Sinb watched as Yerin and her new friends left. A feeling of accomplishment giving way to the satisfied smile on her face.

 

Adjusting the straps of her backpack, she turned her heel, about to make her way to the rooftop when two figures blocked her path and stopped her in her tracks. She immediately recognized them as Yerin’s “former friends”.

 

She offered them a smug grin when she registered the scowls on their faces, “Looks like you lose.”

 

“Don’t be so sure, we have more than enough opportunity to get Yerin to our side again.”

 

“You actually think I’ll give you that opportunity?”

 

“We always find a way Hwang Eunbi. She’ll realize that our company is worth more than those two new friends of hers.”

 

"You give yourself too much credit Sinb remarked with laugh, before turning serious in a split second, “You should be thankful I decided to go about this the long way or I could’ve just completely erased you from her life.”

 

Now it was their turn to laugh, “You actually think you can deal with the two of us alone?”

 

Sinb scowled at the mockery.

 

“Maybe not alone.” a new voice spoke, interrupting the tense moment between the three, “But two of us should be more than enough, I’m sure. Though I’m also sure that Hwang Eunbi can deal with the both of you easily in your weakened states.”

 

Sinb turned, “Sojung-unnie.”

 

“Hwang Eunbi.” she greeted back, her gaze not leaving the two women.

 

“You should know better than to have these discussions out in the open.” Sojung pointed out, her face stoic as she approached.

 

The two women took a step back, hesitation lacing their features.

 

“Sorry, but they’re the ones who approached first.” Sinb quickly defended herself.

 

“I suggest the two of you leave now before I change my mind about letting you go.” Sojung glared at them in an intimidating manner.

 

The two shared a look but did not budge from their spot.

 

"Of course you won’t listen." Sinb rolled her eyes, stripping her backpack off her shoulders, but stopped when Sojung held her shoulder to keep her from moving any further.

 

“It’s too soon.” Sojung told her.

 

Sinb complained, “If we leave them alone--”

 

“At least wait until Jung Yerin completely forgets about them.” Sojung whispered, “If you deal with them now, it’d be hard to explain their disappearance. Not to mention Jung Yerin is already suspecting something.”

 

The younger woman grumbled under her breath, seeing the point in her words as she begrudgingly shouldered her bag again. She caught sight of the two’s smirking faces in front of her.

 

Irked, she opened about to tell them off but Sojung beat her to it.

 

“Don’t celebrate just yet, the moment Jung Yerin no longer cares for you, you can start praying for your lives.”

 

“They can’t.” Sinb pointed out.

 

Sojung blinked, “Oh, right.”

 

“You should run while you can.” Sinb spoke, “If I see you anywhere near Jung Yerin, I promise it won’t bode well for you.”

 

Without waiting for any reply, the two left, walking past the two students and towards the rooftop.

 

Sinb turned to her companion, “Why do you always get the good lines?”

 

“What are you talking about?” Sojung raised a brow, “Never mind that. I came looking for you for a reason.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“It’s more of a warning from upstairs.” she answered, “There’s a big threat coming and they advised us to be careful.”

 

“A big threat?”

 

“Somewhere around middle-class.”

 

Sinb groans in dismay, “I barely finished with these two.”

 

“That’s why I told you to stop playing around.” Sojung retorted before letting out a sigh, “Anyway, we should keep our guard up just in case. Who knows who it’ll go for next, so keep an eye on Jung Yerin like you should."

 

Sinb pouted, opening the door to the rooftop, “Not my fault she’s so fun to tease.”

 

“Stop it.”

 

“Yes ma’m.”

 

 

Sinb can’t wrap her head around her current situation.

 

For one, she didn’t expect to be going to school with a companion. Two, she absolutely did not expect her companion to be Jung Yerin of all people.

 

As far as she knew, the upperclassman has made it her life mission to stay away from her as much as possible and she honestly preferred it that way so she wouldn’t find out of her mission, but now she was doing the exact opposite.

 

She’s been tying to wrack her brain for the past hour trying to find the reason for the sudden change but came up blank.

 

Given her behavior the previous day, the way she suddenly exclaimed asking her where she’s been was unexpected and surprising, however Sinb understood that it could have been just a spur of the moment thing. Even she would react if something suddenly changed in her everyday life.

 

But this… this was certainly not a spur of the moment thing. Even now she could practically see the woman’s mind debating whether she actually knew what she was doing and why.

 

However, don’t get her wrong, she doesn’t dislike it. On the contrary, perhaps she may secretly enjoy the miniscule interactions she and Yerin have had but this sort of change was too sudden for her, and she didn’t know how to react.

