I. CAN'T YOU STAY?

“Daesung.”

The blond pinched his eyes shut even tighter – his nose scrunching up with the motion.

“Daesung.”

He sighed a little and rolled over. “Hyunnie, I don’t wanna,” he mumbled, reaching down to find the blanket so he could pull it up to cover his head. When his fingers found nothing, Daesung opened his eyes and looked down the bed. Except, he was not in a bed – certainly not the bed he shared with Seunghyun. No, instead he was laying on something that seemed to crackle with little flashes of white lightning. Yelping, Daesung lept straight to his feet and onto the floor.

“Good, you’re awake,” a somewhat bored sounding drawl voiced from his left. “That makes my job easier.”

Daesung turned to take in the stranger before him. He was lanky and angular – a bit taller than him to boot. His soft features were pulled into a look of tired disinterest, like he was already so over the entire conversation, and his brown eyes lacked any real spark. The most striking feature about the man was his hair, which was styled into a white and black pompadour; Daesung had never seen anything like it.

“Are you done gawking?” Daesung was surprised when the man spoke, and he gave a quick nod. “Good, because it was kind of lame. Right. So you are Kang Daesung. I’m Kwon Jiyong, and I am going to be your trainer.”

A confused little frown worked its way onto Daesung’s full lips. “Trainer?” Jiyong nodded. “What for?”

The man’s thin shoulders rose and fell with a heavy sigh. “You don’t know.” He shared a glance with the ceiling that made it seem like Jiyong was blaming someone upstairs for his present predicament. “Right, let’s try this again.” In a smooth motion, he straightened his jacket and adjusted his cufflinks. “My name is Kwon Jiyong. And you’re dead.”

Daesung’s mouth fell open before he started to laugh softly. “That’s pretty good. Did Seunghyun pay you to do this? It’s more his style than anyone else’s. We met through one of his practical jokes.” Jiyong just watched him with that same bored expression. “… You do know Seunghyun, don’t you?”

“I know of him,” Jiyong said after a long moment of watching Daesung begin to sweat. “Actually, he is why I’m here. He’s our first order of business.”

Daesung took a slow step back. “Order of business? I am afraid I don’t know what is going on, and if you don’t explain quickly… I’ll scream. For help. Very loudly.”

Jiyong’s lips twitched like they were just repressing a smile. “Oh, you are going to be such an exciting case, aren’t you? How about we take a step outside, let you walk around a bit, and I’ll explain?” The blond gave a slight nod, which made the strange man smile at last. “Excellent. Right this way.” Giving a teasing bow, he gestured towards the door.

Keeping his gaze locked on Jiyong, Daesung slowly made his way over to the door and opened it. Rather than walking directly through, he carefully checked to make sure nothing dangerous lurked just out of sight before slowly making his way out. Once he was fully outside, Daesung slowly let his gaze wander over the plethora of glistening white buildings – all of which seemed to sparkle and crackle with the same energy as the thing he had been lying on earlier. “…Where am I?”

“The Realms of Glory,” Jiyong said easily, trailing along after Daesung. “Heaven, if you’d rather.” Daesung shot him a disbelieving look. “Hey, I already said you were dead. It shouldn’t be that surprising to you that you ended up here.”

Taking his bottom lip between is teeth, Daesung chewed on it for a long moment. “Does that...make you an angel?”

Jiyong snorted softly. “Unfortunately,” he mumbled. “Yes.”

“You don’t look like an angel,” Daesung said slowly.

“Looks can be deceiving,” Jiyong replied, flicking a hand impatiently. “Right. So, you are dead. I am an angel. And so are you. I am going to be training you on how to be an angel and do all the things.”

“All the things?” Daesung squinted at Jiyong. “Like what?”

“If you would just let me finish, I would tell you.” Jiyong gave the blond a pointed look, which made Daesung duck his head a little. “I am going to train you in one of the primary missions we angels have: saving souls. We usually assign one angel specifically to help try to redeem a soul, particularly when we know they are going to die. You are-“

“Does that mean I had someone with me, when… when I died?”

