Hyunjung just wanted to get home, that's it.


 

She had to stay late today to finish the stress-inducing song she had been composing for days now for the new rookie group, and all she wanted to do was get back to her humble abode where her warm bed was waiting for her. But her luck definitely wanted the opposite for her, because earlier, just when she was about to go to her work, the tire of her car just had to be deflated. Reluctantly, Hyunjung walked to work today, which meant she also had to walk back. All thanks to the two cups of coffee she had consumed that helped her finish the song.


 

It had to be quarter to ten o'clock when she finished recording, and she started her half-hour long journey back to her home, hoping she wouldn't run into some street thugs. She never forgot to bring her butterfly knife just in case. The walk wasn't too bad after a few minutes; the moon above was glowing brightly, the leaves swayed with the breeze that had kicked up, and most of the people were probably home and sleeping, or eating dinner with their families by now, making the usually busy Seoul streets seem more tranquil than ever.


 

Hyunjung was just minding her own business, when someone made her fall head over heels.


 

By crashing into her skull.


 

She was disoriented by the immediate blow, yelping out as she was sent flying to the floor and tumbling over herself before she landed on her back with a not so small thud. Her beanie was knocked right off her head, and her bag barely clung to her shoulder after the fall. Her instinct was to check her head, fearing that the top was split open. Fortunately, it wasn't, but unfortunately, she felt red liquid oozing down her forehead. Wincing, Hyunjung sat up slowly to see just who was the that rammed full speed into her.


 

"What the ?" She groaned. "Who the does something as idiotic as—" Hyunjung stopped when she caught sight of the attacker. Sprawled out on the pavement was a woman in a grimy pure white dress decorated in various gold things, with even golden disheveled hair that glittered under the moonlight and complimented her translucent skin. But what really caught Hyunjung's eyes were the pair of beautiful, soft wings that draped over the concrete several feet beside her. She almost jumped out of her skin when the mesmerizing woman spoke.


 

"Ugh, that was unpleasant. Never landed quite like that before." An euphonious soft voice came stumbling out . Her wings fluttered and folded back up against her back as she started to get up, holding her head. Once she was up, she suddenly remembered that she wasn't alone.


 

"Oh! Hello!" She beamed with excitement when she saw Hyunjung. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to hurt you. Are you al— you're bleeding!"


 

The woman hurriedly went to Hyunjung and crouched down to level her. Hyunjung backed away a little when the woman was about to touch her. "I-I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that much..." Hyunjung stuttered, cursing herself mentally because, truth be told, it ing hurt like hell.


 

"Are you sure?" The woman, nonetheless, still helped Hyunjung to get up. Hyunjung was almost afraid to grab the woman's hand when she held it out to her.

 

"Y-yeah," Hyunjung looked at her up and down again. "Why the are you, uh, wearing a costume...?"


 

The woman released Hyunjung's hand and started to laugh. And if it was not the prettiest laugh Hyunjung had ever heard—  "You just got slammed in the head by an angel, and your only question is about what I'm wearing?"


 

Hyunjung blinked once, twice. "It's not my only question— Sorry if I'm in shock after the brain damage I received after you decided my head was your landing pad! And I got slammed by a what??"


 

"An angel," she stopped laughing, and her smile dropped a little. She looked apologetic towards Hyunjung. "Sorry, really, I am. I didn't have much of a choice where I landed." She pulled at the hem of the dress. "I, uh, wear this because it's the uniform, but I guess I don't have much use for it anymore. Really, I don't see the point of wearing all the gold... Too flashy and annoying." She poked at the bracelets on her arms.


 

"You are an... an angel?" She asked dubiously.


 

"Yep!" She affirmed, her head snapping back up to give Hyunjung a toothy smile. Hyunjung had to blink once, twice, or thrice again because, well, she was skeptical (or the self-proclaimed angel's smile was too bright, her brain almost short-circuited).


 

"What are you doing down here? Don't you have, like, a job up there?" Hyunjung asked, pointing her finger up to the sky.


 

That seemed to strike a nerve, and the b̶r̶i̶g̶h̶t̶  smile was gone. "Kinda got kicked out, I guess. Seemed to put my pretty nose in some private business, and some other angels didn't appreciate it."


