For you, my wonderful subscribers, I opted to write a bonus chapter this week in honor of hitting 54 subscribers - that's more people than Big Bang has fingers! I adore you all.

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Simply put, you are the Daesung to my Tabi. <3

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II. LIES, ALL LIES

Daesung had always been meticulous about keeping the apartment clean: Every item had a designated space, and Seunghyun always made certain to return everything to where it belonged – he lived in fear of Daesung’s cleanliness lectures. He had sat through only one of those in his life, just after he and Daesung had moved in together. It had been the most horrifying hour ever; his angel could be quite the little demon when the mood struck. But, three months after the funeral, Daesung would not recognize the apartment anymore.

Every visible surface housed a bottle of alcohol: some full, some empty, some spilled on their sides. The windows were swathed in dark material; the breezy white curtains Daesung had bought his second week in the apartment were mysteriously gone. Trash littered the floor, the ashtray was full, and a constant haze seemed to fill the air. It was filthy. Worse yet, the apartment’s sole inhabitant looked like an absolute disaster. Seunghyun was sprawled out in the wide bed, which had sheets so dirty that it seemed they had not been changed since Daesung’s death. (Seunghyun had not had the heart to change them; he imagined he could still catch a hint of his lover’s cologne on them.) The man was staring blankly up at the ceiling – his blood sluggish with a nearly fatal amount of alcohol – and contemplating the spider web that clung to the light fixture. His hair was disheleved and long, hanging in mats about his wan face. It almost seemed you could see the skull stretching beneath his skin, so pale and gaunt had he become. 

As he continued staring, the shadows in the farthest corner of the room twitched – morphing together to form the figure of a man. The broad length of his shoulders tapered down into a slim waist; his hips giving way to powerfully built legs. He was lean muscle and tan skin – masculine beauty from head to toe. And when he moved further into the room it was with a sliding step that made it seem as though he was gliding across the dark wood floor rather than walking. In a word, he was utterly effortless. His cold dark eyes examined the man on the bed, and a slight smirk twitched at the edge of his lips. “Too easy,” he murmured. “I don’t even have to try with you, do I?” Tipping his head quickly to one side, he tossed the messy black lengths of his hair out of his eyes before taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “Oh Seunghyun… What fun should we have today? You’re already dead drunk, so we don’t need to work on that.”

A sudden sparkle entered the man’s eyes, and he slid up to curl his body around Seunghyun’s side. “I bet I know what would help you,” he teased, sliding his hand along the man’s chest. “And I know just the place. Nothing helps you forget the person who broke your heart better than a good f–“

The angels entered the room in a sudden flash of bright light. The man pressed against Seunghyun let his head roll back in a smooth motion until he could gaze down his nose at the pair. His jaw twitched. “You.”

Jiyong went very still – his gaze locked on the stranger. “You.”

Daesung, who had been too busy gaping at the strangely sunken figure of his lover, started at the sound of the ice in Jiyong’s voice. He not yet heard the angel be anything other than bored or annoyed; hearing the other angel emote was like finding a masterwork underneath a stark layer of white paint. Jiyong’s expression became blank. “Jiyong, what… Seunghyun.” The young angel took a step towards the bed, but he hesitated at the sight of the figure draped out sensually beside his lover.

Raising an eyebrow, the stranger gave him a slow once over. “So you’re the baby angel that’s going to fight me for Seunghyun’s soul?” He scoffed. “Nice to know I’ve already won.”

Daesung’s hands slowly curled into fists. “Who are you?”

Smirking, the man let his fingers begin to ghost lightly over the top of Seunghyun’s thigh. “I’m the demon that’s going to make sure your lover goes straight to Hell.” He winked at Daesung. “I’m Taeyang.” Daesung could hear Jiyong gasp slightly behind him.

The blond managed to stand tall and square his shoulders. “You can try,” he said simply, “but I will stop you. He is mine.”

Taeyang laughed easily. “Oh, little angel, you are already too late. And it’s not like that one,” he jerked his chin towards Jiyong, “will be any help to you. Go home, baby angel. Play your harp and forget about your lover. That’s all you angels are good for, anyway.”

