Chapter 1
The Faith of the StarsThe lights of Seoul were like the earth stars, he looked outside behind his desk. The streets brightly lit by the streetlights to accommodate the drunk and the sinned. The job of a night guard was consistent, with a good paycheck, but boring nevertheless. Guarding a thirty-floor high company wasn't a big issue, he had several securities cameras to do his job for him. He only had to monitor them, while he focused on his study books or watched the occasional dog video. Siwon sighed as he took a sip of his coffee, the room was lit by a bright TL light that hurt his eyes if he tried to look up, but the light kept him awake. The road to becoming a doctor was long, never ending and filled with overtime. He knew it wasn't the easiest job, definitely not the most forgiving one, but it paid well and it would make his parents proud. May they rest in peace next to the Lord.
The internships had paid him enough to cover his bills, but currently, he worked under his superior to gain a better starting position. How fascinating the new material might be, he did work for free, and his landlord wouldn't understand the importance of cell growth and mutations if there wasn't hard cash involved. Hence, the guard job that Kangin had graciously provided. He leaned back into his chair, watching the monitors with several empty hallways, dark offices, the locked store room, and of course the roof with a person sitting on the edge.
A person was on the roof?! His chair clattered on the ground as Siwon leaned forward, he was almost able to kiss the monitor as he tried to see the silhouette that looked so much like a person. He prayed to God that he was wrong. Please, let it be a shadow or dead pixels. “!” Siwon ran out the door, flying up the stairs. Fifteen floors up. He needed to be faster. He couldn't let someone jump on the building on his watch.
Stage Fourteen. Kangin was really going to have his hide if he let someone splatter on the street tiles. His breath started to get raspy. Two step in every jump, he was called horse for a reason! The sweat started to roll down his back and forehead. Ten floors. His throat burned. How did that person get even up there?! His footsteps made dooming echoes as he flew from stairs to stairs. Did he already jump? Was it already too late and should he call the police and ambulance? The poor parents, how could they identify their child when they were smashed to bits after it hit the pavement. The grotesque image made his stomach churn. Thirteen. Fourteen. Heaving, gasping for air he saw the iron door! He rammed it open.
“DON'T JUMP, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!” The cold air bit in his overheating skin. Gasping for air he looked at the person, sitting on the edge of the building, like a lunatic. It wasn't just the edge, no it was the damn corner point of the building. Legs dangling down like it was a swing set and not a building fifteen stories high. Siwon’s legs shook from exhaustion, he bravely walked closer to the person. “Yah! Please, get away from the edge. We are all the children of God, don't jump you will have so much to live for!” The person, a slender male, snorted. The man tilted his head backward, giving him a side glance, his eyes skeptical decorated with a daunting smirk. The hairs on Siwon’s neck stood up, maybe it was from the air, or the cold aura that came from the person he tried to save. Siwon stared, frozen in his place. What if he spoke the wrong words? What if the man felt challenged and decided to jump? There was no way Siwon could save him, not even with a heroic jump.
“Only men can call themselves the children of an omnipotent being.” The man's voice was low but sounded soft like silk. It was an angelic voice filled with mockery. “However, for the so-called children of this almighty being, humans are rather foolish. Don't you think?” The man smiled humorlessly as he placed his hand behind him, leaning back as he pulled a hand through the half long, light brown, wavy locks. Siwon swallowed, the man was beautiful. Not just handsome, but beauty in a distinct way. The careless, demeanor was rather fitting as the man seemed to look over the city. He didn't know what to say, he could defend his Lord, he had enough discussions with atheists to throw a good card in favor of God, but the last thing he wanted was to be the reason of a man's death. Siwon forced a smile, his posture shrunk as he tried to look less harmful. “I'm sure, we, uhm, have all our own beliefs. But if you could please go away from the edge.” Before I have to call the cops and ask for some miracle cushion. The man hummed lightly, Siwon was sure he was purposely ignored, as he pointed at the streets. “I've sat here many times in the past, with an old friend of mine. Time has passed but I still occasionally visit, pondering about a question.” The man pulled one knee up, leaning his arms on said knee. Siwon’s heart jumped in fright when the man moved, the slightest imbalance could make the man fall down the abyss.
The beautiful man looked back at him. “What do you think-” The man's gaze fell on his name badge. “-Siwon-ssi, can every lifeform feel love?” This was not the time for philosophical questions, nor a good discussion. Siwon cros
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