Chapter Text
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My life was rock bottom, an edge of a cliff
I’m walking in a dark tunnel
Cruel and fearful days
I’m enduring through alone
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It was dark—much darker than Jisung was used to. Although there were streetlights that cast yellow to the floors, Jisung felt almost blind as he took his first step. He felt unfamiliar roughness at his feet, and looked down to realize the floor beneath him was more solid than he imagined. He took another step, unnerved that the floor stayed still beneath his feet. He felt gazes on him, but he didn't mind them as he bent down to feel the floor with his hands. It took him a moment to realize it was cement— but why would someone use cement for floors? Surely it’d be more comfortable to just ask God for some of his clouds? Jisung took a mental note to tell God when he went back to heaven.
He heard a voice above him saying, “Do you need any help?”
Jisung was surprised, but he stood and bowed, smiling brightly at the man who’d asked the question. He felt energy surge through his chest when the man smiled back. “No, thank you!” Jisung said happily and started skipping away. He didn't know where he was going—he hadn't received that much direction. He only knew he was supposed to make people happy, so he’d do his best to do that.
Jisung paused his walking when he saw something he’d only seen in textbooks—people were eating. He wanted to ask the people how they did it, but he knew he’d be found out if he did. So instead he just watched them in awe as he walked past, not wanting to leave but not wanting to stare. He told himself there’d be more opportunities for him to see things like that, and now his main priority was to find somewhere to sleep. Because although he’d only been on earth for a few minutes, he already felt like dropping to the ground. In heaven, his energy was constantly replenished by God. But here, his energy was earned whenever he made someone happy. And since Jisung had only done that for one person, he was growing anxious that this mission was a mistake. He was about to collapse to the ground when he felt an arm on his elbow, holding him up. Jisung looked through half-closed eyes to the man who’d caught him. The man was tall, or at least taller than him, and he had soft features and long brown hair. He brushed a strand of brown hair that fell in front of his eye, offering Jisung a careful smile as he steadied the shorter man. Then he let go of him, bowing slightly. “I’m Hwang Hyunjin. Are you okay? You seem tired.”
Jisung was staring at the beautiful man for a few seconds before he finally bowed back, stuttering out, “I-I’m Jisung. You’re beautiful. And I’m exhausted.”
Hyunjin let out a pure giggle, and Jisung felt a bit of energy gather in his chest. He smiled back at Hyunjin, who nervously rocked from foot-to-foot. “Are you hungry at all?” Hyunjin asked, and Jisung nodded eagerly. He was starving for energy. Hyunjin smiled and held Jisung’s hand, leading him down the street. “I’ll buy you some food! I’m hungry and I don’t want to eat alone. Is that okay?”
Jisung panicked and nodded, feeling a burst of energy he didn't have before. He didn't realize how bad he’d messed up until he was seated at a table across from Hyunjin, staring at the ‘food’ that was in front of him. Hyunjin noticed his staring and raised an eyebrow, asking, “Are you going to eat?”
Jisung didn't say anything for a few moments, just blankly staring at some white stuff and brown stuff. Hyunjin had already started eating, but Jisung had no idea what to do. All he knew was that it went into his mouth. So he looked up at Hyunjin with a face of pure panic, watching Hyunjin’s face get more confused. “You don't want it?”
“That’s not it. I do.” Jisung furrowed his eyebrows, thinking of a way to say this without revealing what he really is. He couldn't just say ‘I’m not a human, and food won't do anything for me’.
“I-I’m not a human. I don't know how to eat.”
Oh. Apparently he could say that.
Hyunjin raised his eyebrow for a few seconds, before he burst into a fit of giggles. “What do you mean?” He asked around giggles. And although Jisung felt his energy replenish slowly, he was extremely embarrassed at himself. He started blushing and stuttering, trying to explain himself, but he was cut off by Hyunjin holding some of the white stuff up to Jisung’s mouth. Jisung met Hyunjin’s eyes for a few seconds, but Hyunjin just said, “Trust me.”
So Jisung did. He opened his mouth, confident as he took the food into his mouth. Then he froze, not knowing what to do with it. He looked up at Hyunjin, his cheeks full of food, and Hyunjin just giggled. “Now you chew, silly!” Hyunjin opened his mouth and demonstrated what chewing is. Jisung did exactly what he did, closing his mouth as instructed. Hyunjin struggled to explain what swallowing was, but Jisung smiled brightly when he was able to do it. Hyunjin laughed and clapped for Jisung, asking, “How was it?”
“Terrible.” Jisung coughed, unsure of how to get the flavor out of his mouth. Hyunjin nudged a cup to Jisung, saying it had water in it. Jisung was proud that he knew how to drink water, and Hyunjin seemed proud too.
“What was it?” Jisung asked, pointing to his plate. Hyunjin leaned over, pointing at each item with his chopsticks.
“That’s rice, that’s beef, and that’s a type of sauce.” Jisung nodded, tapping the table and sipping water while he watched Hyunjin eat his own food. His plate had the same thing, and Jisung watched curiously when Hyunjin ate rice and beef in one bite. So Jisung reached forward with his fingers (he didn't trust the chopsticks), and grabbed some rice and beef off his own plate. But when he ate it, it just tasted bland, and he didn't understand how humans ate things like this. So he just leaned back again, finishing his water. Hyunjin looked up at him amusingly and rested his chin in his hands. “Jisung, you don't have to pretend you're… not a human? Just eat your food. You look like you need it.”
Jisung shook his head, eyes widening. “I told you already! I’m not a human.”
Hyunjin chuckled and leaned back, popping his fingers. “Fine, then what are you?”
