"guardian angel?" sungmin asked the man in front of him, nonplussed. "you mean, like those in fairy tales and all that? and where's my aunt, by the way, won't she come up looking for me and find you?"

"yeah," kyuhyun said, smiling gently at him (or so sungmin thought, because he couldn't really see very clearly to be honest). "just like those in stories. except, of course, the stories are real. and as for your aunt... let's just say I froze time. for a little while, so we can talk undisturbed."

"but... if you were really my guardian angel..." then where were you all along when life was so tough? sungmin hesitated, not trusting himself to continue. he didn't trust himself to ask this question in a non-offensive tone, so he kept quiet.

"what is it, sungmin?" nothing could have prepared him for this, for kyuhyun walking over to him and tilting his head up by his chin just so sungmin could look him straight in the eye. close up, face to face, nothing in between the two of them.

and it was then, at that moment, that sungmin realised that kyuhyun was beautiful - his looks complemented his voice perfectly, yet it differed in the sense that kyuhyun's face was common yet special. his was the type of face you would overlook completely if you passed by him on the street, yet if you bothered to do a double take, you would find so much in that face. if you bothered to piece his face separately and analyse his features separately, you would find that kyuhyun was perfect. beautiful.

"n-no," sungmin stammered, all confidence from earlier shattered. "nothing," he whispered, but his resolve to stay silent crumbled immediately when kyuhyun looked at him once more. there was just something in kyuhyun's gaze; something that drew him in, something that clearly said you can trust me.

"say whatever you like, I won't mind," kyuhyun reassured sungmin, that strangely compelling gaze still trained on him. sungmin thought he forgot how to breathe, because what the heck - kyuhyun was mesmerising, and he'd only known him for fifteen minutes. still, this fifteen minutes was enough to want to make him bare his soul to an almost complete stranger. well, not exactly completely strange, if kyuhyun had been watching over him all his life.

"well, then, kyuhyun... why did you only decide to appear now?" he rephrased his question cautiously, afraid to offend the being in front of him. "why not earlier, when things were tough?"

"because, sungmin," kyuhyun replied, looking directly back at him. "just now, you were on the brink of giving up. you were about to throw yourself off that building, and nobody was going to be there to catch you like I was. you were going to just let go of hope like that, and it was going to be such a waste of a human life. I could live with seeing you go through all of that, but I just couldn't see you fall."

"why not turn up earlier, then? why not turn up when my eyesight deteriorated so badly I couldn't see people even if they were right in front of me? why not appear when my mother left me? why only bother appearing at the end?" sungmin was getting more and more agitated with each question, his fists beating at kyuhyun's chest desperately. he was feeling betrayed - he'd gone through so much, yet kyuhyun had only stood by the side and watched helplessly as he suffered. he wasn't exactly angry per se, just upset and anxious for answers. gently, kyuhyun wrapped his arms around his mortal, cradling him close to his chest, trying hard to provide some semblance of security and warmth.

"hey now, don't cry. it's because of my boss, leeteuk. i swear, even though he's a guardian angel just like me, he seems to like seeing people suffer. he never lets me step into their private lives unless it gets to a point like yours - when the mortal's given up all hope and simply lies down to die. sungmin, it's actually physically and emotionally difficult for us to see you guys suffer, you know? it's like a part of us is being ripped apart - because part of us is already invested in the mortals we are attached to. if we could descend to help you guys immediately, we would, but we can't.

"it's not just a job where we can help a mortal, solve all his problems with a snap of our fingers and move on to the next. we're attached to one single mortal for the length of their lives, so basically, you're stuck with me till you die." he poked Sungmin's cheek, trying to lighten up the atmosphere, and sungmin smiled wanly.

"anyway, we stick with you guys till the thick and thin. we watch you guys smile, cry, enjoy life and suffer, especially the last part. we stick with you through all the problems, be they trivial ones like school and friendships, to the more serious ones like loss and injuries. we try our best to help you through the tough times by sending positive vibes and preventing the situations from getting worse - that's why you're not fully blind. that's why you can still see a little. however, we can only make ourselves known to you if your life has gotten so bad that leeteuk decides we need to interfere. do you understand now, sungmin?" he squeezed sungmin a little tighter in his arms, deciding, hey, this actually feels nice.

