There was a reason Jinki was seen as forever alone. It wasn’t because no one loved him. It wasn’t because he didn’t love others. It was because they couldn’t see him. No one could see him.No one could see his heavenly smile. No one could see the passion in his eyes. No one could see the beautiful white wings tucked neatly behind his shoulders. And no one could see what he did for them when they met the person they were destined to be with.

Jinki was a cupid. Using his bow and arrow, he made sure that the bond of love was so strong between two people, that it couldn’t be ignored, no matter what. He gave love to all of South Korea. It was difficult sometimes, seeing everyone in love and knowing that he’ll never have anyone to hold, kiss, no one to wake up next to every morning. But it was gratifying, given that he was immortal, he got to see his handiwork play out. He got to see all the good he did and got to see the happy life that the people led together.

One day, while he was watching people from the sidewalk. He noticed a little boy staring at him. He was holding his mother’s hand and just staring. Jinki looked around for something near that could’ve caught the five-year-old’s attention. There was nothing particularly eye-popping around him. He was standing in front of a brick wall next to a tea shop, nothing that would interest such a young child. Then all of sudden, the little boy tugged on his mother’s arm and pointed at him.

“Umma, there’s an angel over there….”

Jinki’s heart stopped. This was impossible. No one could see him. The boy’s mother looked up and shook her head.

“Taemin, there’s nothing there yeobo.”

He could see that the little boy was trying to pull her towards him. He spread his wings, ready to bolt.

“Wow! Umma, his wings are so pretty! Can you see them?”

“There’s nothing there, Taemin.”

She tried to pull him back but he broke away and ran into the street, trying to make it to his angel. He ran out right in front of a car. Jinki couldn’t let the little boy die, so he flew out into the street himself and wrapped his strong wings protectively around the boy just before the car struck him. To the bystanders, it looked like the car had stopped just in time. But in reality, Jinki could feel the car’s bumper crush part of his wing and the warm blood stain his feathers. He stood when the boy’s mother ran out into the street to embrace him.

“Oh God, Taeminnie, are you alright?”

He pulled against her reaching out for Jinki.

“I’m fine umma, but the angel, he’s hurt. He hurt himself helping me.”

Jinki tried to extend his wing but pain shot down his spine and he tucked it away. It would be difficult to get back to his rooftop home with an injured wing. He’d have to walk up the hundreds of flights of stairs and somehow get to the restricted access roof. He sighed. He’d figure it out on the way. As the crowd around the boy and his mother began to thicken, Jinki cautiously made his exit, but he could still hear the little boy calling for him.

“Angel! Angel, come back!”

He began to run. He ran more for his own sake, than the boy’s. He ran from the hope that he wouldn’t be alone for eternity. That someone would be able to see him, like Taemin could. That someone could love him. He sped up, using his supernatural strength to his advantage. The streets and buildings became blurs. He made it across the city of Seoul to the place where he made his home in only a few seconds. He made it up the high-rise even faster.  When he got to the rooftop door, he grabbed it and ripped it off its hinges. He threw it down the stairs, then ran out onto the roof. Thunder shook the building as rain began to pour down. Jinki looked over to the marketplace where he had met this extraordinary boy named Taemin. He stared at it until the rain soaked him to the bone and painted the ground with the blood from his feathers. He stared at it with hatred. Hatred for the hope that it put in his heart.  He vowed from that day on, to forget about the boy. To forget that whole day completely.

It had been 15 years since he made that promise to himself and he had done a pretty good job of keeping it. He hadn’t seen Taemin since that day. In fact, he didn’t even know what he looked like anymore, after all, he was around 20 now. He must’ve changed in some way. He had just kept on with his duty, helping others fall in love. However, his fateful encounter with the boy left him changed. He no longer felt gratification from his work. His immortality was no longer a gift, it was a curse. He hated existing. He was just so, so alone. He cried every time he pulled his bow taught and helped two people realize their love for one another because he knew that it was something he could never have.

One day while trying to get sights on a couple, he found himself in that same marketplace. He hated it every time he came within a 20km radius of the place, and it sent him reeling when he had to go closer. He shook his head and stayed focused on his job. When they were clear from the thickest groups of people, he called on his bow. It shimmered into his hand and he took aim. He squared his shoulders and held his bow at arm’s length. He pulled the arrow back, anchoring the feather tips at the corner of his mouth. Finally, he released it, letting it fly in full force into the man’s back. It slammed into him and dissipated. He turned to the woman beside him and kissed her passionately. Then he whispered to her that he loved her and they continued on their way. Jinki wiped away his tears as they disappeared around the corner. Then he let his bow disappear and sighed.

“Another happy couple…”

He turned around and began to slowly walk back to his outpost on the top of one of the buildings. At one point, he decided to stop and stretch his wings. When he unfurled them to their full length, he heard someone gasp behind him. He quickly folded them up again and whirled around. Of all the places to see the boy again, it had to be here. There was no doubt in his mind, he was looking at a fully grown and wide-eyed Taemin.