“You know what, I think I’ve heard enough,” Daesung said. If Seunghyun had been able to hear his voice, he would have shuddered; the blond angel had whipped out his lecturing voice.

“Daesung, we should go. Come –“ Jiyong reached forward to grab Daesung’s arm but was surprised when the younger man shook him off.

Without a word, Daesung stomped over to the bed and grabbed the demon by the front of his shirt. He lifted the demon straight off the bed, bringing their faces within inches of one another. His jaw twitched. “You touch Seunghyun again,” he murmured softly, his voice strangely gentle considering nature of his words, “I will tear you to pieces. There would be no corner of Hell deep enough to hide you from me. This might be a game to you, but he is my heaven. There is nothing I would not do to protect him." He gazed deeply into the demon’s eyes, causing the man to begin to shudder and sweat.

At last, Taeyang broke and looked away. A choked laugh slid past his lips - the sound quivering strangely in the scant space between their faces. “Whatever, angel boy. You wouldn’t hurt me. That’s not what you guys do.” He smacked Daesung’s hand away and rolled off the bed. “This doesn't change anything." And then he was gone: shadow returned to shadow.

The moment the demon was gone, Daesung whirled around and pinned Jiyong with a cold glare. “And you,” he growled, his voice holding even more menace than the time Seunghyun had made him go through a haunted house. “What was that? What kind of angel are you that you would even dare to suggest that we abandon Seunghyun when he needed us?”

Jiyong’s head snapped back as though he expected to be hit, and a pained expression flickered across his normally blank features. He winced. “It’s complicated,” he murmured, trying with all his might to avoid Daesung’s gaze.

The blond scowled. “You and I are going to have a long talk about this later,” he warned. “But right now, I need you to tell me what I can do. How can I help Seunghyun?”

Folding his arms over his thin chest, Jiyong fell back into being the cool figure he preferred to be. The threat of “later” was ignored; Ji did not even want to think about what the goody-two-shoes newbie was going to do to him. “What do you think would help Seunghyun deal with his grief? I mean, you know him better than I do. I just read his file.”

Daesung shot Jiyong another piercing look before moving to sit lightly on the edge of the bed. His hand came to rest lightly on Seunghyun’s, which made the man’s fingers twitch beneath the angel’s warmth. “His brother. Mino. The two of them are very close, and Mino could make Seunghyun happy when even I couldn’t.” Daesung his bottom lip. “But I don’t think Seunghyun would let him in.”

Jiyong snorted. “That we can take care of. Locks are nothing.” The angel cracked his neck. “Right. Well, let’s go get Mino. And we’ll see if we can’t help him along in at least getting Seunghyun … less drunk.” He eyed the nearly lifeless, filthy figure on the bed with a bit of a grimace. Seunghyun was disgusting.

Daesung gave his lover’s hand one last squeeze before rising to his feet. “Alright. Let’s go.” He took Jiyong’s arm and thought of where he knew Mino would be this time of day – the art gallery Ji-Hyo owned. Suddenly, they were standing inside of the wide space that was currently housing a collection of art dedicated to antique chairs. Daesung blinked. “Did.. I bring us here?”

“I certainly didn’t,” Jiyong drawled. “Look at you go, baby angel. You’re learning fast. That’s good. Means less work for me.” Reaching up, Jiyong straightened his hair before looking around. His eyes narrowed. “Where are we?”

“My sister’s art gallery. Mino works here and frequently has exhibits here too.” Daesung started towards the studio at the back of the gallery. “Seunghyun one day came to pull a prank on his brother – putting glue in the soap container in here. But –“ Daesung smiled to himself, “Mino wasn’t working at that time. When Seunghyun realized he had caught the wrong person with his little trap, he was so embarrassed. He took me out to dinner that night as an apology and even made sure my sculpture was safely wrapped so it wouldn’t dry out before the next day.”

Jiyong’s eyebrow arched. “You were an artist?”

