Archive of Our Own

This world is filled with those of our kind, Humans. They are the founders of the life we know, the creators of society, the harnessers of the power of the earth and elements. They, in themselves, are powerful beings. But who is there to protect, to challenge, to destroy these all powerful beings? It isn’t God, at least not in this world.                                    

Three Human-like species exist in this world, two of which have put their full and entire effort into concealing their identities and living a life of secrets. Not that it works very well anyway, all Humans know of their existence, they just have yet to pinpoint which of their familiars aren’t Humans themselves.

The Demons are the first. They are the more common of the two ‘supernatural’ kinds. They were born to get their way, given the abilities that allowed them to manipulate those around them and sometimes even control another’s state of mind. They were often known as creatures made of malice, ones that could do only misdeeds and deceptions to others. Now, however, many Demons have begun revealing themselves online and in public, and have protested against this unfair division among the three species. They demand their equality, their fair treatment, but those with set mindsets and rigid beliefs being the majority of the world, it doesn’t seem to be coming very soon.

The Angels are the second. The rarer of the three, Angels were destined to be the helpers of Humans, living up to the ideals you might already know are set for those under this label. They appear to the world as any other Human does, same features, same functions. Perhaps the only difference is, they are aliferous creatures, born with wings that they hide from the world.

These wings are never used to fly anymore. After years and years of being sheathed and hidden away, they’ve lost their innate physical strength to support any weight. Rather, they are purely a source of power. When the wings are revealed, Angels are able to use their inborn abilities, but when taking the appearance of a normal Human, zero wings and all, they temporarily lose them.

These “abilities” consist of many, some that may be beneficial, and others not so much. Most vary from person to person, but researchers across the globe have established two prominent ‘quirks’ that each one of these rare and unusual beings have.

The first: all Angels, when their wings are out, attract other living organisms to them. Whether it be mammals, insects, plants, Humans, or any variety of being. They are drawn to them, to their energy, almost like a Disney princess you may see in a movie. Humans and Demons especially, due to their unique ability to think and reason at a higher level of intelligence than others.

The second: Angels are born to help Humans. They each have different individual abilities, but from all the data collected over centuries since Humans first learned of the Angels’ existence, scientists have been able to deduce that there is a connection. Every different kind of power has the main purpose of being an aid to Humans, whether it was the ability to grant wishes, make people happy, or bring people together through the red string of fate. After all, that is their purpose. 

Underneath a tree sits an Angel, a male, named Jaewon. The tree is one of many, all bearing special fruits and exclusively available in the Angel’s Meadow. As you might have guessed, the Angel’s Meadow is a place where many others of Jaewon’s kind can come to socialize and relax. However, it's not used often, as it's a surefire way to be found out and exposed as an Angel living among people. Only the bravest (or stupidest) of Demons ever dare venture into Angel territory. The place is barren as usual, at the time Jaewon sat by himself, picking flowers. With these flowers, he starts weaving together a crown, perhaps for someone special.

Jaewon places the crown on his head and begins examining his wings, feeling through them to make sure there aren’t any pieces of grass or insects that somehow escaped his senses. 

Remember that the only Demons that enter Angel territory are either the bravest or the stupidest. Here comes a trio of particularly stupid ones, drawn in by Jaewon’s energy.

“Ah, well just take a look at what we have here.”

“Well that’s an Angel I see, isn’t it?”

Jaewon looks up at the intruders, cautiously taking off his crown of flora. “We’re in the Angel’s Meadow,” he tilts his head, “It’s a place made for Angels. Why are you here?”

One of them, a blond one, slaps the Angel, knocking the crown to the side. The brunet kneels, a smirk growing on his face, “You wanna be sassy?” He places a sweaty hand on Jaewon’s cold thigh. Jaewon shoves the other off and stands up, his legs trembling and weak. 

The last one, a young man with black hair, yanks Jaewon’s wrist, pulling him back and forcing him to the ground. He tangles his fingers in the other’s locks and pulls once, before shoving his face into the grass. The animals surrounding them have sensed the bad energy, and left. No one’s left to help him.

“Oh so that’s how you want to play?!” The male sits on Jaewon’s back as the blond and brunet behind him snicker, “That’s how you want to play?! Shut up, both of you and help me!”

A glint of steel catches the struggling young man’s eye. The one stop him brandishes a switch knife, carved ebony wood handle and sharp-to-the-touch blade. The other two laugh wildly, putting pressure on Jaewon’s arms and legs to limit free movement. All he can do is flex his wings, hoping some kind of holy force would whisk him away from them.

The brunet stretches out his wing, forcing it stiff for the other Demon with the black hair to swoop in and start slicing away, with the blond’s unbearable laughter burning in Jaewon’s ear. 

“No, wait! Please stop, stop! Please!”

Jaewon thrashes as wildly as his restrictions allow, pleading to whatever’s out there for someone, anyone to come get them off. 

“Anything but my wings, please! Please!”

The laughter won’t stop. It keeps ringing in his ears, driving him crazy. They kept laughing, laughing, laughing, and the stabbing pain in his back, to unfamiliar emptiness soon overtaking him, it was all too much to handle. They wouldn’t stop.

Jaewon looked above as he was abused and beaten, shivering in the cold of the quickly approaching night that fell upon them like a dark, black blanket. He searched desperately, for any sign of help, anything that could possibly assure him that things would be alright. He found only the moon, a cruel moon that shone down upon him as he screamed, laughing along.

***

Minsoo steps outside of his home, yawning and shivering from the chill of the early morning. Where is that stupid cat? 

"Lutz? Lutz! Where the hell did you go? Goddammit, can't believe I forgot to close the cat door…”

The brunet walks down the steps outside his door and makes his way beyond the front fence into the sidewalk, silently hoping his cat didn't wander too far. It'd be a pain to have to get a new one, he was starting to get attached to Lutz. 

"Lu—oh shit! Hey, are you alright?"

Laying right outside his fence was a person. Black hair, purple shorts, converse shoes, and a loose white shirt, heavily soaked in blood, sticking to his back. His facial features were screwed into a painful display, even in his apparent sleep or state of unconsciousness. 

"Damn...I should probably bring him in," Minsoo scratches his head, and turns to look at his side when he hears a sudden meow, "Oh, Lutz. You think so too? Ok then."

The male carefully throws the unconscious man over his shoulder and brings him into his home. Hopefully this isn't a mistake. Hopefully he's harmless. And if he isn't, then Minsoo will just have to get rid of him. It’s not usually a big deal, this had happened to him before.

'Looks like most of the blood's coming from his back.' Minsoo notices. He places the slightly larger male down on his couch face down, and puts a pillow under his head before running to fetch his first aid.

'It's pretty obvious that he's been beaten, there are bruises all over him, but what's causing the bleeding? I won't be able to heal him, I ain't an Angel, but I can probably at least keep him alive.'

Just as Minsoo places a hand tentatively on the unconscious male's back, he shoots up, eyes flying open, fear evident on his face. His chest rises and falls rapidly, each breath shaky, his eyes darting back and forth. 

In his irises, Minsoo sees it. The shine of the sun, sparkling, shimmering hope, holding all the good in the world. Only Angels have that. There is an Angel in his house. Minsoo brought an entire damn Angel into his house. 

The Angel sits petrified, paralyzed with fear, as if he couldn't get any more scared. Minsoo doesn't stop to help him out yet. He runs into his kitchen and throws himself against the counter, one hand over his mouth and the other gripping the counter's corner with whitened knuckles and fingertips. Jesus Christ, there's an Angel in his living room. An Angel, one of the rarest creatures of the world, despite how common they are made out to be by his high school textbooks. Maybe in the nineteenth century, back before the Angel hunting died out and was outlawed due to the endangerment. 

What the hell is he going to do with an Angel, bloodied, injured, and scared out of his wits? He's not going to expose him, he's not that heartless. Maybe just try to talk to him? Yeah, let's hope that works. He doesn't have any other option as of now, anyway. 

He makes his way over to the other, slowly, with his hands up in front of him as if to say, "I'm unarmed! Don't worry!"

"H-Hey, are you ok? I'm not going to hurt you. You're fine. Calm down. You're alright?"

Minsoo guessed the man on his couch accidentally saw his fangs, or perhaps was so overwhelmed with fright, because he simply stopped, squeaked out a hoarse, "You're a Demon!" and keeled over once more. It would've been comical if it weren't him in this situation.

He runs a hand through his greasy, knotted hair and sighs, "You've got that right."

***

A week has passed since Jaewon arrived on Minsoo's doorstep (almost literally). He had learned to be calm near Minsoo, during the rare moments he was fully awake, but otherwise spent the week sleeping and eating mindlessly, almost catatonically. In the past few days, he began leaving the guest bedroom, wandering around, almost exploring. It was like having a pet, with how skittish he was. Eventually, Jaewon managed to tell Minsoo his name, and spent most of his day while Minsoo was at work cleaning, cooking, tidying up and the like.

Minsoo walks into his kitchen one morning, stretching and yawning from a long night's rest, Lutz following him from behind. There sits Jaewon at the table, nervously fidgeting and avoiding eye contact. Once again, Minsoo comes out to another spotless kitchen. 

"Um, you don't need to clean for me, it's ok."

He doesn't respond.

Minsoo awkwardly eases past him, pretending he's not there. He pops some bread into his toaster. 

"Ah—Jaewon, right? Do you want anything to eat?"

"I'm alright. Please don't feel that you need to feed me," Jaewon quickly replies, standing up, "I can leave today if you want, I can leave. I'm fine."

"No, no, it's ok! You can stay if you like, but I won't force you. I was just asking if you were hungry?"

Jaewon slowly sits back in his chair, tugging at the hem of one of Minsoo's loose shirts he borrowed (which somehow fit him perfectly). He's still as nervous as ever, albeit better than he was the first night he spent at Minsoo's. 

"I...I am hungry."

Minsoo smiles softly. Looks like he's opening up. 

"I'll make you some egg fried rice, yeah? Or some toast like me?"

"Anything is fine."

"The rice it is, then."

He gets to cooking, pulling out his utensils and ingredients, hoping he has enough leftover rice to pack for his lunch. Once he finishes, he sets the dish in front of Jaewon and hands him a set of chopsticks before seizing his own toast. Jaewon visibly tenses when the brunet sits across him at the table, but manages to relax a bit as he starts to eat.

"So, uh, Jaewon. I'm sure you already know this, but...I'm a Demon. I hope you do understand though, I'm not like most Demons. Well, what i mean is—" Minsoo stops to chuckle out a nervous laugh, "I don't really act like a Demon. I don't care about all those politics, and I don't usually try to make the Humans' lives difficult. Way I see it, we're all just trying to get along in life, y'know? Anyway, I want to ask this, because I'm not completely sure,"

Jaewon looks up at him for a split second before returning to his food.

