Archive of Our Own ^beta

Life in the underworld is almost as bleak as the surface dwellers imagine. Though it never rains brimstone, and fires here rarely burn for long due to the little oxygen that bleeds in  through artificial skies. 

It is still cold though, hard and devoid of any more magic. 

Unlike a time before now, everything has gone to shit, and Changbin hates it. 

All the good that had once been in the shadow city had depleted with the introduction of human technology gradually sucking up what little of their magic was left. 

So, where there had once been a thriving economy of people based on trading magical wares and exploring their abilities, tall buildings to house said depressed people and bots took its place. Though now, the bots rule over the people. Bots here, bots there, bots everywhere. 

Changbin scowls up at the jumbled colors on the fake sky above the intersection, his fingers twitching at his sides as it glitches. The errors are more frequent now, so the once gradual stain of random colors now appear rapidly and blink out, jarring and fading in the abandoned spots where the code cannot be debugged. 

This alone should tell the council that bots are not all they’ve been made out to be, but even he understands that the people who make their band of leaders can be corrupted. 

Besides, the problems with their skies are not nearly as annoying as the constant whirring of moving metal parts filling their day to day like a soundtrack to a less than ordinary life. 

Traveling bots lining the streets is a common sight to see now. Even during busy hours, the train of gadgets insist on their right of way, because they are protected by law. 

Which means Changbin must cross the road before the incoming entourage worms it’s way to him. Otherwise, he’d have to wait for the entire line to pass him, and he doesn’t have the time or patience for it.

After the council had declared that they were protected by law, it had become illegal to knock the annoying things down. Their claim that the bots came to help after the realm lost its magic and not before is also a lie. 

There had been magic before the grey, metallic and impersonal surface-world tech imports had come. After that, the rest of the gifts they had left was sucked up. 

Now, after decades without magic, people must see that nothing can, right?

Changbin sighs as he crosses the street just before the bot-line reaches him. Strolling down to his apartment after a full work night is always quite depressing, and thinking about politics won’t help. 

He can’t wait for his bed, a long day of sleep, and a plate of sizzling steak for the evening if Chan will. Like a bot, his life has developed monotony, and his head is agreeing with him. 

“Hmmph!” Changbin huffs in frustration at it all, kicking a stray bolt across the street and watching it clatter against the wall of his apartment block. 

The wayward metal hits a panel on the wall, revealing a facade made with tech. Changbin has never noticed it, so he watches with some fascination as small square devices used to hide the crude outside of the walls roll at the impact of the bolt. 

“Wow,” he murmurs, “even the walls are bots.” 

It shouldn’t be surprising, he thinks, watching as the bolt he tossed continues its roll down the pavement and heads into a curbside drain. Then sighing heavily, Changbin turns to leave.

He has hardly taken a step when a hushed noise catches his attention. 

Giggle… 

Giggling? Changbin freezes. That’s not just any giggle either, he cocks his head to pay closer attention– that is trouble.  

The sound wafts from the corner ahead, so he tiptoes to the end of the alley where he spots the twins—Felix and Jisung—huddling over a glitching holo-screen. Their eyes are alight with mischief, reflecting the glimmering lights off the device. 

They whisper too fast for Changbin to make sense of their discussion, but chances are that their gibberish is due to some excitement over an upcoming prank.  

Curious, Changbin creeps closer to the unwitting duo, watchful of his step and keeping to the deep shadows to hide himself. Knowing the twins, they are likely cooking something rather genuis, though being at the end of their usual naughtiness is becoming tiring. 

Just last week, they had doused him in a pouch of ttokebi powder, and sleeping with goblin horns is an experience he doesn’t want to repeat. 

So, he nears the duo and listens carefully as their words become clearer. Their intentions are not immediately apparent, but Changbin is sure it will come to light in time.  

“If we disable the tracker here," Lix murmurs, tapping the screen forcefully and squinting at it, "the tunnel here should stay open long enough for us to slip through." 

What? Changbin’s eyes widen with horror as Ji grins, sharp and daring. 

"Then… we get one night on the surface. No bots. No rules. Just-"  

"-music," Felix finishes absently, his voice hushed with awe.  

Again… WHAT? Changbin’s breath catches. A thread of fear spikes up his back and coils in the pit of his belly. 

Wait! Are they talking about the surface? The world of humans, where tech and magic exists? And there is a festival? 

His pulse races, and a jamboree of questions bear his head down till he has to shake them away for focus. What is the crux of the twins' plans? Were they sneaking away for the music festival? 

Changbin almost sighs out loud. He hasn’t heard live music in decades. Given that the bots are in charge of their entertainment, too, all he can remember of music is the echo it makes in the illegal underground clubs he visits sometimes.  

So, before he can stop himself, Changbin steps out of the shadows and clucks his tongue in both victory for surprising the twins and gaining a one-up on them. 

"You two are really insane," he says, arms crossed and fighting the smirk on his lips when they squeal and jump in unison.   

They whirl around in confusion, eyes wide in foreboding as they look from each other to Changbin with fear.  

"Changbin Hyung!” Ji recovers first, smiling widely and approaching with quick confident strides to tap their brother on his back. “Hey! We were just—"  

"Plotting a one-way trip to get caught by Seungmin?" Changbin raises a brow and lets his smirk slip. "Or worse, the Council?"  