 

She blinked trying to picture the earlier scene in her mind still trying to figure out if she had just seen and heard things wrongly somewhere.

 

Sinb’s home was placed conveniently along the path that Yerin takes whenever she heads to school. It was so she could see when the upperclassman would pass by and follow her without problems.

 

Now that she thinks about it, it does seem stalkerish in a way but this was a mission. It’s a valid excuse if she has anything to say about it.

 

So, like every morning, she headed out and prepared to wait for Yerin only to find he already there and as if that wasn’t enough of a surprise, she even asked to go to school together. Sinb was so dumbfounded by the whole thing that all she could do was agree.

 

And as they say, third time’s the charm, Sinb was rendered completely dysfunctional the moment Yerin grabbed her hand and ushered her to get moving, which brings them to their current situation. Thankfully, Sinb has regained motor functions after while and is now left pondering about what in the world could have caused this woman to do a complete 180.

 

Human thought processes were sometimes so hard to comprehend.

 

“What’s wrong?” Yerin asked, noticing the younger’s silence.

 

Everything. She was about to reply but held herself back.

 

“You’re really asking me that?” she asked, staring at her incredulously, “What’s wrong with you?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Sinb blinked, “I’m asking why you’re acting like…this. You’re being a bit friendly for some reason…”

 

“What’s wrong in being your friend?”

 

“That’s not something someone who’s been cursing at me for five months would say.”

 

Yerin visibly grimaced at that, “Well, I can’t deny that but there are some things I realized after I took a breather and began thinking back on my life choices. Also, let’s just say a certain Kim Sojung-ssi told me you just wanted to be friends but was being roundabout about it.”

 

Simb nearly cursed out loud, swearing in her mind to get back at that particular senior one of these days.

 

“So I decided to ease your suffering and do something about it.”

 

Sinb groaned, “I’m pretty sure this is the start of the suffering.” she mumbled under her breath.

 

“What was that?”

 

“I said it’s great to be your friend.” she replied with lively sarcasm but Yerin didn’t seem to notice and just nodded her head in satisfaction.

 

Sinb looked up to the skies, holding back a cry.

 

God, are you sure you didn’t make a mistake in making Sojung an angel…?

 

 

Surprisingly, being Yerin’s friend wasn’t all that bad, if the sudden clinginess wasn’t included. It also made it easier for her to keep her two former friends away.

 

Walking to and from school become a common occurrence. Sometimes they would stop by some places whenever the mood struck. Sinb also didn’t need to act like stalker any longer. She now considers herself a successful stalker.

 

Sinb knew that if she were human, she’d certainly enjoy Yerin’s company. That wasn’t the case, however, as she is Yerin’s guardian angel first and foremost and as much as she would like to continue being friends with her charge, that wasn’t ideal for her given her current mission.

 

True, being friends with one’s charge may seem like the correct way to keep an eye on them, but it wasn’t that simple.

 

An angel is assigned to a human being targeted by devils and their only mission was to deal with the devils harming their charges. In Yerin’s case, the devils were her former friends.

 

Unfortunately, angels and devils did not have the ability to rewrite memories and so guardian angels have the tough job of getting rid of the devils in people’s lives covertly. There must be a certain relationship distance between the protected human and the targeting devil so that an angel could safely and completely remove such a person from their charge’s life without them wondering where the devil disappeared to.

 

Unfortunately, in Sinb’s case, the two had already established connection before she got to them and so she had to do it the hard way. She then made it so they’re both driven away gradually so that they can be replaced by Joy and Hayoung. Doing so will completely disconnect the two from Yerin’s life.

 

In a human’s point of view, they’re the ones considered as a “good riddance” and when Yerin forgets them, then Sinb can deal with them accordingly with no problems.

 

After that, it was supposedly Sinb’s turn to disconnect herself from Yerin’s life, being a person who “comes and goes” as they put it. It was supposed to go that way if not for the news of a bigger threat which meant her mission was far from over even if she dealt with the two. Now that Sinb has somehow gotten quite an important role in Yerin’s life, it would be harder for her to disconnect herself when her mission is over.

 

Nevertheless, her focus right now is the two devils lurking around her and the bigger threat that has yet to reveal themselves. Sinb has to keep an eye out for them by staying with Yerin. In the meantime, she can use this opportunity to enjoy the time she has with her and maybe try living as a human for now.

 

Anyway, Sinb just hopes that the mid-class devil doesn’t arrive, or better yet, they can just forget coming here altogether. Mid-class devils are problematic as they can influence a big group of people at the same time. Contrary to low-class devils who can only tempt one at a time. It will prove to be difficult to deal with once they’ve established connections with a lot of people. They’ll probably end up scratching their heads trying to figure out how to disconnect them from the humans’ lives.

