It was rare for the office to have any sort of disruptions, especially when it was mostly keeping up with paper work and making sure that people were doing what they needed to. That was what Junhoe enjoyed so much about his job. It was pretty consistent with a few mishaps here and there to keep it from getting too boring. He liked the predictability of it all, the monotonous flow of the human life that kept him from going utterly insane in the white walled office space. 

However, sometimes, when the wind blew just right, catastrophes were bound to happen. 

The day had started out just like any other. Junhoe double checked his files and ensured that everyone had at least survived the night. Those that didn't, he set to the side to find their soul mates a new match before taking up the new births he would need to string up eventually. All in all, it was a pretty quiet day. Jiwon hadn't popped in yet to check on him, but he took it as a good sign. 

Ever since his mentor had become a reaper, Junhoe had been visited at least twice a week in the mornings to catch up and give the old Cupid updates on how he was handling his case loads. Usually the conversations were short before one of them was swept off into the human realm to tend to their duties. Most of the time it was Jiwon on the heels of that midget of a reaper that had cost one of Junhoe's humans a shorter life time. He wasn't bitter about it, he was just sure that somehow they had gotten the placement for that guy wrong. He probably shouldn't even be a part of the whole operation. Maybe they shouldn't have given him a choice, he was probably at every job they put him in. 

The thought had made Junhoe's lips quirk into a tiny, grimacing smile that left his face contorted almost painfully. As someone that prided themselves on good, clean work... he felt he had the right to look down on someone who messed up more than half of the entire Cupid department. Or so he thought. 

Just as he was thinking about how amazing he was in comparison to the Reaper that fumbled through death more often than not, the elevator to their department opened up to reveal a dozen people that Junhoe had never even seen before. Their faces looked stoic and at the back was Jiwon followed by a grim looking midget that had the Cupid sitting up a bit straighter. As the people approached, he realized there were some people from different departments intermingling in crowd. Most were senior members or people who excelled in their work. It looked to be an elite group of the best people in the whole building and there was a moment of confusion on Junhoe's face as to why Jiwon and Jinhwan were included. 

Perhaps they had finally ed up enough that they were having a high council. Maybe they were going to get rid of the petite man with his stupid heart freckle under his eye. Maybe there would no longer be that strange rush in his veins whenever he walked into the room and he would no longer have someone to let his eyes gravitate to without meaning it. Junhoe was almost sure he would be more than happy to volunteer to join whatever it was to get him gone so that all of the inferiority and strange feelings left with him. 

It was during this little internal moment of thought, while he was staring at Jinhwan's face, that the Reaper had begun to approach his desk. It took a moment for the Cupid to realize that the face he had been looking upon was no longer in the distance but right in front of him. Blinking away the shocked look, he let a scowl of annoyance grace his features as his eyes narrowed accusingly. "What do you want?" More confusion slunk through him. If Jinhwan was the one in trouble, he wouldn't have been approached by him, at least he didn't think so. The Reaper surely didn't want to get fired by picking Junhoe to defend him. The Cupid had done nothing to hide his disdain for how he worked. 

A smile graced the pretty face before him, though it looked almost forced. There was a sense of urgency in the crinkles of his eyes and the way his lips spread against his teeth. It was given to him out of politeness rather than a genuine happy look. "We're gathering up all of the top members in each department. There's been a natural disaster, code three actually, and we need all the help we can get." There was a pause and Jinhwan straightened himself out slightly. "Of course, you don't have to join by any obligation, but you came highly recommended by your superiors." 

There was a moment of silence and Junhoe could swear he heard every second tick by as he sat there staring blankly at the mind before him. His mind was a whirlwind as he absorbed the new information given to him. Whenever something so large as floods took too many lives for the Basement to handle, they were known to pull a few others from each department. It kept from depleting a whole department of it's staff, but by also snagging up a few of the better members allowed efficient work for the Reapers to harvest the souls that could potentially wander off. Junhoe had never considered he would be a part of such a group and the fact that he was chosen, recommended even, made him feel a burst of pride in his chest. 

