Contrary to the popular belief that the black angel or grim reaper was some scary looking angel whose default dressing includes a scythe and long black heavy cloak, it was not the case. In fact, death angels are pretty normal looking. They look human and wore human clothing walking among humans to spot any soul who might be crossing over soon.

Each black angel carries a chain called Thanatos Lovers Chain which the angel would fasten onto the dying souls before transporting them to The Gates where they will receive their fate as stated on the Golden Book.  

Nam Taehyun was one such angel. He likens his job to a guide. Angels like them guide souls to the main gates of heaven where The Gate Guardian, Hanbin would then read the fate of the soul whether they will be welcome into eternal paradise or banished to Hell.

It was supposed to be a pretty simple and rather clear-cut duty for him or so he thought…  

~~~~~~~~~~

It was one of those days where it was just not going well him. He wondered what other was going to happen to him or coming head first towards him.

First, he woke up late due to the fact that he spent the last few nights burning the late night oil as he worked on his presentation which will determine whether he getting a larger cubicle space all to himself as a Regional Marketing Manager.

Second, he struggled to find the keys to his car because his phone rang and as he predicted correctly, his terror of a boss, Mr Yang Hyun Suk, called him on his mobile to give him a piece of his mind. Through it all, he failed to notice that the front tyre of his car was flat.

Taehyun was leaning against the wall as he watched the poor guy fumbling with his mobile while searching for the keys to his car and then the guy struggled some more to get the car doors open. He was such a klutz, Taehyun muttered to himself.

He was cursing the air when he finally got in and silently mumbled a prayer hoping that whatever bad thing that was planning to befall onto him for that day had already did and he could finally get on with his day before he started his car and proceeded to get himself to the office with a small glimmer of hope that he could still make it in time.

Taehyun was suddenly on alert when he heard the thoughts coming from the guy in the car. He could hear the sounds of the heavy morning traffic, the whispers and sounds the tyre were making due to the lack of air. He could almost see what would happen as he concentrated deeper, shutting out all the other unnecessary sounds.

It happened all too fast. Due to the lack of air in the tyres, the mobility of the car was greatly limited and reduced. He did not even have time to react and swerve his car out of the way. The horrible clashing and deafening sound of metal and the incessant ringing of the mobile phone was the last thing he heard before he out.

The sound of the collision was so loud that Taehyun was startled as well. From the look of how both cars were more or less melted together, Taehyun knew there was nothing much that could be done. He all but ran towards the accident site, located the red car that loser guy got into and then promptly fasten the chain on him.

~~~~~~~~~~

His surroundings were really bright. It was brighter than how it was normally. Mino found himself walking along a road that was made entirely out of yellow bricks. Beside him on his left, was a guy and Mino was struck by how beautiful he was, He knew “beautiful” should be applied to girls but the guy beside him was beautiful  with his pale skin, slightly longish hair with a middle part and droopy eyebrows.

For Taehyun, he was only concentrated in getting his mission completed that he did not even notice that the guy beside with his right wrist loosely bound in a chain connected to Taehyun’s left wrist was staring at him with a deep and penetrating gaze.

Mino was still too dumbstruck by the person him that he failed to ask him where they are or where are they walking towards. All he did was just stare at the guy while he converse with another angel standing at the gate.

“Sir, may I have your name?”

Taehyun turned to his right only to find the guy quietly and rather dumbly staring at him. He got frustrated since it was the third time that Hanbin was trying to get his name.

“Yah! Loser boy, we need your name!”

“Song Minho.” Mino absentmindedly replied. However, he continued staring at him again once he supplied the information the angels needed.

Hanbin then conjured up a large book at the snap of his fingers and began flipping through the pages at an amazing speed.

“Hmmm….”

“Hmmm… What, Hanbin-ah?” Taehyun muttered impatiently. He found the stare from the guy was slowly but surely getting onto his nerves.

“Interesting…”

“WHAT?! What is so interesting?” Taehyun demanded.

“Interesting...” Hanbin repeated again while he brushed his fringe.

“For Pete’s sake. Stop beating about the bush and tell me what is wrong!”

“There is no Song Minho in this book.”

“Seriously?!”

“Yes, seriously. So you have to bring him back but there is a problem though…”

“Problem? What kind of problem?”

Hanbin looked thoughtfully at Taehyun while the Minho guy continued to stare at him in awe.

“Okay, so I just need to bring him back and unfasten the chain and be back here before you can even say hey.”

“It is not that easy.” Hanbin shook his head.

“What do you mean it is not that easy?” Taehyun demanded.