 

"That's too bad."


 

"It's their loss."


 

A wave of silence fell between them; Hyunjung just stared at her, still processing whatever the was happening until the woman— or angel, spoke again. "Uhm... your forehead is still bleeding."


 

"Oh..." Hyunjung had already forgotten that there was literally blood trickling down her face.


 

"Show me your way home; I'll treat your wound." The woman smiled at her and Hyunjung, somehow, was glad to see it return, and if ever the woman was a serial killer, Hyunjung would definitely be killed tonight because she, for some unknown reason, forgot how to speak and just nodded her head at the woman.


 

Hyunjung gestured the woman to follow her as she continued her walk home. "So... first time on Earth?"


 

"Nah, I've been here loads of times!" She exclaimed as she walked beside Hyunjung. "Usually, when I plan my visits, I don't look like this."


 

"Visits?"


 

"Yeah, you've probably met and seen tons of angels! Some, like my old comrade Exy, came down and never came back. She's been down here for years... I thought about doing it a few times, but the decision was made for me this time." She looked down at the ground. "Do you believe in God?" She asked suddenly.


 

"I'm not very religious, I just can't find enough energy to care or worry myself with stuff like that." Hyunjung looked over at her, her wings now extended behind her as she walked. The street's lamppost illuminated the angel's white feathers and golden hair. "Why do you ask?"


 

"I don't know, you seemed to react too well to an angel. Thought you were a woman of faith, that you believed in my kind and all that junk." She glanced back up at Hyunjung.


 

"Well, you look like one— and weirder s have happened to me, so why should I doubt you?"


 

"You don't even know my name, nor do I know yours."


 

"Well, I'm Hyunjung. Kim Hyunjung. Though, they called me Seola at work." Hyunjung pulled her hand out of the pocket of her hoodie and held it out to the angel.


 

"Nice to meet you, Kim Hyunjung, or Seola at work. My name is Jiyeon, Kim Jiyeon. Bona at heaven." Jiyeon winked (adorably), and took Hyunjung's hand eagerly.


 

"So, I have the same last name as an angel, huh," Hyunjung grinned at her. "Uh, we're here." She let go of Jiyeon's hand and guided her attention to her apartment. "Do you have a place to stay?"


 

"Nope. That's why I followed you." Jiyeon said, popping the 'p' with an innocent smile on her lips.

 

"Wow, I thought you followed me here to treat my wound. Didn't know angels could be deceiving. " Hyunjung joked, almost sounding offended, yet a playful smile tugging up one side of .


 

Jiyeon waved her hand hastily, "N-no! Of course, I'll treat your wound. I'm just hoping uhm, maybe you will also let me stay..."


 

Hyunjung chortled, "I'm just kidding. I can offer you some clothes and a bed if you need to sleep, which I'm not sure you do now that I'm asking?"


 

"Yes, Hyunjung, I do sleep, and I would be very grateful if I could stay." Jiyeon answered, her radiant smile back on her lips; and Hyunjung noted how her name sounded nicer than it should usually be when she said it.


 

Maybe it was just an angel thing.


 

————


 

Jiyeon was now seated on her couch, in a pair of sweatpants and her AC/DC band shirt that looked a little bit extra big on her and no gold jewelry. Much to Hyunjung's disappointment, the angel could hide her wings very easily, making them vanish as she pleased. Though, she assured Hyunjung that they weren't gone, just cloaked and manageable for 'surface life' while she was here.


 

And true to her words, Jiyeon did treat Hyunjung's wound first as soon as they entered her apartment. She was even amazed by the fact that an angel knew a lot about first aid stuff when Jiyeon babbled nonstop about ointments and do's-and-don'ts for it to not leave a scar, but then, Hyunjung instantly paled as she also suggested stitching the laceration on her forehead. Fortunately for Hyunjung, it wasn't that deep, and as much as she believed Jiyeon to be an angel, she very much preferred a doctor to stitch her forehead than an angel.


 

"Are you hungry?" Hyunjung called from the kitchen as she put water on the stove to boil. "I was planning on making some ramen. Do you want any?"


