Falling from heaven can make you a bitter person. Providing you already never really liked the humans in the first place, you’d learn they were too smart for their own good, and usually too ungrateful. They took everything they have for granted and acted like they own everything, even though they didn’t own anything. Everything was given to them by God; the ground, the sky, the animals, and the light. Yet everyone treated all of it like trash. Littering, pollution, abusing animals, and more. So much damage had been done to God’s creations, so many have gone extinct. Why? Because humans are trigger happy, selfish, and really only care about themselves instead of focusing on the big picture. At least, that’s what Mingyu thought.

That’s why he wasn’t even surprised when he crash-landed in a park on a dreary day, only to have no one try and help him. Sure, he had fallen in an area with no people, but even as he stumbled around confusedly, momentarily forgetting who and what he was, no one seemed to care about his well-being. He was already starting to things on Earth. None of this would have happened if he hadn’t been banished to Earth after getting the man he was supposed to be guarding killed.

In Mingyu’s defence, the man he was guarding over was pretentious and had little care for anyone who wasn’t either a gorgeous woman or rich like him. Mingyu had often witnessed the man abusing animals, children--his own children--and even his wife. Why God had chosen this impudent, horrible excuse for a human, to be ‘guarded’ was beyond Mingyu. He wished he’d had a better job when he was in heaven. Now he was on Earth with no job, no friends, and a literal pain in the back because of his broken wings that supposedly took ages to heal.

When Mingyu tried to ask for help from strangers, people would either veer away from him or give him an incredulous look. It wasn’t like Mingyu had his wings out. He wasn’t either… was it the style of clothing he was wearing? Mingyu looked down at his slightly tattered, once white but now muddied with grays, browns, and greens, then looked at what modern people were wearing. Why didn’t Falling come with any civilian clothing or anything that made him look normal? Even money would have been fine for Mingyu. Now he had to walk around in his dirty robes, hoping to either find some old clothing lying around on the streets. Or, the less likely option, find someone nice enough to take him in for a bit.

As he walked the streets of what he understood as some district of Seoul, South Korea, he tried not to make eye contact with anyone, just because he already knew people were staring and he wasn’t really in the mood to acknowledge it. He looked around for any sign that said ‘free clothing’, ‘clothing drive’ or something similar. Some humans did that right? He peered inside a clothing store, but everything looked expensive, though Mingyu wasn’t exactly aware of what ‘expensive’ was on this planet. Most of the garbs worn in heaven were made by mother Angels or graced to an Angel by God, Himself. There was no currency in Heaven; everything was provided by God.

Mingyu sighed and kicked a rock. He had wandered into the alleyway of a neighbourhood somehow and was about to give to hope when he saw it. A line of clothing hanging in the backyard of a townhouse. He looked around to make sure no one else was around before stealthy jumping the fence of the house. He’d already Fallen, so it’s not like he had to be a goody-two-shoes and still act angelic. He stole a pair of sweatpants and a pullover sweater from the clothesline without a second thought and looked at them. They were a bit damp but Mingyu didn’t mind too much. He left the backyard of the house as quickly as possible and ran as far away as he could from that neighbourhood so he didn’t get caught.

After changing clothing in a dark alley, he stepped out and looked around. Now he looked like a normal human being, at least. Luckily for him, the sweater he grabbed was a bit loose so it hid the little stubs his wings had left on his back. The clothing problem was fixed, but now he had to look for a way to make currency, as well as find a place to stay. Clearly, things were not going to be as easy as he’d expected.

A loud rumbling sound came from his stomach. Of course, he’d forgotten about the most important part of being human. Requiring food to survive. Angels ate too but not as a necessity. They didn’t need to eat. It was simply a pleasure. Actually, Angels could go ages without eating or drinking. Humans, on the other hand, Mingyu had learned, humans could only last up to 3 weeks without food, and usually only 3 days without water. The only exception being Jesus, who lasted 40 days without food or water in a desert, of course.

Mingyu looked around. Food, food…where could he possibly get food without stealing again, and without money? If he couldn’t find food today at least there was the option of waiting until later. He still had 3 weeks. He decided to push his luck and not eat anything right away. He did need water though. That could easily be solved by drinking from a river or lake, though. Yes, that’s right. The best way to get food and water is to get it from nature itself.

Mingyu ended up spending quite a while hiding out in a forest close to a stream. He didn’t really keep track, as he had no way to do so. He’d quickly switched back to his tattered robe since appearance obviously wasn’t as important in the wilderness. Often he’d even just go around . It wasn’t like the animals cared whether or not he was clothed or not in the first place. The first little while he just ate berries and nuts and mushrooms. All safe to eat, of course. He may or may not have checked by feeding it to the small mammals that lived there, though.

