Feathers- A BTS Fanfiction

Chapter 9

"Jeongguk." Aurem pokes his face with one finger, sitting crisscross on the mirrored floor. "Wake up."

He doesn't stir, laying on his side in a fetal position. The wings don't allow for laying on your back.

"Jeongguk, EdgeLord, wake up." The girl pokes him again, this time a bit harder. He stirs slightly, tucking his knees into his chest.

"God, you sleep like the dead," Aurem mutters to herself. Lowering herself near his face, she cups her hand around her mouth and his ear.

"WAKE UP YOU EMO CROW!" She screams.

Jeongguk's eyes snap open as his entire body jolts awake. His wings rapidly extend, slapping Aurem.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" He shouts, throwing his hands in the air. "I WAS HAVING A GOOD SLEEP!"

"You weren't waking up, so I have to take decisive action. You could've been dead or something-" Aurem pauses, correcting herself, "Um... ignore that..."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me." He mumbles, slowly sitting up. "How long has the sun been in the sky?"

"A few minutes, we didn't miss anything." She states, yawning.

"Then I can go to sleep for another hour." He grumbles, laying down. "If the sun just came up, then when did you wake?"

Aurem smiles to herself, scratching her head. "I didn't sleep, I'm really used to pulling allnighters, and I couldn't with all of this going on."

The boy furrows his eyebrows, but then relaxes, sitting up once again. "You're a guardian, you need sleep so you can perform properly. Besides, since you're not accended you're vulnerable for corruption."

"You're not accended either, so we're in the same boat." She counters, smiling.

"Which means I need more sleep." He tucks his knees in, flopping sideways onto the ground. "In my next life, I want to be a rock."

Aurem thinks that sounds familiar.

Looking into the distance, she sees a figure materialize. Aurem walks towards it, the silhouette becoming clearer.

A very young girl in a white dress stands before her. Looking around, she calls out, waving her arms around. She frantically running in random directions, crying out for her mother. Just like Aurem's, the girl has raven black wings sprouting from their back.

As Aurem is about to call out to the girl, three flashes of light emitted from the sky, signaling the appearance of a group of accended angels. It can only be assumed that this is her family.

The child runs to the group, being taken into its embrace. Her wings slowly fade to a pearlescent white, exactly like the rest of the angels. As Aurem finds herself moved to tears, the child and the rest of the angels soar upwards, dissipating into the light. It is truly beautiful.

"Children almost always ascend immediately after death." Jeongguk states from behind her. "I've watched it thousands of times."

He only then noticed the tears running down her cheeks. Paling, he awkwardly puts his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Wiping her face, she turns around, faking a smile. "Y-Yeah! The light just made me tear up, that's all!"

"I didn't ask why you were crying, I asked if you were okay." Jeongguk stares into her eyes. Aurem looks away and doesn't say anything. There's a moment of silence.

"My grandparents came for me when I died... They surprised when I didn't go with them." He states quietly. "I guess I was one of those few kids who didn't ascend immediately."

Aurem's eyes widened. "How long have you been here?"

Surprised by the sudden question, Jeongguk freezes. Breathing in, he looks to the side. "I think I'm 21 by now, time is very weird here... so about 11 years."

"Woah." The girl's jaw drops. "I mean, this place is cool, but why have you been here so long?"

"Well, I guess my soul hasn't been completely shed of burdens yet... I haven't exactly been facing them for awhile."

"Then, I hope being my partner will help you with that." Aurem smiles, walking towards the gate. Jeongguk follows.

"...Why did nobody come for you?" The boy eventually questions, Aurem stops walking, making Jeongguk accidentally walk into her.

"You said that those who love you meet you when you're dead, right?" She asks, facing him.

The air becomes stale, clouds momentary block out the sun. Jeongguk nods, immediately regretting asking the question.

"I guess that nobody who died loves me, or made it here in the first place... My parents are alive, but I live with my brother. I've never met any of my grandparents or relatives."

Jeongguk's lips tighten, a perplexed aura overcomes him.

"Thank you for meeting me though." She smiles. "I really appreciate it."

"Oh, um, of course." He nods, gesturing towards the gateway. An odd feeling is left in his stomach, though he shakes it off. "After you."

Aurem jumps into the gate, the familiar feeling of weightlessness overcomes her. Jeongguk appears after her. Together, they both fly towards the Earth.

"So, what do we do now?" Aurem questions, looking at her bracelet. "Do we just fly around until we see something happen?"

"Well, we could approach this in multiple ways." He responds. "We can either do that, or we can possess ourselves a few bodies and wait-"

"POSSESS BODIES?!" She yells, making Jeongguks ears ring for the second time that day. "I THOUGHT ONLY DEMONS COULD DO THAT."

"N-no." He uncovers his ears, "We can too... We just need to find a few people and-"

Aurem crosses her arms, shaking her head. "Nope, I am not possessing a random person."

"Well, that's kinda how we save people... It's not like we can always reveal ourselves. By possessing a body we can keep our identities secret." Jeongguk nods.

"So, those people that randomly push people out of the way of traffic, and risk their lives for others are sometimes being possessed?" Aurem looks at him, her head cocked to the side.

"Yeah, a lot of them are." The boy nods. "Don't worry though, the person possessed is at no risk, we let nothing happen to them.

"But we can intervene as angels in emergencies, right?"

"Yeah." He nods. "We can also possess the person in danger, though that's a bit more risky."

"My faith for humanity has completely gone out the window." Aurem mutters slumping her shoulders as they fly together.

As the two enter the atmosphere, Aurem looks towards her partner. "Jeongguk, how do you know so much about being a guardian?"

He swallows, focusing straight ahead. "Well, when I ascend, I'm in line to be one, Hoseok taught me everything I know a long time ago."

The two fly down to Busan, landing on the ground.

"Let's get started."

*****