"Are you...an Angel? Jaewon?"

The other's eyes widen, fear coming back to ruin the trust he had developed over the past week. He mustn't let it control him. If he loses himself to the fear again, if he let himself become vulnerable, especially in the company of a Demon, who knows what could happen?

Jaewon nods uncomfortably. 

"Ah, yeah? Just making sure. I kind of knew you were already, but I wanted to be certain. Anyway, um....do you have a place to live? Or go back to? Because if you don't, I was thinking that you might want to stay here for a while. You're obviously pretty harmless, you know, you're an Angel, and you...I know you're probably in a...fragile state. I won't hurt you. I know that doesn't sound very reassuring, coming from a Demon, but I'm telling the truth. If I wanted to do something to you, I would've done it already. To be honest, I've been looking for a roommate too, and I just think that if you're interested, you can live here."

"I think I'd like to." Jaewon whispers before he could realize what he was doing. He's been so, so very lonely since he first came back to reality. He had only woken up on a stranger's couch with no memory of his past life except of that incident a few days ago. Life has been really tough. It'd be nice to have someone, even if it was just one person. It'd be so nice to have a friend again.

A slight smile makes its way onto Minsoo's lips. This'll be something new, something refreshing. 

***

Living with Jaewon is...different...than what Minsoo would have expected from a roommate.

He’s a hard worker. Whether Minsoo’s at work or at home, Jaewon is always cleaning. Soon as he comes home, the house is filled with the scent of chemicals or food, depending on what Jaewon was doing at the moment. It was like having his own housewife, but Minsoo actively tried to convince Jaewon into taking a break from all this work.

Perhaps he was convinced that he had to give back, to do something in return for a place to live. He would be right to think so, Minsoo can’t just support two people on his own without a little help. The thing is, Jaewon never stops. From the moment he wakes up to the time he goes to bed, he’s doing something, even if it means reorganizing and cleaning things he’s already done. 

Minsoo watches Jaewon after dinner together one day, noticing how quickly he rushed to pick up dishes and place them in the sink, to reach for a clean rag and clean their table and throw away their trash.

“Jaewon, you don’t have to wash those, it’s fine.”

He doesn’t seem to hear him. He fills up the kitchen trash bag and ties it up, ready to throw out. 

“Jaewon,” Minsoo tries again, “Hey, I can do it. I haven’t done any chores in months, thanks to you.”

He ceases his work and suddenly looks to Minsoo, a hint of fear in his eyes. He bows a bit and gives him a quick, “I’m sorry! I didn’t know you wanted to do them.”

“No, you’re good, I don’t necessarily mind , but I just think it’s healthy for me to do some of this stuff, y’know? Now, can I help you with anything?”

“Um…Maybe you can wash the dishes?”

Minsoo nods and walks over to the sink, rolling up his sleeves and letting the warm water run. He turns again to Jaewon, “Do you usually like washing the dishes with hot water or cold? Or warm?”

“I do it with cold. I’m not used to the hot water.”

“Ah, ok.”

The two work together in silence. It was a pretty surreal feeling. Not the silence, Minsoo’s used to that, but the fact that he had someone to spend time with. Sure, they weren’t friends yet, but there was potential! Minsoo hadn’t talked to anyone in months before Jaewon arrived. He had his own friends and people to talk to, of course he did, he’s a Demon. He just hadn’t talked to them in forever. He had apologized for it, telling them that his dad died. This wasn’t a complete lie, his dad did die, it was just a lot longer than a few months ago. He hadn’t really ever known his dad. In reality, he was in one of those depressive episodes, the kind where you don’t want to do anything, don’t want to get up, don’t want to talk to anyone. On those days where it got really bad, Minsoo would feel like his bed was just opening up and swallowing him whole, no escape at all.

Now that Jaewon’s here, things are kind of different. He can’t explain it, he just...he feels like a friend, even though they barely even met a couple weeks prior. Maybe Minsoo’s stupid for thinking like this but to be honest, he’s desperately hoping that he’ll be another friend. Even Jaewon looks like he needs one, especially now.

“So, are you feeling alright about staying here? Is there anything you’d like me to change, like your blanket or something? We’re housemates, you’ve got a say in our decisions too.”

“I’m fine! Well...Actually, I would appreciate it if I could have another pillow...Only if you have an extra! You don’t need to buy new ones or give me yours, I’ll be fine!”

“Jaewon, you’re so quick to excuse yourself! It’s alright, I’ll give you an extra tonight. Remind me if I forget, will you?”

“Um, sure.”

***

Jaewon eventually learned on his own that he, in fact, was not going to get beaten if he didn’t act like Minsoo’s personal maid all the time. He started setting aside time for himself in between his cleaning periods, whether it was to scroll through his phone (That had for some reason been wiped completely at some point, so it was like completely new except for the cracks on the back and close to the lower right corner), watch TV, or read books.

Today Jaewon decided it would be a good day to go through his new social media accounts, since he couldn’t remember his old ones. In fact, he couldn’t remember anything about his old life, like a whiteboard wiped clean, with only a trace left behind to tell him that he did indeed once have a life before this. Not even a big trace, really, just himself, his clothes on his back, his phone, and the memory of that incident. It didn’t really bother him much, how could he miss something he’s never had?

Minsoo walks past Jaewon sitting on the couch with Lutz laying atop him. He looks up to lock eyes with his housemate. 

“Hey Jaewon…”

“Hi Minsoo.”

The brunet leans against the wall and asks him, “Jaewon, what happened to you? I mean, how’d you get all that blood on you and stuff? Do you remember?”

Jaewon stiffens. Oh God, not that. The memory is burned into his mind, like a background to all his thoughts.

“Oh, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, I’m just curious.”

“It’s okay, just...I’ll show you this, but I don’t really want to talk about that.”

Lutz jumps down off the couch while Jaewon slowly pulls off his shirt, a slightly ashamed look on his face. He stands up and turns around for Minsoo to see.

The sight elicits a gasp out of Minsoo. He gasps for two reasons, really. First, Jaewon revealed his wings to him, which is something that Angels only really do when they really trust a person, or feel comfortable with their surroundings. The second reason is what he saw on his back.

There was one wing, white, feathered and as normal as the pictures he had seen in the textbooks in school, but where the other one, the right one from where Minsoo was standing, was supposed to be, there was a long, healed scar. He had his wing cut off.

‘My god.’

Jaewon had one of his wings cut off.

Anytime Minsoo had ever heard of an Angel getting their wings cut off, it usually ended with them...dead. None of them could really handle that pressure, that ever present thought looming over them. They wouldn’t be a real Angel anymore. You’re not an Angel if you don’t have both your wings. Perhaps to Jaewon, who had one of his wings, this didn’t apply. Perhaps he had still that ounce of hope that he still was a part of them, despite the loss of all his powers. Minsoo hadn’t a heart to rob him of that, not even to push the subject further

“Thank you for showing me Jaewon...You can trust me.”

Jaewon nods, puts his shirt back on, and says nothing more.

***

Months pass for them, slowly, calmly. Jaewon had begun going out, exploring their little corner of Seoul. Minsoo had asked him if he remembers where he came from, but Jaewon had said no, he didn’t. Was it bad that Minsoo was happy he didn’t? Jaewon probably had a whole life before this, with people that love and miss him. What happened to them, now that he’s missing from their lives? He hadn’t heard anyone try to contact Jaewon or even anything from the local gossipers about any missing people. Maybe he was wrong, and Jaewon had no other people that would miss him. Minsoo doesn’t know how to feel about that possibility, and decides not to think of it any further.

One day, Minsoo sits alone at their kitchen table, eating a sandwich he had seen online. Peanut Butter and Jelly, they called it. Unfortunately, he realized he had a nut allergy while he was at the store and had to resort to buying only strawberry jelly. Regardless, it was pretty good, actually, very sweet, 10/10 Minsoo would probably make it again.

All of a sudden, Jaewon runs in through the front door, wind-blown hair and an excited look in his eye. He turns a corner and walks into the kitchen, panting slightly.

“Hyung!”

“Ah, Jaewon, what’s up?”

“Are you eating lunch? Sorry to interrupt. I just came to tell you that I got a job!”

‘A job?’ Minsoo wonders, ‘He doesn’t have to get a job. Well then again,  it would help with the bills.’

“You got a job?” He asks.

Jaewon nods and beams, “Yes! At a cafe called Coffee Days, about 10 minutes away on foot. I’ll be able to make money now too!”

“Ah, that’s nice. I’ll pay you a visit sometime, yeah? What’s your schedule?”

He sits down next to Minsoo and puts his keys on the table, a giant smile still on his face, “For now it’s four shifts a week, all from 8 to 2 pm for the whole week except Mondays.”

Jaewon looks like an excited puppy when he does that. All smiley and excited, almost bouncing all over the place. Adorable.

‘At least I won’t have to worry about all the bills myself anymore,’ Minsoo thinks, returning to take another bite of his sandwich.

***

Minsoo pushes open the door to Jaewon’s room, holding a broom, dustpan, and a couple other supplies. Jaewon’s at work at the moment. The perfect time to sneak in clean his room. Had he tried to while Jaewon was home, he might’ve been chased out and told that “I can do it myself!”. It’s not that he’s suspicious of Jaewon hiding something, and even if he was, it’s his own stuff, Minsoo can’t have anything to say about that. It’s just that, Jaewon doesn’t like it when Minsoo does chores that he sees as ‘his responsibility’, because it makes him feel as if he’s neglecting his work.

“Aight then, time to get to work.” He places the materials on the ground and begins sweeping. It’s better than vacuuming at least, he knows that. It’s so loud.

Jaewon’s room isn’t usually too dirty anyway. He takes good care of it, cleaning immediately after he spills or drops something and always putting away his stuff after using it. Jeez, talking like this about him makes Minsoo feel almost like a parent. It’s weird, but he likes acknowledging the things that his roommate does well. 

Minsoo sprays something onto a cloth and begins wiping the wooden surfaces, cabinets and the desk in the room. Dust can’t really be helped, just needs to be cleaned often.

Then something catches his eye. Sitting in a little bin by the foot of Jaewon’s bed, is a blue penguin. A plushie. 

“Oh...That’s cute.”

He’s never seen Jaewon bring home a plushie, or even hold it at all! What was this side of him that he’d never seen?

‘Maybe he just happened to get it and never use it? Or maybe he’s embarrassed to admit it...That’s it, I’m gonna make sure that’s not it. I’m going to get him one too!’

