Chapter 2: The Demon
Chapter 2: The Demon
Her beauty was so surreal it felt otherworldly, which made perfect sense once he realized she was a demon. Otherwise, there was no reason for someone like her to come looking for him.
As the reality of her being a demon sank in, his entire body began to tremble with fear. He had thought that from the moment he spoke of giving up, he wouldn't have many lingering attachments to life.
"It’s a bit embarrassing for me when you’re this surprised..."
But facing a demon—a being that was the very personification of death—made the shaking in his hands and feet impossible to stop. Despite having thought he wanted to die, he was terrified now that death was actually before him.
He didn't want to die. There were still so many things he hadn't done. Only then did he regret ever mentioning giving up.
"P-please... save me."
"Hmph, well, that’s a given."
Whether she was pouting because of Jaejin’s pathetic display of terror or simply reacting to his plea, the demon responded with a huff and snapped her thumb and forefinger together.
As if by magic, the fear vanished from Jaejin’s body. When he lifted his head with a bewildered expression at the sudden emotional shift, the demon wore a triumphant look.
"I’ve adjusted your senses for a moment. Don't worry, it won't put any strain on your body."
Even that supernatural act was frightening, but for some reason, he could no longer feel any fear. Seeing that Jaejin had calmed down, the demon continued her previous proposal.
"If you hate your life here anyway, how about following me to start a new one?"
"H-how can I possibly trust you and follow you?"
If a human had made such a suspicious offer, they would be called a swindler; if a demon made it, it was only logical to assume one was being dragged to Hell.
"Are you imagining some place like Hell? We might be a bit unique, but people live there just like anywhere else. You’ll find it more to your liking than you think."
"...You certainly talk about 'people' a lot for a demon."
Jaejin reflexively pointed out the irony of a demon referring to herself as a person. He felt he might have made a mistake, but he decided to push through with a bit of bravado.
"It might be normal by your standards, but it’s probably no place for an ordinary person like me to live."
"Hmm, that’s true, but... you’re a special person too, Jaejin."
Click-clack. The sound of her boot heels echoed as she approached. She tilted Jaejin’s chin up as if holding a wine glass, scrutinized his face, and nodded.
"The way you were hated by people, the charm that nonetheless attracts the opposite sex... and even your pathetically small... manhood."
Jaejin almost flared up at the last remark, which sounded like she was stifling a laugh, but her words pierced through to the very essence of his life.
More than anything, he found her words persuasive because she had voiced his own suspicion—that the hatred he received from women throughout his life had been relatively less intense than that from men.
"How do you know that...?"
"I told you. You are special. In this place, those traits were things that tormented you, but if I am with you—if you come with me—they are strengths that will make you extraordinary."
It might have been nothing more than empty flattery. Yet, Jaejin felt a pang in his chest at her words. She had said the very things he had so desperately wanted to hear.
He had wished for just one person to acknowledge him.
Even if those words came from a demon, and even if the end result was putting himself in danger.
"And above all, this part... it can get bigger, you know?"
The moment her hand reached down and lightly brushed against him through his trousers, his lower body twitched in response.
Was it a demon’s peculiar sense of humor to ruin a touching moment with such a vulgar joke?
Despite his disbelief, Jaejin began to think that she might be a demon he could trust.
"So, what do you think? My proposal? I think you’ll quite like it."
There were still many things he couldn't believe. It was a suspicious offer to take at face value, coming from a stranger—and a demon at that.
But he felt it would be better to take a suspicious gamble than to live a life where he would never be acknowledged.
If she was the only one who acknowledged him even after seeing his rock bottom, even if it was a facade, he was willing to bet his miserable life on it.
As he organized his thoughts, the tension that had built up over his life dissipated all at once, and the lewd appearance of the demon staring intently at him finally came into focus.
She had a body that couldn't even be compared to his ex-girlfriend who had just left. As the sensation of her hand touching his crotch lingered, his lower body reacted involuntarily.
"Good. That’s a very satisfying answer."
She had simply mistaken the small movement of his lower body for an answer, but he had no intention of correcting her. He was planning to accept her proposal anyway.
When he nodded, she gave him a smile so enchanting it could make one fall in love at first sight. It was a smile so beautiful he wanted to stare at it blankly.
She lightly traced her hand through the air, creating a three-dimensional shape behind her, and a gap large enough for a person to pass through appeared.