“You cannot just unfasten the chain…”

“HUH?!”

Before Taehyun could demand for a more in-depth explanation, they were transported back to earth. More specifically, they were back in the hospital room where the guy called Minho lay with machines hooking to him. The room was filled with an eerie silence except for the periodic beats of the heart monitor.

“Hanbin?” Taehyun called out but nothing or no one appeared.

“Great, just great. What am I going to do now?” Taehyun muttered out loud into the silence.

Just then, the clocked stop moving and everything stood still as a flash of white light streamed into the room. Taehyun knew immediately he was in trouble because HE has arrived and HE does not make any leisurely visits, like never ever.

His father stood tall in the center of the room flanked by his mother on the left and his brother, Jiwon, on the right.

“Taehyunie… Hanbin already informed us what happened…” His mother told him as she held out her arms for him. 

Taehyun immediately went towards his mother to hug her while Jiwon patted his back trying to be reassuring but Taehyun somehow felt none. Bracing himself, Taehyun finally turned to face his father.

His father looked at him with sad eyes and Taehyun knew that it must have been a very grave mistake he committed.  His father had been very tolerant yet vocal of his wrongdoings and misadventures. However, with his father being so quiet, Taehyun knew it must be a thousand times worse.

“Please leave us.” He requested to the both of them softly.

This time his mother even his brother stepped forward to give him a hug.

“I love you, hyung even when you are super annoying.”

Taehyun remained at his sport when both his mother and brother left, unmoving while waiting for his fate. His father gestured for him to sit beside him.

“Taehyun-ah, my precious son. What am I going to do with you?”

“Father…” Just like that Taehyun broke down like a little boy.

His father said nothing except to gather Taehyun into the comfort of his arms like he always would when Taehyun was a little boy.

“Our purpose as black angels is to act as a transporter of souls between earth and the realm.” His father explained that had Taehyun nodding to what he was saying.

“The Thanatos Lovers Chain will only unfasten itself once a soul is being accepted into heaven or hell.” He continued explaining while wiping the tears from Taehyun’s cheeks.

“So what does that mean?” Taehyun could not help but ask.

“The chain is a power all by itself that even I could not undone what has already been done. As you are the one who fasten the chain onto him, you are stuck here on Earth and unable to return. But all is not lost as there are two ways to get rid of it.”

“What are the two methods, Father?”

“Black angels are given one wish in their entire life time and I can help you by granting you that wish. You cannot directly wish for the chain to break as it is immune but you can indirectly wish for the chain to be gone.”

“How?”

“As the chain will only unfasten itself when a soul accepted, so wish death upon that young man.” His father pointed to Minho lying across the room.

“I cannot possibly do that! That is murder!” Taehyun exclaimed in shock at what his father was suggesting to him.

“What is the other way?”

“You die.”

Taehyun sat heavily back down on the couch again as he pondered over his options.

“The chain will only break when either party dies. We are not immortals, Taehyun-ah. We face death too. If you do not break the chain, you will remain here on Earth until time is up for the young man.”