Felix pales. Jisung’s smile falters, his answer to that coming in hiccups and stilted laughter. “Hyung…” he stills and turns to look at Changbin with incredulity when he doesn’t move. “Are you serious?”   

“Of course,” Changbin shrugs Ji’s hand away from his back and pins a gaze on the wavering half of the two. Felix looks absolutely terrified, so Changbin decides to have a little mercy on them. "But, I won’t tell amyyone if you take me with you."  

Ji scoffs and splutters, racing forward to be sure he has heard right. He cocks his head to look Changbin in the eye, his own expression revealing his disbelief at their elder.  "Hyung, are you sure? We’ll be breaking the rules."  

"So?” Changbin shrugs again. “The chance to experience something other than these bots will be absolute heaven," he says. "I need this. And if you say no…" He pulls out his comm device, thumb hovering over Seungmin’s contact. "Well… Let’s just say someone will be on cleaning duty for the next decade."  

Lix and Ji exchange a glance—a silent, rapid conversation only twins can have ends with both nodding. Then Felix grins, wide and bright, coming to join his brother and Changbin under the only lit lamp in the alley.  

"It hasn’t got to that,” he says, patting Changbin on the other side of his back and coming in to hug him on the side. “I’d be happy to go to a concert with you. If you’re helping us sneak out though, you'll be the distraction if we get caught."  

Changbin smiles. "Deal."  

The three of them clasp hands, a silent pact sealed in rebellion.  

Above them, the artificial sky flickers again, hums once and conks out like a dying flame. Changbin sighs at the thing. Soon, he will get to see actual stars.  

And hear the music.

And feel the magic.  

– 3% –  

The festival is loud—very loud!  

Changbin had expected music; he just hadn’t imagined it would come with so many people singing along. 

Still, he can’t complain, because the festival is rife with life, and there's not a bot in sight. 

There's so much to eat on every corner lane, even he cannot taste everything. Plus, the very air is pulsing with bass, the crowd is a living, breathing entity that swallows him whole when he ventures forward, and the neon lights here don’t flicker or glitch. 

So, despite their quick flashes hitting his eyes directly uand the drones zipping overhead projecting holograms on their wristbands, Changbin thinks he is quite alright.   

Even if his heads spins a little from the press of the crowds, and his chest tightens with all the excitement, he can make it for the night. 

Except, before he can truly settle in with the sway of fans, the wind changes, and new scents of fried food and synthetic smoke waft through the masses straight down his nose to cling to his throat. 

“Shit!” He murmurs to himself when he starts to wheeze, coughing out the poison choking him violently. He needs some clean air, so he slams drunkenly through the crowd to find its edge and regain some sanity.  

Stumbling away from the main square, Changbin ducks into a dimly lit alley and presses his thrumming head against the cool brick wall. He sucks in deep pulls of air to flushout the sooty taste in his airways and reaches out a hand on the wall to steady himself as he dry wretches the stench out.  

The air here is not all clean, but the muffled thump of the festival still vibrates through the ground. The loud voice of the singer on stage reaches all the way over, and the stage lights fizzle in the darkness surrounding the alley, so when Changbin looks up, he can finally see the stars while enjoying the beats. 

He smiles at the dotted canvas of glittering lights, watching as they blink in and out on the inky night sky without jerking with fault. They look more amazing than he has seen on any education crystals. 

Knowing that they are made with a magical element called Blaze makes him a tad bit jealous. When Blaze had existed in the underworld, everyone had been warm until the humans stole it for fire.  

Ah, Changbin sighs regretfully, slumping his shoulders as he turns back to look at the bustle of the festival. The humans had conquered Blaze and used it for fire, cooking the most delicious meat he has ever tasted over it. 

He can’t blame them for finding and stealing it, but he still wishes they hadn't taken it. Except, would the underworld have retained even that if it still existed? 

Probably not! Changbin kicks a rock with resignation and slumps back into the wall nearby. He drops into a squat, frowns and turns to see why the pebble is still clanging on the overfilled metal bin in the alley.  

Obviously, there’s more to the clattering than just the pebble. Like—Changbin stops. Was that an inhale?  

Changbin’s head snaps up at the sound again. This time, it’s loud and comes with a groan. He lifts himself up to investigate and slowly inches down the alley with trepidation. 

What if it is a human hiding from him? In his human form? Changbin shakes his head and frowns. In all likelihood, he's about to come face to face with a rodent. 

Except, the closer he gets, the more obvious it is that the half-hidden form behind the dumpster is no rodent.  

The figure slumped against the wall, though already lithe-like, looks pale even in the weak light around them. He groans once and curls in on himself like he is trying to disappear immediately he sees Changbin. 

“Go away,” he murmurs thinly, one hand pressed tightly to his side and face scrunched in pain. 

He shifts slightly, groaning with effort to hide his side just as a cloud floats by and the moonlight catches on his pastel colored clothes. He seems dressed to the nines in shiny stones and gold threads, though the light also reveals the dark stain spreading between his fingers.  

Blood.  

Changbin stops in shock, looking over the man carefully to ascertain the cause of his injury. By his estimation, the man’s dishelved look and his ragged, uneven breathing means he is in some kind of danger.

“Hey,” he calls out to get the man’s full attention, voice rough with worry. “You… okay?”  

The man lifts his head slowly. His eyes are rather sharp, deep brown rimmed with the brighted gold. Yet, there’s something off about him- something intensely familiar and beckoning. And so, Changbin nears him without invitation, though he steps slowly.   

