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It was an obvious decision.
You were going to save him.
There wasn’t any hesitation when you realized this could be his end. However, it was pitch black at the moment and your eyes couldn’t adjust to the darkness quick enough. There was screaming around you—suffocating you in distress, terror, and panic. You couldn’t do anything for him until the lights turned on. But those twenty seconds felt like a lifetime and you were too anxious to wait.
Steadily, yet swiftly, you pulled out an arrow from your quiver. From years of practice, you didn’t need to see to align the arrow against the bow properly. The only problem was you couldn’t locate your target.
You planted your feet firmly on the broken Incheon bridge, the ground underneath your feet hard and solid. There was nothing you could do to make the lights turn on sooner. They were on a timer, along with the screeching noise emitting from the big speakers nearby.
With the high-pitch noise, it allowed the humans a chance to fight. For once, the angel’s super-sensitive hearing was a flaw. They were forced to cover their ears from the loud noise. However, everyone has their imperfections—human or nonhuman. For humans, it was the fact you couldn’t see well in the dark. Angels, on the other hand, had built-in night vision. So while the lights were off, the screeching was on. You could target at least one of their weaknesses while your own weakness hindered you. Though even with your earplugs, the sound was obnoxious. However, the lights and the noise were necessary. The constant change in sound and lights made sure the angels couldn’t get accustomed to either. There wasn’t enough time to get used to the bright light or the high-pitch ringing.
The fight between the angels and the humans was one for the history books. None of the angels believed you scurrying rats could, or would ever, battle them. It was insane, really, to expect the humans to win against adonis-like creatures who were powerful and tyrant. Yet, the goal wasn’t to win. It was to prove a point to the other humans on earth. You didn’t have to succumb to these assholes. While angels saw humans as monkeys, they truly underestimated the brains of millions of monkeys.
However, with Jungkook on your side, you had a better chance of winning. It was your team and Jungkook’s against Baekhyeon’s, another archangel. Baekhyeon only saw humans as worthless and weak. His followers had the same mindset.
When the lights flickered on again, you blinked rapidly to adjust your eyesight.
The beast was in front of you. Its large canines nipped in the air as it stalked toward you. It was revolting. The way the body was human while the majority of the heads, yes plural, were not. There was a human’s head, a lion’s, a cheetah’s, and a wolf’s. A tail akin to a scorpion rose above its head, jabbing into the air tauntingly. It had your whole body tingle in disgust.
If it weren’t for the fact that thing could easily rip you and the other humans to shreds, you would’ve run with your tail between your legs. But that wasn’t you. No matter how frightened you were, people were counting on you. Ironically, you thought to yourself. A weak little girl like you? Supposed to save all humanity? Outrageous.
But no matter how much you tried to argue it, it always fell on deaf ears. You guessed that saving everyone you could made you some sort of hero. You wish you weren’t.
You pulled back on your bow when you spotted your target. However, as soon as you released the arrow, a terrified human bumped into you on their way to escape. It caused your arrow to soar in the wrong direction and for your ass to hit the cold concrete.
The humans were more petrified than before. Five more of these monstrosities climbed onto the bridge. Their origin was unknown, but that didn’t matter to you. One look at these ungodly beasts lit a flame under everyone and they were darting to get away from it. Who could blame them, though? You wanted to do the same.
Your daze didn’t last long and you were back on your feet within seconds. You were too deep into the crowd—being pushed and shoved in different directions. You were never going to get a good enough shot at the beast.
So you did what any sane person like you would do.
You went against the hysterical crowd—straight toward the beast.
If you strained your ears, you could hear people cry out your name. Your sister, your mother, your friends. But out of all the voices, one stood out the most.
Jungkook’s.
Your eyes shot up to the sky, spotting the archangel’s broad frame against the darkening sky. His white wings were wide and beating against the air. He was painstakingly beautiful (though you would never admit that to him. His ego was already too big). A stark contrast to the ugliness staggering toward you. His Watchers, the group of angels who happily served under him, were beside him.
While the humans ran for their lives, the angels were brawling. Fists were flying and swords were clashing. It was a mess of feathers, blood, and hollering.
Jungkook was in the middle of swinging down his sword at an opponent before he twirled to attack the one behind him. Though his eyes weren’t as focused as they should be. He kept flicking his gaze down at you. He wanted to fly down, dropkick the beast that was stalking toward you and scoop you away from this disaster.
“Worry about yourself,” you shouted at him. Only one of the monsters was on you while two angels were on him. You just needed to take this thing out. Simple.
You plucked out another bow from your quiver and positioned it against your bow. Jungkook shook his head wildly at your words and began to fly down, hell-bent on getting you out of there. However, two sets of strong arms pulled him back, a powerful fist meeting his cheek. Jungkook’s stare broke from yours to fight his attacker.