Jisung sighed, knowing he shouldn't say it out loud. But there was something in him that trusted Hyunjin, and that something told him to tell the truth. So he lowered his voice, motioning Hyunjin to come closer so he could whisper. “I’m an angel.”
Hyunjin pulled away, giggling. “Isn't that a kink? I'm sorry but I have a boyfriend.”
Jisung let out a choked sound and shook his head aggressively, blushing dark. “No, no! I'm not here for sex. It was true! And I don't need food to survive, I need to make people happy. It gives me energy. Please trust me!”
Hyunjin laughed harder, but eventually the laughter died down and he looked at Jisung with sparkling eyes. “I like you, Jisung. My boyfriend would like you too.”
Jisung rolled his eyes, “Whatever.” He stood, “If you aren't gonna believe me, I’ll get going. I need a place to stay.”
“I never said I don't believe you.” Jisung froze at the words, listening for more. “I’ll take you home with me, but only if you give me your phone number. I don't want you to run away from me or anything.”
Jisung’s smile faded, and it was replaced with a face of confusion. “What’s a phone number?”
Silence. For 2, 4, 10 seconds, Hyunjin just stared up at Jisung. 15 seconds until Hyunjin was standing up, commanding Jisung to close his eyes. Jisung did so, and he felt hands all over his body. He giggled at the tickling feeling, but didn't open his eyes. Once the hands left, Jisung opened his eyes. “What was that for?”
Hyunjin sat in his seat, pulling out a square thing from his pocket. “Checking you for weapons.” The square made a few noises and a voice came from the other end.
”Hey, baby.”
“Come here.”
”Now? Where?”
“I’ll send you the address. Be quick.” Hyunjin touched the square then held it up to Jisung’s face. Jisung stared at it as Hyunjin pushed a few other buttons, describing what each button did. Jisung took mental notes of new things he learned, like how to text. He didn't quite understand how the phone worked, but he followed along with Hyunjin’s words, even clicking a few buttons himself.
Ten minutes later, Hyunjin scooted over and another man sat next to him. The man had black hair, and he greeted Hyunjin with a kiss to the cheek. Then he looked up at Jisung, a slight glare on his face. “Who’s this?”
Jisung was scared of the man, and he felt himself shrink beneath his gaze. He heard Hyunjn answer, “His name is Jisung. He’ll be staying at my apartment tonight, so I wanted you to meet him first. And also protect me tonight, just in case.”
“Why is he sleeping there if you don't trust him?”
Hyunjin thought for a moment before answering. “Because today will decide if I trust him or not.” He lowered his voice and whispered something in the man’s ear, and reluctantly the man nodded. He looked up at Jisung.
“My name’s Seungmin.”
“Nice to meet you!” Jisung smiled, and although Seungmin smiled back, Jisung didn't feel his energy levels go up at all. Hyunjin cleared his throat and stood up, so Jisung stood up as well. Seungmin hesitated a bit, more careful around the new person, and Jisung looked away, scared under his intense gaze. Hyunjin started dragging Seungmin away from the table, so Jisung followed after them. He followed them down a dark street, and Jisung found himself asking to hold Hyunjin’s hand, scared because he couldn't see in front of him. If he could see, he’d have seen Seungmin glare at his and Hyunjin’s hand, but Jisung couldn't see so it didn't bother him. Hyunjin and Seungmin led him into a large building, then up stairs, then through a door. Jisung followed them into what he assumed was where Hyunjin lived, and he looked around a bit. Right when he walked in, there was a couch, facing a TV. To his right was a wall with an opening, that led into a strange room. He walked into it, looking around. “What’s this room?”
Hyunjin sighed, following him. “This is a kitchen. These are counters, and this is a stove. Don't touch it or it might burn you. This is a fridge.” Hyunjin opened what looked like a door, and he expected a room but he realized it was a type of containment system. He recognized that food was inside it even before Hyunjin said so. “It has food and drinks inside.” Hyunjin looked up at Jisung, opening his mouth to say something then glancing over at Seungmin. Seungmin got the hint and left the room.
“Do you need to drink?”
Jisung rocked on his toes, shaking his head. “I don't need to. But—oh! If I need energy, coffee temporarily gives me energy, but it doesn't last very long. Do you know what coffee is?”
Hyunjin raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Okay, that’s good. What about water?”
Jisung shook his head, “No, it does nothing besides make my throat feel better.”
“And sleep?”
“Sleep does nothing either. When I run out of energy, I sleep because I'm too exhausted to do anything else, but it doesn't give me energy. But I read that humans need sleep! And you need lots of food and water. And I read that humans don't know every language? Is that true???”
Hyunjin chuckled a bit at the boy’s outburst. “Yeah, I only know English and Korean.”
Jisung let out a loud gasp, completely bewildered. “Seriously? How do you even survive?”
Hyunjin laughed a bit louder, petting Jisung’s hair. “The people here only speak English or Korean, so it works out fine.” Then he dragged Jisung out of the kitchen, giving him a tour of the rest of the apartment. He described what everything in the house did, and Jisung listened carefully. Finally, Hyunjin showed Jisung his bedroom, which had a bed Seungmin was already sitting on. The boy looked up at them carefully before pointing to the foot of the bed, where a stack of blankets and pillows lay.
“Those are for Jisung. Did you tell him he’ll sleep on the couch?”
Hyunjin nodded, gathering the blankets in his arms and leading Jisung to the couch. He helped Jisung get comfortable, then pat his head gently. “You don’t have to sleep, okay? If you get bored, you can watch TV.” He quickly explained how to make the TV work, and Jisung thanked him before Hyunjin left into his room. He was extremely grateful Hyunjin had let him sleep in his house, especially since Jisung was a stranger to him. He closed his eyes, trying but failing to sleep. So instead, he stared at the ceiling, thinking about everything he’d learned today.