The first time Minji saw him was in the hospital after she nearly lost her life.

As she slowly woke up, a monotonous beeping reached her ears, worsening her pounding headache. Her body hurt, every limb ached and she could barely move. Only hours ago, she had undergone emergency surgery, and the strong anesthesia left her feeling groggy and exhausted. She could hardly move, though judging by the dull pain she felt, it probably was better this way. Her eyelids fluttered open and she glanced around confusedly, recognizing the white room she was in as a hospital room. When her tired eyes roamed around the room, they spotted something unusual. Or rather, someone. She blinked, attempting to make sense of what she was looking at since the sight was so otherworldly that she did not understand how it could possibly be real. She had to be dreaming.

A stranger was standing at the window, looking outside in deep thought without noticing that she was awake. His blond hair appeared white in the bright sunlight and his chocolate-brown eyes sparkled warmly. What drew her gaze were the majestic white wings sprouting from his back. Layers of soft feathers covered them, glowing ethereally. His wings were folded, but nonetheless looked breathtakingly beautiful. Minji could only imagine how gorgeous they were when he spread them. He wore a casual white shirt paired with light grey jeans, not exactly what she would imagine an angel to wear, but this one seemed to be quite modern, not the old-fashioned kind she had seen on paintings, wearing white gowns.

She parted her lips, the astonishment on her face palpable. Minji had never laid eyes on someone this mesmerizing, and she was unable to take her gaze away from him. There was something calming and soothing about his presence that had her forget about her initial fear when she had woken up. The nervous storm within her heart eased and faded, leaving serenity and hope. She wanted to talk to him, say something, but was parched and she had trouble moving her body. It didn’t listen to her at all, feeling numb and exhausted, and therefore she simply laid there and watched him, wanting to enjoy the calm of this dream before it was over.

Unexpectedly, his attention moved from the window to her, and when their gazes met, she felt her heart stutter. His eyes widened, only now having realized that she was awake, that she could see him. Panic flashed over his face and his wings tensed, spreading a little bit. A rustling sound was heard before he vanished into thin air like a ghost, like he had only been a figment of her tired mind. She stared at the spot where he had lingered, and the childish part of her was waiting for him to reappear, but of course that never happened. He hadn’t been real in the first place—why would he suddenly come back? Something had to be wrong with her head, she had probably suffered a concussion in the accident. Judging by how much her head hurt, it wasn’t too unlikely.

Only minutes later, the door to the room opened and a nurse walked in. When she saw that Minji was awake, she hurried to get her something to drink. “I’ll get the doctor for you, just a moment please,” the woman said kindly and disappeared through the door, leaving Minji to her thoughts. Soon, a doctor entered the room, armed with a clipboard and a kind smile. She appeared to be relieved when she saw that Minji was awake and didn’t hesitate to step closer, standing next to her bed.

“It’s good to see that you are awake now,” she said, glancing at her files briefly. “My name is Dr. Kim.” The doctor went through her list, asking several questions while taking notes of her answers. She was patient and didn’t hesitate to explain to Minji what had happened after she had lost consciousness. The last thing she remembered was a car crashing into the driver side of her own car and the horrifying sensation of being crushed alive. Agony had overwhelmed her, and then everything had stopped. She recalled seeing a strange white light, but that was all.

“You were hit by a drunk driver. He was on the way home from a party and didn’t see the red light in time. Someone at the crash site luckily called an ambulance and gave first aid. It was a miracle that you made it since you were in a critical state when we began with the surgery. The side of your torso was pierced by a scrap of metal and you lost a lot of blood, but we were able to save you. It’s very important that you move as little as possible in the next week and even afterwards you shouldn’t strain yourself for at least a month,” the doctor explained. “Your left wrist is sprained and you suffered a concussion, but you needn’t worry. Everything will be fine if you rest and be careful.”