 

This would be a lot easier if only they could manipulate memories. Nevertheless, she has to do what she can to prevent them from making contact with Yerin. That’s her only goal for now. She can deal with the other problems at a later date.

 

A few weeks passed and Sinb was heading to Yerin’s classroom which was a floor above hers. She promised the upperclassman that she’ll accompany her to the arcade after Yerin had stayed late with her the previous day when she had gone overtime during dance club.

 

When she arrived, she was just in time to see her bidding her friends farewell outside their room.

 

She was glad to see the three of them getting along well. Seeing them getting closer assured her that Yerin was in good hands once she finishes her mission.

 

Somehow that thought saddened her.

 

"They won’t be joining us today?" Sinb approached, announcing her presence.

 

“They already made plans.”

 

“Oh.” Sinb shrugged, “You’re lucky I happen to be free.”

 

“You volunteered, dork.” Sinb chuckled at her reply, “Let’s go, I can already hear my prizes calling for me.”

 

Sinb just rolled her eyes in amusement at the woman’s antics before following her out of the school. On the way, she spotted Sojung a distance away, seemingly in the middle of a conversation with Jung Eunbi, the human she was assigned to. Their gazes momentarily met before both looked away just as quickly.

 

"Who were you looking at?" Yerin asked, looking over as well.

 

“It’s nothing.” Sinb urged, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the place, Sinb knew what that look meant. She was silently telling her that she has successfully kept the devils around Jung Eunbi away and was planning on dealing with them before they moved on to another target.

 

Which reminds her she has to deal with her share of devils as well.

 

As the two walked in companionable silence, Yerin suddenly asked Sinb if she knew Sojung.

 

“I guess?” Sinb could only answer.

 

Yerin hummed, “You looked like you did.”

 

“I know the woman she’s with.” Sinb quickly searched her brains for a reasonable explanation, “We’re club mates and I happen to see them together a lot.”

 

“Oh, Jung Eunbi’s in the same club as you?”

 

“Yeah, she just joined recently.” she added, relieved that Yerin seems to have not thought much about her words. Really, she should be more careful with what she’s saying.

 

“I see.” Yerin smiled. Perhaps a little too widely in her opinion but who was she to complain? Still, the suspicion in her tone made Sinb wonder about the questions purpose. Perhaps she was just curious? But Yerin didn’t seem to ponder much about it so she let it be.

 

Upon arriving at the arcade, Yerin bolted off like a child. She was even laughing happily and Sinb found the action cute but of course she wasn’t going to say that out loud.

 

A second later, she was already out of her sight, but the angel already knew where to find her.

 

She can’t be called Yerin’s stalk– guardian angel without knowing such a basic thing.

 

True enough, upon reaching a certain area of the arcade, Yerin was there, her posture and expression focused and steady, her sharp eyes currently locked onto a specific plushie on the crane machine. Sinb could practically see the gears in her mind turning as she began to calculate the exact landing point of the machine claw and the chances of it grasping the toy properly when it traverses to the hole and if it will hold despite the near zero coefficient of friction present on the claw tips. And as if Yerin’s supercomputer crane machine calculating mind has finally given a rough estimate of the answer, she pressed the button and watched with unwavering focus and bated breath as the claw descended and grabbed her target.

 

Sinb nearly wanted to scold herself for feeling just as tense when the toy was picked up and was slowly making the journey to the moment of truth.

 

As if a spell was cast on the both of them, the tension left both their bodies when the toy dropped perfectly into the hole, Yerin doing a small cheer while jumping happily in place. Sinb couldn’t help but grin at that, taking that opportunity to approach.

 

“Here, hold this.” Yerin instructed when she sensed her presence then went back to playing again.

 

Sinb groaned, knowing where she’ll end up being by the end of the day.

 

A few hours in and Sinb was already growing tired.

 

“Did you know that humans have two hands?” Yerin looked over at her weirdly at her sudden words.

 

“What’s with the sudden obvious fun fact?” Yerin asked as she placed another toy above her other prizes.

 

"It’s just to remind you of the limitations a human can do.” Sinb smiled, not quite reaching her eyes, “And that I can’t possibly carry all of this without dying in the process.”

 

Yerin rolled her eyes, “You’ll be fine.”

 

“Maybe if a certain someone helped me out…”

 

“My hands are busy exerting dominion over these crane games.” Yerin proudly states.

 

“If we stay another second here, I’m going to make a bed out of your winnings.” Sinb pointed out and it was only then that Yerin realized that the sun had set and they needed to head home.

