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It was funny how a promise they had made when they were 10 years old turned out so beautiful. Now they were celebrating their tenth anniversary.
It all started with a joke.
They were just kids.
They both despised men and promised to always love each other instead of men. At first, the flirting, the jealousy was just a friendly joke. They'd make their parents and friends laugh by jokingly fighting like an old married couple.
And then... when they were fifteen, the first real jealousy came from Bora. She didn’t even realize she had actual feelings for the fake girlfriend until she saw her hand to hand with another woman. Safe to say they had their first real fight that night and it had only stopped when Siyeon kissed her to shut up. The rest was history... Bora smirked to herself as she stared at the gift on her hand. She bought her beautiful wife a sewing machine since hers got broken few nights ago. It wasn’t entirely Bora’s fault, Siyeon shouldn’t have left it on the corner of the kitchen counter where Bora accidently could knock it down. Nevertheless, this new version was smaller and better, apparently. Siyeon was a freelancer, she’d design something, sew it, and sell it online. Strangely, her clothes would sell under a minute. Well, how could it not? They were insanely gorgeous. Half of Bora’s clothes were sewed by her wife, even their wedding dresses. Bora, on the other hand, was a nurse. While Siyeon would stay at home 24/7, Bora was out at the hospital most of the time. Not that Siyeon complained about being at home all the time, she loved every second of it.
Bora welcomed herself in their home, “Siyeon?” she called out as she took off her jacket and shoes. Soon enough, her wife with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders emerged from bedroom.
“Hey, you’re early today. Welcome home. How was your day?” Siyeon said before noticing the bag in Bora’s hands: “I thought we said no gifts! Bora, we are too old to keep celebrating our anniversaries.”
Bora’s eyebrows shot up in surprise: “This isn’t a gift. This is... redemption.”
The blonde let out a chuckle fall out of her lips, those lips Bora would never get tired to kiss even after ten years together.
“That, I can accept. After all you broke it.” Siyeon leaned down to give her wife a quick kiss on the lips before taking the bag from her hands.
Bora ran her fingers through her red hair, “I did not-” she sighed, “Fine, I did. Anyway, they said this one is the newest model.” She said as she followed Siyeon into the living room.
“Hmm.” The blonde hummed, taking the sewing machine out of the bag with a bright smile on her face. It was remarkable how easy it was to make this woman happy.
Bora was close to melting under the heat of her wife’s gaze: “You like it?”
“How can I not love anything you buy for me?” Siyeon pulled her small sized wife onto her lap and wrapped her arms around her waist: “I love you.”
The red-haired woman made herself comfortable as she nuzzled her nose on the crook of her wife’s neck, “I love you, happy tenth anniversary, honey.”
“Many more to come.”
A gasp of breath followed by series of coughs.
Thank God it was successful. It was chilly; even the white and very thin blanket that covered her couldn’t keep this body in a comfortable temperature. Now she understood why this was rarely done. She managed to rip the thin blanket off and slowly sit up in the metal bed as she cracked the neck and arms. This body seemed pretty, though. It felt quite fit as well despite how small it was.
“Manifest into the Human Realm? Check. Here we go,” the woman talked to herself after performing a quick scan of the room. Suddenly, there was a loud scream. She threw her gaze to her right, her widened eyes landing on the two-winged door that separated her from whoever was crying and banging against it. What was that commotion all about?
She hopped on her feet as she neared the door, not missing the opportunity to look around as she slowly made her way towards the muffled commotion; so this was what a morgue looked like… Incredible… Her first venture on Earth had only just begun and she was already feeling this starstruck. She knew Humans were capable of building and creating grant things but seeing them, witnessing those firsthand was a whole different experience. By the time she reached the two-winged door, the intense banging and ear-splitting screams had subsided were replaced by a set of hushed whispers and muffled sobs; man, whoever this person was, they were having on heck of a bad day… Could it be because they couldn’t enter the room? Could the person behind the door be upset because they were locked outside the morgue?
The woman pushed her lips outward into a small pout; getting stuck outside of where you’re supposed to be sucked. It had happened to her once– well, twice! … or was it thrice? Well, whatever! The point was that she knew how terrible it felt to get access denied, especially in serious situations and guessing by all the shouting and… crying? –was crying even the correct word to describe those desynchronized auditory puffs of air coming out of a Human’s mouth which are usually paired up with the flowing of tears because of an emotional outburst? Or was she confusing it with bitching? Mmm… Human emotions were complicated but anyway!– That person was clearly in distress, and she wanted to do something about it! Guess she could try opening the door…?
A set of universal gasps and shocked stares.
That was all she received the second she pushed the door open and was met with the culprit behind the commotion; well, culprits… there was three of them– three lookalikes; they were all blonde! She couldn’t believe this was going to be her first actual interaction with Humans; it was fascinating! Thrilling even! But from the way she was being looked at, it quickly became evident that the women across her weren’t exactly sharing the same level of excitement as her… Yikes… Did she mess up already? Why weren’t they saying anything? They were just standing there; with Blondie One and Blondie Three holding Blondie Two who looked… terrible– Wow, she had no idea Human eyes could turn so puffy and red from crying– no, bitching…
She couldn’t help but feel both sad and amazed at this discovery; sad because Blondie Two looked like she had uh... gone through five wars? –was that the correct way to use that Human expression?– and amazed because she was experiencing raw Human emotions live and it was mind-blowing! Her amazement, however, was relatively short-lived mostly because the Holy Trio of Blondies in front of her kept just staring at her in complete silence; it got awkward fast!
“Uh…” she parted her lips, letting out a ghost of an audible sigh before softly clearing her throat; wow, the owner of this body had quite the voice! That was barely a sample of a vocal exclamation, but she could feel the amount of power potential this body’s vocal cords held– if she wasn’t too weirded out by the stares, she would have taken a second to comment on how fascinating this finding was but alas, she had other concerns… like easing up the tension that was threatening to swallow her whole.
“Hi…?” she shuttered as she waved her hand, a half-hearted smile quickly forming across her lips as she waited for something –for anything but glaring– to happen and sure enough, something did happen. Though, it wasn’t exactly what she expected to happen but then again when do things go the way she expects them to? That’s right, never. So, naturally it shouldn’t have come to her as a surprise when she saw Blondie Two collapse on the floor shortly after her greeting, but it did, nonetheless. Yeah, she wasn’t expecting things to go her way, but she also didn’t expect the woman to faint… on the hindsight, she learned that extreme emotional outbursts, be it internal or external, could result to the Human passing out; she should note that down when she gets the chance to do so.
“Yoohyeon, get her inside, put some clothes on her!” Blondie three shouted.
“O-okay, right,” The girl was quick on her feet though, she was rushed back inside and that thin blanket from earlier was wrapped around this borrowed body now. Why couldn’t she stay naked, though? Was it a human thing to cover their whole bodies? Fascinating.
So, blondie One’s name was Yoohyeon... She was significantly taller than her. The silence was quite awkward if she was honest. She wondered what this body’s name was... or how she looked. She hoped she scored a good face too along with the fit body.
Minutes passed with the tall girl, Yoohyeon, blankly staring at her. She was starting to get bored with the endless stare of the girl, she wanted to examine everything. She looked around the room she woke up in, there were lots of fridges. Some looked empty but some were closed, probably had dead bodies in them.
When the tall girl closed her eyes to take a deep breath, she took the opportunity to snoop around. Well, the fridges were sealed tight apparently, she couldn’t seem to open them. It was strange to be this weak, to be human. She wasn’t used to it.
“Hey! Don’t touch that!” Yoohyeon exclaimed and rushed to her side to stop her from touching any more things. “Why are you alive? How are you alive? What the fuck is going on...”
