Devil’s Music

Early in the morning.

Geon, groggy from a hangover, struggled out of bed like a zombie and opened the refrigerator door in the kitchen.

As the cool air rushed in, Geon briefly enjoyed the chill from the fridge before grabbing a bottle of water and pouring it into a cup.

After gulping down the water, Geon filled another glass to the brim and was about to head to the living room sofa when he halted upon seeing someone sitting there.

"P-Pey?"

Pyemon, who was sitting on the sofa reading a book, smiled and raised a hand.

"Hey, friend. Did you sleep well?"

Geon, holding the glass of water, replied with a bewildered look.

"How did you… get here?"

Just as Pyemon was about to speak, Byung-jun, who seemed to have been smoking, opened the door to the annex and entered.

"Man, what kind of liquor were you drinking? Who taught you to drink until you're unconscious?"

Geon awkwardly smiled as he recalled a tall black man wearing sunglasses, and Byung-jun sat down next to Pyemon, saying,

"If it weren't for this guy, you would have been in big trouble. Pey had to support you and bring you inside, do you realize how surprised he was?"

"So, you call him Pey? You guys know each other?"

Byung-jun laughed, looking at Pyemon.

"We just met yesterday. Your guy was lying flat out, and we had a lot to talk about."

Geon set the glass on the table and sat down next to Pyemon.

"But how did you know where I live?"

Pyemon nonchalantly replied,

"Haha, didn't you tell me in the taxi yesterday? How else could I have come here?"

"Oh… really?"

"Yeah, I arrived by taxi, and there were some intimidating guys blocking the way, but as soon as they saw your face, they opened the door without a word and even led me here."

"Ah… I see."

Byung-jun patted Pyemon's shoulder, saying,

"Man, if it wasn't for you, famous Kay could have ended up vomiting on the street and getting photographed. Thanks."

"Haha, I doubt that would have happened."

Watching the two seemingly close friends, Geon suddenly said,

"Speaking of which, you're the first guest I've had here since I moved in, right, bro?"

Byung-jun pursed his lips in thought, then nodded.

"Yeah, Shizuka and Kevin don't even know where I live."

Geon cautiously asked Pyemon,

"So… aren't you uncomfortable?"

With a natural expression, Pyemon asked back,

"With what?"

"Here. Isn't it scary?"

Pyemon leaned comfortably against the sofa and looked around the annex.

"There are some antique pieces of furniture, and the overall atmosphere is sophisticated and cozy."

Geon pointed outside the annex.

"No, not that. Didn't you see it on your way in?"

"Hehe, what? The Russian mafia with machine guns?"

"Hmm… aren't you scared?"

"Haha, what's there for a man to be scared of? Don't worry about it."

Geon frowned at Pyemon, who dismissed the matter so easily, and turned to Byung-jun.

"They'd freak out if they knew we were at the Red Castle, and you told me not to say anything, but he doesn't seem surprised at all?"

Byung-jun, who seemed to quite like Pyemon, kept slapping his shoulder, saying,

"He's a man! Girls like Shizuka would faint!"

Still frowning, Geon asked,

"Isn't Kevin a man?"

"That guy is a punk! Real punks can't stand up to a real gang."

"Hehe, a punk?"

"Yeah, a punk, hehe. Anyway, it was so late last night, and since he brought you here, I told him to stay the night."

"Oh, I see."

Geon, still nursing a headache, tousled his hair and then, as if he suddenly remembered, asked Pyemon,

"What about Zion? I don't remember anything."

Pyemon chuckled,

"Hehe, you must have been pretty drunk. Zion hailed the taxi for us."

Geon, looking apologetic, said,

"Is that so… do you have Zion's contact?"

"Why?"

"Well… now that we're friends, I thought we could get together for some hangover soup."

"What's hangover soup?"

Byung-jun interjected,

"It's like a soup you eat the day after drinking to settle your stomach."

Pyemon finally understood and nodded with a smile,

"Oh, like some kind of hangover soup?"