 

After asking an employee for help, they managed to get a bag they could put the toys in. Sinb made a quick trip to a nearby fastfood and bought some food for the both of them that they could munch on during the trip home.

 

As she expected, Sinb just turned into Yerin’s assistant for that day, but even though she was complaining on the outside, she was actually having fun with the upperclassman. It was always a marvel to her whenever Yerin gets to showcase her skills. She’s quite sure that no amount of angelic abilities could top her skill in the crane machine game. In her opinion, Yerin should be given more opportunities to show everyone what she’s made of.

 

“By the way, what are B1 and B2 up to nowadays?” Sinb asked as they walked leisurely, the big bag of toys grasped in one hand. They decided to take the long way home, agreeing that the night was still young and a leisure stroll before they call it a day was reasonable.

 

“B1? B2?” Yerin tilted her head in confusion before she opened , realizing who Sinb was referring to, "I don’t know, I honestly don’t care at this point.”

 

Sinb fought the grin pulling up at her lips, “Why?”

 

“Now that I look back on the times I spent with those two, I realized I was in a lot of trouble just by being around them, but now that I haven’t seen them around recently and I’ve never felt so relieved.”

 

Sinb nodded her head sagely, mentally patting herself on the back for a job well done in keeping the devils away. Now she was sure Yerin wouldn’t mind if they disappeared from her life completely.

 

“That’s good.” she replied, “Your reputation was bound to be ruined the more you spent time with those idiots.”

 

Yerin sighs, “Makes me wonder what was wrong with me that I even thought of being friends with those two. I’m usually a better judge of character than this.”

 

“Well, we all have our moments.” Sinb said in an attempt to reassure her, “People like that take advantage of your weakness and strike in for the kill.”

 

“You make them sound like assassins.” Yerin chuckled, “But perhaps you’re right.”

 

“I know I’m right.” Sinb replied haughtily, earning a playful punch on the shoulder from her companion, “Don’t blame yourself over it. Evil people will always find a way to take advantage of someone no matter how careful you are but in a bigger picture victims are never at fault, remember that.”

 

Yerin stared, “You say some good things once in a while.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“You don’t seem like the type of person who gives good advice.”

 

Sinb glared, “Don’t come running to me when you need help.”

 

The upperclassman grinned, “You won’t be able to resist me.”

 

“Ha!” Sinb let out a guffaw, finding the notion ridiculous, “You wish.”

 

Not long after they finally arrived at Yerin’s place, with Sinb demanding that she be given at least two of Yerin’s winnings as payment for her baggage girl services. The two bickered for a while as they haggled on which plushies Sinb received and soon enough Yerin bid Sinb farewell as the underclassman happily returned the gesture with a penguin plushie in one hand and a yellow chick in the other. She waited until Yerin has safely gone inside before going on her way.

 

The day was nearing an end and normally one would be home and resting but for Sinb, it wasn’t quite the end just yet.

 

She still had one more business to finish before calling it a day.

 

Depositing her rewards at home, she once more headed out while fishing out her phone from her pocket. There was someone she needed to call to ask for help with regards to her task for that night and she was thankful that the person answered on the first ring when she dialed her number.

 

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” the person on the other end answered irritably, much to Sinb’s amusement. She almost a felt bad for disturbing the woman, but she needed her help.

 

“Hello to you too Yewon.” Sinb greeted cheerfully knowing the reply would annoy her further “And it’s just 9 in the evening. Why do you sound so annoyed? You weren’t sleeping were you?”

 

“Unlike you, I have an exam tomorrow.”

 

“You’re taking human school too seriously.” she remarked, “Anyway, I won’t waste any more of your time, I’ll just ask for those two devils’ current locations a–”

 

“They’re in the park nearest your house. Now goodbye.” Yewon interrupts, hanging up before she even got a word in. Scratching her head while staring at her phone with a small confused frown, she just shrugged it off before pocketing the device and heading to the location Yewon mentioned.

 

It was as her fellow guardian angel told her. Upon arriving at the park, she found the two devils, formerly Yerin’s friends, lounging lazily and grinning happily as they talked to the other about managing to fool someone out of giving them their money. Other than them, the park was otherwise empty as it was quite a distance from known establishments and was too dark for comfort. Any rational human who didn’t want to get in trouble would avoid that place as much as possible.

 

Shaking her head in disapproval, she approached the two with a click of her tongue, announcing her presence to the two unaware devils.

 

The moment they saw who it was, they bolted from their seats and ran off in the opposite direction, already understanding what it meant when an angel specifically came for them. After being disconnected from their target, they were fairly weakened and so Sinb was confident she could deal with them easily.

