Hearings have become a routine to Jinki by now. This one was no different. But in a way, it was. Jinki could almost see the grim future before him. It seemed so tangible that he was starting to believe that it was in fact, the reality. Perhaps, it was. Jinki couldn’t really bother to ponder over this because there was really no need to. He was going to get his answers any moment now.

The Elders seemed to have come to a decision or perhaps it is better phrased as an ‘understanding’. Jinki only shifted in his seat, his wings fluttering once in a while out of his control. His mind listens to him when he tells it to stay calm, but his body refuses to.

I will get through this. For him.

“An untold story, yours is. A thousand years in the making, there is still no end. For there are sins, that decorate your every life. For there are debts, you owe Him….” the Elder seated at the centre said in that voice that projected authority that one simply does not object.

“What are my sins, Almighty ones? How do I resolve my debts?” Jinki asked them back boldly.

The dark smokes around the Elders flickered a little at that, something disturbing their calm auras.

“Shared, your sins are, for that is your promise…”

Jinki knew it would come down to this. Jinki knew that this would involve his human somehow. He hadn’t really seen any of his past lives in detail yet, but he had seen enough to know that it was always the repeat of the same thing in every birth, no matter what the setting was. There was always limitless joy in the beginning, endless happiness that came from little sins and life seemed beautiful and colourful. However, that is only part true because it always ended with heartbreak, pain of infinite amounts and never even the blessing to die in peace in each other’s presence.

Jinki knew what he was going to do about it though. He was going to put an end to it. Somehow. Because enough was enough.

Somewhere else in Heaven, another angel receives the enlightenment that Jinki had been searching for all this time, the much needed piece of information that could pull everything together. That angel makes a decision that he thinks is best in the situation.

~~~~~

Minho had fallen asleep once again in the library after school ended. He had slept for far too long, in fact. He should have gone back when Sohyun had come to him, calling him to walk back with him. But he refused to go back and be trapped inside the four walls of his bedroom, helpless like he had been last night and so he decided that the library would be best since he could get some studying done.

Only, Minho had fallen asleep and now he was out here stuck in the rain. It had only been cloudy outside when Minho woke up (when the librarian shook him awake as the library was starting to close) so he had the idea to run back home before it started pouring. However, his genius idea became futile when it had started pouring just half way back home. Now he was running in soaked shoes and drenched clothes, hoping that his books don’t get mushy in his bag and he doesn’t get struck by lightning or something.

Minho was so focused on where he was placing his feet in fear of slipping and cracking his skull open, that he didn’t notice the figure of the man approaching him fast from the opposite direction on the pavement. When he finally looked up, he was so shocked by the proximity between the two of them that he stumbled backwards and slipped on the pavement.

“Hey man, watch where-“

“I’m sorry, Choi Minho…” came a silky, melodious voice that now exuded a sense of urgency along with the apologetic tone. It took a while for it register to Minho that the stranger had used his full name. It took a while longer for him to look up from checking his palm for scratches from the fall.

The man was unfamiliar. Minho couldn’t even see his face properly. Well, he could see it but he knew that if he was asked to describe the man’s features later on, he wouldn’t be able to. But Minho could recognize one thing though. The clothes he was wearing. The flowy white robe untouched by rain droplets, along with equally white pants and white shoes.

The man was an angel. Another angel?

“Who are you?”

The angel did not bother answering the question. He skipped straight to his point.

“Choi Minho, you sought out my help and I have come to you now because this is important. More so than I could have ever imagined…”

Minho scrambled to his feet then, jumping into the closest alleyway so that he was a little sheltered from the unforgiving rain. He focused on the angel before him, although the rain kept his eyes fluttering, eager for the answers he wanted so badly. This must be Jonghyun, Taemin’s angel.

“W-what is it? Is t-there anything that I c-could do for Jinki?” Minho stuttered, his teeth chattering from the cold seeping into his very bones for how soaked he was by now.

“Jinki is a close friend and I knew that something was going on with him after he was assigned to you. I did not expect it to be this, though. I could have never imagined it myself…”

The angel was studying him thoroughly with his eyes, Minho could tell. He was probably reading his mind too because Minho was obviously the perpetrator of this entire mess, right? Or maybe not. Minho really didn’t know anything other than the fact that he felt like he was being scrutinized by the being before him. He couldn’t care, though. All he cared about was what he had to tell him.

So Minho waited, preparing himself to hear just anything at all.

I will get through this. For him.

“Jinki shares a bond with you that is over a thousand years old. And it all started because one angel went against the purpose of his being and defied the Almighty Lord…”

Minho’s heart was beginning to race in anticipation and fear. The angel’s tone and words were so foreboding and it was all he could do to stand there and listen without trying to run away from the burden of truth that was already beginning to weigh him down.

Minho would never run away though. He had a reason to stay. A thousand years of it, in fact.

~~~~~

“Your soul mate, he is. But you already know that…”

Jinki nodded, showing that he did. Because he had known, even if it was unbelievable to him the whole time.

“How is that a curse Almighty Ones? Isn’t that a blessing?”

“Born time after time, you both were, fated to never find peace. That is the curse…” the Elder explained calmly despite the building tension in the place (probably due to Jinki’s anxiety).

“What did we-“

“Defy God, you both did. A lesson taught is what was needed, our Father decided. To share the sins, you promised, the reason you are being punished along with the human…”

Jinki stood up at that, knowing that his actions could be considered disrespectful. But he couldn’t take it anymore. What were their sins exactly?! Why won’t they just say it?!

“If I am a sinner, why was I made an angel this time? Why let a being like me taint such a holy position in Heaven?!