To say he was friends with the other angels in his class would be a stretch. Not because he wasn't deserving of friends or them likewise; it was mostly by choice that angels were like this. They had important duties to attend to, after all, which left little time for much else. This was especially true for Angels of Death. Thanks to this, Kai spent much of his time in between mission callings alone with his thoughts, which were mostly occupied by the cute café boy Kyungsoo.

There were a few angels, two to be exact, whom he had gotten close to. Xiumin and Moonkyu they were called. Xiumin had lived a longer life than them both, so he was harder to crack than Moonkyu, who was younger and more prone to stray from the rules. Kai liked to think he was somewhere in between them: strict when he had to be but lenient also.

He was just about to sit down for a brief rest when the two said males appeared before him. "Speaking of the demons," Kai said not seriously with a small grin on the corner of his lips.

"Hey, you know what the rules are," Moonkyu replied. "No swearing." He chuckled and Kai mirrored him. "Did you just get back from a mission?"

"Yeah," he replied with a small yawn. "Berlin. Old woman. Heart attack I think."

"Ah, sounds peaceful. Mine was in Mexico. Kid got hit by a car chasing his dog out onto the street. Tragic really. I couldn't stand to be there long after seeing how upset his parents were."

"I'm sorry. I know how hard that must have been for you," Kai said sympathetically. It was polite to apologize to an Angel of Death after a traumatic passing. It was comforting in a way because they all had been there at one point and that made them feel less alone, reassured them they were doing the right thing.

"Thank you. It was, but I fear that's not as bad as it gets."

"It's not," Xiumin said, chiming in and earning the younger males' attention. "You never know what you will arrive to when you get a calling, but you have to be prepared for the worst nonetheless. It's our duty to protect passing souls regardless of how they come to pass."

"Oh, hyung, why did you have to go and make things so serious?" Kai whined, half jokingly.

"Because this is serious, Kai," the elder replied with no change in facial expression. "Our work is nothing to joke or laugh about. We're talking about death here. Actual death. That's serious."

"Um, I think you meant to say passing, not death," Moonkyu said with a mischievous grin. "It's crucial to be politically correct at all times."

Xiumin sent him a glare that only made the two younger angels laugh as he rolled his eyes. "We cannot afford to fool around. It's okay to have fun when the moment calls for it, but our work comes first and foremost. We cannot risk losing souls to the demons. That's worse than witnessing the worst cause of passing you can conjure up." The two angels went quiet after that. They were still young, but even they knew talk of demons was nothing to laugh about.

"We're sorry, hyung," Kai said. "We didn't mean to upset you."

"It's okay, I know you didn't." Xiumin nodded his head faintly. "I just want to be assured we all know what we're to be focusing on. We have one of the most important duties of all the classes, which means we can't afford to waste any moments we could be helping a soul. That includes wasting time on Earth."

Kai's face fell. He kind of wished he could take back that apology. "Did you really think we wouldn't find out?" Moonkyu asked as he smiled widely. "You go into mortal mode whenever you have a calling in South Korea. You made a pretty easy pattern for us to decode."

"Look, I'm sorry, I can't help myself," Kai replied as he stood up. "It's like another calling or something. I can't ignore it."

"Yeah, yeah." Moonkyu rolled his eyes playfully. "So, who is it, huh? Who is it that has you so infatuated?"

"Why do you assume it's a person? It could be a dog for all you know. They are very cute creatures."

"Because if you were visiting Earth so often for a dog, you would be much more discrete about it." Kai looked at the younger angel, who just shrugged. "It's true."

He sighed and pushed back a piece of fallen hair. "If you must know," he began, "it is a person and his name is Kyungsoo. He works in a café in Seoul. I like visiting him whenever I'm in the country. We're friends."

"Friends...right. I'll believe that when mortals stop dying," Moonkyu replied.

"It's true, we are!" Kai said in defense. "Friends who may or may not flirt on occasion and would make a wonderful couple. But we're just friends. I don't plan on letting it go any further than that."

"As you should," Xiumin said seriously. "You cannot let yourself get lost, Kai. You are one of our best angels. It would be a shame to lose you to the juvenile thing mortals call love."

"It's not juvenile, hyung. It's actually quite beautiful when you see it personally." Kai smiled, images of Kyungsoo coming into his mind.

"I have seen it and there is nothing beautiful about it," Xiumin insisted, being as stubborn as usually was. "They let it run their lives and treat it as if it's some sort of higher power that has their best interest in mind. Sadly, it doesn't. It's more like a curse if you ask me, meant to keep them distracted from what really counts."

"That's not how mortals see it."

