New York City had always been busy, even in the dead hours of night. Snow had fallen as most people slept comfortably in their beds, so the entire city had been covered by a soft blanket of pure white snow. While the sun had yet to begin its ascent, the a handful of the city's occupants began their daily routine. Snow plows ran through the streets in an effort to clear the snow before day broke. Clubs closed for the night while people left the warmth and safety of their homes and made their way to work to avoid the growing traffic.

A few days had passed since the binding between two souls and yet, there was still no sign of Jaebum anywhere. Young Jae stood on one of the many rooftops of New York City, his gaze vacant as he found himself lost in his own thoughts. He could still feel the string around his pinky, but he couldn't see it. It felt like it was ready to tug at him at any given moment, but it hadn't happened yet.

"Young Jae," a voice from behind said.

Young Jae turned around to see an angel descend from above. She wore a white sundress with white sandals that tied up to just below her knees. She had long brown hair with the ends curled and her hair draped to the front, over her right shoulder. Her wings, unlike Young Jae's, glowed a bright golden light and to match that, a halo floated just above her head.

"Sowon. It's a pleasure to see you again," Young Jae said.

Sowon smiled as her feet lightly tapped against the floor. She examined the world around them for a brief moment before she turned her attention back to Young Jae.

"The human world has changed much since my last descent," Sowon said.

"When was that?" Young Jae asked.

Sowon lightly chuckled to herself as her wings retreated back into her. She raised her hand up to torso length as the snow gently landed on the palm of her hand.

"Four-hundred years ago. But, I suppose we should focus on the matter at hand," Sowon said.

She lowered her hand back down as she moved towards Young Jae. Each graceful movement she made practically forced those who saw her to watch in awe. As she slowed to a stop in front of Young Jae, she briefly glanced downwards before she took hold of Young Jae's hands and frowned as she examined it.

"What is this? Why're you bound?" Sowon asked.

"Wha-, you can see the string?" Young Jae asked.

Sowon traced her finger along Young Jae's pinky, where the string was tied. She appeared to pinch something in thin air, but as she tugged, a sudden pain shot through Young Jae's being as he fell to his knees. Sowon immediately released her hold as she stepped back, taken by surprise.

"I apologize, Young Jae! I didn't realize it would do that," Sowon said.

Young Jae shook his head as he took a moment to recuperate from the pain. Once he was ready, he got back up to his feet.

"What happened?" Young Jae asked.

"I'm uncertain, though it appears that even I cannot remove the red string from you without causing you harm, or worse," Sowon said.

Young Jae stared at the ground, lost in thought from this revelation. Hope had risen when Sowon saw the string, but that hope had been dashed the second the pain coursed through his being. Sowon attempted to smile as she took a step forward.

"I will further look into this matter. For now, let's focus on the matter of Daehyun's guardian angel," Sowon said.

Young Jae nodded as he turned his gaze back to Sowon and said, "Have you found anything yet?"

"Yes, I have. From the looks of it, Daehyun has had a guardian angel, but," Sowon paused.

"But what? Where'd his guardian angel go?" Young Jae asked.

"He disappeared. The strange part of it is that he disappeared upon his first descent into the human world," Sowon replied.

Young Jae frowned as he folded his arms. He had gotten an answer to the question he had been hoping to answer, but it was an answer that only formed more questions.

"So he's missing?" Young Jae asked.

Sowon pondered for a moment before she said, "To put it simply, yes."

"Why hasn't he been given another guardian angel then?" Young Jae asked.

"That's the problem, Young Jae. Because he's simply missing, we can't assign another guardian angel due to the previous one still being assigned to him and sadly, you know how the rules are," Sowon said.

"Only one guardian angel per person, I understand. But still, he's gone! Has anyone been looking for him?" Young Jae asked.

"They've tried to look for him, but there's just no way of looking for him. His aura has completely disappeared and we can't trace what's not there," Sowon said.

Young Jae paced back and forth as he tried to sort out the new information that he had been given. What was he supposed to tell Daehyun? That his guardian angel just up and vanished and that they can't give him a new one because the old one is still technically his guardian angel? No, that wouldn't do well at all. If anything, that'll just get Daehyun even angrier or make him ask more questions.

"However, until this matter has been solved, I will be working with you," Sowon said.

He looked up at Sowon, whom currently smiled happily. It took a moment for her words to process, but once it did, worry immediately ran through his being.

"I, uh, I think it should be okay if I do it myself," Young Jae said.

Sowon frowned as she said, "Even if you believe that, this is an order from our superiors. You know that I must stay and help."

Young Jae nodded slowly, defeated. Sowon took a moment to think as she took hold of Young Jae's hands and smiled.

"Cheer up! Come, I shall show you that I can become a valuable asset to your team. Let us go meet with Daehyun and explain the situation," Sowon said.

"Wait, I-" Young Jae had managed to say before they began their movement.

___________________________

At first glance, freedom seemed to be the best thing in the world for a spirit. There was no worry about personal hygiene, no need to constantly sustain oneself, one didn't really have to worry too much about being seen when one didn't want to be seen, and there were almost no boundaries for going anywhere. It seemed to be great, but after a while, it starts to become, well, lonely.

Mina sighed as she stood inside of an empty stage hall, save for a few janitors currently on duty. Despite the doors being closed, the large red curtains had been drawn and the lights from above illuminated the entire place. Chandeliers paired with various fairy lights decorated the black colored ceiling. All of the chairs had their bottoms folded upward and any stage lights present collected dust. Bits of litter also occupied the floor, but the janitors made short work of it.

"I suppose it wasn't meant to be," Mina quietly said to herself.

She made her way down the empty main aisle as her hand passed through the chairs. Her eyes drifted from one place to another as she took in the many designs that had been placed along the walls of the stage hall.