“You…”

For the second time in his eternal life, he found himself running away from Taemin. Only this time, when he looked back, Taemin was chasing him, pushing through the people trying to catch up to what he believed was his angel. He decided that there was no need to push the human beyond his limits, so Jinki took the sky, unfurling his large wings and sending a blast of wind through the market as he shot into the air.

Taemin stopped, panting and staring up at the sky, following the path of the white wings with his eyes. His chest was burning from the over exertion of his weak body. His friend Minho found him and caught him just before he collapsed to the ground.

“Taemin, why did you take off like that? You know your body can’t handle it.”

“I was…I was chasing an angel…”

Taemin fought against unconsciousness, trying to see where the angel stopped but the throbbing in his chest and head eventually won out and his eyes rolled back. When he woke up, he was back home in his bed with a cool cloth resting on his head. He groaned as the room came into focus. Then, he felt Minho’s hands ruffling his hair.

“Minho?”

“Yeah, it’s me. You almost ran yourself into a coma. I was about to take you back to the hospital if you didn’t wake up soon.”

Taemin tried to sit up, but Minho forced him back against the mattress.

“Don’t stress yourself…”

“How long have I been out?”

“Hours…it’s night time now, look.”

Taemin looked out of his bedside window and saw the clubs and street lights illuminating the night. He sighed. If he had tried harder, maybe he’d know where the angel had gone.

“Why are you pouting?”

“I lost my angel…”

Minho scratched his head.

“I, uh, I thought that when you were talking about chasing angels, that it was just because your brain was foggy. But now you’re lucid and you’re still talking about it…it worries me.”

“You don’t understand, Minho, I know this angel.  He saved my life when I was five.”

“…Right…”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m crazy, I’m telling the truth. I even know what he looks like. He’s about my height, with sort of honey-colored hair, and he has a huge set of wings that are so bright white, that I could see them from down the street. That’s how I knew he was there…”

Minho shook his head.

“Taemin-ah…I think you need to sleep some more.”

“I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

Taemin threw the blanket off and pushed Minho away. Then he stormed out of the room and headed up to the roof to clear his head. Luckily, there weren’t too many flights since he and Minho lived at the top of the high-rise. When he got to the roof entrance, he lingered at the door for a moment. He was listening for the wind, to see if it was too strong to go out there. There was no wind, but there was a soft and beautiful voice singing on the other side. Taemin leaned against the door, listening hard to hear what was being said.

Gakkai itneun noel

Saranghal su eobneun geol algo itgie

Nal barabol su eobneun

Neol gidarimi neomu himdeuleo

Ijen gyeondil su eobseo

Irwojil su eobgie

Naega...

At that moment, Taemin was leaning so hard against the door that he lost his balance and fell. His hand came down on the door lever and the door clicked open, making a dull thud as it banged against the outside wall. Taemin landed face down on the ground. He groaned and lifted himself up, then he bowed respectfully.

“I’m sorry for disturbing you. I just, I heard you singing and it sounded beautiful so I continued to listen through the door. Again, I’m sorry for bothering you this evening.”

Taemin righted himself and was prepared to go back down to his apartment when something caught his eye. Even though it was dark, he could see just a hint of white gleaming behind the mysterious person’s back. The gleam was above the man’s head so he knew it wasn’t coming from a shirt or scarf. Could they be…wings? Taemin took a step closer. The figure stood in response, unfurling his wings, ready to disappear forever from Taemin’s grasp.

“Wait! Please don’t go!”

He took another step forward and the figure took another step back. He was very close to the edge of the roof now and Taemin knew that if he didn’t do something soon, he’d lose him.

“I-I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to talk.”

The figure didn’t respond.

“My name is Lee Taemin. I first saw you when I was five years old. You were standing across the street, next to the Choi Tea Shop. I ran out in front of a car trying to get to you…and you saved me. Do you remember that?”

He nodded and Taemin smiled a little.

“I’ve been looking for you since that day. I wanted to thank you.”

“Y-You’re welcome…”

Taemin was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the angel to respond to him. He was even more surprised when he saw him tuck the large wings back behind him and walk over to where he stood. And although it had been 15 years since he last saw him, the angel hadn’t changed at all. He still had the same honey colored hair, the same creamy skin…the same everything. He was still as beautiful, too. He was so beautiful that Taemin couldn’t help but reach out and touch his face.

When Jinki felt those cold fingers on his skin, he didn’t know how to react. No one had ever touched him before. It felt odd, but nice. At that moment, he saw Taemin’s cheeks turn red and felt his touch disappear as he pulled his hands away.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

Jinki stared at those hands, yearning for them to touch him again. He wanted them so bad it made his eyes water and it wasn’t long before tears started to make trails down his cheeks. He looked back up at Taemin’s face. The boy’s eyes widened.

“What’s wr—”

“Why did you take your hand away?”

The pain on the angel’s face broke his heart. And as he reached out to wipe his tears, Taemin realized that because no one knew he was there, the poor angel had never been touched. Before he had seen him that day in the marketplace, he had probably never been spoken to, or even looked at by anyone before. He was all by himself.

“It must be lonely…” Taemin wondered aloud as he swiped his thumb across the creature’s beautiful face.

“What?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking about how no one can see you and how hard that must be. How lonely it is.”