“Don’t come too close,” the man’s lips twitch into a small frown as he looks up at Changbin. A look of concern flits over his eyes, but the expression is too fleeting to hold on to. 

So, when he lowers his head again and says, “I’ll be okay, just go away,” Changbin is sorely tempted to just leave.

Like hell he’d just leave a distressed man on his own though. The being, because Changbin can’t sense human on him just yet, needs his help, and he’ll do what he can to give it.   

“You’re bleeding, you know?”  

“No shit,” The man winces  and sniffles like he’s crying. He tries to shift his weight again and jerks back, letting a loud ruckus of metal and falling objects tumble behind him as he tries to sit.  “Didn’t think anyone would notice.”  

“I did,” Changbin says, proud of his ability to notice the important things in this alley. He takes another step forward, ignoring the man’s warning, and suddenly stops of his own volition. 

His eyes widen, his stomach drops and he stammers in shock at the sight of his blood pooling on the alley floor. “Wha- wha- what happened to you?” he demands. “Did someone mug you?” 

“Mug?” The man’s giggle is like a faded tune, his gaze flickering past Changbin to the mouth of the alley like he expects someone to appear soon. 

There’s no one there as he  shakes his head and turns to Changbin.His voice becomes hushed, quiet with a kind of resignation.  

“You shouldn’t even be here in the first place.”  

Changbin stiffens. “What?”  

The man’s eyes searches his again. “This place isn’t safe for you.”  

A chill runs down Changbin’s spine. Terror warring with curiosity to understand the man’s meaning.

“For me?”he asks, his own words squeaky with fear. “What do you mean it is not safe for me?”  

“I mean-” the man’s body jerks before he can answer. A sharp gasp escapes him as he spasms, causing the chaos of metal on concrete to interrupt again. He winces loudly this time, his agony is deeply debilitating.    

“Fuck!” Changbin curses quite loudly and runs forward to help the man. “You’re gonna bleed out if we don’t do something about that,” he mutters. “Do you know where we can find a healer?”  

“Healer?” The man breathes deeply and giggles weakly. “Do you mean a hospital?”  

“Whatever,” Changbin replies and takes two more steps forward. He kneels beside the man and squints to study his wound. “Let me see.”  

“Huh!” The man scoffs, stopping to look Changbin over for long moments before slowly moving his hand away. 

The wound doesn’t look bad up close, but there are dark veins he has never seen on a human crisscrossing around the unnatural hole in his side. 

It looks like something sharp must have pierced him, but Changbin is willing to admit he’s wrong.  

“This doesn’t appear to be a deep wound,” he says quietly, looking around for any help he can get for the man. “ I think you’ll live.”  

“Really?” The man giggles again, louder. Then he winces, clutches back at his side and agrees with Changbin. “Indeed, I will.”  

“Oh?” Changbin raises his brow in surprise that the man agrees with him. Then, after a long beat of awkward silence, he decides to offer some remedies for his pain. “I don’t really know what to do, but the twins might if they were here. They  would most likely know a hea- hospital place or something, but they are never readily available when you need them.”  

“Is that so?” the man can hardly keep his head up. His voice is barely above a whisper.   

“Yeah,” Changbin offers just as quietly as silence settles over them. “I’m Changbin, by the way.” 

“And I am Hyunjin,” the man says, slowly lifting his free left hand to shake when Changbin offers it. “I should probably tell you I’m-” 

He doesn’t finish explaining before Changbin leaps away from him and clutches his fingertips like they had been burned. “Tha- that felt like magic.”  

– 3% –

Changbin blows over and clutches his trembling hand to his chest. His pulse hammers in his ears as he looks from the man to his limb like he has been bitten by a snake.

“This isn’t possible,” he says, crouching again to look, but more intently than before. “I mean–”   

The stranger–Hyunjin–coughs and tiredly lolls his head to the side. His eyes glint with something more than just the gold when he speaks. “You’d be surprised what’s possible, but yeah… ”  

Yeah? Changbin can’t believe what, or who, he has found on the surface, but the man thinks it’s yeah? 

“So, what happened to you? You’re really bleeding.”  

“I am,” Hyunjin groans painfully again and pulls forward slowly. In the dim alley light, Changbin’s eyes catch on something behind the man, and though he had been taught to look out for it, his breath still hitches.  

Wings! Honest to heavens, birdlike and all… “Wings!”   

Or, what is left of them.  

Tattered, broken and severly mishappen, their once-gleaming feathers have been sullied in the dirt of the alley, looking dull and streaked with blood. 

They lie awkwardly on the floor, fluttering in desperation only to upset the loose cans and rubbish behind the dumpster. One is bent at a grotesque angle, the other half-shredded, as if something tore through it. Otherwise, they are just…   

“Fuck! You’re really… shit! You’re really a –?”  

Hyunjin’s face twists with bitter smile, but he manages to nod as he slumps back into a more comfortable position. “Yeah, I’m not from around here.”  

Wow! So, an angel? A real to heaven, once flying and all angel?  Changbin’s mind reels at the very thought. Angels weren’t supposed to fall anymore. Not since the skies closed and the underworld sealed itself off.  

“So, why are you here?” Changbin demands, realizing his hypocrisy a bit late and stammering over his coming words. “I mean, what did you come to do?”   

