"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy."

.....

“I’m warning you, Jiyong, do not take the mission lightly.” The high angel Daesung gave Jiyong a pointed look before returning his gaze to the book in his hands. The man had light blonde hair and was wearing the high angel robes that Jiyong longed after because they looked so cool.

“I will not,” he vowed before bowing with a smile, his own blonde strands covering his eyes so he had to shake them away slightly. “I promise to help this man and make him see the light again.”

With that the high angel gave the apprentice a final blessing before sending him off to prepare for his first mission. Jiyong was excited. It was going to be his first time on earth and his first time to help one of the people that lived down there. He had just finished his training and was more than ready to put his powers to use. Daesung had been watching him like a hawk before he finally decided that it was time to let him go and Jiyong was nothing but thankful for all his help.

Of course, the blonde could see there was a tough road ahead of him. He had been told beforehand how angels who visit earth can’t speak while being there. They also have the disadvantage of being visible to human eyes so it’ll be harder to use their powers. Though when an angel finishes their mission the human will forget everything that happened which in turn makes it easier for them to offer unconditional help.   

Jiyong mused as he walked through the white halls calmly towards the gatekeeper Youngbae. His friend greeted him with a smile and when he approached his grin widened even further, handsome features becoming almost stunning.

“Hey Ji,” Youngbae patted him on the shoulder, knowing well that Jiyong was about to go on his first mission. “High angel Dasung finally deemed you ready?” Jiyong chuckled at that before nodding eagerly.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be away but I’ll make sure to pray every night, then we can talk.” His voice was full of laughter and Youngbae smiled before seeing the high angel approach them. Their smiles didn’t falter though, as they all were happy for Jiyong. Daesung put his hand on Jiyong’s arm with a smile that could take anyone’s breath away.

“The landing might be a little rough, take care. In case of a serious emergency  Chaerin is stationed on the surface as well.”

“Thank you, high angel, I will see you both soon.” Jiyong turned back towards the gatekeeper before nodding firmly, telling him that it was time to go. Youngbae didn’t move an inch but the large gate behind him opened, revealing a vast terrain of nothing. He waved one last time before stepping outside and taking a few steps forward until he felt the ground underneath him disappear.

Seunghyun thought he had finally hit bottom. Not only had he been tripping for the last two days but now he was even hallucinating in broad daylight. He had been out buying groceries and was about to bring his beer and snacks home when he stepped into the yard and a bright light blinded him. He carefully put his bags down, heard the beer cans clutter against each other and covered his eyes with one hand. At first he thought it was someone playing with a flashlight but it was far too strong for that. Maybe the beer he drank earlier had something strange in it.

The light subsided slightly and he removed his hand. He didn’t expect to see a man floating midair, blonde hair glowing and wearing some strange white robes as if pulled straight from a movie about the Roman Empire. Seunghyun was gaping now, not able to believe the sight before him. Hell, the man was beautiful alright, his face smooth and his thin, delicate frame that seemed to be slightly shorter than his own. The weirdest point was the white wings sticking out from his back and Seunghyun had to take a step to the side to check if they were glued on or something. When he reached out to touch them they fluttered slightly and the boy lowered to the ground, standing still.

What the hell is he, Seunghyun took a vary step backwards and watched him. When he started feeling slightly warm from the light emanating of him he thought that yeah,he had to be pretty drunk on that one beer.

Slowly the boy opened his eyes and blinked as he took in his surroundings. It took the angel a moment to fix his blue orbs on Seunghyun, taking in all his features with a smile. Jiyong thought that he could have been an angel too if he’d only shave a little. Suddenly he remembered what he came for and he opened his mouth to speak but no sound came. When he grinned again, Seunghyun started to feel more than a little freaked out and considered running away in panic.

“W-what are…” He stuttered and swallowed before trying one more time. “What are you?” Jiyong understood him perfectly fine but felt a little dizzy. Even so he’d been taught to keep his smile to show that he’s friendly and he did it with determination. Seunghyun thought for a brief moment that he was pretty cute but was startled out of his thoughts when the boy’s strikingly blue eyes rolled back in his head while the light disappeared and his body fell lifeless to the ground. Seunghyun let out an unmanly yelp as he rushed over to make sure he was alright.