Your eyes flickered to the beast as it was getting closer. You inhaled deeply as you tried to calm down your nerves.
“Yn!” Jungkook cried out again, but you kept your eyes averted. It was too easy to get lost in him. Too easy to get distracted by his eyes, his voice, him.
You heard him call out your name again. It was a complete contrast to what you were used to. Jungkook was usually composed. His voice would be steady and he would always be sure of himself. It was disgusting how much confidence he oozed. From his sarcastic replies to his scolding stares, Jungkook was always assured of himself.
Until now.
His voice wavered. If you weren’t in such a grave situation, you would’ve teased him about it. Told him that he wasn’t as composed as he thought he was. Joke that maybe he was a little more human than he perceived. Maybe even get in a few elbow jabs while you were at it. It would’ve earned you a deadly glare, but it would’ve been worth it.
While Jungkook wanted to believe he could save you, he wasn’t entirely sure if that was possible. He wanted to rescue you, despite knowing how against you were at being a damsel in distress, but he knew in the back of his mind he wouldn’t be able to get to you faster. He couldn’t even make it three feet until his wings were being pulled backward by another angel. Maybe if he was more focused he could’ve beat down his opponents quicker.
“How pathetic,” Baekhyeon laughed wickedly as he watched Jungkook spiral into distress. He had just sliced through a Watcher’s wing, causing the angel to become unbalanced and tumble out of the sky. “Your Daughter of Man is nothing but dinner for that bastard. Why are you even fretting over her?”
Jungkook’s glare was something to be terrified of. It was as sharp as the edge of a glass shard. It was as ferocious as a tiger’s. It was as deadly as poison. But no matter how badly Jungkook wanted to behead the angel, he would be condemned to angel prison for eternity for killing a fellow brethren. And while he considered it worth it for a moment, he couldn’t leave you behind. Not right now. Not ever.
Instead, Jungkook sheathed his sword and grabbed one of the angels attacking him. Because he was an archangel, he was stronger than the average angel. He moved the angel with ease as if he was simply a ragdoll to him. Jungkook swiveled in the air once and threw the angel into Baekhyeon.
Baekhyeon tried to dodge the angel, but the angel flew into Baekyeon’s wing and caused him to do a 180. Jungkook didn’t wait to attack, brandishing his sword and slicing it against Baekhyeon’s chest with a growl.
Down below, you couldn’t hear much from the pounding of your heart against your ribcage. There was no time to back out. The beast was advancing quicker, the desire to catch you causing it to increase its pace.
You raised your bow unhesitantly, steadying your aim at one of the heads before you let the arrow fly into the air.
The lion’s head roared. Gurgling sounds echoed into the night as it swayed, determined to not lose the fight. Eventually, it settled, slumping at an awkward angle that had your own neck shiver.
As you retrieved another arrow and positioned it at another head, the lights flickered off.
Darkness consumed you and with the fast change of lighting, you were momentarily blinded. Without wasting another second, you released your arrow. You prayed the head was still in the same position. Prayed that the arrow found its target.
From the sudden screaming, you knew it had.
However, your luck has run out. You could try again, hoping that if you aimed slightly to the right it would hit another head, but it was too risky. You only had enough arrows to hit the remaining heads without any mistakes.
You couldn’t hear anything over the screeching of the speaker and the beast, so you weren’t sure how close the beast was to you now.
Before you could switch to the kitchen knife you had found stashed in an abandoned house, you felt a hand grip your upper arm. For a moment, you thought it was Jungkook. For a moment, you thought you were saved.
The hand, albeit very human-like, was anything but.
The beast screamed, breath fanning against your face and making your face scrunch from the rotten smell. The hand suddenly yanked you to the floor harshly. The action was too quick for you to maintain a balanced position, so you fell back with a gasp. The quiver dug into your back, bow sliding who knows where as you landed.
The panic inside your chest rose—had you stiffen momentarily.
Though, you couldn’t linger on the fear gripping onto you. When you recovered, you slid your knife from your combat boot and started to slash randomly in front of you. If that thing came near you, at least you could get a few slices in.
Unexpectedly, the lights shifted on. It has not been twenty seconds yet. You spared a quick look to where the timer was at and spotted one of your fellow humans had switched them on. You recognized her as the kind, young lady who you briefly met on your adventures over the weeks. You guessed she had turned off the timer, hoping it would help you even though it gave the angels an upper hand at sight.
When you glanced back at the beast, it had its arms reaching toward your neck. You didn’t hesitate to swing your knife at the extending arms. The beast let out another screech, stinger jerking at you as it stayed persistent in its actions. Its hands wrapped around your throat and instantly clamped down. You sucked in a sharp breath before it could restrict you completely.
