The Demon In You

Rian arrived early to the office. Thankfully, Lambark decided to laze around at home instead of following her. In her years of observing demons, she learned a few things about them. Firstly, demons do not have to stay with their human hosts all the time as long as they return back to their vessels within 48 hours. Since, demons can apparate at will, that was not a problem for them.

Secondly, demons can communicate with each other. Lambark even claims to have over 6000 demon friends all over the world. Her demon's social life put Rian to shame since she was a dud when it came to socializing.

Thirdly, one demon cannot latch on to more than one host. This is one of the absolute taboos in the demon world. Even though Lambark would not tell Rian about their secrets, this is one rule it was adamant on. Rian once asked Lambark what happens when a demon attaches itself to more than one host but it gave a confusing answer.

"There was once a demon which tried to latch on to many hosts," Lambark recalled. "It wanted to control the emotions of numerous humans and ended up s.u.c.k.i.n.g out their soul."

"What was his name?" Rian asked.

"We do not take his name," the demon said.

Rian frowned. "What was it? Lord Voldemort?"

"Ugh no!" Lambark snapped. "We're not allowed to take its name. If we do, we'll die. Our Demon Lord put a taboo on its name. No demon can utter the name."

"What happened to it?" Rian whispered.

"It died," Lambark said quietly. There was a heaviness in its voice.

"How did it die?"

The demon was quiet for a while, pondering how to answer. "It was killed," it finally revealed. "By its owner."

Rian gasped. That is when she knew of the fourth and final rule.

Demons and humans were two sides of the same coin. One cannot survive without the other. If a human dies, its demon will die with it.

Rian suspected there were more rules, but Lambark would not reveal any more. "Curiosity kills the cat," it said. "I cannot reveal any more of our secrets."

Sometimes, Rian got really curious about the demons and why is she the only one who can see them. She even dug into her own family history, to see if there were any witches or shamans among her ancestors. To her disappointment, most of her ancestors were farmers or miners. They had no connection to any magic nor noble families.

She sighed as she placed her bag on her desk. The affair with the demons and her new job was taking a toll on her.

Two weeks passed since Rian joined and she was already exhausted by the workload. Most of the time, she accompanies the CEO to important meetings and fashion events, while preparing his schedules, appointments and sort out his files.

However, her work is not as exhausting as the man himself. He still nags her for a makeover and constantly talks about himself. Rian suspected that Lambark stayed back home only to avoid the CEO.

Her intercom rang up.

"Hello sir," Rian greeted.

"Come into my office, Ms. Oh!" the CEO's deep voice came out of the phone.

"I'm coming sir," Rian sighed.

She entered the CEO's room. He was holding up two papers on his hands, studying them with a serious look. His long hair was tied up into a neat bun. It was the first time, she saw him looking at something with such intensity.

Rian looked at him more attentively. Up close, the CEO had very beautiful hazel eyes. His long eyelashes complimented his eye color, making them more alluring. Rian was mesmerized by those eyes. There was something familiar about those eyes...

"If you're wondering if I curl my eyelashes everyday, then yes I do," Hyunjae chirped. "With three different eyelash curlers. I also use eye drops to keep my eyes refreshed at all times."

There he goes, Rian inwardly sighed.

"I know, it must be hard to focus when you have a handsome boss like me around," Hyunjae lamented. "What else to do Ms. Oh? Seems like my beauty is too distracting."

"I might need that CEO leave," Rian muttered.

"Did you say something?"

"No," Rian said at once. "Nothing. You called for me sir?"

"Yes!" Hyunjae clapped his hands together. "As you know, we will be competing at the International Fashion Week this year. We'll need to work on the designs and recruit models for this important task. This time, I myself will be working on the designs."

"Really?" Rian gaped. Famous designers rarely make their own designs during fashion shows. They delegate the tasks to their subordinates but in the end, get the credit for the work.

So it really surprised her that the CEO of TNT Corps will work on the designs himself.

"You must be very passionate about the competition," Rian said in awe.

"Passionate?" Hyunjae scoffed. "Who cares about all that? I only want to top Armiola and laugh at that obnoxious CEO's face!"

He let out an evil laugh. Rian stared at him, bewildered.

"Sir," Rian said, trying to keep her anger in check. "What will be my tasks for the event?"

"Simple," he said. "Be my showstopper."