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Chapter 2: A fallen angel

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The bewildered boy who didn't even believe his own eyes hadn't either noticed how the creature that seemed to be an angel had walked closer to him and now gently touched his face. It wrapped its wings around his entire body as it hugged him.

Jungkook—of course—panicked, screeching loud enough for the angel to let go of him. He then scurried away to the side this time, until his back hit the edge of the children's bed placed in the middle of the room.

"Y-you're real?" Jungkook asked with a stutter and the angel chuckled.

"Of course I am real, you saved me!" The angel exclaimed and made Jungkook confused.

Saved it? When? How?

What?

"That thing..." The angel said and pointed to the book of spells that was still a few feet away from Jungkook as it had moved itself there, "I was trapped in there."

"You said the magic words and now I'm free, so I'm forever indebted to you." The angel only smiled at Jungkook, who still looked confused as ever.

After all, he stumbled upon the abandoned house in the middle of a forest randomly, found this weird book of spells, tried to summon the devil as a joke but instead a dark winged angel flew out of the book and now claimed that it was saved—as if it was The Genie.

"Thank you very much for being kind and reading that out loud, is there any way I may be of service?" The angel said and moved closer to Jungkook.

"Do you need a guardian angel? A bodyguard? A cuddle buddy? A friend? Best friend? What about a boyfriend? I could be all!"

Hold the fuck up. Does this person even know what he's saying?, Jungkook thought and raised an eyebrow at the angel as it rambled about all the things it could be for Jungkook.

"Are you sure you're real? Like, what if you're just some random magician who somehow came out of that book with these bought fake wings from some costume shop attached to your back or something—"

"I am real." The angel interrupted Jungkook, but with a bright voice. It wasn't offended at all and instead, it started bragging, "Look at my wings."

Its dark wings fluttered open and pieces of dark feathers came falling down on the floor. Jungkook shielded his head, intimidated by the large pair of wings.

"They look fake." Jungkook spoke nonchalantly, noting the falling feathers and the angel frowned. Jungkook got up from his spot on the floor and sat down again, but on the old, creaky bed this time.

Angels don't have dark wings.

"Say, fake angel, what's your name? And where are you from?" Jungkook asked as he brushed off the dust that had landed on his shoulders as he had leant against the bed from the floor.

"I am real!" The angel almost mused as if there was a melody behind its voice, "And my name is Taehyung, I'm from Heaven." The angel, Taehyung, crossed his arms over his chest and send Jungkook a look. 

Jungkook rolled his eyes and let out a scoff before focusing back on Taehyung.

Jungkook had to admit that the wings were pretty impressive and looked close to real, but Jungkook was not to fool.

If Jungkook's mother could disappear out of the blue, this dude might as well be able to appear out of the blue—even out of a book.

That was the reason he came out here after all.

To escape his dad and to grieve his mother.

"No seriously dude, where are you from?" Jungkook asked with gaps between his words mockingly, as if the angel wouldn't understand otherwise.

Taehyung rolled his eyes, for the first time showcasing other emotions than positiveness and gratefulness.

"Okay fine. I'm from Lacuna." Taehyung spat, clearly annoyed.

Right, an angel would never act like this, Jungkook was right, it wasn't an angel.

Said boy's face contorted into a weird expression at the name, "Lacuna? What the hell is that? Is that in Jeju or something?"

"Jeju—what? No! It's the space between Heaven and Hell!" Taehyung educated as if it was basic knowledge.

"I thought that space was earth?"

"Well, it's not." Taehyung snorted, "It's basically like an empty void—"

"You could've just said void—" Jungkook interrupted rudely and received karma as Taehyung did too, "Okay shut it smarty-pants..."

As they kept talking, Jungkook started to feel a little less cautious of the winged creature in front of him, whom he started to believe really was an inhuman creature. The wings sure looked like the were stuck deep into his back.

He leant back, prompting his body on his elbows on the bed and tangled his legs in front of him, setting himself in a comfortable position.

"So if you're an angel, why are you in Lacuna? Aren't you supposed to be in Heaven? And why are your wings black?"

Jungkook gasped, "—Are you a grim reaper? Am I dying?"

Maybe, it was the devil he summoned after all—a devil in disguise as an angel. It would explain the dark wings and the missing halo.

For a second, Taehyung had had enough of it. He started to regret ever being freed from the shackles of that stupid book—even though he had no control over it. He wished he was back in there. Maybe, he could just leave this human and fly back to Lacuna himself.

But sadly, Taehyung knew it was impossible to do so. Just like a genie who was freed from his bottle by their own Aladdin, Taehyung couldn't just leave Jungkook like that. And beside, maybe Jungkook was gonna be his one-way ticket back to being an angel in heaven, and not just some fallen one in Lacuna.

"I'm a fallen angel."