﴾ 🟈 ﴿

There was a room, dark with only the light of screens to illuminate it. The room was different to the typical four walls—this one was round, possessing no start, no end and no corners. It was a massive room, holding six rows of desks all side by side. At least fifteen desks per row had someone seated, frantically gazing upon the screens before their eyes. Some desks had four or five people crowded about, taking notes, making assessments, handing out drinks or papers. It was a chaotic, yet organized, mess. These people, however, were much different from you or I. Clear and clean wings sat upon their backs, all in different shapes and color; and above their heads a golden ring of light.

They were angels.

In front of the many rows of desks and angels was a giant holographic screen, switching back and forth between the most horrific of live feeds. For this room was a special viewing room, the Central Room. Where angels could see all the natural disasters and crisis’s occurring world wide on Earth. There were no cameras, machine produced images that allowed them this ability, it was simply because they were of Heaven. They just could.

Behind the rows of desks was an elevated platform, like the way a bridge of a ship would act. On that platform was a single angel, oldest of them all and probably the most stressed—for they worked without rest. Sometimes an assistant or two would be beside this angel, running errands and things that she could not. Her sole duty was to oversee all that occurred in that room, to make sure information got to the right places and at the right times.

"Get me visual on that typhoon, asap." She barked an order above the many loud voices below, her bellow above all.

"Right away," another responded.

"Seismic activity in southern Japan has just come up." A different voice called out from bellow.

"Understood, record that. Keep an eye on it. We want as little tidal waves as possible. Any progress with fires out in California?"

"No, it’s still the same. Two lives lost in the last twelve hours. A family vacationing is in direct line with it." Another answered.

"Understood. I want the Infantry Guard out there yesterday. Where's that visual I asked for five minutes ago?! I want to see how far off this typhoon is from Indonesia's western coast! Let's go, I don't have all day!" The impatience’s was quite evident now. "Check on Hawaii, how are we doing there?"

"No improvements! Volcanic activity is still at high levels, families are relocating to the other side of the island and the wildlife is still taking massive damage." A new voice answered her.

"Understood. Infantry Guard has been deployed already, correct?"

"Yes. The new squadron was released just two days ago."

"Good. I need contact with Disaster Relief, get someone in here stat… Two avalanches’ one in the western Andes, Chile and the other in southern Alps, Switzerland. Let’s get moving on Infantry Guard! How's the situation in Somalia—"

"I have visual on the Indian Ocean, West of Indonesia!" Someone yelled out suddenly.

The large holographic screen projected a live aerial visual of a growing hurricane. The light colors on the screen illuminated most of the room, more so than the near hundred of smaller holographic screens.

“That’s going to be a bad one, get Disaster Relief notified of the growing hurricane and I want Infantry Guard on those ships asap.”

“Mudslide Gyeonggi-do, South Korea!”

“Lives lost?”

“None so far, but a lot of people driving home for the night.”

Before the angel could make any kind of command regarding the mudslide, the ceiling of the room began to hum and glow in a bright white light.

"Everybody quiet! Messages from the Big One!" The chief yelled to triumph over all movement and noise. It was not often that God gave direct messages, but when God did, it was always through this faction of Heaven.

Within the next moment, a series of fluttering little folded note papers trickled down into the hands of some workers. There were not many, and those who received them all handled them with great care. The paper was delicate, made of papyrus and written in an ink no one dared to ask what of.

Even the chief of the room had received a small folded piece of paper, however, it was not addressed to her.

"Ceroc!" She called out haughtily, the angel had been just below her, rushing a cup of coffee to one of the workers. Within milliseconds, the angel had appeared before the chief. “Deliver this message to Infantry Guard, Kyungsoo.” She said as she handed the note to the disheveled angel. As the name left her lips, all those nearby snickered amongst themselves. “Quiet! All of you! By Michael, if I hear another peep from any of you I will have your halos stripped! And you! What are you still doing here?! I wanted that note delivered five minutes ago!”

Ceroc grimaced in an uncomfortable fashion once the berating was unto him, only to disappear seconds later without leaving a trace behind.

﴾ 🟈 ﴿

A steady breath exhaled, arm pulled taut on a bow string, a nervous shake effecting his line of sight. Just six meters away stood a target, two circled rings painted in black.

“SHOOT!” Someone screamed in his ear.

He let the arrow loose, the voice having scared him, and watched as it hit the target—far from the center point. His face fell and immediately a despondence filled his being.

Chortles from the spectators behind only filled his shame further.

“Again.. Kyungsoo,” The masculine voice that shouted in his ear spoke again, clearly disappointed with the results. “That’s the fifth one already today.” It was his drill captain.

The bow in Kyungsoo’s hand disappeared with a golden shimmer, his life energy having called it back to his body. Weapons were apart of a guardian angel’s natural being, they had the ability to call upon it and create ammo when necessary.

“Face it captain! He’s been here for so long that he’ll never learn!” A particularly blonde-haired angel chided as his goons snickered. They were tall, broad-shouldered and had white wings so large and so glorious that anyone could tell they were made to be true guardian angels.

Kyungsoo was small. Short in stature and not terribly broad shouldered. Of course, all angels come in different shapes and sizes, but guardian angels were most notable for their large statures and white wings. Kyungsoo’s wings were brown and freckled with white spots; they were the smallest ever recorded in the history of Heaven and it only made him feel more pathetic than he already did.

