Divinations weren’t always easy.  Many times, the cosmos simply refused to give any details worth mentioning, leaving the reader floundering for better understanding.  Fortunately for Gunwoo, this wasn’t one of those times.  Waving his hands over the crystal ball as if he could actually see something in the clear depths, his meaninglessly whispering lips quirked up at the corners and he glanced at the customer across from him.  Dark brown bangs fell over his kohl lined eyes, partially hiding him from view, but the middle aged woman before him was riveted on the ball, fooled by the light coming from beneath.

                “What is it?” she asked breathlessly, clutching her brown purse in her lap with both hands, every part of her body evidencing nervous excitement.

                He took his time, playing the show like he always did.  Leaning forward towards the crystal ball with narrowed eyes, he murmured as if in a trance, “Though misfortune may have haunted you of late, your luck will turn.  A meeting will occur within two weeks time.  There is a chance for romance in the stars,” he blinked, pretending to come back to himself with a deep breath.

                His client beamed, nearly vibrating in her seat.  “Anything else?  How will I know he- him?  Was there a name?” she whispered quickly, her voice low and eager even as she struggled to cover the flush warring to spread into her cheeks.

                Gunwoo quirked a brow and allowed a smirk to play upon his lips.  “Who said anything about it being a ‘him’?”

                For a moment, panic flit across her face, but when he didn’t react in any other way, he was gifted a shy smile as she ducked her head and thread a loose strand of honey colored hair behind her ear.  “Within two weeks?” she asked to confirm, glancing at him with hazel eyes.

                He nodded with a quiet grunt, resting his long hands on the dark red tablecloth.  “Red,” he added as his eyes dropped to the fabric, almost as an afterthought.

                “Huh?” she chirped, surprised.

                “Look for the color red and the letter A,” he explained, meeting her gaze once more as a warmer, encouraging smile gave her courage.  “Three is also a good number,” he added mischievously.  The cosmos didn’t provide much in the way of appearances but it could give specific, if vague hints.  Individually, they weren’t particularly useful, but when combined, the whole could be quite telling.

                “Thank you,” the nameless customer grinned so hard his face hurt just looking at her.  “I knew Sta-”

                A sudden cutting motion from Gunwoo’s hand made her pause mid-sentence, jumping in surprise.  “No names,” he softly reminded her before he relaxed in the soft ambiance of the dimly lit room once more.

                “Sorry!” she cringed sheepishly, covering with her manicured hand.  “I’ll have to let my friend know she was right,” the woman stood up to bow, hugging her purse close.  When Gunwoo looked at her purse and then back at her, she gasped in embarrassment.  “Sorry!  Your payment.  Of course!”  Quickly, she set the bag down so she could dig out her wallet before retrieving a handful of bills and handing them over without complaint.  Gunwoo carefully accepted the cash without brushing her fingers with his own.  “Is there anything else I should know or do?” the woman asked as she stood up straight again.

                “Just spread the word if you’re satisfied,” Gunwoo grinned, remaining seated so she could let herself out.

                She nodded in understanding and bowed once more.  “Thank you again!”

                Gunwoo waved farewell and exhaled slightly when she was gone, leaving him alone in the closet sized room.  It probably had been a closet, all things considered.  The inside was lined with dark blue cloth and only faintly illuminated by electric candles in the corners.  But it was comfortable and even if it was all for show, it helped keep him in business which meant he didn’t have to try and find a more demanding full-time job.

                His left eye itched and he had to force himself to not scratch it.  The kohl would smear and it was already bad enough.  Reaching under the table, he hauled out the makeup remover wipes Sandara had gotten him after she’d convinced him to start wearing the stuff to sessions.  Admittedly, it had helped sales when he ‘looked’ more the part, despite his refusal to dress ‘appropriately’ as well.  Wrinkling his nose, he scrubbed roughly at the liner and only when he was certain it was gone did he dare emerge from the little cubby.

                Peeling back the flimsy curtain, he stepped into the antechamber that was little more than a dark room before opening the door that led into Mystic’s Oasis, a spiritual endeavor in crystals, fairies, positive energy, the mystical, fortune telling (aka divination) and, for those without insurance, healing services on a case by case basis.  Of course, the last two were courtesy of the Lost Mystic himself, and only when approved by him and Sandara.  Speaking of which…

                “Ah!  How’d it go?!” the strangely hyperactive woman grinned, leaning over the counter to get a better look at him.  With her poorly dyed hair in its customary, sloppy ponytail, the various blonde and brown streaks were much harder to see, making it seem a lot better than it was when she wore it down.

                “Same as always,” Gunwoo waved one hand while he stuffed the other in his jeans pocket as he approached the front desk.  No one was present but they didn’t usually get a lot of foot traffic in the mornings.  A toss of his head settled the dark brown waves out of his face enough to offer her a wry smile as he returned his gaze to her.  “But you already knew that.”

