~Chapter 1~

A Step into the Past

Jonghyun’s POV~

First thing’s first, I want to find that damn driver and punch him—dead or alive. I don’t know if he was drunk, or sick, or sleeping, but he flipping drove the dang van down the side of the freaking highway! It flipped, we ran out, the fire spread through the woods around us, and then we jumped into this portal thingy that led us to who knows where! Yes, I’m ranting right now, but I’m just so angry! Oh, sorry. Eh hem, annyeonghasaeyo Kim Jonghyun imnida, the son of a company owner who’s dream is to be a singer. I had a chance of becoming one too…at least until the damn driver’s stupid act make the van explode…

~One Hour Ago~

“Hyung~ if you keep singing I won’t be able to concentrate on my song!” Taemin whines. He’s so lucky that he is cute or else I would act like a jerk and sing so loud that it’ll burst his eardrums. No one stops Jonghyun from singing! Aigoo, I mean, come on, he’s a little 16-year-old kid with a bowl cut, how can someone not look at him and be enslaved by his cuteness? Well…my descriptions , deal with it.

“Hey, Onew hyung, when are we arriving there?” I ask.

“Maybe in an hour?” he replies with a shrug. Suddenly, there is a loud BOOM! And the van bumps up and down rapidly. We swing over seatbelts and click it, staring at each other in shock. Before we could prepare ourselves, the van flips over. CRASH! By pure luck or a plain miracle, we didn’t die! Yes, we have a few scratches and bleeding heads, but not too bad. Behold the power of seatbelts!

We all get out of the ruined van in haste and drag our bags out behind us. We stare at the smoking van. In both anger and shock, Onew hyung asks, “Where the hell is our driver!?” I really have no comment…

“Hyung, I think I saw this in a drama,” Taemin says. “We have to run before it explodes!” We put on our bags and Taemin holds onto Onew hyung and me, a person per hand. We run as fast as we can until a warm air pushes us to the ground after a large explosion was heard. “And people kept telling me that dramas are full of lies,” Taemin says breathlessly.

“Okay, I’m not sure if I hit my head too hard, but something seems to be glowing in front of me,” Onew hyung says while supporting his bleeding head with his hand. Without warning, an invisible force pulls us three toward the light.

~FLASH~

“Class, today we have a new student; please welcome, Lee Taemin.”

“Leave before I do anything to you Choi Minho. Leave before I kill you!”

“Since he is too weak to take care of himself, why don't we add him to SHINee?” Jonghyun says, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Hello, I am SHINee’s leader Onew.”

“Hello, I am SHINee’s Bling Bling Jonghyun.”

“Hello, I am SHINee’s Flaming Charisma Minho.”

“Hello, I am SHINee’s Almighty Key.”

“Hello, I am SHINee’s maknae Taemin.”

“Haha, you are our maknae.” Onew laughs. “Welcome to the SHINee family.”

Joon sits down next to Taemin. “I guess we'll be seeing each other a lot from now on.” he smirks and looks forward. Joon, if you dare cause any harm those I know and care about, I promise I will personally slay you; you filthy demon. Taemin thinks.

“I felt like I had to go to this school for only that reason. From this whole time, no one has been unique either than them!” Taemin yells and then lowers his voice. “Hyung think about it. Why have I been alive for all this time? Why haven't I died all of these centuries searching? Why hasn't one demon shown up in front of me until I became friends with them? Do you think after getting so close to my old life I can just let go and live like a human? Think hyung! Either you help me or I help myself. Mind you, I am the one keeping you alive all of these years!” Taemin slams on the table, making it crash on the floor. “I was an angel hyung! I'm not letting this go. Either one of us dies or me and that person dies. I don't care! I just need to get my wings back. Whether or not it's Onew hyung, Key hyung, Jonghyun hyung, or Minho hyung, they aren't my real angel friends!” He says through gritted teeth. “That's all I have to say.” He turns around and slams the door shut after stomping out.

Heechul gets stabbed by Taemin. “Having your wings isn't important Taemin, what's important is that you complete your mission. Trust me, without me, everything will be perfect.” Heechul’s soul slowly fades.

“I don't want to hear this, I want you with me hyung!” Taemin sobs.