More tears started to pour down Jinki’s face as he cried harder. Taemin couldn’t stand to see him in so much pain so he wrapped his arms around the sobbing angel and pulled him close. He tried to rub his back but the wings made that difficult, so he settled for just holding him tightly. When he felt tentative, but strong arms encircle his waist he smiled and squeezed him a little harder.

“I’d be lying if I told you that I know how you feel, but I can relate a little. I’ve had a weak heart ever since I was born. If I get too happy or too scared, basically if my heart rate goes above a certain level, I could have a heart attack. Everyone’s afraid to touch me. They think that it’ll kill me. It makes it hard to be close or…intimate with anybody.”

As Jinki listened to the boy speak, he recalled that he had chased after him when he saw him in the marketplace earlier that day. He leaned away, grabbing the boy’s face and inspecting it through blurry eyes.

“Are you alright?”

“Huh?”

“You ran after me today, does that not increase your heart rate?”

Taemin chuckled, pulling the concerned creature’s hands off his face and holding them in his own.

“Yeah, but I’m ok. I nearly killed myself though, I was unconscious for hours.”

Jinki was confused.

“If it risks your life, why chase after me?”

This time, the boy smiled and squeezed his hands.

“Because I wanted to see you…what’s your name?”

“Jinki…”

Taemin ran his fingers through those honey-colored locks and down the side of his neck. And even though his eyes were red and swollen, and he had tear stains on his cheeks, Taemin was still captivated by how beautiful he was. Usually, people looked a sopping mess when they cried, but Jinki looked…incredible. Taemin shook his head.

“No one so beautiful deserves to cry like this, Jinki…”

Jinki was confused, had he just called him beautiful? In his thousands of years in existence, he had learned that “beautiful” was a compliment normally directed towards females, never males. But, maybe times had changed and he hadn’t realized it yet, so he smiled at him.

“Thank you, Taemin. You’re very kind. And I…I think you’re beautiful, too.”

Taemin laughed a little at the creature’s awkwardness. Then he gave him a soft smile and ran a thumb over his cheek, wiping away a stray tear that had escaped. Then, for no real reason, Taemin ghosted his thumb over Jinki’s lips. They felt just like the skin on his cheek, soft and warm. At that point, it occurred to Taemin that, along with never being looked at or spoken to, Jinki had never been kissed either.

So, without any second thoughts whatsoever, Taemin leaned forward and brought his lips lightly to the older man’s. He intended it to be a short, sweet kiss, but there was something about the way that Jinki’s lips felt that he couldn’t pull away. It made him feel…alive. He reached up and put both hands on either side of Jinki’s face, holding him in place so that he could deepen their kiss.

Jinki didn’t know what to do.  He had never been kissed before and he didn’t quite know how to do it, so he just followed Taemin’s movements. There was also this strange feeling in his chest. His heart was pounding and he wasn’t doing anything strenuous.  It worried him, so he pulled away from Taemin and grabbed his chest.

“What’s wrong?”

Jinki looked up at the boy and he had a hurt, but worried expression on his face.

“I’m sorry, I…my chest feels odd.”

“Are you ok?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t understand why it’s beating so fast.”

Taemin realized then that his heart was also racing. Usually, because of his condition, he would feel faint or nauseous when his heart rate was up, but he felt fine. He knew that it had something to do with kissing Jinki. Somehow, he had healed him. Taemin decided to test his theory by running around the roof like an idiot until he tripped. He was waiting for the pebbles on the rooftop to cut into his elbows as he fell, but when he realized that wasn’t happening, he opened his eyes and saw that Jinki had caught him. He smiled.

“Taemin, why did you do that? What about your condition? Are you alright?”

Jinki kept firing questions at him, but he just kept smiling. When he caught his breath, he pulled Jinki in for another heated kiss. When he pulled back to breathe, he could tell Jinki was confused.  Taemin shifted positions so that they were both on their knees in front of each other.

“You fixed me. I don’t know how, but you did.”

“Oh…”

Taemin laughed at Jinki’s lack of understanding, then tackled him with yet another kiss. He knocked Jinki onto his back, causing his wings to unfurl behind him. Taemin broke the kiss for a brief moment to re-position himself on top of him so that he was comfortable, then he continued. He poured everything he was feeling into that kiss and he hoped Jinki would understand.

When they pulled apart to breathe, Taemin stayed close enough so that their lips were still touching, but they weren’t kissing.

“Jinki, why did you leave me that day in the marketplace...? I called for you but you wouldn’t answer me.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Please don’t leave me again.”

This went against everything Jinki knew. He wasn’t supposed to be involved with humans. But then again, Taemin was no ordinary human, he was special. And for some reason, Jinki knew that he needed him.

“I won’t.”

“Promise?”

“I promise…”

~Fin~

Hello! Sorry this took so long to post, I didn't know how to end it. It took me listening to "Angel of Mine" by Monica on repeat to come up with an ending. Anyway I hope you enjoyed my sappy and long one-shot. Comments are appreciated :) I'm tyring to update a lot today, so be on the look out!

(plus I'm on spring break *happy dance*)