“Get off me,” you faintly heard Jungkook’s bellow over the pounding of your heart. His voice was sharp and sounded like lightning crackling—booming and powerful.
You scrambled behind you to grab an arrow. Luckily, it was not broken, and you swiftly jammed it in one of the heads. The beast reeled back slightly, giving you enough time to kick at its chest. It staggered backward and you pulled yourself away, gasping for air as you did so.
Though the beast was injured, it was relentless and before you could ground yourself—mentally and physically—it launched forward.
The grip on your ankle was unyielding. You thrashed in its hold, trying to kick the hand away with your other foot. And while it worked the first time, the other hand came down on it quickly, enclosing both your ankles. It pulled your body toward it, concrete scraping against exposed skin as your shirt raised slightly. However, you didn’t have time to let the pain get to you. That wasn’t your biggest concern.
The hand that was on your knife was clammy, making it hard to keep a secure grip around the handle. Your eyes darted from the remaining heads screaming to the jabbing stinger.
Suddenly a chorus of screeching had your eyes moving past the beast in front of you. The monsters that appeared earlier had come back from chasing off the humans. They looked unscratched for the most part, maybe a few injuries here and there, but nothing that would hinder their movements.
Even though you had glanced away for a second, it was a second too long.
A scream tore from your throat when you felt the stinger pierce your shoulder. Pain shot throughout your body, taking the air from your lungs. Your eyes were wide and you let go of your knife to try to pull the tail away from your body. Your movements were stopped by the beast as it smacked your hands away. The remaining heads opened their mouths and leaned down at you. They gnawed at the air, hinting at what was to come.
As you were about to attempt to kick the beast away, another pang of pain emitted from your shoulder.
The stinger was ripped from you. It felt like a barbed wire was pulled from your skin, the extraction not as smooth as you had hoped. Your vision became spotty from the pain and all you could hear was your harsh breathing. All your senses were momentarily halted, only focused on the pain from the stinger. Your limps were quick to grow weak. You fell back against the rough concrete. However, you were still on alert so you forced yourself to sit up, hands pressing against the floor and head leaning to the side.
When you regained your surroundings, you saw the beast soaring across the bridge. The source of the throw was one, maddening and barbaric angel. Jungkook’s features were stone-cold, eyes ablaze as he withdrew his sword. He stalked toward the beast as if he was hunting his prey. However, it wasn’t really hunting. The throw had injured the beast and it was scrambling to move away from the archangel. You could feel the fear radiating from the beast as Jungkook walked to it. Hell, Jungkook wasn’t even moving toward you but your own breath was caught in your throat from fear.
Jungkook grabbed the beast’s ankle, dragging it closer—mimicking what the beast had done to you earlier—before he stomped one boot-clad foot harshly onto the tail. The beast hissed and wiggled beneath Jungkook, but it did nothing to alter Jungkook’s decision. He gave the beast a look of utter loath before he lifted his sword and swung it down on the tail, cutting off the stinger part. The beast howled in torment, thrashing feverishly. There were no hints of remorse on Jungkook’s hardened face. He lifted his sword once more then made a clean slice upon the beast’s neck. It was a smooth cut as if he was cutting jello. The screeching lasted for a few seconds before it vanished into the night.
Jungkook was breathing heavily, forehead perspiring. He seemed to be in his own world as he stared down at the beast. It wasn’t until he heard your voice that he snapped out of his thoughts.
“Jungk-” you tried to call out, but your sentence was cut short when you felt your arms buckle under your weight. You fell back onto the floor once more, the feeling of your quiver digging into your back barely noticeable.
Jungkook was kneeled next to you within seconds. His large hands lifted your body up so he could slide underneath it. He peered down at you, doe eyes wide and alarmed. You whimpered when he accidentally bumped into your shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I’m here, Yn, okay?”
You nodded weakly, a small smile playing on your lips as you stared up at his handsome face, etched with grief. Jungkook reached a hand out and brushed away a few pieces of your hair that were stuck from your sweat.
“It’s going to be o-” Jungkook stopped when he saw your eyes droop. They were feeling too heavy to keep them open.
“Hey, hey, hey, eyes on me.” Jungkook’s voice was frantic. He caressed your face to get your attention again. “Keep your eyes on me, Yn.”
You tried to do what he said. But it was difficult. It was so difficult.
Jungkook cursed under his breath.
“Why did you have to go and fall in love with me?” Jungkook whispered, mouth tugged in a deep frown, eyes glossing from the tears swelling in them. Yet even now, he refused to cry. Refused to let you see him cry.
A frail laugh. “Who said I fell in love with you?” You breathed out, light and airy. The last few words were so soft that they were barely audible. But Jungkook heard them.