“Always follow your heart and everything will prevail,” he takes his last breath and falls down, cold and dead.

Key looks at Taemin. “Jonghyun- the angel- told me that you were our secret weapon, that you were powerful. He told me that his carelessness has gotten you to this state and I have a feeling that we somehow were sent down here as humans to fix it.”

“I’m a fallen angel, what else do you want from me? I sacrificed enough. Can’t you just let me live on as a human in peace? I don’t need to worry about your useless effort. Don't waste your time and energy on something you cannot avoid.”

“You-”

“Look. You just discovered your identity now. I have known for centuries now. No one has suffered as much as me in this world. I don’t need you to act all high and mighty hyung. Drinking from the pool of blood might give you your memories back, but it doesn't mean you are you. You just got a little bit of your powers and you act like you can hold up the sky on your own. No one, none of you know what defeat feels like. None of you have failed nor faced despair. Only me, only I have hyung.” Taemin snapped back and flash away.

“I-I'll...I'll join Hell. I will fight for the demons.” Taemin says and sob pathetically.

“I knew you could do it Taemin,” demonic Heechul smiles. “Summon me whenever you need me, and I will call you whenever you are needed.” the demon disappears into the shadows.

“My life on Earth is all but a mystery. I don't know my past, I don't know my faith. I just woke up on Earth one day and met Heechul hyung there. He helped regain my soul and repaired my tattered body. He told me that he understands what I am, and told me what he was. Heechul hyung was also a fallen angel, kicked out of Heaven on his own will. I never actually asked him about his past. After I have fully recovered, I started my search. Slowly, Heechul hyung was fading since a fallen angel and any being can only live to a certain age. Since my time wasn't up, I offered for him to use me as his life source. I constantly supply life to him and since then, my powers as an angel has weakened, and my strength has its limits. We searched for centuries together. Every continent, every country, every state, every city, every street, every speck of dirt, and we found no one, no clue whatsoever...not until I met you.

“Hyung, when I came to this school, I knew that I had to expect something to happen. I met you five and immediately my life changed. For some reason, my entire self-defense was useless. Any demon, everything can affect me. That explains why I was always injured. Fallen or not, an angel cannot befriend evil. Worst of all, my scars have bled in your presence. Those scars were from someone ripping off my wings during a war so...I thought that you were that person. I felt that you were hiding something, and your kindness was all an act. I didn't know what to feel, since I was constantly scared. I just wanted my wings back. The painting of my wings just made me think wrongly of you even more. How can I not?

“And the others, I constantly had flashbacks of them as angels. I saw us five together in Heaven, having fun, care for each other, and sent off to do errands on Earth. I had a feeling that they connected to the angels somehow...but you...I was saved many times by someone who looks like you...”

“Your painting,” Minho says.

“Yes, my painting of you in art class was him. Even though I didn't even know he existed then, I somehow knew how he looked. He was trying to protect me, he cried, he was begging me...He told me I would hate him the next time I see him...and the charm. Heechul hyung found a charm when I saved me when I fell down to Earth, but the other you told me it was a gift from him to me. I...there's so much that happened.”

“Don't worry, I'm all ears.” Minho reassures Taemin.

“Joon hyung came along and made everything worse. He...he's a demon. I knew about his identity and constantly paid attention to him, making sure I would protect everyone. My fight with him has brought back so many broken memories. I remember the angel you getting injured...I remember trying to save him, how I was attacked by him, and later how my wings were taken from me. After using some of my angel powers and eavesdropping, I thought you were the one who had my wings...because of this, I hated all of SHINee, and attacked you in the pool of blood...and because of this, and I killed Heechul hyung.”

“I'm sorry I couldn't help.” Minho hugs Taemin.

“I can't believe we're fighting about this again.” Onew stands up angrily. “Taemin has been facing centuries of pain, Jonghyun and Key are separated and can't even see each other’s face for all eternity, I have these hours with you...can't you just embrace me and comfort me? Can't you make me forget about the obligations, the war, the pain, just for this hour? I don't want to end up like them, but I know we will. I just want to enjoy my time with you...until it's too late. If you didn’t save me during the war, we wouldn’t have fallen in love…despite the fact that you tore off Taemin’s-”

“Don't forget Taemin can release his powers any time now. He can eavesdrop on us for all we know.”