As she approached the stage, she simply floated up to the stage before she made her way to the center. She closed her eyes for a moment as she let her imagination run. She could hear the murmur as the crowd all filed into their seats. She could almost feel the nervousness that came with the show getting ready to begin. The orchestra began to tune their instruments and immediately, the murmur ceased. Everyone in the crowd listened to each and every instrument attain its sheer beauty in unison and in that moment, the lights died down before the stage lights came on.

She turned around and to her disappointment, the stage hall remained empty. She sat down, closed her eyes, and hummed the start of one of her favorite pieces as she let her imagination run rampant once more.

___________________________

Inside of the familiarly messy room, Daehyun laid sprawled out on his bed, asleep. The clock on his wall ticked away as the time turned to eleven-forty in the morning. The only source of light came from the rays that slipped in through the curtains of his bedroom.

Two beings phased through the wall before they came to a stop at the foot of Daehyun's bed. Young Jae stared down at Daehyun for a moment before he turned to Sowon. Sowon couldn't help but frown as she turned and looked up at the clock.

"I don't recall it being normal for humans to be asleep for this long. Does he not work? Is he ill?" Sowon asked.

"No. He's just lazy," Young Jae said.

"Well then, we will just have to fix that, now won't we?" Sowon said.

It didn't click right away, but as Sowon moved to the side of the bed, Young Jae finally realized what she had meant. However, by the time he had started his attempts to protest against Sowon's actions, Sowon had took hold of the blanket that Daehyun laid on and tugged swiftly. In an instant, Daehyun flipped around on his bed before he landed on his back, his eyes wide open as he held tightly onto whatever he could grab hold of. As he tried to assess his situation, Sowon leaned over him as she smiled.

"Hello Daehyun. It is very nice to meet you. My name is Sowon and I'm your temporary guardian angel! Oh, this is just so exciting. I hope that we get along very well," Sowon said.

Daehyun stared at her, a huge rush of emotions running through his being. However, once he finally sorted out what was going on, anger immediately made itself imminent as he shot up to a sitting position.

"What the hell kind of guardian angel does whatever the hell just happened! Are you ing trying to kill me through shock? What would've happened if I had gotten injured from that stunt you just pulled?" Daehyun said.

However, Daehyun's reaction didn't seem to have any effect on Sowon as she simply held her smile.

"Do not worry! I made certain that the result would end positively. I have awoken you from your slumber, so it is time to begin the day!" Sowon said.

She made her way over to the curtains and pulled the curtains open. The sun illuminated the room, which forced Daehyun to shield his eyes from the sudden change of brightness. As soon as Sowon turned around, she clicked her tongue as she finally fully realized the state of Daehyun's room.

"First things first, your bedroom needs to be cleaned. I can't even tell if your clothes are dirty or clean!" Sowon said as she picked a shirt off from the closest chair.

"How about you off and get the hell out of my apartment? I don't need you to tell me how to live my life!" Daehyun said.

Sowon simply shook her head as she moved over to Daehyun's bed. As she sat down, the bed shifted slightly, which Daehyun immediately noticed.

"Why're you able to move around?" Daehyun asked.

Before Sowon could answer, Young Jae moved closer and said, "It's because she's a higher tiered angel. They have the ability to simulate human behavior. So while she can move around like I do, she's also capable of human interaction."

Sowon nodded as she said, "Daehyun, you should really clean your room. It'll be a good way for you to start on the journey towards a better lifestyle."

Daehyun sat there, dumbfounded. He didn't know whether he should yell at Sowon once again about telling him how to live his life or if he should be annoyed about the fact that she didn't further explain Young Jae's words. However, the longer he stared at her, the more he felt unable to do either one. All he could do was look away with his arms crossed.

"Fine. I'll clean my goddamn-"

"Ah! Language, sir. You can't say the lord's name in vain either," Sowon said.

Daehyun mumbled quietly under his breath as he moved off of his bed in an attempt to get away from Sowon. As Daehyun made his way to the bathroom, Sowon couldn't help but smile as she stood up and turned towards Young Jae.

"See? He just needs a little push is all. You worry too much, Young Jae," Sowon said.

"I suppose, but do you think he'll really clean?" Young Jae said as he examined the entire room.

"Have faith, Young Jae. Just believe in Daehyun. He'll come around," Sowon replied.

Young Jae nodded, but doubt still lingered as he waited to see whether Sowon would be able to keep her word.

___________________________

Inside of Euijn's apartment, Euijin sat on his couch, his eyes glued on the digital clock on the wall. Despite the fact that his tv was on, he had drowned out the sound of it as he watched the two dots in the middle of his clock blink. With each blink of the dots, he could swear that he could hear the ticking of the second hand as time passed by.

When he finally couldn't handle the ticking in his head any further, Euijin got to his feet and pulled out his phone. To his dismay, there still wasn't any sort of notification about missed calls or texts.

"Jung Daehyun! Where the heck are you?" Euijin said as he scrolled through his phone's contacts.

He raised his phone to his ear and waited as he listened to his phone attempt to reach Daehyun's.

As he did so, Daehyun's phone laid on Daehyun's bed as it vibrated underneath the neatly made blanket. However, no one was around to answer the call. In the main room, Daehyun cleaned away at his apartment with the help of Sowon as Young Jae simply watched to ensure that Daehyun did his part. Daehyun continuously muttered under his breath, but he worked hard to avoid being lectured by Sowon once more.

"See? Doesn't it look so much brighter already?" Sowon said.

"Whatever, damn ," Daehyun muttered under his breath.

"Ah-ah! Language, mister!" Sowon said.

"Understood," Daehyun said quietly as he retreated his thoughts back into his mind.