fallen angel | yoonmin

iii. he speaks only truth

❀

"I'm sorry?"

Jimin's mind races, begging him to run, but his feet stay planted. whatever happened to no surprises?  He feels his mood sallow when he sees the blood on the bark of his grandfather's tree.

"What do you have to be sorry about?" the strange man questions blandly. "Now tell me. How is it that you humans most commonly take your life? I might be reborn into Paradise if I die soon enough. That is, if they haven't revoked all of my rights yet."

Jimin's patience snaps and the next time he blinks, his hand is raised and stinging, the sound of the slap ringing in his ears. He and the boy both stare in shock at his hand. 

"You— you slapped me." It's moreso a question than a statement, though he says it without a shift in tone of voice. Jimin's hand draws back to cover his mouth.

"I'm sorry— I wanted to know if you were real or not."

The boy squints at him, and Jimin feels like he's a bug under a microscope. "You wanted to know... if I was real? Are you delusional?"

The pink-haired boy feels his jaw drop in a comical fashion.

"Am I  delusional? I'm  not the one wearing nothing but a bedsheet. I'm  not the one that thinks I'm not human. You're very strange, sir. How old are you? Are you an actor? Is this a prank show?"

"I don't know what either of those are," the boy snaps, his mood shifting towards annoyance. "I'm completely serious. I used to live in Paradise. I used to fly here, to Earth, all the time. I don't even know why  the guardians sent me here,  of all places. I was an angel. Now I bleed red. Now I'm pathetic, like you." 

Jimin feels heat color his face. "Now that's just rude."

The boy frowns. "Am I supposed to apologize here?"

Jimin huffs, "No, sir, you shouldn't be here at all! This is my grandmother's house. If you're going to be strange somewhere, you're not going to do it here." He feels his car keys in his back pocket and grabs the boy's wrist. He physically tries to pull away, but once Jimin set his mind to something, not even a crazy cosplayer or whatever he was could stop Jimin.

"Where are you planning on taking me?" the boy asks, and Jimin swears he hears an edge of panic in his voice. "Are you taking me back? I have to go back." He wraps the golden sheet around his shoulders, jogging to keep up with Jimin's pace.

"I'm taking you to the only place that I can think of," Jimin huffs, dragging the very confused and concerned boy down to duck under his grandma's windows. He practically runs down the hill, shoving him and himself into his little blue car.

Warily, the boy questions him from the backseat. "And tell me where that is?"

"Easy," Jimin says, driving towards the one place he hated but also loved the most. "Me and Hoseok's apartment."

❀

There are no words to describe how happy Jimin is to see that Hoseok was not in the apartment. He could only imagine what his best friend would tell him at the sight of the naked boy.