Minsoo grabs his keys, phone and wallet, and heads out. There’s this one store he knows, in a mall he had once been in. It’s filled with cute stuff like this. Jaewon ought to like this, if it’s his thing!

Inside this said shop was exactly what Minsoo remembered. Walls and shelves filled with stuffies, bath bombs, gifts, makeup, mostly all the kinds of things Jaewon would like. It’s perfect. Now, all he has to do is choose one!

‘Choose one...That’ll be hard. There’s a purple panda that’s really cute...and a chicken! There’s also a yellow dog...a pink monkey...and…..a green cat!’

That green cat’s giving him a good look. It’s cute. 

‘Jaewon looks like the kind of person to like that one. I like it too, anyway.’

He seizes the stuffy feline and purchases it, trying to ignore the cashier’s face going ‘aww’, as if it were cute to see him buying something like this. It’s so annoying.

Minsoo gets back home to see that Jaewon’s already back from work, making lunch.

“Yah, Jaewon…” He calls, walking up to him with the plush cat behind his back. 

“Hyung? Where’d you go?”

“Ah, I bought something for you,” Minsoo shows him the cat, smiling softly at the thought of what he’d say next, “I saw it and thought of you. You like plushies?”

Jaewon’s eyes lit up in delight, and he beamed at Minsoo, the way that makes him feel happy and proud of himself. Looks like he hit the nail right on the head.

“Minsoo….I love it! Thank you so much! It’s so cute.”

His smile is always worth it all, in the end.

***

“Jaewon, I’m back!” Minsoo calls out.

“Ah, welcome home hyung!”

“Hey, there’s a package out here. Hold on, let me bring it in.”

‘Oh, it’s here!’ Jaewon realizes and dashes to the door before Minsoo can pick up the box.

“It’s mine!” He smiles, seizing the box and running to his room.

Minsoo watches the taller male go and wonders, ‘What’s with him?’ before heading off to watch a movie with Lutz.

Jaewon sets the box carefully onto his bed, making sure to close his door. He goes to open the box before realizing he needs scissors. Agh, as forgetful as always. He runs out into the kitchen to retrieve a pair, silently but not so stealthily. Minsoo calls after him as he bounds back into his room, inquiring about what he’s doing. Jaewon doesn’t answer.

After closing his door as gently as possible, he walks up to the box waiting patiently on his comforter. Hopefully it’s what he thinks it is. It better be what he thinks it is. He had to pay extra to preorder it, since it was only released on November 19th for South Korea, an entire 3 days before Minsoo’s birthday. He slides the scissors into the opening gap and slices through the tape. Inside is exactly what he was expecting. Thank goodness it arrived in time.

The new PS5. Minsoo had seen the trailer announcing it in June, and had been so excited about it that he spent hours searching up videos speculating what this new console might be like once it was to be released. He even began expressing his joy to Jaewon, who patiently listened to him go on about how the trailer ‘sent chills up his spine’. Watching him become so animated over this console, something that Jaewon rarely sees him do, planted an idea in his head. And so he began working harder at his job, asking for extra hours in order to save enough just to buy this PS5 for his friend. 

If only Jaewon had checked the door earlier. Maybe he hadn’t heard the delivery man. Minsoo had gone out with a couple of friends for lunch for his birthday, he said, so that would have been the perfect time to wrap them. It’s fine, he’ll just have to do it now. He said he would be making Minsoo a birthday dinner, meaning he probably thinks that’s all he’s going to be doing. Oh, what a surprise he’ll be getting! It makes Jaewon smile just thinking about what his reaction might possibly look like.

Quietly opening his door, hoping that it won’t make too much noise, he runs to the hall closet and retrieves a roll of tape. Jaewon then runs back into his room, a huge smile spread across his face, and reaches under his bed to retrieve a roll of gift wrap he purchased and stored there. Time to wrap.

A few hours later, Minsoo sits at the kitchen table, rubbing his cold hands together.

“Since you cooked all this, I’ll clean up after we’re done, okay Jaewon?”

“No, no, it’s fine hyung! I can do it!”

“Jaewon, I told you, I don’t like sitting around watching you do all the work. Just cause it’s my birthday doesn’t mean I want to sit around doing nothing all night.”

The shorter male places the plates down on the table and sits in front of the brunet, preparing his chopsticks.

“Happy birthday Minsoo!”

“Thanks, Jaewon! Let’s start eating now.”

The two spend a moment in comfortable silence, beginning the dinner that Jaewon had cooked and prepared all himself. Marinated and grilled thin cut strips of sirloin steak, rice and kimchi. All for Minsoo.

“Woah, Jaewon,” Minsoo mumbles, mouth stuffed with food and still taking in more. Minsoo shovels in another clump of rice and swallows harshly before praising his friend with kind words, “This is amazing, where’d you learn to cook like this? I’m so bad at following and remembering recipes, I could never.”

“Aw, thank you hyung. I think if you tried to, you could make good food too. It’s not really that hard. Anyway, what did you do with your friends today?”

Minsoo stops to finish chewing and rests his head on his hand, looking up to the side and trying to remember all that happened throughout the day. 

“Let’s see...I went out with a few friends of mine. I’ll introduce them to you sometime, I promise. We went to this really expensive place. The food was alright, but definitely overpriced. The good thing is, they paid,” Minsoo laughs, taking another bite, “But anyway, it was pretty fun. One of my friends, Daehyun, he said he’s getting me something, he just hasn’t said what it is yet. “

“I’m glad you had fun! I’d like to meet them one day. Speaking of friends...There’s this person that works at Coffee Days with me. I think we’re friends now, he’s really nice to me and I have his phone number.”

“You think you’re friends?”

“Yeah,” Jaewon continues to pick at his food, “ He said we were now, but only because I asked. I don’t know if he just said it so I don’t feel upset or something.”

“I would think that he meant it. I don’t know him, but I just get the vibe that he’s a tough kind of person. Can I meet him one day?”

“Of course! I think he’d like to meet you! He’s very nice!”

“Yeah? What’s his name?”

Jaewon’s smile brightens, “Junsu! We call him Jun, though.”

“Where is your job, by the way?” Minsoo asks, taking a sip of water, “You said it’s called Coffee Days, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll bring you there at some point. I think you’ll like Jun. He makes great coffee.”

Minsoo nods, deciding to omit the fact that he isn’t the biggest fan of coffee. No need to ruin the moment. Jaewon finishes his plate quickly, and gets up to place it in the sink before excusing himself and running to the hall.

‘Wonder what he’s doing…’

He comes back struggling to lift a large box wrapped in patterned paper. Minsoo gapes at Jaewon as he clears the table and places it before him. 

“This is for you! Open it, I think you’ll love it.”

“Jaewon! Was this the thing outside? My god, Jaewon, you didn’t have to do this!”

Jaewon’s arms meet behind his back and he rocks back and forth on his heels, urging Minsoo to open the box with a soft, “Go on, hyung. Open it, I’m too excited to wait anymore!”

Minsoo reaches over, grinning, and ruffles his dongsaeng’s already messy hair.

“You’re the excited one? Look at this thing, It’s huge! Hand me a knife, will you?”

Jaewon reaches over to give Minsoo a knife as he tears the paper off the gift awaiting him, a bright smile never leaving his face. Jaewon must have been saving up to get him whatever’s inside, it almost made him feel guilty. From the first rip of the paper, he knows exactly what it is.

His right hand flies up to his head, a reactionary behavior he had never managed to rid himself of. 

‘A...A PS5?!’

“What the—Jaewon! You..!”

Minsoo can barely get the words out, so he resorts to embracing Jaewon, pretty much tackling him and squeezing as hard as humanly possible for such a small man. Sure, he’s small, but he’s as strong as an ox.

“Ack!”

“Thank you, Jaewon...Thank you…”

“You-You’re welcome Minsoo! I’m glad you liked it. I can help you set it up right now, if you’d like?”

Minsoo releases his friend, his eyes lighting up like a child’s on christmas morning. He lifts the PS5 box and places it onto the couch, like a baby. 

“Yes! Let’s clean the kitchen first though. Ah, I’m so excited. Thank you, seriously! I’m so happy…”

“Of course, Minsoo. You’re my friend.”

***

Contrary to what Jaewon suggested, Jun was not the nicest person Minsoo had ever met.

He had walked into Coffee Days with a smile on his face, hoping that he’d be able to possibly make a new friend by the day was over. From what Jaewon had told him, Jun was tall, sweet, and very supportive. 

Minsoo hadn’t known what to expect. Maybe a guy with a smile practically stuck on his face, dimples prominent on his cheeks and his face always red with liveliness. Or maybe even a person that wasn’t exactly the most outgoing, maybe a little shy, even antisocial, but still had a kind heart.

But this…

As soon as he walked into the cafe, Jaewon dragged him over to a figure standing in the corner, probably cleaning something, with his back facing Minsoo. 

‘Damn, he is tall.’ Minsoo had noted quite jealously, ‘Jaewon was right about that, he looks like a full twenty centimeters taller than me...and he’s got tattoos. Huh.’

He knew, the moment Junsu turned around, that he was nothing like what he imagined. There in front of him, was a surly looking Human, a frown on his face with eyebrows furrowed, knitted together almost as if it were permanent. Definitely not a friendly face.

‘Oh shit, he’s upset. Maybe he’s in a bad mood? I don’t know...he’s got a grumpy look on his face and I’m not sure if I like it.’

“Jun, this is my friend, and my roommate, Minsoo. Minsoo, this is Jun! Well, Junsu.”

Junsu takes one look at Minsoo’s short frame and huffs, turning back to his work. He mutters a short and curt, “Ok.”

‘Rude…’

Jaewon taps Minsoo’s shoulder, “I’m going to go change real quick. You can order something, if you like!”

He leaves the two standing there. Jun watches Minsoo expectantly, crossed arms and unamused expression intimidating the other.

“So what do you want?” Jun stiffly asks. Minsoo takes a look at the menu. Shit, what does he do? He doesn’t want coffee, not right now…

“Hurry up, will you? I don’t have all day.”

‘What the hell?’

“No, I’m good. Thanks.” Minsoo replies, glaring at the barista with as much heat as he could muster. He goes to sit at a table somewhere farther away from the counter, miffed at how he’s been treated. He’s not normally a very picky person, but who the hell did he think he is? If it weren’t for Jaewon being friends with Jun, Minsoo would have chewed him out.

He sits and watches from afar as Jaewon walks out of the changing room to begin his shift. He smiles, waving at Minsoo from where he is.

“Minsoo! You don’t want anything?”

“No thanks, I’m fine!”

