Hi-hi, guys! Here's the next repost like I'd promised (if you bothered to read the subscribers' feed, that is). Since I spent most of my morning and early afternoon watching an old anime and revising this, I really need to start on my homework (it's a mountain, I swear). So pardon me for my hasty retreat! Excuse me for mistakes and such! Please comment or upvote or subscribe! I don't bite!

Reminder: No stealing or copying or translating or plagiarizing my fic! I will make your life miserable if you do...

Repost: 9/6/14

An Angel on Earth

Rain poured down on the city of Seoul. The sky was obscured by a blanket of gray storm clouds. As the sky wept inconsolably, Eunsun sighed, glum by the moody weather. She unfurled her umbrella and exited the bank, taking her usual route home.

Kim Eunsun, an unmarried, thirty-five-year-old women, was a successful owner of her own bakery, which had been opened for the past two years. She had long, silky, coffee-colored hair habitually woven into a braid, the plait slung over her shoulder. Her chocolate-colored eyes were big and sincere, adorned with thick featherduster lashes that swept her cheeks when she blinked. Under her cotton garments of clothing, her supple skin was a borderline ivory to a light tan, glowing with a healthy complexion. She was average height for a grown women, her slender frame sculpted with subtle curves.

If anyone asked, to her, her looks were average. A five on a scale of ten. Additionally, the reason why she was unmarried and lacked a steady man in her life was because...she wasn’t ready for a perpetual companion yet. She wasn’t exactly timid or coldhearted on the inside, rather she was smart and caring under her dull expressions. Reflecting her past, she was sure she had no time to find her ‘Mr. Right’ because of her tight schedule. Back then, she had a big dream of becoming a top-notch baker and owning her own bakery. She had to strive hard to achieve that. And she did. Just look at me now, she would say smugly. I’m living my dreams.

Sure she had a full-time job and a house all to herself, meaning she was financially able, but...never once did she consider having a family.

Eunsun had an older brother who was a loving husband, dependable father, and a reliable coworker in his life in Busan. Other than that, Eunsun was completely alone after she moved out of her parent’s house long ago. Although alone, Eunsun had a generous heart and sympathetic nature. She liked watching the peppy little kids who bounced into her bakery, the tykes desperate to feed their greedy appetites with sugar and sweets. She always thought how nice it was when parents babbled about their children, affection underlined with exasperation seeping into their tone.

So, on that rainy day, Eunsun’s life spun a three-sixty. She was given a chance whether or not to raise her own family.

...

Good thing I brought an umbrella with me today, Eunsun thought as she spotted people running about and ducking for shelter. I hate getting wet. Gosh, it’s raining cats and dogs. I wonder why.

Digging her chin into her coat collar, she walked at an even pace along the soaked sidewalk. It was hard to see her surroundings with the immense downpour, but she managed, knowing her way home by heart. Based on her calculations, she was half a block away from her address. Nothing slowed her down along the way, people having fled indoors when the rain fell. An occasional car sped by but not much else.

Like she always did when she was lonesome, Eunsun thoughtfully stared up ahead as she mused about her schedule. Hmm... I have to pick up my clothing from the dry cleaner’s tomorrow. I’ve cashed in the checks at the bank already. The employees at the bakery must be getting ready to close the store since it’s almost seven on a Sunday. I wonder if I’m missing somethi—

She froze in her tracks then mechanically backtracked three steps as if she was a rewinding toy robot. Squinting her eyes, she peered into the alley she passed by seconds ago. The falling rain made her vision blurry, but she was positive that what she saw wasn’t a mistake.

Startled concern flashed in her big, warm eyes. Are...are those kids?!

Down in the dank alley, she spotted small, forsaken figures huddled up against the brick wall, seeking some type of refuge under a fire escape, but the rain had no mercy as it battered itself on their fetal forms. In their helpless state, the children were powerless to shelter themselves from the relentless weather, endangering themselves to hypothermia, already drenched to the bone. The listless kids were pressed up against one another, making it hard to estimate their numbers—but there were so many of them!

Worry consumed her. Eunsun slowly crept forward, still wary of her dim surroundings that might’ve been shadowing hidden dangers. For some reason, as she cautiously approached the group of children, none of them moved at the sound of her hesitant, splashing footfalls. Mere meters away, she found out why.

“Oh, no,” she uttered, horrified. The kids were passed out on the ground, sapped of their energy and drained of their strength. Dark circles ringed under their closed eyes. Their faces were pale and haggard, frail as any porcelain doll. They weren’t that skinny, but if the days progressed in such terrible conditions, they would be in no time at all.

Eunsun quickly did a head count, doing her best from the huddled positions and strange matching clothing that made it hard to differentiate whose body was whose.