"Yeah, tell Zion to come eat with us. There's a Korean restaurant in Manhattan that serves a grandma's bone soup that'll cure you right up."

Pyemon jumped up in surprise and

 covered his ears.

"What, what? Soup made from grandma's bones?"

Realizing how weird it sounded in English, Geon burst out laughing.

"Haha, now that I think about it, it does sound weird. It's not actually made from a grandma's bones; it means soup made with beef bones prepared by a grandma."

"Ah, I see. You startled me. Anyway, I'll contact Zion myself. Go take a shower."

"Yeah, thanks."

As Geon headed to the shower, Pyemon stood up and said to Byung-jun,

"I'll make a quick call, you coming too, bro?"

Byung-jun waved him off,

"No, I need to go out because of Shizuka's schedule. Unlike someone, she's a hardworking good girl."

"Hehe, I can guess who that 'someone' is. Got it, bro."

"Hey, Pey. Why don't you just live with us? You naturally call me 'bro,' and I really like that about you."

"Haha, I'll come by often. How's that?"

"Yeah, make sure you do! Hehe."

"Hehe, I'll make that call now."

As Pyemon left the annex, he saw guards patrolling the area with attack dogs and machine guns. Knowing that the guards had been informed of Pyemon's arrival the previous night, they merely nodded in greeting and continued their rounds.

Pyemon walked a bit away from the annex toward a white swing, took out his phone from his pocket, and pretended to use it while rolling his eyes.

"Gusion!"

Using his psychic powers, Pyemon called out to Gusion, waiting for a response with an annoyed expression.

"If you don't answer, I'm coming over."

At Pyemon's threat, Gusion's telepathy rang out.

"Ahem… why?"

"A friend is looking for you."

"A… friend?"

"Yeah, it's Kay. He wants to have hangover soup with you."

"Hangover… soup?"

"Oh, you know what hangover soup is?"

"Hmm… I know it's some strange ritual humans in the East do after drinking."

"Well, he says to come and eat with us. Come on."

"Ahem… I, I'm busy…"

"Yeah, should I come to your castle and have it together?"

"No, no! I, I'm coming!"

In less than ten seconds, Gusion appeared in a puff of purple smoke, looking like Zion, with a military bag full of painting tools. Sweating, Gusion was led into the annex by Pyemon.

"Come on, smile~"

Gusion, who had been scowling unseen, entered the annex, and Byung-jun cocked his head, asking,

"Huh? Is this the friend Zion? Why'd you come so fast, is your house nearby?"

Just as Geon, who had just washed his face, came out with a towel around his neck, he spotted Zion and cheerfully shouted,

"Zion! You got here quick, were you nearby?"

Receiving a cue from Pyemon, Zion smiled awkwardly and rolled his eyes.

"Uh… I just happened to be passing by."

Geon, taking his friend's word for it, waved his hand and exclaimed,

"Just wait a minute! I'll be ready soon!"

Dressed and with his cap pulled down, Geon appeared just as Byung-jun had a vehicle waiting outside for the three friends.

As they passed the main gate of Red Castle, Miroslav, who was looking out from the window, noted their departure.

"It seems you are going out."

"Yes, Miroslav. We're going to grab some lunch and then head to school."

After glancing at Pyemon and Gusion sitting inside the car, Miroslav nodded.

"Have a pleasant day."

"Thank you, you too."

As they drove away, Miroslav turned to his subordinates with a stern face.

"Not Pey, who's the other one?"

Realizing none of his subordinates knew about Zion's entrance to Red Castle, Miroslav shouted with a furious expression,

"All guards on duty since dawn to now, step forward! Did an outsider come in and you didn't report it? You're all dead today."

While Gusion's unexpected appearance at Red Castle got the innocent guards into trouble, Geon arrived at a restaurant in Manhattan known for its hangover soup and shouted in Korean, holding up three fingers,

"Three servings of bone hangover soup, please!"