"yeah, kyuhyun, got it," sungmin replied, smiling a little. at least now he knew kyuhyun had been there through everything; now he knew he'd at least had a friend. and he supposed that if kyuhyun's boss had forbidden him to interfere prior to this, he couldn't exactly say or do anything to defy this leeteuk person.

"tell me more about leeteuk," he offered, still cradled to kyuhyun's chest. he didn't mind the proximity of their bodies, though, because he felt secure with kyuhyun.

"well, to start things off..." kyuhyun scrunched up his face in concentration, trying to sieve out information about leeteuk that sungmin would actually care about. "he used to be a mortal just like you, and when he was still on earth, his real name was park jungsu. now, of course, after he stepped into heaven, he wanted a new name for himself. a new beginning, and he chose leeteuk. you know it means "special", right?" he asked, waiting for sungmin to nod before continuing.

"well, he was a really kind soul on earth, one of the best. he was really poor, but he always tried his best to help others around him. he was one of those you call kind Samaritans, because he was always willing to help others in need. his guardian, kangin, never had to step into leeteuk's life because he never once gave up on himself. after leeteuk died, he somehow found himself in heaven, lording it over all the other guardian angels. needless to say, he's pretty happy." kyuhyun shrugged, eliciting a little laugh from sungmin. stepping back, he released sungmin from his hold, sitting down and patting the spot next to him.

"what about you, then? you probably know all about me, but I know very little about you. all i know is that you're called kyuhyun, but I don't even know your last name." sungmin inquired, getting more and more curious as the questions came.

"uh, okay, well, i'm called cho kyuhyun. that's my full name. i like to sing, a lot. i've pften dreamt of being able to sing my mortal to sleep, but well, they've never been able to see me before this, because their lives were relatively smooth-sailing. and as for you... I've been watching over you since the day you were born. I watched you grow up and everything, but rest assured I'm not as old as that sounds! I'm currently twenty-three years old in human years, which is around the same age as you are, I guess. oh, by the way, now that I've appeared to you --" he cut himself off abruptly, preventing himself from saying whatever he had originally intended to.

"and....?" sungmin prompted, wanting to know what kyuhyun had wanted to say.

"nothing," kyuhyun shook his head, forcing a smile. "nothing at all, you'll find out when the time comes. now, let's just pretend I know nothing about you. introduce yourself to me, okay?"

still suspicious, sungmin shot a sideways glance at him before relenting. he was sure kyuhyun had his reasons for not wanting to divulge information - after all, he trusted kyuhyun, and it was beginning to scare him - they had only known each other for, what, half an hour and he was already beginning to like kyuhyun. the thought startled him - sungmin rarely trusted anyone, rarely broke down the walls he built around himself since he knew nobody cared enough to try. kyuhyun, however, was different - sungmin got the feeling that even if kyuhyun wasn't his guardian angel, he'd have trusted him anyway, because he just had that aura. maybe, if he'd been fortunate enough to meet kyuhyun in this lifetime, they could have become friends.

"i'm lee sungmin, twenty years old. i can't really see very well. still, i like music. a lot," he added shyly, almost afraid to admit this secret liking of his. he'd never told anyone, afraid that they would all scoff and mock him. "I always had this little dream that one day I'd be famous, standing on a stage somewhere, singing my heart out and basically being happy. it's sad, though, that it'll never come true." he whispered sadly, head lowered.

"hey, don't say that," kyuhyun reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. "do you know why I came down to earth?"

"to stop me from jumping off a building. yeah, I know," sungmin answered sarcastically, but the upturned corners of his mouth let kyuhyun know he was joking.

"of course not, stupid," kyuhyun winked.

"it was because leeteuk sent me down with a direct order to make your life better. so, if i have things my way, you'll be able to achieve your dream, and lots more." 

TBC