 

Huffing slightly, Sinb stretched a bit before unfurling her wings, two white dove like wings emerging from her back and shook them a bit as they rustled. She hummed happily, finally having been able to free her wings after what felt like a long time, but now was not the time for enjoying her freedom as she remembered she had a mission to finish.

 

Her gaze locked onto the two devils who had already managed to put some distance between them, but not for long, Sinb mused to herself.

 

With a slight flap to test her wings and wake them from their stiffness, she felt a grin break out on her face as she spread out her wings, the motion feeling like a breath of fresh air for her. And with small crouch, she flapped a little bit stronger and took off from the ground like a rocket.

 

She maneuvered the skies with expertise,, taking a brief moment to feel the wind as she never enjoyed anything else as much as the feeling of flying gave her and soon enough, she had caught up the two in seconds.

 

Swooping down and dropping a few feet in front of them, effectively blocking their means of escape, Sinb knew she had to finish her mission soon before anyone saw them. She watched as the two drew their swords, already understanding that they weren’t going anywhere without a fight. The angel fought the urge to laugh and stretched out her hands, a pair of silver pistols materializing in them with a bright flash.

 

The two devils’ eyes widened upon seeing her choice of weapon.

 

“That’s not fair!” one of them exclaimed, already turning tail and running for it but had dropped to the ground once a gunshot had hit her dead center on her back . Looking carefully, one could see how the bullet hole on the devil’s back was beginning to rapidly burn the surrounding area around it.

 

Sinb didn’t even wait for the other to make a move and shot her as well, with the devil meeting the same fate.

 

A holy bullet piercing a devil was like driving a stake to a vampire’s heart. It guaranteed instant demise for low-class devils.

 

Dispersing her weapons with a slight wave of her hands, she approached the two disintegrating bodies with a flip of her dirty blonde hair over her shoulder.

 

“Is it my fault you’re not updated?” she told them, “Swords were centuries ago. Get with the times.”

 

Shaking her head, she watched over the two, waiting until they completely disintegrated before leaving the scene. She hid her wings and made her way back home.

 

“I deserve a long shower.” she tells herself with a nod, “You did well today Sinb. Congratulations.”

 

 

Sinb hummed slightly to herself as she walked through the halls of their school. She still wasn’t quite over how she managed to finish her mission the previous night with no problems and thought a celebration was in order. At the same time, she might need to tell Yerin a valid explanation concerning the two’s whereabouts just in case she grew curious at their sudden disappearance.

 

Now that she thinks about it, if the threat of the higher tiered devil didn’t show up, she would also probably have to explain to the human why she will be gone permanently.

 

She grimaced slightly at that thought, already finding the task difficult just thinking about it. Whose idea was it anyway to get her to be friends with Yerin? Farewells are always the most difficult tasks. If she was a mere background character in Yerin’s life, she wouldn’t be thinking about this in the first place, she could tell Yerin she was transferring and that will be the end of it.

 

Without realizing that she’s already reached her destination, she would have kept walking if not for Yerin calling for her. Jumping slightly in surprise, she looked back and saw the upperclassman approaching her with a look of worry.

 

“You look out of it.” she says, referring to her dazed state, “Are you okay? You’re not sick are you?”

 

Sinb shakes her head, “Of course not, we never get sick.” she replied without thinking before she realizes what she just said.

 

“What? Are you some sort of superhuman?” Yerin chuckles slightly at her confidence, failing to notice the stiff smile on the woman’s face, “Anyway, forget about your strong immune system, I still have a bunch of errands to do so you can go on ahead.”

 

Sinb stared, “Can I help?” she asked almost automatically.

 

Huh?

 

This was weird. Normally she’d be okay with leaving while Yerin did her after school duties, but what was this sudden urge to stay with her? No, it was almost like she didn’t want to be away from her. When did this happen…?

 

Even Yerin seems to be surprised, “Well, if you want to, I won’t stop you.”

 

Sinb just nods, half-listening to Yerin’s explanation as her attention was more on her thoughts and actions as of recent.

 

She wasn’t blind per se, but it almost bothered her as to when she grew quite attached to her charge. She couldn’t even remember anything significant that happened to warrant this change. Could it be that it wasn’t Yerin getting closer to her but it was the other way around?

 

"Sinb? "Yerin called her attention, waving her hands in front of her face to snap her out of her musings. When she successfully got her attention, she offered her a look of worry, “Are you sure you’re not sick? I can do this myself if you’re not up for it.”

 

Sinb showed her a quick smile of assurance, “I’m fine. So we just have to move the new books to the shelves?”

 

Yerin didn’t answer, her gaze inquisitive as she searched Sinb’s face for who knows what while Sinb could only stand frozen stiff while feeling her face burning at the intensity of Yerin’s gaze.