“On the weekends. I was not like Mino or Ji-Hyo, who could live off of it. But I did fairly well.” Stopping, he pointed to a delicate sculpture of a young woman standing at the edge of a cliff, looking like she was moments from flying away. “I did that for Ji-Hyo’s birthday last year.”

“You’ve been holding out on me, baby angel.” Jiyong stepped closer and examined the sculpture. “Huh. I bet with a few more years, you would’ve been amazing. It’s got the glow.”

“The glow?”

“Yeah. I don’t know the official term for it, but works made by true artists have this sort of a glow to them. Like they shine from within.” Jiyong shrugged loosely. “Then again, a lot of the stuff in here seems to have it. Must mean your sister has a good eye for talent.”

A soft smile turned Daesung’s lips – the first Jiyong had seen. “Yeah. She’s got a gift for it. We joke that she could find the beauty in a pile of rubble and talent in the shell of a man.”

“Well, that’s pretty, uh, neat, I guess. Anyway.” Jiyong cleared his throat and leaned away from the sculpture. “Mino.”

“Right.” Daesung lead Jiyong into the studio and pointed to a figure hunched in front of a canvas. “That’s him.”

Walking around to the side, Jiyong nodded slowly. “He’s attractive.” The young man in front of the canvas had the same strong eyebrows and gently curled lips as his elder brother, but it was clear that they had otherwise taken after different parents. Where Seunghyun had a thin, angular face, Mino instead had a heart-shaped face that was full of gentle curves. “In his own way.”

Daesung stepped closer and looked at the canvas, frowning. It was entirely blank. He had never known Mino to struggle to draw; the artist could fill a canvas with caricatures if no other muse took him. But, instead of happily creating, Mino simply stared at the stretched fabric as though it might being to speak to him – telling him why everything had gone so very wrong. “How do we get him to Seunghyun?”

Jiyong sighed at Daesung, as though the answer was obvious. “We tell him, of course. If you touch him and tell him what to do, he’ll think it was just a thought he had. It’s how the human mind copes with divine inspiration, I guess.”

The blond angel took a slow breath and thought carefully over his words. “Okay.” Reaching out, he placed his hand lightly on Mino’s shoulder – just like he used to when he was alive. “You need to go see Seunghyun. He’s falling apart, and you are the only person that can put him back together again. Please try.”

Mino slowly sat up, a frown turning his lips. He gave the canvas a wary look before, in a sudden motion, rising and throwing on a jacket. The brunette was gone almost before the angels could even blink. “Well, then,” Jiyong said, looking after the artist. “I guess he’s good at listening.”

“He has probably been thinking along those lines for weeks,” Daesung murmured. “That or all the listening to his muse has made him more receptive.”

Jiyong shrugged. “Either way, we should get back to Seunghyun. Make sure less savory company hasn’t come back.”

Daesung grabbed Jiyong’s hand, and they were in the bedroom in a flash. Seunghyun had not so much as twitched from where they had left him.

On the way to Seunghyun’s apartment, Mino raced up the stairs of the subway – nearly stopping dead at the very top. He remembered… Seunghyun had told him what had happened the day Daesung died. How he had stood at the top of these stairs and heard that his lover had been in an accident. How his lover would never get to celebrate his birthday. Mino his bottom lip. He could understand why Seunghyun was acting the way he was; his brother loved Daesung deeply. But it was also so worrying, because his brother had shut everyone out. How could he get better if he let the wounds fester in the darkness?

“Maybe today he will let me in,” Mino muttered to himself before starting down the street once more, his full lips twisting further into his frown. And then a sweet scent caught the man’s attention. There, just a little ways down the street, was a rather classy looking bakery that was all black and white and steel on the inside. If he remembered right, Daesung had mentioned the bakery near their home – claiming it was the best one in all of Seoul. He hesitated before going inside. A snack from the bakery might remind Seunghyun of the good times… or it would at least appeal to his sweet tooth. Sugar was usually the first thing his brother binged on when he was sad.

“Hello, welcome to NamCat Bakery,” the man behind the counter said, his upraised brows and unimpressed expression not particularly inviting. “What can I get for you?”