                “Ayah,” she sighed, propping her chin on her palm.  “Of course, but I have to ask,” she winked, laughing gently.  “But sometimes you get really good visions and I thought this might have been one of them with how giddy that last customer was,” she reminded him, standing up to bounce around the desk, jangling the variety of bead and trinket necklaces around her neck.

                More than a full head shorter than him, she was cute, if nothing else.  Somewhere in her early thirties and unmarried, she thought him a troubled, gifted young man trying to find his way in life and had gladly offered him sanctuary when he’d proven he had some skill in her relative area of expertise.  Needless to say, she also had a tendency to mother him a bit, and he had to duck the thumb she tried to swipe his cheek with.  “Dara,” he groaned, leaning back to scrub at what had to be a spot of kohl still lingering on his face.

                “What?” she asked with her fists on her hips, the bemused smile making her look even younger.

                “I can get it,” he assured her, carefully lowering his hand to let her see if it was well and truly gone.

                “I know, I know.  But I also know how you hate the stuff,” she teased, sticking her tongue out at him before she clapped her hands excitedly, making him flinch.  He still wasn’t used to some of her more random outbursts, despite the fact he’d been working with her for over a year now.  “How’s your schedule looking next week?!” she practically shouted, rushing back around to snag her appointment book from behind the desk.

                Cringing at the sound and the exuberance, Gunwoo ducked his head and scrubbed the back of his neck, ruffling his hair in all directions.  “About the same as usual.  Why?” he sniffed, pretty sure he already knew what it was about.

                “Someone’s been talking about you,” she winked, giggling as she held the book close.  “It’s not even the weekend yet and I’ve already got four people asking for you,” she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet.  “You’ve got one unrequited love, a desperately seeking employment, a family issues that sounded just pitiful on the phone,” she lamented, “and a hopeless romantic hoping you can help them.”  Quieting a bit and looking around before she started speaking again, she leaned closer and added, “You’ve also got one chronic painer who would love to hear your advice and/or prescription.”

                Again, Gunwoo scratched the back of his neck and quirked his mouth to the side.  That was a pretty busy schedule already.  Not that he minded so much.  It wasn’t as if he had a lot to do anyway.  After six years of relative quiet and figuring out just how to live on this planet, he discovered he liked the downtime and being able to hang out with… friends.  “Okay,” he signaled with his hand before stuffing it in his other pocket.  “Set them up and let me know,” he encouraged, nodding at her once before he started to head for the front door.

                “Oh!  Leaving already?” Sandara pouted, looking like a petulant four year old when Gunwoo glanced over his shoulder.

                “Mm,” he grunted with a nod, pausing to see if she would say anything else.

                “But what if something comes up and I need to get in touch with you?” she huffed, blowing stray tendrils of escaped hair from her forehead.

                “You know where I’ll be,” Gunwoo simply reminded her with a small, polite bow before he offered a parting wave as he exited the store.  The chime sounded as he left and he winced at stepping into the bright light of day.  The windows in the store were tinted and they always tricked him when going in or out.  Pausing to stretch his long arms above his head, he stifled a yawn and squinted at the surrounding area.  Mystic’s Oasis was a little shop nestled amongst many in a strip mall in the downtown area of the city.  It wasn’t too far from his apartment, which was ideal since he didn’t have a license or a car.  Nor did he have a phone of any kind.  In fact, he’d made it a very large point to have nothing at all that would have his name on it.

                He could have found someone to make an identity for him, but fabricating something just felt wrong.  Better that he didn’t exist at all really.  At least his roommate didn’t mind.  He paid his share of the bills every month so there was no need to complain, and if he was a little harder to get in touch with than some, at least he was reliable when he needed something.  Glancing at his watch, he realized he was going to be late and he grimaced.  Kibum was going to be annoyed…  His dark eyes stopped on the Aromatic Brew shop and Gunwoo smiled.  There was one thing that always helped smooth things over though.

                Bracing for the almost guaranteed, immediate barrage, Gunwoo nudged the apartment door open as quietly as he could, and winced when he heard, “You’re late!”

                Mutely, he kicked off his shoes in the doorway, rounded the hallway corner and held out a small, brown paper bag and a cup of coffee to the perturbed young man standing in the living room with his delicate hands resting on slender hips.  “I know,” Gunwoo admitted with a slight nod, unable to keep a completely straight face when Kibum’s visage shifted immediately to one of outright delight.

                “Coffee from Aromatic Brew?” he needlessly queried, taking the cup in both hands and holding it close so he could inhale deeply of the strong scent.