Jinhwan was looking at him, his impatience showing on his face as his arms crossed. Junhoe didn't bother to answer him, simply standing and gathering up his coat to throw on as he heads towards the group. Just out of the corner of his eye, he can see the look of approval on the Reaper's face, but it is quickly gone as reality begins to set in. They all crowd into the elevator and it's nothing but silence as the bleak outlook of what they are going to witness begins to fall on their shoulders. Junhoe was wondering if he would be able to deal with it, seeing as he had never done well with death. It made him wonder what exactly was he trying to prove and why was he trying to prove it. 

The entire trip to the afflicted area was tense and once they got there, Junhoe could feel his throat closing up. There was so much water. It was everywhere. "Alright guys..." The voice that spoke up belonged to the petite man that had captured the Cupid's attention since he walked out of the elevator. He had kept the Reaper within his peripheral view for the whole trip out to the almost suburban area. "This is how this is going to work, some of you are new so I'm going to give you a quick run down. The bodies are going to need one person, just one, to take care of their souls. Most are trapped inside of their shell, however one might have broken free and you must find them. We cannot have lingering spirits floating around." His words were stern and sharp, spoken clearly and evenly so that all could understand. "With so many of us Reapers in the vicinity, we can help, but all you need to do is reach out and feel for them. The energy, you know it... we all work with it every day. You have to grab it and pull it to you. Once the soul is extracted, report to me or another Reaper and head back to headquarters." 

Jinhwan gave a final nod of his head and waved off the people that had gathered from all of the departments to aide the Reapers. Junhoe found himself hesitating for a moment before he was following after the small group. The water that had only been a few centimeters when they first arrived slowly began to get higher the further they walked in. Their clothes were getting soaked through and he could feel the water sloshing in his shoes as he pressed further into the maze of streets and houses. He wanted to grimace, wanted to complain, but the serious looks on all of the faces surrounding him had him keeping his features neutral. He wouldn't dare look weak amongst some of the best people that worked in their business. 

Slowly, one by one, the different people floated off into homes. Sometimes more than one went and Junhoe felt a flicker of confusion as he kept trekking in deeper until he was the last one left. Jinhwan had stopped some ways back when he had felt the tug of a life so strong that he immediately veered off. Junhoe was all alone as he stood in the street and felt an overwhelming sense of depression and sadness that hung in the air. The amount of death and destruction was causing the air to feel heavy around him and he was becoming more and more certain that he shouldn't have come along. He didn't even know what he was looking for. 

It was just when he was about to give up that he saw Jinhwan in the distance, a small child... not even four years old, with their hand clasped in his. Despite all of the anguish and all of the hurt that hung like a suffocating blanket in the atmosphere, somehow the small Reaper managed to smile for the small human and helped her to feel at ease despite the situation. Junhoe watched quietly, his gaze locked on the form that didn't seem bothered by the water or the rain that had started back up. Rather he noticed that Jinhwan was handling himself and the child with the utmost care as he gathered her into his arms and began to carry her off. He noticed how people were checking in the Reaper, and the way that he conducted himself was one of a long time professional, easily giving direction and order all with a cool head. 

Junhoe felt as if his entire world was off kilter and he stood in the waist deep water baffled by what he had witnessed. Perhaps the Reaper wasn't an imbecile completely. Maybe he had just a bit too much compassion for the people he took care of in the after life. 

With his feet rooted to the spot, it took a gentle nudging at his subconscious to pull his mind away from the image before him. There was someone to the building to the right of him and he found himself walking forward and into it without another thought. It was an odd feeling, one of a dim light that was threatening to flicker out at any given moment should the wind blow just hard enough. The Cupid found himself following that sensation, leading him down into the basement where the water reached his neck and he had to float along through debris. 