You see, every angel is born with a specific roll. Some are born to work in the Central Room, monitoring all natural disasters and crises on Earth. Some are born to the Disaster Relief faction to aid the human’s and wildlife in these natural disasters or crises. And some are born to be personal guardians. Kyungsoo was one of those, born with the sole duty to train until he was ready to serve his human on earth in hard times. However, Kyungsoo’s experience being a guardian angel was much different from everyone else’s.

Guardian angels are created when their human is created. This process is not mathematical nor chosen by any other angel in Heaven. It is a process as old as time, filled with the wonderous powers of God. A scroll (known as The Scroll), long and ever growing, possesses all the names of these pairs—however, the names of a guardian’s human is not revealed until the bond has been completed. When the human has exhausted its time on Earth, the guardian then perishes, as its service had been fulfilled. The soul of the guardian will remain dormant until called upon once more and be reborn as a new guardian.

A human and guardian will share bond from the moment the human is created. Not every human is created with a guardian, but all guardians have a human. Through the nine-month period that a human resides in the womb of a belly, their guardian angel trains under vigorous trials; undergoing simulations that they might find themselves on earth when protecting their human. When the human is born the bond is complete, and the guardian can be summoned at any point (even if the human is unaware of it). Just the slightest hint of danger or stress will cause the guardian angel to be right at their back.

However, just as humans are all born individually different, so are the guardian angels. Some have stronger skills than others, and some have much weaker skills than the average. Some are weak spirited and frighten easy, but it does not falter their essence and that they would do anything to protect their human. But there can also be.. Complications. Long after the nine-month training, it is possible that a human and guardian can remain hidden from each other. There is no know reason why it happens, sometimes it just takes a year for the bond to be complete. It might have something to do with the human, or it might have something to do with the guardian—it is uncertain. But those that take a little longer stay in the training program until they are called upon, where they will graduate to a full-fledged guardian angel.

That day never came for Kyungsoo.  

For twenty-five years he has been training and waiting for the day him and his human could be united. No guardian has ever gone that long. The longest recorded time period was ten years; the average only being one.

“When was the last time you meditated?” The drill captain asked.

Kyungsoo turned his head and held his lips taut, jaw clenched. Meditation was the equivalent of sleep for angels, necessary component if guardians wanted to perform at their very best.

“Kyungsoo! When was the last time you meditated?!” His superior yelled out again, waiting rather irritably for the answer. Kyungsoo simply turned his head further to the side, trying to grit away the overwhelming anger inside of him.

The drill captain shook his head and sighed before jotting a few notes on his clipboard.

“I really think it’s time you look into other options. I know The Scroll says you’re supposed to be a guardian, but let’s face it! You’re just not meant for this. Two score you’ve been with us. Nearly twenty-five human years. That’s more than double the amount of the last angel to have waited before meeting their assigned human.” He began flipping through papers on his board. “Your scores have been below average in every test we put you through, there’s hardly been any improvement with you. I really think it’s time you give it up. Your human will never be known to you at this point and you’ll never get any better at this—”

“Drill captain! A messenger from Central Room!” One of the spectating trainee’s called out as an angel dressed rather formally ran over.

Everyone stopped to watch the commotion.

“A message, from the Big One.” Ceroc handed the folded note paper to the drill captain.

He simply looked at the paper, noting that it was addressed to Kyungsoo and raised a brow. He then handed it over to the skulking angel.

“You’re not going to read it?” Ceroc asked. It was only natural since the drill captain was the superior here.

“Of course not! It wasn’t addressed to me, and I’m not about to impose on the Big One’s direct orders.”

Kyungsoo simply unfolded the note and read its contents. As he skimmed over each word, his hands and knees lost the strength to hold him up properly. Eyes widening and lips parting to a gape, he could hardly believe what he was reading.

“This came from… The Big One?” Kyungsoo’s gentle voice sounded.

Ceroc nodded and the drill captain snatched the note to read. “…There must be a mistake” He read the note again, this time aloud: “Infantry Guard, status: deployment. Mudslide, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea…Kyungsoo.”

Nearly everyone who could hear the drill captain’s words froze.

What kind of nonsense was that?

They all looked at one another, the disbelief very much apparent on all their faces.

The drill captain then looked to Kyungsoo and immediately narrowed his eyes. “Well! You got your orders! What are you still doing here?! Go! You know the drill! Gabriel’s speed won’t even help you now, go go go!” He waved his hands and pushed the angel on and gave back the note, trying to get him to move.

Kyungsoo, still very much confused by the whole situation, disappeared from the training grounds and transported to the locker rooms.

The trainee’s could all hardly believe their ears, their faces long with astonishment as their drill captain shook his head and headed for them.

“It’ll be his first…and his last.” He muttered.

As the trainees and captain all convened amongst themselves about the odd chain of events about to ensue, no one had noticed that the arrow on the target was more than half way punctured through. The target was at least five inches thick of solid material.

﴾ 🟈 ﴿

There had to be a reason to all this right? Was his human finally found? Was he finally going to live up to his title as a guardian angel?

All these curious and hopeful thoughts ran in Kyungsoo’s mind as he changed his outfit. Black jeans and black turtleneck, halo gone, and wings removed (with the help of magic in his life force). This was standard procedure for those traveling to Earth, to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Humans cannot see other guardian angels outside of their own, but only if they so choose to be seen. That, however, doesn’t stop for eyes more attuned to the super natural from seeing them, so a disguise is heavily warranted.

