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Yoo Joonghyuk had never really intended on visiting the Underworld, really. It had kind of just happened. His friend, Kim Namwoon, had recently died, and though Joonghyuk had no intentions of dragging him out of the Underworld, he still found himself inside of it.
I only wanted to find out what his last words were going to be, Joonghyuk reminded himself. He died before he could finish speaking.
That’s what he had told Cerberus as well, when the dog tried to stop him from entering. Unfortunately, Cerberus was a dog and unable to fully comprehend what Joonghyuk had said, so when the three-headed beast snarled at Joonghyuk, ready to attack, Joonghyuk pulled out his sword.
“Stop!”
Cerberus stopped, but Joonghyuk remained tense. He looked over at the woman who was approaching, and his heart dropped in his stomach.
Han Sooyoung, daughter-in-law of the former rulers of the Underworld, Hades and Persephone. She was known by many names: Black Flames Demon Empress, Director of the False Last Act, et cetera.
Simply put, she was not someone to mess with. And yet, here they were, Joonghyuk about to mess with her.
Sooyoung snapped her fingers, and ghostly guards surrounded Joonghyuk. He remained wielding his sword, ready to attack. Sooyoung smirked and said, “Do you really think you could hurt me in my own realm?”
“Your husband was the one born here, with the former rulers as his parents,” Joonghyuk said. “This is not truly your realm.”
Sooyoung laughed. “I suppose, if you say it that way, you’re right. My connection with the Underworld is not as strong as my husband’s. However, don’t think that it is not strong enough.” With just a flick of her hand, black flames surrounded Joonghyuk, not touching him, yet still close enough for him to feel the heat. “Take the sword,” Sooyoung ordered one of her ghostly guards while Joonghyuk was distracted by the fire, and before he could react, his sword was out of his hands and in Sooyoung’s.
“Give it back,” Joonghyuk demanded, tense.
Sooyoung smiled. “I don’t think I will.” She jerked her head toward the castle and said, “This way.”
The ghostly guards began marching Joonghyuk in the direction of the castle. He let out an angry growl from his throat and let himself be led there. If he was lucky, things would not be too bad.
Naturally, the king of the Underworld, Kim Dokja, was present. Horns protruded from his head, and black, feathery wings extended from his back. Joonghyuk knew that Dokja didn’t always take this form. The fact that he had meant that this was serious.
The King of a Kingless World, the Demon King of Salvation, the Watcher of Light and Darkness… This man had more names than his wife did. They were truly one of the most dangerous couples in the world.
“I knew there was something going on,” Dokja said once his eyes caught sight of Joonghyuk. He stepped down from his throne and walked towards him, stopping right in front of him. “Yoo Joonghyuk. I’ve heard about you. Here to bring your friend Kim Namwoon back from the dead?”
“No,” Joonghyuk said bluntly. “I just wanted to know what his last words were going to be.”
Dokja looked flabbergasted. “Oh,” he said. “Well then.”
“Likely a lie,” Sooyoung said.
“You think,” Dokja said flatly, “that I didn’t pull up Lie Detector the moment I saw him? He’s telling the truth.”
“Well, fine,” Sooyoung said. “You don’t have to honor his request, though.”
“I will,” Dokja said, motioning to one of the ghostly guards. “Get Kim Namwoon.”
“From Tartarus?” the guard stammered.
Dokja nodded. “Yes. Good exercise, isn’t it? Feel free to take a few friends.”
The guard gave a few quick nods, then scampered off.
“He was holding his sword at Cerberus!” Sooyoung protested.
“That mutt was about to attack me,” Joonghyuk growled.
“Fair points, both of you,” Dokja said. “Majority vote?” He looked at the guards still in the room. “Anyone who agrees with the Director of the False Last Act, raise your hand.”
A third of the guards did. One of them glared at Joonghyuk angrily.
“And those who agree with the Supreme King?”
The other two thirds raised their hands. Many of them were glancing nervously at Sooyoung, who seemed to be fuming.
“Well then, it’s decided,” Dokja said. “Yoo Joonghyuk was justified to point his sword at Cerberus. And don’t worry,” he directed at Sooyoung. “Cerberus will be fine.”
Sooyoung snorted and turned away.