Jiyong heaved a sigh. “Yes. Your angel did a very good job of making certain you were redeemed. Otherwise you would not be here. You would be in the either neighborhood.”

Daesung nodded slowly. “Oh.”

“Is that all you have to say? Oh?” Jiyong rolled his eyes. “Did they leave your brain back in your body? Honestly.”

“Will I ever get to meet my angel?”

Jiyong planted his hands on his hips. “Yes. We’ll throw a party and do limbo and drink ambrosia. But first you have got to do your job.” He pinned Daesung with a sharp look. “You have been assigned someone that no one else can save: Choi Seunghyun.”

The blond’s face became pale as worry creased his brows. “Seunghyun? But you said you only assign an angel when someone is – is going to die. He’s too young to die.”

Ignoring the irony of that statement, Jiyong continued, “I don’t determine when someone is going to die. I just know that the battle for Seunghyun’s soul is on, the deadline is drawn, and you’ve been assigned to save him. But since you’re just a baby angel, I’ve been assigned to help you.” He clapped his hands. “Right. Now that we’ve got that out of the way. Awesome. Means the next step is I get to fill you in on what you’ve missed. And boy have you missed quite a bit. I don’t know that you’ll recognize your Seunghyun.”

Before Daesung could say anything, Jiyong snapped his fingers and they were standing in a police station. Daesung gasped softly. His sister, Ji-Hyo was seated between Seunghyun and her fiancé, Junsu. Her expression was completely blank; the only sign of her distress was how white her knuckles were as she clung to Junsu’s hand. Beside her, Seunghyun looked like an absolute wreck. His eyes were swollen and red, as though he had been awake four days straight, and his usual immaculate appearance was nowhere to be seen. Daesung took a slow step closer, listening as the officer explained what had happened. “Kang Daesung was crossing the street when a distracted driver ran the light. The vehicle made contact with his body at full speed, and he was killed on impact. In the photograph you will see signs of trauma: bruising and lacerations – not to mention his broken nose.” The police officer sat the picture face down on the table in front of Ji-Hyo. “When you are ready, turn this over and indicate if this is your brother.” Seunghyun began to tremble. It took Ji-Hyo several long moments before she slowly turned the picture over.

An animalistic cry slid past Seunghyun’s lips as he recognized the full curve of the lips he loved to kiss every night and every morning, as he looked at the shattered shape of his favorite hooked nose, as he looked at eyes that would never disappear as his Daesung smiled. He buried his face in his hands and began to sob, his entire body racked with the agony of his heart. Ji-Hyo took a slow breath before saying, her voice utterly void of feeling, “It’s him. Daesung.” Whenever she was upset, Ji-Hyo tended to shut down rather than try to cope with her feelings. By the sound of her voice, Daesung could tell she was hysterical. 

The officer nodded. “When you are ready…I can take you to see him.” He glanced between the three of them before rising. “I’ll give you a few moments.”

After the policeman had left, Junsu pulled Ji-Hyo into his arms and pressed a kiss to her temple. None of them spoke: Ji-Hyo stared blankly ahead; Seunghyun cried; and, Junsu cradled Ji-Hyo against his chest as best he could with the armrests between them. Several minutes crawled by before the police officer returned. The trio slowly rose, walking as though they were in a dream, and followed the man to the morgue. Daesung trailed along behind them, fascinated as they walked into a room where his body lay on a gurney – only his head showing. When the door closed behind them, Seunghyun walked over to stand beside the body and fell on his knees. Reaching under the sheet, his hand found the body’s, and he clung to the stiff fingers as though he could will them back to life. “Dae,” he choked. Daesung felt the tears begin to spill down his cheeks. “Please, Dae. Don’t.. Don’t leave. Can’t you stay by my side, Dae?” Seunghyun then broke down, utterly beyond words as he poured his soul into crying. Ji-Hyo silently walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder, her gaze fixed on her brother’s broken features.