For twenty-five years, all Kyungsoo knew were the confines of the Infantry Academy. Never leaving and never having the opportunity to live outside its walls since his training was technically never completed. It was a prison, really. And now? His first chance to save a human had arisen. He would do anything to keep them safe.

He double checked his gear and double checked his mental readiness to take this task on—this was no time to let his worries take over. Reading the note over once more, just to make sure he had not imagined any of it and stuffed it in his back pocket. It was just the right amount of confidence he needed to set him off for the human world, to the mudslide off a mountainside, just a few miles out of Seoul.

The note was a bit odd, even if Kyungsoo didn’t fully understand it. On the bottom, scrawled in pristine handwriting wrote:

‘Only you can save yourself.’  

What an odd notion, he thought before teleporting to Earth.

﴾ 🟈 ﴿

An onslaught of rain in the night berated in every which direction on his body. Of course, rain to this caliber was nothing compared to the hurricane simulations he endured in the academy. And having twenty-five years of experience, he could say he was more than ready to take it on.

But all training aside, he could feel it; the powerful sensation of his human. The bond that was meant to keep them connected engulfed his senses, acting like a magnet and attracting him so. Part of him wondered if he should have broken the rules and gone to earth long ago, it just seemed too easy that he could feel his human now. Heaven was much too far for any kind of connection to be made, but this feeling? It was like no other. But above those feelings he could sense the fear and discomfort radiating from the trail and it made his heart lurch. Something was very wrong with his human and he needed to act fast.

Without another thought his eyes quickly scanned the surrounding area. The mix of dark night and rain made it nearly impossible for any human to see properly, but the eyes of an angel were far more advanced and had no trouble. Even Kyungsoo’s, despite being physically weaker than his peers. From where he stood, a rushing of muddied water ran over his feet, soaking his shoes to the very bone. Debris of branches, tree roots, scrap metals and trash all settled on the road and blocked passage of the road in either direction. It was truly a mess. In one direction, Kyungsoo could see nothing but black night—no street lights lighting the way. Behind him in the other direction he could see the distant red and blue flashes of police cars against the trees and mountain side.

It was a heavily forested area, the road built into the side of a low mountain leading to private homes or villas down by the river. It was an extension off the Han river, leaving it a prime destination for young groups of friends to rent villas for the springtime weekends. But with spring came spring showers, floods, and in rare cases—mudslides.

As Kyungsoo surveyed the scene further his eyes stopped at an opening on the guardrail. It was bent, as if forced open. He stepped quickly, standing at the very edge of the broken guardrail and stared down the steep drop off. It was at least a forty-five degree angled drop from that point, and a good couple meters to the bottom. To his dismay, a car, flipped on its top, was still running at the bottom. Without a seconds thought, his wings appeared and he jumped down. His wings may have been smaller than the average and brown compared to the stark white, but they had one perk that most did not. They made for quick dives and speedy maneuvering compared to the other angels. A talent that never seemed to come in handy at the academy.

He landed with almost steady feet, nearly slipping along the slope of fresh mud. Just in front of him was the car, not terribly new, but nice enough. Headlights on, windshield wipers going at top speed and the low hum of music playing. The car might have been white once if it weren’t for the heavy coating of mud that now painted it.

As Kyungsoo quickly moved to see if anyone was in the car, he couldn’t help but notice there were some broken ceramic plates and cups that littered the ground and clothes that hung outside the trunk. That seemed a little odd, and unfortunate to whoever needed those now mud-stained clothes.

He knelt to all fours and found no one inside. The car had not been crushed enough to make it impossible to escape, but the driver door was jammed, and it was painfully obvious who ever drove the car escaped through the broken window. The strong smell of blood did not go unnoticed by Kyungsoo, small puddles of blood stained the top of the car fabric, driver’s wheel and a few hand prints sloppily placed around the driver’s window. The blood had not yet congealed completely, but it was cool enough to have happened just recently. Which meant the time to reach his human was very small if he wanted to save them. It would only be a matter of minutes before they bleed out or fainted from a horrible injury.

“Stitch by stitch, I tear apart

If brokenness is a form of art

I must be a poster child prodigy”

The music played lowly in the background.

Kyungsoo took one last inspection of the car and noticed the back seat full of stationary office supplies. Well, what used to lay on the back seat was a box, now flipped over and scattered about the roof. There was a laptop bag and a clearly smashed laptop inside scattered in pieces, papers here and various other little pieces of trash there.

Two possible solutions, he thought, a new office promotion and they were getting ready to move in. But it was late at night and most people were on their way home, which meant.. A job termination. Fired.

The added clothes trailing the trunk and ground, broken laptop, and the few miscellaneous dishware strewn about lead to another possible conclusion: kicked out. Jobless and now homeless, his human was wondering the forest through miles of mudslide debris, trudging through pouring rain and bearing through serious injuries.

“Thread by thread I come apart

If brokenness is a work of art

Surely this must be my masterpiece”

Kyungsoo moved on, his feet moving quickly in the direction that his human pulled him.

﴾ 🟈 ﴿

Pitch black night took the forest, the loud rain on the newborn leaves of spring deafened anything else that could possibly be heard. The angel trekked through thick mud, having to lift his leg one after the other with the help of his hands. He was uncertain of how much time had gone by because of how long and plain arduous it was.

