The girl leaned over the edge, tapping her fingers in the water. Her eyebrows furrowed when she couldn’t find what she was looking for.

Hm… where can she be…She tapped her chin. Aish…this girl! She promised—

Her thoughts were cut short by a stern voice, “Ahem, what do you think you’re doing here missy?”

. She lowered her head, thinking she got caught red-handed again.

Okay, I can do this! One… two... She jumped to her feet and straightened out her white dress. three...”Look, a bird!” She pointed somewhere in hopes to distract the other person while she make a swift escape.
 

A familiar laugh emerged, “Hahahahahas, Byul,” The other girl clutched her stomach, “Did you really think I was Miss Jung?”

Miss Jung was the garden fairy who guarded over the pond of reality. The reflections in the water monitored everything on Earth. With a swipe of the finger, you can shift between countries and cities. And with several taps, you can zoom into a single human interaction.

“Yah!” Byul flew next to the girl who was still laughing, “Hana, that was not funny!”

Hana wiped the corners of her eyes, “You should have seen your reaction.” Hana stiffened her shoulders and mimicked, “Look! A bird~” She broke into another laughing fit.

Byul pouted and looked around, “Did anyone follow you here?”

“No, Byul.” Hana calmed herself, “When I went to the ceremony hall and Master Park said you went missing, I had a feeling you were here.” She shook her head, “Seriously, Byul? It’s your big day and you sneaked out to check on the commoners. Tsk. tsk.” Hana knew very well Byul had no interest in the heavenly traditions.
 

“Nuh uh!” Byul waved her finger in protest, “I wanted to look for my best friend who promised to spend my 18^th birthday with me.”

Hana and Byul have been friends ever since they can remember. Byul was the youngest daughter of the most supreme god and beloved by many. She was cheerful, mischievous, kind, and loving.

She has always been a curious one and often sneaked into the garden of commons. Through the pond, she learned about humans and their habits. Her heart ached whenever a disaster struck; she would sprinkle a little magic in attempt to help them. And when she saw genuine smiles, she danced in joy.   

All in all, she was very fascinated by these little earthlings she watched over. And it didn’t help that her best friend, Hana, was a guardian angel either. Ever since age 15, Hana has been slipping through the gates of Heaven and Earth to watch over her assigned “humans.” Every now and then, she would ramble on about human this, human that. It fueled Byul’s curiosity and she vowed that one day she will go down to see for herself.

Because of her playful and straight-forward personality, God loved this daughter very dearly. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and her intentions were always in the purest form of love. And because of that, even though her magic was limited, she had the world in her palms (aka she was spoiled rotten).

Byul was turning 18 today, which was a big day for angels like her. Unlike guardian angels who have the privilege of starting their career at age 15, daughters of specific gods will take over once they reach eighteen. From that day on, they will be trained to master a specific skill. And once they do, they will be assigned to guard over a particular region of the world. And also, it is on that day forth that they can physically pass through the heavenly gates that separated the two realms.

Because Byul was the daughter of the most divine God, she was inborn with a set of diverse and powerful skills. Hence, on her 18^th birthday, she must undergo a ceremony which tests and accesses which magical powers were most suitable for her.
 

Byul grabbed Hana’s wrist, “We must hide before they catch us.” Her eyes darted around as she tiptoed her way out the garden.

Hana chuckled, “Silly, I made a deal with Master Park~ I promised to bring you back ready for the ritual if he gives me an hour. And guess where I am bringing you?”

Byul turned to face her best friend, “No way. No freaking way.” Her eyes twinkled in excitement.

“You bet cha.”

_

Byul finally loosened her magnificent wings as she land on a fluffy cloud. With a huff of air, she tucked the white feathery feature beneath her shoulder blades.
 

“Okay,” Hana said for the umpteenth time, “When we get down there, you better behave. You must follow me at all times. You can—”

“Not run off. Cannot talk to strangers. Cannot use your magic. Cannot blah blah blah.” Byul recited.

Hana stared at her disbelieving, “Is this how you treat your best friend who’s going to hell for bringing you to Earth?”

Byul pressed her lips together and shook her head. She hooked her arm through Hana’s as they headed for the gate, “God, I love you so muchhhhhh~~~” She sung, “Hana, hana, the best banana.” Hana rolled her eyes, “You don’t even make sense.”

“Stop right there.” The guards crossed their swords before the gate.

“Yah, Kris. Let us through. My human just got into a life-threatening accident. I need to guide his way through.” Hana instructed.

Kris looked over to his equally tall partner before gazing at Byul, “But…”

“Yah, Kris.” Hana repeated, “Are you going to be responsible for the consequences if things get messed up down there? Or are you, Chanyeol?”

They gave each other a look and shrugged. No harm can be done if they just let them go, right? And they reluctantly made way for the two maidens.

_

“Ahhhhhhhhhh~~~” Byul twirled in her dress, “This is human air.” She inhaled deeply, “smells kind of nasty.” She wrinkled her nose, “oh well~~~” She skipped down the street.

“Yah!” Hana trailed after her, “Remember, I said no talking out loud.” Byul pouted and nodded.

That was the other difference between them. Guardian angels, like Hana, are never visible to the human eyes; whereas, angels like Byul are seen just as “human” as any other person on Earth.     

“!” Hana cursed, “Byul. I have to go. My human is actually in danger…” She facepalmed herself for jinxing it, “You’re going to stay here and not move, okay?”
 

Byul nodded excitedly. “I will~~~ Now, go! Pali~ go~~” She nudged Hana.

Hana shot her a skeptical look, “Okay, I don’t trust you.” She sighed. “When I call your name, chant these words, okay?” She couldn’t believe she was teaching this devil the spell to creating the portal between heaven and earth, “After you say that, you’ll be brought back to the gate and that will be where we meet, okay?”
 

Byul nodded again. And with that, Hana vanished.

_

Ahh… is this what human food taste like? Byul happily gobbled down a mouthful of dukbokki. Just when she turned around and was about to walk away from the vendor, the owners screamed, “Yah! Miss, you forgot to pay.”

What…? Byul stared at them blankly. “Don’t tell me you don’t have any money.” The ahjumma spat distastefully. Ah! Money! She frowned when she realized she really didn’t have any.

Wait! She hid her hands behind her back and snapped her fingers. With a proud smile, she slammed an amount well over the cost of her meal into the lady’s hand and skipped away.
 

Hehehs, a little magic doesn’t hurt right? She has wandered onto the road mindlessly while gloating over her trick.  

*BEEP BEEP* The sound of honking startled her. Her eyes bulged at the incoming vehicle. Her instincts told her to free her wings and fly away, but she resisted the temptations as she stumbled backwards.

In her failure, she slipped on a rock and fell on her bum as the car came to a stop. The driver leaped out of the car and rushed over. “Miss, are you okay?” Don’t talk to strangers. Hana’s voice rang in her head. I already used magic. I can’t break another rule. Byul stared at him with her doe eyes.

“Miss, are you okay?” He repeated.

A younger man appeared behind the driver, “Ahjusshi, what’s taking so long?” His eyes met with hers. For a second, she felt like her heart leaped out of her chest. Such a weird feeling…
 

“I’m sorry, Master Byun, but it’s just this girl. She seems so startled. Should we take her to the hospital?” He answered.

The guy stepped forward, “You should have watched where you were going.” He gave her a sweet smile before extending his hand out.

Byul bit her lip nervously and pushed herself up, rejecting his offer.

They stood face to face, eye to eye. Byul felt a weird fluttering in her stomach and her head felt light. Without saying anything, she ran off.

Strange girl. He thought.