He stared at his black phone on top of his wooden desk, his fingers brushing against one another as if having a meeting. It had been fifteen minutes since he spoke to the other guy, as each seconds after slowly descending him into anxiety. His room was dim with only the moonlight shining above him from behind, casting a shadow longer than his own head.

     He rested his slender figure on his chair made of navy leather, placing his hands on top of its arms as suddenly, the battle between his fingers wasn’t so interesting anymore. He shut his eyes and breathed out. “No… they won’t fail… never… no chance of failure…” His low, raspy voice echoed inside his head.

     In a world where an abstract scenario could be scarier than something tangible, more often than not, he always found himself being driven to the edge of his sanity. “But what if… what if they do?” this time, he whispered, “what if that stupid guy made a mistake? What if… what if this would be the end of me?!”

     His phone rang. In less than a second, he grabbed it off the table as he stood up. His heart thumped, rush of blood flow felt like an unseen river inside his body. If it wasn’t for the advanced technology of air conditioning, he would have cried himself a river of perspiration. “Please tell me you’d taken care of her.”

     The other side of the line breathed, which sounded like someone was making a ball out of plastic with his hands. “Yes, indeed, Sir,” he confirmed, his voice was as monotonic as a translating machine. “You’re having another attack? We’re talking about a homeless twelve years old, Sir, in case you’ve forgotten. There’s no need of worrying.”

   He breathed a sigh of relief, one of the longest and loudest, before his lips curled its way into a sly grin. “Hahaha! Ha… ha… haha… hahaha!” he proceeded to laugh, then he spent a good minute worth of pure joy, banging his desk with one hand. A laugh was supposed to bright up a room, but his just made everything around him darker. “Make sure you leave no trace. Not one. If something happens…” He paused, “you’re going to end up like that useless .”

   “Aye aye, Sir,” he replied, bored, like the threat was something a man would say if he met his friend. “Anything else I can do for you?”

       “No. Now get lost.” He hung up.

      He stared at his room, the silent witness to things he had done. Had God made it alive, it would have cried and begged him to move out and be vile somewhere else. His room was laced with gold, decorated with silk, and garnished with velvet. A room to kill for, that might as well be the whole house.

   He smirked. Who was he kidding? A twelve year old nobody would never stand a chance.

    As he walked to his bathroom with his copper-colored satin night robe sweeping his clean marble floor, he hummed. The scent of sandalwood from his washed body soothes his mind, sitting well with his perception of life where he basically owned it. He wondered how immortality tasted like. It would be his ultimate goal. To have all he wanted, do everything as he pleased, forever and ever…

     …That was, until he slipped on a puddle of fresh water and his head landed inhumanely on his cold, hard ground. A loud bump echoed through his eardrums and he could have sworn he heard his skull cracked. He was ringing on all ears, his whole head was buzzing, the ceiling on top of him started to blur as blood was slowly oozing around his scalp.

      He could not decipher what was really happening to him when he saw hints of shadowy figure hovering above him, which shade was darker than night sky. As he was losing consciousness, strangely, the shadow turned concrete and eventually, it became the most perceptible material he could not touch. The mysterious dark figure formed a face, the most horrible he had the misfortune of seeing.

     “Surprise! Surprise!” the figure yelled. By this time he had fully transformed into a floating skull. His voice was loud and rough, with pitch as high as mountain. He sounded like multiple vocal chords with spikes all over them. “You didn’t see this coming, did you? That’s what you get for being an arrogant, immoral bastard!”

  The said arrogant froze. His body laid still out of tremendous amount of fear a mere mortal could contain. Compared to this flying cranium, to be exposed of his misdeeds was nothing. As ironic as it could be, he wanted nothing but to die. And even that was not much of a help, either.

     “Immortality, huh?” the skull sneered. “Yes. You’re going to live forever… surrounded by hellfire!”

     The once powerful and wealthy man realized, under his last bits of awareness, that neither power nor wealth could defy death. And as the floating skull of terror changed itself into the gruesome face of a certain twelve year old nobody, exactly the way he had left her in her final moments, there was no denying her words.

       Hellfire, it was.