Mino cleared his throat and sauntered closer to the counter. “Uh, hi. I’ve never been here before, but my brother… I wanted to get something for my brother. He loves this place.”

The slim baker let his eyebrows droop into a more curious than hostile expression. “Who’s your brother? If he’s a regular, I’d know what to grab.”

“Seunghyun. Choi Seunghyun.” Mino tugged on the end of his baggy t-shirt. “I think he’d come here with Daesung a lot.”

Taehyun’s expression immediately changed into a bright smile. “Seunghyun? Oh, of course I know him! He and Daesung used to come in every week – sometimes twice. Though, I haven’t seen them in, skies, months, I guess.” He happily went about grabbing a double chocolate cupcake and the special cupcake of the week – a turtle caramel cupcake with chocolate ganache.

The artist ducked his head. “You..hadn’t heard, then?” Taehyun stopped what he was doing at the obvious pain in Mino’s voice. “Daesung… Daesung passed away. He was hit by a car.”

“Oh my…” Taehyun braced his hands on the counter to steady himself. “I am..so sorry. I didn’t know.” He hesitated, fidgeting with a stray sprinkle on the steel surface. “I … Daesung would always get the double chocolate cupcake with extra curls on it. He claimed it was like heaven, except better because it was real. And Seunghyun would get whatever cupcake was my special that week. Sometimes I’d even have them test cupcakes for me, just because I knew if Seunghyun liked it, it was good.” He his bottom lip. “The last time I saw Seunghyun it was Daesung’s birthday. He picked up a double chocolate cupcake – extra curls – to take to him at work.” Realizing he was rambling, the man fell silent.

Slowly, Mino’s gaze rose to meet Taehyun’s. “Thank you for taking such good care of them. I.. I hope that something from here will remind Seunghyun of the good things that he and Daesung shared. That it might help him mourn.”

“Has..he not been doing well?” Taehyun asked carefully, as though his words were glass that might cut Mino. The artist shook his head. “I’m so sorry. Here, let me make these up for you. Maybe…maybe even just the scent of the cupcakes will help. Seunghyun always commented on the smell – said it was integral to his experience.” Features now drawn into a determined expression, Taehyun made the cupcakes like they were pieces of art rather than mere baked goods. He even added the extra curls, just because it looked with only the regular amount. Then, carefully, he boxed them up and sat them on the counter. “Tell Seunghyun he is welcome here any time. Even if he just needs somewhere quiet to sit.”

“Thank you.” Mino managed a crooked smile before paying for the cupcakes – he insisted against Taehyun’s better judgement. “I will be sure to tell him. And, if it works, maybe I’ll be back again. It might be the medicine he needs.”

Taehyun bowed slightly. “I’ll pray that it works,” he said simply. “Good luck.”

Mino sighed. “Thank you.” Turning, he carried the cupcakes out like they were precious sculptures he had to protect from the bustle of the crowds. When he finally arrived at Seunghyun’s apartment, he knocked on the door and waited. No answer. He tried again. No answer.

Inside, Daesung raised an eyebrow at Jiyong. The older angel stepped forward and tapped the doorknob with one finger. “If he tries it, it’ll be unlocked,” he said, shrugging for the hundredth time.

And, luckily, Mino gave the doorknob a wiggle. When it gave beneath his hand, he stared at it before slowly pushing the door open. “Seunghyun?” No answer. Worried that something had happened to his brother, Mino walked into the apartment and, shoving bottles out of the way, sat the cupcakes down. He then waded through the waste in the apartment, searching for signs of life. When he finally found his brother, a soft gasp slid past his lips. “Seunghyun…”

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So I realized if I kept going, this chapter would be huge and mess up the pacing. Hence ending before finding out what Mino does and why Jiyong is Jiyongy. Hopefully you enjoyed this special release chapter! I'd love to hear any theories or predictions you guys have. <3

And yes, NamSong will be featured in this fic. Shipping them is like shipping ToDae's son with GDYB's son. How could I not go for that?!