“Take Joonghyuk to a room,” Dokja said to the guards. “The trek to and from Tartarus is long, and despite what rumors may say, the Underworld is kind to its guests.”
Joonghyuk hadn’t expected to fall asleep, but somehow, he did. He supposed he must have just been that exhausted.
When he woke up, it was to a guard wrapping his hand around his throat.
“My king may not want to punish you,” the guard growled. “But I do. You break into the Underworld, you threaten our dog… This cannot be accepted. You must face punishment.”
And then the guard brought out a pomegranate.
“Two choices,” he said. “One, you die.” He squeezed Joonghyuk’s throat. “Two, you eat this. Either way, you are stuck in the Underworld.”
Joonghyuk wasn’t a fool. He didn’t have any of his weapons on him. If he died, he stayed here forever. If he ate the pomegranate, he would also stay here forever, but he would be alive. And if his friends could prove as strong as Demeter once had with Persephone…
And I need to stay alive for Mia.
He took the pomegranate.
It didn’t take long for Sooyoung to find out. And of course, with Sooyoung came Dokja.
“The fate of Yoo Joonghyuk is left up to your king,” Sooyoung growled at the ghostly guard, her flames wreathing around him, not quite touching but close enough that Joonghyuk knew they would cause the guard to feel pain. “The Demon King of Salvation said that Yoo Joonghyuk will receive no consequences for his actions, that he would be allowed to talk to Kim Namwoon before leaving. And yet, you have trapped him here eternally.”
The guard’s eyes were wide. “I-I thought you would be on my side, my queen,” he stammered.
“I am not on the side of traitors,” Sooyoung said darkly, then turned to Joonghyuk. “Come here.”
“I don’t need to listen to you,” Joonghyuk growled out.
“I think this is something both of us will enjoy,” Sooyoung said. She pulled out his sword and offered it to him. “He is yours to do with as you wish.”
Joonghyuk stared at the sword. His first instinct was to distrust. Why would the Queen of the Underworld, who had been hostile to him before, offer his sword to him? She could kill the guard just as easily, maybe even more easily. His eyes flicked to Dokja, but it was impossible to read anything on the king’s face.
Stepping forward, not allowing any of the Underworld denizens to see his hesitance and uncertainty, Joonghyuk took the sword.
In one quick motion, he stabbed the guard, and the spirit was permanently dead.
Drawing back his sword, he looked at Sooyoung. The woman was looking at him with a cold expression. She was shorter and skinnier than him—in fact, both Dokja and Sooyoung were—but Joonghyuk knew that his power could not reach hers.
Even in the small chance that it did, Dokja was still in the room. At his current level, he could not defeat them.
Joonghyuk held out the sword to Sooyoung, a bitter feeling on his tongue.
A smirk worked its way onto Sooyoung’s face as she took the sword back. “Well then,” she said coolly. “Let’s look forward to our extended time together.”
When Joonghyuk looked at Dokja, the king’s face had turned away, eyes refusing to meet Joonghyuk’s.
Kim Namwoon arrived shortly after. He looked around Joonghyuk’s room, eyebrows raised. “Eh, these are their guest chambers? They’re rather large.”
“I think the Demon King of Salvation feels bad that I was trapped here eternally,” Joonghyuk said flatly. “Either that, or he just wants to rub it in.”
Namwoon’s eyes widened. “Huh?!”
And Joonghyuk was forced to explain the whole story to him, because he knew that otherwise, Namwoon wouldn’t have answered his question.
“What were your last words to me going to be?” Joonghyuk asked once he was done.
Namwoon was gaping at him with an opened mouth, but he closed it and said, “Well, I just… I got a little sentimental, okay?!”
“Last words.” Joonghyuk said flatly.
“I was gonna thank you for being such a great captain,” Namwoon muttered, looking almost embarrassed. “I- I don’t know, okay?! Don’t judge me!”
Joonghyuk was in fact wondering if the Underworld couple had brought him the right guy, but decided not to ask. Unless his companions worked out a way to rescue him, he was trapped here eternally. Better not to get completely on their bad side, though he wouldn’t refrain from being a pain in their immortal asses.
“Well,” Joonghyuk said with a small sigh. “You’re wrong.” If Namwoon was feeling sentimental, then fuck it, he’d be a little sentimental too. “I wasn’t a great captain. You’re dead. And now all the others are trapped without me. All because I wanted to know what your last words were.”
