Genre: Fantasy, Slice of Life

Summary: Minjoo is a guardian angel. There are lots of questions left unanswered until Ahn Yujin was born, her favorite human.

Word Count: 8893

Hashtag: #JinjooFiestaS2_ToWondersAndDiscoveries

To wonders and discoveries

You're one of the angels who don't really know much about heaven. Except for it being an all-white place with a glowing golden gate and lots of angels flying or walking around. 

It's big in there- perhaps if proven, heaven seems to be just as wide or even wider than the galaxy humans know. It was very spacious that you wonder what would the answer be from the question 'how wide is heaven.' 

Apparently. You have a lot of questions left unanswered just like humans who question literally all the creations the almighty have made. But unlike them, you know a lot much more since you're someone who was made from a different realm, a place where they also have lots of concerns. 

Going back, the reason for your lack of knowledge about heaven is because you were sent to a specific planet named earth and was given a purpose just like how it is when something is created by God. You're a guardian angel. 

A glowing beautifully crafted masterpiece. 

It might sound narcissistic and over-exaggerated if heard by someone but it is, and you are. Well everything crafted by God is all indeed beautiful but somehow you know that yours was special in some kind of way. 

Out of all the existing questions you have.

The answer you love most is humans are the most interesting one out of all the creations. 

That's for you because your mind loves to wonder about random stuff because you can't talk to anyone but yourself. 

You've experienced having a conversation though so you know how it feels to blurt out your own thoughts. You remember it till now even if the last time you had it was when the first man was created and the head angel in heaven clarified and made your mind conscious. Your memory is great, that's the most truthful justification why you don't forget any detail. Unlike humans whose minds are complicated as they can somehow deceive their own and forgets what truly happened once upon a time.

You remember each one of the people you've handled. All of their names and how they view you. It might seem weird but you always figure out their perspective to you but it's hard since you fade into their eyes when they don't need to see you anymore so you mostly talk to babies or if luckier they'll see you till they reach the age of 5 or 7. 

You can't control your own appearance. 

For adults, they assume you as their child's imaginary friend. While some view you as a lost soul, ghosts as what they call. 

It's not the own kind of perception you're talking about though. You're only aiming for the viewpoint of your own human, the one you're assigned with. It's fun because when you ask them they mostly have different answers like cloud, a white balloon, or a human form of a unicorn. 

Well, those are the top three that you remember the most but there are a lot. 

You roamed your eyes around and observe those people who are rushing and those who are looking at their watch. 

On earth, they value time. Diverse from heaven where time does not exist. It is reasonable though as humans have a specific life expectancy. They don't know exactly when will they die which makes life even more fun. It's not like there's a thrill in dying but still, that makes them spend each day more valuable. 

Somehow they let go of the given gift of God which is freedom. Humans slave humans in tons of ways. While other's do the opposite by crossing a certain line by using freedom as a token. 

When they do, if not forgiven. There's this place where they call hell that actually does exist. A place where eternal punishment occurs. Their souls will be thrown in there and make them suffer for causing evilness or harming different souls. It was made to cause a balance.

Your thoughts were stopped as your eyes finally saw Yujin. The first human in the 21st century that you were assigned to. 

She's currently 5 and had her first day of school today. She views you as a star and you remember how the realization made your nonexistent heart flutter. 

There is galaxy-themed glow in the dark stickers on her ceiling. It was sticking in there ever since her room was decorated and you know just how much she loves the stars out of all the present planets and different phases of moons glued beside each other in there. The fact that she views you as the same thing that she admires the most makes you feel happy as you understand her even if she didn't give any explanation because who's a child at the age of 5 can explain something deep? 

You shake your head trying and focusing more from hiding to her eyes. 

You don't want her to look weird by talking at an air, they might assume she was crazy and you don't want that to happen. 