Taehyun thought maybe it might not be such a bad idea to stay on Earth until Minho dies. However, the only downside to that would be that Taehyun would lose whatever power he had. People might have perception that black angels or grim reapers are evil celestial being but they are truly not. They have families to return home to in the Realm. His father decided gave Taehyun a month to think about the options after all whatever Taehyun chooses will determine his path to take.

~~~~~~~~~~

Taehyun heard a person gasping for air.

Mino took a huge gulp of air as though he had just came back from the dead. Blinking to adjust to the darkness of the room, Mino could roughly make out a black silhouette that was standing at the edge of his bed. Being slightly freaked out by it, Mino started to thrash wildly on the bed but feeling pain all over his body. He struggled on even when the pain was unbearable for him.

Sensing his panic and disorientation, Taehyun quickly moved over and tried to soothe the guy by gently his cheek hoping that it would help the guy to calm down. Just then the night shift nurse came in to check on Mino and realize that he was awake so she quickly left to inform the attending doctor.

The next three days passed and without failing, Taehyun sat by his side as Mino drifted in and out of consciousness. Initially his brother and sister were suspicious of his presence but they warmed up to Taehyun gradually.

The story Taehyun gave them was that their brother save his life. He had no other family here – which was true since his family were not from Earth. Taehyun was also glad because he finally managed to put to good use the dramas he caught during his missions because he told them, as an added measure, that he actually wanted to commit suicide by walking headlong into a heavy congested traffic hoping to get knocked down. However, Mino swerved to avoid him therefore saving his life.

By the fourth day, Mino finally fully regained his conscious. His vision were still pretty fuzzy but he found the guy standing next to Danah strangely familiar as though he had met him somewhere before. His siblings filled him in on Taehyun’s backstory but somehow he felt something was not quite right but still, he went along with it.

By the end of the week, the doctor gave the go ahead for Mino to be discharged from the hospital and recuperate at home for the remainder of his hospitalization leave. Since both his younger siblings had work, Taehyun took it upon himself and volunteered to bring Mino home despite Mino’s protest that he could manage fine on his own.

Taehyun kept reminding himself that the only reason why he was doing this because he was grateful that Mino’s brother and sister gave him the extra room to stay without any questions asked.

“I am only feeling really grateful.” Taehyun kept repeating to himself.

“Thank you for coming to the hospital to bring me home.” Mino thanked the guy as he carefully hobbled into the house, all the while carefully watching his step so as not to aggravate his injuries.

“You are welcome…” Taehyun softly replied as he quietly closed the door.

To be honest, Mino did not know quite what to make of his new house guest. He found him looking strangely like the angel he met in his dreams. It did not help that this Nam Taehyun was quite elusive with the answers about his personal life. However, as long he was not a wanted criminal or murder them in their sleep, Mino saw no issue about letting Taehyun stay with them in the extra guest room.

The next two weeks saw Mino using the time to work from home while he recuperated from the accident. Taehyun took up a job at a café which belong to a friend of Mino’s. Every morning Mino would get up early to prepare breakfast for everyone including Taehyun if he was on morning shifts. He would accompany Taehyun to his work place so Mino would gain the exercise that he needs or he would work from the café while Taehyun was on shift.

Nam Taehyun was a completely far off from Mino’s ideal type. Taehyun could be quiet, aloof but yet at the same time when you managed to hit the right buttons, he would laugh out loud or be completely relaxed around your company.

His personality was very much like a cat proud, independent yet was really curious about the surroundings around him. There were times Mino found Taehyun to be rather child-like as he kept asking Mino about the Hows, Whens, Wheres, Whats, Whys and Whos  to things he did not understand or seen before that had Mino struggling to dig his brain to find an answer.

As for Taehyun, he did have his reservations about Mino and his siblings even if it was a pure case of do not judge the book by its cover. However, the more he got to understand and know Mino, the more he realized that despite his seemingly laid back and somewhat a playful puppy attitude, Mino was really serious when it came to his work. It might look like that both Danah and Gunhee were really protective over their eldest but in actual fact it was Mino that both the siblings relied on the most. After all, Mino was the eldest and he needed to do whatever he could to take care and support the younger ones.

It was Mino’s first day back at work after his hospitalization leave. For some crazy reason, it was raining like cats and dogs. Mino could not get hold of Taehyun on his mobile phone. He knew that Taehyun would be alone in the store since his friend, Jiyong, was out of town meeting with some suppliers. Feeling unease and worried that he could not get in contact with Taehyun, Mino detoured and made his way towards the café, just to ensure that Taehyun was okay.

“Taehyun-ah… Where are you? Are you okay?” Mino called out as he entered the darkened store after a battle with the heavy wind and rain.

There was no one in sight so he decided to head towards the storeroom.

“Taehyun-ah are you in here?” Mino asked again with his heart beating wildly with anxiousness. He was starting to get really worried since there was no reply from the said guy.

Suddenly, a pair of arms encircled Mino around his neck and soon enough, Mino’s arms was filled with a soft and warm Taehyun. Surprised, Mino dropped his umbrella which landed on the floor with a loud thud that echoed through the whole store. A sense of relief washed over him at that moment but there was also something more than that, he knew that at that moment, he loves Taehyun.

“Mino…”

Taehyun sighed softly as his head was slightly resting on the crook of Mino’s neck..

“You came.” Taehyun said with relief evident in his voice.

Taehyun had been trying to contact but the heavy rain made the reception for mobile phones really bad to the point where he could not even find a signal. Suddenly, there was a loud lightning and thunder that had Taehyun scrambling for the nearest corner he could find to huddle. He never liked lightning plus a traumatic run-in with the lightning angel previously had him scarred and extremely afraid. When the door of the storeroom opened and his name was called out softly. It felt as though it was a calling from heaven and at that moment, Taehyun knew that he had fallen in love with him.

With his head still light resting on the crook of Mino’s neck, Taehyun turned his head slightly so that his lips brushed against Mino’s clavicle lightly before he felt Mino’s finger softly lifting his chin up. Their eyes tangled for a moment, conveying their hidden feelings before Mino leaned down to capture Taehyun’s lips in a deep kiss. Mino enjoyed and savored the way Taehyun was responding to the kiss with little moans and sighs. Mino then took Taehyun’s left hand and interlaced their fingers together as they made their way home together.

Mino’s brother and sister took one look at them and told them they finally took long enough before congratulating the new couple with a nice dinner to celebrate the good news.

That night, Taehyun made his decision and when he told his father, he was not pleased. In fact, he was angry.

“But I love him…”

“When a black angel and a soul are fasten by the chain, it is just an ordinary chain with the purpose to escorting souls only. But…”