The brunet rests his face on one hand, lazily watching the two baristas interact. Junsu acts differently with Jaewon. Perhaps this is where he got this almost-false impression of him. He appears to be kind to the other male, always with a soft smile on his face. He moves slower, and has the most tender tone of voice when addressing him. 

Minsoo looks away from them, redirecting his attention to the outside world.

‘Whatever. I don’t like him, but he seems trustworthy. I’ll have to test him before I go though, just to make sure. I don’t want him hurting Jaewon.’

***

“I’m going to go now, Jaewon-ah. See you at home.”

“See you, hyung! Have a nice day!” Jaewon giggles, jokingly using his customer voice to say goodbye to his friend.

Minsoo walks out into the street. He said goodbye, but his job isn’t over yet. He makes his way to the back of Coffee Days and waits in the dark, crouching silently. He doesn’t have to stay there longer than a few minutes, as Junsu walks out bearing a couple bags of trash to throw out. Perfect.

“Hey.”

Jun jumps a bit, eyes widening and searching his surroundings for the voice’s source. He seems to be the kind of guy that knows what to do in dangerous situations. That could be an asset or danger, depending on whether this guy was a threat or not. Jaewon had said he was nice, but Minsoo isn’t fully convinced. Of course he isn’t, he’s always overly paranoid about things like this, tiny things that really bear no significance, but count ten times more to him. Just a curse, he guesses.

“Wha—Hey, what the fuck? What are you still doing here?”

Minsoo hesitates. Should he try to talk to him straight or use his ability?

‘Agh, I hate using my abilities, but this guy won’t take me seriously if I don’t.’

He makes eye contact with Junsu, repeating the same process he’s always used growing up. 

Minsoo had always been an expert Demon, if that makes sense. He had harnessed his powers young, and practiced them almost religiously. He had only one goal as a kid: to be better than his big brother Minsung. How would he achieve that? By mastering the uses of his innate talents and applying them in the appropriate situations as perfectly as he can, every single time. Sooner or later, this would give his parents something to brag about, right? No. He hadn’t known back then that Demons were the most shameful of them all, that his abilities should’ve been hidden, not practiced. He ended up wasting his childhood on chasing after something that never really existed. No matter though, that was the past.

The brunet  begins. He looks deep into Junsu’s dark, brown eyes, searching, grasping. He’s got to grab his focus, release his artificial fear and let it permeate his victim’s soul. Somehow, even expert Minsoo was unable to Intimidate Jun.

“You ever hurt Jaewon, you’re dead, understand?” Minsoo growls, not yet realizing that Jun wasn’t fazed by his attempt.

Junsu turns away from him, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. 

“That’s not going to work on me, you know?”

‘Wait what the fuck?’

“I’m not a Demon, but I’ve had Demon parents. They’ve done that old trick to me so many times that I can counter it. It’s not going to work on me.”

Minsoo stops and stares at him, confused and slightly upset by this revelation. Not going to work? On this piece of shit? No damn way.

“I don’t care. I don’t want you even touching him. I won’t make you stay away from him, because you’re his friend,” Minsoo growls, “But you better not even think about it.”

Jun stops to look at him, and then laughs, “You’re so convinced that I’d hurt him that you don’t even stop to consider that it’s the last thing I’d ever want to do.”

Minsooo’s speechless.

“I think we can agree on something.” Junsu continues, “As long as Jaewon isn’t hurt by either of us, we’re fine. That's alright with you?”

“Wha—either of us?! What are you trying to say?!”

Junsu glares at him, “I’m saying, you’re a Demon. I don’t know if you have good intentions, and neither does he. I’ll be watching you, and you can do the same for me, if you really care.”

The taller man turns on his heel and walks away. 

‘That—! Ugh...at least he seems trustworthy now. I don’t think he’ll be a threat. Might as well leave now then, before Jaewon figures out that I’m still here.’

Minsoo creeps out of the alley and heads to work. He’s already going to be late, so why rush?

***

It’s Saturday, the day that both Minsoo and Jaewon have off time from work. 

Minsoo walks up behind the couch and leans on it lazily, finding himself looking around to random objects around him. Even after knowing Jaewon this long, doing this like this for some reason still made him feel nervous.

“Jaewon-ah,” He blurts, inserting himself into quite an uncomfortable situation from such a sudden conversation he initiated, “You like aquariums, right?”

“Yes, I love them! Why?” He looks up at him innocently.

“Well...I got two entrance ticket coupons. You wanna go today?”

Of course, he didn’t actually get coupons, the aquarium they went to doesn’t accept coupons. But why worry him about the price? It’s just a casual trip to the aquarium. Minsoo knows that Jaewon loves going there, he’s talked about the time he went with Junsu before, how nice it is to see all the fishes.

Jaewon’s eyes light up, excited and energetic. “I’d really like to!” They seem to say, even if all he got in response was a quick nod and a smile. It’s enough to tell him that Jaewon would absolutely love to go.

It’s only when they actually get inside the place that Minsoo quickly realizes saying that he’d ‘love to’ is an understatement. Jaewon’s ecstatic, practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. He’s all over the place, freaking out about the seahorses and their babies and cooing and whispering adoring words about the otters floating on their backs. 

Shit, even Jaewon kind of reminds him of an otter.

“Yah, you wanna get food after this?”

“Sure!”

Minsoo nods, absently trailing along behind the other male, “What do you wanna get?”

“Hmm...Anything but hamburgers, I don’t want fast food.”

“Aight.”

They make their way around the lot, walking by the fish tanks, looking at the kelp, and spending half an hour with the sharks. Minsoo doesn’t really mind, as long as Jaewon’s feeling happy. It’s what he got those tickets for, anyway.

Walking into the outdoor area, something catches Minsoo’s eye. Of course, being the absolute child he is sometimes, it was bound to draw him in. A Manta ray petting pool. Hell yes.

He walks over to the pool and shoulders his way in through all the toddlers gathered there.

‘Two Fingers Only!’ The sign beside him says. Who is he to disobey them? Two fingers it is. He submerges these digits in the water, waiting for a ray to come gliding by him. Turns out he’d be waiting a while, as the only ray close to him was one that was right ahead, just out of reach. 

The ray flicks one of its ‘wings’ in a fluid motion, like a wave. Almost like it was teasing him. You might know how competitive Minsoo is. He leans over the faux landscape rocks marking the border of the pool, balancing and stretching on one foot, his arm pushing forwards to reach the animal waiting there.

Unfortunately, he severely misjudged how slippery the floor was. His foot slides and forward he lunges, eyes widening and hands fumbling to stop himself from falling in. Then a hand grabs the back of his hood. Oh, thank goodness. Who’s the savior? Minsoo turns around to see.

It’s Jaewon. 

“Be careful, hyung! If you fall in, you’ll stress out the rays!”

Minsoo smiles in relief. “That’s what you’re worried about? But thank you Jaewon.”

***

Sometime in the middle of January, two months after their aquarium trip, Minsoo found himself witnessing Jaewon in one of his most vulnerable moments yet. Luckily, he was there to help him.

He had arrived home from work, maybe around 7 pm as he stepped into their apartment. The lights were off, and nobody was in the kitchen or the living room.

“Jaewon?” Minsoo called out to him as he walked into the hall, searching, “Where’d ya go?”

His friend’s bedroom light was on. He must be in there

“Jaewon.” The brunet walks into the room, looking around for the other man. Lo and behold, Jaewon is there. His head is down, resting on his arms on his desk. He’s bent over a sheet of paper, probably a journal or sketchbook. 

‘Ah, well that doesn’t look comfortable.’

At first glance, nothing seemed to be out of place, but once Minsoo focused his gaze on the sleeping male, he noticed something peculiar.

Jaewon’s frowning, his eyebrows are furrowed, and his hands are clenched. His breath comes in short, sharp huffs, uneven and staggered. He lets out a quiet whimper, just slightly. If Minsoo hadn’t been paying attention, he'd have missed it. Jaewon might be having a nightmare…

He decides to wake him up.

“Jaewon? Hey, you ok?” Minsoo asks the sleeping man, gently shaking him to consciousness.

Jaewon responds slowly, looking around and wondering what happened. Then he remembers. Minsoo’s there, concern evident in his eyes. 

“H...Hyung?”

‘He’s shaking,’ Minsoo notes, ‘Must have been a nightmare. Agh, he looks upset, what do I do?’

“Um, Jaewon, I’ll be right back. I’ll get you some tea.”

“O-Ok.”

Minsoo leaves the room, quickly making his way to the kitchen to make some tea. He had some leftover mint, right? Jaewon loves mint tea. He boils some water and places the leaves in the pot. 

After a good five minutes, minsoo removes the leaf and places it in the trash can. He pours the drink into a mug and brings it back to Jaewoon’s room.

Jaewon’s on his bed now, sitting up with blankets wrapped around him. If he were an animal, Minsoo would’ve called him cute. What kind of animal would Jaewon be? Maybe a cat, maybe an otter. He’d be interested to find out.

He hands the sitting man his tea and takes the desk chair.

“Is that tea alright, Jaewon?”

“Yeah, it’s good. Thanks hyung. I think i’m going to go to bed again when i finish this. I’m feeling sleepy.”

Jaewon brings the mug up to his lips and takes a long sip before gulping most of the remainder. He must’ve been really thirsty.

“Maybe I’ll tell you a story,” Minsoo laughs, rubbing his cold hands together, hopefully easing the numbness, “Like a bedtime story. To help you fall asleep again. That alright with ya?”

Jaewon nods, taking the finishing sip from his mug and placing it down on his nightstand. There’s a warm, comforting feely inside him, and it’s best he tries sleeping now before it goes away and he ends up spending all night awake, thinking.

“Ok then,”

Minsoo pauses. What does he say now? He hadn’t thought of anything to tell Jaewon. He searches his brain for anything to talk about, but nothing comes to mind.

‘Ah, maybe…’ His eyes land on the cat plushie he had purchased for Jaewon. Hmm.

“So...One time, when I was 12 years old, I think, I found a cat. It was in a little bread bag, and it was real tiny, like I could hold it in one hand. Well, not when I was twelve, but now I could. It was really cold out, and the cat looked like it was shivering. It was really skinny too, and I felt bad. I wanted to take it home, but...my parents don’t like cats. So I snuck it in.”

Jaewon laughs softly, laying his head down on his pillow and closing his eyes. Minsoo smiles at him. He really is like a cat, isn’t he?

“Well, I brought it home, and I...I hid it in my room for about a week. You know, feeding it leftover stuff from dinner. They used to give me an allowance, so I went to the store on the second day and bought as many cans of cat food that I could fit in my backpack, some toys, and even a box of those cat pee pad things,” Minsoo scratches his ear. Ah, those memories of being a kid.

