Guardian Angel || A BTS Fanfic

2.1: A Cup of Coffee

Namjoon

Namjoon stared at the cup of coffee in his hand, watching the white, thin columns of steam rise. He rubbed his weary eyes and yawned.

Work hadn't been treating him kindly for the past week. After the day he took off for Taehyung, the workload suddenly started to pile up. He would find himself in a stupor at the office, mindlessly filing hundreds of papers. When he had graduated, he hadn't thought that he'd be spending the rest of his life in an office.

He woke up before sunrise and worked late into the night. Exhaustion muddled his mind so much that he had to drink multiple cups of coffee to sharpen it. Previously, he had enjoyed its bitter taste and homely smell, now he drank it out of necessity. It made him slightly nervous all the time and made it hard to sleep even when he had time. He knew his health was declining fast--he slept less, exercised less, and skipped meals.

On top of all this, he had no idea how the others were. Jin hadn't texted him for five days now and their last conversation had been brief and meaningless. He hadn't heard from Hoseok or even Jimin, which was strange. Yoongi hadn't sent a word in around a month, but that was more or less normal for him.

He would never admit it, but he missed talking with them. Back when he was in college they had been able to meet up regularly, but now their lives had progressed and he was stuck working in an awful office. They were busy as well--but they were all doing something they somewhat enjoyed. He was the only one who seemed to have made a mistake, which discouraged him a little when he thought about it. Everyone except for Tae and Jimin was working hard for their dreams.

Out of the five of them, he was most worried about Taehyung. Financially, he wasn't in a good state, and Namjoon was sure that what had happened last week hadn't helped him at all. The last time he saw Tae--in the music studio--he was an awful mess. The sound of Taehyung's soft crying was still burned into Namjoon's brain as if it had happened just yesterday. Even though his memory of everything about the past week had mixed together, he could still see Tae and Jimin crying together.

He took another sip of coffee and glanced at his phone lying on the table in front of him for the fourth time. For the past couple of days, he had waited to hear news from someone, anyone. Unfortunately, its screen remained dark, still reflecting the underside of the umbrella over it. Suddenly, it lit up with a message on its screen.

Tae Tae (September 10th, 2018: 06:18): Hey, hyung. How are you doing?

Quickly, he picked up his phone and fumbled a little while typing in his passcode. It opened to the messaging app, where he typed his reply.

Me (06:19): I'm doing well.

Me (06:19): Tae, are you alright?

Tae Tae (06:21): More or less, just been having weird dreams lately

Me (06:23): Weird dreams?

Tae Tae (06:24): Yea, they're hard to explain...

Tae Tae (06:25): They kinda make it hard to sleep

Me (06:25): You know you can call me if you ever need me.

Tae Tae (06:26): Yeah, thanks hyung...

Tae Tae (06:27): Hyung, you remember Jimin right?

He hesitated and stared at his screen. Had something happened to Jimin?

Me (06:28): Yes, of course. What happened?

Namjoon anxiously waited for Taehyung to reply. His hands were trembling and his stomach was jittery, and he had a strong feeling that it wasn't because of the coffee.

Tae Tae (06:33): He's gone

Tae Tae (06:33): Just like Jungkook.

Namjoon's heart sank to his stomach and he felt grief and sadness begin to claw their way to his chest. Jimin's smile flashed in his mind, a bright and carefree thing that Namjoon took for granted. Jimin's joyful laugh echoed in his ears and his presence suddenly flooded Namjoon's mind. He shook his head, trying to clear it. He couldn't help Taehyung if he was an emotional mess.

Tae Tae (06:34): Hyung, I don't know what to do anymore. I'm scared

Me (06:35): Calm down, Tae, everything will be alright.

Me (06:35): how did he disappear?

Tae Tae (06:36): well...

Namjoon's eyes were glued to his phone until he saw a large figure swoop down in front of him. He jumped back in surprise, falling out of his chair as he saw two massive wings stretch out in front of him. They were so wide he felt as if they were closing off the outside world. The wings drooped slightly, leaving a small opening under each one. His back was against the brick wall of the cafe and the tables to his left and right closed off any exit. He was cornered.

"W-who are you?" He stammered, his coffee left spilled and forgotten on the ground under the table he was sitting at.

The winged figure only stared, and he realized that he had seen this face before. Though he couldn't put his finger on who it was, he knew it like his own name.

"Come with me," the demon said, its voice surprisingly young and not deep like Namjoon expected it to be. The demon glanced at the phone he clutched tightly to his chest. It's gaze turned into a glare. "Give me that."

"No," Namjoon held the phone even closer. His mind was racing wildly. Should he call for help? Was he hallucinating? Had sleep deprivation finally got to his sanity? He assessed his now smaller surroundings--he could dive under one of the figure's wings to escape. The question was, would he able to run away from something with such speed?

"Screw it," he muttered under his breath. He shoved his phone into his pocket and dove under the outstretched wing. The feathers brushed against his back as he desperately crawled under the wing and started running. He took uneven breaths of cold air as he ran as fast as he could. Behind him, he heard the intimidating sound of beating wings.

The buildings in front of him blurred together, but he was able to pick out narrow alleys and small shops the demon wouldn't be able to reach. He turned sharply to an alley and dashed down it. He made another sudden turn and pressed his back against the concrete wall, breathing heavily. His palms were sweaty and his chest heaved painfully.

Hands shaking violently, he pulled out his phone and called Taehyung.

"Hello?" Taehyung's groggy voice came through the speaker.

"T-Taehyung," Namjoon glanced around at his surroundings fearfully. "I think I know what Jungkook looks like now."

Music: "The Truth Untold" piano cover by Smyang.