That was a strong outburst.
“Pardon me for the interruption of your rambling but I have the district feeling that you are... upset?” she guessed the emotion. She should’ve studied harder on human emotions. “By my presence?”
“Upset?!” The tall girl suddenly shouted, starting her. “You were dead a second ago!”
“I think it’s been like ten minutes now.” She noted, bluntly.
“Ten-” Yoohyeon exhaled and shook her head before running her fingers through her hair, “Bora... How?”
“Bora?” Well, her name was Bora, she guessed. Such a pretty name! Thank God, it wasn’t something stupid. Bora’s friends looked like nice people too. Bora must have a wonderful life! A smile took over her face, “Bora!”
Someone barged in the room with a different expression. She didn’t know much about human emotions but if she were to take a guess, blondie three was pretty confused. She turned around to see the reflection of this body in these metal fridges and score! She landed on a beautiful face as well as the body! Guess Bora was the only one with a different hair color. Red. Lovely.
“Siyeon is awake, she thought she hallucinated but I guess not. Bora, how are you feeling?” Blondie three asked softly. Her voice sounded like an angel, it was soft and caring but rich in its own way.
Siyeon was the girl who fainted! Poor her, maybe she was way too close with this body.
“I don’t think she remembers anything, Minji.” Yoohyeon mumbled and gently put a hand behind Bora’s back to urge her to walk out of the room. She obeyed happily; she couldn’t wait to see the outside world. Blondie three’s name was Minji? What a pretty name! Human names were fascinating. She should get a notepad or something to note these things.
“Amnesia?” The girl named Minji asked and closed the door behind them. “Most likely. I don’t know. Let's get her checked out.”
The next few hours went on pretty… weird. Bora – she decided to call herself as the human name from now on – knew humans were capable of experiencing different emotions all at once but this was on next level. Blondie two –Siyeon– went from shocked to happy to sad to scared all under a minute and she didn’t know how to react to it.
It was so... fascinating.
All she could do was to stand next to Blondie two and let her go through all types of emotions. She didn’t want to be insensitive or hurt her in any way, so she held back her thoughts.
Such as... these machines! God, what were those? They kept beeping and showing different symbols as well as numbers repeatedly. Humans really were geniuses, weren't they? How could they build this from scratch? Bora had to stop herself from reaching out and touch those tempting buttons. No, she couldn’t even if she wanted to because Siyeon was hugging her to death. She wouldn’t be able to die, maybe jump off to the next dead body but this one was quite nice, she didn’t want to lose it. Plus, her being in this body made a lot of people... happy she guessed.
“My Bora... God, thank you... thank you.” Blondie Two cried on her shoulder, desperately holding onto the said girl, afraid she might slip away from her fingers: “I don’t know how this is possible... but you can’t leave me again, okay?”
Blondie Two was really attached to this body, wasn’t she? She didn’t know what the emotion was, but she was dying to know all about it!
And was she supposed to say okay? That wasn’t really possible, this was a quick vacation she begged to have. She had a month, maybe less. But it was against her whole being to hurt a human, no matter the circumstances. And God didn’t have anything to do with this but whatever...
“Okay,” She muttered out instead.
After all the unbearable but wow incredible tests with lots of different machines, the doctors allowed both of them to go home and apologized for the misunderstanding. They just diagnosed Bora with amnesia – temporary memory loss – and discharged them.
She didn’t leave a good first impression for sure though, she couldn’t stop squealing whenever she saw a new machine or anything human made. A fire extinguisher? Did you know humans made something to put out fire other than water? Incredible.
They were so smart!
She could still remember the first human – well, she didn’t personally see him but she heard the stories and boy, was it a disaster. She was glad they evolved quite a lot.
Amazing.
When they stepped outside, Bora’s jaw dropped to the floor. She couldn’t focus on one thing at a time because there was a lot to be discovered. Oh my god! The buildings so high that it felt like they’d touch the heavens! Machines with four wheels in all types of colors to move a lot faster than a human – better yet, an animal can!
However, humans weren’t that smart after all, almost all of them talked to themselves, even laughed at nothing while casually walking. Strange...
“Oh my god, what is that!” Bora exclaimed as she spotted a very small machine that person was looking at. She quickly grabbed it out of the man’s hand and try as she might, she couldn’t figure what it was. She turned it, hit it with her fingertips like that man was doing but nothing was happening. Then why was he looking at it? There was nothing to see...
“Hey!” The man said, rather rudely to be honest. Were they allowed to be rude just like that without any punishments?
“I’m so sorry,” Siyeon apologized as she took the toy Bora was playing with and gave it to the owner. “I’m really sorry,” Blondie bowed a couple of times and watched the man leave with a dissatisfied face. Then she faced Bora with the exact expression, “What are you doing?”
“What was that?”
Siyeon raised an eyebrow, “A smartphone?”
“Do you happen to have one of those?”
Blondie nodded and before she could say anything, a loud gasp was heard from Bora yet again when a yellow machine with four wheels stopped in front of her.
“Oh my god!” she tapped the back wheel with her feet, “Fascinating.”
“That's a car.” Siyeon opened the door of the machine and it felt as if she was opening a portal to another dimension.
Without any further insistence, she quickly sat inside and couldn’t stop the next gasp leaving her mouth. So, that’s how they were able to turn the car to left and right, with the steering wheel!
“Here.” Siyeon handed her a black smartphone that was bigger than her hands.
Bora reluctantly turned her attention to the black thingy and shrugged, “It looks useless. I’d rather look outside and see the world.”
“Useless?”
And God, was it marvelous!
Everything was so colorful and bright! Though, people seemed cold due to weather, they still had a smile on their faces – well most of the people. And not to mention the buildings! There were a lot of them, too many to count. She didn’t know where to look at, there was a lot to take in all at once. She noted to ask this blondie for help later. Maybe after she was over the shock. Because Bora could feel her stare burn the back of her skull.
“Fascinating... Do you have a notebook? I’d like to write everything. In case I forget a detail or two.” Bora said to the girl next to her.
“We don’t get to do this a lot,” she whispered under her breath.
“I have one at home.” Siyeon replied, her tone seemed colder than usual, but Bora let it slide.
“So many wheels.” Bora said, her tone dripping with amazement for the humankind. She was so proud of them. She remembered the happiness they had all felt when a human discovered a wheel. Look at them now! Built different machines with various types of wheels. She couldn’t wait to learn all the names.
“What is it called?” She pointed a person on top of something with two wheels. Siyeon leaned to her side to see what she was pointing at.
“That’s a bicycle.”
“Do humans hate walking?” Bora asked curiously as her eyes never left the moving blocks and surroundings.
She heard Blondie Two take a small breath before answering, “No, of course not. They’re just in a hurry.”
“For what? Why not just live in the moment?” Bora giggled softly at a kid. Babies were so adorable, she wanted to pinch their cheeks!
“They- uh...” Siyeon cleared her throat, the more she talked, the more rigid her voice got.
“They have jobs. Places to go to.”
“Fascinating.”
Their ride was short unfortunately, before she knew it, they arrived at their destination. She guessed this was their home. How nice, she had a home! The building looked quite simple. It was a two-story home with white walls and a black car in the driveway. Siyeon gave the man who drove them here some papers with numbers on it and urged Bora to step out of the car. Clearly, Siyeon was reluctant to talk as she walked in front of her with her head held down and Bora respected that. Maybe her cheerful personality could make her smile later on. Once she unlocked the front door, Bora followed her inside and again, for the millionth time, she let out a gasp at the thing standing in the middle of the living room: “Wow!”
She quickly made her way towards it and examined the big, black and rectangle thing. It seemed like... it did nothing other than looking cool.