She sat down at one of the benches and played by the strap of her backpack. Humming her favorite nursery rhyme and is probably building up the flow of her day and how will she tell it to you as you hear new names being spoken out of when she finishes humming. She's swinging her feet actively while waiting for her parents to fetch her. 

They didn't take that long but she was the last one to get fetched. Both of you expected it but you felt her disappointment. 

                                                       \\\

Yujin's parents are at the top list of the worst people you know, you're not even going to use a different kinder word to describe them because for real, they are the souls you just know will go to hell. 

Her mom has anger issues while her dad is an addicted man. Both don't go well with each other, they always bicker. Turns small fights into a big issue. It's not just that, that made you consider them as the worst. They are abusive. Both to each other and to their child. The last one mentioned is probably the thing you hate the most about them. 

They like ordering yujin around a lot, beat her up when they feel like it, shouts at her when she's being clumsy and maybe you'll consider them not being with yujin on her first day in school one of the saddest thing too. Yujin, however, somehow got used to it and gets to understand that she can't really do anything except for following them. 

They got home and you wait for yujin inside her room because you know she's expecting you here just like how it always is. 

It didn't take long before you hear her rushing footsteps, door opening, and closing fastly as she turns the light on. 

"Minmin!" She calls you out softly yet excitedly. She laid her bag down immediately and ran to you with her arms wide open so you bent your knees down, smiles at her welcomely, and returns the hug. 

She breaks it and raises her hand in front of your face while repeatedly saying wait. So you nodded your head reassuringly that you won't go anywhere and watches her ran to her bag and pulls out a paper and her pencil. 

She came back and sat in front of you so you did the same. You're peeking on the paper as she draws animals on it, giggling as you recognize the last one, you did recognize all it's just that the last one was a frog, a green animal that makes noise when it rains. You know yujin views people with familiarity, she describes each on how they look like if they were a different living or nonliving thing on earth. 

"Are those the friends you've made today?" You ask. 

She nodded her head and pushed the paper near your lap for you to be able to get a better view. Using her pointer finger, she points at the first animal which you assume is a bunny. 

"Won...wonyoung..." She slowly says. Her parents rarely talk to her and if they do, they shout at her so it makes yujin prefer more just not to. Her speech ability is later than most children. 

"Your friend?" 

She scratches her hair as her lips puckered. Disagreeing with your answer. 

"Friend... No? I want... a friend."  

It took you a few seconds before processing what she said. "You want her as your friend?" You ask making her nod not eagerly but shyly. 

"How about this duck? Who is she?" 

Her eyes became wider, happy. 

Yena she says straightly without taking a pause. And tells you that this person is her friend and also a friend of the wonyoung kid.

"Minmin." She pointed at the last one. The frog.

That moment you felt as if you should really describe yourself as a beautifully crafted masterpiece. You smiled though and asks her why but she said it just reminded her of you.

You let her draw sloppy lines as it was her way to let you visualize scenarios when she's trying to explain. 

Yujin's five and still, she can see you. Talk to you, touch you. 

                                                       \\\

The two she introduces to you 2 years back then was her best friends now. Yena is the oldest one out of them but acts a lot younger and talkative. Yujin's the most silent one though but her speech has improved over the years of yena and wonyoung speaking to her. 

(You consider yourself as well of the list of people who taught her to improve)

Yujin never changed. She's still the same clueless, sweet, innocent child. It saddens you that she thinks the current situation of her and her parents is the norm. She doesn't even talk about it with her friends or you and keeps it to herself. 

She just turned at the age of 7. And you wonder how many candles will she blow and makes you fade away with the smoke into her own bare eyes. But probably not sooner because it is obvious that she still needs you. 

And you're more than glad to be there for her. 

                                                       \\\

"Minmin." She calls you so you hummed. 

"You're not a human right?" 

It's not really surprising for her to finally realize but for the first time for centuries, she was the first one to reach the point of consciousness and is still being able to see you. 

You nodded your head and observes her. 

