Death's Bow (Golden Child TAG X Female OC)

Ch. 3: A Bargain With The Reaper

"Suyeon!"

Hyunjin shouts in a panicked tone, entering the wrecked coffee shop despite the warnings from other people and even Jangjun trying to keep him from entering. He just had to check if his friend was alright.

From the outside, the wreck caused by the truck crashing into the coffee shop looked very bad. And though no clear injuries have been seen yet, it was enough to send many witnesses into a panic. Hyunjin especially.

"Suyeon!" he calls out again as he climbs through the destroyed display window and enters the shop, looking for the girl. Until his eyes land, on two certain figures just a few feet from the front of the truck.

Immediately, Hyunjin's eyes widen, and he approaches them, staggering as he thinks his friend's soul had already been taken, but...

"S– H-huh?" The boy freezes as he reaches the two, the dust settling and revealing Youngtaek who bends over Suyeon, protecting her from whatever harm would have befallen her in the incident that had just happened.

And both of them seem to be shocked by what had happened. Not to the shop, but instead, what Death had done for this mere human girl.

"Y-you–" Suyeon stutters as she looks up at the young man hovering over her. "W-what–" It seems she is too unable to create full sentences, but before she could continue, Death suddenly moves away from her, standing up before he holds his hand out to her. Once again, this shocks the girl, but at this point, the reaper's aloof expression had already returned.

He doesn't even speak as he remains looking at the girl with a cold gaze.

Suyeon looks up at him, then, hesitatingly, she lifts her hand and places it on his, letting the reaper help her up.

And eventually, Hyunjin wakes up from his daze, soon rushing to the two with mixed feelings of panic and relief. "Suyeon!" he shouts again, and both the girl and Youngtaek turn to him just as he reaches them. Immediately, Hyunjin pulls Suyeon into an embrace once he reaches her. "Oh, thank goodness! I thought something had happened to you!"

Suyeon is still in shock, though, and so she remains slightly stiff in Hyunjin's embrace; until the boy lets go of her and turns to Youngtaek with a mixed expression of relief and surprise.

"Youngtaek! Seriously, I didn't think you'd actually save Suyeon aga–" Hyunjin says, only to be cut off by Youngtaek's cold, analytical tone and his eyes wandering outside.

"A Messenger is nearby," he says, and Hyunjin stops and looks the same way Youngtaek had turned to. "... Disaster," he soon concludes.

Eventually, another figure enters the wrecked shop, and all three of the former group turn to him. Bomin enters in a panic, looking quite frantic as he seems to have not expected what he had just done to this little coffee shop. He soon finds his two fellow Messengers, and as he approaches them, he seems to panic even more. "Guys! Oh my– I-I didn't mean for this to happen! Really! I was just walking by and I sensed an Expired Soul and the next thing I know–" The boy continues rambling until his eyes land on Suyeon, and he stops, just as his eyes glow silver for just a second. "... It's you... isn't it?" he suddenly asks Suyeon without any second-thought.

Suddenly, the girl feels intimidated yet again as she takes a step back, and just as she does, Hyunjin stands before her to reassure her of her safety.

"Well, it's..." Hyunjin struggles to look for another way to explain and possibly get his friend out of this situation. But finding none, he just sighs before eventualy telling the truth. "Yes. She's the Expired Soul you detected."

Behind Hyunjin, Suyeon grabs onto his arm tightly, squeezing it in fear of being taken away by either one of the grim reapers around her. Youngtaek notices her actions with just a glance, but he doesn't speak a word at all. Not even as the girl's words from before reappear inside his head.