“That’s a TV.” Siyeon mumbled as she pressed a button and suddenly a bright light appeared out of nowhere and it hurt this fragile human eyes for the time being.
She stumbled back a little, covering the eyes as she let out a giggle. There was a person inside this magic box!
“Is someone behind it?” She questioned and looked behind the box but there was just cables, nothing more. Fascinating!
“No...”
After a while of examination and gasping at everything she had seen, she spotted the photos hanging on the wall. Photos of this body’s owner and Siyeon. They look happy together, Bora thought.
“You’re both so adorable.” Bora said to Blondie standing behind her.
Siyeon took her time replying, matter of fact, it was not much of a reply but just a quite hum. When Bora turned around to look at Siyeon, she frowned at the expression the girl had. It was a face with no emotions, not like someone who just had her loved one come back from the dead. She looked like a robot.
“What’s the matter?” Bora asked, unable to stand the awkward silence between them with the intensity of the stare.
“I don’t know how this is possible... but, you’re not... you-” Siyeon shook her head before speaking again: “Who are you?”
Bora’s lips curved into a wild smile: “I knew humans were smart but wow… How did you figure that out?”
Siyeon narrowed her eyes, clearly struggling to make sense of this situation. When Blondie remained silent, Bora continued: “Was I not subtle enough?” “Huh?”
Bora giggled like a little girl at the face Siyeon was making, she looked like she had smelled something really bad.
“You’re right. I’m not ‘Bora,’” the red-head laughed softly, fascinated with this girl’s intelligence: “I’m temporarily using her body to visit your world,” she gave the girl a friendly smile to show that she meant no harm. It seemed like Siyeon needed some positive vibes.
“I’m really captivated by your world. It looks nothing like the one I once saw when it was first created
”Siyeon was speechless. She did nothing other than stare blanky into Bora’s eyes.
“So, basically this is my first time visiting.”
“W-what?” At long last, Siyeon spoke again, her tone clothed in disbelief: “I don’t understand... none of this makes any sense.”
“Hmm?” Bora tilted her head to the right with a pout on her lips. She didn’t like the fact that Siyeon was starting to get upset.
“Was I not transparent enough?” She cleared her throat, straightened her back and flashed a beautiful smile, “Let me try again. I’m what you humans call Angels. We can only be seen if we’re inside a body with no soul. A dead body.”
Pure silence.
Siyeon looked straight into Bora’s eyes, her sinister, stone-cold gaze causing the little hairs on the back of the red-head’s neck to raise. The very lack of emotion on Siyeon’s eyes was starting to terrify Bora. She just glared at her without moving a muscle or saying a single thing. Did she not believe her and thought she was crazy? Angels were not allowed to lie no matter what. They had a very simple mission in their never-ending lives; do not harm humans, do not interfere, do not hijack living human’s body, and watch over them. Well, she wasn’t a Guardian Angel, it wasn’t her job to watch over humans. She was the daughter of two powerful Archangels, probably why she was allowed to hijack a dead body to visit the world. Normally, it was so rare to get the permission, it had to be really important such as catching a demon who had escaped hell or an angel who had hijacked a body without permission.
Eventually, Siyeon started to laugh. Phew! Maybe she wasn’t so upset after all. Bora laughed with her... for a minute. Were prolonged laughing fits considered as a normal thing to Humans or was there something wrong? Siyeon’s laugh was starting to get creepy... the louder Siyeon’s laugher got, the more it terrified Bora. It just kept going.
“I’m starting to feel this is a bad laugh...” The Angel muttered between her concerned semi-awkward chuckles.
After a while with Siyeon laughing like a mad woman and Bora silently watching her, Blondie took a deep breath; there was a Human saying for this brief stillness that took over the room: the calm before the storm... Prior to this very moment, Bora had no idea of the weight that statement held but now? Now that she could practically feel Siyeon’s dark and twisted aura ghost against her skin… She was petrified. But before she could even open her mouth to ask how the blonde was feeling…
Siyeon grabbed the Angel by the collar, the sounds of their struggle mixed in with the red-head’s grunts quickly broke the fragile silence that had consumed them as Siyeon pinned Bora against the nearby wall.
“Get the fuck out of her body and bring my wife back, you psychopath!” the blonde yelled, a drop of saliva landing on the angel’s face as the red-head gasped; the rage, the pure agony and pain on the Human’s face… It… It overwhelmed her- no… this wasn’t meant to happen. She was an Angel; she was supposed to help Humans not upset them! The way she was stared down at, the way Siyeon’s eyes were fuming with pure anger… No, she didn’t mean to! This was supposed to be a lighthearted visit to Earth- how did it come up to this?
“I−” Bora whimpered as she furrowed her eyebrows, feeling completely consumed by this untamed burst of unfiltered emotion that rushed through this body as the blonde clenched her teeth.
“Bring her back to me!!” Siyeon screamed as she increased her grip around the Angel’s collar, her voice cracking towards the end of her sentence as a set of small teardrops started to form at the edges of her eyes.
“My wife… My Bora… She promised me…” The blonde wept, her anger slowly blooming into pure sadness as she reminisced of her first picnic outing with her beloved; the promise… they had promised to each other that they would grow old together; that one will look after the other even after their hair turns gray… They promised… she promised…
The Angel relaxed her facial expression at the sensation of Siyeon’s grip easing up, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets as she watched the blonde fall on her knees; what the…
She parted her lips only to shut them the second she felt Siyeon’s arms wrap around her legs, a set of messy sobs and inaudible mutters reaching her ears as the blond clung on to her; uh− this was−
She just stood there; feeling too stunned, too awkward to move or do anything other than look down at her feet and sense Siyeon’s wet tears damping the lower portion of her shirt. She gulped at the sight; never before had she felt so useless, so powerless… She couldn’t understand why she felt that way; why her heart got tighter and tighter with every sob the Human took− could it have been the body she had hijacked? Could her confusing and intense urge to comfort this utterly broken Human being that wept in front of her be coming from this body she was in? Nevertheless, she loosened the grip of the blondie and kneeled right in front of her to hug her back. Maybe she didn’t want her in her wife’s body but she sure as heck needed a hug from her. Siyeon’s arms wrapped around Bora’s neck as she wept, letting go of the frustration and the pain of losing her loved one. The reality of her wife being actually dead might have just hit her. And Bora didn’t know if this was the dead wife’s feelings but she was realizing... maybe things weren’t black or white. Maybe she was being insensitive, she had never lost a loved one; angels couldn’t die. Maybe she shouldn’t have smiled at Siyeon when she told her, her wife was in fact dead. She was supposed to bring humans peace and happiness... not pain and tears.
How cruel it must be for her, Bora thought. To have the love of her life back from the dead only to realize it was someone else behind the face she loved. How... devastating. It must have felt to Siyeon like God was mocking her. And why was she feeling like this? As if her throat had a rock that she couldn’t swallow? Angels didn’t experience human emotions. They were just happy. Positive. Joyful. Not... sad. That's what it was called? Was she genuinely sad for this girl?
“I’m sorry.” Bora whispered softly as she felt Siyeon’s tears and silent sobs subside.
“Please leave.” Siyeon muttered out, her voice sounded raw. She didn’t move away from Bora though, she held her tighter: “It’s too painful look at you... you’re her but you’re not.”
Normally, Angel obeyed human wishes. Their wishes were their commands. She shouldn’t have a problem leaving this body and jump onto the next one. It wasn’t a big deal... However, deep in her gut she knew, leaving was wrong. She didn’t quite figure out why she was feeling like this, it was so out of character. She should obey and leave...
“Is she... is she in heaven?”