Hyunjin’s gaze flits to the festival lights beyond the alley and drop with some disappointment. “I was looking for something,” he sucks in a sharp breath and presses his lips hard into his moan as he tries to move again. “I miscalculated my trajectory.”  

Really? Changbin raises a skeptical brow and appraises the angel once more. In his world, the divine being are taught as myths, relics, long proclaimed ‘enemies’ of the underworld. So, why is Changbin drawn to helping him?

Perhaps, it is because  Hyunjin’s breathing is growing shallower, and Changbin has spent too long hating bots for replacing magic to walk away from the real thing.  

“You’re dying,” he informs the angel bluntly.  

Hyunjin chuckles, though it turns into a wheeze when he tries too hard. “I thought you said I’ll live,” he giggles. “I’m just…grounded, but…”  

Changbin scowls, “But?”  

Hyunjin shrugs as Changbin hesitates, and then makes a decision.  

“Can you walk?”  

Hyunjin raises a brow. “Depends. Where are we going?”  

Changbin crouches low, gingerly reaching for and slinging Hyunjin’s arm over his shoulders. He heaves the bloody angel up and murmurs, “Somewhere they won’t ask questions.”  

-3%-

Traveling back through the tunnel isn’t easy.  

Aside finding it in the clutter of human goods and curious crowds, Hyunjin had been heavy, and his wings had dragged like dead weights behind them. So, Changbin had needed to carry him through the portal himself, praying with everything in him that they wouldn’t run into anyone—least of all, Seungmin.  

When they finally stumble into Changbin’s apartment, Hyunjin collapses onto the couch with a groan, spreading and adjusting his wings awkwardly till they cover the floors. There are  stray feathers in a trail that reaches nearly to the door.  

 “Oh my gosh!”  

The panic in Changbin’s voice wakes Hyunjin up, his eyes fluttering open at his exclamation. “Why, what is it?”  

“I don’t know, but if you left a feather trail-”

“I didn’t,” Hyunjin replies with a sigh and slumps his head back on Changbin’s sofa. 

“And, also, why—how—did you come to the surface?”  

Hyunjin exhales slowly and tilts his head to answer the questions he was promised he wouldn’t be asked. “The short version is that I found the truth about my destiny.”  

Changbin’s frown deepens. “Which is?”  

Hyunjin’s gaze locks onto his, the gold rim in his eyes flashing to the most beautiful hue of purple he has ever seen. “The same as yours.”  

A chill runs down Changbin’s spine; a warmth he has never felt before floods his gut. He opens his mouth to speak, but chokes on the air.  

“Wha—what does an angel—” He stammers, unable to press further because an innate knowledge suddenly speaks to him. What if there is something to the angel’s words? Before he can share his thoughts though, a sharp knock rattles the door, startling him. 

“Hyung!?” Two voices call out in differing pitches and tones. Both sound panicked, knocking wildly and urgently. 

“Changbin hyung,” Felix’s high pitch travels over Ji’s lowest. With all their hissing coming through the cracks, chances are the older twin is about to cry from terror. “Open up, hyung! Seungmin knows!”  

Hyunjin’s wings twitch.  

Changbin curses.  

– 3% –

The door bursts open before Changbin can stop it. Lix is especially proficient with his lock, so he knows who unlocked it to let the duo tumble inside.  

"Changbin hyung, Seungmin is coming,” the youngest can hardly even breathe through his words. “He heard—” Lix is cut off by his roving eyes landing on Hyunjin’s broken wings. His mouth drops open, the rest of his warning swallowed in his muted curse. "Holy shit!"  

Twin expressions of awe and fear look from Hyunjin to Changbin in perfect synchrony. Their slack jaws and wide eyes betraying their surprise. What had they thought Seungmin had heard? What has Seungmin heard?

"Hyung?” It's obviously not this though, so Changbin waits patiently for Ji to ask his question. “Is that a bird man?"

Changbin groans at the twins sharing a single brain cell, while Hyunjin, despite his pain, chuckles once and raises a brow. 

"Bird man?"  

“I promise, that’s not what they teach us at school,” he says to the angel, rounding out on the twins to send them out on a very important errand. “Just get Chan hyung for me, please?”  

Felix hesitates, eyeing Hyunjin carefully. "But Seungmin…" he whispers. 

"I’ll handle Seungmin," Changbin whispers back. "Just find hyung, okay?"  

The twins exchange a glance and bolt back out of the door, leaving silence in their wake.  

“Wow,” Hyunjin exhales after a beat, seizing with renewed shock and twisting his lips into a pained grimace as he shifts back into an easier posture. "You have curious friends."  

Changbin ignores him, pacing from the door to the window with some worry. 

Their eldest brother, Chan, would know what to do. Chan always knows what to do.  

-3%-  

Though it has been mere moments since the twins left, Changbin feels the tick of time tock too slowly by, his thoughts blooming with major panic that he almost misses Chan’s gentle knock and call. 

“Binnie, are you there?” The soft timbre of the elder’s voice is instantly calming. His smile is wide when he comes in and runs a look over Changbin with fondness. “The twins said—”

Chan stops mid-stride, a small gasp falling from him when his gaze lands on Hyunjin. For a long moment he says nothing, just stands there and stares.  

Then, slowly, he turns to Changbin and shakes his head.  

"Why am I not surprised?" he smiles, turning to rub Changbin once on the back as if he can sense his distress. His voice is calm, as he squints at Hyunjin's broken wings and murmurs in misplaced pride. "Of us all, you brought home a fallen angel."

