Fallen Angels [1/?]
Jan. 22nd, 2013 12:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
themuziqloverA/N: Strange plot bunny has been born! I had way too many thoughts on this so I don't know how long it'll be but I hope this turns out good! xD Enjoy!
Do you know how people even started to believe in angels or the concept of Heaven?
Well.
Once upon a time, a long long time ago, beyond any time we can possibly remember, the world wasn’t split between Heaven and Earth. Yes! Angels used to walk right alongside people like you and me. Can you believe it? Back then, if you looked up you would always see the Angels flying in the sky with their huge, huge white wings. They were so beautiful. Whenever you saw them, they always seemed to have a natural glow about them and when you saw them in the sunlight - you just wouldn’t be able to take your eyes off them. They usually lived in their own communities but, did you know, they used to also have buildings you could see floating among the clouds in the sky. White and gold and silver all shining against the blue dome above you. But now, the Angels have changed to suit the times. With the changes in modern society, the domination of technology and science, the Angels rarely ever make an appearance anymore.
Anyway, these Angels helped watch over the Humans, protecting them and guiding them. They were split up into many different sectors that dealt with all the many different aspects of the world. For example, the Seraphim were the highest class of Angels, they were the main governing body, the “royalty”, you might say. They were the grandest, the most powerful, the fierce commanders of Heaven next to God. The Cherubim were in charge of children. From babies to young kids, they took care of them and protected them until they matured. The Thrones were messengers, flying to the edges of the world to deliver any and all correspondences. The Virtues took care of life and living. They spent all their time on the arts, sciences, all the things that nurtured life. But probably the ones that the Humans saw the most were the Archangels. These Angels were the principal guardians of humankind, the ones who were the most involved with them. They studied them and interacted with them and ensured that Heaven understood their ever changing needs. In fact, many of them were on Earth so often that they eventually earned the nickname of being the “fallen” Angels of Heaven, an unfortunate misconception.
But despite all of this involvement with Humans, there was one golden rule, among several, that all Angels must obey. All Angels must never become too involved or invested in Humans. They could only maintain what you would probably call “professional relationships”. As Angels, they always maintained their purity and innocence. Sin must never enter an Angel and so, they also earned a reputation among Humans of being “emotionless” to an extent. Sure, they could feel happy or sad or angry. But never any more extreme emotions and especially not any of the emotions known as the Seven Deadly Sins. None of the depressive sadness, blinding anger, or passionate love that gave Humans their humanity.
One rotten fruit spoils the basket.
Angels were meant to be perfect beings and perfect beings were never meant to mingle with imperfection.
This was especially difficult for the Archangels, seeing as their entire purpose was to learn about and interact with Humans. Thus, to ensure that rules are followed and objectivity is the norm, the Archangels are jointly led by two leaders instead of just one - Wufan, who goes by Kris to the masses, and Junmyeon, nicknamed Suho because of his renowned prowess as a guardian. Together, they have ensured the centuries of good relations and peace between Angels and Humans.
“Kai!”
Jongin turned towards the blonde Angel quickly flying towards him, several folders and books carefully balanced in his arms. His white wings spread out behind him as he landed softly on the marble steps of their building’s entrance.
“Has Kris told you yet? I think you’re doing this year’s evaluation.”
Today was the beginning of an evaluation year for the Archangels. Every fifty years, the Archangels sent a few chosen Angels down to the Human world in order to update and re-assess their understanding of Humans. Society is ever-changing and the Angels understood they needed to keep their understanding relevant to the present era they watch over. One Angel is sent down to each country from their respective Archangel factions for a year to learn and observe, and ultimately, report back to their Archangel heads.
“Hello to you too, Luhan. And yeah, he did. South Korea, I think? How about you? Got anything going on?”
Jongin adjusted his shirt as he and Luhan climbed up the steps together, entering the grand lobby of the Archangel headquarters. Entering the building was like traveling back in time. While the Angels changed and adapted to the current society, their buildings generally stayed the same, creating an eclectic mix of past and present all under one roof. The Archangel building adapted most of its architectural styles from Ancient Greek design and hasn’t really been updated since. White marble floors led to high ceilings and two rows of solid white pillars stretching down the length of the building. At the reception desk however, an Angel sat typing away on a 15-inch Macbook Pro.
