VILLAINOUS | TK

xvi. sheer desperation

Taehyung gnawed on his lips nervously. His long legs carried him towards the end of the hall, where the meeting would be held.

Jimin walked beside him, a calm expression on his face. The pink haired male had no idea why he was so nervous.

Perhaps it was because of the sheer importance of that meeting. It would talk about the future queen after all.

He worried about how the future queen would rule hades. But he mostly worried about himself. If a queen were to rule the realm alongside Jeongguk, then her decision would surely matter.

Decision about what? Taehyung's future.

The human was clueless, he really couldn't draw out an image of his future. He wasn't even sure if he still had one.

The future queen could order to kill him, make him a slave, a demon, or whatever cruel things she could do. But, Jeongguk would save him, right?

He was bound to the king after all. Still, there was no bond between them. A mere connection of being 'mates' was their only bond.

Jeongguk was yet to reject or accept him. Rejection or acceptance didn't matter anyways. Because if he were to get rejected, it wouldn't hurt as much as it would to real werewolve mates or soulmates.

Although, it would surely hurt his heart.

And if Jeongguk were to accept him, then good. Perhaps the king was sweet and kind on the inside. Perhaps, he could show Taehyung the feeling of being loved.

Perhaps, Taehyung was just a delusional.

He sighed heavily, they had finally entered the big room. Every demon of the realm was present. The council sat in front with the king, while the lower demons stood at the back.

Taehyung sat by the demons of the gates, he felt kind of left out. He was an intruder after all. He didn't belong here. He was forced to be here.

The pink haired male couldn't help but avert his gaze to the king when he felt eyes on him. The stares were making him uncomfortable so he focused his attention to Jeongguk.

The devil looked so sinful.

His ink black hair sat perfectly atop his head, framing his face. His lips were so red and kissable, taehyung wondered how those would feel against his. His thighs were so thick, his leaned back posture displaying them to the crowd. Taehyung couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to sit on Jeongguk's thighs.

And finally, his eyes. His clear eyes looked so dark and sinister. One piercing glance from Jeongguk would surely leave Taehyung on his knees.

The pink haired male blushed and blinked in realization. God, how many times had he fantasized about the king?

"Welcome, everyone." Jeongguk's deep voice boomed throughout the big room. Everyone stood up and bowed, showing their respect for the king. Taehyung mindlessly followed their actions.

The devil gave a nod of acknowledgment once everyone had sat down. Elder Han stood up to lead the opening of the meeting.

"We are gathered here today to discuss about a very important matter. It had come to our concern that our realm needed a queen immediately. There are already a few ones who have been chosen as candidates. Every demon has the right to vote for their chosen one, although the king has the final word." Elder Han announced, his voice the same as usual, thick with authority.

Once everyone in the room seemed to have no concern, Elder Han began to speak again. "Very well then, I will be calling out the candidates. Stand up once your name is called."

The room silenced, anticipating a name that would come out of the Elder's mouth. "Mirae Han." No one seemed surprised to hear her name, she was Elder Han's granddaughter after all.

A few other names were called out, Taehyung just watched with big bambi eyes. After awhile, he slumped back on his seat, bored out of his mind.

"Jimin," he whined in a whisper. The aforementioned demon turned to face him, a questioning look on his face. Taehyung pouted adorably and whined again.

"When will this end? I'm bored." He let out softly. He really wasn't supposed to be here. He didn't even know why he was here. Aren't they supposed to be secretive about their affairs? They shouldn't let a mere human hear about their meetings.

Jimin chuckled lightly and ruffled his hair. The demon turned his attention back to Elder Han. The pink haired male let out a frustrated huff.

He was about to call out to Jimin again when his body froze.

"And lastly, Kim Taehyung."

Taehyung seemed to have frozen. Gasps and hushed murmurs from around the room erupted. There was a command from Jeongguk, who silenced everyone in the room, but Taehyung couldn't care less about his voice right now.

Did he hear that right? No, surely there must have been a mistake.

"Kim Taehyung?" Elder Han's voice called out once again, which seemed to have brought Taehyung back to reality. He stood up in a flash, a defeated expression on his face.

"What? Why am I one of the candidates? There must be something wrong! I'm not staying here forever-"

"Yes, you are." Elder Han cut him off, his tone a bit too sweet for his liking. Taehyung let out a soft scoff in disbelief. No, he wasn't staying here.

A few days ago, he had thought that perhaps it was okay to stay in Hades. Because, really he had no life. The environment in the overworld wasn't much different from hell. So he thought that it was fine.

But now, when the realization had come to him, it wasn't fine. He couldn't stay here forever. He can't spend the rest of his life with demons who he truly didn't know.

Because at least, back in the overworld, there were humans. Which meant a slight chance of happiness. Surely, there was someone out there who could be his friend.

Here, however, making a true friend was impossible. Jimin and the rest of the demons of the gates might be his friends but were they really?

"No! Can't you see that I'm a human? I can't be the queen!" Taehyung voiced out, a deep sense of desperation in his tone. Elder Kang stood up and snapped his head towards him, he seemed annoyed.

"Humans are the only creatures who can change their rank. They can be turned into gods and goddesses, so we don't see a problem in that, Kim Taehyung." He had said lowly before slowly sitting again.

Taehyung glanced between the demons of the gates and Jeongguk, a look of sheer desperation on his face. The demons he knew only looked at him with encouraging faces, while the devil simply stared at him blankly.

He sighed, defeated. "F-fine."

Elder Han smiled lightly at him. "Candidates, will you please stand-" he was cut off by Jeongguk's voice.

"Elder Han," the devil let out lowly. His tone seemed uninterested, as if he was so done. Elder Han sighed and nodded his head.

"Right... Lalisa Manoban." Elder Han breath out with sheer irritation, the same tone of annoyance in his voice. The nymph stood up proudly, a smirk on her face.

There were quite a few demons who rolled their eyes and the devil was one of them. While the rest, gasped in shock and disbelief.

~

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