In the dark it took some time to find who he was looking for, a young man... about his age upside down in the water. Glancing around, he noticed the burns at his skin and frowned as he realized that the guy hadn't drowned but been electrocuted. Probably by some faulty wires and the water. Who knows how long he had been there, laying in the water... Junhoe could feel his heart hammering in his chest and the life force before him continued to diminish. He didn't know what would happen if it disappeared, but he could only assume it wasn't a good thing. 

Reaching out, like he had seen Jinhwan do before, he pressed his hand to the youth's head and felt for the life he needed to pull away. But he didn't know how to do it... there was no way to understand how to grab the life that still resided in the lifeless body. The Cupid only dealt with strings and fingers and tying up people that could potentially live together happily ever after. This wasn't the happily ever after, this was the cold brutal end and he wasn't sure if he could do it. Not that he would ever let anyone know, but he didn't want to let this one guy down. He deserved to be reincarnated or laid to rest or made into an Angel. He didn't deserve to be trapped in the basement where he died for the rest of his life.

As each second passed and the life of the kid started to slip further away, seeping out of him slowly, Junhoe felt himself getting desperate. There was no way for him to call out for someone to help. It was up to him and he was failing miserably. His heart was hammering against his chest and soon the small flicker of life that he could feel before was gone, slipping through his fingers like sand. His gut seized and a pain set in him like he had never known. It hurt... it hurt knowing that he was incapable of saving someone from an eternity being trapped and never belonging. 

His chest burned as he stayed floating in the basement with the body for a long time, his fingers pressed against his skin as he searched and searched for the soul that had once resided inside of him. Junhoe would have stayed there, freezing and empty, if Jinhwan hadn't come to find him. The look on his face was one of utter understanding and he slowly floated through the trash towards the Cupid. A small, warm hand covered the larger, cold one of the man that had stayed there waiting. "I couldn't... I didn't know how... he was there and then he was gone." Junhoe didn't realize how watery his voice sounded or the tears that had gathered in the corners of his eyes as he spoke. It was as if having someone show up to see his moment of weakness that he had allowed himself to open the flood gates. 

"Sometimes they're too far gone by the time you find them to even save them..." Jinhwan's voice was soft, warm and comforting and it wrapped around Junhoe like a blanket as he shuddered in the depths of that dark basement. "He had been down here a lot longer than most of the others. The fact that you were able to find him, without any training at all, is saying something." 

Junhoe knew that the words that he was being told was supposed to comfort him, but they weren't. "If I had been faster, if I hadn't made you wait... we could have been here sooner. I could have saved him. He wouldn't be stuck here... he wouldn't be living in an eternal hell of not knowing. That's the worst fate I could ever imagine..." There was unbridled emotions that made the Cupid's voice tremble as his shoulders shook. The warm hands on his shoulders were calming, but there was still the pain of knowing he had failed someone he had been entrusted to protect. 

Jinhwan was quiet for a moment, letting him release all of the anguish and desperation that had built up inside of his chest. It came pouring out in rivers on his already damp cheeks and it felt like it took an eternity for him to be able to catch his breath. "You know... this job is a lot harder than people think. They don't know how much actually goes into it... but you would make a damn good Reaper. You care and that's what matters, but you can't get caught up on the what ifs. Some will always slip through our fingers, but we just put more effort into saving others from the same fate." 

Looking up slowly, he saw the tender smile and that same compassionate warm look as before. Junhoe wasn't sure if his heart was suffering from spasms in his chest because of the death of the young man or because of the ridiculous fact that the Reaper was going out of his way to make sure he felt better. Either way, he felt a warmth he had never known before and it made him feel as if he was breathing for the first time. 

Holy wow, it's been a long time yes? Well. Another chapter for Junhwan has been added. To answer some questions. When someone dies, they are filed away and lose whoever was their original Cupid/Reaper... seeing as they are no longer human. When they are brought to this after life world, they can be reassigned to a senior Cupid (such as Junhwan to Jiwon) since the case usually is more complex. So in short, Jinhwan died before Jiwon, but Jiwon because his Cupid when Junhoe died. I'll probably make a time line of who died first and when and how.