A question that shattered her heart. She had no idea but it wasn’t something Siyeon wanted to hear right now.
“Yes.” Bora swallowed the knot on her throat: “How did she die?”
That’s when Siyeon loosened her grasp around Bora’s neck and moved away to look at her with her bloodshot eyes. A tear broke free from her eye.
“She is a nurse. Was a nurse… There was... uh-” Siyeon cleared her throat to speak better, “An explosion. Fire spread everywhere− it’s still on the news… She went back in the hospital to save her patients and... couldn’t save herself.”
And Siyeon broke down again. She clung to Bora’s shirt as tightly as humanly possible, crying her heart out right there and Bora couldn’t do anything about it. She was such a useless Angel...
“Why did she save them? I don’t care about them! She should’ve saved herself!” Siyeon exclaimed, a raw and sorrowful sob tearing from her throat.
“What am I going to do without her? I need her...”
“I’m sorry...” It seemed like it was all she could say.
“I love her, God, I miss her so much.” Siyeon cried. Tears pricked at her eyes... tears!
Bora frowned to herself. This was strange... but no... she couldn’t abandon her. Not after what she had done. She couldn’t just use her lover’s body and leave her with this pain. She caused this pain in the first place. This was against her kind. She had never experienced love... it was a myth for angels. Yes, she had heard about it, all of them did. Guardian Angels couldn’t stop talking about their human’s love interests and how they’d do anything for one and another, but no one could fully understand the feeling until they experience it themselves.
The Angel never did.
But seeing Siyeon cry like there was no tomorrow... it made her feel something inside. She didn't know what it was, but it wasn’t good.
Love must be really powerful.
On second thought... She was really good friends with the Angel of Death. And she owned her a big favor after Bora covered her mess. Yes!
“Let me stay for a while.” Bora said suddenly: “I want to fully understand how Humans feel and operate.”
Siyeon shook her head with unwanted tears still escaping her eyes: “Do it in someone else’s dead body. Let my wife rest...”
“I’ll bring her back.” That grabbed the blond’s attention.
“What?”
“I promise.”
The thought of her wife coming back put Siyeon at ease for a while, it seemed. Even though she’d have to endure the angel staying in it for some time. She didn’t need much. Few weeks were enough! It felt as if her broken soul was coming together slowly. Hope sparkled in her eyes: “You can do that?”
No, not every Angel could. Only the ones Grim Reaper owed to: “I can.”
Wow, a slight smile appeared on Blondie’s face, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She made a mental note to make that happen. It was her duty.
“Really?”
“Really!” Bora beamed. Finally, she was making progress!
Silence took over the room for a minute while Siyeon considered the deal the Angel offered.
“Deal.”
Then her journey on earth had begun.
“Have you eaten yet?”
The angel turned her head to the door of the balcony, she didn’t expect Siyeon to wake up this early so she occupied herself with watching the cars and humans hurry to go to places.
“Eat?”
“Food,” Siyeon sighed. She looked exhausted. Maybe she didn’t get enough sleep, Bora thought.
Oh! Food was the fuel humans needed to stay alive and keep their energy. Was that why this stomach was making weird noises?
“No. Angels don’t need to eat food, but I do have a strange feeling in this stomach.” Bora pointed it out with a shrug.
The human let out a chuckle.
“That because you’re hungry. Don’t forget you’re in a human form.” Siyeon said, “In my wife’s body.” She added with a whisper as if no one was supposed to hear it but Bora heard it loud and clear: “Come on, follow me.”
“Wow!” The Angel’s mouth actually produced more saliva than usual, in human terms; her mouth watered at the sight of the food the waitress brought. Siyeon didn’t look impressed, quite opposite, she looked like she’d rather be anywhere but here. Not to mention, she could barely look at the Angel. Bora felt a sting in this borrowed heart.
“Use this fork, I can’t teach you how to use chopsticks right now.” Siyeon handed her a silver fork and Bora took it happily, though she didn’t understand why Siyeon was eating with sticks. Oh well, she couldn’t focus on it right now, she had so much delicious food to eat. And with just one bite of her meal, Bora gasped: “This is what humans eat every day?!”
Siyeon lifted her head up to look at the Angel and no matter how much she tried to suppress her smile, she failed miserably: “I assume you like it.”
Bora stuffed everything in her mouth to the point where her cheeks looked like they’d explode, so all Siyeon could hear was a mutter. She didn’t want to admit that the Angel was fucking adorable, stuffing food in her mouth before she could swallow and let out small gasps and grunts here and there. No. She couldn’t ignore the fact that this extraterrestrial creature was invading her dead wife’s body. To her, this felt like a chore, a chore with a familiar face. The only reason she endured putting up with this was because the Angel promised she’d bring her wife back. Though it seemed literally impossible to bring back the dead but so did an angel hijacking a dead body. But why was the Angel inside her wife so fucking adorable? Siyeon shook her head to get rid of the thoughts which earned a mutter from Bora.
“What did you say? Swallow your food first.”
It took Bora a solid minute to do as she was told.
“You okay? You’re not eating.”
“I’m full.” Siyeon leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. As much as she wanted to remember that this wasn’t her wife… it still had her face and Siyeon was on the brick of breaking down. She wished the Angel would just leave right now. The world wasn’t worth seeing.
“Full?” Bora hummed, maybe that was why she felt like she couldn’t eat anymore but desperately tried to: “I guess I am too.”
A chuckle left the blonde's lips at the sight of Bora trying to eat more. Could she stop being fucking cute?
“So, you’re an Angel.”
Bora hummed in agreement shortly after Siyeon placed her question.
“What kind of angel? Angel of death?” The blonde leaned forward to hear Bora better, at last looking into her confused eyes. She may have her wife’s body, but Siyeon could see that this wasn’t her wife from just a look. The light behind her eyes wasn’t her wife’s light.
“Oh, dear, no.” Bora smiled as she wiped her mouth with a napkin, she was surprised but happy that Siyeon was eager to talk about this. She didn’t want to be insensitive again. The Angel had to think twice before saying anything.
“She is a close friend of mine though.”
“She?” Siyeon slightly tilted her head to the right; the Angel of Death was a girl? “Is that how you’re going to bring my wife back?”
Bora was walking on thin ice with this.
“Yes.” She said carefully. “I’m a daughter of two Archangels, meaning I’m just a young, learning Archangel.”
Siyeon’s brain felt like a mess. If she were to tell this to her friends, they’d lock her up a mental asylum.
“You’re powerful then.”
“Well… not as powerful as my parents but you could say that.” Bora shrugged. She’d be just as powerful as them one day.
“This is… just surreal.” Siyeon muttered to herself.
“Why? Angels are among you. Every human being has a Guardian Angel. I can’t see right now because-” Bora didn’t finish her sentence. That’d be insensitive and hurtful for Siyeon, “But I know your Guardian Angel is here. Right next to you. Protecting and guiding you.”
Siyeon nodded slowly and a sad smile appeared on her lips, “My wife’s Guardian Angel couldn’t protect her then.”
The ice just got thinner.
“If it’s time… no Angel, not even an Archangel can interfere.”
“But you can bring her back from the dead?” Siyeon asked, her tone a little in disbelief as if she was waiting for Bora to assure her.
“Yes. I will.” So, Bora assured her. She’d do it constantly if necessary. She had to make this girl happy before leaving. Bora’s eyes darted to the sky because there was a loud noise coming from the sky, as if someone was driving a spaceship. Her jaw dropped: “Metal bird!”
Siyeon followed her gaze and laughed, “That’s a plane.”
“No, it’s a metal bird.” Bora said, eyes still on the metal bird moving in the sky.