Thirteen. Thirteen kids in all.

“How dreadful,” she whispered, appalled. Never had she seen something so...impoverish in her life. She knelt down to the closest kid whose limp back was propped up against the wall, two younger looking children using the older one’s legs as pillows. The child she was observing had a protective yet inert arm clinging to the kid closest to her. It seemed the others revolved themselves around this one.

Under closer inspection, Eunsun realized the person she was staring at was a girl. A teenage girl by the looks of it. A beautiful one at that.

As if she sensed Eunsun, the girl let out a low moan and weakly fluttered open her eyes. Beautifully shaped eyes with an intelligent gleam flitted over to Eunsun’s crouched figure. The girl’s breathing was labored and shallow. Her hazy vision focused enough to let her realize that she was staring at an angel amidst a dark, murky background.

“I didn’t...” she whispered, and Eunsun strained to hear the rest of the words. “I didn’t know...there were angels...on Earth...”

The girl’s Korean was very old-fashioned and underscored with an unknown accent. Her feeble voice was soft and lyrical, like an angel’s. When her words finally filtered through Eunsun’s brain, the woman blushed modestly.

“A-an angel?” Eunsun repeated and pointed at herself skeptically. “M-me?”

The girl nodded dimly, as if relieved by the woman’s presence. Her plush lips were pale, an unhealthy blue color caused by the cold, harsh rain. “Help them,” she exhaled, trying to raise her feeble voice. “Please, help them.”

Eunsun was stunned. “Them? H-help them?” She darted her finicky gaze over to the other children who were oblivious to the world. “Who are you?” she asked, panicking. “What’s your name, sweetie?”

Lips quavered as the girl tried to say, “Ar...Ari...Aris.” Breathless and tired, the girl went limp, those vivid eyes closing.

Alarmed, Eunsun reached out to touch the girl’s—Aris’s—cheek. Cold skin seared under her warmer fingertips. “Oh, god. This is not good. You’re going to catch hypothermia at this rate! I have to bring you to my house right now!”

But Eunsun hesitated when Aris’s desperate pleas echoed in her head.

Help them. Please, help them.

But to help thirteen kids...?

Eunsun shook her head, her firm face plastered with determination. “I’ll help all of you.”

Before she knew it, Eunsun had whipped out her cell phone and ordered her two employees to bring their cars halfway down the street, even though it was a five minute walk if they went on foot. They listened to their frantic boss and suddenly appeared on the curb despite the pouring rain.

They immediately ran to her, bombarding her with confused questions, but then they were struck silent when they saw their boss kneeling by thirteen unconscious kids hidden in the damp alley. Without further questioning, they got into gear, the three of them carrying the kids and whatever they had on them to the cars. Once everyone was accounted for, the employees hastily drove back to the bakery—Eunsun’s home conveniently located behind it. The thirteen kids were hauled upstairs into Eunsun’s two spare bedrooms. Eunsun only had two twin beds in each room—not enough room for everyone—so the older looking children were gently laid on the blanketed floor.

“Do you want us to stay and help?” the female employee asked Eunsun, forehead creased with worry.

The older woman pursed her lips and nodded. “Please, I would be most grateful. Can you drive home or something and bring back some clothes that might fit them?”

The female employee nodded amiably. “I have some clothes my little brothers outgrew. I’ll go get them now.” She rushed out of the house.

Eunsun addressed the male employee, “Can you grab a bunch of towels and extra blankets? They’re in the storage closest out in the hall.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The male employee left the room to retrieve an armful of those items while Eunsun ran downstairs to heat up a kettle of tea and a pot of soup. She also filled up buckets of warm water, doing so with a knit between her brows.

After dunking towels into warm water and then wringing them out, Eunsun and the male employee swabbed off the rain-soaked children as best as they could and wrapped them up in blankets. Eunsun was surprised to discover that Aris was the only girl, meaning the remaining twelve were boys. The youngest looked around five and the eldest about thirteen. Eunsun wondered how old Aris was since it was hard to tell by her youthful features that contradicted her mature aura, but she definitely was a teenager. No doubt about it.

Twenty minutes later, the female employee returned with a box full of boy clothing she salvaged from her brothers. “I hope I got enough,” she said, breathless from the hasty side trip.

Eunsun thanked the younger girl then inspected the load. “Thank you, it will suffice.”

Eunsun redressed Aris in her own comfortable garbs of clothing while her two employees changed the boys’ outfits. There, now they were all dried up and could rest easier.

Eunsun bowed low, grateful at her kindhearted employees. “Thank you so much. I will give you a day off of work whenever you feel like it.”