“But what?”

His father sighed deeply.

“The chain is called Thanatos Lovers Chain for a reason. If love exists between the angel and soul then their existence becomes intertwined. So if there is ever a day when his heart does not belong to you anymore then you will die. As you are an angel, you will cease to exist.”

“So it means that if he loves someone else then I will disappear into nothing.”

“Yes, Taehyun-ah.”

Never in his wildest dream that Taehyun ever thought such a simple thing as a chain was going to make things so complicated. However, his mind has been made up for he rather spend the rest of his life beside him and holding on to him than the rest of his life knowing he never could.

His father’s eyes became slightly moist when he playfully ruffled Taehyun’s hair.

“You are so like me.”

“I love you.” His father wrapped his arms around before he kissed his son’s head.

~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a year since they shared their first kiss. It was a joyful where they got to know each other on a deeper level. There was never a doubt in Mino’s mind that Taehyun was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He was his soul mate. The more he got to know Taehyun, he found him to be much more of a dreamer, believing in this such as fate and destiny. The realistic Mino could not help but to but to give in to the thought that Taehyun was the only one for him.

It was needless to say that they bantered a lot too since they were both so different. One would almost say that both Taehyun and Mino were direct opposites of each other. 

During weekdays Mino and Taehyun would trade breakfast duties feeding the entire bunch. However, with Taehyun it was more of hoping Taehyun would not poison them much to the said guy’s chargin but they had been telling him that his cooking skills had improve so that appeased Taehyun a bit. After their morning meal, Mino would then drop him off at the café before heading downtown to his office. Most of the time, Mino would pick Taehyun up again after work where they would hurry home to prepare dinner or there will be times when Taehyun would go home on his own or just the two of them they would dine out at a nice quiet eatery.

Weekends were mostly spent in each other’s company. They usually stayed home with either movies or dramas to keep them company since Mino was a TV addict. Occasionally, they will head out for short trips either with Mino siblings together or it would be just the two of them enjoying a romantic trip out.

It was exactly two years after Taehyun made the decision to stay by Mino’s side. He woke to a nice breakfast in bed meal with his favorite coffee and waffles and scrambled eggs with a single stalk of rose lying on top of the food cover with a note saying good morning, love from Mino. It continued on for the next 13 days.

On the 14^th day, Taehyun woke up again to breakfast in bed but this time it was slightly different. The food cover this time was bigger covering the whole tray. If Taehyun’s eyes were not playing tricks on him, he swore he could see the covers moving. With curiosity getting the better of him, Taehyun carefully lifted the lid only find a cute little fluffy white kitten with a little bow tied around it’s neck.

“Where did you come from little guy?” Taehyun asked playfully as he rubbed his nose against the kitten’s. Taehyun frowned when he saw the bow tied around the kitten’s neck thinking that it somehow does not match so he decided to untie the ribbon. As soon he did so, he saw a ring hanging on the collar of the kitten’s. The guy on the bed could not help but to gasp in surprise when he saw the ring and what it could only signify.

It was then that Mino came in with the 14^th rose that would mark the 2 weeks since Taehyun woke up to breakfast in bed surprises.

He knelt on his knees when he reached Taehyun’s side.

“Where you are is where I want to be and through your eyes, I get to see all the things I wish to see. In the night you are my dream and you mean everything to me.”

Taehyun did not even hesitate to say yes.

It was a simple wedding that Taehyun always envisioned whenever he watch humans got married when he was still living in the Realm. The only regret he had was that his family could not be there to witness such an important moment. However, there was a slight drizzle throughout the ceremony that made Taehyun smile and think that his family are watching over him from above and giving him their blessings.

To say that it was a blissful marriage right from the start might be a little too much since like all normal couples, the occasional disagreements do come up and they would fight about it every now and then. However, their biggest hurdle came in the form of Wendy.

Mino had been working late the last few months working on a major project with hopes of getting the client to be on their permanent accounts. She was the newest addition to the team and everyone except Mino could tell she was giving Mino the “come hither” look. However, who could blame him since all he could see in his mind was Taehyun.

One night when Mino and Wendy were working late into the night, she came on to him. as she tried to kiss him, Taehyun was feeling a sharp pain in his chest, making him drop the glass he was holding.

No… He loves me… This is not happening to me… He loves me… I believe in him…

Taehyun thought frantically as he held on to his chest feeling the pain closing in on him. For Taehyun, it was the not the pain that he might cease to exist but it was the pain of not seeing Mino ever again that eating into his heart.

It was as though Mino heard Taehyun because even though he was stunned for a few seconds, he immediately pushed Wendy away and told her off harshly.

Mino immediately made his way home and told Taehyun what happened in the office. Any ordinary guy would not have told anything and made a lie about the whole thing. For Mino, it was not the case since he had nothing to hide. He did not do anything that would ruin the trust that Taehyun had in him. Taehyun was grateful with his confession for it made him love his partner even more. He closed his eyes and held Mino close, his lips searching for his which Mino did as though reading Taehyun’s mind. Kissing him with a fierce and burning passion he had for Taehyun. It was the most wonderful and deep connection they felt when they made love. It was something they would never forget.

They were together with fifty wonderful years together. His sister Danah moved to America after their wedding and not long after met her husband who was a Korean American while his brother Gunhee’s other half was with a neighbor that he was often at loggerheads with.

However, all good things had to come to an end and the result of Mino’s hard work was final stage stomach cancer. Doctors told them that Mino had probably three months left to live. With that information, they travelled around the world with the remaining time they have, seeing places that they wanted to see for the last time before Mino would inevitably crossed over.

“Are you scared, Mino?” Taehyun asked as they lay in bed in Danah’s home before they would fly home to Seoul to spend the remaining of Mino’s days together in the comforts of their home.

“No, I am not scared of anything as long as you are here with me.” Mino smiled as he looked down at his wonderful partner in crime, his lover and soul mate. Taehyun could not help but to smile as they cuddled together and let sleep drift over them.

It was just slightly after midnight that Taehyun knew was the moment that his husband had taken his last breath. Tears flowed freely down as he felt the relief washing over him knowing that Mino’s pain and suffering was gone but at the same time, he was sad and felt selfish that he would be leaving the people he had came to love during his time on Earth. Taehyun knew he could not bear to be a part of the place where he knew that Mino would no longer beside him.

It was the next morning when Danah came to call them for breakfast that she realized that the couple had passed away peacefully in each other’s arms.