“Yep! I think the Chinese Archangels are having some sort of labor shortage or something so they decided to send someone from over here who could speak Mandarin and guess who got the job?” Luhan singsongs into Jongin’s ear.
“Let me guess... Yixing?” Jongin asks with a cheeky grin.
“No.” Luhan slaps Jongin on the shoulder as they reach the desk. “I did, of course. Morning Baozi!”
The receptionist Angel peeks up at them from the screen as they reach the desk, one hand still on the mouse, the other wrapped around a half-eaten steamed bun. His cheeks puffed out slightly as he chewed the part of the bun still in his mouth and bent over to dig through some of the drawers under his desk.
“Got anything for us today, Minseok?”
The Angel reappears as the rest of the bun disappears down his throat. He holds out a stack of envelopes and papers to Luhan and he begins to sift through the pile.
“I think the details of your evaluation assignment’s in there. Other than that, the usual couple of notices from management, a postcard from Taemin up at the Virtues’ department, oh and your bill for any out-of-work expenses.” Minseok rattles off as Luhan hands Jongin a pile of his mail and begins looking through his.
“Thanks!”
“No problem. Hey, do you know when you leave? We were thinking of going out cloud-hopping before you disappear on us.”
Jongin laughs. “I’m not disappearing. Come on, I’ll be sending reports up all the time, and it’s only a year. And after all, what’s a year to us, right?”
Minseok laughs in agreement.
Jongin travels down to Earth the very next day. Chanyeol, their head of HR, had simply sent him a note with an address printed on it and a very concise everything’s been arranged. So now here he is, standing in the middle of his very own apartment, at a complete loss about what to do next. He knows what he’s here to do, he knows his job, it’s just that after a few centuries of observing from a distance, he’s become a little more out-of-tune with modern Human society than he’d like to admit.
He shrugs on one of the jackets hanging in the closet and decides he’ll just walk around outside, explore, grab some quick takeout for dinner, and head straight back home to rest up for tomorrow. Then, maybe, he’ll have enough energy to go through the documents waiting for him on his desk. He pulls on his shoes, making sure to lock the front door, and makes his way to the elevator (where he spends a good five minutes figuring out how to get down, cursing at Chanyeol because everything is always Chanyeol’s fault).
Before he know’s it, he’s standing in the middle of downtown Seoul.
The stream of people moves steadily past him and he’s almost nervous about joining that swift, chaotic stream of life, nervous about getting swept away a little too quickly. But he takes a breath, steels himself, and begins walking down the street. And in that moment, he can almost believe he’s no different from any of the people walking alongside him.
The air is crisp and fresh and, he can’t help noticing, so much more alive than the air up in Heaven is. Up in Heaven, the air never changes, always a constant pleasant air, but stationary. No change means the perfection stays. Here, in the middle of the city, there’s movement and disorder - the sound of cars and pop music and conversation blending in with the smell of Humans and smoke and food cooking, people breathing, people living. The night lights shine all around him in a myriad of colors and, even though it’s night time, everything seems so bright and blinding to Jongin. Around him, a combination of old and young rush off to unknown places, unknown destinations. So many personalities, so many stories, in those people that Jongin can’t help wondering about. He glances up at the inky black sky illuminated by all the city lights from below. So much stimulation and energy and Jongin drinks it all in like a starved man.
He ends up ducking quickly into a simple fast food restaurant on the side of the road. It’s small and tucked away; an island of quiet in the middle of that sea of noise. Jongin sighs at the break from the outside world and heads up to the counter to order some food. It’s there, while he’s standing and waiting for the nice lady to ring up his order and give him change (not that he’d be able to check if it was correct anyway, Chanyeol hadn’t told him anything about how Korean money worked), that he feels a heavy force barreling into him from behind. His stomach digs uncomfortably into the countertop until the weight lifts and he turns, only to come face to face with the most sincerely apologetic face he has ever seen.
