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Baby slowly brushed his fingers over the words that were painted in a glossy black on the makeshift tombstone Mystery had made.
Jinu Saja, 1625 - 2025.
Baby had known Jinu for nine of those four hundred years, he hadn’t been in the demon realm for as long as the others had. Though, he was no less close with Jinu. The betrayal still stung just as much despite him being the newest and youngest member.
He sighed and took his hand away, feeling the texture of the cold stone split ways with the pads of his fingers.
The tombstone wasn’t much, not anything really. They had taken the biggest rock they could find in the comically small backyard fenced around their house and Mystery had marked it with his overly neat handwriting. That was all it was. There was no body beneath it and certainly no way there ever would be one. Jinu’s soul had gone into the body of the purple haired demon hunter who wielded a saingeom. He chose her. He wasn’t coming back to them.
Real or not, the tomb was Jinu’s. Baby had found himself sitting in front of it a lot lately.
He reflected on the first time him and Jinu had met. He was ten years old, small and scared, not knowing what the place he had found himself in was. Jinu was so kind to him that day.
Was there even a difference between day and night in the demon realm?
Jinu had bent down to Baby’s level and carefully asked him what his name was, treating him as though he was a beautiful glass statue that was bound to break at any moment.
They became closer by the day.
Jinu had introduced him to his other friends. He eventually fell in love with the second oldest. Abby.
Abby had been in the demon realm since 1620. He was five years older than Jinu and Romance, and two years younger than Mystery. Baby’s hyungs had known each other for centuries. It made him feel as if he was intruding on something to say the least. After they had finally taught him to be comfortable was when Jinu brought up his demon boy band idea. They thought he was a genius and agreed immediately.
They didn’t regret agreeing per se, - it was what got them reincarnated as humans after all - they just wondered what it would be like if they hadn’t said yes. Would they be at the closest they’ve ever been, doing their best to stay as positive as possible in the dark depths of the demon realm? Or would they had lost each other entirely? Demons didn’t sleep so they were always together. Talking, crying, grieving, it didn’t matter. They never were apart unless Gwi-ma had physically dragged them apart just for the fun of it. They would soon find each other again every time that happened. But what if one day they never did find each other?
Gwi-ma was always shocked and slightly annoyed by the fact that there was a group of reapers who almost looked happy. Almost.
He would try anything to put an end to their friendship. Splitting them apart, targeting them all at the same time so they couldn’t comfort each other, or targeting just one and making the rest listen to their screams and watch as blood sprayed out of their patterned body.
His attempts never worked. They had made a pact. And they weren’t going to break it. Not yet at least.
They never would have suspected any of them would ever abandon the rest. But especially not Jinu. He brought them together, he enforced the positivity, he was Jinu for goodness sake.
Baby couldn’t even count how many times there were when Jinu would run his clawed fingers through his teal hair, reminding him of all the good things he did while Gwi-ma would shout out his flaws.
But it was all a lie. Jinu was a lie. If he had just told them he had a plan to use the Huntrix member who was a partial demon herself, they would’ve trusted him. They would’ve asked him how the meetings with her went while taking off his jacket for him. Did he not trust them? Love them? Care about them?
Baby snapped back to reality when he felt a warm hand rub his saturated shoulder. He hadn’t even realised it was raining. He looked up and saw his boyfriend, smiling lightly at him in all his muscular glory.
“Did you forget what Romance said about not sitting in the rain?” Abby joked, before completely ignoring his own comment and joined Baby on the ground.
Abby planted a kiss on Baby’s wet forehead, he would be lying in he said he hadn’t ignored the weather and cried for Jinu at least once before.
Baby leaned into Abby’s shoulder. The latter didn’t say anything, he only wrapped his arms around Baby and ran his hand up and down his spine. He needed this just as much as Baby did.
They didn’t know how long they stayed in that position for. But eventually, they went back inside. Abby had helped Baby stand up and then wordlessly took his hand and brought him through the small glass door that led inside the house.
Once he had guided Baby into the two’s shared bedroom, he went to fetch him a clean towel to dry off. Not long later, Abby returned with the towel in hand. He draped it over Baby’s shoulders, gently patting him dry as if he was polishing a royal golden throne.
Baby silently sighed and looked out the window. Out there, rain pelted against the glass, and the occasional car drove past. No one sitting in those cars would have just lost one of the people who they were closest to because they gave up their soul.
Who would give up their soul for a girl they met a week ago that was actively out to kill them?
Jinu would.
And that was a reality Baby would just have to accept.