                “And treats!” Junhong cheered as he bounded up from the sofa across from the TV to relieve Gunwoo of the paper bag.

                Taken aback by the newest hair color, Gunwoo glared suspiciously at the bright red mass on Junhong’s head, but declined to comment.  “I know,” Kibum spoke for him, catching the direction of his stare.  “I already told him he needs to style it, but the impudent brat refuses to listen to me,” he huffed in offense, brushing his uneven black fringe back, only to have it settle exactly where it had been: partially over one perfectly lined eye.  Unlike Gunwoo, Kibum wholly embraced eyeliner and the newest fashions.

                “It’s fine,” Junhong snorted, digging out a doughnut from the depths before he offered the dainty, buttery croissant to Kibum carefully.

                “Not if you’re going to be seen in my presence, it isn’t,” Kibum snorted, though he accepted the offering graciously enough.

                “What’d I miss?” Gunwoo asked as a distraction while he turned his attention to the TV screen.  The news was just coming back after a commercial break and he frowned when he couldn’t hear what they were saying.

                “Oh!” Kibum and Junhong yelped at the same time.  The latter dove for the remote while the former hurried to take a seat in the navy blue loveseat, mindful not to spill the steaming liquid on his white pants as he did so.  “They were just talking about the history and development of the A&D program, but they should be showing us the promised demonstration soon,” Kibum explained with a sidelong glance as Gunwoo took a seat beside him.

                “They’ve even promised to let Commanders Jung and Kim speak today!” Junhong bounced on the equally navy blue sofa, his dark brown eyes gleaming with almost childlike delight.

                Kibum’s silence and the thin press of his lips were all the signs Gunwoo needed to know that his friend wasn’t half as impressed as Junhong was about them.  There were stickers of the Demon Brigade Commander Jung Taekwoon and the Angel Brigade Commander Kim Wonshik all over Junhong’s skateboard.  He even proudly confessed to having their action figures still in the boxes at home, and it was safe to say he kind of hero worshipped them.  Gunwoo could understand it to a degree.  For humans, it was rather impressive, all things considered.

                “I still think it’s a bad idea to meddle with the DNA of creatures that have gone extinct.  There has to be a reason they died out in the first place,” Kibum explained with his nose slightly raised and the overly large sleeves of his black shirt pooling at the bend in his arms as he sipped his coffee.

                Gunwoo didn’t say anything in response and simply watched the screen, reading the scrolling text at the bottom as it summed up what had already been covered in the first part of the broadcast.  After just over thirty years since the discovery of the remains of what humans called Angels and Demons had been discovered in a deep sea diving mission, they had made the technological breakthrough to genetic manipulation.  Commanders Jung and Kim were the first gen successes of their efforts, adapting to the new DNA where all others had failed, and exhibiting the first physical manifestations of Angels and Demons.  Much of their progress had been kept secret for two years before the A&D Division was ready to reveal their agents.  Today was supposed to be their official introduction and demonstration.

                An audible gasp made him and Kibum look to their right and they exchanged bemused looks when Junhong squeaked, “It’s them!”

                Despite his reluctance to support them, Gunwoo didn’t miss Kibum’s appreciative sigh as the respective commanders appeared on the screen.  Preferring both genders, he admired men and women equally, but the two that were shown were certainly humans worth taking note of.  Short white hair paired perfectly with the white, birdlike wings folded on Wonshik’s back as he stepped out in nothing more than a white bodysuit that hugged every plane of his body.  Equally striking was Taekwoon with his shoulder length ebony hair and midnight wings resembling that of a dragon or a gargoyle.  He did not have a tail that Gunwoo could see, but he wore the exact same bodysuit, only his was black in comparison.

                Personally, Gunwoo thought A&D was laying it on a bit thick, but he’d withhold judgement until he’d seen them in action.  It was well and good that they had acquired the physical manifestations, but were they just for show, was the question.  As soon as the two squared off and spread their wings wide, Gunwoo knew they weren’t, and he inhaled quietly as a gnawing pain anchored in his heart.  He knew Junhong stopped breathing as the two took to the sky, their powerful wings propelling them effortlessly through the air as they danced above the ground.  Almost faster than the human eye could follow, the broadcasters had to slow the speed down so the general audience could follow their movements as they sparred for all to see.

                Almost unaware that he was doing it, Gunwoo had to forcefully relax his fists as he observed.  No choreographed fight, Wonshik and Taekwoon were battling in earnest.  But they were so evenly matched, so beautifully balanced like night and day, that it looked as if it could have been practiced to perfection.  And when the match was over, they landed with heady, exuberant grins on their faces.  And Gunwoo knew how they felt.  Oh how he knew…

                “Did you see that!?” Junhong exclaimed, the rest of his doughnut forgotten on the coffee table as he pointed at the screen without looking away.  “Holy crap, that was cool!” he cheered looking as if he was about to stand up and jump for joy.  The only thing that kept him grounded was the shift on screen to show that they were going to be moving onto more individual efforts.  Enthralled once more, Junhong was lost to them as Wonshik showed off an increase in eyesight, strength, and navigation without equipment, while Taekwoon showcased increased hearing, strength, and what appeared to be some sort of echolocation ability.