They told her that it was no big deal and were glad to help. They left, promising to see her at work tomorrow.

Going into the kitchen, Eunsun set up bowls of soup and mugs of tea onto a large tray and carried it back upstairs to the bedrooms. She pushed open the ajar door with her hip and placed the tray on the nightstand. She leaned over to inspect Aris, who shared the twin bed with two other boys, and touched the girl’s pale cheek. Her temperature was gradually getting warmer.

Eunsun sought the girl out in a gentle, unsure voice, “Um...Aris-ah? Can you wake up? I have some food.”

A soft exhale expelled from the girl’s ghostly lips, and she woke up, but her eyelids instantly drooped from exhaustion and hunger. Aris struggled to sit up, propping her upper torso up against the pillows. The fact that she was relocated to an unknown place disconcerted her; she resembled a lost puppy when it strayed too far from its mother. Her eyes darted here and there frantically, regarding the plainly decorated room that had light blue walls and cramp elbow room. Her searching gaze landed on the boys. Only six of them, she counted.

“Where are all of them?” she cried out and fretfully grasped at the comforters, overcome with fear that battled with her overprotective instincts.

Eunsun hastily held out her hands when Aris tried to get off the bed. “Whoa! Hold on! Don’t worry. The other six are resting in the room next door. They’re fine and breathing.”

At that reassurance, Aris sank back into the bed in acute relief. She scooted closer to one of the little boys curled up like a kitten on one end of the bed. She his feverish forehead with slim, trembling fingers. Whatever was distressing the little boy in his sleep was vanquished with just one touch. He stirred slightly then relaxed, falling into a fitful slumber.

Eunsun held out a mug of steaming tea to Aris. “Here—drink it. It’s hot tea. It should give you some energy. I have some soup, too. Oh, and I’m Kim Eunsun by the way!” The woman smiled self-consciously, thinking how foolish she was for not introducing herself earlier.

Aris accepted the beverage gingerly, clasping the warm mug with her cold fingers. “Thank you,” she quietly said with that strange accent of hers. She sipped the steaming concoction and hummed appreciatively.

Eunsun cocked a brow but did not question the girl’s peculiar speech. With Aris’s assistance, Eunsun coaxed the other boys awake. They were still groggy and dazed, but she managed to feed them the nutrition they direly needed.

Though weak and hushed, Aris forced herself in such an unselfish manner to watch over her...companions? Because of her, Eunsun learned the boys’ names and ages.

“This is Sehun and Suho,” Aris said, a croaking tremor diffused in her voice that was followed up by a tired exhale every time she finished a sentence. “They are five and ten... Over there on the other bed is Kyungsoo and Kai... Seven and six... On the floor is Chanyeol and Baekhyun... Eight and nine...” The one named Suho seemed to have gotten ahold of his bearings and was competent enough to persuade his younger charges to eat. Then he warily allowed them to go back to sleep. Balancing the tray of food with one hand, Eunsun helped Aris trudge over to the neighboring bedroom. Yifan and Yixing were awake.

“Aris,” Yifan exhaled in wallowing relief, falling back onto the floor with his back braced against one of the beds. His low voice was thick and hoarse. “I thought you disappeared.”

Aris reached out to squeeze his taut shoulder in a comforting manner. “I’m here,” she promised, such common words meaning more than Eunsun could ever fathom. Yixing reclined back onto the bed, his thin, frail body disabling him from standing up. Aris brushed aside his long fringe, and he enjoyed her familiar, loving touch.

Aris resumed the introductions, gesturing limply as she did. “This is Yifan and Yixing... Eleven and ten... Luhan and Tao are twelve and seven... The last two are Xiumin and Chen... Thirteen and nine... Xiumin is the oldest while Sehun is the youngest...”

Eunsun made a mental note to quickly commit the names and ages and faces to memory. “Are those your real names?” she inquired as the boys began to chow down the homemade soup. She could hardly believe the wide range between their ages and some of their names that sounded uncommon to her ears. “Some of you have foreign names—Chinese to be exact.”

Aris shook her head, slightly puzzled. “I don’t know what you mean by ‘Chinese’, but yes, those are their real names. Though, for some, I did use their nicknames.” She lapsed into a gloomy silence, solemn thoughts stealing her attention.

Eunsun shifted uneasily, fingers plucking at her sweater’s sleeve. “How old are you?”

Aris blinked once, interrupted from her inner thoughts. A look of pain and loss flashed from beneath her lidded eyes. “I’m...fifteen.”

So Eunsun’s assumption was correct. Aris was the eldest of all of them, and therefore was burdened with a huge responsibility: to take care of twelve others. “Fifteen? Okay, so...” She hoped she was acting subtle about her nosy inquiry—she at least deserved to know since she saved them. “Why were all of you lying around in an alley during a rainstorm?” Her penetrating gaze softened. “Are you...orphans?”

