his shield

007

i can hear some kind of commotion occurring outside my room. it has been happening for ten minutes now.

deciding that things aren't going to settle without me dealing with it, i kick off the blankets and get out of the bed.

i get dressed quickly and head out into the main room of the institution to find most of the shields are huddled around someone.

"where am i? who the hell are you people?" someone asks from the middle.

there must be a new shield.

when you become a shield you just show up here after you die. you don't have any memory of dying and it's almost as though you have been drugged and kidnapped.

quickly whispers begin as the shields notice my arrival. i don't have to say anything as they all part away, allowing me to walk up to the newbie.

he is an average height and has pink, fluffy hair. he looks completely lost and his eyes are glassy as he is on the brink of tears.

"do you know where i am?" he makes eye contact with me. "please. i have to get back to jaehyun. he will be worried sick."

taeyong. this is taeyong. hongbin's person's lover. oh boy. he died a lot sooner than i thought.

"where the hell is jae chan?!" jeonghan yells as he enters the room.

taeyong looks at him in confusion but jeonghan just grins at him. his expression fades slightly when he sees me.

"take taeyong to my office. you can explain everything there" he tells me and hurried off to find taeyong's shield.

jae chan will be killed tonight. he failed his job. jeonghan will kill him.

"come with me" i say softly and take off down the hall. taeyong, not having anywhere else to go, follows me.

we arrive at the office and i sit where jeonghan usually does and taeyong sits in the other side of the table.

"give me your hand" i place my hand of the table, palms up. he hesitates before placing his palms on top of mine.

"what you are about to see is not a dream. it is the events which took place only 30 minutes ago. it is your death."

he looks at me in shock and i don't give him a chance to say anything before i replay the memory of his death in his mind.

he was at the grocery store getting milk but he got caught up in a drug deal in the car park. he was shot in the stomach and hit in the head. he bled out before he had a chance to regain his consciousness.

the vision finishes and i look to see tears streaming down his cheeks.

he slowly opens his eyes and looks at me in disbelief. "no. that can't be right. i'm alive. you are just tricking me. jaehyun is still waiting for me and i will go back to him."

"i'm sorry taeyong."

"d-does he know?" he asks softly and i lower my head as i reply.

"yes. do you want to see?" i place my hands on the table again and he doesn't hesitate before placing his on top of mine once more.

jaehyun reads quietly as he waits for taeyong's return. he left for milk about 40 minutes ago. jaehyun sent him a text asking if everything was okay but he didn't receive a response.

taeyong probably got distracted. he is okay, jaehyun tells himself over and over.

suddenly there is a knock at the door and jaehyun places down his book and gets out of the bed.

did taeyong leave his keys behind again?

he opens the door and his heart stops when he sees two police officers.

"are you jung jaehyun?" one of them asks and he nods, confirming his identity.

"you share this residence with lee taeyong correct?" he asks and jaehyun nods again.

"is everything okay?" he questions and the police officer removes his hat.

"i am so sorry mr jung. taeyong was shot in the parking lot. he bled out before the medics had a chance to bring him back."

"no. you have the wrong person right? taeyong went out for milk, he was going to make pancakes. he will be back shortly" jaehyun tries to dismiss what the police officer says.

"i'm so sorry" he just apologised again.

jaehyun places a hand over his mouth as he begins to cry. he slowly falls onto the ground and just loses it.

taeyong pulls his hands away and loses it. he falls apart in the chair that he sits in.

i don't give him any sympathy. i know exactly what it feels like. taeyong will have to cry himself out before he will come to understand and accept what has happened.

"you are a shield now. you must train and become strong so you can protect someone. so you can keep them alive."

"will i be assigned to jaehyun?" he asks between sobs and i shake my slowly.

"he already has a shield. if you become close with his shield then maybe you can use his head to see your beloved every now and then." i inform him and he continues to cry.

"it hurts. it really hurts" he states and i nod slowly. "i know how you feel. trust me."

he stops crying briefly and looks up at me.
"did you die like i did?"

"in a way yes. it's a long story. i'd have to tell you of my life as a mortal. would you want to know?"

he nods and wipes his eye. i just take a deep breath before i begin to explain.

"i was born into a rich family. i was lucky to be surrounded by riches for the whole of my childhood. it was at my 18th birthday celebration that i met hani. we fell in love. she was one year younger than me. we married when she was only 18, myself 19. we had a highly successful relationship. she was pregnant with our first child by the time i was 20. soon after finding out of the marvellous news, it was discovered that the family business had gone bankrupt. we lost everything and were forced to live in the slums. still, hani and i loved each other and we thought that was all that mattered. we just held onto each other and fact that we were going to become parents. when she turned 20 and i was 21, she gave birth to our beautiful daughter mai. i loved them both more than anything. unfortunately 2 years after her birth i took a dark turn. i began to spend the few dollars we had at the bar. my father had done the same when times looked bad when he was with my mother. this one night i had gone to become drunk so i could forget all the worries which i had about everything. but someone began to talk shit about mai and called hani and i monsters for bringing her into the world. of course i grew angry and i fought him. he pulled a pocket knife on me and stabbed me in the stomach. i never saw hani or mai again. when i first arrived at this institution and found out what had happened, i was heartbroken. i trained harder than ever to become a successful shield. i would secretly cost mai and hani everyday to make sure they were doing well. i watched mai grow from afar and i saw hani and mai die. so believe me taeyong, i know exactly what you are feeling right now."

i finish talking and i feel a warm liquid crawling down my cheeks. i immediately wipe away the tears and try to put up a strong front for taeyong.

"i'm sorry" he apologised but i just shrug him off.
"that was 700 years ago."

A/N - what do you think of what happened to taeyong? what do you think of wonshik's mortal life?

thanks for reading!!