1128 hours

Taehyung doesn't remember when he'd started feeling things, things that Seokjin clearly reminded him not to have before he left for the mortal world.

He doesn't remember how he got those either. Strong, majestic and pearl white, with a touch of silver fading out along the edges that cushioned his every fall and boosted his every flight, though he's pretty sure he's never had them from the beginning. Cheonsa, was what Seokjin called it, though he'd preferred the term protector, when they first met. Seokjin taught him everything he needed to know then, flying included of course, though Taehyung was pretty much a natural, and the rules, the heart of what Zion was basically built upon.

("You are ready."

He swings both legs over the bridge, bare feet coming into contact with the cold water. "For?"

"The scroll was delivered this morning." Seokjin hums, his fingers tracing over the surface of the river.

He blinks. "Oh."

"You'll do fine. I've taught you everything you need to know."

Seokjin says quietly, but Taehyung feels the increasing weight of responsibility with every spoken syllable, and somehow, his wings feel heavier than usual.)

The mortal world was foreign for him. Wingless beings roamed the streets, clothed in every other color that he'd never once seen in Zion. Rectangular shaped screens lighted up in every pair of hands and four-wheeled carriages sped pass at a turn of a green light. The city sparkled beautifully at night and even better from beneath his wings in the sky and Taehyung wondered what it would be like if he actually had someone to watch it with.

But then she steps out into her balcony, eyes gazing at the moon and stars above and Taehyung decides he doesn't need to watch the night sky with anyone as long as he could always just watch her.

>

744 hours

"This is new."

"Hm?" Her pencil pauses at the tip of the pair of wings she's outlining. "What is?"

Hoseok gently taps at the wind chime hanging from her window and her eyes narrow at the shiny metal on instinct.

"It's pretty," he plays with it between his fingers and Taehyung feels himself stiffen. He knows he shouldn't have brought it back in the first place, but it was too pretty to be left in the vintage store he was passing by the other day.

"Where'd you get it from?"

Chaeyoung frowns. "That's not mine."

Hoseok gives her an amused look. "Then what is it doing in your room?"

Taehyung holds his breath, even though he doesn't really need to as Chaeyoung shrugs, returning to her sketch.

"I dunno. Maybe the previous tenant forgot to take it with them."

"That's impossible. This wasn't here two weeks ago when I helped you move in."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just know, okay?" he taps at it once more and the tinkling breezes through the room as though it's trying to whisper some kind of secret when it settles around her ears.

"-should get your room checked out- hey, are you even listening to me?"

She blinks then turns around in her chair. "What?"

Hoseok huffs and marches towards her. "I said, maybe you should consider getting your room checked out or something-"

"Don't be ridiculous," she laughs, brushing him off.

"They probably forgot about it when they moved out, or maybe they left it as a housewarming gift-"

"I told you, it wasn't there when you moved in-"

"Either way I'm keeping it," she cuts him off. "It goes well with the color of the walls."

Chaeyoung smiles and the chime tinkles softly with another puff of wind, as though agreeing with her words.

Hoseok rolls his eyes. "Whatever," he says, before plopping down onto her bed. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

She only grins and returns to her sketch, filling in the lines between the feathers while Taehyung smiles to himself, blowing another breath to rattle the chime.

>

504 hours

Taehyung learns how Chaeyoung's afraid of the dark after the third week of being beside her.

Because she can't seem to sleep- properly, at least- if the night light isn't switched on, tossing and turning underneath her blanket for a good thirty minutes or so before he finally realizes, and reaches out to flick it on.

She stills immediately, body finally sinking into the sheets and deep into sleep as he watches with a tiny smile that never leaves the corner of his lips until morning comes.

He also learns that besides Hoseok, Chaeyoung really has no other close friends except for Namjoon, who's in her philosophy class and Jeongguk, a talented freshman in her art club that might have tried to hit on her once or twice.

(Taehyung actually manages to screw both times up somehow, where he went as far as borrowing a few dark, passing clouds one time, just so Chaeyoung could take a raincheck on that picnic lunch Jeongguk had suggested going on after school one day.)

Chaeyoung's downright oblivious, but he can tell when someone's interested and trying- he is a guy, after all- and Jeongguk just happens to be one of them.

He can't blame him though, because Taehyung gets to see a part of her no one else does whenever she's alone. From the way she gathers her hair and tucks it behind her ear whenever she paints, to the way her pupils gleam in the sunlight, reflecting the tiniest hint of luminescence when she focuses on the trees outside the window, then back to the half-sketched canvas with a pencil in hand.