“Ah, hyung,” Changbin bobs and weaves out of his reach. He pulls on the tops of his ears to hide his reddening ears. "He's hurt. I couldn't just leave him there to die.”

Chan nods once and gently approaches Hyunjin. "Yet you let the twins loose on the surface."  

Shit! Changbin has the decency to look guilty. He had thought they'd get away with it, but he also knows he was wrong and quickly apologizes. "They were fine, though."  

"They set a pastry stall on fire." 

Huh? “...Okay, mostly fine.” 

Hyunjin coughs, a moan slips out of him instead of a laugh. He instantly reaches for his side again, and raises pleading eyes to Chan’s. 

Of course, not even the devil can resist the look he turns on their elder, so Changbin is not surprised at all when Chan smiles and kneels beside one distorted wing. 

He introduces himself and rolls up his sleeves.  

"We'll make you better soon," he whispers to Hyunjin, putting a hand out to finally touch a glittering feather on the angel’s wing. 

- 3% -  

Chan moves with practiced efficiency after making an initial diagnosis. He tosses Changbin a dissimulator from one of his reassembled bots and motions to put it on Hyunjin's back.  

"His biological frequency might be disruptive. If a bot scans him illegally, we might have more to deal with than just Seungmin."  

“Sure,” Changbin fumbles with the device before clipping it to Hyunjin’s torn tunic. The angel stiffens as the device hums to life, and a pale veil of gray covers his wings.  

“That’s... uncomfortable," Hyunjin whines, turning his lips down in a sad frown. “Is it very necessary?”

"Yes," Chan coos and strokes the angel’s short hair. “It’s for your protection, but don't worry, you only need it for a while.” 

He turns to the healing bot in the corner of the room, and powers it up. After inputting a series of commands,  The bot whirrs to life, scanning Hyunjin once and then thrice.  

"Scanning… Patient is human. Injuries include lacerations, tissue damage, blood loss and—” The bot stops, whirrs long before recommending treatment. 

“Argh,” Chan groans tiredly as he notes the recommendation and rubs a hand over his face. "This is the problem with lying to a bot."  

“Why?” Changbin asks, panicking again. 

“We don't know if human medicine will work on angels, but this might numb the pain for now,"  he says, tossing Changbin a vial of glowing liquid.

Changbin uncorks it, hesitating before pressing it gently to Hyunjin’s lip. "Please drink,” he smiles to encourage his patient. “You’ll be better in no time.” 

Hyunjin eyes the vial but downs it in one gulp. His nose wrinkles, tears gather on the sides of his eyes. "It tastes like eggplant." 

“Sorry,” Chan whispers, looking up at Changbin as they both laugh.

-3%-  

A sharp alert from Chan’s wrist comm breaks their comfy silence minutes later, and from the flashing red of it, Changbin knows it's an alarm. 

"Seungmin is close by," Chan informs them, already lifting from the floor and moving towards the door. "The twins must have done all they could, but I can throw him off your scent for a while longer. Just don’t let the twins back in here.”

“Sure!”

Chan shoots him a look like he doesn't believe him, but he nods, wishes Hyunjin a quick recovery and slips out the door.   

Silence immediately settles over the apartment again, though this time it doesn't last very long. 

“Who is this Seungmin everyone is afraid anyway?” Hyunjin asks, his words slurring from the effects of the painkiller he'd drunk. 

“He's my brother,” Changbin offers at first, then sighs and stretches out on the floor beside Hyunjin. “He's also our records keeper and superintendent, so he is obliged to tell the council of any discoveries he makes.”

Hyunjin nods, flexs his wings slightly, testing. "So, if he finds me here, you'll be in trouble?"  

Changbin huffs, annoyed. "Not really. The council says you're a myth, you don't exist, so how can I be in trouble for something that is not there?"  

“I'm a living, breathing being though,” Hyunjin studies him intently and closes his eyes once. "So, why did you help me?"  

Changbin stretches his arms out, leans back and sighs.  

“Your wings,” he says flatly, smiling as the mention of them makes them flutter. “Your wings reminded me of the magic we used to have. But, it may be because I was looking at the star, too.” 

“What about the stars made you want to help me?” 

Changbin shrugs. "Guess I was curious about Blaze. You have some in your feathers, don't you?"  

“No,”Hyunjin slurs his words, eyes closed and face set in such ethereal beauty that Changbin is struck silly for not noticing it before. 

“My wings have Glimmer and Whiz,” the dying myth says, pulling a smile back as if knowing Changbin is staring at him in awe.

– 3% – 

After two nights and days hiding the angel away and caring for him by himself, Changbin has become stressed. 

Though, Hyunjin sleeps more and more through his healing, keeping him hidden and safe ironically involves more bots than Changbin could ever have imagined. 

For instance, the bot for cloaking his wings requires another bot to monitor his frequency, and another bot to stabilize it and prevent any leakages. 

There's a bot for monitoring his vital signs, one for reading his bone density, and a very loud and incessantly beeping bot for dispensing the medicine Chan had specifically ordered for Hyunjin.  

Most of the time, it merely whirred, mixing the ingredients needed to help the angel heal until it was time to dispense the meds. 

For days, Changbin has merely endured the bot. However, today has been a particularly frustrating day, starting with Seungmin hitting him with a ton of questions, and now… this. 