Aris didn’t answer right away, her posture pensive as she hesitated on how to respond. She glanced at the boys as they drifted off into dreamland again—more like a world of nightmares. Tao was whimpering as he cuddled up against Yifan’s chest. Chen tossed and turned restlessly, like he was warding something off. Yixing was rigid all over, hands fisted into the comforters, a frown upturning his lips.

“You can say that,” Aris finally replied, tone wary and expression disconsolate.

She and the boys must’ve been through a lot, thought Eunsun, their miserable mood simmering into her skin. Aris was too somber and bleak-looking for a fifteen-year-old. What kind of hard life did this girl had to endure? Poor girl. Eunsun was too sorry for words and decided not to pry any further.

“We can talk more tomorrow,” she offered, piling the empty bowls and mugs onto the tray. “For now, sleep.”

Aris nodded faintly and dragged herself to the other bedroom to flop onto the bed.

...

Those poor souls, Eunsun sympathized sadly as she washed the dishes downstairs in the kitchen. Her own set of grief poured out for them as she furiously scrubbed the bowls clean.

Maybe I should let them stay a while. I mean, they don’t look dangerous or anything. Just...bereft.

Eunsun hardened her resolve. “I’ll take good care of them!”

...

Later that night, the clock informed everyone that it was ten o’ clock. All was quiet in the house. A while ago, Eunsun went to check up on the kids and found them all fast asleep. She made sure they were all tucked in under a mountain of blankets before she bade them goodnight and retired for the day.

To make the sleeping space bigger, Suho and Chanyeol had pushed the other bed next to yours. Those two, plus Baekhyun, shared that side while Kyungsoo, Kai, and Sehun cuddled as close to you as possible. For the past few hours, you had slipped in and out of consciousness, submerging into the land of nightmares before being fished out and shoved into reality. You didn’t know which was crueler. Right now you were conscious, but you didn’t want to disturb the others by moving around, so you stayed in the room, laying limp in bed and musing quietly to yourself.

Dead in the middle of night, you stared mournfully out the window. So full of sadness. So full of emptiness. The sky, from what you saw, was a black sheet dotted with twinkling specks that were either stars or satellites. The sky was extensively different on Earth—dull, ugly, and plain. You truly felt alone in a new, drab world.

Wait. You weren’t that alone.

The bedroom door creaked open. Your gaze snapped up to locate the intruders. Harmless eyes peeked through the opened entrance. It was only the sons of Queen Ming. Cradled in Yifan’s arms was Tao—a shaking, sobbing mess. The flight prince had hoped to hush the little panda by holding him but no avail.

“Can we sleep in here?” Luhan whispered, afraid to wake the other half of his brethren.

“Of course,” you replied, also whispering. The six princes quietly padded into the already cramp bedroom. Xiumin and Yixing spread out more blankets and pillows. Eventually everyone was snuggled up closely against one another.

“Who was that woman?” asked Luhan. Since you were near, he felt safer and calmer. “We’ve been on Earth for days, but she’s the first person to show us kindness after we migrated to the streets.”

“Her name is Kim Eunsun,” you supplied, rubbing your thumb on Kyungsoo’s cheek. The owl-eyed boy hummed in his sleep. “And yes, she is very kind. She provided us with food and warmth.”

“But what do we do after this?” Chen asked in a hopeless tone. “I don’t want to go back to the streets and have to fend for ourselves.”

You shook your head. “Don’t worry, Chen. I won’t let that happen. Just go to sleep. We’ll figure it out in the morning.”

Yawning, Chen rolled over onto his side and let oblivion take over. He and his brothers fell asleep one by one. Light, muffled snores filled the quiet, empty air. You were the only one wide awake, head crammed with running thoughts and heart unsettled with frantic emotions. On the bright side, you felt better knowing that the princes were being properly taken cared of since arriving on Earth. All of you were useless on this planet...

But you all had each other. Protecting each other. Caring for each other. No scale made by man could measure the bond between the thirteen of you.

But even then, you were only lost sheep on Earth, abandoned and clueless. Knowing better, you refrained from using your powers. Doing so only made your predicament worse. Food had become scarce over the course of a few days. To top it off, the impulsive weather had suddenly immobilized you...

You shut your eyes, forcing yourself to imagine SHINee and EXO—worlds that were exquisitely beautiful and channeled magic unattainable elsewhere. Now they were a distant past, an unreachable destination, a plaguing fantasy that made your stomach knot with sickening nostalgia.

I wish we were home. Home, where we truly belong.

...