He doesn't miss the way her bottom lip curls over her Marlboro either, breathing in then out, the smell of cigarette smoke almost intoxicating when he inhales. And maybe it's through the little things, he thinks, that the sprouting bud of affection and attachment he's not supposed to have is blooming into something else, something more and something he's pretty sure has the words entirely wrong spelt over it. At least, that's what Seokjin would say.

But maybe- just, maybe-

Maybe not entirely wrong, he thinks.

He hopes.

And he prays. Just a little. Okay, maybe a lot.

"Maybe," he grumbles and then sighs a puff of sparkling dust.

He's been using that word way too much.

>

336 hours

Jimin actually manages to visit him twice, and even though Taehyung had never really expressed it, he was actually grateful for the unexpected appearance of his winged companion, even though Jimin had almost burnt down the house in an attempt to showcase his newly gifted powers once.

("Oops," Jimin retracts his palm, a sheepish smile crossing his lips.

"I haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet-"

Taehyung swings the slightly charred stuffed bear in front of him. "I can tell."

"It worked when I practiced, I swear-" Jimin tries to argue, but Taehyung doesn't let up on staring him down and he raises his hands while stepping back.)

It's Wednesday and he knows Chaeyoung's out for her 3pm philosophy class, so the house is practically empty when Jimin throws himself onto the couch and switches on the tv and Taehyung thanks the angels in Zion because as oblivious as Chaeyoung was, he doesn't think the tv coming to life by itself would go unnoticed.

"Jimin?"

A disinterested hum escapes from his lips at the sound of his name.

"Have you ever...been in love?"

Jimin sits up at the question and Taehyung stills when the other angel eyes him suspiciously. "Why?"

He shifts slightly. "Just curious?"

Jimin's gaze runs over him once more before finally returning to the tv. "You know it's not allowed. Didn't Seokjin tell you?"

Taehyung rolls his eyes at the familiar name. "He did, but-"

"Then you should know it's never wise to break the rules," Jimin smiles sadly, as if he knows, and Taehyung goes quiet as the ending credits of CSI fade out.

>

216 hours

It's the third time she's crying again this week, he notes.

With the covers pulled over her head and face buried into the pillow to hide her sobs.

It resonates throughout the room and bounces straight through him, where he's sitting on top of her study table, wings folded behind him but itching hard to expand all around her so he can protect her from whatever's that causing her so much pain.

It's never wise to break the rules.

Chaeyoung lets out a soft whimper, and Taehyung can see the wet patch on the blanket she's obviously wiping her tears on get darker, but his fingers never move from where their clawing into his lap and his feet never touches the ground from where they're hanging off the table either.

>

146 hours

He feels it even before he sees it, the air suddenly too thick and too heavy and his head shoots up from where he's been resting it on the side of the bed, grey clouding up his irises and seeping directly into his soul as he comes face to face with two of them.

His wings are fully expanded in an instant, eyes narrowing as the only thing on his mind is to protect Chaeyoung from the grey fog.

"Why are you here?"

One of them lifts their hood away from their face and he tries not to look at the grey coloring his boneless cheeks.

"Just doing our rounds," the reaper speaks, grey moths flittering here and there over his shoulder and Taehyung straightens his wings as one of them tries to fly over to her.

"Well, are you done?" he grumbles, irritated.

The other reaper glides forward seamlessly. "This was our last one," he answers and Taehyung doesn't have to look under his hood to know he's smiling.

"We'll be on our way now, right Yoongi?"

"Of course," the reaper says, gliding back easily before pulling on his hood again.

Taehyung stares hard at them, but his wings falter slightly and the words are slipping out before he can control himself.

"How long?"

The one named Yoongi grins, but the smile never reaches his eyes.

"Not long enough."

>

83 hours

Chaeyoung's been dreaming of dark, grey fog and a pair of white wings the past two days.

It's strange to say the least, and she considers telling Hoseok about it but she remembers the time he'd freaked out over her wind chime and she decides to shut and chew on her subway instead.

"How's that angel painting coming along?"

Hoseok asks through a mouthful of lettuce, onions and honey mustard sauce and she's amazed how none of it lands on her face.

"Good, I think."

He chews noisily on a piece of cucumber. "You think?"

She sets her subway down. "I'm just worried I won't be able to finish it by exhibition week."

"Why? Weren't you almost done with the outlines the last time I saw you?"

He reaches over to steal a slice of tomato from her now abandoned sandwich and she lets him, settling to chewing on her straw instead.

"Yeah, but I can't get his face right, like I know what he's supposed to look like in my head, but I can't seem to sketch it out."