 

"I'm fine, what's that?" Jiyeon pointed at the Xbox in her entertainment center.


 

"An Xbox, you play games on it."


 

"Can we play one?" She turned to look at Hyunjung with her doe eyes. "I've never seen this before, must have come out after my last visit."


 

Knowing that this was going to be most of the night, Hyunjung turned off the stove and poured the ramen into a bowl. "When was that, your last visit?" She walked into the living room and started setting up the Xbox.


 

"I came down with Exy at least a decade ago, and that was when she stayed. Said that she met a few humans that she wanted to stick around for, start a business... I've popped in a few times since then, but never for too long. I've had nobody to hang out with since I lost touch with Exy."


 

"Exy... Exy... My boss name is Exy." Hyunjung said, knowing the name was familiar. "Cho Sojung, her real name."


 

Jiyeon's eyes went wide. "I told you that you probably met an angel! That's my friend, oh my Father! Hyunjung, you have to bring me to your work tomorrow, I've got to see her!" The console whirled to life and started up, and Hyunjung started laughing. "Why are you laughing?! This is important! I haven't seen or heard from her for ten years!"


 

"You said 'oh my Father'!"


 

Jiyeon rolled her eyes. She was practically on top of Hyunjung, having crawled across the couch. "God is my father, but— whatever, just say yes!" She was practically on top of Hyunjung now, having crawled across the couch.


 

"Fine, fine. You can visit your long-lost angel friend, who is coincidentally my boss, tomorrow,"


 

Hyunjung could see that this meant a lot to Jiyeon, seeing a friend that left her a decade ago, and she assumed she was the only angel Jiyeon knew on Earth right now. A stream of thanks flooded out of the angel's mouth as she launched at Hyunjung and wrapped her arms around her neck. She obviously has no sense of personal space.


 

"Or, you know, I could call her right now so you can talk to her." Hyunjung suggested, and thankfully, Jiyeon had mercy on her and had already let go of her neck.


 

"I wouldn't know what to say, I barely remember what she even looks like... I think she might have forgotten me."


 

"I doubt that." Hyunjung put the controller down as KartRider started up. "I'm pretty sure you're unforgettable."


 

"Is she happy?" Jiyeon looked at her right in the eyes. "Does she like her life here? We missed her, up there... But once you stay, you can't come back. I just want to know that she is happy with her decision."


 

The sudden seriousness of the conversation threw Hyunjung off. "Well, yeah, I think so. She runs a popular entertainment company with her best friends, the ones I assume now are the ones she stayed for, and she loves her job. She's a great boss, and everybody loves her. So, yeah, she's happy." She chuckled. "I'm trying to imagine her in a dress and all that gold . And wings, holy I can see it now."


 

Jiyeon started to laugh with her. "Yeah, she kinda didn't fit the image of an angel. She was always goofy and a dork." She smiled wistfully at the memory. "I'm just glad she's happy... but I won't call her, I want to talk to her in person. It's been too long to just try and reconnect over the phone. Plus, she might not believe it's me."


 

"I still can't believe that I believe you."


 

"Exactly."


 

She had a point, so Hyunjung just shrugged and handed Jiyeon the controller. "Let's take your mind off things. You wanted to play, so I'll teach you how to play."


 

————


 

"I'm scared, Hyunjung."


 

"Let me get this straight... You fell thousands of feet and crash landed onto Earth, and you're scared to reunite with your old angel friend?" Hyunjung questioned her, already prepared to give up.


 

They were still in the car (this time, Hyunjung made sure to fix the tire of her car much earlier in the morning), parked in front of the Starship building. Again, Jiyeon borrowed more of her clothes, deciding to wear one of her sweaters and skinny jeans. Luckily, she also had spare shoes that were too small for her and just perfectly fit for Jiyeon, who she believed had the feet of a kid. The angel's feet were ridiculously, adorably small.


 

"What if we got it wrong? What if it's not her and it's a huge, awkward misunderstanding?"


 

"Then whatever, right?"


 

"Hmm... How- how's your forehead?"