He stopped for a moment, the weight of his soaked clothes and mud-encased calves were tiring him out much faster than he ever anticipated. There had to be a better solution than to forcedly trudge his way through such a toxic substance? Never knowing when he would hit a tree, step on a large rock and slip into the mass of filth. The forest was now too dense for him to spread his wings, he’d never maneuver safely enough in such a dark setting.

The trail of his human was vague now, not pulling him in any one direction specifically. Like it sat in the area he was in. There was no way could have arrived by his human already, the feeling wasn’t nearly strong enough—it was still too distant.

Suddenly, a loud thunder-like sound exploded and the sky lit up with a flash like lightning. It came from the left, the strongest source of its light radiated from that direction. Kyungsoo knew there was no forecast of thunderstorms on the weather report, so what could that have been?

With more mental encouragement than he thought he had, his legs started to the side. He was moving against the direction of the mud, sideways, rather than forwards or stepping backwards. Stopping to take a moment and assess a situation from a new perspective had never let him down.

To his surprise, the trail of his human started to narrow out again. This is it. This is the correct direction. A wave of satisfaction washed over him.

He plodded for a while before the mud lessened, eventually turning into solid enough ground for him to comfortably walk and not be bothered by rogue tree debris. The rain made for a soft foot-landing with each step he took now, but it sure as hell beat the sludge he had just been trudging through.

He could move faster now, focusing every particle of his being towards his human. Even the scent of blood was prevalent every so often; this was definitely the right direction. It was clear as day where he had to follow, like nothing could ever get in his way.

The rain paraded down from above, not nearly as hard now, but still enough to distort surrounding sounds. So much to the point that Kyungsoo almost missed a snort. Then another longer and louder snort.

A…pig? He thought.

Just then, a loud screeching squeal yelled at him. It was angry, the trotting of hooves against wet ground began to close in on him. One after another squeals multiplied in numbers, pushing him back and cornering him.

Wild boars! All alarms in his head began to ring loudly. The darkness of the forest did not allow for easy sight, especially since they were so low to the ground. There were at least six of them, four fully grown and two on the smaller side. Off to the side was one of the smaller ones, squealing and panicking, yet not daring to partake in whatever the family was doing. Ans that was aggression taking over the best of the family. One charged at full speed at Kyungsoo, but he jumped out of the way easily enough. Then a second charged at him once he landed, its hooves berating against the muddied ground. This family was stubborn and would attack and seize until the intruder was gone.

Kyungsoo fled from them, running as fast as his legs could take him over bush and fallen branch. He tripped here and tripped there, snagging his clothes on nearly everything. The chase lasted for too long in his opinion, especially since he was still following the trail of his human. He was afraid he would lead the vicious little family to the human and complicate things further.

It wasn’t until he stopped to hide behind a large boulder and hoped that the boars would have a difficult time finding him around objects. His hunch would have been incorrect, if it weren’t for the boars running off and squealing in fear.

When all noise of the boars disappeared, Kyungsoo turned his head to peek around the boulder. None of them were in sight, thankfully. He wasn’t sure of what drove them off, but that was little of importance when he had a human to reach. He sprung to his feet and took off with a hurried gait. Though, he was stopped from even walking a foot from his spot when something large and feline-like jumped down in front of him.

It had come from the top of the boulder, holding something wet and limp in its mouth.

There was an overbearing feeling of intimidation radiating from the beast, Kyungsoo knew this was not something to reckon with.

Another flash of light took to the sky, followed by a loud explosion of an electrical zap. With that light, the guardian could see just how large and menacing the beast truly was.

A Siberian tiger, fully grown in all its orange and black glory.

Its head was hung low in his direction, a clear sign of discomfort and aggression.

Despite the wanton disposition in the quick flash of light, Kyungsoo caught a glimpse of what was hanging in the tiger’s mouth. A completely bloodied white t-shirt. It looked mauled, as if the tiger had been ling on it for some time. The mysterious part was that the only scent of blood that Kyungsoo could smell was the same scent on his trail; the one his human was leading. However, the trail to his human was still far off, closer now that he had been traveling, but there was no way they were nearby.

But the most unusual part of it all was the fact there was even a tiger in South Korea. The last wild tiger to be seen was nearly a hundred years ago, there should not have been a tiger in a forest so close to Seoul.

The tiger let out a tuff of air, huffing at the angel before walking away. There was no other conflict, just a tiger walking away with some sort of prey in its mouth.

Kyungsoo shook his head in disbelief, My human would readily give the shirt off their back just to satisfy this beast?

The more he thought about it, the more he was intrigued.

How stupid can you get?

Now his human was freezing cold on top of everything else.

It all seemed ridiculous, yes, but there were more similarities between him and his human than he knew. Had he been the one in this situation, he would have done the very same and given the very shirt off his back.

﴾ 🟈 ﴿

Kyungsoo moved swiftly once more, following the trail and now strong scent of blood. He was so close, he could feel his human was just in the vicinity but where exactly was difficult to say. The trees started to clear up and the rain turned into a light sprinkle all in the span of a few minutes. He could feel the levels of distress in their connection rise, something was wrong more so than ever before. His human was facing another obstacle, yet he was still too far to help.

Through the thinning trees he could see a clearing, and an orange light flickering through. He had half an idea to finally fly his way over, but then the smell in the air changed.

It clogged his nostrils and filled his lungs with something foul and unclean. Something was burning, the fumes toxic and uncomfortable to tolerate.

Kyungsoo knew this smell well. It smelt of hell and the beings that came with it.

