his shield

008

taeyong will start training wit me tomorrow. jeonghan can see talent in this boy and wants him to learn from the best.

i am just at the traffic lights near jaehwan's apartment block. he is meant to be walking through here in approximately 2 minutes.

nothing bad is going to happen, not yet at least. he is meant to fall down a staircase in an hour when he goes to the shops with sanghyuk.

but of course i won't let that happen.

i feel slightly emotional after telling taeyong about my past. i haven't told anyone that story.

except for hongbin and taeyong. of course jeonghan knows. he saw it when i first arrived at the institution.

only those three know and i'd like to keep it that way if possible.

it's not a backstory that i'm proud of. i'm proud of my wife and my daughter but i'm not proud of how i acted when i was a mortal.

i was stupid and careless. i didn't realise that i didn't need fortune to be happy. i just needed to be with hani and mai but of course i didn't see that until after i died. i regret going to the bar that night.

watching my own funeral was the hardest thing to do. hani could not hold back as she just lost it. mai was screaming from her aunty's arms as her mother clutched onto my coffin.

that broke my heart.

more than anything i wanted to take away my glamour and show her that i was still there but i couldn't.

taeyong will soon go through the same no doubt. it sounds stupid, attending your own funeral but we all do it.

it's the last chance to say goodbye to our loved ones forever. as we will never see them again.

well we will but it won't be the same as they won't see us. it'll never be the same as when you were breathing and walking beside them.

jaehwan suddenly crosses the road and enters my vision. sanghyuk is beside him as usual and i just sigh before clearing my head and following the pair.

sanghyuk's shield isn't nearby. i can't sense him. that's odd as i can see that he is going to walk beneath a frail sign which will fail and electrocute him.

maybe the shield will show up closer to when it will actually happen.

the two arrive at the shopping centre and immediately go to the food court.

they both get bubble tea and take a seat to have a conversation with each other.

i could take on taekwoon's body and sit near them, maybe immerse myself in conversation with them. but i shouldn't.

but, why the hell not?

i mutter a few words and wave my hand over my face slowly. i morph into taekwoon and i order myself a cup of bubble tea.

i take it and pull up a chair next to their table.
"you were in the cinema the other day" jaehwan recognises me instantly.

"that i was" i smile at him and sanghyuk just looks from me to jaehwan in confusion.

"i'm taekwoon" i extend my hand and jaehwan shakes it.
"we kinda met at the cinema the other day" he explains.

"i'm sanghyuk" he shakes my hand and i mutter a nice to meet you.

"so, what do you do with your life?" jaehwan holds his head in his hands.

"i am a body guard" i tell them. that's what a mortal version of a shield would be called i'm pretty sure.

"that sounds like fun. who for?" sanghyuk becomes interested in what i have to say for the first time since i've arrived.

"no one to special. just a kid named lee hongbin" i smile and they both look at me in confusion.

they don't know who he is. taekwoon was hongbin's shield. jeonghan wasn't quick enough to get someone to protect hongbin when he killed taekwoon. so hongbin ended up dying.

"we are university students" jaehwan decides to move the conversation along.

"yes, we attend shitty lectures every day or two" sanghyuk chuckles and jaehwan emits a quiet giggle.

"what brings you here taekwoon?" jaehwan asks me and takes a sip from his bubble tea.

"i just felt like getting some bubble tea. what about you guys?"

"same" he grins at me and i smile back. he looks away as he becomes slightly flustered.

"hey, why don't you give me your number? then we can start hanging out maybe. the three of us" jaehwan suddenly suggests.

i don't have a phone. only mortals have them. i try to come up with a lie on the spot.

"i actually came here to buy a new one. my previous one just broke yesterday."

"let's go" jaehwan has a particular glint in the back of his eye as we get up from the table.

sanghyuk remains quiet as we head up the escalator. there is a staircase beside them. it's the one that jaehwan is meant to fall down after being crashed into by a teenager.

i'm going to have to save him in my mortal form. there is no chance for me to turn back into myself now.

i see the teenager heading towards us and i try to think of how i'm going to do this without using my powers.

jaehwan, completely oblivious to what is about to happen, continues to talk to us as he walks along.

the teenager bumps into him roughly and he loses his footing. i grab his arm and pull him up, in the process i lose my footing and i begin the descent down the stairs.

"taekwoon!" jaehwan tells out as i roll down them. i land at the bottom and my head feels sore.

i look up to see jaehwan rushing down the stairs towards me, sanghyuk right beside him.

wow. i forget how weak mortals are.

i pull myself onto my feet and disappear into the crowd. jaehwan calls after me but i don't stop.

once i am out of his sight, i morph back into myself and put on my glamour once more.

in my normal body i immediately feel fine once more. i am strong yet again. my head does not hurt anymore.

jaehwan stops in the middle of the crowd and just scratches his head in confusion.

i hear something snap and that's when i remember what was meant to happen to sanghyuk.

i look over to see the sign just beginning to fall down. i clasp my hands together and time stops just as sanghyuk steps beneath the sign.

i hurry over to him and push him out of the way. he falls onto his face and i clasp my hands together once more.

the sign collapses on top of me, but it goes straight through me.

jaehwan helps his friend to his feet and they both exchange a few words as to where i went before leaving the shops.

i head into the bathroom and sketch the symbol on the wall.

this day has been an interesting day in the world of mortals and i've had enough.

A/N - what do you think of wonshik morphing into taekwoon to spend time with jaehwan and sanghyuk? will he do it again?

thanks for reading!!