 

Jiyeon made sure to clean Hyunjung's wound again before they went to her work earlier. She was still pretty worried and guilty over it. She almost brought up the stitching thing again, and Hyunjung was just as fast to stop her. 'Don't even think about it again,' she said, grimacing at the thought. "It's no big deal, and I told you it didn't hurt that much; and don't change the topic. If my boss, Exy, isn't your old-angel-friend, Exy, then we will just... walk out of the building."


 

"I still feel bad, though. I bashed you in the head and then you offered me a spare bed." She pouted. And Hyunjung thought about the things she did last night. Was it just out of kindness or has her brain been damaged pretty badly so she can't say no to a pretty woman (or angel)?


 

"Well, you can make up for it by walking in that building and getting a job from your... I assume, since God is you two's father, then you are technically sisters?"


 

"Er, I guess so. But not really."


 

"So get a job from your not-sister and make up for my head."


 

After grumbling to herself for a few seconds, Jiyeon mumbled, "Fine." 


 

Hyunjung knocked on Exy's office door lightly while Jiyeon waited a few feet behind. Faintly, she heard Exy call her in, and she opened the door slowly. "Hey, Exy."


 

Exy was busy on her computer, but turned away from it to greet Hyunjung. "What's up, Seola? What- Holy , your head!"


 

"Yeah, that's not important right now. I met a-"


 

"What the hell happened? I know you walked home last night, did something happen?" Hyunjung could see she was really worried, but it could wait.


 

"Forget about my head for a second, okay? I met an old friend of yours last night, I think. I signed her in and everything, she wanted to see you."


 

Exy seemed confused for a moment. "An old friend? I work with almost all of my friends, who is this friend? I swear to God if you let some psychopath into the building-"


 

"Shouldn't really use our Father's name in vain, Sojung." Jiyeon strolled into the room, keeping her eye's on her. Exy's jaw dropped as she stared back at Jiyeon. "Told you I'd find you someday." A small grin spread across her face. Hyunjung backed up to let them talk with one another.


 

"Bona?!? Holy— never doubted you, just... How?" Exy stood up and came out from behind her desk. "I can only imagine that Seola knows?" Hyunjung nodded, and she continued. "I gave up my wings almost ten years ago, and you know that communication with a Grounded is forbidden."


 

"Never cared much for the rules, and that's why I'm here really. Pushed me out, and I fell right into her," Jiyeon, with an apologetic small smile, casually pointed back at Hyunjung. "Thought I killed her, at first!"


 

No one spoke for a while, before Exy pulled Jiyeon into a hug. "I missed you so much, Bona. I missed you everyday I was here, never stopped thinking about everyone I left behind." She let her go, but kept her hands on her shoulders. "So, are you a Grounded, too?"


 

"Actually, no, I never gave them up. The Grand Counsil locked me out." Jiyeon just shrugged. "You are looking at the only Grounded with wings. A Fallen, I guess is the only name for it."


 

Hyunjung heard a soft flutter, and suddenly they appeared. Pure white and reaching out on her sides, she unknowingly held her breath as she looked at them. She zoned out as they continued speaking, distracted by the extra appendages that stuck out of the sweatshirt without ripping through the fabric or seeming to bother Jiyeon at all. Without realizing, Hyunjung reached out to run her hands over the feathers.


 

Jiyeon flinched and snapping them against her back as a reflex, stopping mid-sentence. "Hyunjung, please don't do that."


 

Both Exy and Jiyeon were looking at her, so Hyunjung just muttered a quick apology, and they both continued talking again.


 

And then another soft flutter and they were gone, like Jiyeon was punishing Hyunjung for her bad behavior. "Uh, as I was saying, do you think you can help me out?"


 

"Of course! I don't know what job to give you though."


 

"You can make her an actress. She has the vibe of an actress." Hyunjung butted in, and Exy looked at her with widened eyes; it almost looked like she said something like, a lotto number; Jiyeon, on the other hand, looked at her confusedly.


 

"Holy , Seola, you're right!" She beamed and grabbed Hyunjung by her shoulder, then looked over at Jiyeon with a huge enthusiastic smile on her face, saying, "You've always been good at acting, especially with humans whenever we had visits back then. You're definitely perfect to become an actress, Bona!"


