Karma does exist.

The breakeven theory does apply. The reciprocation process. What you do, or what you caused with your act, will eventually get back to you sooner later in one moment.

Karma really does exist.

I was just too ignorant about it.

===

If there’s one thing Lay loves from being human, it will be sleep. He found it as a luxury that humans tend to underestimate. It’s pitiful that angels don’t sleep; they stay awake, fulfilling their respective tasks – in Lay’s case, as the right hand of Destiny.  So whenever he’s asked to be in earth for a while to fix some misfits, he’ll sleep as much as he could.

At least, in sleep, he could skip some time. That’s simply, poetically why he loves it.

But right now he finds himself detaching from illuminating limbo of fleeting thoughts and impossibilities; his ears caught the sound of the window being creaked open, a gush of wind blows into the room, then the sound of dragged steps and tired sighs follow suit. His heart drops; there’s only one ‘person’ that will come to him that way.

“Lay…”

He opens his eyes, noticing that a dim source of light had illuminated the once darker room. He feels the other side of his bed dips, and he immediately removes the blanket from his body to sit up straight. He hold his breath, not because of shock – it’s already too late to be shocked – but because he knows that it will be another night he had wished would just be nightmares. Sadly, it will never be.

Before him, Kris sits at the edge of the bed, drenched, with a bitter smile playing on his lips. His wings are slightly covered in dirt, crooked and wet. He must’ve been right from the Up High. Destiny must’ve been raging on him again. And that would be because of one thing only.

“You went to him again.” Lay states it instead. “You know it’s forbidden, Kris, yet you do it all over again.”

A nod weak is all that Kris could offer.

“I’m tired of asking. Why? Why do you have to throw yourself onto danger all over again just to be with him?” Lay tries his best not to let rage taking over. Anger, after all, is the thing he hates the most from being human.

Kris only stares at his own trembling hands. Just like what he’d do everytime Lay asks the same question. Lay thinks it’s because Kris knows there would never be an answer that could satisfy his heart.

“I’ll get you some towel.” Lay mumbles as he gets off the bed, walking towards the window to close it. “You could get sick. If you’re here then it means you’re in your human form, and it’s vulnerable – “

“I love him too much, Lay.”

Lay stops dead on his track.

“I love him too much,” Kris whispers brokenly, “too much that I’d rather be drenched in storm and have my wings forcefully stretched out by the chains instead of not seeing him. That’s why.”

“I know.” Lay replied. “I know.”

And heart break. It’s another thing Lay hates from being a human.

===

There was this angel named Baekhyun. He worked for Fate, just like how I work for Destiny. He brought one soul to the respective mate. Humans called him ‘cupid’, I called him ‘assembler’. After all, his job was to assemble the missing pieces of two souls, right?

One day he was tasked to bring a human, Park Chanyeol, to his soulmate, Do Kyungsoo. Turns out Fate was doing an experiment; she tasked Kai, another hand under her, to bring the very same Kyungsoo to the very same Chanyeol. The thing is, there was never any partnership in their job. It was supposed to be either Baekhyun’s job to bring Chanyeol to Kyungsoo or Kai’s job to bring Kyungsoo to Chanyeol. Baekhyun was as ignorant as always, only doing what he loves to do even with the haywires. Kai was more aware, but it was only like that.

And as the result of Fate’s experiment, Baekhyun fell in love with the human. An angel fell in love with human.

The thing that was supposed to be the most ridiculous nonsense for me.

===

When Lay comes back to the room, Kris is nowhere in sight.

Noticing that the window is open again, Lay is sure that Kris had left through it. With one swift move he jumps over, landing gracefully on the ground. He looks around for a while before he finds a feather before him. He then finds other feathers, one by one directing him to the gate across the front yard of his house. He doesn’t think twice before he starts walking along the fallen feathers on the ground.

The streets are empty, only lightened with the streetlamps. Along the street are tall trees and field. His house is the only building at the area, so he doesn’t worry on having humans to see him chasing an angel.

After all, the said angel is right in front of him, kneeling on the cold pavement.

He watches silently as Kris struggles to stand by his own feet, broken wings being poorly attached on his back – they would need days or even weeks to heal. As Kris makes his steps, Lay follows taciturnly. He stops when Kris does. He holds his breath when Kris tilts his head upwards, looking over the night sky where stars are messily scattered like his tears that have no place to fall anymore. He could see the side of Kris’s face, and even in such a state, the tall angel shines under the moonlight, and Lay wants to capture the sight to keep it forever in his heart.

