"Sorry, Kyunnie, but I swear it was an emergency this time."

Kihyun cracks his eyes open slowly, his eyelids feeling like led. Kyunnie? Who's that? Where is he? Why isn't he back home? He surely should've died by now if that damn mortal—

"Changkyun-ah, I have to go," the same voice says, suddenly much softer. "He's awake." The mortal shuffles into Kihyun’s line of sight, causing him to have to squint his eyes to get them to focus. Kihyun thinks for a moment he’s looking at an angel, and he forgets—again—that he has to breathe. The lights on the ceiling create a sort of halo effect as they pass through the man’s white hair, illuminating his pale skin. His small eyes are filled with concern as he looks down at the stranger on his couch.

“I uh… managed to patch up your wound,” the mortal tells him, bending forward as he sits on the coffee table beside the couch. He holds out a mug, and Kihyun can’t help but look at it confusedly. A light, airy chuckle escapes the white-haired man as he nods towards the mug, saying, “I don’t know if you like this kind of stuff, but here. It’s good for, you know, keeping calm and stuff. I feel like that’s a good thing to try at when you wake up from nearly dying.”

Kihyun silently takes the mug, peering down into it curiously after sitting up with minimal difficulty. His middle still aches, but it doesn’t burn anymore, which he supposes is an improvement. He doesn’t really know, as he’s never bothered actually healing from his wounds before. He presses the rim of the warm cup to his lips and gulps down the warm liquid greedily. The subtle tastes of cinnamon, honey, and nutmeg mingle together atop his tongue and flow down his throat like a gentle river.

“Thank you,” Kihyun says, his voice much stronger than he’d expect. He sets the now empty mug on the table, beside the human whose smiling at him like he’s seeing the face of God. Kihyun shifts despite himself, clearing his throat as he makes as if to stand. He ought to get out of here before the mortal begins asking questions he can’t answer.

“Do you have someone who can come get you?” the human asks, standing with him. Kihyun wobbles on his feet, a wave of dizziness making his vision go fuzzy. He blinks repeatedly to get his eyes to clear, pressing a hand to his temple. The man grabs his elbow as if to help steady him, but Kihyun quickly brushes it off.

“I’ll be fine,” is all he says, ignoring the… well, he doesn’t quite know what it is. This new, unnamable emptiness in his gut when he sees the hurt light in the mortal’s eyes. “I… have a way to get home,” he adds in a feeble attempt to get that slightly-pouty expression off the other’s face. He then hurries for the door, eager to get home and out of this aching body.

“Wait!” the mortal calls, his urgent tone surprising Kihyun so much he actually does stop. He turns to watch the other scramble around for a piece of paper and scribble something on it. He offers it, and Kihyun takes it confusedly, noting the string of numbers on it accompanied by the name ‘Jooheon’. “That’s my number. Message me when you get home, so I know you’re not off dying somewhere again. It’s a rough town we live in.”

“Thank you… Jooheon,” Kihyun mutters, the name feeling oddly satisfying on his tongue. He’s never learned a mortal’s name before. He finds a great sense of pride filling him at making the connection. Jooheon himself positively beams with delight, his eyes growing even smaller and his dimples growing deeper as a brilliant smile overtakes his features. The unnamable feeling enters his mind again at the realization that he’ll likely never see the mortal again, that he won’t even be able to contact him once he reaches home.

He swallows the strange feeling and turns on his heel to leave, shutting the door softly behind him. Jooheon merely stares at the door after he leaves, his smile falling as he begins to think he shouldn’t have left the still-injured stranger leave so soon.

Kihyun wraps his denim jacket around himself as he moves quickly through the town. There’s only one way he can get home now, and he absolutely detests having to resort to it. He weaves through streets and back alleys, sensing out the ticket home: The Gatekeeper.

He manages to find the correct alley with minimal effort, as it isn’t a very hard one to find. Mythical energies just poor out of it, creating a sort of beacon for anyone able to sense such things. He turns into the alley as inconspicuously as possible, his shoulders hunched forward defensively as he sights the one he’s looking for.

A beautiful, tall, lanky man leans against the damp brick wall, his right foot propped up against it. His hands are stuffed into his pockets, and a whisper of a smile plays across his lips. He leans his head towards Kihyun, a twinkle in his dark eyes.

“Didn’t think it was you looking for me, Angel,” he comments, quirking up a brow as Kihyun merely hums in response. “Usually it’s the other crowd looking for my company. Your lot doesn’t normally need me.”

“Nosy human got in the way of my usual way home,” Kihyun tells him, aiming to remain as vague as possible. He stops just in front the man, pursing his lips. “Well, Hyungwon-ssi? You gonna open it for me?” Hyungwon, The Gatekeeper, Kihyun’s only connection to his home now, huffs out an exasperated sigh. He rolls his eyes, freeing a single hand from a pocket. He raps his knuckles twice against the brick. A dark, wrought-iron gate springs into vision on the wall, spreading out from where Hyungwon had touched it and growing as tall as the building itself.

Kihyun nods once, moving forward.

“No thank you?” Hyungwon prompts cheekily, smirking at Kihyun. The angel pauses, not even sparing the… thing not a single glance.

“Thank you,” he says to the thing not human, angel, or demon. Hyungwon hums, seemingly satisfied. Kihyun quickly looks away, unable to keep his eyes on the creature for too long. He’s unlike anything Kihyun has ever seen, not belonging to any world Kihyun knows of. He hates having to go home this way as he has to go by this unexplainable being. Thought he doesn’t know what he is, he knows he shouldn’t exist. His unnatural, abomination-like energy ebbs off him, feeling as if it’d burn if Kihyun were to get too close.

Kihyun ignores such thoughts for now, eager to shed this mortal coil and be on his merry way. He pushes the gate open with a single hand, unable to keep the small smile that pulls at his lips under control as an indescribably beautiful light floods his vision. He blinks away the tears that pricks at his eyes, relief and peace washing over him.

He steps into the light, smiling brilliantly as he leaves the dingy alleyway behind.