"Would you just shut up for five seconds," Changbin mutters to the machine under his breath as he readies Hyunjin's IV to accept the meds.  

“What?” He asks when the angel he helps up suddenly gasps and starts to laugh mutely. 

“Are they supposed to do that?”

Do what? Changbin roves a searching gaze around the room and freezes. 

Silence?

Changbin’s breath stills. Like a living statue, he turns to look the bot over. 

Did it break? Did something happen to its alarm? Changbin couldn't believe the machine had obeyed him. There are no bots that can submit to mental commands. They only respond to the tasks they are programmed to perform.  

“So…” Hyunjin drawls, half-asleep with an eye cracked open to keep up with proceedings. “You didn't just…?"

"No, I couldn't have" Changbin insists. “It's impossible to command bots by thought.”

Hyunjin smirks, mumbles a jumble of words in his pillow and dozes off to sleep as if by command.  

Five days after he brought Hyunjin back from the festival, Changbin realizes whatever is happening to him has become hard to ignore.  

He can't deny the warmth in his palms when he adjusts Hyunjin’s bandages anymore. The brief tune the dispensary makes at the end of its processing is his doing. 

There's almost no more noise in his apartment anymore, and he has accepted the whisper of energy that seems to curl around the lights when he wills them to dim so the angel can rest.  

What he can't easily accept are the flowers. Now growing in various nooks of his cramped apartment are flowers. 

Tall stalks of shimmering blue flowers grow in a row along the sofa where he'd swiped a bot away in anger. Same with the ones on the floor near Hyunjin’s bed. Except, those have transparent petals and shorter stalks that resemble volcanoes. 

On the window sill are misshapen bunches of ‘sun flowers’ requested by Hyunjin to test Changbin's growing magic. 

He had asked that they be yellow, but Changbin hasn't seen too many shades of the color, so they are mostly golden and tinted with streaks of red.

However, today, he has a surprise for Hyunjin, tucked in his coat to hide from any nosy people or bots. It's bright, it's special and Changbin can't wait to give it to him at home. 

All day, while the angel had been sleeping, he did a lot of research in the crystal dome. With the help of his bubbly twin brothers, they had found an image of a sunflower in a children's packet. 

So, when Changbin set his mind to it, focusing on what he has seen, he almost doesn't believe the single, delicate bloom that pushes through the crack of the paved alley and sways with life.  

It is bright, yellow like the sun, and perfect in a way he never thought he'd see with his own eyes. 

“Here,” he says with barely concealed eagerness as he presents his latest creation. “I found a drawing of your sunflower on an old crystal and thought I'd make it for you.”

“Aww… thanks,” the angel giggles, sitting up on his bed to take the flower from Changbin. His wings are still bound in bandages, but they seem to mend a little everyday. Otherwise, his side is healed, and his hair has turned to a bright pink like blush.

It takes him a while, but Hyunjin finally settles in and takes the flower from Changbin to admire. 

Immediately he sets his fingers on the flower, the yellow of its petals shiver and curl out, flapping wide and glowing bright. A circle of tiny-honeyed buds sprout in its center, growing from the center to make a perfect sphere.

The flower emits a scent Changbin has never smelled before. Yet, for him, it's the smile on Hyunjin's face when he brings it to his nose that nearly does him in. 

The angel takes a small whiff and closes his eyes to enjoy his gift. Before Changbin can ask him if he likes it though, his wings shiver loudly and a blinding light fills the room. 

Changbin leaps back, trembling with shock. He ducks his head under a raised arm to ward off the radiance while he finds his bearings. 

Except, the glow is gone as quickly as it came, and sitting up in his bed is a Hyunjin he can't recognize. 

The angel seems to float above the bed sheets, smiling happily as he suddenly flexes his wide wings. They knock off everything they touch, whirring bots and medicine vials alike. But, more than anything, they shine. They glow with an essence like Blaze, though their edges shimmer with faint hues of purple. 

Still… “Wha—what happened?” He manages to ask as he stands from the floor where he fell. “Are you alright?” 

"Yes!” Hyunjin stands beside the bed and folds his wings gently. “You healed me, Changbin hyung. You used your magic to make me better again.” 

- 3% - 

“First of all…” Changbin's voice booms above his chattering brothers to bring everyone back to order. “I don't have healing powers.” 

“So, what did you use to revive the glowing being in the corner there?” Ji asks, pointing a finger at Hyunjin before Changbin can even get a chance to explain what he thinks is happening. “And, why did Lix-ah and I suddenly use blaze to light the sky huh, hyung?” 

“Plus, Chan hyung is actually glowing, and all his black clothes have changed,” Felix adds, eyes shifting to hold in his laughter as their meeting turns to giggles. 

“Your hair is blonde, dude,” his twin reminds him. “And what are all these markings on me?” 

“You have markings?” Hyunjin suddenly shoots from his seat, watching with interest as Ji pulls his shirt off to reveal his inked skin. “Minho hyung has these too, but his are not black!” The angel blurts out, laughing heartily at his own joke or whatever. “Maybe they are meant to complement each other?”

“And Felix’s face?” Chan asks quietly, obviously stunned by everything going on. “Does this Minho hyung also have freckles?”

“No, that's a copy of the constellations on his face,” Hyunjin replies. “Maybe he'll be like a seraphim here… like you, Chan hyung.”  