Afraid that the devil might be at play, Kyungsoo sprouted his wings and dashed through the rest of the forest. It was not a far distance, but the thickness of trees and bush was enough to tear and scrape at his wings.

He miscalculated a maneuver—blind to a fallen tree that had been perched on another and slammed head first into it. He fell to the ground with a thud and moaned with the pain. Setbacks in the academy had been more brutal than that, so he quickly got back to his feet and spread his sore wings once more. But as he did so, the sight of something pale on the ground caught his attention. It was balled up and, again, stained in blood.

Kyungsoo made for the object and picked it up; immediately, he noted that it was the fabric of pants. Tan maybe at one point, but now heavily coated in mud and blood. But the blood smelled the same as before, this was still his humans.

No pants. No shirt. . Vulnerable. Distressed. He deducted each piece of information as he laid the pants back down. He spread his wings and took off once more. What has happened to you?

﴾ 🟈 ﴿

Through the forest line he burst out the side of the mountain in a fit of branches and debris. His wings were very sore and very wet, and his mind was filled with nothing but the suffocating feeling of panic from his human. He was so close, now.

Before the angel, though, was the extension of the Han River. Shimmering with the rain that still dared to trickle down. Houses and large villas lined the banks, a hot spot for company retreats, or romantic getaways. However, not a single light shined on the water, small boat docks and the surrounding buildings were all void of light. A few showed signs of people with flashlights waving about through the windows and signaling to others.

A power outage. Kyungsoo deducted.

He was correct.

For a boathouse not far from his direction was a blaze. It was the first he saw coming out of the forest and his wings instinctively dove straight to it.

On the side of the boathouse was a transformer, wires hanging and whipping around loosely with electricity. Fires burned on the lines still connected to the house and spreading to the other electric ports.

And as much as Kyungsoo wanted the feeling of his human to be beyond the fire, it was not. The trail led him straight to it.

The smoke rose into the sky, black and burning all kinds of noxious fumes.

Windows were shattered and flames every open orifice. It seemed near impossible to penetrate as he scanned around it.

There was an opening in the roof, a hole that looked to have been made years ago and never repaired. Without a second’s thought he dove in with an arm shielding his nose and mouth.

His legs landed on rather unstable wooden panels. It was a dock inside the boathouse that jutted out over the water. Everything about it was old, probably built more than thirty years ago and poorly kempt. The fire ate it all, up the old walls and any netting or decoration that lined it. Wooden boats, plastic canoes, and all other small tools that lined work tables on the sides raged with flames. The heat would have been near unbearable for any human and have passed out minuets ago with the lethal fumes.

Kyungsoo had never been to hell, but he had seen it accurately in simulations.

…It wasn’t far from this.

Kyungsoo searched everywhere for his human, he could feel them, right there in the very same room as him! But there was nothing, no sign of a human anywhere! Just blazing, fire red walls, thick hot air and burning smoke.

The asphyxiation began to take him, his eyes watered with the stinging pain of smoke and throat burned with each inhale. It was getting harder and harder to function.

He looked out the dock but there was nothing, just two boats docked and rocking violently back and forth in the water.

Rocking…

Kyungsoo thought and a light bulb flashed in his brain.

He lurched forward for the water, standing at the edge of the port and carefully gleaning into the water.

There.

And without a second’s thought again, he launched his body into the water.

It was murky and quite dark, but nothing that his angel eyes could not handle. What he saw though, was an eerily pale body glimmering from the flames above, limp and sinking towards the bottom of the bank. His swimming skills were not great, he regretted to admit, but it was enough for him to dive down and scoop up the human.

It all processed in seconds, the retrieval, the breaking to the surface, the pulling away to a safer place far from the raging boathouse, the gentle placement of his human on the ground, and the realization.

“Y-You…” The word slipped from his mouth as he stared at the face of his human.

The resemblance was uncanny. Same nose. Same eye lashes. Same moles. Same hair style. Same body structure. Same everything.

It was in that moment that Kyungsoo understood the message on the back of his note.

“Only you… Can save yourself…”

But he was wasting precious time.

The connect between the two of them was fading quickly, this human was failing to survive. Blood trickled from a wet gash on his head, another was banged and bleeding through on his thigh. Black and blues littered nearly every part of him, especially his torso where his rib cage was most likely cracked.

No. He thought. “I’m not losing you now.” He muttered and immediately placed his hands on the human’s bare chest.

He counted and pressed hard with each pulse on the chest.

When the limit was reach, he leaned down and breathed into cold, wet lips.

No response.

He started the compressions again, counting and keeping the pace steady.

He breathed air into the limp body again.

Nothing.

He started the compressions again, worry filling his entire being the longer he pressed. Kyungsoo could feel their connection slipping through his very palms.

“I’m not losing you! I’ve gone through too much to lose you now!” He shouted as he leaned over and breathed two more full breaths into the human’s body. Watching as the air filled with each breath.

On the very last breath did he earn a reaction, finally.

A wet cough emitted from the human’s mouth, spurting a decent amount of water out as he did so.

A laugh of joy emitted from Kyungsoo’s voice, oh the praise he wanted to give this human for surviving through all that.

“Thanks Heaven you’re alive!” He helped the human sit his neck up and cough away the water clogging his airways.

Deep gasps filled his lungs, loving every last bit of fresh clean air. Though. his body was weak; hardly able to support itself or raise an arm to wipe off the mucus and saliva dripping down. Everything was numb, all the pain, all his feelings, all of it was nonexistent in that moment.

