For the little bit, Mingyu tried not to think too much. If he thought about Seungkwan at all, he’d feel weird. Like he was obliged to comply with the boy’s request. It didn’t help that he had a deadline to decide, either. Deadlines terrified him because he always took so long to decide things. The back of his mind would always be telling him to hurry up and decide.

It was probably a few days later that Mingyu started to think about Seungkwan’s proposition of living with him. The only part that scared him was the possibility of him being kicked out once Seungkwan felt his good deed is over or got tired of taking care of him. Otherwise, he was fine with it. Did he get to live in an actual building? With possible air conditioning or a furnace? Sounded like a win to him.

First, though, he wanted to scope out the place. He had the advantage of Seungkwan not knowing what he looked like, so he could drop by anytime just to see how Seungkwan lived, where Seungkwan lived, and if he could live there easily. All the while, the boy wouldn’t even know he was around. He’d just have to plan his visit(s) well.

About an hour after Seungkwan had planted another ‘survival pack’ the following day, Mingyu had put on a hooded pullover sweater and a pair of sweatpants. He found a cool pair of wristbands being sold by a street vendor but realized he had no money. Using his visuals to his advantage (he knew for a fact that he was utterly handsome, dare he say one of the most attractive angels in heaven. And even the most attractive Fallen) he smiled dazzlingly at the vendor, who happened to be female.

“Ajumma~ You look very young!” he said. “You have to be at least 30!”

The vendor lady seemed to blush and fix her hair. “Why thank you, young lad. But this old bag is getting close to her 60s.”

“What’s your secret?” Mingyu leaned forward, smiling.

The woman leaned forward as well. “It’s lad’s that you that keep me young~” she giggled and covered her face. “Don’t tell anyone. Pick anything on this table.”

“Really…? Without paying?” he put on a guilty expression. “Are you sure~?”

The woman nodded. “Yes, yes! But…could you call me noona just once?”

Mingyu raised an eyebrow but figured it was the only way she’d give something for free. He picked up the wristbands and held them out to the woman. “Noona~ Can I have this please?”

The woman giggled and nodded her head. “Yes, go ahead young lad. I’ll keep this a secret. Come again, please! Tell your friends.”

Mingyu smiled a mixture of triumphantly and happily as he put the wristbands on. He didn’t need them but on the fly, he thought it would be a way to avoid Seungkwan running into him and asking his name for whatever reason. Having good looks usually did that. He bowed at the woman and jogged off. Yes; “Wristband” would work for a temporary nickname. Though it was pretty cheesy.

Realizing he was a bit lost, Mingyu wandered around a little confusedly. The map Seungkwan had made really didn’t help him at all. He couldn’t make sense of any of the lines. He finally decided to curb his reluctance to talking to more people and asked someone on the streets where the written district was.

Soon, he was on his way towards the living area of the person he was still questioning. He was shocked to see the drastic change of things as he continued walking. As he looked around the district, he noticed that it wasn’t as…full of life as the previous districts he had to walk through. Which was a few, because Seungkwan lived surprisingly far. Mingyu recalled passing through a district called Gangnam and a district called Hongdae.

He hadn’t realized Seungkwan had lived in such a quiet, shady looking place. Perhaps it was just the cheapest place. He was just a student after all. Was that how things worked? Mingyu shrugged as he continued walking.

As he walked down the street some more, he spotted a small corner store. Two people were out front, and the smaller, slightly familiar looking person was being yelled at. As Mingyu walked closer, he froze, realizing why the smaller person looked so familiar. His falter made him witness the older person yelling at him, hit Seungkwan.

He ducked behind a building and peered past the corner to watch what would happen next. The man pushed Seungkwan to the ground and walked away. Mingyu could sense the pain Seungkwan was in but didn’t want to help him. Why should he? He wasn't obliged to Seungkwan; he wasn't Seungkwan's Guardian Angel.

Mingyu watched Seungkwan got up and dusted himself off, rubbing his eyes a bit. This action made the Fallen angel realize Seungkwan was either crying or holding back tears. That didn’t make him feel good but he it wasn’t like there was anything he could do now. 

He dug his hand into his pocket randomly and realized there was a 1000 won bill in his pocket. He wasn’t sure if Seungkwan had put it in there on purpose or not, but he was still grateful he didn’t find it when he wanted the wristbands. Now he had an excuse to enter Seungkwan’s place of work.

Once Seungkwan was back inside the building, Mingyu got out from his hiding space and casually walked into the store. He nodded politely when Seungkwan, who just happened to be at the front till greeted him. A few other employees mulled around the store. The person who had slapped Seungkwan was nowhere to be seen.

Mingyu hummed and browsed the aisles a bit. There wasn’t really anything he wanted or needed right now. He didn’t have much to spend anyway. He just wanted to see what Seungkwan's workplace was like. Just in case he was forced to work there too.

A large, burly man approached him and asked, “Can I find you anything?” in a gravelly voice that sounded as if he smoked several cigarette packs a day.

(Yes, Mingyu knew what the effects of smoking were. He’d watched many people die from doing so, perhaps, unfortunately. He knew from listening to humans talk that cigarettes were often called ‘cancer sticks’, though he didn’t particularly like the name, as fitting as it was. But he digressed.)

“Just browsing,” Mingyu responded. He hummed for a second. “What can I get for 1000 won?”

Mingyu recognized this large man as the person who had slapped Seungkwan. He could tell this man didn’t have the best track record. There was a large scar on his exposed lower arm, and his face didn’t seem capable of making any expression but distaste and anger.