Although it was a potato soup restaurant, they primarily served bone hangover soup for lunch. The grandmother, cleaning a distant table, nodded silently and headed into the kitchen.

Eager to teach his Western friends how to eat Korean hangover soup, Geon kindly pulled the hangover soup bowl in front of Zion, scooped out some bones with chopsticks, mixed some rice into the soup, then poured the

 meat back in and suggested tearing a piece of kimchi to top it off for a taste of heaven.

Gusion, grimacing, watched Geon and muttered,

"Heavenly taste? Heaven?"

"Yes! After a bowl of this when you're hungover, you'll feel like you're in heaven."

Gusion inwardly shouted that he didn't want to go to heaven, but kept quiet as Pyemon, sitting next to him, enjoyed the soup with exclamations of delight.

"Wow! This is tasty! A bit spicy, but that's what makes it good! I can really feel it settling my stomach."

Gusion grumbled inwardly,

'You weren't even feeling sick, you jerk!'

As Gusion was about to take a spoonful of the soup, he felt the weight increase on his spoon and turned to see Geon, with a naive smile, placing torn kimchi on his spoon.

"Try it, Zion. This is how you eat it."

Cautiously observing the spoonful of soup and kimchi, Gusion carefully put it in his mouth and chewed, his expression brightening, prompting Geon to give a thumbs up and tease,

"Killer, right?"

"Uh… killer indeed."

"Haha, eat up. You guys will definitely come here after drinking from now on."

Quietly watching Pyemon, who seemed ready to devour even the soup bowl, Gusion began inhaling his hangover soup.

Sweating and having finished his bowl, Gusion burped and looked at his friends with satisfied eyes, noticing the two already finished and giggling at him.

"What? What is it?"

Geon pointed at the scraped-clean bowl and laughed,

"Tasty, right?"

"Uh… tasty indeed."

"Hehe, let's go!"

As Geon got up to pay, Gusion asked,

"Where are we going now?"

Turning back with a grin, Geon replied,

"Let's go to school. I'll let you listen to the music I've been working on!"

As the three arrived at school and got out of the car, a crowd of students rushed toward them, screaming in an attempt to catch a glimpse of Geon's face, and then screamed again upon seeing Pyemon's face.

"Kyaa! He's a total pretty boy, must be a friend of Kay's!"

"Oh my, do good-looking people only hang out together? Being short is a bit of a drawback, but he's still so pretty!"

"And the guy with the military backpack next to him looks like a handsome Italian too, doesn't he?"

"Eh, he's okay, but there's something gloomy about him, I don't like him."

Hearing the students assess him based on his appearance, Gusion glared at the girls, grinding his teeth, while Pyemon blocked their view of Gusion's face and whispered.

"Cheer up, will you?"

Gusion grumbled with a dissatisfied look.

"He must be happy hearing he's handsome, tch."

"Keke, you could change your appearance too, you know? Right now you look like Gusion, but your original form is quite handsome."

"What's the point? I have to stay in this form here."

Pyemon, turning around with a baffled expression, asked.

"What, you want recognition from those females?"

"No, no! Just saying, it's better if a king looks handsome!"

"Phaha, you're hilarious. You're more fun than I thought, Gusion."

Pyemon, laughing and patting Gusion on the back, drew near as Geon approached them.

"What's so funny? Include me too."

Pyemon, as if it were nothing, pushed Geon's back.

"No, it's nothing! Hahaha, this is Juilliard, huh? My first visit. This school is amazing!"

Geon proudly showed his friends around the school. A crowd of students followed their path, but as the three friends entered the practice room, the students dispersed.

Inside the practice room, Geon played a song about water and watched his two friends enjoy the music.

Pyemon, with his eyes closed and a pleasant expression, and Gusion, scrutinizing the interior of the practice room, watched as the music ended. Geon asked with a tense expression.

"How is it?"

Pyemon, without opening his eyes, gave a thumbs up.

"It's awesome!"