 

"Wait, what—"


 

"I'll call you a mentor, then you can start your training tomorrow! By now, let Seola tour you around the company first," Exy said, cutting Jiyeon off, then pulling her into a quick hug again. "Welcome to Startship Ent, Bona! Let me worry about the paperwork and all that. I need to make you a fake profile to hire you. I did it once for myself. Don't stress out." She walked back around to her desk and went back to work.


 

"Alright..." Still stunned, Jiyeon said meekly as they turned over the door. "Thank you, Sojung."


 

"Anything for you, Bona. It's good to have you back." After a quick nod, Hyunjung closed the door with a small 'click'.


 

The placid smile that Jiyeon had on her lips was so infectious that Hyunjung failed to realize she herself had one plastered on hers too, while she led Jiyeon down the hall and to the recording studio's control room, where the door opened as soon as they got in front of it. It swung open, and standing under the doorway was Dayoung, Chocome's youngest member, one of the groups under their entertainment. A vigorous one, if she may add.


 

"Oh, Seola unnie— What the happened to your forehead?"


 

"Someone tried to mug me, they look worse." Hyunjung replied curtly. She side-eyed the angel beside her and saw her raise one of her eyebrows. "I want you to meet the newest trainee as, uh, an actress."


 

"Oh , for real? Oh my God!" Dayoung immediately grabbed Jiyeon's hand and shook it firmly, "I'm Im Dayoung, nice to meet you!" She chirped.


 

"Kim Jiyeon or Bona." Jiyeon said as politely as she could.


 

"Uhm... unnie?" Dayoung unsurely asked.


 

Jiyeon giggled. "Yup. Definitely. I'm sure I'm older than you." Jiyeon would never mention that she was probably a hundred years older than her.


 

"Oh, another unnie then. That's great!" Dayoung laughed to herself and waved for Jiyeon to follow her inside. Soobin, one of Dayoung's co-members, was audio editing a song she composed for their group's comeback, legs tucked into her chest, when Dayoung poked her side playfully. Eunseo and Dawon, part of the crew in the studio, were trying to detangle microphones and turned around when Soobin yelped. "Everyone, listen up, we got a new friend!" Hyunjung, of course, expected the ever so friendly Dayoung to say that. "This is Kim Jiyeon or Bona unnie, try not to scare her off!"


 

"Oh, I'm Son Juyeon, but you can call me Eunseo!"  Eunseo jumped out of her chair and ran to Jiyeon to give her a hug.


 

"Dawon," said Dawon, smiling sweetly at her.


 

"Hello, Bona unnie. I'm Soobin!"


 

"Pleasure to meet you all." All of them cooed at once when Jiyeon spoke.


 

"Exy said she could start her training by tomorrow, though she's training as an actress, so she might work with a different team." Hyunjung said, standing beside Jiyeon.


 

"Eh, that , I want to work with Bona unnie." Dayoung pouted and Soobin rolled her eyes.


 

"You'll just pester her to do TikTok vids with you!" She jested.


 

"Whatever, she's pretty and I have a lot of followers! I'll make her famous even before her debut as an actress." Dayoung boasted and stuck her tongue out to Soobin before grabbing Jiyeon. "Come, unnie!"


 

"Ya! Im Dayoung!" Hyunjung yelled out, but Dayoung, who was dragging Jiyeon, was already out of the door. "That brat, I was supposed to tour Jiyeon around." She hissed.


 

————


 

It has been almost two weeks since Jiyeon moved in with Hyunjung and started her acting lessons at Starship Ent. She always went to the studio room where Hyunjung was working whenever it was her lunch time. Three days before, Hyunjung took her to the mall to shop for some clothes, so that the others wouldn't question why she wore what were obviously Hyunjung's. Jiyeon also fit in well, almost seamlessly merging into her group of friends with no problems.


 

Dayoung linked her arms with Hyunjung's while the latter was editing the song she recorded last night. "Unnie, check the comments on my latest TikTok vid with Bona unnie. Everyone says she's pretty and wants to know her name! And mind you, we even used a shining, shimmering filter with hearts and horns, and it was like hiding 89% of her real beauty!"


 

Hyunjung almost choked at the mention of 'horns'. She couldn't believe Dayoung just made Jiyeon, a literal angel, use a filter with horns. "Exy will kill you if you reveal her actress before the company does themselves."