- 3% -

“You still don’t understand, do you?” Hyunjin’s voice is soft as he considers everyone sitting around him. His gaze is distant, a look of ancient wisdom burns in his golden eyes; reverent. “You are all transformed. Even your brother, Seungmin, will start to feel the magic soon.” 

“Ayish!” Changbin groans, clenching his fists and releasing at the thought of his strict brother with magic. “We will never go for another music festival again in our lives,” he complains. 

“Or, you can go to any music festival you want because Chan hyung has Glimmer…” Hyunjin says, cocking his head to the side in thought. He exhales a moment later and turns his gaze to the fading Blaze along the skyline of the underworld.  

“Long ago, the upper realm and the underworld weren’t separate. They were one entity bound by magic, balanced by light and shadow, and reliant on each other to thrive. However, in the humans’ quest for knowledge and power, the realms started to drift apart, torn by the imbalances the humans brought after stealing so much magic. So, an imperial pact was made to separate both worlds, to save what remaining magic there was above and below, and to force humans to work for themselves.”

Changbin’s chest tightens, but he already sees where this is going. “The split wasn’t clean, was it?”

Hyunjin shudders and shakes his head. “No. Fragments of the heavens remained below, and echoes of the underworld still linger above. Except, whatever is up must be down…” 

“So the heavens are sinking?”

Seungmin’s voice startles the shit out of everyone except Hyunjin, who giggles as he finally introduces himself. 

“I know who you are,” the superintendent murmurs and tries to find a seat for himself. “I thought I was dreaming when I first saw you, but the twins finally confessed after the Blaze incident. Now, I know that I only have to think of a place and appear there.” 

“Wow!” Chan whistles, awed by Seungmin's gift. "You saw Hyunjin and didn't tell? What else do you have,” he giggles.

“I know things…” Seungmin pauses. “And I can sense the twins,” he says, leaning forward to look closely at their elder brother. “Are you becoming paler?” 

Chan blushes and tries to hide his face. 

“It's the Glimmer.” 

“So, what does all this mean?” Changbin asks.

“And who is Minho hyung?” Ji adds. 

“Minho hyung is my brother, a seraph and high council, similar to your Seungmin,” Hyunjin says, turning to Changbin and whispering his next words with absolute assurance. “To meet him, you and I must build a bridge.” 

- 3% -

“What the hell does that mean?” Changbin’s voice drops low and confused. “The twins have Blaze and constellations and stuff.” 

“Yes, but you have the Flame,” Hyunjin smiles, nodding at the lone flower glowing gently on the windowsill. “You have the power to create things, to form what is unseen and unknown, so only you and I can bridge the divide.” 

“Meaning?”

“Meaning your soul carries a piece of the heavens, just as mine carries a whisper of the underworld. So, we were made to meet, hyung. We were made to find each other… to wake the magic on both our worlds.” 

Changbin’s mind races at the thought of saving his entire world. Just hearing it is giving him a small panic attack. What if he fails and his world is doomed even further? Would it mean more bots? Would the twins lose their Blaze and Channie hyung return to his sorry ensemble? 

“What if I fail? What if my magic is only three percent or something?” He finally chokes out, wiping tears of worry from the sides of his eyes. “If you all lose your magic because of me—”

“We won't!” Chan shifts and laughs, cutting Changbin off by gathering him to his chest for a hug. “Hyunjinnie would have told us if there was a chance it would fail, right?”

“Absolutely,” Hyunjin nods and smiles at Changbin again. “The worst that could come from this is that the bridge is crooked. Otherwise, you and I were meant to do this.” 

“So what, you’re saying this was fate? That I didn’t choose any of this?”  

Hyunjin’s expression softens, his features glowing with ethereal beauty. “You chose though, hyung. When you saved me and grew the sunflower for me, you chose love. 

- 3% -  

Of them all, Ji is the most excited to cross the newly made bridge to meet Minho hyung on the other side. He has not slept a wink since Changbin and Hyunjin first touched magic and grew a lightning storm in the air. 

Now that the portal is complete, he stands subdued at the mouth of it, pulling on his thumb and shifting from foot to foot like he needs to pee. 

“What if—what if we're making a mistake, he asks Felix, burying his bottom lip between his teeth with worry. 

“Then, I'll punch this Minho hyung dude before we run away.”

“Or, we could blaze ball his ass like skrrrrrrt! Yeah?” 

“Yeah,” his twin nods, and takes his trembling hand in his. 

-3%-

 The air shimmers like liquid gold as Changbin and Hyunjin step through the celestial archway, the boundary between realms is now nothing more than a wisp of mist beneath their feet. 

Above them, the sky stretches in hues Changbin has never seen in the underworld—sapphire is the bluish one bleeding into the more recognizable purple. The stars pulsing like living organisms, scattered about like floating lights.  

Ahead, on a large cloud are two figures looking their way with beaming smiles.  

“Innie!” Hyunjin calls to the more youthful one with the radiant smile like the dawn, hurrying forward to envelop him in his wings. “Have you grown bigger since I left?”

“No,” Innie laughs, clasping his hands together, eyes crinkling with joy. "I was waiting for you, but when we didn't hear from you for days I was so worried. But I knew you'd do it, hyung," he breathes, looking up at Hyunjin with blatant adoration. "I always knew you’d be the one to bring us back."  

Hyunjin laughs, wings gleaming and shaking with his amusement. He ruffles young Jeongin’s hair, and drapes an arm over his shoulders with fondness. "Sorry it took so long."