“Okay, metal bird it is,” the Human sighed in defeat before continuing: “What about it?”
“How does it fly? It doesn’t flap its wings.” Bora said, mesmerized by the fact that it looked a lot like an Angel. A metal angel.
“Uh.... Machines… I guess.”
“Fascinating.”
Siyeon’s sad smile disappeared as she stood up from her seat. It was too much information too soon, she needed time to sink it all in.
“I’ll go pay, wait for me at the entrance.”
Bora nodded and obeyed the Human’s wish. But God, she took forever to come back. The red-head wanted to explore everything and- Oh my god! Was that a teeny tiny dog across the street? She had to pet it! Siyeon could find her easily since her head was like a stop sign, anyone could spot it from kilometers away.
Siyeon turned her head for one second. How hard could it be to wait for a second? One second and this baby Angel was about to get run over! Siyeon acted with one thing in her mind, this Angel couldn’t die but her wife’s body could. Again!
“Watch it!” She exclaimed as she tackled her out of the way, she could hear the car stopping but she was too busy protecting the Angel’s head from getting smashed on the asphalt.
It all happened in a second. Bora just wanted to pet a dog but now she was laying on the sidewalk with Siyeon’s body pressed against this body, her hand under Bora’s head, face inches apart. It seemed as if the world had gone quiet. The only thing she could hear was their unsynchronized breaths and this heart’s rapidly beating inside her chest.
“Are you okay?” Siyeon whispered after what felt like an eternity.
Bora’s face had gotten a lot hotter. What was happening to her? Was it the adrenaline of almost dying? But she wouldn’t have died. Yes, she couldn’t hijack this body again, but she’d find another one. This heart was pounding so loud that she worried everyone in the world could hear it: “This… heart is beating so fast.”
Siyeon couldn’t take her eyes away from her. It was her wife… her lips, her eyes, her nose… She had missed her so much… She wanted to lean in and kiss her, tell her everything is okay now. That Siyeon would never let anything happen to her ever again… But reality slapped her across the face. She snapped out of her thoughts with the man’s screaming and internally slapped herself for getting lost in somebody else's gaze. This wasn’t her wife.
“Good. You’re good.” Siyeon mumbled before standing up from the ground, pulling Bora with her. Turning to the angry driver, Siyeon apologized and bowed slightly as she moved out of the way with Bora. The Angel still couldn’t hear anything except for her thoughts now. She couldn’t stop looking at Siyeon’s expressions, - now looking a little mad and confused – was she always this… beautiful?
All the way to home, Bora’s mind raced with thoughts. Why did Siyeon save her? Wouldn’t it be easier for her to let Bora die? She wanted this all along, she wanted her wife to rest, that was her exact words… so why would she risk her life and save her from getting hit by a car? She risked her life for Bora… not her Bora but for the Angel in it. The red-headed girl stood still in the doorway and watched Siyeon take off her coat and walk inside towards the living room. She couldn’t quite read her expressions right now. Maybe it because Bora still wasn’t an expert in human emotions or maybe it was because Siyeon had just a really good poker face. She risked her life for her… how could she ever pay her back for this? It seemed like this heart wouldn’t calm down. The adrenaline left the body, she knew that much but this heart... kept pounding inside her body as if it wanted to crack her ribcage and pop out. What was this emotion?
“When someone tells you to wait, you wait in your spot.” Siyeon said as she sat on the couch and avoided looking at the Angel at all costs. Apparently staring at the turned off TV was more interesting.
“I saw a tiny dog, I wanted to pet it. We don’t have animals.” Bora explained herself, why was Siyeon mad at her? How could she possibly know a car would come out of nowhere? Bora didn’t want to believe it was because Siyeon cared about her… She just cared about her wife’s body and getting her back. Right?
“You could’ve died.”
Or maybe not. Maybe she did care about her too, not just the human Bora.
“I didn’t mean to upset you. I’ll be more careful.”
Actually Siyeon wasn’t upset with the Angel, no, she was upset with herself. Upset about being that close to her affected her more than it should. She shouldn’t need a reality check, she shouldn’t need to remind herself this wasn’t her wife. What was she fucking thinking? What happened to her in these past couple of days? Talking to her, being with her... It shouldn’t effect her. No. It wasn’t going to.
“Good.” And without another word, Siyeon left the room. She didn’t want to look at Bora and feel that excruciating pain in her chest again… at least for a while.
Bora needed this coffee machine in her home, honestly this was magic. Coffee was truly heaven made! It was a shame they didn’t have caffeine up there. Over the past few days, the Angel's mind was was pretty occupied, her thoughts couldn’t seem to slow down or stop, she couldn’t have a silent moment in her head which was overwhelming to say the least. After the incident, she didn’t feel eager to see the world, she didn’t even want to leave the house. No, she’d rather sit and get to know Siyeon better, but it was just the Angel talking these days. Whenever she’d want to talk, Siyeon would just hum or nod or answer with one word to end the conversation. She looked like she was happy about Bora not insisting to go out though. Because there was little to no conversation in the house, Bora observed Siyeon. She learned her schedule; she’d wake up around noon, drink coffee and eat a little. Sew clothes in her room for hours without any break. It seemed Siyeon truly loved what she did for a living, as if it calmed her mind. Every clothes she had made was better than any brand Bora researched. The Human loved her coffee black. No sugar, no milk. As strong as it could get. Bora tried to drink that and drinking coal would’ve tasted better. Siyeon did not like going out. She’d buy lots of food to last for weeks so she wouldn’t have to go out again. Bora asked her why she was buying too much food and Siyeon just muttered out: “I don’t like people.”
Well… before Bora would’ve defended Humans and explain Siyeon they were truly fascinating but now, only one person was interesting in her eyes now; the Angel only wanted to know one human. And Siyeon had quite the temper. Maybe it could be because she was in grief and had just lost her wife but with just one wrong word, she’d snap. Siyeon was a clean person, Bora noticed. She didn’t like messiness, so Bora paid extra attention to be neat. She’d sit in the living room and read a book for hours. It was just… adorable. The more she observed the Human, the more… things she started to feel. What kind of things, one might ask? Well, she had no idea. What do you call it when you get sweaty hands, fast heartbeat and stuttering around a person? Not to mention the nonstop daydreaming! She kept repeating the incident in her mind like a broken record which was frustrating! And it just made no sense to the Angel.
When Siyeon walked into the kitchen, Bora’s eyes sparkled.
“Good morning,” she said softly, hesitant to speak to her since Siyeon didn’t bother talking to her anymore… maybe it was because of the incident. She should’ve been more careful!
“I made you coffee.”
Siyeon nodded, acknowledging her greeting as she grabbed the cup of coffee Bora prepared for her, just the way she liked and sat on one of the kitchen chairs. Maybe Siyeon was being unfair to the extraterrestrial creature, but she couldn’t help it. No, of course Siyeon wasn’t mad at her, she was mad at herself. Thinking about how cute the Angel was or the incident felt like a betrayal. It felt like she was cheating on her wife. She had to keep her distance, she had to remind herself this wasn’t her wife; just an intruder. Although… she did notice a change in the Angel. She didn’t act like a newborn baby anymore, instead she was more level-headed, calmer, more quiet. She wasn’t being insensitive or hurtful. She’d think before speaking now. She’d zone out and stare into nothingness for minutes. Her whole demeanor changed. It was… endearing. She didn’t know the Angel had this in her.
“You didn’t have to but thanks.” Siyeon said, the tone of her voice was husky due to just waking up. With just one sip, Siyeon was amazed. She even remembered her coffee? Cute.
Fuck, the blonde slapped herself again internally. No, not cute. Intruder in your wife’s body, stupid.