"Can't you just use someone else's face?"

"Whose?"

"Mine, I volunteer as tribute," Hoseok smirks, and she considers either high fiving the table with her forehead or smashing his subway into his face.

"Well? This pretty face isn't going to wait all day for an answer."

He coos, and she decides at once on the latter.

>

42 hours

Taehyung watches as little grey moths flutter and float around her bed and he almost lets one of them settle on her arm before he's snapping out of it, stretching out his right wing to cover her as she sleeps unknowing.

Chaeyoung snuggles closer instinctively and he knows he shouldn't be doing this, but he slides into the bed beside her anyway and whispers promises to keep her safe, promises of only sweet dreams and no less as he presses his lips gently to her forehead and Chaeyoung finds that she sleeps more soundly than she's ever had that night.

>

9 hours

The bus is relatively empty when she hops on, the lack of passengers and noise somewhat comforting as she makes her way to the back seats and plugs in her earphones once she's settled down.

Taehyung takes the seat beside her as she stares mindlessly out the window.

Yeouido park is still a good 30 minutes away, and Chaeyoung tries to convince herself she's only skipping her Monday afternoon elective to find inspiration for that painting she's still not getting anywhere with, but Taehyung knows better when he sees her lean against the window, a thousand unspoken words settling on the tip of her tongue as she closes her eyes.

He settles to place his hand over hers instead of asking- she would never hear him anyway- and hopes she doesn't dream of the hundred over grey moths floating outside the window.

>

3 hours

The sun is almost setting when she's about to finish painting the last cherry blossom tree lining the sides of the park and Taehyung watches with interest as she swirls the paintbrush back and forth in the palette, coating the brush in pink- he scrunches over the color names and catches the one she's using, rose quartz, it says- okay, a dusty pink, he decides finally, because the only roses he's seen are either red or white and he has no clue what type of color is quartz.

It blends in extremely well with that other shade of pink she's previously layered on (winter blush, this one reads, and he feels more confused than he's ever been) and thinks it might just rival that shade of blue he's come to love on the walls of her bedroom.

But then the sun starts to set, and she pauses to look up at the shade of purple, yellow and orange molded into each other across the sky and he decides almost instantly that those hues of blue and pink, are nothing in comparison to the color of sunset against her cheeks.

>

0 hours

30 seconds before it happens, he doesn't see any grey moths at all.

His eyes widen and then he's turning to check on her, when the bus jerks and she's slipping out from his grasp before he can even pull her back to him.

>

-2 hours

"Hyung, please."

Taehyung begs, well he tries to, because it's not something he really knows how to do- there was no occasion for him to do so ever since he'd step foot into Zion but he's on his knees anyway, tears spilling like a broken tap down his face and grabbing at Seokjin's ankle like his life depended on it.

"Please hyung, please save her, I know you can!"

Seokjin falters for a moment, hands shaking as he stops trying to push him away.

"You know it's against the rules-"

"To hell with the rules!" Taehyung screams, sobbing unconsolably. "Hyung, I'm begging, I'm begging you to save her, I know you can do it- you did it for me, didn't you?"

Seokjin is silent, and Taehyung only cries harder and clutches tighter onto his pants.

"You saved me hyung, you can save her too, please-"

"Tae, stop."

"No! Why won't you do it?! Why won't you save her-"

"Because I only had one pair of wings!" Seokjin yells back and the room goes completely quiet in an instant.

"You gave them to me," Taehyung breathes, eyes damp and throat too dry as realization kicks him directly in the gut.

Seokjin places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes. "I'm sorry."

But he doesn't budge, doesn't move from where he's kneeling on the floor and digs his fingers harder into his thighs.

"What if-" and his wings proceed to flutter gently, betraying him even before he can speak and Seokjin's eyes widen.

"No, Taehyung, you can't-"

"I can." He replies, eyes hardening.

Seokjin drags him up to his feet by his collar even before he can react. "Are you insane?! You're going to give her your wings?"

Taehyung doesn't look at him when he replies. "I will, if that's what it takes."

"You're mad- You've gone ing mad! I can't believe you! All this for a mortal-"

"She's not just a mortal!" he screams back.

Seokjin shakes his head furiously, eyes burning a new shade of what seems to be hurt, anger and disappointment mixed together and Taehyung feels his heart drop, but he stands his ground anyway.

"I told you, I warned you not to fall in love."

He stays quiet for a while before he feels Seokjin releasing his grip on his shirt.

"You can't help her," the older says softly and he's about to drop to his knees and beg one more time until, "unless you give up your wings."

