𝕽𝖚𝖓𝖆𝖜𝖆𝖞

9

Jungkook set the plate down silently. He walked to the other side of the table and set his own down. He sat down afterwards. The man across from him started eating. Jungkook did the same.

"I didn't say-"

"I don't care." Jungkook cut in, shoving a forkful of food in his mouth. He was too hungry to care. He skipped breakfast.

Satan stared at him, and Jungkook knew he was staring. Jungkook didn't look up from his plate. He just waited to be stopped. He never was. They ate lunch in silence. Jungkook's bunny was next to his plate on the table.

"Where are your scars from?"

"What?"

"On your back. How did you get them?" Jungkook asked without looking up, eating more of the food after he spoke. He must've seen them when he was not-so-subtly watching the older change the other day. They were very faint, but still noticeable against the pale skin.

"From lots of things." Came Satan's terse reply.

"What kinds of things?" Jungkook pressed on. He still hadn't met the man's eyes.

"Glass, swords, whips, branding irons." He answered in a mutter.

"How long have you had them?" Jungkook questioned.

"Long time. They should've been gone by now, I'm surprised they're still there."

"People would brand you? Like a cow?" Jungkook murmured, finally looking up and staring the man in the eyes. Jungkook didn't remember seeing any brands on Yoongi's back, so he wasn't sure what he meant by branding irons.

Yoongi's eyes were a darker brown than normal, nearly black. He looked like he was reliving whatever he was thinking about. He looked pained. Jungkook had never seen that expression on the man's face, and he didn't want to see it again. No matter how much of an asshole he was, he looked broken. Vulnerable. Terrified.

Maybe the same expression his victims wore before he had his way with them.

"They would hit me with them."

"With branding irons?"

"Yes."

"And whips?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Jungkook asked softly, setting his fork down. He was honestly surprised Satan hadn't shut him down the second he mentioned something personal.

"Revenge. Stress relief. Things like that." He shrugged.

"Revenge for what?"

"Their families, people they cared about. Sometimes people they didn't even know."

"You hurt people, right?" Jungkook whispered. Satan nodded. "So you let them hurt you back?"

Another nod, "At one point, yes. I didn't care."

"You lost something, right?" Something you cared about...so you knew how it felt for them when you hurt their families." Jungkook mumbled, piecing it together. He received no reply. He was right. He had to be.

That's why he was pushing Jungkook away. He wasn't just an asshole. He's been hurt before, he knows how it feels. He knows how it feels to be on the other side. He doesn't want it to happen again.

"You make no sense, you know that?" Jungkook snapped suddenly, even Satan seemed a bit startled by his raised voice and furrowed brows. The kid just glared at him for a few moments, lips pressed into a thin line.

The other man said nothing, his expression going back to it's regular stoic state. Jungkook started to speak again.

"You act like a big meanie one minute, then the next minute you comfort me and stuff. You say you don't care and you act like you don't care, but then you do the exact opposite too. You pretend you have no interest in me but you let me bother you and now you're opening up to me. Why can't you just stop being a coward and admit that I mean something to you? I've been here for a few days but I can see you've changed. You're not the evil man who rules Hell, you're a human. I know I'm right because if I weren't you would've decapitated me by now. You can deny it all you want, but I know." Jungkook ranted angrily, hands balled up into fists as he glowered at the man across from him. He was sick of the mixed signals. And honestly, it felt good to yell at Satan. Again.