Bora remained silent. What was she supposed to say now? And why did the tone of Siyeon’s voice made her feel all… giddy inside? Her voice was so deep and luxurious. Her eyes landed on the bracelet. It was a start!
“That’s pretty.” She said with a smile, pointing at it. “It reminds me of my mother’s armband.”
Siyeon hummed as she took a sip of her coffee. Not the bracelet, not the bracelet…
“My father made it for her. It’s kind of a tradition. You give it to the angel you wish to marry. Like how wedding rings are for humans.” Bora continued, if SIyeon hadn’t stopped her, she’d go on for life, really. Just as she was open her mouth to ramble more about anything, the next words coming out of the Human shut her up.
“She made it for me.” Siyeon sighed, careful so that her voice couldn’t crack under the sheer pleasure the mere mention of her wife created in her.
Well, frick… There goes that conversation starter. So much for being a lucky archangel; what were the odds that bracelet was made by Siyeon’s wife? She had to find something else to talk about before that awful silence would drive her insane.
“Humans sure are fascinated with flying, huh?” Bora tired to start a new conversation by tackling a completely irrelevant topic and despite Siyeon not even acknowledging her, she kept going.
“The TV last night had this wonderful documentary about how metal bird– I mean… a wonderful documenatry about how airplanes are made.” Bora looked at the blonde for any reaction but nothing other than sipping from her coffee.
“I wonder what more you could have achieved if you were born with wings and the ability to fly.”
Enough.
Siyeon placed her mug on the counter rather violently to make her point which startled Bora. Don’t feel bad, don’t feel bad… Siyeon reminded herself..
“What do you want?” She said, trying her best to keep her voice firm. That reaction was the last one the Angel was expecting.
“What?”
“Quit pretending. If you want to say something, fucking say it. Quit beating around the bush.”
“I don’t-”
Siyeon turned her ice-cold glare to her: “Out with it.”
A pout formed on the Angel’s lips. She could somewhat endure silence, but rudeness was something she had never experienced firsthand. It… it hurt her to receive this treatment from the woman she’d break the rules for and risk a severe punishment.
“Why are you so mean to me?” Bora asked, her tone trembling with pure sadness. And it broke Siyeon to pieces.
“Why are you yelling at me? Why are you treating me like this?” Bora questioned, desperate for any kind of answer so she’d know what she had done wrong. She didn’t want to repeat it and upset her again. Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes.
“I’m sorry for not being careful, I’m sorry for almost getting run over by a car…” Her throat tightened, as if there was an emotional rock that she couldn’t swallow.
Siyeon averted her glare from Bora to the mug in her hand.
“Stop. It has nothing to do with that, just stop, please.” Because if this… woman in front of her start crying, Siyeon knew she’d burn the world for it. Her wife or not, she couldn’t bare to see her crying.
For the first time in her entire life, Bora raised her voice with both frustration and sadness: “Then I’m sorry I took your wife’s body!”
Siyeon lifted her head back up again to glance at the Angel, she was taken back by the tears rapidly falling down on Bora’s cheeks.
“I'm so sorry for hijacking her body, it wasn’t my choice! I’m sorry for coming to Earth! I'm sorry for every time I inconvenienced you with my stupid antics. I'm sorry for everything I have ever done!” Bora cried breathlessly; her tiny hands formed into fists as she let herself get lost in this very first emotional breakdown. She was feeling so many emotions all at once and she couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Please stop being mad at me…” The Angel whispered after her hiccups and sobs came to an end.
“I don’t know what else to do apart from apologizing. I don’t know how to fix our relationship. I don’t even understand how I broke it in the first place! So please, please stop being mean to me…” She took a shaky breath before mumbling, “Stop treating me like an object. I’m not an object.”
Siyeon’s grip got stronger with each sentence leaving the Angel’s lips. What happened to Angels not feeling human emotions? It hadn’t been a week since she came to earth, did she master them this quickly? Nevertheless, she hated this. Stop treating me like an object. That hurt the most among everything because it was exactly what she had been doing, wasn’t it? Treating her like a chore rather than a person just to get her wife back, without considering this creature might have feelings too.
She loosened her grip on the mug before it could break and made her way to the crying Angel.
“Come here,” Siyeon whispered as she pulled the tiny woman into her arms. She missed this, feeling her warmth against her, the way she fit perfectly in her arms… if she’d close her eyes, she could imagine this was actually her sweetheart…
“Please, don’t treat me-” A raw sob escaped from her throat, “like this. I-” another hiccup mixed with a cry, “I just wanted to get to know you.”
“I’m sorry.” Siyeon said as she tried to comfort the crying girl in her arms the best, she could without bursting into tears herself. She had to make up for being such a dickhead.
“How about I order pizza and we just… chat? I’d like to hear some Angel stories.”
“Really?” Bora wiped her teary-eyed eyes with the back of her hand. A sense of relief washed over this body. Though she’d rather stay in her arms for eternity. It felt like… home. As if she had found what she was looking for all her life. Somewhere she belonged… But she didn’t, did she?
“Yes. Just don’t cry anymore.” Siyeon said, wiping her wet cheek with her thumb, “I’m sorry for being a bitch.”
This heart was going to burst─ Bora’s heart was going to fucking explode like a volcano. What in the world was happening to this body!
“Are you sure we can eat all that?” Bora asked, her gaze on the biggest pizza she had ever seen. Not that she saw many, but it was still tremendous.
“I can eat all of that by myself.” Siyeon shrugged as she made herself comfortable on the couch with the pizza placed between the two of them.
“Fascinating.” Bora murmured, looking at her lovingly. How could a person eating a pizza make her feel like this? For Bora, nothing could be more alluring.
“So, tell me how does it feel to fly?”
Bora smiled, “It’s… uh… how do I even begin to describe it to you, Siyeon?”
“Do you have wings?” Siyeon asked, raising her eyebrows. God, Bora wanted to pinch her cheeks and kiss her… No, better yet, she wanted to give her own wings to Siyeon and let her experience it by herself. No words were enough to explain how good it felt to fly.
“Of course! My wings are pure black.”
Siyeon hummed quietly, “Black? I thought every angel has white wings.”
“No, it’s just a myth. The stronger you are, the darker your wings are. Basically, if you have white wings, you’re at the bottom.”
The look on the human’s face was priceless, Bora couldn’t suppress her giggle.
“Black is the highest then?”
“Black wings are the biggest and strongest wings, yes. With just one flap of them, I rise to the sky…” Bora said as she looked outside of the window, “I wish I could show you how good it feels to feel that freedom when you fly. To feel the wind on your face. To not worry about anything but just be in the moment…”
“I always envied birds for that… and planes don’t cut it.” Siyeon stated, her tone in complete awe. To have wings and be able to fly… What a dream…
“I remember my first time trying to fly.” Bora chuckled at the memory, “My dad was teaching me how to use them, I was around four or five years old. We were standing at the end of the cliff-”
The Human gasped, “Do not tell me he threw you off the cliff!”
“In his defense, that’s how we learn to fly. There were so many angels flying around the cliff, if I were to fail, they would’ve caught me immediately.”
Siyeon looked at her with excitement, “And?”
“I did not fail, duh! It took me a while to control them, someone almost grabbed me before I smashed my brain all over the ground, but I made it!”
Siyeon let out a relieved sigh, “Are they heavy? Is that why it’s hard to control them?”
The Angel nodded, talking about her wings made her realize how much she had missed them but deep down, she didn’t want to leave Siyeon… no matter how selfish it sounded.
“Wings are made of bones and feathers. They’re extremely heavy especially if they’re black. But we’re equally strong.”
“Um… How old are you?” Siyeon hesitantly asked, as if it was forbidden to ask this question.