“Nevertheless, I still fell for you, for the kindness under your entire killer aura. Please Joon, doesn't your heart tell you otherwise? You are truly an angel and you know it!”

“Just do it,” demonic Minho’s voice echoes through the room. “If you don't do it soon, you'll lose your once in a lifetime chance...On the count of three.”

“But you'll die. Are you sure you're willing to let me kill you?” Taemin asks.

“One,” his voice echoes.

“What will become of us...if the demons were to defeat Earth?”

“Two.”

“What will become of us if the angels defeat the dark world?”

“Eternal destruction,” his eyes shoot open as his body slowly comes back to life.

“I just regret everything so much. If it wasn't for the things we went through in our pass life, we wouldn't be on the demonic side. I just wish I can be human again. I just wish we can return to the ancient times, when you were still a simple warrior, and I was your follower.” Thunder frowns.

“But that would mean I would have never met Jinki again.” Joon says.

“He died so terribly...we all did...the only difference is that they became angels, and we suffered the fate of a demon.” Thunder cries.

“What side are you willing to fight for?”

“For you,” Kai answers.

“You'll fight for the angels?” Taemin asks.

“No, just for you. I am not fighting for the angels or for the demons. I am fighting for you Lee Taemin. I need to make sure your future is going to be bright. I have to make sure your future will be full of happiness and love. I cannot allow you to get hurt...at least not anymore.”

“Don't feel this way,” Taemin pats Kai’s head. “Hyung was protecting you because I wanted to, not because I had to. You were like a sibling to me, why are you feeling indebted?”

“Because, I feel like if I was normal back then, you wouldn't have lost your life, Onew hyung wouldn't have been hurt, Joon hyung wouldn't have died-”

“Joon? He was part of our past too?”

“They all were. The SHINee warriors, the demons, everyone was part of our past. They continued the cycle.”

“What have you done?!” demonic Minho slams Minho against the wall. “My Taemin,” he cries. “I thought you love him. Why didn't you protect him properly?”

“Stop blaming Minho, Minho,” Jonghyun pauses. “Oh gosh that sounds weird.”

“Demon boy, you heard him. He got stabbed but then Taemin got hurt. Stop being a jerk and just save him.” Key scowls.

“You had the charm this whole time? Why was I not informed about this?” Jonghyun narrows his eyes.

“More importantly, you lost the charm!?” Key yells.

“We'll find it later. We need him in the pool first.” Onew says.

“You knew all along about my bond with the SHINee Warriors. You ordered me to get rid of them and made sure that we all were against each other!” Joon yells as he tries to slice the general. He avoids the blade quickly and smirks.

“And I thank you! My plan almost worked.”

“You do realize that both your angel and human form has been destroyed right? You can't fight this war any longer.” Joon charges him and knocks him off guard.

The general struggles to live. He tries his best to stay conscious and take out the charm out of his pocket. Knowing that the charm contains the angels’ past lives and their sins, he holds it in his palm and smiles. With the last bit of energy remaining, the general crushes the charm and release the SHINee Warriors’ greatest fear.

With shaking hands, the lovers reach for each other and intertwine their weak fingers. “Hyung,” Taemin whimpers. Minho squeezes Taemin’s hand lovingly and pulls him into a hug despite the pain.

“I love you,” Minho says.

“I love you too hyung.” Taemin says and buries his face into Minho’s chest.

“Key-ah, don’t cry. I love you, never forget that.” Jonghyun hugs his lover and wipes his tears with his hands.

“I love you Jjongie.” Key sniffs and kisses his dying lover.

“Joon-ah, I’m joining you. Saranghae.”

One by one, the five angels disintegrate.

~FLASH~

Onew hyung, Taeminnie, and I remove our hands from an ancient box and exchange eye contact with one another. “What was that?” Onew hyung asks. We pull our hands back and magically, two chains were around my neck, two were around Taemin’s, and one around Onew hyung’s neck, each with a charm like in the story we saw—at least I hope that was a story. That wasn’t our past right? Like a past life thing?