At Pyemon's response, Geon, with a bright smile, turned to Gusion, who gave an awkward smile and said,

"Uh... good!"

"Haha, I'm relieved. I was nervous since it's the first time anyone other than hospital patients has heard it."

Gusion cautiously asked.

"Did... you not let the musicians who played it hear it either?"

Geon, laughing playfully, said.

"Yeah, Shizuka and Kevin, Arthur too, just recorded their parts, and haven't heard the full track yet. Hehe, don't mention this when you meet them, Kevin might not care, but Shizuka might cry. I can only call four people my friends, and you guys are the first to hear it."

Gusion's expression softened a bit.

"Fri... friends?"

Geon casually handed over a drink and said,

"Yeah, friends. We are friends, right? It's only been two days, but I really feel a connection. Don't you guys feel like we've been friends for a long time?"

Gusion quietly looked at Geon, and Pyemon stepped forward, accepting the drink.

"Of course! Friends, haha. We're glad you think that way too."

"Hehe, if you're free today, wanna go to the zoo? I'll introduce you to some animal friends."

As Geon excitedly talked about what he wanted to do today, Gusion fell into thought.

'Friends... Did I ever have that?'

He was different from Pyemon. Unlike the physically powerful demons, Gusion was a demon of strategy, and some demons who revered strength disliked or ignored him.

He had used every advantage and resorted to various schemes and underhanded tactics to reach the eleventh rank among the 72 demons.

But over his thirty thousand years of existence, he had become one of the top demons in hell, yet there wasn't a single demon left around him to share a conversation with.

Only minions who blindly obeyed his commands surrounded him, not friends with whom he could discuss things or share a cup of coffee and play chess, unlike Gamagin and Pyemon.

'Friends...'

Gusion watched Pyemon chatting happily with Geon about the animals at the zoo.

'That guy has a terrible personality, but he's always surrounded by many demons.'

Pyemon was a demon naturally distant from cowardice. Perhaps more like Baal, who would confront and shatter anything head-on, Pyemon had many demons around him who trusted him as someone to discuss matters with. Gusion had sometimes env

ied him, but knowing that he couldn't maintain his rank if he didn't use his advantages, he couldn't act like Pyemon and deal similarly with other demons.

Biting his lip, Gusion looked at Geon and Pyemon and opened his mouth.

"Let me ask you one thing."

Both Geon and Pyemon turned their heads simultaneously. Gusion, after a moment's pause, focused on Geon and asked.

"Why do you think of me as a friend? We've only met twice. Even if you received help from me during our first meeting, there's no reason for someone famous like you to consider an ordinary person like me a friend."

Geon quietly looked at Gusion, pondering what he meant by his question and what he should respond with. After a moment's thought, he shook his head vigorously, clearing his mind, and smiled brightly.

"Just because!"

Gusion, with a dumbfounded expression, asked.

"What? Just because...?"

Geon stepped forward and lightly punched Gusion in the chest.

"Do you need a reason to like someone? I just liked you from the moment I first saw you."

The punch wasn't hard enough to hurt, but as Gusion looked down at his chest where Geon's fist had touched, he felt his heart, which did not beat. Lost in his thoughts, Gusion raised his head.

Both Geon and Pyemon, who were looking at him with significant smiles, laughed for a moment before Geon got up and said.

"I have an appointment with the faculty, so let's stamp my face there and go to the zoo, just wait here for a bit."

Watching Geon leave, Gusion stared intently until the practice room door closed, then spoke.

"Pyemon. Isn't it strange for you to be friends with that guy?"

As Pyemon chuckled joyfully, he replied.

"I've watched over that kid since he was crawling. Sure, he's a child of Gamagin, but I've looked after him sometimes like an uncle, sometimes like a brother. What's wrong with being friends? Whatever it is, it's fun to be together."

Gusion murmured softly.

"Being together is fun?"

"Huhuhu, you've never felt it, have you? What it feels like to be with someone and trust them."

"Yeah... I haven't."

"Poor guy."