***

Every time Kyungsoo, the grim reaper, brought another filthy soul into the realm of torture, she would hear screams of agonizing pain from far below her. If she swept away a handful of silver clouds before her to catch a glimpse at the place no one wanted to be in but they also made no efforts whatsoever to avoid, her eyes would meet an ocean of lava, boiling endlessly, burning its dwellers from their skin to their bones.

     It would treat its unlucky inhabitants like they did their dishes. When she saw Kyungsoo dragging the arrogant man by his neck with a chained leash made of heated iron, she stared at the now helpless man. It had happened so many times before, but she still hadn’t gotten used to it. For the past thirty five earth years, she had been keeping tight eyes on him. Watching his every move, like a hawk spying on his prey. She knew what he had for dinner, his nasty showering habits, his gestures when he panicked, even that time when he choked on his mother’s milk.

   To bear witness of someone’s lifetime, more or less affected her without her consent. It was only a few hours ago when she had saved him from stepping on a Lego, and now, with the very same eyes, she was looking at him essentially being the Lego itself. She knew, more than most people, how cruel he had been. But deep inside, she almost felt sorry for him. As for Kyungsoo, he used to live with her in the clouds. But The Almighty saw darkness within him, and decided the life down below would suit him better. Kyungsoo, in his human form, was gifted with round eyes, thick lips, and short figure, to add the shock for those who thought he was going to save them.

     She stared at the scroll beside her. It was made of light brown silk, written in gold ink, and felt like early morning dew. ‘21st June 2020, 01:23:45 am – ignore’ were written at the farthest bottom of the scroll. On top of them, there were similar writings which could be considered better as entries. The difference being it was either ‘ignore’ or ‘protect’. At the roof of the scroll, there was ‘Ahn Jaejin’ written neatly in calligraphy. The whole scroll was a calligraphy by itself, which chronicled the life of someone from the moment of their first heartbeat inside their mother’s womb until their last.

    There had been empty scrolls, scrolls with only two or three entries, scrolls with all ignore and a single protect, scrolls with all protect and a single ignore, and scrolls with entries more complex than an algorithm for advanced technology. It was only a few scrolls ago when a fetus girl had been forcefully taken away from the womb only because her mother didn’t want her, and she could only watch it as it happened, because the scroll said so. On the contrary, she had saved Jaejin many times during his morally questionable acts, again because the scroll said so.

     Well, at least, she thought, Kyungsoo had not been the one to take care of the fetus girl when her soul had departed her body.

       Another scroll was completed under her belt. She folded the scroll, and after she twisted her index finger, a glittery gold thread appeared before entangling itself gracefully around the scroll. She stood up, turned around, and walked on clouds that felt like cotton candies. She was wearing a white silk dress that would sweep the cloud when she walked, adorned with gold on her neck and arms. Her earrings were made of diamonds. Her skin was pale, moist, smooth and free of textures. Her hair was straight, jet black, as if it was made out of silk itself and washed regularly with pearls.

     Whenever she looked to her right, she was met with a palace which had been built from Cinderella’s shoes. In front of it there was a fountain in which a couple of children were playing. She had been living in such place of perfection, of absolute comfort, but with a fair price. After some time, she arrived at the foot of crystal stairway. It had no end. No one was able to climb it. Every time she had finished a scroll, she would go to that place. She kneeled down, placing the scroll on top of both her palms, before handing it forward.

     “O My Lord! I hast done what Thee told me. I hast protect and ignore as per Thy wish. My Lord! Please forgive me, and accept my obedience.” She proclaimed, lowering her head, as well as herself. Her eyes were still on the cotton candy ground when she felt the scroll was being lifted away from her hands.

   “O Jisoo! One of My most loyal servant,” The Almighty said. His voice was loud, firm, and echoed all over the place although it was endless. Her heart trembled at His presence. His light was unbelievably bright, that it would destroy the sight of any creature. “I hast given thee millions of orders, yet I was never left disappointed. Many of My servants hast gone astray, they loveth the Fire more than they doth Me.”

      She lowered her head until her chin touched the tip of her collarbone. In front of The Almighty, she was nothing but dust. “Glory is to Thee, and only Thee! If it wasn’t for Thy grace, I would hast dwelled in the Fire, as well.” “Thou art the only servant I can trust to guard this mortal,” The Almighty said. After that, another scroll was placed on her offering hands. “Guard him with all ye might, and thou shalt not ask a question. For questions and doubts are the roots of evil.”