"Are we mortals? No, we are angels. We are smarter than mortals, thus we see their reality for what it truly is. I have seen too many of our kind trade in their higher purposes for this selfish desire called love. So, I advise you both to keep in mind what your purpose is and keep it at the forefront of your minds. That's the only way to guarantee the preservation of the Afterlife." He left after his short monologue, leaving Kai and Moonkyu quiet yet not stunned.

"Geez, who stuck a pole up his ?" Moonkyu said after he was sure he was gone and Kai grinned at his word choice. He always found it amusing when angels picked up on mortal language. "I mean, I know we're supposed to despise love or whatever, but I'm pretty sure no one hates it that much. It sounds personal to me."

"It is," Kai said, making the younger's head whip in his direction. "Long ago, he fell in love with a mortal. He was fully prepared to trade in his angel status for him, but what he wasn't prepared for was to have his heart broken."

"What happened between them?" he asked.

"He won't say." Kai sighed and turned to face Moonkyu. "However, it must be pretty bad if he's still this upset. He hasn't been the same since."

"No wonder he's so crabby all the time." Kai chuckled again and patted the younger angel on the shoulder.

"Don't let him get to you too much," he said with a warm smile on his lips. "He's just looking out for you. He doesn't want you or any other angel to end up like him, that's all."

"That's fine, but he could at least be a little nicer in his methods, that's all I'm saying." They shared one more laugh before they both received a calling, one right after the other. "Taiwan. That's a new one," Moonkyu said. "I'll see you around, Kai. Good luck."

"See you," Kai said, watching Moonkyu disappear before looking at his own calling.

Name: Laurent Badeaux
Age: 27
Location: Nice, France
Time till passing: 4 minutes

That wasn't much time, which usually meant the cause of passing wasn't going to be so pleasant and it would require much more energy to protect the vulnerable soul from descending into the Underworld. Kai sighed heavily and wished himself well before heading out.

*****

Kyungsoo hated how quiet his apartment was when he walked in. He considered getting a dog at one point, but what was the point when he worked all day? Besides, he didn't just want something to be waiting for him at home, he wanted someone. A very specific someone.

He never understood people's strong desire to date, nor was he the kind of person who actively pursued it himself. But that all changed the day he first noticed Kai. He didn't know if calling it love at first sight was appropriate, but that's sure what it felt like.

It took a long time for him to work up the courage to approach him. Some of that time was spent trying to figure out if Kai was just shy or some sort of creeper stalker who had gotten caught in the act, but the other part of it was him trying to figure it all out; what to say, how to talk, how to walk up to him, when to walk up to him, should he even walk to up to him? He felt like he was stuck in place for the longest time, so he was relieved when he finally said it and invited him in for a cup of coffee ten minutes after the café had already closed.

Yet, there he was, standing in front of the microwave as last night's leftovers heated up, feeling stuck again.

"Maybe he doesn't like me like that," he muttered into the emptiness that was his apartment. He squinted and pursed his lips, but then shook his head. "Of course he likes me." He may have been a romantic failure up until Kai suddenly appeared, but he wasn't so blind that he couldn't tell the difference between flirting and normal conversation.

"But why won't he just say something?" He groaned and bent down to lay his head on the counter space in front of the microwave. He could understand if he was scared or coy, but even then, hadn't he made it obvious that the feelings were mutual? He had nothing to be afraid of with Kyungsoo, except maybe the fact that if he ever got close enough to hold him, the elder would actually never let him go.

He stood up suddenly after that thought. "Maybe that's it," he said as if he had a small epiphany. "Maybe I'm coming on too strong." But Kai never showed any signs of being uncomfortable around him, did he? Perhaps he was too caught up in his own feelings to notice if he had.

"Jesus ing Christ." He groaned again, louder this time, and smacked a hand against his forehead. Why did love and feelings have to be so complicated? He was starting to miss the days when he didn't care about any of this.

The microwave beeped loudly, making Kyungsoo jump a little. He stared at it for a moment before sighing and opening its door. He stirred around the samyetang with a spoon, lifting some up from the bowl and tasting it after blowing on it. His stomach warmed up immediately as the satisfying taste was absorbed by his taste buds. He smiled and danced in place.

"It's his loss," he said, setting the spoon back in the bowl and lifting the whole thing up into his hands. "I'm a great a cook."

He carefully carried it into the living room and slowly set it down on the coffee table before looking around for the remote. Sound came through the TV's speakers when he pressed the power button and he sat down when he saw Hello Counselor was on, setting the remote beside him on the couch.

Maybe watching people with bigger problems would help feel better about his own.

A/N

I honestly can't believe I managed to finish this lol. I had no idea what I wanted to finish off with, but you know, here we are, at the author's note. yeah.

So, yeah, I hope you liked this chapter! I don't know what will be happening next. I have to think about it, but I'll get back to you guys soon on that one.

See y'all then I guess! Thanks for reading! XOXO