“H-hyung, run!” Taemin frantically yells and gets up. He pulls Onew hyung and shakes me out of my thoughts. I look around and—

“Holy sh*t, there’s a fire!” I yell and get up quickly. Surrounding us was the woods, engulfed in flames. I look around in both shock and terror. There’s no way to escape—I mean if you don’t count the glowing wall in front of us…

“Ottoke?” Taemin’s voice cracks. He must be freaking out right now. Poor Taeminnie…

“I repeat: I know that I’m a bit dizzy from the head injury and everything and you might think that I’m going crazy, but we have no choice but I walk into the light and wish for the best.” Onew hyung says with the calmest voice he can manage, which isn’t very calm.

“Are you crazy?! People always say ‘Don’t follow the light’ or ‘don’t go to the light’ and now you’re telling me to go to the light!? No no no no no!” I scream with an unmanly squeal. I am so not calm right now.

“Either that or we burn to death.” Onew hyung squeezes our hands. It actually gave me a bit more courage, almost like he knew what’s past that light.

“Now or never,” Taemin nods.

“One,” Onew hyung starts.

“Two,” I continue.

“Three!” Taemin yells as we enter the light.

~Present Time~

If you’re curious about where the light took us, sorry, I’m not going to answer you. No, I’m not being a jerk and no, I am not trying to make you think about it. I just simply don’t know the answer myself. All I know is that I fell down from the sky and landed in a building by crashing down into the roof. And if you’re wondering how that felt, I can summarize it with two words for you: it hurt. Think about it. You fell down from who knows how high up, broke through a flipping roof, and landed flat on your face, not to mention that there were pointy weapons pointing at you right after!

I swear when I find the driver I will strangle the life out of him. Out of all places I had to fall into the middle of a clan and get captured by these bald men- monks. Where am I you ask? I am sitting in the middle of a jail cell. Why you ask? Let's just say...those men do not appreciate me invading their fight. When they spotted me in the middle of the two sides, they pointed their weapons at me—and they were not just simple weapons; there were spears, swords, and goddamn pitchforks, all sharp and dangerous—and gave me the silent treatment for almost five minutes, and then they fought over who would throw me in their jail.

Now after reading that and now understanding what situation I am in, do you still expect me to fully comprehend where I am right now!? Come on, there aren’t many choices I can pick from and half of them are unrealistic. I either went back in time, landed in a filming set and became a stunt double unwillingly, or I hit my head really hard…Let’s just go with the last option to prevent me from losing more of my sanity…But slowly, I’m beginning to think my first guess is right—We went back in time. Now how did I get that conclusion you ask? Well, why don’t you ask the bald guy standing in front of me with a whip wearing historical clothing?

“Leader of the order sent us here,”

“Pass?”

“Here,” A few monks step in from of the cell and open the door, grabbing and carrying me out by my two arms.

“Yah, what do you think you're doing?!” is all I could manage saying. There are way too many questions I want to ask but no one to answer them. “Where am I?” I ask a little lower.

“Just keep your mouth shut and we won't kill you before you meet the head,” the bald guy whips me across the back and I scream. Oh, I forgot to mention a small detail: I am currently labeled as an assassin and if I’m not mistaking, I will be interrogated by scary bald men. Lesson of the day: never move towards the light.

Taemin’s POV~

I just wanted to be an idol like Onew hyung and Jonghyun hyung’s dream. I didn’t ask for this. It just happened in a flash, literally. We were just on our way to the hotel and for some reason the driver drove us down the side of the road. Our van flipped yes, but we were lucky enough to not be severely injured or dead. All of a sudden, there was a force that pulled at me and my hyungs, forcing us to see this…drama we are in. Then there was a fire and a light and now I’m here.

Well, let me introduce myself. Annyeonghasaeyo, Lee Taemin imnida, son of a company owner who’s slowly working his way up the path to fulfill his dreams of being an idol—at least I use to. Now, my only goal is to get out of here, wherever ‘here’ may be. By ‘here,’ I mean this dark room. Do you mind? Can you do me a favor and pinch me? Harder! Damn, this is reality isn’t it?

I swear, if this is their definition of hospitality…“Tell us who your leader is or else we will make you confess!” the male yells. Once again, the room is filled with my screams.