     Unlike millions of her previous scrolls, this one was oddly, unnervingly thick. “Praise be to thee! Praise be to thee! To serve thee is my honor.” She proclaimed, certain on the outside, nervous on the inside. For some reason, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, there was this unknown feeling that the scroll in her hands was no ordinary scroll.

     Had the devil now gotten into her? Perhaps, it was just a feeling. It better be.

***

His name was Kim Seokjin, and The Almighty wanted him to be almost a century. When she unfolded her scroll, it went far behind her, so far until it resembled the crystal stairway with indefinite end. Each entry was ridiculously close to one another. If she dared to count, they must have been at least a hundred thousand entries. She had no idea what kind of person this Seokjin was, but given a horrible thirty five years experience of guarding Jaejin, her heart should have grown stronger.

      After she unfolded Seokjin’s scroll, a bowl worth of water appeared on top of a handful of silver clouds in front of where she was sitting. She changed her position, as per usual, to lay on her stomach. With her slender finger, she touched the water, and there was him inside his mother’s belly. She had witnessed this event millions of times, to see a human in his weakest state. He either grew strong to conquer the harsh reality of living, or the earth was deemed too strong, a womb was the only place where he could breathe.

      She glances at the scroll. ‘Ignore, protect, ignore, protect, ignore, protect…’ for as long as a century would go. Seokjin would be one of the toughest mortal to guard, but she took it as an interesting journey. She shook her head. “Poor man.” She uttered, grimly.

***

This Kim Seokjin person must have been given the worst coordination system possible. There hadn’t been a day where he didn’t almost trip if it wasn’t for her help, where he didn’t stub his toe whenever he was about to eat or study, where he didn’t almost squash his fingernail whenever he shut his door. But just like there would always be a newcomer in the clouds in exchange for another misfortune brought by Kyungsoo, The Almighty did not leave Seokjin unknowingly sabotaging himself.

     His heart was made of gold. During his birth, his umbilical cord had gotten the best of him, and he had barely made it. It took his mother a dreadfully long time to get him out of her belly, and he did not shed a tear the first time he was out. He was born with a pair of almond eyes, pointy nose and thick lips. His body was blue, a little too light on the scale, and was not nearly as excited as newborns should have been. He was familiar with machines already, when his mouth should have tasted the holy, pure milk of his mother’s. Since Jisoo was undoubtedly competent at what she did, he made it to toddler.

   Most toddlers loved to run around like cats escaping themselves from the wrath of broomsticks, but he preferred munching on his snacks without noise. When a lot of mothers were frustrated at their toddlers’ wild antics, his mother was concerned at the lack of her own. The financial situation of his family made it impossible for him to meet the experts every so often, so he ended up meeting them only a few times. Like programmed robots, their pediatric certificate only birthed them a limited amount of vocabulary like, “Your child is completely fine. There’s nothing to worry about, it’s just his personality.” Even so, it didn’t mean he was free of scars. Still, no matter how frozen he was, a toddler was not a toddler without small bruise, insect bites, and skin rashes that emerged out of nowhere.

     It wasn’t enough to ease his parents, but they eventually let it pass when they found out their only child was the nice type. During his elementary days, he would put on a smile towards everybody he met. He would offer his parents his hand whenever they needed, which they often rejected, because his attempts mostly ended up with him getting a brand new injury. When his parents told him to study, he studied. When they told him to go home, he went home. Since he was prone to accidents, his parents weren’t fond of the idea that he was out there protecting his own self.

     If only she could introduce herself to his parents, perhaps what came next wasn’t necessary. Due to his parents’ overprotection, his friends stared at him silly. During his middle school and high school times, people were hard on him. He was shoved, pushed, made fun of, ignored, the target of those who felt the need to step on someone in order to bring themselves up. One day, he came home beaten up by his schoolmates. They told him he was a freak and a failure, for becoming unlike them. He studied hard to pass his exams, kept sports at bay, went straight to home after school, ate what his mother had made him, and try not to cause any trouble.