Gusion pondered deeply with a serious face. Watching him, Pyemon grinned and closed his mouth as silence fell in the practice room.

After a while, the door opened, and Gusion, slightly startled by the man standing there, quickly composed himself and bowed his head.

"I have the honor to see Lord Gamagin."

Knowing that Pyemon, who had always watched over the child, was present, Gusion, anticipating that Gamagin would do the same, greeted him without surprise as Gamagin approached and patted Gusion's shoulder lightly.

"That's right, it's been a long time."

Pyemon quickly set up a folding chair, and as Gamagin sat down, he crossed his arms and looked at Gusion.

Gusion, who usually looked scheming and always seemed to be plotting something, appeared to be lost in thought about something else. Observing this, Gamagin spoke in a soft voice.

"Aren't you tired of it?"

Gusion raised his head.

"Of what, my lord?"

Gamagin took a breath and continued.

"Trapping someone, making life difficult for them."

"It's natural for a demon to do such things. That's how we gather magic power."

"Isn't that enough? It would be unreasonable for you to rise any higher from where you are."

Gusion bowed his head. Gamagin's words were true. Being physically weaker, he had already reached his limit in the rankings.

The rank just above him, the tenth, was Buer, a lion-headed creature with the body of a horse. Buer's larger fangs meant that Gusion would normally back down without a sound.

Gusion had plotted for over ten thousand years to surpass him and reach the tenth rank, but no matter what he tried, breaking into the top ten seemed an impossible barrier.

"It might be unreasonable, yes."

Pyemon nodded as if to comfort him.

"Don't give up so easily, friend."

Now casually calling each other friends, Pyemon looked intently at Gusion as Gamagin continued.

"You've been doing this for a long time, haven't you? How about looking for some new fun?"

Gusion turned his gaze to Gamagin.

"What kind of fun, my lord?"

Gamagin removed his sunglasses and looked directly at Gusion. The blue light flickered in Gamagin's eyes, but Gusion, a high-ranking demon of the eleventh rank, did not avert his gaze. Quietly observing him, Gamagin finally spoke.

"Try making friends. It might bring a different kind of enjoyment to your tedious and

 monotonous life."

At Gamagin's words, Gusion turned to look at Pyemon, who raised his thumb and said.

"I'll be your friend too. Of course, your first friend would be Kay."

Gusion looked back at the closed door and murmured.

"Kay... my first friend..."

As Gamagin stood up, he said,

"Think about it. The choice is yours. It seems the child is coming back; I'll leave now."

Pyemon stood up with a smile.

"Why don't you also spend some time with the child, my lord?"

Gamagin chuckled and put on his sunglasses.

"That's not my kind of hobby. Besides, I'm quite busy. Take care then."

After seeing Gamagin out, Pyemon returned to the practice room, where Gusion, lost in thought with his eyes closed, was visible.

Quietly observing him for a moment, Pyemon closed the door and went outside, crossing his arms.

As he walked down the corridor, he watched the female students glance at him and flirt, which he found amusing. At the end of the corridor, he saw Geon and waved.

"Hey, did you handle everything okay?"

Though they had just parted, Geon waved back as if they had not seen each other for days and ran towards Pyemon.

"Where's Gusion?"

Pointing with a nod to the closed door, Pyemon smiled.

"Yeah, I went to the bathroom too. I was waiting here to go in with you. Gusion is inside."

"Is that so? Shall we go then? Have you ever been to the Bronx Zoo? It's really beautiful, and the animals are so adorable."

"Haha, I'm looking forward to it."

As they heard voices inside, the door opened, and Gusion stepped out. Geon, grabbing Gusion's arm, pulled him along with a bright smile.

"Let's go, Gusion! I'll introduce you to Shihwa, Pyemon, and Ricky!"

As they exited the building, Gusion, with a serious expression, watched Geon's back, not rolling his eyes but quietly observing him. Pyemon, stealing a glance at Gusion's face, chuckled playfully.