(Listen)

“Iris, this day marks your 180th year. It is this point in time where fate will be decided for you. And it is by my sworn duty as Archangel Raguel to assist you in rediscovering the essential truth of who you are. On this journey, one will experience empowerment, respect, honor, truth, and integrity in oneself. There will be times where you’ll feel lost and strayed, but don’t fret. I will guide you, but it is you who must lead the way. Now come child, your time on Earth is due. And don’t worry, you’ll have everything you need down there.”

Iris approached Archangel Raguel, now standing before him. He placed a ring in her hand.

“This is so I know your every movement. You must stay within a 10 foot radius with the ring at all times. This is your only connection back with Heaven. Once it becomes out of reach, it becomes useless. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master.” Iris replied.

Iris slid the ring onto her sleek finger. A bright light from the ring emerged, soon swallowing the entire surroundings. One the light faded away, she was in a room. Entirely white. Everything was organized and there was little to no appearances of dust. In the sitting area, Iris noticed a vase of pink tulips - the only splash of color in the room [x]. She walked over to it and saw an envelope sticking out from under the vase. Grabbing it, she opened up the envelope and took out the letter.

If you’re reading this, you’ve officially started your journey. There are some guidelines you must heed to while staying on Earth. ‘Act as a Human’ sums it up, but I think I need to share the specifics:

1. Do not use your granted powers. Not even in an emergency.
2. Keep your wings hidden at all times. 
3. Do not share a single word of your true identity to anyone.

Since you’ll be on Earth as a Human, you will also be given the emotions and feelings a normal Human would harbor. This includes: Happy, sad, mad, hungry, etc. Shouldn’t be too hard.

Just a heads up. The colored paper (WON) you see in the envelope is what Humans receive as payment for certain necessities. Use it wisely. Now go eat, I’m sure your starving. I’ll leave you to your journey.

As soon as Iris finished reading the letter, it went into flames, soon disappearing into thin air.

She then pulled out the colored paper from the envelope. She noticed that it had numbers on it. She added them up.

“6,000,000WON...” She said under her breath.

Her stomach then growled. 

“Is this what it feels like to be hungry?” She asked herself.

Unsure of how much of this WON she would need, she decided to grab 100,000WON from the stack. She slipped the rest of the money back into the envelope and placed it back on the table.

As she was getting ready to exit the room, she walked passed a full body mirror. She stopped and looked at herself. She was in a simple white v-neck shirt topped off with a denim blouse, black skinny jeans, and white shoes (preferably TOMS). Her hair laid tousled and loose along her back. Her beautifully pale and flawless skin gave a natural and healthy glow. She didn’t think much of her appearance and headed out the building.

As she was walking along the street, there were people who would walk by and stare at her in awe. She didn’t think much of their stares and continued walking. 

Suddenly a smell reached her nose. Unsure of what it was, she just knew it was enticing. She followed the smell as it lead her to a eatery just two blocks over. There were people sitting outside around the cafe eating and sipping on drinks. Tempted, she entered the shop to dozens of eyes on her. And again, she ignored them.

Ahead of her was a banner that read, ‘Cube Cafe - Best Bakery & Coffee Shop in Seoul’. She saw that there was a line to get food. She too stood in the line.

After 5 minutes, it was her turn to order.

The waiter was practically star-strucked when he saw her.

“Hi... Ilhoon-sshi.” She looked at his name tag as she politely greeted with a smile.

He greeted back awkwardly.

“It’s my first time here. What would you recommend?” She asked.

“E-everything is good here. You can always get the special.” He replied. 

“I guess I’ll get that then.” She said.

“That’ll be 6,250WON.” He told her.

She then handed over 10,000WON and got her change back in no time.

“P-please. Have a seat. Your order will be right up.” He told her.

She gave him a smile and nodded.

Iris looked around the building and spotted an empty table. She walked over to it and took a seat on the stool. She looked around and admired the modern/clean look of the shop. The walls were colored light beige and were decorated with decal art of trees, birds, and cute woodland critters. The white oak wooden flooring gave a nice earthy look. 

As she adverted her eyes towards the counter, she noticed a guy diligently pouring some kind of white liquid substance into a cup. As he finished up, he sincerely smiled at his accomplishment. Iris grew curious as to what he prepared. The guy then placed the cup onto a tray along with something else wrapped in paper.

Another worker came around and grabbed the tray and brought it to Iris’s table. 

“Thank you, Sungjae-ssi.” She told him as she caught a glimpse of his name tag.

He bowed and walked off.

Iris eagerly looked at the cup and was impressed by what she saw and smell. She grabbed the cup and took a sip. She closed her eyes and the corners of her lips automatically curled upwards. ‘Delicious~’

“I take it you like it?” A stranger voice said from in front of her.

She opened her eyes and noticed it was the guy that prepared the drink. She nodded in agreement to his statement. She looked at his name tag, ‘Minhyuk’ 

“You have something right there.” He told her pointing to the tip of his nose.

She grabbed a napkin and wiped it off.

Minhyuk gave her a thumbs up.

“I heard this is your first time here, so I just wanted to see how my lattes are compared to the others you’ve had.” He explained.

‘So this is called a latte, huh?’

“I can assure you, this is best I’ve had.” Iris told him.

He smiled.

“I’m happy to hear that. Well I have to get back to work. Enjoy the sandwich as well.” He said.

She smiled back and nodded. 

She then unraveled the sandwich from its wrapping. The wrapper claims that its a ham & cheddar artisan sandwich. It was fairly warm and smelled downright delectable. She bit into it and it was as if her taste buds were having a party.

‘Why are we Angels missing out on something this extraordinary thing called food?’

She quickly finished her entire meal in 15 minutes. As she was about to leave, someone came up from behind her and grabbed her arm.

She turned around to realize it was Minhyuk. 

He immediately let go.

“Uh - excuse me. That was kind of rude of me, but I didn’t know your -”

“It’s fine. And my name’s Iris.” She told him.

“Iris. Well my name’s -”

“Minhyuk. I know already.” She stated as she pointed to his name tag.

Minhyuk smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

Iris smiled back.

“It’s nice to meet you, Minhyuk-ssi.” She told him.

“And I, you.” He responded.

“Did you need something?” She suddenly asked.

“Ah, just your name.” He said.

Alright, well I’ll be seeing you around then.” She stated and then walked out of the shop.

‘I sure hope so.’ Minhyuk thought.