~~~~~~~~~

“Where are we Taehyun-ah?”

Taehyun smiled at him happily as he skipped along the road as though he had been there countless of times.

“We are on the Yellow Brick Road leading towards The Gate.”

“The Gate? Yellow Brick Road? We are young again?” Mino asked not quite understanding. He was back to his 25 year-old self and Taehyun was looking like how Mino first saw him.

“You are looking like this because when you die your body takes the form when you had you happiest memory.” Taehyun explained suddenly looking wiser than Mino had ever seen him look.

“25 years old. Ah I remember it was the year I met you. That was my happiest memory.”

“Yes it was! I am just so happy to be in my original form again!” Taehyun gave a little twirl as he continued to explain even though Mino did not really grasp the meaning of his words.

Taehyun merely smiled before he took Mino’s hand in his as they continued their way towards The Gate. As they were standing at The Gate, Taehyun was surprised to see his parents and Jiwon waiting for them. They did not age much since 50 human years was a mere 6 months in The Realm.

“Father, Mother and Jiwon, I would like to introduce to you my husband,”

Mino was quiet all the time still not quite understanding. Taehyun then took both of Mino’s hands in his and told him the real story of how they met. Where he was a new black angel and barely one week into the new duties, made a mistake. However, this was one of the best mistakes Taehyun ever made in his life. He would never regret the choice he took to have a chance to be with him and he had lived a wonderful and fulfilling life with Mino by his side.

It was all so surreal as Mino finally processed the real actual story to their connection. All he had to do was to look into Taehyun’s lovely warm brown eyes to realize that it did not matter how they met because the most important fact of all was they were so lucky to have found each other.

They listened as Hanbin read out their fate and The Gate opened to reveal the path towards heaven. Taehyun ran towards his family to hug them while Mino bowed respectfully to them. Then together with their hands tightly intertwined, they began slowly making their way towards heaven,

Mino was smiling when he bent to kiss Taehyun softly on the lips.

“I was right, you are my angel after all.”

~~~~~~~~~~  

Back with a one shot of s different genre... I hope that you all will enjoy! As usual no silent readers please... I would love to know what are your thoughts!