When the breaths calmed down and he could rest his head back on the ground with the help of the angel, he slowly opened his eyes. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get a clear view of who had rescued him.

His eyebrows furrowed.

“Odd right?” Kyungsoo said as the two stared at one another. The human even noted the similarity in their voices. “Gah.. How did.. How did you even get in this mess?” The angel let out breathlessly.

He had not expected the human to respond but was surprised when he attempted to make some sort of noise.

“Mmm..” He blinked slowly, raising a clearly broken and swollen arm to get the words out. “Mnt—I..” He coughed, “I did… I put myself here.” He closed his eyes and let his arm fall back to the ground, the human had passed out.

The angel sat beside the human, wondering what that meant. But those wonders would have to wait. For now, he had to hurry and get his human to a hospital, where he could be properly treated.

And that was the easiest task of it all.

﴾ 🟈 ﴿

Pitch black, murky water filling his lungs. It was hard to see, hard to breathe. How did he end up there? A few steps into a safe spot? Then an explosion deafening him and nearly blinding him? It had happened so fast and without warning, but he could do nothing about it.

Suffocation.

Like everything else in life, suffocation took over him.

And in the background, the low hum of a song played, repeating over and over:

“I don’t know how…

I don’t know how

I don’t know how

I wanna love you

But I don’t know how

I don’t know how

I wanna love you

But I don’t know how

I wanna love you…”

﴾ 🟈 ﴿

 “How are you feeling?” A familiar soft and delicate voice rang in the human’s ears.

“Minju…” His voice rasped out with chapped and blood-stained lips. It was hard to open his eyes though he was ready to finally be awake. The room was a little too bright after being in the dark for so long. The smell of plastic and the sounds of machines beeping to his heart slowly engulfed his senses as he came to.

He tried to lift a hand and take the obstructions on his face away but found it difficult with both his arms restricted, one attached with tubes and tape the other in a cast.

“Take it easy,” Minju’s soft voice sounded again. “You’ve been resting for two days now, so you have to take it slow.”

“Is it just you…?” He gave up on fighting his body and let his mind do the work.

“Yeah. Mom and dad aren’t here. It’s just me.” Her voice was close now, leaned over the bed as her small hand his hair. It was a nice and loving feeling. “They came the moment we got the call that you were in critical condition. Grandma came yesterday and dropped off some apples. Grandpa hasn’t visited. Nor has Seungsoo even bothered to drop by. Not to visit his own little brother who could have died.” Her voice spat as she spoke of their family.

“Their presence would have killed me, regardless.” Kyungsoo’s voice was airy, hardly above a whisper.

Minju did not respond, but he could feel her uneasiness.

“…But I have you here, and that’s enough for me.” He smiled tiredly, though it was the most genuine smile he had done in a good long while.

“That may be true, but none of this would be necessary if you just listened to me in the first place.” She took Kyungsoo’s hand in her own. “My husband and I were fine with you crashing on our couch until you got back on your feet, Kyungsoo. Why couldn’t you just let us help you? I know you don’t get along with anyone but me in the family, but we could have made it work out. Just leave whenever mom invites herself over without notice. It could have worked.” She shook her hand as she lightly squeezed his hand, hoping to get through to him.

“It’s not that simple Minju..”

“Why not? What’s so hard about helping my big brother when he’s lost his job and been evicted from his apartment—” He could hear the obvious frustration in her tone. “No.. Just.. This isn’t the time to fight about this. Just… Why… Why did this happen to you? What happened?” Her voice dripped with sorrow now, her thumb his hand gently.

He cleared his throat, trying to come up with a good explanation to this situation. His head pounded, but the memories from that night were all still very much there. He raised his other hand again, removing the mask and relishing in the freedom on his face.

“They found you unconscious by a boathouse outside of Seoul.. It was caught on fire so when the fire department arrived, they found you and soaked. The next day the police found your car at the bottom of the mountain, it was completely totaled. And the reports from the doctors on your body.. You have three broken ribs, your left arm is broken, a concussion, you had a gash on your head and thigh that needed stiches and other minor abrasions. They found traces of water in your lungs and think that you possibly started drowning at some point… You traveled at least a mile down a mountainside to get to the riverside… What… Happened, Kyungsoo?”

Somewhere through Minju’s words, his eyes felt more comfortable to finally open. Allowing the light of the room to reign in.

He turned his fuzzy gaze to his sister, but not before catching the outline of a tall and dark figure by the entrance of the room.

His eyes lazed on the figure, but a smile even wider than before danced on his lips.

“I don’t.. I don’t even know.” His voice still groggy as he turned his attention back to his younger sister. “I was driving out of Seoul last night… I had to get out, get as far as possible. I didn’t know where I was going, I just needed to get away from it. So, I followed the road up a mountain, the signs were leading me towards the northern part of the Han river, I guess… I hoped I could find a cheap place to live quietly for a little while and try and get myself back on my feet. But it was just… Pouring. It was hard to see… As I drove further up the mountain, there were a couple of police officers stationed at a crossroads. They were turning people around because of a landslide that had just happened. But I didn’t listen… Like a fool I didn’t listen. I went on, knowing full well the danger that lied ahead… Some of the drivers behind me were engaged in conversation with the policemen and I just… Turned down the path to the right. I didn’t want to turn back, and I didn’t want to go back to Seoul. I just wanted to keep going forward”