“I said it was for my friend, that he wanted me to get it for him for a project or something.They eventually found out when my mom tried to clean my room and found a cat running around. Pretty boring story, I know but anyway...that was my first ever pet. I’m not really even a cat person, but all the pets i’ve ever had were cats. I mean, that cat and Lutz are the only pets I’ve had. I didn’t even get to name it before we gave it away. You ever had a pet, Jaewon? Oh wait—”

Minsoo turns to look at Jaewon, hoping he hadn’t upset him anew by mentioning the life he couldn’t remember. Fortunately, Jaewon was already knocked out again, almost like a character in a movie.

‘Guess I’m that good of a storyteller, huh?’ Minsoo chuckles to himself before leaving Jaewon’s room for a shower.

***

Weeks pass. It’s March now. The days have been slow with them, peaceful, but slow. Minsoo had gotten a raise in February, and Coffee Days has been doing loads better than it was before. The customers flood in every day (much to Jun’s annoyance) and Jaewon was even able to make friends with the manager, Nari, and a couple of regular customers, Youngjoon and Minyoung. Life was good.

Minsoo had decided to take Jaewon out for a walk somewhere, as a little celebration for his success and new friendships. “It’s a surprise.” He had said when Jaewon asked him where they were going.

If only he had known.

Minsoo had Jaewon close his eyes the entire way, just to preserve the surprise. He didn’t know whether Jaewon had ever been there before, but even if he had, he was sure it’d be an amazing surprise for him. It was somewhere that Humans couldn’t get to, as it was only accessible by those with supernatural powers. All you have to do is transfer your energy to your mind and picture the place. Only people who’ve ever been there know what it truly feels like to be there, so even if you see a photo of it, you won’t be able to get there. 

You may wonder, if what you have to do is picture it and you’re there, how did Minsoo and Jaewon get there together? And how did Jaewon not immediately figure out where they were going? Well, you see, Minsoo had driven their car out into the middle of nowhere, asking Jaewon to keep his eyes closed the entire time, before transferring his energy and taking the entire car including Jaewon with him. Jaewon had never felt a thing.

Minsoo gets out of the car and walks around to the passenger side in the backseat. He opens the door, and taps a Jaewon’s shoulder.

“Jaewon-ah, we’re here. Come on.”

He leads the other out of the car and closes the door behind him. It’s cold out, sure, but it’s a perfect day to be where they are. The sun shines down on them warmly, the sunlight bringing life to the scene, to their faces. 

Jaewon opens his eyes. His pupils shrink as he takes in his new surroundings. This place seems familiar.

“I’m technically not supposed to be here,” Minsoo chuckles, walking out into the vast fields of the Angel’s Meadow, extending an arm to Jaewon, “But a friend of mine found a way in a little while ago and brought me here. You might’ve been here before, but I wouldn’t know. Isn’t it amazing around here?”

Jaewon doesn’t respond. He tries to keep up his pace with Minsoo, who begins running into the waist high grass. He knew this place looked awfully familiar. Oh my God.

He slows down. He’s losing focus. Oh my God.

“Jaewon, you alright?”

No response. 

His eyes search before he can stop it and they find it. The tree where he lost part of himself to the worst of the world. A single beech tree, towering over him. The moon peeks through to him, even in the middle of the day. He can’t breathe anymore.

Jaewon falls to his knees, Minsoo’s calling to him falling on deaf ears. God, that night was so, so cold. It’s so cold.

Minsoo runs over to him, his blood turned to ice. Something’s wrong with Jaewon. Something’s wrong and it’s all his fault. 

“Jaewon! Jaewon!”

He runs to his side. He’s not responding. Minsoo’s got no choice. He places a cold hand over Jaewon’s eyes and focuses. He’s done this plenty of times before, back when he was a kid that hated listening to people’s crap. What’s the fastest way of making people shut up? Making them fall asleep. In this case, it’s not shutting up that he wants. If Jaewon’s not awake, he won’t be suffering.

Jaewon falls limp in Minsoo’s arms. 

‘Ok, he’s unconscious now. Oh my God, what the hell happened? I didn’t mean to...I didn’t want this…’

He throws the taller male over his shoulder as gently as he can. He’s tall, so he can’t carry him in his arms, and piggyback riding makes him nervous. This is the best option. Minsoo runs as fast as his legs will take him back to the car, opens the door, and places Jaewon in. If he’s lucky, Jaewon won’t remember much of this, maybe he won’t be upset because his hyung used his Demon ability on him. He’ll be alright, Minsoo knows. 

The Angel’s meadow must be the place Jaewon had his wing cut off. Or maybe it looks like the place it happened. Eventually, Minsoo would want to ask Jaewon just what happened to him, but that’s for another day.

***

It’s a cold day, a Monday evening right after Minsoo’s shift is over. He’s shivering, pulling his coat closer to him and rubbing his arms as he walks home.

“God it’s fucking freezing.”

As he races past a corner, he hears a peculiar sound. A high pitched ringing. More precisely, a whine. Out of nowhere a baby golden retriever, dirty and wagging a stubby tail, comes running.

Minsoo jumps. “What the—Damn...that’s a cute dog. What’s up, dog?”

The dog yips once, still wagging his tail as hard as ever. Even with such an amount of energy, Minsoo can tell it’s trembling from the cold.

“You don’t look injured...Just cold. Well, I’m sorry but I can’t help you with that, I have to get home.”

Minsoo turns away from the dog and marches home. He’s got no time for dogs! Jaewon’s expecting him back soon.

For as long as it takes to walk another block, he keeps this mindset. That is, until he notices the puppy still following him, not far along behind. His heart melts. Sure, he’s in a bit of a situation with this dog that just won’t stop following him, but does he really care? That’s a cute ass dog!

“...”

Minsoo watches the pup sit in front of him, staring up at him with those big, round eyes. 

“...Fuck it, you’re coming with me.”

He seizes the dog, hugging it to his chest and wrapping it under his coat. Like hell he’s going to leave it out here. 

At home, Jaewon wanders around the house, wondering what to do. It’s another day off, and he’s feeling kind of slow, kind of bored. Where’s Minsoo? It’s already 7 pm and he’s not home yet. 

Out of nowhere, the door bursts open, and Jaewon jumps. Minsoo’s home.

“Jaewon.” He pants.

“Minsoo! What’s up?”

“I brought someone home,” He coughs, releasing his coat that he had clutched tightly against his chest. Out comes a dog, a little golden retriever puppy. The beast wags its tail, so fast it practically seems to propel it across the floor, sniffing around and chasing Lutz around the house.

“Minsoo…”

“I couldn’t just leave it! It was cold, and shivering, and—!”

Jaewon sighs, “We can’t keep it. We should take it to a shelter tomorrow.”

He’s right, Minsoo knows. They’ve already got a cat, and can’t really afford to take care of much more. Besides, despite the fact that Minsoo greatly prefers dogs, he hasn’t the slightest idea on how to care for one. Who is he to mistreat a dog purely because he himself is ignorant and lazy? It’s for the best of all of them, even if he doesn’t like it.

But what would they do at the shelter? Would they keep it in a cage and let it starve, like they did in those commercials? That’s gotta be illegal. He can’t just leave it at a shelter.

A memory comes to mind. Once, a little while ago, a friend of his had been talking about how much they wanted to get a new dog. She hasn’t gotten to searching for any adoption services yet either. Hm.

“Not a shelter, no, I know exactly who to take it to! Come on, dog, let’s go!”

“Wait, Minsoo!”

Before Jaewon can say a thing, Minsoo is out the door, dog in his arms and an idea in his mind. If this works, he’ll be able to ensure the dog gets a good home, and visit it when he wants! Perfect!

Jaewon contently watches as Minsoo runs down the street. He’s a little odd, but he’s fun.

***

Minsoo grabs his keys, wallet, and phone and stuff them into his hoodie pocket. He goes into the hall and peeks into Jaewon’s room. Jaewon’s got his glasses on, and he’s reading a book.

“Jaewon, are you busy today?”

“No, not really. Why?”

Minsoo smiles at him, “Well, I’m going out to meet my friends. Just wondering if you’d like to come with?”

Jaewon closes his book and slides his glasses off before placing them on his desk.

“Sure! I’d love to meet them.”

The two get into the car and drive off to where Minsoo says they’re planning to meet. Mom’s Touch, one of Jaewon’s favorite fast food places, as Minsoo had learned from the one time he took him there. Ever since then, he had been meaning to do it again, but never remembered to.

Outside of Mom’s Touch stand three people. A tall, black haired young man, a slightly shorter but still ‘far-taller-than-Minsoo’ brunette, and another male, about 10 cm taller than Jaewon himself, one with dyed blond hair.

“Hey, whats up? Jaewon, this is Daehyun, Yoonhee, and Hanbin. And this is Jaewon, he’s my roomma—What?”

Two of his friends, Daehyun and Yoonhee, were looking straight behind him and Jaewon with widened eyes, almost concerned. Hanbin, on the other hand, looked surprised, almost shocked. Minsoo turned to see Jaewon frozen in fear, like deer in headlights.

“Ay, Minsoo!” Hanbin sneers, “Where’d you find yourself an Angel? And this one in particular! Why if it isn’t the little brat from last year! I remember you.”

Jaewon doesn’t respond. The memory comes back and hits him like a bus. He was there. He knows his name now. He’s back.

Minsoo quickly connects the dots. He had only known Han bin for a few months...there’s no limit to what he might have done. Could he be…? There’s no way he isn’t. The connection is too strong. Hanbin must have been one of those, if not the one, responsible for Jaewon’s loss. 

“Hanbin...What the hell is this?” Minsoo growls, hand curling into a fist.

The taller male smiles cheekily at him and crosses his arms, “Me and a couple old friends were out drinking once last year, and we somehow got into the Angel’s Meadow. This little guy over here was sitting under a tree or some shit. With his wings out! I mean, he was just asking for it by then, so we—”

Minsoo can’t resist it anymore. He decks him, right in the middle of his sentence. Remember when I said that he’s as strong as an ox? It wasn’t a lie. Hanbin had permanently lost a tooth after that incident. He fell to the ground, a hand flying up to touch his sore lips.

“I’ll text you guys later,” Minsoo says to his other two friends, stunned and silent in the corner, “We gotta go.”

He seizes Jaewon’s wrist and drags him back to their car. It’s a shame they have to miss out on an outing, but he is more important than that. Jaewon’s wellbeing is far more important than any old lunch with friends.

The two make it into the car, A soft, concerned expression on Minsoo’s face while a blank one masks any emotion on Jaewon’s. His hyung stays silent for most of the ride back home until Minsoo realizes he hadn't even asked Jaewon how he felt before they left. What if it really didn't affect him, and Minsoo just ruined his day by punching Hanbin? His cheeks flush with embarrassment from the thought.