 

After what felt like a century, Yerin finally seemingly decided that Sinb was okay and voiced out her agreement to her earlier question. Turning to enter the library, the guardian angel exhaled the breath that she had unknowingly been holding. She could still feel her face burning and she was getting flashbacks of Yerin’s face so close to hers.

 

She slapped herself on the cheeks, “Snap out of it. Snap out of it.” she mumbled before following the woman inside.

 

Yerin is part of the library committee which meant she would sometimes stay at school on some days to do her duties. This was common knowledge to her as she needed a firm understanding of Yerin’s schedule after all. And on some of those days, Sinb would stay until closing time just to keep an eye on her.

 

But hold on a second. Has Yerin always been this attractive while working?

 

Sinb has always found Yerin to be a tier above many others in terms of looks, that was an indisputable fact and she would fight anyone who says otherwise, but this was different. It was as if she was seeing Yerin for the first time, remembering her exact reaction when she was sent to watch over Yerin.

 

“Yerin-unnie.” Sinb called out, with the upperclassman looking over while placing a book on a shelf.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Are you wearing makeup today or something?”

 

Yerin looked at her weirdly, “Of course not since it’s not allowed. Why are you asking anyway? Come to think of it you’ve been staring at my face for a while now, is there something on it?”

 

She reached up and pat her face, trying to find the foreign substance but stopped when Sinb assured her there wasn’t anything and that she was just seeing things. Shrugging, Yerin went back to organizing the books meanwhile Sinb went back to her own task of placing the books on the shelf but not really setting her mind to it as her mind was preoccupied with other thoughts.

 

So apparently, nothing changed so why is she suddenly seeing Yerin in a new light? She can’t even remember anything that happened to cause this.

 

This was bothering her so much right now.

 

Amidst her musings, she failed to notice how she had misplaced a couple of books on top of her and was threatening to fall on her head. If it wasn’t for one of the books falling, Yerin wouldn’t have noticed and warned her in time.

 

Sinb suddenly felt a hand grasp her arm before feeling herself being pulled away the exact time she heard the sound of books falling right on the spot where she was standing just a second before. Eyes wide, she could only stare at the spot in frozen suprise.

 

“Hey… are you sure you’re not sick?” Yerin had to ask, worry lacing tone as she helped Sinb steady herself and gazed back into her eyes, her expression showing that she was still trying to understand what happened, “I think you should go home and rest.”

 

“I’m fine–”

 

“I don’t think so.” Yerin shook her head, “Wait, no, take a break on one of the couches. We’ll head on home together.”

 

“Unnie…”

 

“I need to make sure you get home safe. Who knows what’ll happen if I leave you heading back alone.” Sinb was cut off before she could protest.

 

She finds it funny how their roles have reversed somehow. She was supposed to be the one doing the guarding here. At this rate, her guardian angelship might get revoked.

 

But surprisingly, it didn’t feel so bad being cared of for a change.

 

Knowing that any other form of protest will fall on deaf ears, she was about to head over to the couch as Yerin instructed but stopped upon sensing a presence approaching.

 

“Jung Yerin-ssi.” the person said, completely passing her and heading straight to where the library committee member stood. Yerin turned to see who it was and her brows rose in surprise upon seeing who it was before she stood to attention, thinking that there was something she needed as a library committee member.

 

“Yes, Sojung-ssi?”

 

“If it helps, I can take Sinb-ssi home.” she offered without a second wasted for pleasantries or even explanations. One could see in Yerin’s expression how she looked troubled by how straightforward her fellow senior sounded, having gone forward without hesitation and getting straight to the point.

 

Yerin seemed hesitant, “I wasn’t aware you knew each other.”

 

“Eunha told me about her and we’ve been talking since.” Sojung briefly explained, “And I happened to overhear your conversation. I was looking for Sinb anyway so I can take her home if it helps.”

 

The hesitation was still there and Sinb could see and understand why given that she had mentioned not knowing Sojung and then she suddenly shows up claiming to know her and even offering to accompany her home. She knows Sojung must have a reason for doing this and, as much as she doesn’t want to, she would have to go along with her fellow guardian.

 

Yerin seemed to be thinking the same as she nodded, turning to Sinb and saying, “You message me as soon as you get home.”

 

She nodded, willingly complying to her request to ease her worry for her.

 

"Sorry, unnie. I ended up troubling you instead." she tells the woman, feeling the need to apologize only to be met by a soft chuckle.

 

“It’s not like you to apologize for giving me trouble.” she says, causing Sinb to laugh as well knowing she was referring to their previous relationship, “Whatever. Just head home safe and rest, you dork.”