Minji felt calmer after her talk with the doctor and her worries eased. Dr. Kim had been rather strict and set certain rules for her so her injuries would heal faster. Since she had to stay in the hospital for another week, she contacted her employer to make sure she wouldn’t be missed at work, and afterwards she got in touch with her friends who were concerned when they heard about her accident. They came over for a visit and stayed with her all afternoon, talking and joking. They were good at distracting her and for a short time, Minji forgot the terrible memories of the accident, forgot the pain. However, when visiting times were over, they had to leave and Minji was alone yet again. The only things she could do were read or watch tv, but since she couldn’t concentrate on either, she eventually gave up and stared at the white ceiling.

“Maybe I should try to sleep,” she mumbled, grimacing when dull pain burned her side where she had been injured. She was tired, and yet she was restless since she couldn’t shake off the horrifying pictures in her head. They haunted her, and whenever she closed her eyes, she saw them. The headlights of the car shining in her face, getting closer and closer. She was trapped in her seat, unable to get away. For an agonizingly long time, she had been convinced that she would die. That this was the last thing she would ever see. She was blinded by the lights, and not a second after, pain had overwhelmed her, consumed her entire body. Everything that had happened afterwards was a hazy blur, and then she had woken up in the hospital.

Minji sighed deeply, but no matter what she did, she could not distract herself from her trepidation.  She closed her eyes and focused on taking deep and even breaths, but not even that worked. It was no use, she just couldn’t fall asleep.

When she suddenly heard a faint sound, she strained her ears, and found that it was a voice. She opened her eyes and looked around the room, but she was alone. Nobody was there. It probably had originated from the hallway, but she had to admit that it had been a bit too close for that. When she listened again, she heard a male voice, its velvety sound soothing to her ears. Someone was humming quietly, singing a calming song that made her smile. She couldn’t tell where it came from, maybe she was only imagining it, but the longer she listened to it, the sleepier she became. Her eyes closed on their own and she exhaled, her body relaxing and losing all its tension. As she fell asleep, a hand gently caressed her cheek, giving her a sense of security.

The second time she saw him had been carelessness on his part.

She was standing in her bedroom in front of the mirror, brushing her hair when she spotted him in the mirror. He watched her with a tilted head, his warm brown eyes focused on the cast she wore on her wrist. Just like last time, his wings were a sight to behold that took her breath away. She wanted to touch their silky feathers but since she feared he would disappear again, she didn’t dare to move. The winged stranger seemed to be shy and keen on not being noticed, making her wonder why she was able to see him now.

Angling her body a little, she watched him over her shoulder, curiously taking in his features, from his almond-shaped eyes to his slender nose and down to his plush lips and sharp jawline. His light-blond hair was combed neatly, framing his face with its soft strands. Unfortunately, he had noticed her stare as soon as she had moved, and his wide eyes told her all she needed to know. He would vanish.

“S-Stay, please!” she cried, reaching her arm out to him, but she was too late and he was gone. She looked at her empty bedroom in disbelief, brows creasing. Just who was he? And how did he disappear like a phantom in front of her very eyes?

When she had first seen him in the hospital room, she had been dizzy and in pain, and later on she had been convinced that she had only imagined him, since she had been unwell and not in her right mind, but this proved that he hadn’t just been an illusion.

During her hospital stay, weird things had started happening after she had seen him, and she didn’t always have a logical explanation for them. Where had the velvety voice come from that she heard every night, singing a lullaby for her? It always helped her falling asleep, its soothing sound comforting her when her thoughts drifted back to the accident. Who had brought the flowers that had randomly appeared on her nightstand? Why had the pain of her injuries eased without her ever taking painkillers? That hadn’t been normal for sure, and she had seen the disbelief in the eyes of the doctors when she always refused to take medication, claiming she was fine.

Could this mysterious stranger be an angel? Since she was anything but religious, the thought itself was preposterous to her. She had never gone to church, never had any interest in religion and saw herself as an atheist, but even so she couldn’t deny that he had looked an awful lot like an angel. Those wings couldn’t possibly have been fake. She had seen their fluid movement, how he bent and spread them like those of a bird. And she had also seen him disappear into thin air; something she could not explain at all. He seemed to be a supernatural being; and for some reason he had appeared right after the accident that nearly took her life. “Maybe he is a guardian angel,” she mused, putting her finger on her chin as she pondered over it. “But then why didn’t he appear before the accident? Strange…”

She decided that all she could do was hope that he would show himself again, one way or another. He was elusive, like a fleeting dream that she would forget about as soon as she woke up in the morning. It was frustrating, to say the least, since she felt like she had gotten a glimpse of a world that had been hidden to her before. Her curiosity was piqued—she wanted to learn more, and her impatience made waiting for him to appear very hard.