"Yah, Jaewon...You feeling alright? I'm sorry I did that..."

He nods simply and says, "Yeah. I'm okay, just a little shocked."

"A-Ah, ok."

'Looks like he won't talk right now. Either he's really fine and I'm overreacting, or he's not okay and just trying to hide it. I'll find out either way. Just gotta wait 'til we get home...'

Jaewon exits the car and walks into the house first, swiftly and quietly. God, it felt almost like Minsoo was dealing with a woman again, like back with his ex-girlfriends that would never tell him what was wrong. Usually he'd just let it go and ignore them, but...it feels different with Jaewon. 

He looks terrible, walking in. Red eyes glistening and straining themselves, obviously trying to keep from breaking into tears. Why? Why must he refuse to tell Minsoo so badly?

"Jaewon," Minsoo takes his arm before he can get to his room, not even locking the front door yet, " You can talk to me. I'm here for ya."

He pauses and doesn't dare look at his hyung. Can't be vulnerable, not in front of a Demon, never again in front of a Demon. But it's Minsoo , he's not just some Demon, he's one of Jaewon's best friends. Minsoo would never take advantage of him. Minsoo would never do anything like that. Not to him. He turns around to face hyung.

"I..."

And then he wraps his arms around him. Minsoo envelops his friend in a warm, comforting embrace. It's been so, so damn long since he's been able to remember this kind of warmth. Almost like that of a mother's, protecting and inviting. God it's been so long ...

Jaewon sniffles a bit, shyly and tentatively burying his head in Minsoo's chest, bowing his head accordingly. There was an aching sensation within him, yearning for someone to care, to stroke his hair and say, "It'll be alright." How lucky he was, to have someone here for him now.

“You ok?” Minsoo asks, a soft and gentle apprehensiveness in his voice.

“Yeah, I’m fine...Thank you hyung.”

“Always, Jaewon.”

***

Walking into Coffee Days, Jaewon yawns and stretches. It’s a good day for him, his birthday, the fifth of May. He had woken up to a note from Minsoo telling him that he’d gone to work early to make time in the afternoon, so he skipped breakfast and headed straight to the coffee temple a good half hour early.

There’s only Nari and Jun present in the early morning, as usual. They’re the only ones that really care about the coffee temple besides Jaewon, anyway. 

First thing that Nari says to greet him is a cheerful “Happy birthday, Jaewon!” to which he replies with a smile and, “Aww, thank you Nuna!”

Nari nods happily and makes her way outside, dragging along the usual signs he puts out, listing all the drinks they sell. Might as well get changed already.

He walks into the changing room and hastily pulls off his shirt, hoping that nobody would walk in while it’s off. Then again, there’s no one really here at the moment.

Of course, he just had to jinx it. Jun marches in, quickly looking around and wiping wet hands on the rag he usually drapes over his shoulder. Jaewon jumps and scrambles to pull on the shirt, hoping that he’s in the clear. Did Jun see?

“You don’t have to hide it from me, I’ve seen it before,” Junsu clears his throat, turning away from Jaewon and opening his locker, “I know you’re an Angel. It’s ok. I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

Jaewon relaxes a bit. He knows he’s not lying...Jun would never hurt him. He can tell. He’s one of the Angels that can sense when a person speaks absolute truths

“Anyway, that’s not what’s important right now, I…” Jun spins around suddenly to walk over to him and hand him a plastic bag. 

 “Happy Birthday” He mumbles, flushing slightly and leaving the changing room to go begin working.

Curious as to what’s inside the bag, Jaewon takes a peek. It’s something white. He takes it out.

A big, white hoodie, a size larger than what Jaewon usually wore. He beams, realizing that Jun knew exactly what kind of thing Jaewon would want for his birthday, and slips the hoodie on. It’s simple, no design, but extremely comfortable. He loves it.

Jaewon takes the hoodie off and folds it carefully to place in his locker with his other stuff. Once it’s safely tucked away, the excitement takes over and he races out to talk to Junsu.

“Jun! Thank you for the gift, I really love it!”

The taller male takes a second to look at him, his eyes widened a fraction. He smiles, turning back to his work and ruffling Jaewon’s hair.

“...Good.”

***

Over a months time and many, many meetups between them, Minsoo’s friend group had become much more familiar with Jaewon. They had never mentioned what happened a month before, nor did they ever converse or contact Hanbin ever again. They were a group of four now, consisting of Minsoo, Jaewon, Daehyun and Yoonhee. Yoonhee and Daehyun, fortunately, were open minded people, understanding and unafraid to learn more about others.

They were also strictly Human. A big fish to tackle, when the time would come. Minsoo was sure he could trust them with this knowledge as he had known them for years, but with Jaewon? You could say, more or less, that Jaewon was like a younger brother to Minsoo, with Minsoo being an older brother that treats the younger like their own child. He was extremely protective over him, hence the overwhelming force of the blow he had delivered to Hanbin that day.

No one hurts Jaewon. Not on his watch.

Minsoo looks around at the scene around him, taking in slow, deep breaths of fresh air. Daehyun, wearing a straw hat and his signature thin rimmed glasses (that he doesn’t even really need, to be honest) and laughing harder than he usually does. Yoonhee, long light brown hair pulled up into a ponytail, a shining smile highlighting her face and a bit of frosting smeared on her cheek. Jaewon, adorable as always, giggling and beaming just as bright as he does when Minsoo tells a good joke. It warms his heart, how far he’s come from the first time they met.

It’s Jaewon’s first birthday with Minsoo. The sun’s exceptionally bright today, exquisitely fresh and lively. Minsoo had gathered his two friends a couple months prior to plan out this outing for him, since their first ever one was ruined by he-who-must-not-be-named.

They had decided to make a picnic for him, at a local park he often enjoyed going to, bringing a homemade cake and fast food from Jaewon’s favorite chicken place. It’s mostly empty today, except for the few kids and their parents that come passing through to get to the playground.

What a perfect, peaceful day.

Yoonhee wipes the frosting from her face and licks it off her hand. “Yah, Jaewon, you said you had another friend you were with earlier today? Why didn’t you invite him?”

“Ah, you mean Jun? I was working my shift with him at Coffee Days today. He got me a hoodie,” Jaewon smiles, recalling what had happened earlier that day, “ He’s got more work to do, and...he doesn’t really like coming out to these kinds of things.

Daehyun serves himself another piece of their cake, and with a semi full mouth interjects, “I know his type. He’s a bit of a loner, isn’t he? That’s ok though, we all have our own situations, we can’t judge.”

The four eat in silence, appreciating the environment and distant barking of a dog, the happy screaming of children on the playground and concerned parents calling after them to ‘slow down’.

“Um...by the way, You guys? We haven't talked about this with you before but,” Yoonhee looks at Jaewon and Minsoo, and then back down at her plate, “Daehyun and I were talking about...Your situation. Minsoo, you and Hanbin are Demons, right? And Jaewon’s an Angel?”

Minsoo freezes in the middle of bringing his spoon to his mouth. Damn, it had to happen at some point, but why today?

“Yeah, why?”

“Well,” Yoonhee begins, but then gives up and turns to Daehyun. Daehyun, sensing her discomfort, picks up right where she left off, “We were saying that we’d never tell anybody about it. You can trust us. We know what happens when you get exposed...especially Angels…”

Jaewon seems to be pretending he’s not listening. He tenses up in the slightest way when ‘Angels’ are mentioned. Minsoo rubs his shoulder comfortingly. The last thing he’d want is for Jaewon to start feeling uncomfortable around his friends. They’re great people, they would never do anything to harm either of them. Minsoo knows that for a fact, because if they ever did they’d know what to expect.

“It’s fine. I trust you guys.”

Jaewon relaxes, hearing these words. He’s only known them a month but…If Minsoo trusts them, if they’ve been friends for so long, he’d be safe. He smiles and turns to Minsoo, happiness evident in his eyes. ‘Thank you’, he mouths to him. Minsoo nods in return.

“Anyway, Jaewon, do you drink? I know this really good bar that Minsoo and I go to all the time, it’s just a couple blocks away. They serve the best long island iced teas there, I love them. Daehyun doesn’t like going there much though, he’s like an old man, says it’s too loud.”

“I am not! I just don’t like when music starts making you vibrate, you know? It is too loud, and it feels weird. Anyway, yeah, Jaewon do you drink?”

“I don’t drink a lot, but sometimes it’s fun to! At parties and stuff.”

Minsoo smiles, closing his eyes and leaning back to bask in the warmth of the spring sun. What a perfect day it is.

***

Walking into the hallway, Minsoo puts on a sweater and calls, “Jaewon!”

“Yeah, hyung?”

“Do you want to go to Yoonhee’s place with me? I’m going to go see her dog.”

Jaewon’s a big fan of animals, so Minsoo’s sure that he’ll love to go too,  why not offer? As expected, his eyes light up and he begins getting ready

“Sure!”

The two make it into the car and drive over to Yoonhee’s, blasting Hi-LITE’s newest song on the way. Yoonhee just happens to be outside her home when they arrive, runs over.

“Hey, you guys! Come on.”

They follow her beyond the gate and into the home, laughing happily, excitedly.

“Where’s your boyfriend, Yoonhee? He’s not home?”

“Nah, he’s at work right now. Says he’s gonna try to buy us a cat just to prove that they’re better.”

Minsoo and Yoonhee jokingly scoff at the thought, before a series of excited barking interrupts them. That must be the dog!

A tiny yorkshire terrier suddenly appears out of nowhere and comes running up the three, yelping and jumping for joy. It’s the same dog that Minsoo had brought home once a while ago! Jaewon instantly melts for the dog, kneeling down to greet her. Pebbles jumps up a bit onto his lap dancing, spinning and turning, occasionally taking a run around the house and picking up toys to bring over to play tug-of-war with.

“She’s a real friendly dog,” Yoonhee smirks, placing a cup in a cupboard.

“What’s her name?”

“Pebbles. My boyfriend came up with that. Isn’t it cute? You two go sit on the couch, put on something.”

Minsoo gladly does as she says with Jaewon following happily from behind. They sit together on the couch, Jaewon letting Pebbles lay on his lap while Minsoo puts on a drama he mentioned he loved. Apparently, Yoonhee loves it too, as she jumps up and over the couch to watch it with him. 

Jaewon, meanwhile, watches Pebbles stretch as he scratches a certain part of her belly. She’s so soft. Eventually, his eyes fall closed and he drifts off into a peaceful state of sleep, for about an hour or so until Minsoo wakes him up again.