 

“Yes ma’m.” Sinb saluted playfully before reluctantly bidding her farewell and heading out of the library with Sojung by her side.

 

She felt bad leaving the woman alone but knowing Sojung, she didn’t pull her away from her current duty just for nothing.

 

“Okay, what is this all about?” Sinb didn’t waste time and asked in a demanding tone as soon as they were off the school grounds.

 

Her fellow angel stayed eerily silent, causing a slight discomfort to encompass Sinb. A few minutes in, she was beginning to feel irritated at the lack of explanation and she was about to voice out her complaint when Sojung motioned for her to keep quiet and to keep walking with her face devoid of any emotion that could give Sinb a hint on what was going on.

 

With no other choice but to comply, she followed her senior’s silent instruction and continued the walk in tense silence. Her mind was completely filled with questions eagerly waiting to be answered and here she was, made to play the waiting game. The anxiety she was experiencing was most likely caused by the thought of Yerin currently alone and unprotected and with a threat that they have yet to encounter, the worry she has for the woman was growing exponentially by the second.

 

She would never be able to forgive herself if anything were to happen to Yerin and she wasn’t there to prevent it.

 

“We’re here.” Sojung’s voice broke her out of her musings causing Sinb to momentarily set aside her thoughts to take in their surroundings.

 

Which confused her greatly because they were at the school’s front gates.

 

Has Sojung been leading her in circles without her knowing?

 

“What do you mean we’re here? It looks like we never left.” she pointed out.

 

“It’s the only way…”

 

“You’re not making any sense, Sojung.” Sinb glares, irritation settling in with the lack of honorifics for the senior, “Tell me what this is all about.”

 

Sojung sighed once before facing her fellow angel, finally deciding to come clean with her actions, “Yewon couldn’t get a proper trace of the mid-class devil. Apparently, he slipped past our radars once he realized we were onto him and he’s doing great in avoiding us so far, enough for us to not be able to sense him. So Yewon thought he’ll drop his guard once we’re away.”

 

“What does this have to do with us being here now?” Sinb questioned, only to be met by silence. It was then she understood the other part of the plan, “You didn’t…”

 

Sinb her heel, about to rush back into the school only to be held back by a firm grip on her wrist.

 

Growling, she let her weapon materialize in her hand and pointed it towards Sojung without hesitation.

 

“Let go.” she snarled.

 

“You can’t jeopardi–”

 

“I said let go!” Sinb pulled her hand free and practically flew off towards the school with Sojung at her heels.

 

Her fellow angel caught up easily and tried to prevent Sinb from progressing any further but she was able to slip past her, rushing up the steps two at a time with desperation and silent prayers replaying like a mantra in her head. All they contained was her wish for Yerin’s safety.

 

She absolutely can’t forgive how they made Yerin a bait for the mid-class devil to show himself and she understood it was Yerin that they might go after as there is only her that was currently in the school, besides the teachers and staff, who was a vulnerable target. When she reached the library, she stopped in her tracks upon hearing the sound of voices from within. Last she checked, Yerin was alone and hearing another voice with hers was not helping to alleviate her fears.

 

She opened the door, or more like kicked it open and barged in. Given that the library was silent, her entrance was akin to a cannon going off in the room and she saw how Yerin flinched at the sudden loud sound; but more than that, her eyes had locked onto the other figure in the room.

 

Brows furrowing and nose wrinkling in distaste, she took in the sight of the person before her. There’s no doubt about it, this was a devil. His entire being reeked of their aura. It was only a wonder how he was able to stay out of their senses for as long as he had.

 

Sinb was by Yerin’s side in a second, getting in between the threat and her charge, facing the devil and trying to be as intimidating as she could, but it didn’t seem to faze him as he only stared back in mock surprise and curiosity, but Sinb knew better. This devil’s happy he managed to establish contact and it will only prove to be more difficult from then on.

 

The angel cursed herself mentally for letting this happen.

 

"Sinb…? " she heard Yerin speak in confused surprise.

 

Said angel looked back and grabbed her hand, “We’re leaving.”

 

“W-what? Of course I can’t, I have to close up and–”

 

“Don’t bother.” the man spoke, “Shame we got interrupted Yerin-ssi. Maybe next time…?” he asked hopefully.

 

“There won’t be a next time.” Sinb interrupted, not moving her gaze from him for even a second, “Stay away from Yerin.”

 

“Territorial are we?” he mocked, raising his hands in surrender, “I’ll back off for today, but you best do a better job, or you never know…”

 

Sinb nearly flared up at the threat, her hands itching to draw her weapon and just rain down bullets on this devil but she remembered they were not alone and kept herself from doing anything that might reveal her identity.