                By the time the broadcast was over, Junhong had the approximate mental capacity of an excited eight year old, Kibum maintained the reticent skepticism of a grandpa – even if he was impressed, and Gunwoo found he had to uncurl his fingers from his pants while he continued to sit in silence.  As the other two basically argued with each other – Junhong would forever support them and Kibum seemed as if he couldn’t get around them being the A&D military project – Gunwoo listened with his index fingers pressed against his lips, declining to contribute.

                He was jostled from his silent musings when Kibum grabbed his arm and shook him with a plaintive, “Woo!  Tell Junhongie he should be thinking about more than just how cool they are!”

                “What do you think, Woo?!” Junhong excitedly asked as soon as he had the chance, desperate to get someone to back him in his opinion.

                Caught by surprise, Gunwoo could only blink before he said, “I think-” and then stopped as he mentally berated himself for nearly saying ‘humans.’

                “Yeah?” Kibum and Junhong prompted, excited he was going to weigh in.  Usually, he just kept silent or ran away before saying anything.

                “I think they’re playing with fire,” he frowned thoughtfully, replaying the combat scene in his head again.  Junhong’s face fell while Kibum’s took on the slightly patronizing smile he wore when he was right.

                “See?” he started to admonish the youngest in their group.

                “They are cool,” Gunwoo added with a nod towards Junhong, all too aware of Kibum’s betrayed glare directed at the back of his head.  “But they do need to be careful,” he turned around to concede, his remark banishing the glare to a milder frown.

                “Yeah, but that’s why they did all that testing and stuff for years before they let them come out to the public,” Junhong defended, setting Kibum back on edge so that they resumed debating while Gunwoo fell back into his observant silence.

                He let them tire themselves out on each other before getting a snack from the kitchen, successfully avoiding being drawn into either side once again.  It wasn’t until Junhong left and Kibum went to take a nap that Gunwoo stepped out for a mid-afternoon break to try and sort his thoughts out.  His shoulder blades ached as he walked and he rubbed at them absently while he headed to DT Brewery.  Ordering a Blue Moon with his for-show fake ID – he rather liked the subtle hint of orange in it – he took his beer and set himself in front of the screen that was replaying the broadcast from earlier.  It was muted but there were subtitles announcing what was being said anyway.  He could hear other patrons nearby talking amongst themselves and he was amused that several sounded like more toned down versions of Kibum and Junhong from earlier.

                So the humans were trying to become what they called Angels and Demons themselves?  That was interesting indeed.  More so that they’d come this far when they hadn’t even made it to space yet.  Well, not more than their primitive rockets to Mars and whatnot.  He had no doubt that A&D was probably working on something behind the scenes with that as well, but as for the rest of the humans… the world leaders were happy enough to support A&D in their progress, so long as they were thought of when all was said and done.  Typical.

                Draining the rest of his drink, Gunwoo took the cup back to the bar and set a twenty under it: more than enough to cover the cost and leave a sizable tip.  The bartender thanked him as he left, brushing past people as they began to trickle in for the five o’clock specials.  No one took notice of him.  He was just another random face in the crowd.  Shoving his hands in his pockets and bowing his shoulders, he let his hair cover most of his face while he headed back towards his shared apartment, vaguely aware that people moved out of his way without any conscious effort on his part.

                The peculiar sensation of actively being noticed made him pause, a slight frown creasing his brows.  Glancing up suspiciously to see who was watching him, he felt as if time stopped when a man appeared in front of him, revealed by some strange parting of a hidden veil.  Gunwoo inhaled as he recognized short black hair, playful, narrow eyes, and plush lips curled into a knowing smile.  “Insoo,” he whispered, the word escaping him before he could stop it.

                His cousin’s smile widened perceptibly and he winked once before he vanished, wrapping the power of invisibility around him seamlessly.  Time resumed its inexorable progress but Gunwoo did not, frozen in place as he stared at the spot he’d last seen a figure that shouldn’t be here.  It had been six years but there was no mistaking him.  Neither of them would have changed much, if at all, in that time.  And that meant only one thing: they’d found him.

                “Oh .”

(a/n: I've finally started it!  *flails*  I'm excited to be working on this one at last and I hope that you guys are too!  I've got plenty planned for it and we'll see where this takes us in due time.  ^_^  Thank you for reading and please look forward to the next update!)