In the end, just like how it has always been, he couldn’t touch Kris without having his heart hurt. He couldn’t hold Kris like he always wants to, because it will only remind him that he would never have him.

It’s his own sad story; the closer he gets, the stronger the pain will get too.

===

Technically, I was just doing my job.

Those humans, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, were supposed to be together. Baekhyun was supposed to bring them together, and to stay on his own point. It wasn’t supposed to be a romantic story between an angel and a human.

And since my job is to keep the story line of every human’s life on track, I reported everything about it to Destiny.

And he was furious of it.

He sent a message to Fate that he demanded her responsibility of the misfit and nature law breakings, and to Karma that he asked for a support in bringing the act to justice. I agreed with him about Fate, but I was skeptical about Karma. I never encountered Karma before. I only met his right hand, Sehun, for once only. And since Destiny always hold the higher place than Fate and Karma, both have nothing to do but to comply.

Then few days later, they agreed on an open execution upon Baekhyun.

Really, I was just doing my job.

Right?

===

“Kris,” he calls softly.

It took approximately five seconds for the beaten angel to turn around, finding his partner staring right on him with so much sadness in his eyes. “Lay?” he whispers. “I thought… you were in your room. Why are you here?”

“Where are you going?” Lay asks back. “I told you, you could get sick. Come with me.”

Kris only stares at Lay, thousand things are buzzing inside his head. “No.”

“What?”

“I’m not coming with you.”

“Kris, why are you – “

“They’re going to execute me, Lay.” Kris finally breaks the news for him. “Today, right before the dawn. I’ve used all my chances to meet Tao, and –“

Lay feels his heart lurches.

“– they’re going to cut off my wings.”

“What,” Lay chokes out, “what does that even mean?”

Kris looks down on his feet, and that’s how Lay knows that there won’t be any happy ending for any of them. There won’t be the way out. There won’t be any chance to keep Kris by his side. “It means I’d be gone, Lay.” the angel whispers ever so brokenly. “I don’t know for sure, but you know what happened to Baekhyun.”

The cold stings on him once more.

===

Baekhyun got his wings torn off his back forcefully like they were papers being torn in two. Xiumin were given the honor to do it. Blood was everywhere, the strayed wings turned wet by the red pool on the floor. Kai cried, I remembered. That was also the first time I saw Karma; he smirked at me as if he knew I was the one who told Destiny about Baekhyun. Chen was there, and I distinctly remember what he said to me before he left after Kai screamed as Baekhyun was literally dissolving into light, “are you satisfied now?”

I never was.

Even after Destiny rewarded me with a partner – Kris –, I never felt any kind of satisfaction for what happened. Not because I didn’t feel that they were enough, but because I felt empty. So empty. As if I’ve done the worst thing I could ever do.

Baekhyun screaming in pain. Baekhyun crying. Baekhyun calling out that human’s name endlessly. Baekhyun apologizing to Kai when he noticed his friend cried. All those faces of Baekhyun, they haunted me whenever I’m alone.

One day, Fate found out how Baekhyun’s act was noticed by Destiny. She found it was me. She came to me along with Karma, furious Kai and ignorant Sehun were behind them, and the first word she said was, “monster!!”

Funny thing was, I agreed to her words.

I thought she was finished with that insult, but then she begged to Karma, “please, for this time only, please avenge for me!”

Karma shrugged. He looked at me and said, “someday, Lay, everything that was caused by your act will get back to you. That’s just how I work.”

I would’ve laughed at the words, if only it wasn’t Karma who said that himself.

===

“That… t-that can’t be…” Lay tries to stop his body from trembling. “They can’t d-do that to you.”

Kris shook his head slowly. “Chen will be the one to do it.”

“No!” Lay half screams, looking up at Kris in so much fear. “No, they can’t do that to you too!!”

“Lay.”

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk to them, to Destiny,” Lay probably doesn’t realize how much his hands are trembling as he speaks, “maybe he will spare you this one time, maybe he will let you go, maybe – “

“Lay, you do remember what Baekhyun did that he was banished, right?” Kris tiredly smiles at his friend. “I literally did the same thing too. It would be such a foolish of me if I ever hope not to be put in the same punishment.”

“You don’t understand!” Lay shrieks. “You don’t understand, Kris, he was banished like that because… because…” because I told her, he looks dazedly at the angel in front of him, because someone told her what he did, “Kris, how did Destiny know everything you did? I never told him anything.”

Kris seems hesitating to answer as he looks down for a while. “It was… Fate, who told him.”

“Fate?” Lay says out of shock, but then, it’s not really a surprise. In fact he should’ve seen it coming.

“Fate.” Kris breathes out.

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