Lucifer's Whisper.
Hankyung.
When Hankyung died, he was twenty-one years old.
It was a Thursday, not a cloud in the sky, the sun shining brightly down on him as he rode his bike to work, and yet he had felt strange, apprehensive even. Not that he knew his life would end twenty minutes after he left his apartment – he wasn’t psychic. He had no idea that the van would send him flying into mid air, or that he’d never taste one of his mother’s dumplings again.
But, there had been something wrong with him that day, despite the cheerful sunlight, the birds chirping merrily to themselves – things that would normally make him happy.
Even then, he knew that he should have left five minutes earlier.
If he had, he would still be alive – stuck in a dead end job with little money and three real friends, but alive nonetheless. If he had left five minutes earlier, or even later, he wouldn’t be sitting in a fancy office, listening to a pompous, holier-than-thou man trying to persuade him that this damn ‘buddy scheme’ was nothing but a good thing.
“You see, you’re helping them see where they went wrong,” Siwon said in his soft, gentle voice, his hands making elaborate, unnecessary gestures in front of him. Hankyung got stuck watching them. “You can take them from Hell and give them a rebirth. You’re essentially helping create a new life for them.”
“Yeah… but there’s a reason they’re there in the first place,” Hankyung rolled his eyes and Siwon’s expression switched from enthusiastic to disappointed, his hands finally halting and relaxing on the desk in front of him. The Chinese angel ignored the expression, fixing the executive with a firm gaze. “You’re basically fucking me over here. And it’s not like I have a choice in the matter, is it? So, stop making it sound like a fun, little project and be realistic.”
“You always have a choice, Hankyung,” Siwon smiled pleasantly, intertwining his long fingers and resting his chin on his hands. The other man was thankful that they weren’t flapping in his face anymore. “Just like you have a choice to use such vulgar language in my office and a choice to dye your hair that ridiculous colour. You have complete free will.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the blond man sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, knowing that he would never win an argument with Siwon. “Just tell me which nutter you’re assigning me to. What’s he over there for?”
The black haired angel’s smile grew wider as he reached for the folder at the corner of his desk, flipping through until he found the relevant papers. Hankyung tried to relax in the luxurious chair he was perching on, but couldn’t.
He had always thought that work stopped when you died, that when you got to the afterlife, you were free to do as you pleased. Free will, complete free will. Apparently, he was wrong. Showing a demon the path to righteousness was not something he had planned to do.
“He’s young, around the same age as you, but just a few months older. Accidentally killed himself in a car accident, after a blazing row with his father over his sexuality. He’s prone to temper tantrums and violent outbursts, is extremely vain and frequently engages in indecent activities.”
“Anything else?” Hankyung raised an eyebrow, trying not to laugh at the disapproving, almost disgusted, expression on Siwon’s face. This guy needed to take a break.
“He likes cats,” Siwon pursed his lips, placing the papers back into the folder.
“Jesus Christ, not cats!” the Chinese man groaned, simply because he knew that it would annoy Siwon. The dark-haired angel glared at him but said nothing. “When do I have to meet this… boy? And why did you pick me? I don’t want to deal with him. He sounds like a pain in the arse.”
“He should be here any minute now,” the angel smiled indulgently, reclining in his soft leather chair. “And don’t act like such a victim. At least you don’t have some crazy murderer. You’ve just got a spoilt brat with anger issues. I’m sure you can cope, Kyungie.”
“Oh, shush. What’s his name anyway?”
“Kim Heechul.”
It was a Thursday, not a cloud in the sky, the sun shining brightly down on him as he rode his bike to work, and yet he had felt strange, apprehensive even. Not that he knew his life would end twenty minutes after he left his apartment – he wasn’t psychic. He had no idea that the van would send him flying into mid air, or that he’d never taste one of his mother’s dumplings again.
But, there had been something wrong with him that day, despite the cheerful sunlight, the birds chirping merrily to themselves – things that would normally make him happy.
Even then, he knew that he should have left five minutes earlier.
If he had, he would still be alive – stuck in a dead end job with little money and three real friends, but alive nonetheless. If he had left five minutes earlier, or even later, he wouldn’t be sitting in a fancy office, listening to a pompous, holier-than-thou man trying to persuade him that this damn ‘buddy scheme’ was nothing but a good thing.
“You see, you’re helping them see where they went wrong,” Siwon said in his soft, gentle voice, his hands making elaborate, unnecessary gestures in front of him. Hankyung got stuck watching them. “You can take them from Hell and give them a rebirth. You’re essentially helping create a new life for them.”
“Yeah… but there’s a reason they’re there in the first place,” Hankyung rolled his eyes and Siwon’s expression switched from enthusiastic to disappointed, his hands finally halting and relaxing on the desk in front of him. The Chinese angel ignored the expression, fixing the executive with a firm gaze. “You’re basically fucking me over here. And it’s not like I have a choice in the matter, is it? So, stop making it sound like a fun, little project and be realistic.”
“You always have a choice, Hankyung,” Siwon smiled pleasantly, intertwining his long fingers and resting his chin on his hands. The other man was thankful that they weren’t flapping in his face anymore. “Just like you have a choice to use such vulgar language in my office and a choice to dye your hair that ridiculous colour. You have complete free will.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the blond man sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, knowing that he would never win an argument with Siwon. “Just tell me which nutter you’re assigning me to. What’s he over there for?”
The black haired angel’s smile grew wider as he reached for the folder at the corner of his desk, flipping through until he found the relevant papers. Hankyung tried to relax in the luxurious chair he was perching on, but couldn’t.
He had always thought that work stopped when you died, that when you got to the afterlife, you were free to do as you pleased. Free will, complete free will. Apparently, he was wrong. Showing a demon the path to righteousness was not something he had planned to do.
“He’s young, around the same age as you, but just a few months older. Accidentally killed himself in a car accident, after a blazing row with his father over his sexuality. He’s prone to temper tantrums and violent outbursts, is extremely vain and frequently engages in indecent activities.”
“Anything else?” Hankyung raised an eyebrow, trying not to laugh at the disapproving, almost disgusted, expression on Siwon’s face. This guy needed to take a break.
“He likes cats,” Siwon pursed his lips, placing the papers back into the folder.
“Jesus Christ, not cats!” the Chinese man groaned, simply because he knew that it would annoy Siwon. The dark-haired angel glared at him but said nothing. “When do I have to meet this… boy? And why did you pick me? I don’t want to deal with him. He sounds like a pain in the arse.”
“He should be here any minute now,” the angel smiled indulgently, reclining in his soft leather chair. “And don’t act like such a victim. At least you don’t have some crazy murderer. You’ve just got a spoilt brat with anger issues. I’m sure you can cope, Kyungie.”
“Oh, shush. What’s his name anyway?”
“Kim Heechul.”