Naeun ~ Ten Years Later (January)

(A/N: Let’s pretend they’re in high school, for those of you who know their actual age)

“Halmeoni, I’m going to school.” Naeun sat in front of the picture of her grandmother on the drawer and bowed. She left fruits on the table as an offering, the ones that her grandma had always nagged Naeun to eat. She smiled sweetly. “They say that there’s going to be a new kid today. I wonder who would transfer halfway into the school year. I guess it doesn’t really matter to me; just another person to ignore me.”

Naeun stood up and stretched before she scooped up her schoolbag. She fiddled with her uniform awkwardly. She hated the skirt, which rose whenever her bag hit her side.

Naeun was walking to school alone again. When she first started school, the others would be interested in her. After all, she was beautiful, cute in a way. However, when they realized that she was a cold, unfeeling shell on the inside, they tended to drift away . . . and bully.

“Yah, Son Naeun,” someone shouted as she slid into her seat in mathematics. She turned to the owner of the voice, a tall and curvy girl – Jung Da-yeon – and gave her the iciest stare possible. All she had to do was look calm. Da-yeon cleared and pushed her hair back. “Aish, she always has to be such a freak,” she muttered to her friends, turning away.

Naeun couldn’t help but smile to herself. That always shut them up.

“Class, welcome your new student!” Yong-hwa songsaeng-nim announced. There were gasps and flirtatious giggles, but Naeun didn’t look up from doodling in her notebook. It was probably just another good-looking transfer. It was only until she realized that the seat beside her was empty that she stiffened. No one ever chose to sit next to her for seating, so she always ended up without a partner.

Naeun closed her eyes and sighed quietly. Great. He was just going to bring more attention to her, the last thing she wanted.

“Please say hello to Lee Taemin! You can sit next to Son Naeun over there.” There was a tense silence, radiating mostly off Naeun. That name . . ., Naeun thought, digging her led pencil deeper into her paper. She could still remember that damned name after all these years.

Why wasn’t he saying anything? Moving?