 

The devil gave Yerin one more goodbye before sending Sinb a wink that nearly made her take out her weapon and shoot him senseless but he was already gone before she could do anything. Letting out a sigh, she let herself relax before facing a dumbfounded Yerin who had nothing but confusion on her face.

 

Sinb’s expression softened when she saw Yerin unharmed.

 

“Did he do anything to you?” Sinb asked just in case.

 

“No…? Never mind that, what was that all about?” Yerin asked back the most obvious question of the century, “And shouldn’t you be going home?”

 

“I’ll explain later.” Sinb waved off her inquiries, knowing she can’t provide an answer that won’t reveal any secret, “Listen. That guy is bad news, don’t ever engage with him. Ever.”

 

“Why?”

 

“J-Just because!” Sinb didn’t even bother thinking of a reason, “Just stay away from him.”

 

“He seems pretty nice though. If not for him I wouldn’t be finished organizing everything….”

 

Sinb mentally cursed the devil in anger.

 

Of course he’d try to make a good first impression. They all do at the start and then they slowly destroy their targets in the long run until they’re ruined beyond repair.

 

“Ah whatever, are you done?” Sinb asked, pertaining to her library committee duties.

 

“Yeah, I was about to head on home but got held up by Sojeon-ssi…” Yerin replied, “But wait, explain to me first what that was all about.”

 

Sinb held back a sigh. She should have seen this coming.

 

“Just… He’s not a good person so just avoid him as much as you can.”

 

“Do you know him or something?”

 

“I do now.”

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing, let’s just go.” Sinb pushed, grabbing her hand once she saw her ready to leave and nearly dragged her out of the library in haste. If not for Yerin’s protests, she would have succumbed to flying them out of that place instead.

 

As soon as Yerin finished closing the library behind them, Sinb didn’t hesitate and once more grabbed her hand to get her out of the school and away from the threat as quickly as possible.

 

As she expected, Sojung was nowhere to be found when they left the school and Sinb finally slowed down, no longer sensing any danger nearby and fell into a leisure pace beside her charge who was eyeing her suspiciously. She can practically feel Yerin boring holes into her skull at the intensity of her stare.

 

“You know if you want to say something, just say it.” she finally said, having enough of the silent questioning.

 

“I don’t even know where to start.” Yerin sighs, “And I get the feeling you won’t answer me anyway.”

 

Sinb didn’t reply rather, she didn’t exactly know what to say. There was no way she was going to reveal anything about her true nature to her after all. She won’t lie though, she’s always wanted to reveal herself to Yerin to make things easier, but she didn’t want to think of the consequences if she were to do that.

 

“Why’d you come back anyway? What happened with Sojung-ssi?”

 

Sinb blinked, finding it weird how she would ask that first and foremost amongst the other questions she wanted to ask.

 

She decides to answer, if it’s to help her get some things off her mind at least.

 

"I wanted to go home with you. "she replied honestly. Besides the fact she actually returned to make sure she was safe, but to go home with her was her plan in the first place, and if she were to choose between going home with Yerin or Sojung, she would choose the former without hesitation.

 

Expecting a reply, it never really came as Yerin suddenly fell silent and when the angel looked, the woman had turned her gaze away from her and didn’t speak up during the entire duration of their walk home. She had expected the upperclassman to badger her with questions but instead stayed silent, looking seemingly content unlike just a few moments ago.

 

Sinb quirked a brow in confusion. What is with her and her sudden mood shifts?

 

When they reached Yerin’s home, the upperclassman asked her if she wanted to go in but she refused, even though she wanted to, since she knew she had business to attend to after this.

 

Yerin seemed crestfallen at her decision but picked herself up fairly quickly and just told Sinb to be safe in going home. She did this accompanied by a wide smile, reaching until her eyes which formed into crescents and Sinb could vaguely hear the word ‘pretty’ playing in the back of her mind like a broken record.

 

Soon enough, she was reciprocating the smile, waving to her as she bid her farewell and waited until she was safely inside before going her way.

 

She noticed her heart beating too fast for her liking, it. Weird. The walk wasn’t even all that tiring but why did she suddenly feel so weak? And her insides were churning so much she felt a bit lightheaded. Was she getting sick? No, angels don’t get sick. So what was this then?

 

Maybe it was some sort of angel sickness. She would have to ask Yewon about this sometime.

 

Shaking her head and slapping her cheeks for good measure, she continued on her way, deciding to keep an eye on Yerin’s home for the night just in case.

 

---

 

"angel sickness", sureeeeee ¯\_(ツ)_/¯