Bora tilted her head to the right as she tried to remember, “I don’t remember but I know I’m really, truly old for humans. Just not for angels.”
“I’d love to see you in your true form.” Siyeon said. Maybe if they had met under better circumstances- no.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.” The red-head noted: “But I will be in every sunset you see. I promise. I’ll always be with you; you just won’t be able to see me.”
“Why sunsets?”
“Because sunsets are proof that endings can be beautiful too.”
Their end… Was it bad to feel like she was going to miss this Angel?
“I’ll search for you in every sunset.”
Bora smiled at her answer. It made her feel a lot better now that Siyeon would have something to remember her. Now for the question that was bugging her: “Can I ask you something?”
Siyeon nodded.
“What is love? How… how does it feel?”
“Love…” the Human sighed, wiping her hands and mouth on the napkin as she drifted off in her thoughts. Man, she really didn’t want to think of her dead wife now.
“When you love the right person, it just feels right. You feel at home, at ease with them. It feels as if there are butterflies in your stomach. A whole zoo at times…” Siyeon recalled the times she realized she was falling hard for her friend: “You would sacrifice anything for them, you’d burn the whole world if necessary. You just feel like a complete individual. You just know in your heart that she’s the one.”
Bora felt tongue tied. Comparing these with what she had been feeling… could it be true? It did feel right, she felt at home with Siyeon, calm and at ease. This stomach acted weird most of the time… like butterflies, yes! She was sacrificing her own safety just to make her happy. Archangel or Angel, no one was allowed to break the rules, especially as strict as this one. No one could bring back the dead, it was possible but came with the most cruel punishment in history. It was worth it. Siyeon was worth every punishment. She just wanted her to be happy. Did that mean… was she in love with her? Was this feeling love?
“Is this how you feel for her?” Bora murmured quietly.
Without hesitation, “Yes.” Siyeon said.
Well… Bora was expecting that answer, but why did it hurt this much? Why couldn’t she feel something for her too? Having to experience being loved as well as loving someone would be remarkable. But that wasn’t possible. Siyeon would never love her.
Over the past few days, Siyeon got to open up more to the Angel. She took her outside, showed her new things Bora had never seen before such as a movie in a theater, a walk in the sunset –and sunrise– they’d go to the beach and have a picnic there while Bora shared more stories of her flying. She introduced music to Bora and it was the best thing humans ever did. She saw Siyeon’s real smile and laughter for the first time in forever. Then Siyeon would tell her, her own stories with her wife and her friends. She told her the things she had to go through, but it wasn’t much except the death of her wife and her cat dying years ago. She had a wonderful childhood with her wife by her side most of the time. Bora wasn’t ashamed to admit that those stories left a bitter taste in her mouth. However... Their connection was truly beautiful, and Bora didn’t want to abandon it. Yes, it was selfish and yes, she knew Siyeon was waiting for the day she’d leave and bring her wife back, but Bora just wasn’t ready... She didn’t want to watch over her, she wanted to be with her. Did it make her a bad Angel? She didn’t want to think about that.
This was such a lovely day, the sun was up and shining, perfect weather for a walk on the beach but why did Bora find it so hard to even move her head? It felt heavier than usual. There was this awful pain in the back of her head and her throat... It hurt to breathe, when she could breathe for that matter. It seemed Bora’s nose stopped working. She’d usually be up by now and prepare Siyeon’s coffee. It sucked! What was happening... And it was strange for Siyeon too. There was no coffee smells or little hums coming from the kitchen. The Angel would usually talk to the birds outside, which was freaking cute, but now nothing. Siyeon frowned, a little worried about the Angel, she slowly walked toward the guest room where Bora was staying.
Knocking on the door, Siyeon invited herself in after hearing a grunt. And there she was, the almighty young Archangel curled up under blankets, sniffing softly. Oh boy, they shouldn’t have walked on the beach at night in the freezing cold weather.
“Everything okay?” Siyeon asked, moving closer to the edge of the bed.
“I don’t know!” The Angel whined, “Why-” she sniffed few times to point out her blocked nose, “can’t I breathe?”
“Did you catch a cold?” Siyeon placed her hand on the Angel’s forehead and was met with a burning skin.
“God, you’re burning up.”
“Is this how it’s called?” Bora mumbled, “Why though?”
“Because you got cold in the beach. It’s okay, I’ll go make you soup, you’ll be okay in no time.”
“Okay...”
Well, that wasn’t solid food.
After helping Bora sit on the bed, she placed the tray on her legs.
“Here, this will help with your throat.”
“A beverage?” Bora asked, confusion in her husky voice, “How do I-” she grabbed the spoon and as soon as she put it in her mouth, she spat it back out: “Hot! So hot!”
Siyeon laughed as she watched the Angel pant with her mouth agape. She made her way towards the bed and sat next to her: “Let me help.”
Bora obeyed and happily gave the spoon to the beautiful woman. She noted how Siyeon blew into the spoon before feeding the Angel.
“It’s chicken soup.” Siyeon said softly.
“I like it.” Well, she’d love anything Siyeon would make.
After back and forth of feeding the sick Angel, Siyeon noticed the sweat on Bora’s body, her pajamas were practically wet.
“Let’s get you changed, okay? I’ll go grab a new pair.” While Siyeon was occupied, Bora took this opportunity to go to the bathroom.
She didn’t mind sickness or basic human needs such as food, oxygen, water but this! Peeing every twenty minutes was frustrating! She checked herself in the mirror and scolded her nose, “Why are you not working? Hmph.”
When she came back, she found Siyeon sitting on the edge of the bed with a pair of new pajamas in her hand, patiently waiting for Bora.
“Come here,” Siyeon called out and pulled Bora back on the bed. Her skin was on fire.
Bora wasn’t going to disobey that soft order. She sat down on the bed next to Siyeon and waited for her next move. She could change her own clothes but if Siyeon offered to do it, who was she to say no?
Siyeon turned her body towards the Angel and carefully pulled her sweaty top off her head. Maybe it was intentional maybe it wasn’t but when her fingers caressed her soft skin, it sent shivers down her spine. She could feel Bora’s intense gaze on her but she could not care. Seeing her like this… It had been a while. Her soft skin felt incredible under her fingers. When was the last time she had seen her lover’s body? All she wanted to do was to press her lips on Bora’s collarbone, leave love bites on them and kiss them. She caressed her collarbone with the tip of her fingers slowly, feeling the way Bora shivered with her touch. Her mind wandered to the very first time they had sex. It was in senior year, Bora’s parents were out of town and they had trusted Siyeon to take good care of their daughter. And well, she did in many ways. It was the first night they opened their bodies to each other as well as their souls.
Without noticing her fingers found their way down to Bora’s toned stomach, her sharp muscles… how many times had Siyeon melted ice on them and worshipped those abs? She forced herself to grab the newly washed top and gently put it on Bora before averting her attention to the woman's waist. Siyeon placed her hands at the elastic edge of Bora's pants before softly pulling them down. Her lips hung slightly ajar the moment her sight fell on Bora's exposed thighs; oh the memories, memories of her feeling and tasting every inch of the redhead's inner thighs… She wanted to… do it again. Desperately.
She couldn’t express how much she had missed her, feeling her, touching her, making her feel loved. Siyeon’s traced her fingers across Bora’s thighs as she at long last took off the pants. It took everything in her to stop staring at her body and remember that she was sick and needed care rather than perverted looks. Because if she were to look any longer, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from devouring every inch of Bora.
She cleared her throat and grabbed the new pants as she quickly helped Bora put them on. She tucked her in under the blanket and rose to her feet to leave the room and let the woman rest. If she wanted her to get well soon, she had to let her rest.
