“How long do you think you’ll keep this job?”

“Filling car tanks? It’s just a part-time job so I can earn some money. Eomma said I better be prepared for ‘the outside world’ and high school isn't really helping me out, so. . .  here I am.” The brunet paused. “I thought I told you this.”

“You did.” The other boy finished organizing the cash register and shut it closed. “Namjoon, how long have we known each other?”

“Why do you keep asking me these type of questions?” The boy plopped down from his seat on the counter and twirled his car keys between his fingers. “Uh, two months, I think? Wow, i’ve been gassing for two months.”

“Oh my gosh,” The other boy chuckled. His soft brown locks bounced and pink lips formed a grin, which Namjoon discretely found pretty. “If you say it like that, i’m gonna have to make a joke out of it.”

“Oh no, Jin hyung no-”

“What happened when Namjoon accidentally put a burrito blast in the car’s gas tank?”

“No-”

“PpPRoOM pPROOM-”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA oH MY GOD NO STOP-”

Jin cocked his head side to side like a chicken while Namjoon tried to contain his smile, failing horribly. “pPrOoM pProoOM.” He took a small racecar from the counter and moved it back and forth while blowing raspberries.

“I think it’s time I go now, my shift ended three minutes ago~” Namjoon sing-songed. “That joke was a sin, by the way.”

“You’re a sin.”

“Wow, I don’t even know if that’s an insult or a compliment.”

“Let’s keep it that way.” Jin grabbed his denim jacket and slipped it on while offering a small smile. “I’ll walk you out. I get bored back here since like, no one comes in. Seriously, practically no one stops by a convenience store at a gas station.” Probably why it was the best place, Jin thought. Good job, Kim Seokjin.

The two walked out to the dark night as the stars twinkled nervously. The moon was nowhere in sight.

Jin watched as Namjoon got into his car after waving, then pulled out of the parking lot to drive off into the cold night. “Get home safe,” Jin muttered. He walked off to the side before glancing around, taking a chewable tablet into his mouth. A tablet which would burn any mortal through if they consumed it. Once he was pleased with the airy feeling coursing through his blood, Jin inwardly sighed. Suddenly, broad, white, feathered wings bloomed from his back and he took in a deep breath. “Better save those pills if you wanna watch him anymore. Can’t stay invisible from mortals all the time if you keep those up, can we? Alright, Jinnie, let’s go!”

 He stretched his wings and gave a small flap to test the winds, then lifted himself above the ground. Even though he did this countless times - countless times, Jin absolutely adored the rush he felt every time the air ran through his hair and the speed which made his heart soar. His eyes followed Namjoon’s car to ensure that the boy returned home safe.

He wasn’t stalking him. Technically, he could stalk everyone if he wanted to, but Namjoon seemed special for some reason. Jin always felt like a bowl of vanilla pudding whenever Namjoon laughed at his jokes or bared that smile. He knew what he felt but. . .no attachments. That’s what he was told. Yet there was something about Namjoon that had him following the boy around, the reason why Jin took a part-time job at the place where the younger boy worked at.

Something bad was about to happen.

He didn’t know when, he didn’t know where, but what he did know was that Namjoon would come crashing down to smithereens because of it. And Jin really didn’t want that. He flew from tree branch to tree branch to watch the boy before realizing that he didn’t even have his headlights on, something that could eve be punishable by law.

“Dumb Joonie, who does he think he is? Put your dang headlights on, you moron-” His voice trailed off as his eyes raked over the road in front of the car. A boy. A young teenaged boy was strolling in the dark with groceries in hand, and as if time had slowed down, Jin watched mid-yell as the boy slowly turned to look at the car. His gaze seemed to lock on the driver’s before fear encased him, and then. . . .

Thunk.

“No,” Jin whispered. “No wait-” He saw wine red blood seep from the boy’s head, thick crimson pooling from his dark hair and stretching outward onto the cold road.

Namjoon jumped out of the car. The door slammed shut. He sunk to his knees, where his hands trembled and hovered over the boy - mind blank from the shock spiking through his veins.

The boy wasn't dead. Yet.

Jin could sense his soul slipping away, the body falling limp, but this time he just couldn’t. He couldn’t let someone die and escape while Namjoon was left to crumble like that. He couldn’t let Namjoon spend years in jail or rot from depression and guilt, he just wouldn’t allow it. Namjoon deserved so much better.

Before he knew it, Seokjin had flown down to the scene and padded down to where the boy lay. Namjoon still had shock plastered across his face while his shaking fingers fumbled with his phone. He dialed an emergency number and spoke with a stutter while Seokjin crouched down next to the two.

He can’t see me, Jin thought. His hands traced down to feel the boy’s warm forehead, then pressed against the area where his heart should be. I hate being an angel. I’m sick and tired of it.  

 Kim Seokjin didn’t want to be an angel anymore. Shocking, right? Nah, he was simply tired with living forever and not being able to live like a mortal - with the slight pressure of having to do everything you can before time runs out. The fact that your entire life is a countdown before the day you die seemed thrilling to him, like a race to see who could be the better human. And what comes after passing the finish line, he didn’t care much about. There was heaven, there was hell, and there was an in-between. The council could deal with you then.

“I’m done with this.” He said to the boy, not that he could hear him anyway. “I’m giving my immortality to you, okay? Don’t hate me. I’ll live a mortal life started from. . .how old do I look? Sixteen? Besides, who wouldn’t not want to die?” Me. Mama’s gonna try to go to heaven after spending a lifetime with crybaby lunkhead over there.

He pressed his hands further into the boy’s chest and muttered a chant, one which seemed to echo around the desolate neighborhood and flung back to him. The spot where his hands touched glowed white, where it spread through the boy’s veins and blossomed throughout his entire body. Jin felt the energy forcefully drain out of him as his breath came out in ragged pants, and he craned his neck to the side.

Namjoon had one hand holding his phone to his ear while the other gripped his hair, his back turned. He was frantically speaking through the phone.

Jin let out a strained gasp as the last of his immortality slipped out of his fingers, and his wings were no longer there. Gone. He didn’t have any scars, since angels were the ones who were glorified enough to not have them. You’re not an angel anymore, Jin thought. You’re mortal. Oh! Wait, i’m moRTAL OH MY GOSH-

“Jin?”

Oh yeah, he can see me now. Wonderful. What do I say to him, I flew down here ‘cause I was stalking him and saw that he hit a kid with his car and boom, i’m here?

And that was when he realized that the white glow was stuttering like electricity in the boy’s hair. His stomach flipped. It wasn't a smooth transfer, something might go wrong-

“Jin, how are you here?” Namjoon didn't seem to notice the boy’s slightly glowing body, now that the light was beginning to dim. He seemed to be trying to avoid looking at the scene.

“H-hey, Namjoon. Um,” Even though Jin’s limbs slumped and his head throbbed, his throat was as dry as a tumbleweed, and his body felt excruciatingly heavy, he tried to put on his best ‘surprised’ face. “W-what happened h-here?”

His vision began to blur.

“I think I killed him, Jin.” Namjoon’s voice was small and fragile. “Hyung, I think I killed him.”

Jin tried his best to stand, staggered his way to the younger boy, then placed a hand near his collarbone. He could feel Namjoon’s pulse hammering in his chest. “You called an ambulance?”

Namjoon nodded through his broken tears.

“You. . .you did good.”

And then Jin felt like he was drowning. His knees buckled and it was like he was being submerged into icy, cold water, where the last things he heard were the faint sound of sirens and Namjoon’s muffled shout as he felt the air ripple around him, just like he was flying again. The ground welcomed him with open arms and he saw black.