Chapter 1
"Come in,"
Kihyun entered the room, his yellow eyes wandering around the room. Books were scattered around and the whole place felt locked up, like no one had lived there for a long time. It was small, but cozy with old fashioned furniture and decor. The first and biggest room made a living room with a little kitchen in the corner, as well as more doors leading to other rooms.
Books and plants took up most of the space, with the owner lying on the couch reading. His pink wings were spread out on the couch.
"Here's your next mission," Kihyun announced and dropped a map with documents on the table by the couch. He made his way to the window by the kitchen and opened it, enjoying the fresh air flowing in.
Ciel, lying on the couch, put down his book and picked up the map Kihyun had dropped. He brushed his pink hair out of his eyes and opened the map. It consisted of a pair of documents and a photo.
His light blue eyes swiped over the photo. There was a small girl with long brown hair and bangs. Her eyes were big, brown and ... empty.
"She went through a rough heartbreak recently," Kihyun had been watching him opening the map from his spot by the window. "She lives in Seoul and goes to Seoul high school,"
Ciel stared at the photo for a few seconds, then got on his feet and stretched his wings. A few light pink feathers fell softly to the floor.
"I'll go now," he said, and picked up his bow and an arrow by the door.
"Already?" Kihyun asked, looking a bit surprised. He pushed himself off the kitchen counter and made his way to where Ciel was standing, putting on his quiver.
"Take more arrows," Kihyun ordered him, pushing a few more in his arms.
"Why?" Ciel asked, looking down at all the arrows suddenly in his arms. "I only need one, "
"This might be the hardest mission you've ever gotten," Kihyun said, putting the arrows in the quiver Ciel had by his waist by himself.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ciel asked, stopping Kihyun as he tried to put even more arrows in the quiver.
"Uh," Kihyun mentally debated if he should tell Ciel the truth or not.
"Don't know," he said, but he didn't meet Ciel's eyes. He could feel Ciels stare and finally gave in.
"Fine, fine," he exclaimed and stroked a hand through his hair. "Her case is black coded,"
Ciel froze a bit, and Kihyun watched him nervously for his reaction.
"Im off then," he said after a few moments of silence.
"W-what?" Kihyun asked, a bit shocked. "Just like that?"
"Yeah, I can do it," Ciel said determinedly. "I will do it. Ive always succeeded until now."
He put his hand on the doorknob.
"But Ajin said-" Kihyun tried, but Ciel cut him off.
"I don't care what Ajin said," he said, a bit frustrated now. "Ill be back soon,"
And with that he opened the door and took a step outside.
The whole ground was white, looking like it was covered in cotton. Ciel started walking through the city, his feet meeting the soft clouds underneath. The buildings around him were old fashioned, with plants growing up the bricks and planks, but it was beautiful. A few children were playing in the park, their mothers by the river with their picnic basket keeping an eye on them as they ran around laughing.
The city was full of life and laughter, people buying food from the stands, children running around and a few old ladies walking their dogs through the park.
Ciel continued through the city and walked through the big crowd of angels in the city's downtown. In the middle of the city were a large fountain with a beautiful woman standing on top, holding a vase, water flowing through. Her long hair spread over her back and a scar covered her face horizontally over the nose.
Ciel looked up at the face of their queen, Chi, before making his way through the crowd and to the end of the city. He followed the street to the fences, and half an hour later he found himself at the entrance to the city. Tall golden fences were surrounding the city, like a shield, protecting the city from danger.
Guards greeted him with a bow and opened the fences. The clouds parted under him, and he could see the earth so far down there, rivers glimmering like silver threads, the buildings scattered around in clusters.
He confidently took a step forward and let himself fall through the air. The wind was stroking him over the face and through his hair. This was his favorite part of being an angel.
He spread out his wings and let the wind catch him and he enjoyed the feeling of adrenaline flowing through his body, before opening his eyes and flying towards the group of buildings that were Seoul.
He flew over the buildings and quickly found Seoul high school, landing on the rooftop of the main building. No one had seen him land there as he was invisible to humans.
He sat there in deep thoughts, watching as the early students arrived, with their dark uniforms, walking with friends to the entrance.
Black coded case, huh. He frowned. That meant she had given entirely up on love. The kind of heartbreak that hollowed people out.
He studied his left hand. On the ring finger was a heart shaped mark. It was currently pink, like the color of his hair. Usually, it was light brown on his pale skin, so the pink color now meant that he was active on a mission.
Ciel squinted over at the students ,four floors down, again, studying them. He noticed a girl walking alone. On her back was a black school bag and her long brown hair were covering her face, but he instantly recognized her, even though she had her gaze fixed on the ground.
He quickly grabbed an arrow and aimed at her.
It happened in the blink of an eye. She raised her gaze, and her brown eyes met his blue. His blood ran cold, and he could feel shock go through his body. He let himself fall backwards to the rooftop and ended up lying straight out on top of the rooftop.
His heart was beating fast as he stared up at the clouds peacefully driving by.
She was not supposed to see him.
➽──── ʚ ♥︎ ɞ ────❥
Aerum closed her locker.
She was sure she had seen a person on the rooftop that morning. But the doors to the rooftop hadn't been unlocked before lunchtime. How did he get up there?
The school was empty, the last students leaving the building.
Aerum slowly walked down the stairs and towards the entrance doors. Outside, she tilted her head and squinted towards the rooftop.
There was no one there.
A pink feather fell from the sky, dancing in the wind before landing at her feet. She bent down and picked it up. It was around 10 centimeters big, light pink and fluffy. There weren't any pink birds in South-Korea, right? And at least not this size? But it looked real enough.