“Siyeon,” Bora had no idea how she found the strength to speak right now after all the touching and intense staring but she didn’t want to be alone now, she never wanted to be alone anymore. This was the first time she had felt a human touch on her skin, not just the face or hands but… different parts of her skin too. It was electrifying. Was it normal to become addicted to her touch in such short time? Bora was from heaven and she was an Archangel but nothing was more heavenly than Siyeon… she should’ve been an Angel instead of her. But what she couldn’t understand was why? Siyeon looked like she was in some sort of trance and Bora was too afraid to even breathe so that she wouldn’t come back to reality… as bad and selfish as it sounded. The more time passed, the more Bora realized, she was completely in love with this human. She’d do anything for her, whatever it’d take to make her happy. First Angel ever to feel love… She should feel special but there was no point.
“Please, stay.”
And Siyeon couldn’t refuse. She made herself comfortable under the blankets and let Bora snuggle in her arms. God, she missed her warmth. Their snuggly nights without much talking, just feeling each other. It felt like one of those nights.
Bora started to caress the back of Siyeon’s hand, “My nose doesn’t work half of the time.”
“Because you’re sick.”
Bora hummed, “And when I try to breathe through my mouth, my throat gets so dry.” She murmured, “And my head; it hurts so much, my eyes are burning… what is happening to me? Will I die?” There was genuine curiosity and sadness behind Bora’s voice that melted Siyeon’s heart.
The thought of losing her again broke her in and out utterly.
“No.” she answered with a firm tone. “Not again.” Siyeon moved a shred of hair behind Bora’s ear as she let herself get lost in those beautiful brown eyes: “You’ll be up and running in no time.”
Bora’s lips curved into a contented smile as she held Siyeon’s hand on her cheek, never taking her eyes off the Human and how lovingly she was looking at her. For just one second, Bora let herself believe Siyeon loved her.
Before she could stop herself, “You’re my home.” The Angel whispered. “My safe place.”
Siyeon didn’t even realize she was leaning in to her lips, to kiss her and make Bora feel her love. It just felt right for a second. Then it hit her. The ugly reality awaited her. Coming out of her trance, Siyeon abruptly pulled away. This wasn’t her fucking wife. This whole time, she was just living in her memories, forgetting the fact that an extraterrestrial creature hijacked her wife’s body. How could she do this? How could she betray her wife? And then she realized. This Angel embraced this body; this whole time she never referred to her body as “mine”, it was always “this body.” But now… How could she let herself get lost in those memories? How could she believe even for a weak moment that she was her wife?
She stood up in a hurry and neared the door, her heartbeat was speeding up rapidly as if she had just ran a marathon. How could she…
“Leave.” Siyeon said, keeping her tone as harsh as possible but the unsynchronized breaths gave it away.
“You’ve stayed in that body for far too long.” No, she refused to look at this Angel and see the broken look on her face. If she did, she would give in… This had to be done. Before it was too late.
“Leave!” Siyeon exclaimed, “Go back to where you came from and bring back my wife. Before-” She opened the door and whispered mostly to herself, “Before I turn into something I hate.”
Bora was lost for words. The tears running through her cheeks couldn’t be helped. She had never felt like this… she didn’t even know what this emotion was called. It felt like Siyeon had taken her heart and smashed it against the wall, or maybe stepped on it with heels. But she knew. She knew what she was feeling but alongside that realization came this incredibly crushing sensation of pain, pain that her feelings were never met to be reciprocated. They were a losing game from the start. For an immortal, the Angel thought nothing could kill her. She was mistaken. Siyeon’s words killed a part of her. However, no matter how painful it was, the Angel knew, if you love someone, you have to let them go if it makes them happy. Siyeon’s happiness was her wife, it was never going to be the Angel. Bora stared at the closed door and nodded as her tears never seemed to stop flowing freely from her eyes. She was going to miss someone she never had.
“As you wish…”
Siyeon ran her fingers through her hair. Maybe she was too harsh… she didn’t want to hurt the Angel but she couldn’t do it, she can’t cheat on her wife. She wouldn’t. But maybe she shouldn’t have been this rude. The Angel didn’t deserve it, not after telling Siyeon she felt safe with her, that she felt at home. She should apologize to her because hurting her was just unbearable. But just as she was about to open the door, Bora opened it first. Her eyes looked bloodshot, her nose red but overall she just looked like she had waken up from a coma. Cute.
“Listen, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-” Bora’s confused gaze around the house turned to Siyeon. Her eyes… they were different than before, no they were more familiar. The light behind her eyes… it was her wife’s light.
“Siyeon?” Just as she was able to tell it wasn’t her Bora before, now she was able to tell it was. It was her wife, she could feel it in her bones!
“Bora?” Siyeon asked carefully, she was so scared that her instinct was wrong or she was hallucinating. Could it be true?
“Mhm… What happened?” Bora mumbled sleepily as she rubbed her eyes only to realize there were tears on them. She scowled.
“Oh my god, you… you’re back… you’re back!” Siyeon exclaimed loudly as she rushed to her wife, her actual wife and pulled her close into her arms.
“I’ve missed you… Bora, my Bora… I love you so much.”
“I’m back? Where did I come back from?”
She could tell Bora was confused as to why Siyeon was weeping in her arms but it didn’t matter right now.
“And I love you too, honey.”
The love of her life was back… She couldn’t stop giggling even though she was openly crying, and kissing every inch of her wife’s face.
“I can’t believe she kept her promise,” Siyeon cupped her wife’s cheeks between her hands and wiped away her tears with her thumb. Wait… If she kept her promise then it’d mean…
“No...” Siyeon excused herself and quickly made her way to the bedroom in little hopes of maybe seeing her but of course, she didn’t. She didn’t get to apologize, she didn’t get to say goodbye or say thank you. She might have hijacked her wife’s body but because she did, her wife was alive again. Was she never going to thank her? Say goodbye and wish her well in life…? She rushed to the window and looked up in the sky, as if she could see her. But no… She was never going to see her again. Why did she feel awful and hurt when she should’ve been feeling over the moon right now? The thought of not going to talk to the Angel hurt more than she could’ve predicted.
“Siyeon, are you okay?” Bora’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Her wife was back!
“I’m okay, now that you’re here, I’m okay.” Siyeon said as she watched Bora come closer in tiny steps and hugged her tightly.
“What happened? Why am I here? I was at the hospital. Then the explosion…” Bora gasped, “are the patients okay?”
“A lot has happened, my love.” Siyeon sighed as she kissed the top of her head: “You’re not going to believe it.”
I will be in every sunset you see, the Angel told her, so Siyeon kept her promise too.
The next day, Siyeon went to the only place in her mind. A place the Angel adored wholeheartedly.
The beach.
The Angel said she’d watch over her, she’d be with her but Siyeon wasn’t sure she still would visit her after the things she said. She felt awful and desperately needed to redeem herself even if it wasn’t reciprocated.
“Hey,” Siyeon said as she sat on the sand, “You never said you’re leaving, you never said goodbye…”
“It’s not a goodbye. Goodbye means I’ll never get to see you again.”
“But thank you.” Siyeon whispered to the air, “Thank you for keeping your promise…”
“I’d do anything to make you happy.”
“And I’m sorry for the things I’ve said. We shouldn’t have parted ways like this…” Siyeon looked straight to the horizon, the pink-tinged sky and the last of the sun before it disappeared. And strangely she knew deep in her gut that the Angel was listening… Perhaps, she was even here with her.
“I’m missing you already. I’ll never forget you my Angel.”
“Neither will I…” The Angel smiled, “I miss you too, Siyeon.”
“I’ll search for you in every sunset.”
The End