***

Walking to and from work is usually the worst part of the day to Jaewon. It makes him nervous, with all the leering stares as he makes his commute. He may be a man, but it doesn’t mean he’s not constantly uncomfortable with all the people outside. Maybe it’s all in his mind, just because of what had happened a full year ago. Why isn’t he over that by now? It’s been forever. 

‘I wonder what my life was like back then. ’ He wonders, stopping to look into a shop’s window. A blouse on a mannequin there, loose and peach pink, ‘It looks comfortable...Maybe I can come back to get it later after work. Shoot, work! I might be late today…’

“Hey there.” A voice interrupts him. Jaewon jumps, startled. Who’s this?

Oh God.

A familiar blond, much taller and much larger than Jaewon himself, plants his palm against the store wall, trapping the smaller male against the wall.

“So what are you doing around here? Shopping?”

“N-No...Please get off.”

“Won’t you buy that shirt,” Hanbin points to the peach blouse Jaewon was just looking at, smirking nastily, “And wear it for me? C’mon, you’d look hot in it. Or do you want something even better? I’d get it for you. Come on, Angel, we never really did go that far last time, did we?”

He begins leaning in, his face nearing Jaewon’s slowly, like a lion descending on prey. 

“Stop!”

“Hey. Why don’t you leave him alone, asshole?”

Hanbin hurries to push himself off Jaewon and whips his head around, looking to the side at whoever was standing there, almost as if saying ‘Who dare disrupt me?’. The ‘disruptor’ in fact wasn’t as Hanbin had expected him to look like. It was a tall man with dark black hair and thin, vulpine eyes, a sneer on his face. He kind of looked like Jun, in Jaewon’s opinion. Maybe it was just the hair, or the height, or the protective, defensive ambiance surrounding him.

“You tryna start something? Hanbin growls, walking up to Dongho who somehow, with his towering stature, still was shorter than the blond.

“Go the fuck home, before I get the cops on your ass. I know who you are.”

This seems to tame him. He huffs and walks away, not even bothering to threaten Jaewon again. Thankfully, because he already started feeling sick to his stomach just being within Hanbin’s presence. 

Once the blond leaves, the dark haired man turns to him and tells him, “Be careful out here. There’s a lot of creeps around, like that guy. Maybe take a car if you can.”

He leaves, just as Jaewon calls after him with a “Thank you!”. Jaewon sighs and begins the rest of his walk to Coffee Days. 

‘I don’t think I want to get that shirt anymore…’

***

“Jaewon.” Jun calls, hanging up his apron and wiping his hands on it, “I just took that guy’s order, the guy with the black hair. He wants a cortado, normal. Cover for me, will you? I gotta do something, I’ll be right back.”

“Ok! How long will you be gone?”

“Two hours. I’m going to do some covering of my own, for a friend. He works at a tattoo parlour.”

“Tattoos? You know how to tattoo?”

Jun smiles at him slightly and buttons up his shirt, “Yeah, my friend and I did it for each other. He did mine, and I did his.”

“That’s cool! Good luck!” Jaewon smiles. Jun’s cheeks tint a light pink and he mumbles a “Thanks.” before leaving. 

‘Now to get to that drink…’ He remembers, and pulls out the milk. Just as he’s making it, he hears someone come up to the counter and ask, “Is my drink ready yet? I asked for the cortado.”

‘That voice sounds familiar. But from where?’

“Yes, sir! I’m just finishing up now.” Jaewon carefully transports the cup over to the order counter.

“Here’s your—hey, do I know you?”

The taller man seemed to recognize Jaewon too. Dark hair, towering stature, vulpine eyes? It’s that guy that saved Jaewon the other day.

“Yeah, I remember you. I stopped that blond guy from doing anything to you.”

“So you’re named,” Jaewon pauses to check the order screen, "Dongho?”

Dongho nods in confirmation, “Yeah. What’s your name? Now that you already know me.” He asks, not noticing that Jaewon had a name tag on.

“It’s Jaewon.”

“Jaewon? Nice. I’ll see you around, Jaewon.” He turns to leave, just as the shorter male notices Jun coming back in. 

Raising an eyebrow, he walks into the break room to grab his wallet and asks, “You know him?”

Jaewon nods. Sensing that his friend desired more of an explanation, he continued, “He helped me out when some creepy guy was trying to do something a few days ago.”

“Oh,” Jun goes back to gather the rest of his forgotten things, “That’s good. Stay safe, Jaewon.”

He leaves, and the younger man smiles at his retreating form. He’s so nice to him. 

***

Minsoo stares, unbreakable eye contact between them. Dark eyes, mysterious eyes. Aren’t the eyes supposed to be the window to the soul? Well, these eyes sure aren’t any open windows. Not at all. It’s like looking into a strange abyss, one you can’t define, can’t focus on. Too dark to function, honestly.

Either way, he shouldn’t be losing himself in anyone’s eyes. That’s how people get mind controlled by the most skilled of Demons, like himself. Not a good look for him, really. 

His gaze searches, checking the other male up and down. He’s damn tall, even taller than Jun. And jeez, Jaewon really has a knack for drawing in guys with black hair and middle parts.

“Yah, Jaewon,” Minsoo leans over to him and whispers, “Does he know ?”

“Do I know what?”

“No, he doesn’t know, don't worry.”

“Ok good.”

“Wait, what?”

Minsoo crosses his arms again and resumes examining the other male. Nothing suspicious. He doesn’t seem to be very hostile, just quite confused. 

“So...This is my friend Dongho! Dongho, this is Minsoo, he’s my housemate and one of my best friends.” 

‘Dongho? Dongho….where have Iheard that before…? Wait, he looks kind of familiar…’

“Is your last name Kang?” He ends up asking him.

Dongho appears confused at first, but then answers the question. “Yeah,” He begins, “Wait, are you Lee Minsoo?”

“Yeah!!”

Jaewon, meanwhile, seemed to be confused. Was this some sort of reunion? Did they know each other? That’s really cool...But from where?

“What’s going on?”

“Jaewon, Dongho was my childhood best friend. In grade school, back when we used to live in Incheon. Then we moved away, and I never talked to him again. Man, that’s cool as fuck!” Minsoo laughs as Dongho smiles and blows a lock of hair out of his face.

“Oh that is cool!” Jaewon agrees, tending to the counter and appliances as Minsoo and Dongho stand by with their drinks, catching up again after all those lost years they could’ve had together.

It’s nice, seeing them conversing about these kinds of things. Jaewon himself, of course, has no memory of what happened those years ago. It was like a blank space in his head, and no matter how much he searched, he couldn’t recall a single thing. It didn’t really bother him much, but the fact that he had only a years worth of memory was a strange concept to him. 

This though, the ability to see all his friends be happy and lead fulfilling lives, it was worth everything. He wouldn’t trade a thing in the world for them. He smiles and leans on the mop he picked up, watching them.

Oh, how much it warms his heart.

***

Minsoo and Dongho spend their first day out together at a nearby sandwich shop, one of Minsoo’s favorites. A perfect place to catch up and reminisce, isn’t it? Minsoo takes the first bite of his sandwich.

“So what’s been going on with ya so far?”

“Well,” Dongho pauses, thinking back on what he’s been doing the past few years, “I moved out of the US a couple years ago. I also...I’m a trainee at HCE.”

“You’re gonna be an idol?!”

“Well I hope. How about you?”

Minsoo stops. There’s a lot of things that have happened over the past year, that’s obvious, but...Should he tell him about it? It’ll be a bit to take in, that’s for sure. But he knows Dongho, he’ll be able to understand.

“Well, not much. Same as it’s always been, just working and stuff. Though I did find Jaewon injured outside my house about a year ago, so I brought him in and now I have a new roommate.”

Dongho gives him an almost shocked look. Not even shocked, to be honest, it’s more just mildly surprised. “Really? That must be an epic story.” Dongho leans back, slightly impressed.

“Yeah.”

“Hey…” The black haired male clears his throat, “By the way, Minsoo. Is—Is Jaewon an Angel? Or a Demon or something? I just...I work with a lot of Demons and I know someone who’s an Angel, and I feel the energy coming from him, you know?”

The brunet freezes. He can’t tell Dongho. At least, he can’t tell him that on his own. It’s not his place.

“You should ask him that.” He mumbles, looking to the side, “I couldn’t tell you.”

***

Jaewon’s phone buzzes just as he picks a book out of his shelf. He wanders over to it, curious about who would be texting him right now.

‘Dongho’

Ah, so that’s who. He had given him his phone number just over a month prior, but they rarely text each other. Dongho’s the kind of person to prefer talking face to face. He lifts his phone and opens it to look at what he said.

‘ Jaewon, I have to ask yo u ’

Hmm. Sounds kind of weird. Just as he begins to start typing back a response to ask what exactly it was, the three dots signifying an incoming response appear, and he decides to wait out of politeness.

‘Please don’t be upset about this, or frightened. I have no bad intentions. It’s just, I’ve known you for a little while and It’s piqued my curiosity. Are you an Angel? I had a cousin that was, and I just noticed some similarities between you and her.’

‘You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to’

Jaewon, despite not really having a reason to be frightened, feels his blood go cold. How’d he find out? Should he admit to it? Well, obviously Dongho isn’t a random new person that Jaewon’s recently made friends with. Minsoo’s known him for a long while. But what if he changed over time? What if he became a terrible person and Minsoo didn’t know, like Hanbin...But if he didn’t? Dongho didn’t seem to talk as if he had bad intentions. He even said Jaewon didn’t have to answer...It couldn’t hurt to hope.

‘It’s fine. I am an Angel. Minsoo trusts you, so it’s fine with me that you know’

Phew. Now that it’s over, Jaewon’s feeling a bit nervous. Should he have done that? He doesn’t get enough time to start deciding as Dongho responds with a quick, ‘Thank you for trusting me. I promise you won’t regret it’

Jaewon ends the conversation with a thumbs up and smiling face emoji. He tosses his device onto his bed and lays down, forgetting to pick up his book.

‘How many people is that, that know now? Let’s see, Dongho, Minsoo, Daehyun, Yoonhee, Jun….Five. I think that’s it.’

With a deep breath, he rolls over and switches off his lamp, deciding to instead go straight to bed. It doesn’t bother him much that these people know one of his deepest secrets. They’re all pretty good people. He knows them.

***

“Jaewon!’ Daehyun cheers into the phone, “You want to come over and watch Disney with me? Yoonhee and Minsoo can’t come, i heard they’re busy, but if you’re not...please? I don’t want to do this alone!”

“Sure, Dae! I’m not busy. I’ll be over in a minute.” Jaewon chuckles and hangs up the phone, sliding it back into his pocket of his hoodie. Looks like today’s a Disney day for him!