Later on, he’d made a fire to keep warm and somehow fastened himself a bow out of a branch and several wound pieces of spiders string. It took quite a while to gather enough spider web though. He’d started hunting some of the creatures that hung around. Only the weaker older looking ones though. God had never said humans couldn’t eat meat, and especially never said anything about hunting to eat. Of course, part of Mingyu felt bad, as animals were the only creatures he liked on Earth, but he decided it was a worthy enough sacrifice.

Mingyu had just started getting used to his forest lifestyle when, approximately a month after he started living there, a mini-crisis occurred. He had just finished cleaning his robe in the river and was heading back to his base when he heard rustling; footsteps The rustling sounded different from the animals he always heard milling about. This was larger, more deliberate in its movement. It was definitely a human. Mingyu froze and held his breath, hiding behind a large tree.

A circular beam of light shone on Mingyu’s living area. If Mingyu recalled correctly, it was called a…flashlight? Either that or God was pitying Mingyu and wanted to take him back. The former seemed more likely. He peered his head around the tree trunk to investigate a bit. Squinting, he saw short, slightly chubby teenage-looking boy standing in the middle of the clearing, looking around next to the fire Mingyu had constructed, muttering to himself. Mingyu couldn’t make it what the boy was saying from where he was perched, but it was probably something rude.

The light lifted a bit, aiming towards the tree Mingyu had taken hostage behind, causing the Fallen Angel to dart his head back behind the tree as to not get caught. It was one thing that a human had somehow found him and Mingyu didn’t know if the person meant well or not. But Mingyu hadn’t the chance to put clothing on, and as far as he knew, the lack of clothing in public was…frowned upon. Offensive even. He did not want to go into one of those…cells humans were put into when they committed a crime.

“Is someone there?” The stranger called out.  “I’ve been in this forest before, I know this camp wasn’t here last time I came out!”

Oh no, was this person a patrol officer? Mingyu actually had no idea what exactly that meant but it seemed bad. He debated revealing himself. No… Something was compelling him to reveal himself. He stole another peek at the stranger. The boy looked nice enough…with his chubby, round, childlike face. He almost looked like a cherub. Probably around the age, Mingyu took the form of too. But looks can deceive.

“Alright…you don’t have to come out.” The human said after several minutes of a very awkward silence full of rustling and random light flickers. “You seem like you’re barely getting by…the stream water here isn’t the greatest to be drinking, either." the human paused as if thinking. "I’ll…be back tomorrow to check on you. Unless I’m just talking to myself here. That’d be pretty stupid of me. Anyways. I’ll be back to help.”

Mingyu was about to step out from behind his tree until he heard the last sentence. He’ll…come back? Come back to help? Why would he help someone he didn’t even know existed? If Mingyu hadn’t been there, this person would have actually been crazy. 

“B-but you can’t get mad if I get your clothing size wrong! I’m not the tallest or skinniest person so my clothes might not work…” the person added after a second, humming in thought.

Mingyu chewed his lip as he glanced at the pile of stolen clothing that the stranger had yet to notice. He used the small bit of Angelic power he thought had left in him to levitate the clothing. Though because he was rusty, the clothing almost few right into the boy, causing him to emit a girlish scream and jump nearly 3 feet into the air. Mingyu let out a quiet chuckle before quicking covering his mouth, hoping the sound wasn't heard. 

The flashlight somehow had turned off and had fallen on the ground when the stranger screamed. He was panting and checking his heart rate. After he recovered from the scare, looking around with a mixture of fear and wonder on his face, the stranger picked up the flashlight and shone it on the clothing that was now a mess on the ground. He kicked the clothing as if to make sure it wouldn't attack him again before using his foot to lift up a piece of clothing and check its size.

“Small/Medium? I can’t tell if you’re just somehow really fit, or if you haven't been eating well....”

The comment sounded both sarcastic and concerned in Mingyu’s head. He didn’t know how to take it, but he didn’t feel…mad per say. He let the stranger leave and slowly he crept out from behind his tree. Luckily the stranger hadn’t touched anything else. Mingyu curled up next to the fire and decided to sleep away his confusion about that night's events.

Much to Mingyu’s surprise, after he had woken up and went hunting for breakfast, he returned to his base and saw a woven basket and a large, canvas bag. He questioned it at first before belatedly realizing that the abrupt appearance of the stranger last night was not a dream. Mingyu wondered when the person had stopped by. It looked to be still fairly early.