She wasn't sure about why, but she put it in her pocket. It was like it reminded her of someone, but she didn't know who.
Her fingers clutched around the feather, and she gazed towards the school again.
➽──── ʚ ♥︎ ɞ ────❥
Ciel followed the little girl with his eyes as she left the school area. She looked towards the school building again, and he hid in a hurry. He waited for a couple of minutes before peeking down at her again. A shorthaired blonde girl caught up with her as she walked towards the bus stop. They were talking and her focus was on her friend. Ciel breathed out.
How did she always know where he was?
He quickly disguised himself as a normal human being, getting proper clothing and his pink wings. He now wore a black zip up hoodie and a pair of jeans. He hid his pink hair under the hood as he was pretty sure not many humans had naturally pink hair.
After making sure there was no one around he jumped down and landed as a cat at the ground. He landed like he was lighter than a feather, like he had jumped down from the stairs and not a 4-floor building.
As he walked out of the school gates he made himself visible and he hurried after the girls.
He scanned the streets and noticed them waiting for the green light to cross the road. He made his way towards them and stood behind them.
He made sure not to be too close so they would notice, but still close enough to keep up.
Following them to the mall he went through different stores, always waiting for the right moment to shoot her with a love arrow.
But it was easier said than done. He was used to being invisible to humans and constantly having to act like a normal human was exhausting. Luckily none of them noticed Ciel following them into every single store.
He kept an eye on the girls as they walked into a clothing store. It looked like the friend tried to cheer up the girl, but judging by the looks of it, she wasn't successful.
They were looking through different clothes and Ciel took his chance as the friend went into the dressing room to try on the different clothes.
It was the perfect opportunity. Ciel hid behind a tack of clothes and carefully pulled out his bow. He aimed at her and let go of the arrow.
It flew through the air before hitting her head. The instant it struck her head it shattered into a rain of tiny hearts that melted into the air.
Ciel waited for the effects. Her cheeks slightly flush at the feeling of a million butterflies in her stomach, her eyes starting to shine and that happy expression everyone has when they're in love.
But it didn't come.
She just sat there, continuing to tap on her phone. She didn't even look up.
Normal people would have felt a feeling rising in her chest, a fluttering feeling of butterflies flying around, like happiness would last forever.
But nothing happened. Ciel watched her, a little disappointed, feeling hopeless. He had handled a black coded case before, and he had succeeded.
Maybe she really had given entirely up on love?
Ciel massaged his temples. Surely there was some love deep down in her heart, right?
He tried one more arrow, using a bit more time to aim, then letting go, but nothing more happened than the first time.
He crouched down and snuck out of the store as the friend made a dramatic exit from the dressing room.
➽──── ʚ ♥︎ ɞ ────❥
"I told you so," Kihyun said, stroking his blonde hair out of his eyes.
"Dont give me that," Ciel scowled at him. He was back in his house, sitting in the living room with Kihyun, Ajin and Jaehyun.
Jaehyun was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, eating fried chicken with his fingers. His dark red hair was tied in a small ponytail, and he had those deep blue eyes you could get lost in. His wings were hidden, and he looked like a normal human, if it weren't for his clothes looking angelic.
"Aint she just a small girl?" he asked, licking sauce off his fingers. Kihyun looked at him with a little disgust in his expression and handed him some tissues.
"Never judge a book by its cover," he said.
"Doesn't change the fact that she's just a small girl," Jaehyun continued, clearly not reading the room. "Why'd you fail?"
"I didn't fail!" Ciel got on his feet, feeling the anger building up.
"Ciel calm down and sit," Ajin said with a low but serious voice. "And Jaehyun, shut up,"
"Come on, I didn't say anything wro- ow!" Jaehyun exclaimed as Kihyun smacked his head.
Ciel was standing with his fists clenched. Taking a deep breath, he sat down again, his finger tapping against his knee.
He had gone back to the sky city after the love arrows had failed. There was no point in shooting her down if the arrows weren't going to work anyways.
"So, you gave up," Jaehyun continued. "The moment the love arrows fail you come running home like a cowa-" he dodged another smack from Kihyun. "Those feelings you described on the rooftop...maybe you're in love?"
The room went quiet and you could hear a pin drop. All three of them were staring at Jaehyun, Kihyun still with his fist midair on his way to smack Kihyun again.
"HAH!" Ciel shouted. Him? In love? Unbelievable.
"Just a thought" Jaehyun shrugged.
"Me? In love?" Ciel said, still not able to wrap his head around it. "No way. I'm a cupid. I make people fall in love, I'm not the one who..."
"Cupids have fallen in love too," Jaehyun said. "It's not like it's impossible."
"Right..." Ciel said, but he knew it was true. Still, he would fall in love with a stranger he had just met. He hadn't even met her. He had just seen her from afar.
"Youre ridiculous" he said, standing up and walking around the room. "Ridiculous" he repeated. He shook his head like he was trying to shake off an annoying fly.
Kihyun grabbed Jaehyun and dragged him towards the door.
"Hey Ciel," Ajin said, standing a moment, studying his friend. "Just..." he sighed and massaged his temples.
"Come up with a plan, okay?" he said after a few moments of silence where Ciel were still standing and staring out in the air in disbelief. "You'll definitely succeed," he said and turned around to the door.
Ciel nodded but didn't say anything. He was grateful to his friends, and he didn't have to say anything. They knew.
He sat down at the couch again as Ajin closed the door. A plan? How could he make a plan where his one and only tool was useless?
His head was full of thoughts, and he had absolutely no idea what to do.