From where he stood beside Daesung, Jiyong frowned slightly. “He really loves you,” he murmured – for once his voice was gentle.

Daesung managed to nod. “He’s my heart and soul.”

Reaching over, Jiyong gave his shoulder a squeeze. “It’s not going to get better,” he warned. “It’s going to get worse. Are you prepared for that?”

“Honestly?” Daesung’s gaze was still locked on Seunghyun. “No. But if it’s to help Seunghyun… Okay.”

Jiyong snapped his fingers, and they were in the room with Daesung’s casket. The room was empty, but for the flower wreaths and the two angels. Walking closer, Daesung frowned. “That suit… It was the one I had seen in the store window anytime I went downtown. I wanted it more than anything because it reminded me of the first time I met Seunghyun. But I never bought it.”

“Seunghyun had bought it for you,” Jiyong murmured. “For your birthday.”

Pain flashed its way across Daesung’s too expressive features. “Oh, Seunghyun…” Tears pricked at his eyes yet again. At that moment, the door opened and a single figure dressed entirely in black entered. Seunghyun. He came straight to the side of the casket – within scant inches of the angel – and gazed down at the face of his dead lover.

Silence crawled on as Seunghyun stared and stared at Daesung’s face. Then, slowly, he reached down to move Daesung’s bangs down over his face; they had been swept back in the sort of style the blond only sported for work functions. “Dae,” Seunghyun finally murmured. “I .. never got to say – say goodbye.” He drew in a ragged breath. “I’ll love you for always and always and f-forever. But, skies, Dae, why did you have to leave me? I can’t live without you. Every morning I wake up and I wonder why I’m still alive. I’m nothing without you.” His fingers brushed along the soft curve of Daesung’s jaw. “Can’t you come back to me?” Bending over, he pressed a soft kiss to Daesung’s stiff lips – a heartbreaking goodbye.

“You can offer him comfort,” Jiyong said softly.

Daesung’s teary gaze lifted to meet the angel’s. “How?”

“Touch him. He’ll feel your presence, even if he can’t see you.”

Without a word, Daesung threw his arms around Seunghyun and buried his face against his back. He could feel Seunghyun shudder in his grip, and the man stood up straight once more. His eyes closed, as though he was trying to soak in the feeling with every fiber of his being. “Dae…” This time, Deasung’s name sounded like a sighed prayer on Seunghyun’s lips. The man was still crying, but there was something different in his countenance – a flicker of peace.

When Ji-Hyo and Junsu entered the room, they both walked over to stand beside Seunghyun. Ji-Hyo quietly hugged Seunghyun and leaned her head against his chest. Seunghyun wrapped his long arms tightly around her, as though by holding her close he was keeping a piece of Daesung with him.

Jiyong reached out to grab Daesung lightly by the arm. “You need to see what happened after … but I need to give you a warning.” The scene in front of them paused, and Daesung tried to peel his gaze away from Seunghyun in order to look at his trainer. “After your death, Seunghyun fell apart. He stopped going outside and began drinking. But, when that no longer numbed him enough, he… he sought something stronger.” Jiyong his bottom lip. “Your rival for Seunghyun’s soul has been hard at work while you have been transitioning, and at the moment he is winning.”

Daesung gaped at Jiyong. “My rival? Winning? What are you talking about?”

Jiyong cleared his throat. “Whenever an angel is assigned to a case, a demon is also assigned. You know, battle between good and evil and whatnot.” He his bottom lip. “If Seunghyun dies as he is, he will go to Hell.”

The blond’s eyes went wide. “Hell? But – Seunghyun can’t go to Hell!” Daesung stumbled back. “He’s the sweetest person ever. I know he looks cool and chic, but he’s really just a goof that loves to make people laugh. How could someone like that go to Hell?”

Folding his hands in the small of his back, Jiyong rocked up onto his toes. “As I said, Daesung, he changed a great deal after your death. He became cruel and started doing drugs and has been doing … terrible things. And if we lose the battle for his soul, he… He’ll commit suicide.”