He always heard you.
Although he found it difficult to laugh with you this time, he couldn’t stop the tiny smile from forming on his lips. Even while losing consciousness you still found a chance to sass him. He hated the way his heart clutched at the action—hated the way he fell harder at that moment.
“You didn’t need to,” Jungkook said, a hint of playfulness to his tone to keep your spirits up. There was nothing more heartbreaking than seeing you grow paler, weaker in his arms. He wanted to see that smile he had grown to love. He wanted to take the pain from you any way he could.
“Does this mean you won?” You asked quietly, head lolling slightly before you tugged it up. Jungkook adjusted his grasp and slid a hand behind your head for support. His eyes were full of emotions. It was different from his stone-cold expressions, but there was so much swimming in those dark eyes that you couldn’t decipher any of it.
“Seems so,” he sighed. He didn’t seem as thrilled as he should be. He opened his mouth to tell you that even though he had won the title of being the Messenger, it didn’t change the fact that he didn’t want it. But he didn’t want to spend this time talking about extraneous topics. He wanted to talk about you.
He felt, rather than saw, your body gradually deflate. Each second made it harder to keep your body up. Even against Jungkook’s arms, you forced your body to not completely relax.
“Jungkook.” Your soft voice has his eyes refocusing. The gentle way you said his name made his heart clutch, a foreign emotion snaking around his chest and squeezing. It made his throat clog, but he swallowed down the feeling.
“I’m here,” he repeated, thumb rubbing over your cheek. You used your remaining strength to lift your hand to his face; however, you underestimated how much energy you had and your fingers barely grazed his jaw. Nevertheless, Jungkook leaned down to get closer, chasing your hand as it fell back down just to feel you against him more.
Your body was numbing. You couldn’t feel Jungkook’s hand on your cheek, couldn’t feel the way he held you so fondly.
“Y-you said I wasn’t-” a breath “-your Daughter of Man.”
You put on a teasing front to hide your curiosity. You recalled the way he had denied he had any connection with you before—constantly telling you an angel with a human was absurd and disturbing. You were simply an acquaintance on his journey to find his way back home.
Jungkook’s jaw clenched. However, the brief irritation was directed to himself and not you. He shook his head slightly.
“And you said you didn’t fall in love with me.”
You tried to laugh, but what came out was just small puffs of air. It had Jungkook’s demeanor crack at the choppy sound. His face fell for a moment, unable to control his facial features as he showed you a glimpse of what he was truly feeling. Your heart shattered at it. The agony and anguish contorting his features had you wishing now more than ever that you could Houdini your way out of this situation.
“Touché,” you murmured, smile fading as you slowly slumped in his arms. Even the smile you tried to hold was hard. Every muscle in your body was melting into liquid.
“Don’t-” Jungkook pleaded so lowly that part of it got lost in the wind. “D-Don’t leave me.”
What you wanted to say was that he didn’t need you. A big, powerful archangel like himself didn’t need to cling onto a simple human like yourself. That you were nothing but a pebble stuck under his boot compared to him. You were minuscule in the big scheme of things.
Instead, you simply replied, “Never,” before your vision was drowned in darkness and your muscles gave out, sagging completely into his arms.
Jungkook felt empty. His wings expanded, curling around the two of you as he let his walls crumble in the privacy of his make-shift room. He felt his body threaten to shake with a sob, but even with you no longer looking, he still could feel other eyes on him. The eyes of his Watchers and his opponents. It made him feel uneasy and he silently wished they would just disappear.
Everything felt wrong. As if the world was no longer round and the oceans were pink instead of blue. Everything was out of place.
Or maybe that was him since he was grieving over a Daughter of Man.
A shaky breath left his parted lips and he bowed his head, leaning his forehead against yours to feel your warm skin. Silent tears rolled down his perfectly tan cheeks, a few landing on your face.
But it was odd. Jungook could still feel the faintest brush of air near his face.
He stayed still, brushing it off to reason it was a gust of wind slipping past his spread wings. It wasn’t until he felt the subtle rise and fall of your chest against his that he snapped up. His eyes grew wide as he narrowed his eyes on your chest.
He was hallucinating. He knew it.
He was filled with so much grief that his head was making him see things. Yet, part of him wanted to believe he wasn’t, so with a shaky hand, he rested two fingers against the underside of your jawline on the side of your neck.
A pulse.
“Yn?” He said ever so softly, heart racing with resurging hope. You didn’t reply, but the constantly moving of your chest told him you didn’t leave him. It dawned on him that the stinger had just paralyzed you. For how long? He didn’t know. Could be for a few hours, months, years, or forever. Whatever the case, he was determined to undo what the beast had done.
Because no matter how much you weren’t a damsel in distress, he was always going to save you.