Both of you are sitting on the opposite side with the cake lying on the floor and the middle of you two. 

"What are you Minmin?" She asks genuinely curious. You find telling yourself as different creature nonsense so you told her what you really are. "I'm your guardian." You said and chuckles as she nodded and looked at the cake again. It looks like she still doesn't get what exactly a guardian is. 

"Have you ever wish before minmin?" 

You haven't. And never did it cross your mind. So you shake your head and watch her open a match out and put fire on the candle. 

"Wish..." She muttered and pushed the cake near you. Her eyes wide open as she looks at you with anticipation. Her hands then intertwined with each other as it lays on her lap. 

"I don't have anything to wish for yujin-ssi." 

Yujin blinks and lays her head at her shoulders. Still staring directly at you with her lips a bit puckered. You can feel her confusion and you wonder if she has a lot of wishes on her head and finds it not being normal not to have such wishes.

"Or maybe I have but I haven't think of it." You said and shrugs. Perhaps it was already built on your system not to have any desire because having one can pretty much destroy any individual. 

Yujin pulled the layer of the cake back and breathed heavily. 

She corrects her posture and shuts her eyes close. Wishing on her own before blowing out the candle and smiles with you. 

"Happy birthday..." 

"Thank you..." 

                                                       \\\

You cackled at how yujin tried her best not to talk nor look at you. She's obviously trying her best from looking away at your gaze, ask all of the questions she has on her head, and tells you the little details of the things happening around her. 

She convinces you that it is okay not to hide anymore so here you are. Waiting along with her as you sit close in the bench at the school as her friends got fetch home earlier than her as usual. 

You figured out it will also be helpful and she can feel comfortable being with someone but at the same time, your expectation of it being awkward for her really did become a reality. 

"You can just lean and look straight." You tell her and she stiffly follows, looking as if she was really ordered making you release a laugh once more. 

"Comfortably." You added.

You watch her shifts a bit and ended up slumping. A deep breath coming out of her lungs as she stares at the sky above. Raising her hand to reach until she clenches her four other fingers and traces the clouds using her pointer finger. Counting each time there's a new crest. 

"It looks like you minmin." She muttered lowly for it only to be heard by you. So you look up as well. Tried to search for which cloud is she tracing until you finally gave up and look back at her. They all look the same.

"Which one?" You ask. 

"The prettiest." She answers. 

You wonder where exactly but her expression answered you.  

                                                       \\\

Yujin has all the ability to make you feel like a human. Her touch can make you visible in the eyes of others which is something new. 

You were both amaze by the discovery however it also means you have to draw more distance. It's not really much of a problem as long as her eyes can find you, she seems to be relieved already and skinship is not really necessary. 

She looks at you with a smile as her hands are wrap around your pinkie. 

"Look at them minmin," she says and tears her gaze away from you to look at the crowd who are whispering and is talking about you. 

"They find you beautiful." 

"And they find you adorable." You said and pinches her cheeks. 

She looks at the way again. Jumping not so high as she takes a step. Lighting the whole atmosphere even more from her adorable antics. 

                                                       \\\

You watch her draw a sketch in her personal notebook. And for a child, she does not actually do that bad for drawing a human. And it actually fits well for her appreciative personality to also being an observant. 

As if she studies human anatomy, the body was not weird in a way the position was drawn. She draws starting from the position of backbone, and then the traced the guides of other external proportions from an ordinary human. Her lines aren't sloppy and she makes it look so simple to draw such a complicated creation. 

From there itself the potential was clear, she will be a great artist. 

"Minmin, what are you?" 

Her eyes are still focused on filling the paper. Eyebrows a bit furrowed from the concentration.  

"I'm your guardian angel." 

Yujin stops on drawing and looks at you. Stretching her neck to look at something on your back so you did the same and turned your head to look at what is she trying to look for.

"You don't have wings?"