He almost cries in relief. At least his hyung is willing to help, willing to try to save her and Taehyung will give anything and everything if he has to-

"And your life in Zion," Seokjin adds, barely above a whisper and Taehyung thinks he hears his wings break a little from behind him.

"What?"

Seokjin turns around to face him, but can't seem to meet his eyes.

"You're not a born angel, Tae. You can't just give her your wings and expect to continue living in Zion. It doesn't work that way."

"I don't-"

"Gifted angels will have nothing more to do with Zion if they give up their wings."

Taehyung bites onto his tongue so hard he's sure he's tasting blood. "What happens to... what happens after that?"

Seokjin pauses, like he's choosing his words carefully. "I don't know."

There's another brief silence before he finally swallows, feeling the glitter and angel dust slide and scratch down his throat.

"But she'll be saved?"

"I can't promise you anything."

"Hyung," he cries. "Please."

Seokjin huffs, frustrated. "They won't accept her as an angel, that's all I can tell you, but I'll try my best to save her, I promise."

"Thank you," he says softly, sinking to the ground in a sobbing heap of tears and suddenly all too heavy wings.

Seokjin looks at him with heartbreak in his eyes. "You're sure about this?"

No, no he's not, he wants to say.

"Yes."

>

Clock restarted: +144 hours and counting

Chaeyoung wasn't supposed to survive the accident, at least that's what Hoseok had told her, because no one else did seeing that the bus did flip over at least 5 times, yet she'd managed to escape with no more than a few broken ribs and a fractured ankle. The doctors had called it a miracle and Hoseok, well he-

"I'm telling you this is divine intervention!"

"Yeah sure- ow, okay, can I have some personal space please?"

She's finally getting out of the damn wheelchair today and she's not about to let him crush her in a hug that's going to make her end up in it again.

"Sorry, sorry!" he gushes, pulling back. "I got too emotional."

"Clearly," she mutters.

"Hey, I'm just happy you're okay-"

"And I'm just happy I'm finally getting rid of this. I can't wait to get out of this stupid wheelchair-"

"I'd have you in a wheelchair any other day than have you dead," he interrupts softly.

Chaeyoung's silent for a moment until Hoseok reaches out to place his hand over hers.

"Sorry, I-I'm just glad you're still-"

She cuts him off this time with her hand over his. "I know, Hoseok. I know."

She manages to get back on her feet the next day and returns smoothly to uni the following month and life goes on as usual, studying then painting, or painting then studying, though sometimes it's just painting and more painting which she does best at Seokjin's coffee shop two streets down her apartment, on a Saturday morning with an iced Americano and a bagel, or two, because she's a loyal customer and a supportive friend and not because she's always greedy she tells herself as she walks into his shop.

That is, until she pushes open the doors to Pink Beans on a Wednesday afternoon, in desperate need of a caffeine fix before her 3pm philosophy class and she realizes there's no excuse this time when she's already pulling out extra cash once it's her turn, because there was no way she could ignore the freshly baked blueberry crumble that Seokjin had just brought out from the kitchen.

Maybe it's time to go to the gym after all.

Yes, go to the gym, her brain agrees when she turns around from a tap on her shoulder because there's this really good-looking guy behind her that's smiling too brightly and handing cash over to the worker who's just finished taking her order and Chaeyoung swears her heart isn't strong enough to comprehend the fact that he's just paid for her and is actually asking if you come around here often? I don't think I've seen you before with the same smile that could melt her heart as well as her knees.

"Um- on S-Saturdays?" she stutters out stupidly.

Really good-looking guy actually laughs at that and she feels herself drowning in the sound. "Today's a Wednesday, though?"

She snaps out of her daze. "Oh, because I have class after this, so-"

"Ah, I see," he smiles knowingly, then passes over her drink and take-away crumble pie before walking ahead to hold the door open for her and she blushes, walking forward quickly before pushing the cash in her hand towards him.

"Here- you didn't have to pay for-"

"Oh, it's on me," he pushes her hand away gently. "You looked like you really needed the caffeine anyway."

She flushes even harder. "Um-I- I still-"

"If you really feel bad about it, I'll be back here on Saturday. We can even it out, I mean, only if you want to," he says, and Chaeyoung thinks she sees his face tinge with a hint of pink.

She bites her lips and smiles shyly. "Saturday then."

He blinks, and then he's grinning so wide she's sure his cheeks hurt.

"Great, I'll see you there," he says, turning to walk away the next moment and she almost lets him until she realizes she still doesn't know his name.

"Wait! I haven't got your name!" she shouts, and he whips around immediately, smiling like an all too familiar dream.

"Taehyung."