“Hey, hey, wake up!” He tried calling for the boy and wondered if he had to call an ambulance but it seemed like he was fast asleep. Seunghyun sighed and picked him up carefully. He had to bring him inside at least until he woke up. The wings seemed so soft and Seunghyun wondered if maybe the boy was an angel. Although he was feeling very ridiculous for even trying to believe in such a thing, he couldn’t help but wonder as he placed the small body on his bed, “groceries” long forgotten.

Seunghyun had to take a few restless rounds around the living room as he tried to clear his thoughts. He might be insane and be prone to hallucinations. This was bad. In the end he decided to calm himself down with a smoke and stepped out on the wet balcony, feeling the cold sting on his feet as he went barefoot. It was nice and distracting.

A few hours passed until he could hear slow shuffling inside his bedroom. He had been inside trying to wake the boy several times but it was like waking someone from the dead and in the end he had given up, hoping that there wasn’t an actual dead man on his bed.

Jiyong blinked a few times before he realized he was inside. The roof was a calming grey color and he turned his head to see the otherwise messy room. He sat up slowly and observed the clothes and objects that probably didn’t belong in a room that were lying in random places. Then he remembered the face of the man he was going to help and stood up, stumbling towards the door. He stopped in his tracks for a moment and frowned as if he’d forgotten something. Oh right. He took a deep breath and leaned back, making his wings disappear as if they were never there. It was a trick the high angel had demanded he mastered fully during his training and Jiyong was happy to find that they would never appear unless he wanted them to or if he was really weakened.

When he couldn’t feel them anymore he tip toed towards the door and peeked through the small crack. Seunghyun was sitting in the living room in silence and Jiyong thought it was peculiar how he didn’t do anything except stare into the wall. He wondered how he was going to explain that he was an angel to the other man since he didn’t have a voice, but he was sure he would understand in the end.

Seunghyun was thrown back into reality when the angel stepped into the living room while observing his surroundings carefully. His white robe was crumpled but still looked perfect, as well as his hair and Seunghyun had difficulties finding the right words. Jiyong on the other hand was completely absorbed in the different objects around the room which he had never seen before. Like the weird looking mushroom on the small table. At least it looked like a mushroom, but it had some sort of bulb in it and Jiyong thought it would be a bad idea to eat it. Instead he walked carefully towards it and touched it slowly until he came over the switch and the light . The lamp startled him so much that he had to jump back as if burnt and looked at Seunghyun while pleading for help.

“I am definitely going crazy…” Seunghyun muttered and looked at Jiyong incredulously. Since he didn’t get any response he decided to avoid the mushroom for a while and walked over to what seemed like a big black square. He could see his own reflection in it and he squatted down to get a closer look. The silence made Seunghyun snap out of his stupor again and he walked over to the blonde.

“Hey, who are y- don’t touch that!” He yelped and snatched the can of beer the blonde was about to pour over his TV. He frowned when the smaller looked at him in surprise, still not speaking.

“Can you understand me?” Seunghyun felt exhausted after only ten minutes. “Where are you from? Did you come from another country? America?” Jiyong wanted to laugh. He was excited though because all these strange things he had only seen from up above, observing what the humans did. He couldn’t wait to be able to try it for himself. Especially that mushroom looking object that made light because it was never dark where he came from.

“… Do you even know what this is?” Jiyong watched him gesture at the black frame and he frowned, shaking his head. Seunghyun blinked in surprise.

“So you do understand me.” He felt a little relief wash over him and he leaned back against the table with a sigh. At least now he could communicate with this guy and he decided to fire his questions right away.

“What are you?”

“…”

“What were you doing in my garden?”

“…” Seunghyun was growing frustrated. Maybe the guy couldn’t speak?

“Where did you come from?” At that Jiyong smiled and pointed his finger towards the roof. He hoped Seunghyun would catch the meaning but unfortunately he didn’t.

“You came from the roof? There’s nothing on the roof.” Seunghyun raised an eyebrow in disbelief and Jiyong’s smile faltered just a little. He never thought the other man would be this slow and felt like huffing but that would surely make him angry. Instead he stood up and brushed his robe before he walked towards the taller and grabbed his wrist, pulling him outside with a smile. Reluctantly, Seunghyun followed and tried to ignore the feeling in his gut.

He let himself be pulled outside and saw once again that Jiyong pointed his finger, only towards the sky this time. The rain had stopped and the smell of wet ground and plants filled his nostrils, making him calm as a grin grew on his own face as well.

“Are you… trying to tell me you’re an angel or something?” He didn’t really want to ask. The smaller man might be up in his face with a laugh and then mock him forever but it didn’t happen. Jiyong clapped and nodded his head to show that he was right. Seunghyun thought it was adorable.