He slowly approached the stuff. He hadn’t actually expected anything from the stranger, thinking maybe he would forget about him the next morning. Yet there was so much stuff here. Mingyu was confused as to how a person could be so generous to someone they haven’t seen, met, or even heard the story of. How did he know he can trust Mingyu? How do you even trust anyone when humans can be so betraying? So many questions that would never be answered. 

The basket had food, lots of it, placed neatly in separate containers. There were foods that God had ‘borrowed’ from humans in heaven and foods that he had never even seen in his life. The canvas bag had clothing, a few other things he couldn’t properly identify and a piece of paper in it. Mingyu unfolded the paper, revealing it to be a note, obviously written in Korean. He was close to panicking until he remembered that being a Fallen meant he could understand and read the language of the country which he was thrown to or had landed in. Otherwise, how would he have been able to understand what this generous stranger had said the previous night? His brain must have still been foggy from sleeping. He shook his head and opened the note.

The contents of the note were short. Just three small paragraphs;

‘I brought food a bit of clothing and some other things. The food should last a week. The clothing is for if you ever need to leave the forest if you know how to. It’s nothing too fancy. Just enough to make you not look weird.

If you need anything else or don’t like what I’ve given, write it down on this paper so I’ll know. Next week I’ll come pick the stuff up and replace it with new stuff. If you put any other dirty clothes in the Duffle bag, I’ll wash them too and bring it back.

I don’t know your circumstances but judging from your camp, lack of a bed, and no fresh water, it looked like you were possibly homeless. I can’t stand seeing homeless people struggle. When you’re ready for your presence to be known, I’d love to help you more in person.

-a friendly stranger’

The following perhaps few weeks were spent getting help from that Friendly Stranger, as he called himself for a bit. The food was pretty good. A lot better than the food he hunted, surprisingly. The clothing was nice too. Just simple shirts and baggy pants for him to keep warm. The boy even brought him socks once. And then later brought an entire…was it called a sleeping bag? His returns became more frequent and soon he was bringing and collecting items every day. He was so vigilant and always came by at the same time. By the end of the third week, Mingyu felt bad for not ever revealing himself.

Not to mention that at some point, the Friendly Stranger had written a fairly long letter basically explaining his life story. As if Mingyu cared. Though he had to admit he was a bit curious. Just a bit. The Friendly Stranger wrote his name was Boo Seungkwan. A unique name, Mingyu thought, reading the letter. Then again, he didn’t know the standard of naming in Korea. Seungkwan was from an island off of mainland Korea called Jeju but was living in Seoul with his sisters for school. Mingyu didn’t know where Jeju was, but maybe that was why Seungkwan’s name sounded so different. Seungkwan had just graduated high school the previous February in Jeju and had ended up going to Seoul for university.

The following day, there was another note. This one had Seungkwan’s address written on it. At first, Mingyu had just skimmed through the note. Upon reading the address, though, he decided to properly read it thoroughly, wondering why an address was included. The letter was just as short as the previous ones.

‘Hey, this might be weird but I’m gonna offer it anyways. As I said previously, I’m in Seoul for university and so I’m living alone in my apartment. I have a small job that makes me enough to get by, but I really want to help you out a bit more.

I’d like you to think about coming up to my apartment and meeting me. If you don’t wanna meet at my apartment, there’s a corner store across the way, which I work at. Just ask for me and I’ll try and meet you. Otherwise…meet me at my apartment a week from now at 5 pm.

If you no longer want my charity, just tell me now and I’ll stop helping you entirely. If you don’t meet me at my apartment in a week, I’ll still keep dropping by with stuff and will keep dropping stuff off in the time in between until you tell me to stop.

-Your Friendly Stranger,
Boo Seungkwan’

Under the signature was written a street name, apartment name, as well as his room number. There was even a bit of a crudely drawn map that was probably to help Mingyu find the place but just looked like a bunch of lines to him. Mingyu stared at the address for a while. Probably long enough to have it memorized. Then he put the letter back in the canvas bag and looked at the stuff Seungkwan had brought him, thinking long and hard on what to do, as he nibbled on a chocolate bar, his new favourite snack.

Was he going to trust this kid so soon? Probably not. Was he considering at least showing himself to Seungkwan or getting a warm place to live before it started getting too cold? Admittedly, yes. He didn’t have to trust someone entirely to live with someone…right? He clicked his tongue and threw the chocolate wrapper into the woven basket, deciding to sleep on it later.

    Author's note:

      Word count: 3200ish

EDIT 1/12/18: I decided to spice this story up with a layout. I don't own the layout though.