 

"Nonsense, I told you I'd make Bona unnie famous before her debut. Exy unnie will owe me a dinner." She spun around, and her smug grin made Hyunjung shake her head.


 

Dayoung made her watch their Tiktok video and she was right; almost all the comments were about how pretty Jiyeon was, even with that shinning-shimering filter with hearts and horns. "I'll make sure to tell her to avoid you if she sees you in the hallway."


 

Dayoung rolled her eyes, "Unnie, you're no fun." She said pouting at Hyunjung, "Speaking of fun, Bona unnie is fun to be with! And you know that I am friends with one of their acting mentors, right?"


 

"Dayoung, you're friends with everyone."


 

"Okay, friendless unnie, you—"


 

"I'm not friendless."


 

"Ugh! Please listen to me first, unnie!" She bleated in frustration.


 

Hyunjung just laughed at her, clearly enjoying annoying the younger. "Sure."


 

"So, what I'm saying is, my mentor friend from the acting team says, Bona unnie's acting skills are really good. She even said that among all of their students, Bona unnie is probably the best. I bet Exy unnie can bag her a drama within this year. Where did you find her?"


 

Hyunjung knew 'She fell from the sky and gave me brain damage' wasn't going to work and it doesn't really sound believable, so she lied. "I met her on the Internet. We talked back and forth for a while. She recently lost her job, and I discovered Exy was her old friend, so I brought her in."


 

"So does she, uh, live with you?" Dayoung raised an eyebrow.


 

"Right now, yeah."


 

"Are you guys dating? Like, long distance over the internet ?"


 

Hyunjung's cheeks flushed a little. "No! It's not like that!"


 

"What's not like what?" Jiyeon walked in, a cup of iced americano in her hand.


 

Hyunjung shoot Dayoung a warning glance. "Nothing..." Hyunjung looked at her wrist watch. Dayoung had been pestering her that she hadn't noticed it was already past lunch time. "It's your lunch break and you're drinking coffee?"


 

"Yep," Jiyeon said, almost proudly.


 

"I swear to your father, you have to stop treating coffee as water." After that one time Hyunjung bought her an iced coffee, Jiyeon drank two to three cups a day ever since. It did not even include the coffee she had every morning before coming to the company. Hyunjung reprimanded her a couple of times now, but Jiyeon just shrugged her off. An angel could be pretty damn stubborn too.


 

Jiyeon chortled, "Seriously, my father?"


 

She grinned, "Yep. I swear to your father." Jiyeon let out a high-pitched laugh and Hyunjung couldn't help but match.


 

"I don't get it..." Dayoung squinted her eyes at Hyunjung and Jiyeon. "What's with Bona unnie's father? Is that some inside joke between the two of you? Something couple-ly thing? God, Seola unnie, maybe you're dating and you don't even know it?"


 

"Oh Jiyeon's father— shut up, Im Dayoung!"


 

Hyunjung almost let out a squeak when Jiyeon suddenly gave her a side hug, nearly knocking the two of them over. She even felt something brush by her, but chose to ignore it, because damn, Jiyeon was so ing close. "Don't worry, Dayoung, you are the first to know if Hyunjung asks me out." Jiyeon cheekily said as she winked at Dayoung.


 

"Ugh, I knew it. You've been hanging out with Dayoung so much she has already influenced you!" Hyunjung chided, feigning ignorance to the pounding heart inside her ribcage; and if Jiyeon felt it, she didn't say anything about it.


 

————


 

"Here we go!" Jiyeon announced excitedly as she raised both of her arms above her head. Hyunjung shook her head, but the corners of her lips tuned up in a small smile.


 

Jiyeon had mentioned once before to Hyunjung that she had never been to an amusement park, even when she had her visits while they were watching a movie after work and there was a scene in the said place, so Hyunjung promised to take her to Lotte World on their day off.


 

She made sure to book reservations for all-inclusive tickets for them four days before their day off so they would be able to go on different rides and attractions. They had fun riding the roller coasters for a while, but then they decided to take a break and switched to the teacup ride. Jiyeon just had to s