When Hyukjae moved to Seoul, he thought his biggest issues would be not buying every cool thing he sees and making sure he doesn’t get lost. Having such a sweet and ridiculously out of his league neighbour is a bonus, as is Donghae offloading his baking adventures onto him. Donghae always said he was jealous Hyukjae never gained any weight, and Hyukjae just laughed it off and didn’t mention he burned it flying laps in the night sky. After all, being a mutant is illegal.

But no, his most pressing problem with Seoul isn’t his maybe-more-than-a-crush on his unattainable neighbour. It’s the little girl sitting on his couch, staring at Hyukjae while she eats from a box of pocky like she didn’t just literally walk through the wall at 2am.

Hyukjae is still clutching the remote like it’s the only thing holding him to reality. “Uh. Hi?” He’s very tempted to pinch himself to check he’s not dreaming.

The girl couldn’t be more than five. “Hello,” she says, her shy voice contrasting with her boldness as she reaches for the remote. “Pororo,” she demands.

“Um.” Hyukjae stabs his nail into his forearm and it hurts. Can his dreams trick him into feeling pain? “I’m sorry?”

“I want Pororo,” the little girl says. She rubs her eye tiredly and her body sinks into the couch until her legs are gone. Hyukjae drops the remote without thinking and lifts her by the armpits, unnerved as her legs kick through his torso while her arms are warm and solid. Hyukjae squints and sees a trail of brown crumbs by her lips.

“Did you come from Donghae’s?” He asks, certain Donghae had mentioned babysitting at some point.

The girl brightens. “Uncle Donghae!” She beams, tiredness suddenly gone. “I want to play! But he’s sleeping,” she pouts.

Hyukjae is still holding her and his arms are already getting tired. “You’re a mutant?” He asks, already knowing the answer.

The girl blinks at him slowly before her face pales. “Daddy says I’m not supposed to tell people,” she whispers. Her eyes start to well with tears and opens like she’s going to let out a wail –

“Me too!” Hyukjae says quickly, standing and letting his thick black wings pierce through his tank top to fill the space of his living area. “So it’s okay,” he adds, suddenly uncertain. He really should’ve hung out with Sora’s kids more. Maybe then he’d know how to act around children.

The girl hiccups and reaches out. Hyukjae lets one wing move close enough for her to touch, then immediately regrets it when she promptly pulls out a feather. “Pretty,” she says, shy again as she the feather.

“Definitely not a dream,” he sighs. “I’m Hyukjae, uncle Donghae’s friend.”

“Hello,” she says, swinging her legs. Is it too soon to put her down? Will she sink through the floor? Hyukjae begins to wish he’d just gone to bed earlier so he wouldn’t have to deal with this. “I’m Jiwoo,” she grins a gap toothed smile and wiggles her toes.

Hyukjae smiles and pulls her closer so he’s holding her to his chest, surprised how quickly she’s relaxed around him. She reaches for his wings again and he figures she might not see other mutants very often. “Should we take you back to Donghae?” He begins to fold back his wings again but her eyes widen and she fidgets in his arms.

“No!” she yells, and Hyukjae flinches at the abrupt volume. “I’ll sink again!”

“Okay, okay,” Hyukjae says soothingly, eyes flitting about his apartment as he tries not to panic. “Can I put you down?” Her eyes water again and Hyukjae’s panic drops into his stomach. “Okay! I’ll hold you, okay?”

Jiwoo nods with a wobbling lip and Hyukjae sighs. H