“Yes, sir.” There were footsteps and envious whispers as the new student reached Naeun’s desk. He dropped his backpack to the floor, and Naeun didn’t dare look up. When he sat down, she finally willed herself to look at him. It was him. The angel.

~~~~~~~

She couldn’t forget those annoyingly bright eyes. For a moment, they were empty, and then they flashed as he smiled at her.

“Annyeong. I’m Lee Taemin. What’s your name?” he greeted. Son Naeun tried to keep her expression calm. She returned his introduction with a cold glare and turned back to her doodles. She never paid attention in this class anyway. She’d studied all these years being alone, so she should’ve been way ahead of all these people.

But she chose to keep her grades at a steady pace, not wanting to stand out.

Did Taemin think he’d gotten rid of her memory that day? She could never forget that week she spent with him. Whatever he’d done to her head, she just got a big headache the next day, finding herself on the porch of her home. For some reason, she wasn’t affected by his magic or whatever. She just had a migraine.

Obviously, Taemin thought his magic had worked. Naeun turned to Taemin again. She was positive it was him, but his face didn’t reveal anything.

He was a good actor, except for the fact that his mouth twitched and his eyes dilated a bit when he saw what she was doodling. Naeun returned to her sketching, putting a protective arm on her desk and leaning so he couldn’t see. She hadn’t been able to stop drawing them since . . .

“What are you drawing?” Taemin whispered. Naeun turned, startled to find that his face was inches away from hers. His eyes were sparkling again, his lips pressed into a sweet smile. Naeun narrowed her eyes and pulled away from him.

“Nothing.”

“Are those wings?” Taemin pressed. Naeun stared at him. Was he bad at acting, or was it because she just knew he was lying? His smile was still in place, but it was tight and forced. Did he not want her to remember him? Why?

“Yes.” She’d been drawing things like this since she was seven, but she wasn’t going to admit it now. She shaded in the sides of the thick feathers quietly, ignoring the stiff Taemin beside her.

Unfortunately, he was in all of her classes except P.E., her last period. They had the same period but different teachers. Thank goodness.

As soon as the last bell rang, Naeun made her way home. It wasn’t that far of a walk. She stopped in front of the house and turned to the forest, tilting her head to the side. She hadn’t gone there in a long time, and seeing Taemin today refreshed her memory.

“Just for a little bit,” she whispered to herself, dropping her schoolbag on the porch and racing into the trees. She stopped in front of that all too familiar pond and stared at the clear water. It seemed a lot smaller now that she was in high school.

Naeun lowered herself to the ground, took off her shoes, and dipped her feet into the cool water. She sighed and lay back on the grass. For some reason, she was expecting for Taemin to show up. But why would he?

She closed her eyes and drifted off, not noticing that another presence had come up beside her.

Taemin ~

Did she even remember him?

Taemin stared at Naeun, who was sleeping peacefully on the ground beside him. He felt a small smile tug at his lips. Did she even realize what he’d gone through because of her?

**Flashback** (a few days earlier)

Taemin screamed out in pain as Her guardian angels pulled harder on his wings. The Ruler of the Light glowered over Taemin’s curled up body. From the corner of his eye, Taemin saw his father clenching his fist, and his mother sobbing beside him, but his father’s expression soon smoothed over. Taemin could read his face, knew what he was thinking. He deserved it.

Finally, his wings were pulled out. Yes, pulled out. The two gashes in his back were bleeding bright blood, and his whole body was on fire. Taking the wings of an angel . . .

An angel could heal easily, a stab wound disappearing in a few minutes. However, the pain of losing his wings would last at least a day. It would hurt mentally and physically. And scar.

“You’ve fallen in love with a human,” the Queen of the Light spat. “You’ve fallen in love with a human?!”

“Yes,” Taemin gasped, scrambling back. He heard his mother cry out behind him, probably shocked at his torn backside. He hastily hid his cuts from her.

He’d decided to tell Her today, in hopes that She would have a solution for this. Was there a way that a human could be with an angel?

But obviously, that didn’t work.

“You’re banished. Banished from the Light!” the Queen roared. Taemin winced. “You will become a Middle roamer. Go ahead. Find that human girl of yours that you care for enough to lose your passage of flight. Do you realize what war could rage from your conflict?” She took a shaky breath. “However, I’m giving you a chance. Turn away from that girl. Come back to the light, admit your wrongdoings. I will give you back your damned wings, and I will talk it out with the Darkness in hopes to keep the angels at peace. There may be a way for your precious Middle roamer and you to survive. And that’s for you to leave her.”

Taemin stared at his ruler. Leave her? After all these years, he finally had the courage to go back to her . . . and he had to leave her?

“You have one month to decide what you want to do. The Dark and Light have agreed to accept this . . . catastrophe . . . abomination . . . for a month. After that, you must make your decision. If you don’t make the right choice . . . be prepared for anything. Even death, Lee Taemin.”

**End of Flashback**

One month. Taemin smoothed back Naeun’s hair and smiled softly. He had one month with her, and he could decide whether or not he wanted to leave her forever, or keep her safe. He bit his lip.

But, maybe they could fight for it? But how? Taemin wondered, his posture immediately slumping as he realized what his ruler had implied. He would have to fight the Light and the Dark. There were only two sides in the world, and that was what he was raised to know. The Light and the Dark. There was no in between, simply a thin line separating the two, the Middle.

That means, Taemin realized with a shudder, that if I choose Naeun . . . no one will be on our side. We’ll have to fight . . . alone.

A/N:

Writing is stressful. BUT SO WORTH IT!

I can't believe I got subscribers, or comments.

I know it's pretty lame, but I am literally fangirling over you guys right now. Like, I have a huge smile on my face when I see notifications. I was messaging my friends when I first posted, and it basically went like this.

Me: Guys, I can feel the readers judging me.

Best Friend #1: Lol.

Best Friend #2: Yeah, obviously.

Me: OMG GUYS I HAVE 2 SUBSCRIBERS!

Best Friend #2: Lol. Congrats.

Me: GUYS I POSTED THE PROLOGUE AND THEY COMMENTED.

Best Friend #1: Lol.

Best Friend #2: LOL.

Yeah, they have an amazingly wide range of vocabulary.

Feel free to give me tips/criticism (I will probably need a lot). I will try not to disappoint . . .

Okay, bye~! Thank you! See you next time <3

-pannashawol