when Hongjoong has never listened to anything but his own heart.
Though this conversation is familiar, it still feels stilted. Hongjoong has never asked Seonghwa for help before. He had never even asked Seonghwa to turn the other cheek to his antics.
Hongjoong’s hands balled into fists, his face contorts and it almost looks like he is in pain, “This is the end of the world Seonghwa. I can not let the book be right about this. Which is why I need you to be on my side.”
Seonghwa rubs his face tiredly and he feels a sense of urgency hum within him. He needs to shut down this idea before he actually is compelled to do what Hongjoong is asking of him.
“You’re asking me to defy the higher-ups,” he retorts more harshly than he wants to, “To rebel against my own kind like you once had.”
Hongjoong shrinks at the last sentence, “You know I wouldn’t ask you of that if I didn’t have another choice. I know you love Earth as much as I do. I know you don’t want to see it destroyed.”
But what one wants and what one needs to do are two completely different things. The storm within Seonghwa rages on and he gets up and steps forward. Toward Hongjoong.
He is so tired of this conversation already. He feels like they would just go in circles and get nowhere. He reaches toward Hongjoong and gently takes the end of a few strands of his hair in between his fingertips.
“I think you need to dry your hair,” he mumbles, “it’s still wet.”
Hongjoong catches the hand moving against his hair by the wrist and holds it tight, “The humans call you guys, the ones that are from the above, angels. Would an angel let the world get destroyed?”
Seonghwa sighs and gently removes Hongjoong’s fingers from his wrist, “We are not responsible to how the humans have decided to divide our kind. Just as how they have misconceived you to be the devil, they mistake me for an angel with expectations that I can’t fulfill. Hongjoong please just drop this. Just enjoy Earth while you can.”
Hongjoong abruptly stands up, his mouth set into a thin line and his stare cold. Seonghwa feels irritated at himself for bringing such a look on the other’s face. Hongjoong crosses his arms across his chest and his mouth scowls in stubbornness. He tilts his head upward so that their noses are just centimetres away from touching. Centuries ago Seonghwa would have cowered at such assertiveness, but now Seonghwa knows better, he knows Hongjoong better. He knows that the tough stance Hongjoong is displaying is just a cover-up for how hurt he is by Seonghwa’s rejection.
Seonghwa resists the urge to press his hands on the smaller’s face in an attempt to smooth out the hard lines and wrinkles gracing it.
“Whatever I don’t need you anyway, I have a crew to back me up,” Hongjoong bites out, “A team that believes that Earth is worth saving.”
Seonghwa winces. Hongjoong’s words were meant to hurt, and it did.
“That’s not fair,” Seonghwa whispers, his eyes pleading, “Hongjoong just-”
Hongjoong moves away from Seonghwa and heads towards the door, “No it’s not fair. But so isn’t letting the Earth destroy itself. Good luck trying to stop me this time.”
“Hongjoong it’s raining outside, stay the night.”
The door slams shut and Seonghwa wilts. Hongjoong didn’t even say goodbye.
Seonghwa rubs his eyes and walks towards the cash register counter. He messily writes himself a note to contact the higher-ups in the morning about Hongjoong's plans to stop the apocalypse.
He doesn’t let himself feel the guilt. He has a job to do. Just like how Hongjoong has pretty unconventional beliefs, Seonghwa has unbearable duties.
Underneath the counter is some of Seonghwa’s personal favourite books, ones that he isn’t willing to sell. Among them is the book. For holding all the events of the world, it was surprisingly thin.
He heaves it to the counter and flips to the last page. He stares at the last sentence and runs his index finger across it. He desperately wishes that he could erase the sentence, just like how he wishes to erase the tension and worry from Hongjoong’s face.
He stares at it blankly for the rest of the night because it’s not like he could rest after the night he just had.
“The Destroyer of Worlds,” the sentence reads, “Kang Yeseong, will bring an end to the world as we know it. ”