Wings. As far as you can remember, you never had one. Even when you are in heaven, there was nothing on your back. 

"I don't think guardian angels have wings." You answer her. 

She hums and goes back into continuing what she was doing a while ago. It seems like she does now get what you are. You find it comforting that it doesn't seem to bother her because you want the same relationship you two have till she grows old. 

If that's too ambitious then as long as she can still see you, it's fine.

"Do you want to have one?" 

Well, do you? As yujin age, you realize that you haven't questioned a lot about yourself. You love having the knowledge of the other creations that you almost forgot that you are as unique as the others. 

"I don't know." You reply. 

"How old are you minmin?" She asks again, at least this one you can answer.

"A bit older than adam and eve." 

She didn't speak again. The silence succumbing to the room is making your mind filled in various curiosity. 

                                                       \\\

You wish you can be more useful. Not because you feel worse about yourself and just want to have a sense in some way but for a more efficient way of protection. You can only save your human at accidents as if an intention couldn't also do harm to them. 

The limitations you have sometimes makes you feel a negative emotion that soon then fades. 

"Does it hurt?" It's nonsense to ask as it clearly is but you can't help it as if it was an automatic question coming out of your mouth. 

Yujin shakes her head, a contradiction of how she flinches when you reach for her swollen cheeks and bruise lips. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to lie minmin." 

You bent closer to her and caresses her hair. It was never her fault so you tell her that. 

She was shaking and soon cried with silent sobs. Telling you the truth that it hurts and she didn't do something wrong. 

And though it hurts to hear it more than the comforting white lies, you prefer it as you can feel how she slowly feels better as she knows someone, she can go through with at this era of her life. 

                                                      \\\

Candles after candles. Time flies by too fast, yujin is now 10. Her height just above your shoulders that it surprises you how fast she grows. Her facial features are still soft, especially her round eyes that you love most along with her round cheeks, soft hair, dimples- summarizing it all. Her whole existence is your treasure. 

"Have you ever eaten?" 

Actually, you are very curious about that. You never know how the word sweet, bitter, and sour would have tasted if it wasn't just how people describe it in a sentence or express it with their faces. Sweet is probably the most delicious one as it satisfies children more but not much with adults. 

"Guardian angels don't have to eat." 

"What can guardian angels do?" 

"Save humans on some occasions." 

You glance at yujin and finds her already looking at you.

"Well uhm that's it." You said unsure. What else to add? 

Her eyebrows raise and she scratches her nape. Looking a bit guilty for putting an expectation on you which is something she absolutely hates but as a human who's nature is to do that, she can't help it. 

"I guess that explains that each has a specific purpose?" You said, trying to lessen the unnecessary tension. 

"I don't know what's mine." She says and frowns.

"It's okay, you are still young." You assure her. You know a lot of human dies without knowing theirs as it doesn't really pass by their minds again as they get busy and busier. 

"If I figured it out I'll share it with you as well." 

You smiled and agrees with the idea. 

                                                       \\\

Yena and wonyoung are the closest friends she has from kindergarten and their bond is becoming even stronger. They value each other a lot and though they have different personas, they manage to get along well. 

They manage to befriend this girl named eunbi, the oldest among them that has been friends with yena as they transferred for first-year high school. She's responsible, definitely kind, and you like her a lot as she cares about yujin and actually shows it. 

Yujin's group of friends slowly becomes larger and larger. She's very kind and friendly after all but just doesn't speak that much. 

It wasn't a problem though as a conversation flows freely from her comforting presence that could probably make you narrate your problem and where your current anger comes from in a soft manner. She just exudes that vibe. 

Her new friends are protective of her and shower her with praises. They are older and more mature making it more balance as some are a chaotic mess. 

You finally see her, walking fastly but not totally running or jogging just to sit beside you. She removes the things that produce music into her ears simply. 

Through the years of having to talk to you without the others knowing, she has mastered acting to talk to you