Onew’s POV~

Where am I? I blink a few times and rub my eyes roughly—still nothing. It’s either pitch black in here or I hit my head too hard…BOOM! I feel the ground and everything around me shake. Earthquake? A bunch of dusk drops from above me. I swipe it quickly and notice a small light entering from the new cracks on the wall. I touch it and notice that it’s very rocky and cold. Am I in a cave?

I take out my cell phone and light up the room. Yup, indeed, I am in a cave. I nearly screamed after shining the light on something near me. In front of me is a large tree. By “large,” I mean five-feet-taller-than-me-and-ten-feet-wide large. Don’t laugh at me, but I can’t resist. I take a picture of it with my phone. The tree looks very unique. And by “unique” I mean it looks like two persons hugging with little fuzzy, white, and mushy looking fruits surrounding them. I’m not sure if I should feel disgusted or fascinated…

Jonghyun’s POV~

“I’m telling you the truth! I am not a spy, I have no interest in your damn martial realm secrets, and I came here by mistake!” I scream for the nth time. My throat is dry, my eyes are stinging, and my tattered body is bleeding in countless areas. “Please, just let me go.” As pathetic as it sounds, I beg them. They’re torturing me with no mercy, and if I die here—no, I can’t die here.

Taemin’s POV~

Good news: I am no longer getting whipped by them. Bad news: I am forever a servant for their clan in the “martial realm,” whatever that means. No to mention that I have to weak these heavy chains, over 30 pounds each probably, on my arms and legs at all times. I jumped into the portal, feel into a clan, got thrown in jail, and now became a servant. I, Lee Taemin, the second son of a huge company, top student of my class, and a soon to be idol transformed into a low servant! Yup, this is totally what I expected to happen…Hey, it can be worse. I could have died! At least now I am alive and still have a chance to return…

I’m still thinking about what I saw earlier when I touched that box. I touch the two chains around my neck and feel the clear, glowing charms. What I saw back there…I think that it was my past life. It would only make sense since I died there along with my hyungs and we were said to reincarnate with our sins. Angels, who would have thought that I was an angel? Who were those other two people though? Key hyung and Minho hyung…If my guess is correct, then this means that we have reincarnated and now are back in time to try to fix our past…? I remember that in the flash, it showed that we wanted to and wished for a chance to go back in time and make everyone live happily so we all can be angels. Maybe this is our chance!

Haha, who am I kidding? I am now a servant for God’s sake. I have no power here, not to mention trying to change everyone’s outcome. Where in the world are Jonghyun hyung and Onew hyung anyway? We all went into the light at the same time, shouldn’t we end up in the same place? This stinks; I can’t even tell my hyungs my thought. Maybe if all three of us are together, I can actually think of something!

“Punk, now that you have joined our clan, you have to understand some of our rules,” an ahjumma explains to me while waving a beating stick around. I’m guessing that she is the lead servant or whatever they call it…“Number one rule: never talk back. Everyone here is at a higher rank than you, therefore, you have to listen and obey all. Rule number two: you have to do what everyone orders and fulfill it wholeheartedly. Last and most important rule: never betray the clan and protect it with your life.” I nod obediently in case she wants to hit me for not showing respect. Did I ever mention that I am currently laying on the dirty ground in the jail room. Yeah, I never left. Oh, and one more thing, I am still bleeding, everywhere, and she’s still lecturing me. “You two bring the newbie into the House and put him into his room. Make sure to bandage him up and get him ready for work tomorrow,” she orders and trots out of the cell.

No One’s POV~

He smiles and slightly reveals his small dimples. He delicately pours the hot water into the tea pot and puts it onto the tray properly. He moves his head to the side and adjusts his bangs. Quickly and steadily, he rushes to the princess who is resting in the palace garden. With a slight bow, he places the tea pot onto the table and pours the tea into the cup without dripping one drop. With a pleased look, he moves aside and lets the princess try the tea.

With graceful hands, the princess lifts the cup and smells the sweet fragrance. With beautiful cheery lips, she sips the tea and smiles cutely. “You always know how to please me, Kibum.”

“It’s my honor, princess.” Kibum bows.

“I thought I told you to not call me princess. You don’t need to show me respect either, remember? Besides, you are part of the royal family as well, you’re not a servant. You don’t need to waste your time!” The princess pouts.

“You know I treat you just like a sister. I have to take care of you, deal with it,” he winks.