“Then what’s your name?” Now Jiyong’s face showed that he was thinking really hard. It seemed like he got an idea when his face lit up and he pulled Seunghyun inside by the wrist again, the same smile plastered on his face. He sat down on a chair as Jiyong scrambled about, finding a piece of paper and snapped his fingers, a feather pen appearing in his hand. Seunghyun thought he had seen everything but gosh, was he wrong. Jiyong noticed the man’s hesitation and looked from the pen to the taller man’s face and back again. He laughed soundlessly, before moving the pen to tickle his nose with the feather.

“Stop, I get it, I get it!” He didn’t sound annoyed and it relieved him. Jiyong started writing on the paper, letters appearing even though there was no ink running from it, hoping that he would understand when he turned the paper around. Seunghyun stared for a long time before his eyebrow shot up again.

“Are these even letters?” The look on the other man’s face was priceless though and Jiyong smiled before nodding. He should’ve anticipated this, they didn’t have the same written language. Again he looked down at the paper, thinking quietly.

“Maybe you could… draw?” Seunghyun asked timidly while fiddling with his metal ring. “Or you know, I could just make up a nickname for you.” Jiyong wanted the man to know his real name no matter what so he started drawing underneath the strange letters. The pen formed a beautiful detailed dragon flying through grand clouds and above it a heart that seemed like it was shining. Seunghyun found this difficult to interpret. But by the looks of the blonde at least he got ‘yong’ right. He tried different words that could be associated with the heart and watched the other’s reaction to know if he was close or not.

“Ji…yong?” He had finally guessed right and Jiyong sprung from his seat and lifted his arms into the air, face contorted in genuine happiness. Seunghyun grinned up at him before he grabbed the pen and turned the paper towards him. On it he wrote ‘Jiyong’ in his own language and showed it to the blonde. He looked slightly perplexed before taking the paper and pocketing it somewhere in his robe. Jiyong figured he could use it for reference later.

“Alright, Jiyong…” Seunghyun rolled the name on his tongue a few times and noticed how he became increasingly fonder of it each time. “Why are you here?”

Suddenly Jiyong felt sad and his perfect smile faltered completely. It was a complete mood change and Seunghyun was slightly taken aback. Jiyong thought about how Seunghyun might ruin his entire life if he didn’t stop him soon and it almost killed him inside. He wanted nothing more than to voice his concerns out loud and tell him that everything was going to be fine. The blonde looked into Seunghyun’s eyes sadly before he touched his palms to his chest and inhaled slowly.

“For me?” The taller blinked and looked down at Jiyong, confusion coated his handsome features. He wasn’t sure what was going on but it really seemed like Jiyong was in pain and he almost felt sad as well. He could feel his heart fluttering at the touch and when he couldn’t take the touch or the blue eyes staring at him anymore he had to pull away. Seunghyun was perfectly aware that his life was heading towards rock bottom. He did drugs whenever he had the chance, the high giving him a rush of adrenaline and a contentment that nothing else could offer. Also the irregular lifestyle made him miss work a lot and his boss considered not giving him a permanent position in the company. That would be a problem seeing as Seunghyun was in no condition to apply for a new job.

He brushed the angel away, ignoring the guilt he felt when he saw the look on his face as he stood and stumbled towards the living room with a sigh. He could hear Jiyong following him, the light steps echoing in the otherwise silent house.

“It’s okay you know, I’ll probably be fine. Just go back to where you came from.” Seunghyun sighed and Jiyong hurried to block his path. When the other man looked down at him since he finally caught his attention, Jiyong shook his head vigorously and did his best attempt to frown. To Seunghyun it looked more like a pout and he rolled his eyes, wanting nothing more to grab a smoke and relax.

“What can you do anyway? You can’t even speak. Hell, I’m not even sure you’re real.” Jiyong flinched at the words. The other man had a point, he didn’t have a plan. He’d have to figure something out and fast. The blonde thought he had to get rid of the drugs first though and decided to use his powers to distract Seunghyun from the drugs some way or another. Seunghyun watched the boy think before he shook his head.

“Whatever, I’m going to eat, I’m starving.” Seunghyun sidestepped and tried to get away from Jiyong. He didn’t bother to ask if the angel was hungry, he had other more important things on his mind. After making a sandwich, he sat down again and Jiyong joined him.