Over the course of the following week, she began to notice certain things when she was home in her flat. Sometimes, items would disappear for no reason and later reappear at another place, confusing Minji to no end. One time, she had to search desperately for her keys and purse and ended up being late for work which annoyed her profusely. Another time, the tv was on when she returned from taking a shower even though it had been turned off before. Occurrences like these made her feel like she was sharing her flat with a poltergeist, possibly a blond one with wings…

But the most annoying was that her favorite candy bars were always empty lately. She was one hundred percent sure that she had bought new ones only yesterday, and now the pack was empty again! This couldn’t be true, either someone else was living in her flat and snacking on them, or she was losing her mind! Grumbling to herself, she decided to buy more of them soon. If she had to share them, then she needed to get a whole supply of them.

Sometimes, she tried to talk to the angel that she suspected was stealing all her candy, but she never received a verbal answer, though she was sure he heard her loud and clear. Oddly, she wasn’t creeped out by his invisible presence as she should have been (common sense and all) since the atmosphere in her flat was serene and calm with him around. In a way, she found solace in it, so she didn’t mind. She just wished he would finally show himself.

“Hey angel, are you there?” she said as she stood in her kitchen, looking around attentively, trying to spot him. “Show yourself, please! I want to talk to you.” She waited for a whole minute, but nothing happened. Unsurprisingly. Frowning dejectedly, her shoulders sank down in defeat. Why did he act so reserved with her when she already knew he was here?

The next day, she came home with a full shopping bag and put the candy bars on the counter in the kitchen, again looking around to see if he would show himself. “Angel, I brought your favorite snacks,” she called. “I got them just for you.” She tilted her head, but there was no answer. Perhaps she was going nuts after all, always talking to herself?

“Shouldn’t angels be polite? You’ve never said thanks!” she complained and pouted, crossing her arms.

He didn’t show himself, didn’t say anything, but the next day, she found a bouquet of peach roses on the kitchen table.

The third time she saw him, she was in deep trouble.

The walk from the subway station to her home wasn’t long, it merely took ten minutes and yet she somehow managed to have the bad luck of running into a criminal. It was late since she had been working the evening shift and the street was deserted. Far from her, she saw a streetlamp flicker eerily and shuddered, hugging her body as she hurried down the street, hoping to get home as soon as possible. Just when she had started to calm down a little bit, someone grabbed her wrist in an unforgivingly tight grip and pulled her right into the next alley. She was caught off guard, at first didn’t even know how to react, and then she was already confronted with another nightmare.

The man she faced wore a black mask, hiding his features as he stared at her with ferocity. She froze, fear clouding her mind when she saw the knife in his hand glinting in the moonlight. Its blade was sharp, the edge jagged, and the sight sent shivers down her spine.

“Hand over all your money,” he ordered, but she was petrified in fear and couldn’t move. Something like this had never happened to her before and she had no clue how to get out of this situation without injuries. In slow motion, her hand moved to her purse, eyes never leaving the creepy man. She wanted this to be over, wanted to be home where it was safe and therefore she tried her best to comply with his demand, zipping her purse open, but she was a tad too slow in his opinion. Impatiently, he held the knife closer to . She whimpered, eyes widening in shock.

“L-Leave me alone, just take the damn money and go!”

“Then hurry up, before I change my mind and kill you, ,” he growled angrily. A shudder ran through her body and now she was genuinely scared for her life.

“Could you put that knife down, please?” the velvety sound of a familiar voice reached her ears. She knew who it belonged to before she even saw him. He stood next to the mugger, having appeared out of thin air, though this time his wings were not visible. His expression was calm, but it was a dangerous calm, the kind that happened before a storm. The impatient twitch of his lips paired with the glare in his eyes revealed his anger, and h