“You didn’t tell appa did you?”

“What? About you sneaking out of the palace and almost got kidnapped? Oh, I forgot to tell him! I’ll go right now!” he says with a playful smirk.

“Oppa, don’t be so mean,” she hits him lightly.

“Yah, Naeun, you’re the mean one! Who saved you when the men were after you? Me! And you never showed any gratitude.”

“Oh, you’re not that stingy are you~” she mehrongs him.

“Excuse me princess, but His Majesty is asking for Kibum-ssi,” a servant bows down. Immediately, the playful atmosphere became cold and dry.

“Are you hurt?” Princess Naeun asks, knowing exactly why he was summoned.

“I’m okay,” Kibum answers with a dark tone. What happened last night was not his choice. He was just following orders, they all know it.

“Did you find anything?”

“I found six more lives that my blade easily took,” he sighs. “It was a family.”

“Look, I know you don’t want to kill any more. How about I talk to my appa and-“

“Drink your tea, it’ll get cold,” he cuts her off. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Your Majesty,” Kibum kneels down in front of the king. “You summoned me?”

“It seems as if no one from the martial realm is planning to get recruited so easily.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Get rid of them all,” the king orders.

“But Sire—”

“Taking their side now?”

“No, I wouldn’t dare to,” Kibum bows lower. “I just feel like that is a bit rash. We haven’t found any clues that lead to the conclusion that anyone in the martial realm is trying to take you down. There is no threat given to the royal palace so I—”

“Very well, I order you to join a clan and be a spy there. Make sure to choose one that has connections with all clans. If anything comes up, you know what to do. If you can, recruit some people for the palace as my personal guards.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, your servant shall do so,” Kibum gets up, bows once more, and exits. I am a pawn, and if I am used by a good player and move correctly, I may be able to influence the game.

Minho’s POV~

Sometimes, I wonder would anyone notice if I were to just disappear off the face of the Earth. I am a banished person after all. I was supposed to die. If it wasn’t for Kibum who opened the locks and saved my life, I would have died. Because of this I call Kibum “Key.” He seems to be the one who opens everything. He opens locks that bother and weigh me down, opens the locks that release happiness, and opens my laughs by locking up my sorrows. But unfortunately, not everything he opens is good. He opens the locks that release pain for people of the martial realm. He’s an assassin. His Majesty gave him a very important job that I would never have imagined of. He is to get rid of everyone from the martial realm that is believed to be a threat to the king himself. Even if he is in lots of pain, killing people unwillingly, I would die to get the same attention the king gives him at any cost. I will never get recognition or any missions since I was supposed to die. He wanted me dead.

Maybe I should have died that night. Maybe if I hadn’t survived then I wouldn’t have to deal with this. Hiding my name, hiding my face, hiding my identity, all of it dishonors my family. My brother, my umma, everyone, I miss them all. The second son of the Choi family in the hiding, what would my father say if he would ever find out that I am really alive? He was the one who tried to kill me in the first place. Maybe if he found out I was alive, he would send an even bigger crowd to come kill me…

I get off of the hard bed and touch my face, making sure the white cloth is still covering my face. I adjust my clothing and exit my room. I sit down in the gazebo like every day. I sit with my back straight and a servant places chopsticks into my right hand. I pick up a bit of rice and bring it close to my mouth. The second servant lifts up my face covering, letting me eat. This repeats until I finish the small bowl of rice and sip all of my tea. Life is boring. At times like this, I just wish something can happen so I—“Reporting,” a servant kneels down in front of me. “The monks have still kept quiet, but there is a new prisoner.”

“Interesting,” I smirk as the servant passes me my sword. Life is about to get very interesting…

Hey everyone I am back! Although not everyone from Angel Wings has come to this story, I would like to once again thank all of my wonderful subscribers! I am very thankful to have such patient and supportive readers! I understand that this chapter was a bit boring, but it’s an introduction really…It was much more boring until I fixed it…I hope you can please wait patiently like how you always do—since I take forever to update—because I need to update or at least finish a story before I can focus on this one! This is their past everyone! They have gone back in time and maybe, they will be able to change their future! Feel free to reread AW, read my other stories, or rewatch the trailer as you wait! I love you all!

Comments are loved <3