“Not even two minutes into the drive is when it all went wrong. There were no streetlights, so it was hard to see ahead of the rain. Then there was water, or what I thought was water leaking over the side of the road at a very fast pace. I thought I could drive through it, but I had no idea that it was mud. I lost traction on the road and my car immediately spun out of control. I hit the guard rail and just fell. …and fell…and fell. It bounced and tumbled, and I could feel my body wanting to just let the fall take me. I couldn’t do anything to control what was happening, all I could do was let it go on. But when it stopped, I was so disoriented I had no idea of who I was for a moment. I was upside down and there was a nasty pain surging my head and thigh. Something had lodged itself in my leg, but I just ripped it out without thinking. I probably even passed out at some point in the car and woke sometime later. But I don’t know how long I was there for”

“The door wouldn’t budge. I couldn’t get it open, but the window was cracked enough for me to hit my elbow against and climb out… I tried screaming for help, but my voice was so weak there was no way anyone could hear it over the rain. The fall was too steep for me to climb back up, so I walked on. It wasn’t easy but for some reason my body just moved. Like I wasn’t myself. Trudging through all this.. Mud. It was terrible. It smelt awful and it was so hard not to fall over with a broken arm or run into a tree. It was awful.. I hated every second of it but I just.. Kept doing it… Eventually I turned out of the path, I knew that if I cut along to the side, I would hit solid ground at some point. And I did. I was relieved for a while until I ran into a family of boars. There were so many of them I couldn’t keep track, except for one that stayed off to the side and refused to chase me away… They were sleeping soundly until I accidentally stepped on one of their tails..  I barely escaped unscathed. How I ever did was a miracle in itself”

“I lost them after hiding behind a boulder thankfully. But I wasn’t safe then. Minju.. You’ll never believe this, but I was cornered by a tiger.” His voice perked with a raise of interest on the memory. It really was a wonder to him how he had ever come across a tiger.

“No that’s impossible…” She thought for a moment, “…Actually.. A few days ago, a tiger escaped from the Grand Park zoo. It was all over the headlines.. Maybe that was it?”

“I don’t know but there was tiger. I know what I saw. It was so intimidating and…overbearing, I thought it would attack me; so I took off my shirt that was covered in blood and threw it at its feet. It sniffed it and took the shirt and trotted off like nothing. Just took what it wanted and left… So, I kept moving on, to get as far away as possible. I don’t know how long I traveled, it felt like forever in the rain. Then something exploded in the sky. It sounded electrical, and lit up everything. I had no idea what it could be but I followed it like an idiot”

“I tried using my pants as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding on my thigh, but it was near impossible to get it tight enough and I couldn’t rip them apart. I could barely move my left arm to do anything. So, I left my pants and moved on—there was no way I would be able to put them back on”

“It wasn’t long until I broke through the forest line and met the river. I had no idea of how close I was to it… There was a boathouse on the water so I made my way for it, hoping someone would be there or I could find anything that would help me.. But of course, there was nothing. Not even the electricity worked. But as I looked around for something to use, another explosion went off. This time it was right by the house. Sparks flew everywhere and these electrical noises went off. I could feel the shockwaves of whatever exploded and the hairs on my body all stood on end. I tripped over something from the initial shock and knocked my head on one of the posts on the dock. That knocked me out cold”

Across the room, at the entrance, the angel smiled brilliantly. He took careful step after step into the room, finding his way by the human’s bedside.

“…Kyungsoo..” Minju’s mouth dropped in mild disgust. She only wished he took this a little more seriously. She shook her head again.

Kyungsoo turned to stare at the being that had walked over to the other side of the bed, it was clear that Minju could not see him. But he was surprised to find that the being was not there, he had disappeared.

“You know what? You’re safe, and all that matters is that you’re still here. Just promise me.. Please, don’t do anything stupid like that again?”

“Life is unpredictable, I can’t promise you anything Minju. But I can promise you that I’ll handle it better next time.”

Minju sighed out. “Fine. I’ll take that.” She released his hand and began to wipe her face clean of tears. “I’m going to cut you up an apple. The doctor suggested you eat one when you fully came to.” She sniffled hard and focused her attention to the desk beside the bed.

Kyungsoo laid his head back against his elevated pillow and stared at the ceiling. There was so much going through his head now. Why couldn’t Minju see that man who so clearly looked like him? Who was he? Why did he save him? Was he even real..? It hurt his head to keep thinking about it.

“By the way, do you know who left this note? I’ve visited you every day since you were admitted, but I never saw who dropped this off. Mom, dad nor grandma left it.”

“What note?”

“It’s addressed to you,” she pulled up the note that sat on the desk. “It says something about a guard deployment and mudslide, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.” She handed him the note and went back to peeling the apple.

It was true, it really did say that. But as his hand held it with difficulty—feeling that it was rather delicate—it fell and the note opened towards him. His sister wasn’t paying attention, thankfully; instead she was mumbling something about ‘someone must have been watching over you, since you’ve had bad luck all these years.’

But Kyungsoo had no desire to listen as he read the words at the very bottom of the note:

“Only you can save yourself.”

He furrowed his brows once more and began to think maybe he wasn’t all crazy.

﴾ 🟈 ﴿

The hospital room had gone dark for the night. The lights dim and windows dark with night. Visiting hours had long since been over, Minju had been gone for a couple hours. His head pulsed with a dull headache, not nearly as bad as previous ones, but still annoying enough. But the presence of someone entering Kyungsoo’s room started him from watching the mundane program on the television.

