Earth Angel || pjm•jjk

1

jeon jeongguk was an understanding man. he did as he was told and knew it was always for a good reason—being an angel didnt give him much reason to think god was giving his angels menial tasks or even things that he'd assumed lucifer would do.

but this case is different.

"you want me to what?"

"go down and look after park jimin."
jeongguk blinked. of course everyone above the earth had a clean bill of health all the time, but jeongguk was seriously starting to believe something was wrong with his ears. he put down his cup and fully looked at his best friend with wide eyes.
"park jimin. the park jimin? he's human but is practically a little demon. didn't god give the assignment to soojin? did she deny it?"

"no, she was originally assigned to hui. their debut took a toll on him and he's in bad shape so she was sent to korea." the younger sighed again. jimin had moved to america last year for school. his home life was bad and when he finally worked — well, stole enough money to move out of the house and pursue a career and life he actually wanted. they haven't kept their eye on him like they do others, but they knew he was still doing things that could get him arrested or killed on a daily basis. that's why he's on heaven's watch list, specifically zone 8's watch list, jeongguk and taehyung's zone.

"look, both god and mina think this will be good for you. you're still young, you don't have enough experience down on earth, they think putting you with jimin may help your rank and our zone. honestly, namjoon is tired of hearing hoseok talk about all the dumb rewards zone 4 gets for being 'the best of the best', but what can you do when that whole zone is literally in charge of the sun. they're gonna be the brightest people."

"so are we always last because we're in charge of the planets? I mean, most of the elders aren't even close enough to the earth to easily transport there."

"no we're last because half of our team is tapped out on people. yes they're too far away but ever since pluto came into the picture, they've been focusing on that and getting all its information to god and to nasa, so the rest of us are left dealing with the humans and controlling it or the closest planets around. dealing with that and with people are quite difficult. you've had one kid, guk, one. i've have over 38, within the last four earth years. two more and i'm maxed out until this stupid tournament like contest is over and the suns are deemed the winners. you're honestly all we have. jimin is, park jimin will be a real challenge but if god believes your dumb ass has the ability to help him then there's something you have that we don't. obviously i trust his decision and i trust you. i think you can get through to the little runt, and if i'm wrong you can tell yoongi it was me who me been fucking around with the stars to get his attention."

taehyung smiled and he patted jeongguk's shaking leg in comfort. the last person he had tried to help ended up living her dream as a kpop idol. he hasn't heard from her in a month but he knows she's doing much better. that feeling felt euphoric; the smile she had when she was accepted under a better management and at her first solo concert was something the angel could never forget. he knew what jimin's smile looked like, but to see it in person and genuinely happy made him want to do this. but something didn't settle in his stomach.

"well, i'm sure yoongi knows it's you considering no one can get close enough to betelgeuse without getting burned by its light or have their ears ache from the song it plays, but you're about as annoying and as bright as someone can get. bad combination, really. you should be lucky he hasn't clipped a feather off your wing or even the whole wing itself." jeongguk avoided responding to taehyung's praise. he knew that he would say something stupid and regret it or even just say 'thanks' but it'd feel wrong. the thought of going down to earth always made him a little uneasy. there are times when he and the rest of the planetary team would drop down and give a routine 'maintenance' check but they always left the youngest to an abandoned or deserted area for safe keeping.

either way, jeongguk couldn't get out of this. by the end of the day he had to report to god for more instructions and he couldn't say no again. god had given him too many passes and he didn't want to overstep any boundaries and suddenly be flicked off the cloud. he had exactly four hours to get his shit together and work up the courage to hear how he may have to do this or how long he has, whatever he's told is always the final straw when it comes to the humans. jeongguk picked his cup back up and downed the rest of the water.

("guk we don't need to eat or drink you know?"

"angel or not, i want to drink my life away."

"jeongguk you're drinking water with tiny ice cubes shaped like olives.")

their shared living quarters was a request by taehyung. they don't live near the rest of their zone, they're actually in the middle of the sun district, but it doesn't take long to transport themselves to where they need to be. taehyung could be separated from hoseok, his partner in crime, ride or die, his dumb boyfriend with a dumb smile that makes everyone's heart melt. so to say it was always a little too bright was a small understatement, even when jonghyun pushed the moon up and painted in the correct phase (how is it still bright during a new moon?).

"look, you have until midnight to go to the golden gates. i say just take a little nap and i'll wake you up before eleven, deal?" taehyung plopped himself on the baby blue couch and stretched his legs out, snapping his fingers loudly as an indication that the alarm for an hour and a half has been set, allowing jeongguk to fling himself on top of his best friend.

before jeongguk became an angel, he had a habit of sleeping, all the time. when he met taehyung about six months after his wings healed he still managed to laze around their apartment like building, sleeping until the elder kicked him awake. he doesn't need sleep, but it's always a good way to handle stress or anxiety, both clearly present in jeongguk's features. taehyung became his official bed and pillow around their first year of being friends and jeongguk doesn't plan on getting a real bed any time soon, despite the elder's constant complaining and empty threats.

☁︎

by the time jeongguk reached the golden gates, god and mina were already there, two folders in hand, one red and one white. the white folder is more information on the person they have been assigned to and the angel's tasks, the red folder is rare but it means someone else has been assigned to them as well—a demon. jeongguk tried to swallow his dread and hesitantly walked in front of the two.

"jeon jeongguk, i know it's been a while since your last visit, but i'm glad you have accepted this task. we're really counting on you and believe you can make a difference in this young boy's life." god nodded toward the angel before looking at mina who then handed jeongguk both folders, white then red.

he's never known anyone to have both colors. it's always just white, sometimes just red if one of the guardians needs to put a demon in its place, but rarely both. jeongguk nodded, not trusting his voice, before taking one last look at god, then mina, then the gates.

he trusts me. i can do this.

the gates began to open. the bright white light that emitted from the outside slowly turned shades of red and gold with blue and pink accents. it was 7am in the west, perfect time to enter the earths atmosphere undetected. after one final breath, jeongguk opened his eyes and waited for his wings to open.

i can't do this.