Namwoon was silent for a few moments before he finally said, “I hope my words were worth it.”
“…They were.”
“I can send a messenger to the living world, if you’d like.”
Joonghyuk gave Dokja a disbelieving look. “And why,” he said, “would you do that?”
The two of them and Sooyoung were at a private dinner. Joonghyuk wasn’t sure why he was invited or why they would put in the effort for him, but he definitely had words to say to the chef afterward. There was a reason why he didn’t eat food made by anyone other than himself.
“Why shouldn’t I?” Dokja questioned. “I’m not going to be cruel to you.”
“He threatened our dog,” Sooyoung interjected. “He doesn’t deserve being trapped here forever—I don’t deserve that either, actually, he’s going to be a pain—but he certainly doesn’t deserve our kindness, either.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have threatened the dog. Then this would all be a lot easier.
“Yes, he threatened our dog,” Dokja sighed. “But, well… Okay, I don’t have any real arguments to that.” He looked at Joonghyuk. “But my offer still stands. Not because I’m a less vengeful person than Sooyoung, but rather because I sympathize with you.”
“And how do you sympathize with me?” Joonghyuk muttered, glaring down at the poorly made food.
“You’re not the only one who is trapped in the Underworld forever,” Dokja said simply. “Yes, I can leave whenever I want, but never for long. That is what it means to be the king.”
He sounds like he likes the outside world, Joonghyuk thought, narrowing his eyes at Dokja. But he can’t.
“What’s your answer about that messenger?” Dokja asked.
Joonghyuk nodded sharply. “Yes.”
“To your sister?” Dokja questioned.
Joonghyuk shook his head. “No,” he said. “To Lee Seolhwa.”
Dokja gave him a curious look, but didn’t question it as he called a young boy in and gave him directions. Sooyoung shot a strange glance at Joonghyuk, and the moment the boy left, she leaned across the table toward her husband and whispered in his ear. Dokja’s eyes narrowed, and Joonghyuk wondered if there was something wrong with his request.
In the three days it took for his companions to arrive in the Underworld—with a formal invitation from the rulers, which Sooyoung told Joonghyuk was something he should have done instead of showing up unannounced and without permission—Joonghyuk had almost gotten used to it. Or at least used to some of its residents.
One of those being Yoo Sangah, the librarian. She seemed to be close friends with Dokja, and though she wasn’t on the best of terms with Sooyoung, they weren’t exactly on bad terms either.
Another was Lee Gilyoung, the boy Dokja had called upon earlier. He was a king of insects, which was how the message had been sent to Seolhwa. Despite his young age, he was incredibly powerful.
And lastly, Jung Heewon, one of the three judges of the Underworld. According to Dokja, Joonghyuk was one of the very, very few people who had the courage to stand up to her.
“Who else?” Joonghyuk had asked, more because he hadn’t known what else to ask in this boring place than out of actual curiosity.
Dokja had shot a disgustingly loving glance at Sooyoung, and Joonghyuk had gotten his answer.
Now, his companions had arrived: Lee Hyunsung stood at the front of the group, Lee Seolhwa on one side and Lee Jihye on the other. Smaller than the others but still present were Shin Yoosung and… Yoo Mia.
Gilyoung let out a squawk when he saw them. “You have kids?!”
“No,” Joonghyuk said flatly. “You and Shin Yoosung are both beast tamers. Now get along.” He tore his gaze away from his sister, who was staring at the ground rebelliously, to look at Gilyoung and Yoosung. The two of them were gazing at each other with horrified expressions.
“Master!” Jihye called, rushing forward. “Are you alright?”
And with that, the others approached. Joonghyuk greeted each of them, his moment with Seolhwa longer than the others, though he felt two piercing pairs of eyes on his back the entire time. Finally, he looked at his sister.
Mia finally looked up. “I thought you were smart enough not to eat a pomegranate,” she said flatly. “I’m very disappointed in you.”
“My other choice,” Joonghyuk said, equally as flatly, “was death.”
“Did you kill the guy who made you eat it?” Mia asked. Joonghyuk was glad she knew that was the most important part. He really raised her well.
“Yes, I did,” Joonghyuk said.
Mia nodded stiffly and turned away. It was only when her face was away from him that she started to sob.