He sat up quickly, well, as quickly as his sore body could let him. He turned the television off and kept his gaze careful on the dark figure entering his room.

It was the same motion as earlier in the day, slow footsteps until he stood at the very base of his bed.

Neither spoke for a good long while and just stared.

Until the human Kyungsoo said, “You are me…”

“And you are me.” The other responded in the same exact voice.

“But… How?”

“I am your guardian angel Kyungsoo. You’re not as alone as you think you are. I may not have been there since the beginning. But I’m here now.”

“I don’t… Understand,” human Kyungsoo’s voice was low and shy of this so-called angel.

“All guardian angels have a human they protect. Only you can see your destined guardian.” The angel walked over to the side of the bed, this frightened the human a bit. “In this case, in this very rare case, I am yours. While also being you.”

“And.. And I am you?”

The angel nodded his head, a soft smile on his placid lips.

“But, that’s not possible. Angels don’t exist. I can’t be an angel…?”

“No, you’re not an angel. You are human. I am just you. But an angel.” The angel allowed himself to sit on the side of the bed with permission. Human Kyungsoo seemed to not mind.

“I hit my head hard a couple times. I’m imagining this.” Kyungsoo turned his head away.

“No, Kyungsoo.” The very deep voice of the angel somehow drew his attention back. “It doesn’t matter if you believe in me or not. I am here, and I love you.”  The angel leaned over and placed his hand on the human’s chest. Immediately, Kyungsoo felt his headache dissipate. “When there is no one else, I’ll be here. I’ll be the one to lift you up when you fall. You are my responsibility, now. I’ll protect you.”

The human had no idea why, but the overwhelming sensation to cry overcame him and the tears poured down.

“I’ve waited a very long time to meet you, Kyungsoo. To finally love you.”

As Kyungsoo cried into his good hand he couldn’t help but notice as the being next to him glowed. A golden aura surrounded him, and a faint pair of eagle-like wings appeared behind him. This caused Kyungsoo to stare in awe, his tears falling more aimlessly now.

“Minju loves you, very much. I don’t imagine she’ll be leaving your side any time soon. And now you have me. It’s a small list, but I’m sure it’ll grow.” The angel smiled as he pulled his hand back.

Kyungsoo felt the warmth swelling in his chest die down, he hadn’t even realized how full of emotion he was until the hand was gone. Even the headache plaguing his head started to peek back.

“Does… Does Minju have one?”

“Yes, we were actually friends in Heaven. She was one of the few people nice to me.”

“So, you had it rough up there too, huh?” Kyungsoo wiped his nose and cheeks of the tears.

“Yeah, kind of. Prejudices exist everywhere. But now that I have you, I think things are going to be different.”

“In a good way, I hope?”

“In a good way I know.” The angel smiled bright for the human.

They wore the same face, but was his smile always so infectious and dare he say…beautiful?

“Thank you. Thank you for saving me.” The human suddenly blurted.

“You’re welcome.” His smile grew and the endearment in his eyes was evermore the apparent. “And thank you, for you saved me as well.” The angel stood to his feet and leaned over the human, kissing his forehead and resting a hand on his cheek. “Sleep, Do Kyungsoo. You need your rest. We have a lot to do in the future and a lot to catch up on.”

“But life is just… It’s too complicated right now. I don’t want to do anything.” Kyungsoo exasperated.

“I know you don’t.” He his thumb on the human’s cheek. “But we’ll get through life together. What’s that saying, ‘nobody said life was easy’? It’s wrong.”

Kyungsoo raised a brow, nearly wanting to slap the angel for being so down right ignorant. What could he possibly know about living life as a human?

“Life is easy, if you know that it’ll be hard.”

Kyungsoo’s mouth fell slightly agape. Oh.

The angel let his fingers linger a moment longer on the human’s cheek before pulling away and leaving the bedside.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“Nowhere where you can’t reach me. Just call for me, and I’ll be there for you. I must report to Heaven of everything that’s happened, but I’ll be back before you know it.” His dark retreating outline stood out in the dim lighting, not sparing another glance for the human.

Kyungsoo leaned his head back against his pillow, watching as his angel coolly left the room.

“Wait!” Kyungsoo shot back up, but not without wincing in pain.

The angel stopped and turned around.

“What’s your name?”

The angel smiled.

“Kyungsoo.”

a/n: 

Lyrics used from the song: "Neptune" - Sleeping At Last X
Also inspired by: "Earth" - Sleeping At Last X

I hope that in some way shape or form you were able to connect with this piece, this journey on accepting yourself despite all the troubles before hand. I made things vague enough to allude to problems we might all have in our lives. Whether it be trudging through toxicity, withering in our own personal hell's, drowning in our emotions, or facing people who are, more-or-less, not good for us. Take the symbolism as you will, connect to this as you must. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, we just need the opportunity to let them shine in the right places.

I also hope that I did this prompt justice. I really thought it was unique but couldn't write for the initial fest, so the pinch hitting round came in clutch. I do wish I went a little more crazy/abstract with this. Like bringing in a demon king, the end of the world maybe, aliens who knows. But I think this was decent enough considering time. I challenged myself to make a more thematic piece and have it hit closer to home than go otherworldly. I think sometimes we need to be reminded that it's okay to stop, breathe, and love ourselves. I hope this gives you courage in whatever you may be dealing with someday. Remember to love yourself; in the end, there is only you. Only you can choose what to do with yourself.

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked this.