Jaewon takes the train over to Daehyun’s place. Dae’s waiting outside the apartment complex, ready to welcome him in.

“Jaewon! Come on, my apartment’s on the fifth floor.”

Daehyun’s place is actually a lot cleaner than what Jaewon expected. The floors are perfectly free of any dirty spots, his clothes are all folded neatly and placed in a stack, and his kitchen counters are as clear as can possibly be.

“Here, sit down on the couch, I’ll get us some snacks,” Dae smiles, placing down the remote on his coffee table, “I’ll be right back.”

As expected, he returns quickly, arms laden with bags of chips and sweets. 

“What movie do you have in mind, Dae?”

“I was thinking of Frozen or Moana, one of the more recent ones. What do you think?”

Jaewon pauses for a moment, and then picks, “Frozen.”

“Ok! Let me put it on, give me a second.”

After a while of watching Daehyun struggle with his TV and asking him if he needs any help (only to be loudly refused, saying that “You’re the guest and I’m the host! Just give me a second.”), he finally gets it working.

The intro music begins playing, and Daehyuns already settled, cuddling a plushie of a chicken and shoveling snacks into his mouth.

Throughout the entire movie, Jaewon seems to be paying much more attention to the man beside him than to the movie. Maybe it’s just because he’s already seen it too many times, or maybe because Dae’s an interesting person that he never really had the time to learn about before. 

He’s a bright person, reminding Jaewon almost of a ray of sunshine. Bright, extremely bouncy most of the time, and an overall fun person to be around. Sometimes his aura even seems similar to a child’s, innocent-like and energetic. Now obviously, just because that was his aura, doesn't mean that’s what he’s actually like (even through the dramatic singing of ‘Do You Want To Build a Snowman?’ and ‘Let it Go’)

Sure, he’s an excitable person, but Jaewon likes that! It’s a good energy that he appreciates when he can find it, which is very rarely. 

“Ah, I love Olaf, he’s so fun!”

***

Minsoo steps into Jaewon’s room, nimble fingers tip-tip-tip-tip-tipping at his phone screen. His eyebrows are knitted together, he seems to be focusing on something, something important. He leans against the doorframe.

“Wonnie-yah,” Minsoo begins, addressing the man resting on his bed, “I got something to ask you about.”

Jaewon sits up to listen to his friend, “Oh? What is it, hyung?”

“Dongho’s got a problem with his family, so basically he’s cutting them off. That means he’s losing his home. I just want to ask you,” He runs a hand through his hair and sighs, “Do you think it’ll be alright if I let Dongho stay with us for a while? Just for a while.”

Jaewon nods, “I think that’s fine! If he needs a home, we should help him.”

 “Thank you for understanding, Jaewon,” Minsoo smiles, walking out of the room.

***

Soon enough, it was official, and Dongho moved into their home. This change in company was actually far less noticeable than Jaewon thought it would be at first. The only evidence that someone else actually lives with them would be the piano playing he’d hear in the middle of the night and the occurrences in which he’d randomly encounter Dongho in the kitchen or the hall.

Yoonhee comes over a day after Dongho first moved in to help cook some sort of celebration meal for them all. This celebration meal, of course, would be scrambled eggs, as none of them really know how to cook properly. That’s Daehyun's job, he’s the chef of the group, and he’s too busy visiting his mom.

Dongho pulls out his phone, ready to record. He had told everyone that he’d record the meal in the making and upload it privately to youtube, as a memory. He opens the camera app, and on the count of three, hits record.

“Ok!” Yoonhee begins, waving around a bottle of cooking oil, “So today we’re going to try to cook eggs. First of all, you turn on the fire and put a pan on top...and you put a liiiittle bit of oil. Then, you—Dongho, where are the eggs?”

“How am I supposed to know? I just got here.”

Yoonhee walks out of the kitchen, searching for Minsoo as Dongho follows her with the camera.

“Minsoo! Where the hell are your eggs?”

“They’re in the fridge!” Minsoo yells back from his room.

“No the hell they’re not, I already looked.”

The brunet audibly huffs and storms out of the room to lead Yoonhee back to the kitchen. Dongho directs the camera to Jaewon, who stands outside the room and begins laughing softly at the other two’s antics.

“Is this normal for them?” Dongho whispers to the shorter male.

“Yeah, a little.”

Out of nowhere, two screams cut the air, prompting Dongho and Jaewon to run into the kitchen to find out just what they managed to do in the ten seconds they’re left alone. 

It’s just a stove fire, one that could easily be put out. This would’ve been a rather normal, albeit thrilling, experience to keep in their memory were it not for Yoonhee letting out a single earsplitting, warbling scream. Dongho bursts into laughter and stops the recording, doubling over as Minsoo and Jaewon join in.

Jaewon picks up a lid and drops it onto the fire. “Jeez!” Minsoo exclaims, shaking his hand as if he were burned.

The next morning, they all wake up to a surprise. Yoonhee’s calling?

Minsoo answers the phone, irritated with the sudden wake up. He puts her on speaker and grumpily asks, “What?”

A screeching voice comes in from the other side. 

“Minsoo! You uploaded the video publicly, goddamnit! It went fucking viral in Spain or something and now millions of people heard me scream! I’m fucking famous!”

And with that, she hangs up. Dongho gives him a weird look.

“What the hell? Is she for real? Let me look.” He pulls out his phone and begins searching through his account. It’s true. Yoonhee had gone viral overnight.

***

Jaewon walks into his room, searching. Where is his favorite hoodie? It’s the white one, the one Jun gave him for his birthday, where is it? Last he saw, it on the couch, but now its not there. Where could it have gone?

Suddenly, he hears something from his closet. A little bit of a rustle, he thought it was. Jaewon makes his way over and nudges open the door to look in it, just in case.

Jaewon jumps back, seeing eyes stare back at him from within. It’s Minsoo!

“Sh! Get in here, hide with me!” Minsoo grabs his wrist and pulls him in.

“H-hyung! What’s wrong?!”

“Dongho’s hunting me down.” He mutters, peeking through the crack of the doors.

“What did you do?”

His hyung turns to him, cheekily grinning. That’s a smile of mischief, Jaewon already knows.

“I took a video of him cuddling with Lutz, look—”

‘Ah, so that’s what it is,’ Jaewon notes as Minsoo pulls out his phone and opens up his camera roll. Lo and behold, a video, with a thumbnail of Dongho kneeling by Lutz, scratching her head. He hits play.

“You’re so cute,” The black-haired man in the video coos, “You’re the cutest kitty i’ve—”

Then the closet door swings open, and a hand seizes Minsoo’s phone, yanking it out of his grasp before he can realize just what happened.

“Hey—!”

Dongho’s there, smirking at him. He holds the phone above his head as Minsoo gets to reach for it, jumping and cussing him out as Jaewon laughs in the background.

***

It’s another lazy day, of course, a Sunday. Jaewon and Minsoo are on the couch, yawning and snoozing together as they scroll through their social media with the TV softly chattering in the background. Dongho’s out doing work stuff or something, which isn’t very lazy-like of him. Lazy days are necessary and very pleasant, in Minsoo’s definitely-not-humble opinion. Without them, you’d get overworked. You get overworked, you don’t do well. You don’t do well, you get upset. You get upset, you might even get depressed, or something like that. He knows it, from his experience. It was kind of like those stupid memes that he’d seen before. Pretty funny, he has to admit.

Out of nowhere, Jaewon interrupts the dazy quiet of their afternoon. He puts down his phone and mumbles softly, “Yah...Hyung?”

“What’s up Jaewon?”

He sighs deeply and pauses a second before continuing carefully, “I want...I want to go back there. Just to see.”

“Wait, where, Jaewon?”

Jaewon sits up and looks at his hyung as he takes a sip of his water, staring into his eyes with an uninterrupted gaze. It’s honestly kind of creepy, even though he doesn’t intend it to be. 

“The Angel’s Meadow.”

Minsoo chokes on his drink, accidentally sipping too hard.

“You—” He splutters, “Back there?! Why?”

Jaewon settles back into his comfortable sitting position, his eyes absentmindedly traveling to focus on the TV, “Because I want to get better at this. I can’t just stay afraid my whole life. I want to go back there and enjoy it again. I want to face it again, you know? This time I’ll be prepared. To at least try to get over this.”

‘Should I say no?’ Minsoo ponders, curiously watching Jaewon’s face reflect none of his emotions, ‘It might set off something like last time. Then again, he’s a grown adult that wants to get over this, who am I to tell him not to?’

“I’ll take you,” He finally decides, “If you want me to.”

Jaewon smiles at him, the corners of his lips lifting ever so slightly. Minsoo’s such a supportive hyung. How lucky he was to stumble onto his doorstep that night.

“Thank you hyung. When do you want to go?”

“Well I was thinking you would decide that?”

“Can we...” Jaewon pauses suddenly. Is he ready? Could he do it today?

He can do it. It’s gotta happen at some point, so why not now? He turns to Minsoo with a determined face and asks, “Can we go right now?”

Who cares if he’s ready? He’s gotta do it, now or never.

Minsoo smiles gently. “Sure, Jaewon.” He pats the younger on the back and gets up, sliding his phone into his pocket and taking Jaewon’s hands in his, “Let’s go.”

It wasn’t any real sensation to them, traveling through their ‘teleportation’. You just appear there, as if it were the room changing, not you.

Jaewon opens his eyes, ready to take on what was there ahead of him. Or so he thought. One look at the place and he’s practically ready to crumple. 

God, he can’t even face it. It hurts too much to look at. Too much to even comprehend. A constant reminder that there’s something missing , he’s incomplete and infected. Like Pavlov's dogs, just the fact that he’s there brings back all the memories of that night, vivid, colorful and absolutely crippling.

But he’s still there. He’s still alive, and he’s—

“—doing very well. I’m proud of you Jaewon. You’re doing so good, man, you’re—”

Minsoo. Minsoo’s right behind him, a warm hand pressed against his back and rubbing in methodical circles. He’s always been there, right behind him, supporting him, cheering him on. 

Jaewon may be struggling. He may be paralyzed to the point that all he can do is stare at the ground and take deep, uneven breaths, but it’s better. He’s doing better. He’s changing. It’s such a tiny thing but oh my God is it a euphoric feeling. At this rate, Jaewon’ll be able to walk in here one day, put his hands on his hips and look around, shrugging and saying, “Nothing wrong here!”

It’s almost too good to be true. But it is true. With the help of Minsoo, his blessed friend, his dearest hyung that has always been there for him, always supported him, helped him...this will end one day, even if it takes a lifetime. It’ll end. By God, he’ll make sure it does.