The angel couldn’t help but stare at the strange food. Without noticing he had been staring so hard Seunghyun couldn’t help but stop eating unwillingly.

“What, do you want one? Are you hungry?” Jiyong tilted his head sideways. Hungry? He mouthed the words thinking that that had to be when they craved food.

“No? I guess you angels don’t eat.” He snorted but when Jiyong nodded his head with a smile he gave him an incredulous look again. It still hadn’t sunk into his brain yet that what looked like a boy before him actually was something entirely different. Jiyong was however very curious and wanted to try eating the sandwich. Slowly he pointed at a piece of bread before pointing at himself while Seunghyun was still looking at him. It took him a moment but Seunghyun quickly offered him a piece, wanting to see his reaction. The angel tentatively smelled the sandwich piece before taking a small bite. He chewed slowly and tasted the cheese and ham inside before he froze. Seunghyun watched the blonde’s pretty face contort into a sour frown and he could help but laugh when Jiyong struggled to swallow the small piece and shook his head, giving the rest back to him while his other hand covered his mouth.

Seunghyun finished his food while Jiyong escaped to examine the TV further and was fascinated by the stove in the kitchen. The taller wondered if the angel had a place to be since he didn’t really have any space for visitors. Also the robe that revealed Jiyong’s slender arms and legs distracted him way too much for his own liking.

“Um, hey,” he started awkwardly to catch the angel’s attention. Jiyong turned quickly with a curious look on his face. “I was just wondering if you wanted to borrow some clothes, I mean, you can’t walk around like that on your way home.” He wasn’t really sure if Jiyong had a home. Either way the blonde looked down at himself before returning his gaze to Seunghyun with the now familiar smile and nodded happily. Jiyong didn’t have any place to go, he’d hoped he could stay with Seunghyun since he’d treated him so well. But a change of clothes was probably a good idea.

“They might be a bit big though,” Seunghyun muttered as he handed Jiyong a big white shirt and a pair of black pants that were way too short for him. He accepted them gladly and quickly got changed while Seunghyun stepped outside. When he emerged Seunghyun whistled in approval.

“There you go, you look like a rockstar with that blonde hair.” They both grinned. Jiyong figured it was a good thing even though the shirt was a bit too big. It was comfortable and that was all that mattered. An awkward pause passed between the two males until Seunghyun had to speak up.

“So uh, maybe you should go, I’m starting to become tired.” He tried to laugh it off and Jiyong just blinked before nodding slowly. He felt a little disappointed but thought it was more important to respect the man’s wish. He could be back the next day and go from there.

Seunghyun walked him to the door, guilt weighing down on him even more than before and he had to grit his teeth as he opened the front door. Jiyong had to borrow a pair of sneakers as well so he didn’t have to go barefoot. He was thankful but had to admit that he was at a loss as to where to go. That’s why he was standing outside after Seunghyun closed the door and looked from side to side. Seunghyun ran to the window to watch the confused boy but frowned when he simply stood by the road while looking around. Immediately the taller man regret his choice and wanted to go outside and bring him back, but he shook his head. Don’t Seunghyun, you don’t know this guy.

Suddenly he heard a loud familiar voice outside.

“Hey man, what are you standing there for? Come on, let’s go inside.” It was Seungri, his friend who liked girls and parties about as much as he did if not more. The sight made him sigh against the glass.

Jiyong was taken by surprise as the man looped an arm around his shoulder and walked him back to Seunghyun’s front door.

“You’re here to see Seunghyun-hyung right?” The short, black haired man grinned and knocked on the door three times. The angel kept staring and noted the dark circles under his eyes and childlike but still handsome face and then he smiled. If this man was a friend of Seunghyun’s he was happy to meet him. “My name’s Seungri, nice to meet you…?” Just then Seunghyun opened the door and glared at Seungri, partly annoyed at him coming and partly conflicted by his feelings about having Jiyong back again.

Jiyong grinned at Seunghyun before mouthing ‘Seungri’ and pointing at the other man. 

To be continued..

A/N: Hey! Thank you for reading my new story! I'm sure it wasn't how you exactly imagined but I still hope you like it! Actually I wasn't planning on doing this until I finished the last chapters of 'Wish for you' but I got this idea stuck in my head and I needed to get it out. In the end I decided to make it chaptered and this chapter is a little under seven pages on MS Word haha! 

And don't worry, I have a lot more character development planned out and stuff happening since I already made a draft of the plotline.