Joonghyuk’s heart broke. I’m sorry, he allowed himself to think.
Sangah had stepped forward and began to lead Joonghyuk’s companions to a nicer room, more designed for greeting guests than the front entrance. Joonghyuk wasn’t sure why she was here. She was the librarian, not a maid. Joonghyuk was left as the last one in the room, aside from Dokja and Sooyoung.
“Does it pain you?” Sooyoung asked, not looking at him. “Knowing you will never truly see them again?”
“Invite them again,” Joonghyuk said flatly. “Then I can see them all the time.”
“He’s right about that,” Dokja said. The Underworld king didn’t have his horns and wings out right now. Joonghyuk knew he didn’t usually have them out, as they were only a display of his power, but for the first time, he considered it a shame. Those wings were probably the most beautiful part of him.
Joonghyuk decided to ignore them and enter the other room.
Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months.
Dokja did invite Joonghyuk’s companions to the Underworld, but they couldn’t spend every waking moment there, especially since they couldn’t eat. (Jihye offered to eat something and spend all her time with Joonghyuk, but he told her not to do that.) During that time, Joonghyuk had nothing else to do but grow closer to those who were in the Underworld and actually had personalities.
Heewon had become Joonghyuk’s sparring partner. She was good, Joonghyuk had to reluctantly admit, but he told himself that if Sooyoung would just give him back his old sword, he would beat Heewon every time. Especially since he suspected she spent half her time fantasizing about Hyunsung these days.
(That was a lie. Heewon was a smart person. She definitely spent some time fantasizing about Hyunsung, but certainly not that much.)
Sangah was always pleasant, but Joonghyuk wasn’t that close to her. As for Gilyoung, Joonghyuk wasn’t close to him either, but it was quite clear that the boy enjoyed spending time with Yoosung more than he would admit.
This led to Joonghyuk spending most of his time with the realm’s very rulers, Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung.
Sooyoung’s frigid atmosphere had warmed up to him during the time he had been here, but it still remained, only slightly faded. Dokja was more complicated. Joonghyuk suspected that the demon king was skilled at hiding his emotions.
And Joonghyuk had to admit, now that he knew them better, there was something… different about how he felt. The same in some ways, but also, there was something in his chest that he had only felt before with one person.
Lee Seolhwa.
I’m not in love with them, Joonghyuk reminded himself constantly. Even as their names for each other sometimes slipped, dropping their surnames. Even as Joonghyuk got invited to more and more private dinners, especially on nights where the spouses would usually be with just each other. Even when…
Being in love with them was foolish.
And if they were in love with him, they certainly would have made their move by now, especially Sooyoung. Something was definitely holding them back, if they had feelings, but since they did not, that meant everything was going fine.
“That woman,” Dokja finally asked one day. “Lee Seolhwa. Who is she to you?”
“…a friend,” Joonghyuk said.
“Nothing more?” Dokja questioned, shooting a look at Sooyoung.
Joonghyuk narrowed his eyes. Had they really been under the impression that he and Seolhwa were romantically involved this whole time? It had been true once, but not anymore. Certainly never true while Joonghyuk knew the Underworld couple.
“Nothing more,” he confirmed.
Heewon was hiding something. Joonghyuk pointed his sword—well, not really his sword, but oh well—at her and asked, “What are you hiding?”
“Maybe I just got a date with Hyunsung,” Heewon said. “Why would whatever I’m hiding concern you?”
“If you had gotten a date with Hyunsung, he would have told me about it,” Joonghyuk said. “That’s the kind of person he is.” Or, at least, that was the kind of person he had been. Maybe due to Joonghyuk’s prolonged stay in the Underworld (a problem his companions were still trying to fix, but really, it had been a year now, he was surprised they hadn’t given up yet), he had found someone else to confide in.
Heewon sighed. “Alright, fine. I am hiding something. It’s not my secret, though. It’s the Demon King of Salvation’s and the Director of the False Last Act’s secret.”
Joonghyuk thought for a moment, said “okay,” then went to find Lee Gilyoung.
“Fuck off, you sooty bastard,” Gilyoung said instead, apparently in a bad mood due to an argument with Yoosung over Dokja (the young girl was really growing to like the king).
Joonghyuk once again said “okay,” and that was how he found himself sitting down across from Yoo Sangah.