Standing before the gap, she beckoned him with her eyes. Every last shred of lingering regret or attachment to this place vanished, and as if possessed, he reached out and followed her.
"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Lena. I am the succubus who will make you a king."
*
"That’s what you said. So, what’s this about being a king, and what exactly did you mean by making me special? Care to explain?"
After following Lena, Jaejin had spent the night in a solitary cell she had prepared.
The layout was similar to a hotel room, so he had no trouble using the facilities, and the meals pushed through the slot in the door were quite edible.
The only things he couldn't get used to were the view outside the window—which looked like a grand medieval European fortress—and the people, or rather, the members of the Demon Race, who walked the streets looking both similar to and different from humans in ways he couldn't quite grasp.
In truth, that alone was enough to make him go mad with fear, but perhaps because the effect of Lena removing his fear was still lasting, he was able to spend the night more comfortably than expected.
As soon as morning came, Lena burst in and began cramming knowledge of this world into him under the guise of "studying." By the afternoon, she was making him do various bodyweight exercises, calling it a "fitness test."
He had accepted the studying because he recognized its necessity, but he couldn't suppress his curiosity about why he had to exercise—and his annoyance at her for teasing him for being a weakling.
"Ahaha... Did I not mention it...?"
Lena apologized with an awkward laugh. As if embarrassed by her mistake, she tapped her index fingers together and avoided his gaze, beginning to explain in a low, defensive voice.
"The things you learned earlier are basic knowledge needed to live here. And... the exercises you just did were a test to gauge your physical abilities."
"What does that have to do with my 'traits'?"
She stroked Jaejin’s muscles, which were pumped from the exercise. They were thin muscles that clearly showed he had never stepped foot in a gym. After a moment of thought, Lena continued.
"Your constitution that makes you hated by those around you, the charm that attracts the opposite sex, and even the fact that I was able to find you... they all stem from the same reason."
"What?"
An incredulous sound escaped his lips. If a demon had a reason for being able to find him, it certainly couldn't be anything good.
And to think the reason his social life had been so difficult was due to his "constitution." It felt strangely contradictory.
"How can those three things come from the same reason?"
"Did you know that fear and loathing are surprisingly close emotions?"
Fear. It was an emotion felt toward objects or situations one cannot handle. Because they cannot be controlled, they are scary; because they cannot be measured, they cause anxiety.
In particular, fear of the unknown has a way of making one's skin crawl.
But what if that object could be controlled? Then there is no reason to feel fear. An unknown that can be controlled is no longer an object of fear.
Only the loathing that comes from the unknown remains.
"To the people of your world, that is what you are."
"What exactly am I, then?"
Hearing that the difficulties he had faced were inevitable regardless of his efforts, he didn't know whether to be happy or sad.
"A very faint trace of demon blood flows through your veins. People likely reacted to that, and because the blood was so faint, they felt loathing instead of fear."
"So you're saying everything that happened until now wasn't my fault?"
"Yes, that’s right. You did nothing wrong, Jaejin."
"...Call me Ginger..."
He felt hollow. To think he had suffered all this time because of blood he didn't even know he had. He didn't even feel like responding to her.
He just wanted to sink into the sofa and stare blankly into space, thinking of nothing.
"...What are you doing?"
Lena stepped between his legs as he sat on the sofa, lifted his shirt slightly, and began unzipping and pulling down his pants. To Jaejin, who tried to pull his pants back up in a panic, she said softly:
"Well... I haven't finished the story yet."
When she snapped her fingers, a sudden, uncontrollable wave of arousal washed over him. He had thought it was strange.
Yesterday, as soon as his tension broke, he had felt arousal because of Lena’s lewd outfit and beautiful appearance.
However, the fact that he hadn't reacted at all for several hours today was impossible for any male, no matter how small his equipment might be.
As his suppressed sexual desire began to pour out, Jaejin’s head spun, and he couldn't move a muscle.
"Before I 'assist' you, I felt I should 'comfort' you first."
Only then did the words he had missed in the flood of information resurface in Jaejin’s mind. A short sentence he had overlooked because there was too much to process.
'I am a succubus.'
A succubus. A demon that preys on men with her voluptuous body. Sitting helplessly on the sofa, Jaejin finally realized he was no different from a fish flopping in front of a cat.