It doesn't take them long to meet the other angel, though. The famous Minho hyung is curt, sharp-eyed and regal. He welcomes them, decides Chan is his hyung, and turns to squint at the twins. His gaze lingers on Felix and Jisung, who have already concluded that poking at the floating orbs of light that drifted through the heavens with their Blaze turned them into fireflies.  

"What? Already? You two! I've heard a lot about you," Minho calls to the twins, pointing a finger in warning. "But, if I find out you're playing pranks on the cherubim—”

"Us?" Jisung gasped, pressing a hand to his chest in mock offense. He leans close to Felix and coughs-sputters a laugh. “You don't even know us. I mean ... we’ll never, right?”

"Never," Felix adds, grinning as a nearby cloud abruptly turns into a tuft of baby blue.  

Minho sighs, something like regret filling his eyes. Somewhere behind them Seungmin cackles. 

“Just don't play pranks on the babies,” he tells the twins. Obviously, he's not above begging. “They won't understand, and it takes ages to calm them.” 

“Sure,” Ji says calmly, reaching for the head angel’s hands to assure him. “We won't touch the kids.” 

Adults are fair game, it seems, as Minho yelps and snaps his hands away. 

Changbin watches the chaos unfold, and joins the laughter after Chan tells him he fell for their oldest trick, and to watch out for ttokebi horns. 

The angel’s annoyed expression turns to a horrified one, but Changbin isn't paying attention to his new family anymore. 

Behind him, Hyunjin comes to interlace their fingers. He turns, meets those golden eyes and nods to whatever he's saying.

Hyunjin laughs a little at Changbin's tiny squeak when he presses them close together and takes flight.

“Did you say you were wondering about the stars when we met?”

“Yeah, I know they are made with Blaze, but I don't know how.”

“Well…” Hyunjin lands them on a jet black floor and points to the far end of it. There, Changbin sees a group of angels hard at work and turns a questioning gaze to Hyunjin.

“What are they doing?” 

“Making the stars,” Hyunjin giggles, pointing first to an angel dressed in all black. His wings are dark as night, but dotted with the most brilliant stars. “There is the Flame, who molds each star…” then he turns to the others spotting all sorts of colors and seated beside the Flame. “...and sends them to the Blazes who touch them with their magic.” 

“Wow,” Changbin gapes at the flame in awe, and bows to the Blazes when they spot them and rise to greet them. “Do you think I can make a star?” 

Hyunjin nods eagerly, giggling again when Changbin pouts with doubt. “You can form a star, a flower, or a tune. You can create whatever you want.”

“And what about you,” Changbin reaches for and pulls Hyunjin by his waist to press tightly against himself. “Would you stay by my side?” 

“Of course, someone must give life to your creations, right?” Hyunjin licks his lips and smiles, leaning down for the kiss Changbin gently presses to his lips.  

“Will we be together forever then?” 

“Yes, Seo Changbin. We will be together forever and ever.” 

Epilogue 

A chorus of horrified gasps echoed through the pearlescent halls nearby as a flock of seraphim shot past, their normally pristine robes now splattered in neon paint, feathers glitter-bombed into ridiculous colors.  

From atop a floating marble pillar, Felix and Jisung high-fived, a half-empty sack of holy prank supplies dangling between them.  

“I told you the 'divine glow' was just glitter in the air vents," Ji cackled, watching as a very dignified archangel slipped on a whoopee cushion hidden under a cloud.  

Lix, already weaving a handful of stars into a makeshift slingshot, nodded sagely. "They’ve never had chaos up here. We’re doing them a favor." 

Nearby, a newly-merged council meeting ground to a halt as Chan blew a puff of glimmer through, and pinched the bridge of his nose.  

“Why do I hear explosions?”   

Seungmin, flipping through a celestial ledger that now included citizen passports and tax codes didn’t look up. "Because the twins found an arsenal of holy light orbs and decided they were ‘festive’ enough to celebrate with.”

A beat.  

"...I’m not fixing that." 

---  

Changbin and Hyunjin, having escaped back to the underworld, lay among a group of inactive stars on the roof of their  building, watching as more and more bots were kicked away to make way for magic. 

In the distance, a man accidentally set his pants ablaze, making Changbin giggle. Then, a woman with obvious Glimmer rushed to help him. 

When their fingers touched, an orb of fire and light formed between them, and suddenly burst into a million crystals on the once boring concrete floor. 

They both rushed to feel the mineral, excitedly bumping into each other and laughing. Then, very deliberately, they touched their fingers again and hurriedly went to dance in the rain of stars. 

“I can watch this all day,” Changbin says, smiling at Hyunjin when he comes to stand behind him. “They look so happy…look” 

“They look like you and I though. See?"

“How?” Changbin asked, curious to understand.

“Well, the man was in trouble, and the woman went to help. Because she offered him love, they made a beautiful thing together.” 

“Ah, yeah,” Changbin sees it now. “We made a flower, not diamonds though. Plus, I made many failed ones before that too.” 

“Only because you were frustrated. You couldn't believe you were falling for an angel, could you?” 

Changbin nods and shakes his head. “I thought I was going mad. But, here you really are. Just don't miscalculate your trajectory anymore. You're done trying to score a great Flame like me.”

“I agree,” Hyunjin laughed brighter than the heavens themselves. 

• End -