     He was clumsy. He could not help but to damage his own body. Because of that, his parents wanted to protect him, but it only sealed his position as a klutz. He saw nothing wrong with him, his parents, and even his schoolmates. When his most aggressive bully lost his mother to a deadly disease, he went on to comfort him. He had paid her a visit when she was still in the hospital and brought her some flowers. His father was enraged, seeing his only son being treated like sack. But he told them not to do anything. Instead, he told them maybe his friends were going through hard times and beating him made them feel better. His parents cried, thinking that a group of angels must have left one behind on earth.

   On one scorching summer, he had given his drink to a seemingly poor little girl, who in return stole his remaining money. He had intended to use the money to buy some medicine for his ill mother. When he was in college, his two-faced friend used him for his notes and jeopardized his exams until he was kicked out of campus. At this point, his father could not take it any longer. He lashed out at him, telling him his brain must have been the size of a pea to let everyone turn him into their welcome mat. In response, he smiled. He said to his father, “At least I’m not an ugly mat.”

   He also said no matter how hard he tried, he could not hate anyone. It was just the way he was. It had never been in his control. The cruel treatments he received had nothing to do with his kindness. After his mother talked to his father, he gave up. His mother had told her husband they should be proud to have a son like him, who might as well be the only person capable of holding so much kindness in his heart. His clumsiness was just the cherry on top. The world was not ready for someone like him, and it was not at all his fault.

   Seokjin went on to live his life without worry nor fear, working as an employee in a flower shop. Of course, he would not have gotten the job had his fingers been sterile of pricks. Today, he was twenty six years old. Nothing had changed much, be it his golden heart, his tendency to attract negativity, or his frail attempts at operating with tools. He had fallen in love with flowers and just gardening in general after seeing so many people became happy because of it.

   Up above, she swayed her finger to prevent him from falling off his bed again.

***

“O Jisoo! Cometh here this instant!”

      It hit her like a thunder. The Almighty sounded upset for the first time in million years. Did she do something wrong? Did she move her finger when she wasn’t supposed to? She took a quick peek at her scroll. With something so meticulously made, it was only natural she might have slipped. But as far as her shimmering eyes could see, she did nothing wrong. It was unfortunate of her to leave Seokjin behind, but what The Almighty said was what she must do. Other than that it was none of her concern.

     She stood up and dashed as fast as she could towards the crystal stairway. As soon as she arrived, she kneeled down and placed her forehead on the ground. “O My Lord! I hast made a grave mistake! Forgive me, My Lord! Bestow Thy mercy on me, if Thee will!”

     Tears began falling from her eyes and landed on top of the clouds, forming tiny rounds of snow. Her chest was filled with sorrow and disappointment in herself. It was like producing a dirt in her otherwise clean heart. If The Almighty decided to throw her into the Fire, she had no choice but to surrender, although the premise of heat her skin was enough to stir away her consciousness.

    “Fear not, My Servant. For I will grant thee a gift,” The Almighty recited. “Thou art worthy of a gift.”

     She got up, but her eyes were still on the ground and so were her knees. She lowered her head. A slave like her could not possibly stare at the absolute form of sanctity before her. Obviously she did not expect a present coming from Him. “Praise be to Thee! I shalt accept Thy gift. Surely I will be among the wicked, if I am ungrateful.”

   “Very well, My Servant! Behold! Thou shalt walk on the Earth for a day!” He remarked. “No harm should touch ye, and thou shalt call upon Me in thy times of need. Ye are a mortal and nothing more.”

    Her heart skipped a beat. She had been watching the Earth for as long as she could remember. Not all parts were pretty, but a lot of them were. An explosion of happiness and excitement took place in her chest, as she could not wait to try something new. It was only for a day, a day worth of a lifetime, and she would make the best out of it.

     “Remember. Thou shalt not ask a question.” The Almighty asserted. She had heard it so many times before that it played in her mind by itself like a troubled tape recorder. She had kept a considerable amount of faith and assurance in her soul, especially when she had witnessed the ill-fated end of those who defied Him. If only she could make a choice, she would rather turn her eyes blind than to see the tormenting life below.

    It was only for a day while she had done her job for a million years. Should have been a piece of cake. Next thing she knew, she closed her eyes. And everything around her vanished.