The man put a hand on Mingyu’s shoulder. “I hope that’s not all the money you’ve got, kid. We always have an opening here, though, if you need more cash.”

Mingyu politely moved away from the man’s touch. “I just want to spend 1000 won, is all. Need to…make some change.”

The man nodded. “Well, son, I’ll tell you that the cheapest stuff here is the sweets. But let me know if you need a discount on anything. You seem like a good kid.” he winked and made a gross clicking sound at the same time.

As the man walked away, Mingyu shivered. What an utterly ugly man. He’d have to make sure Seungkwan cleaned this sweater quickly. Mingyu shook his head and looked around a bit more. There was a small coffee machine in the back that had some ‘specialty’ drinks he hadn’t heard of. They were over 1000 won though.

Eventually, he settled on getting a pack of gum, as it was the cheapest thing he could find. He shrugged and walked up to the till with his pack of gum. He considered putting his hood up but figured it would seem a little suspicious. He put the pack of gum on the counter and smiled at Seungkwan, who was, of course, the cashier.

“Will this be it for you sir?” Seungkwan returned the smile as if he hadn’t just been slapped and pushed on the ground. “There’s a promo where if you buy one pack of gum, you can get any other sweet free. Did you want to go over and find another thing?”

Mingyu tilted his head in thought. “What would you recommend I get?”

“I don’t like sweets. But I do like milk candy if I had to choose.” Seungkwan replied.

Mingyu nodded in understanding and went back, grabbed the first thing he could find that said milk on it. He put it on the counter and Seungkwan rang both items in, typing in some discount code. Mingyu watched as the price went down from 1200 to 840 won as the price of the candy was voided.

“That’ll be 924 won,” Seungkwan said, reading out the total cost including tax.

Mingyu handed him the 1000 won bill and told him to keep the change, grabbing his gum and turning to leave. Seungkwan said ‘Have a nice day’ in a cheerful voice. However, as Mingyu was about to exit the store, Seungkwan stopped him.

“Wait! You forgot your candy!” he called.

Mingyu smirked and looked over his shoulder. “You can keep it. I think you deserve it more than I do.”

Seungkwan blinked and stared after Mingyu as he pushed through the door. He disappeared around a corner and didn’t turn back, leaving a confused Seungkwan staring at the milk candy in front of him.

The person who had left Seungkwan the milk candy was very attractive, Seungkwan noted as he slipped the candy under his desk. Why had he given him the candy? Why did he only need gum? Seungkwan was shaken from his thoughts when his manager, Cheon Harhyun, yelled at him to pay attention.

“Yah, Boo Seungkwan! I told you to clean up the bathroom!” he shouted, slamming his hand on the counter.

Seungkwan jumped and jolted his head up at the taller, larger man so hard he could hear a small snap. “Y-yes, sir. Sorry, sir. I’ll get right on it!”

He scrambled out from behind the till after signing out of the computer software and swiftly grabbing the milk candy. Before Harhyun could even say anything more, Seungkwan was already in the back room getting the mop and broom and whatever else he needed to clean the bathrooms. A few of his other employees, who were pretending to be working, snickered at him as he flew past them, almost knocking over some setups.

Once he was safe in the bathrooms, he locked the door behind him after putting up a sign that told no one to enter. He paused for a second at the mirror to check his face out. That hit would definitely leave a bruise. But what was new for him? Luckily, makeup was his friend. He reached into his apron pocket and pulled out the milk candy.

Had that stranger seen him get him? Perhaps the candy was a way to make him feel better? Seungkwan couldn’t help but smile. Ever since he had come to Seoul, the only people who were genuinely nice to him were his sisters. And his landlord. Everyone else had made fun of his weight or slight accent, as he still wasn’t used to not using his vastly different Jeju dialect.

Having someone do something nice for him was touching, as he always tried to be nice to people even if they weren’t nice to him. He tried to stay positive. Moving cities wasn’t going to ruin his usual attitude. He wouldn’t let these people get to him; perhaps with time, Seungkwan would be able to prove himself. That’s what Seungkwan hoped, and that’s what allowed him to remain happy even after everything.

Remembering he had something to do, Seungkwan quickly put the candy back in his apron and started mopping the bathroom floors. He wasn’t in the mood to get hit twice in a row for not doing his job right.

When Mingyu returned to his base, he stared at the gum he bought for no reason. He also thought about how Seungkwan could act so…nice after being hit. Mingyu would be cranky all day if someone tried to hurt him. Hell, he’d probably hit the person back. But Seungkwan? He just took it, stayed quiet, and pretended nothing happened.

And what was up with that dude? He looked like the store’s boss. Why did he go around hitting his employees? Was he even allowed to? And then he offered Mingyu a job? No way in hell was he going to get abused like that. People really were horrible. Mingyu’s opinion hadn’t changed just based on one person.

He shook his head and tossed the gum into the duffle bag.

He still needed to think about taking up Seungkwan’s offer. Judging from how the boy worked, how he lived wouldn’t be any better. But…it was still a better place than a forest. As long as Seungkwan didn’t force him to work at that dreadful place with him… He shivered at the thought.

He’d have to go out again and find that apartment. He’d left right after leaving the store so he didn’t get the chance to stake the place out yet. He’d save that for the next day though. If Seungkwan saw him twice in one day he might think he was a stalker or something. Or ask his name, which was even worse. Maybe he'll sleep on it again. Sleep was a great answer to everything.

    Author's note:

I hope you guys enjoy this. I'll try to make a more entertaining chapter next time. (Btw, the Korean chapter names won't mean anything special, I just didn't want to title it 1 or one or whatever so I used Korean. In case you don't know, 일  is one.)