“Really, I can’t say,” the librarian said with a sigh. “It’s not my secret to tell. But,” she said quickly, “I’m sure you’ll find out soon.”
This was a better answer than the other two had given him, so Joonghyuk almost thanked her before deciding otherwise. As he got up to leave, he said, “Lee Gilyoung is starting to curse.”
“He’s been cursing,” Sangah said with a sigh. “We’ve all given up at this point.”
The monarchs found Joonghyuk at the Underworld’s exit, hand against the gate, never being able to go through.
“My mother was able to get out during certain seasons because she was a goddess,” Dokja said quietly. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how I can let you out.”
Joonghyuk turned around to see genuine sorrow in his eyes. He remembered what Dokja had told him when he first got trapped in the Underworld.
“Yes, I can leave whenever I want, but never for long. That is what it means to be the king.”
Joonghyuk’s gaze transferred to Sooyoung. “Can’t you leave?”
“And what in the outside world would make me want to go?” Sooyoung questioned. “I have nothing. Down here, at least I have something.”
“I have something up there,” Joonghyuk said.
Sooyoung gave a smirk, though Joonghyuk could detect no malice behind it. “The Fates are cruel.”
Dokja extended a hand to Joonghyuk. He thought about being an asshole and not taking it, but he ignored that voice in his head.
He took Dokja’s hand and let the king lead him away from the gate, the queen walking at his side.
“We wanted to give you a surprise,” Dokja said. “We should have expected you would be here.”
Joonghyuk’s gaze flicked to him and their still-joined hands. “What is it?”
Dokja turned back to him. They had stopped walking, and now, they stood in a garden. “My mother’s garden,” he said. “Bearing the pomegranates that trapped both of you to this realm.”
Joonghyuk looked around. “…and why am I here?”
“Would you like to burn it?” Dokja questioned.
Sooyoung snapped her fingers, and flames erupted in her hand.
Joonghyuk continued to look around, then said, “No.”
The flames vanished. “Ha,” Sooyoung said softly. “I didn’t expect that to actually be your answer.”
“And why not?” Dokja pressed.
“…The pomegranate trapped me here forever,” Joonghyuk said slowly. “I lost a lot. But I gained a lot too.” I’m not in love with them. “And my companions will find a way back for me.”
Dokja and Sooyoung glanced at each other, unspoken words transferred between them.
“You could gain more,” Dokja finally said.
“Or lose more,” Sooyoung joined in.
“...what do you mean.”
Dokja and Sooyoung glanced at each other again, awkwardly, seemingly not knowing what to say. Sooyoung motioned at Dokja’s pocket, and with a sigh, he brought out some strange device and pressed a button.
Namwoon’s voice came out. “Oi, Captain,” it said. “If you’re listening to this, then you know that the rulers of the Underworld are cowards.”
“Do you want to get burned?” Sooyoung’s voice growled out.
Namwoon’s voice laughed. “You practically admitted it earlier! Anyway,” his voice turned more serious. “For some bizarre reason, they have come to me for help. So — ”
“I think the other recording is better,” Sooyoung told Dokja. Dokja shrugged and pressed a different button. Now, Sangah’s voice came out.
“Really, can’t you guys tell him yourselves…?”
“Yoo Sangah, please?” Dokja’s voice sounded almost begging.
“Kim Namwoon was right,” Joonghyuk said flatly. “You guys are cowards. Just speak out loud.”
Dokja pressed a button, stopping the voices, and sighed. “Alright, fine. What all the recordings say is that…” He paused, still not sure how to say it.
“We’re in love with you.” Sooyoung was the one who had to speak. “We’re in love with you, and we’re both stubborn and didn’t want to say it, I guess. So Dokja had a brilliant idea…” She raised her eyebrows at him.
“It was yours,” Dokja responded.
Joonghyuk recovered from his initial shock quickly. “…That’s nice,” he finally said. “You fell in love with the man trapped in your realm.”
Dokja once again had that guilty look on his face. Sooyoung glared. “If you’re going to reject us, do it quickly,” she snapped.
“I’m not going to reject you,” Joonghyuk responded. “I love you too.”
And it was the truth.
Despite what he had always told himself, he loved them too.
As they stared at him in shock, all he could do was repeat his words.