The man’s, no... the boy’s eyes are wide (so, so, wide) and he’s bowing so profusely, Jongin is amazed his neck hasn’t snapped yet. He’s standing in front of another boy with incredibly well-applied eyeliner and a knowing smirk on his face as he observes the spluttering boy in front of him.
“I am so so sorry! It’s just that I - and Baekhyun - he pushed me - why would you do that to me Baekhyun? Why? Anyway, I am just so sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt you or anything horrible like that - please forgive me.”
Jongin can only look on in amusement as the boy looks up at him reluctantly. He’s significantly shorter than him, Jongin notes. Actually, the both of them are. But the one behind the apologizing boy, Baekhyun was it?, hasn’t stopped smirking since Jongin turned around and it’s starting to be slightly uncomfortable.
“It’s no problem”, Jongin smiles, “I hope you weren’t hurt either.”
He hears the lady tell him his order his ready and he turns to grab it from the counter before stepping slightly to the side so the boy and his friend could have their turn at the counter. The wide-eyed boy continues to gawk at him as Jongin gives them a slight bow and a smile.
“I’ll be going now. Have a nice day!”
And with that, Jongin promptly leaves the restaurant and makes his way back home. That had been mildly interesting. but it’s been a really long day and Jongin figures socializing with Humans can wait until he’s had a proper night’s sleep.
Do you know how people even started to believe in angels or the concept of Heaven?
Well.
Once upon a time, a long long time ago, beyond any time we can possibly remember, the world wasn’t split between Heaven and Earth. Yes! Angels used to walk right alongside people like you and me. Can you believe it? Back then, if you looked up you would always see the Angels flying in the sky with their huge, huge white wings. They were so beautiful. Whenever you saw them, they always seemed to have a natural glow about them and when you saw them in the sunlight - you just wouldn’t be able to take your eyes off them. They usually lived in their own communities but, did you know, they used to also have buildings you could see floating among the clouds in the sky. White and gold and silver all shining against the blue dome above you. But now, the Angels have changed to suit the times. With the changes in modern society, the domination of technology and science, the Angels rarely ever make an appearance anymore.
Anyway, these Angels helped watch over the Humans, protecting them and guiding them. They were split up into many different sectors that dealt with all the many different aspects of the world. For example, the Seraphim were the highest class of Angels, they were the main governing body, the “royalty”, you might say. They were the grandest, the most powerful, the fierce commanders of Heaven next to God. The Cherubim were in charge of children. From babies to young kids, they took care of them and protected them until they matured. The Thrones were messengers, flying to the edges of the world to deliver any and all correspondences. The Virtues took care of life and living. They spent all their time on the arts, sciences, all the things that nurtured life. But probably the ones that the Humans saw the most were the Archangels. These Angels were the principal guardians of humankind, the ones who were the most involved with them. They studied them and interacted with them and ensured that Heaven understood their ever changing needs. In fact, many of them were on Earth so often that they eventually earned the nickname of being the “fallen” Angels of Heaven, an unfortunate misconception.
But despite all of this involvement with Humans, there was one golden rule, among several, that all Angels must obey. All Angels must never become too involved or invested in Humans. They could only maintain what you would probably call “professional relationships”. As Angels, they always maintained their purity and innocence. Sin must never enter an Angel and so, they also earned a reputation among Humans of being “emotionless” to an extent. Sure, they could feel happy or sad or angry. But never any more extreme emotions and especially not any of the emotions known as the Seven Deadly Sins. None of the depressive sadness, blinding anger, or passionate love that gave Humans their humanity.
One rotten fruit spoils the basket.
Angels were meant to be perfect beings and perfect beings were never meant to mingle with imperfection.
This was especially difficult for the Archangels, seeing as their entire purpose was to learn about and interact with Humans. Thus, to ensure that rules are followed and objectivity is the norm, the Archangels are jointly led by two leaders instead of just one - Wufan, who goes by Kris to the masses, and Junmyeon, nicknamed Suho because of his renowned prowess as a guardian. Together, they have ensured the centuries of good relations and peace between Angels and Humans.
“Kai!”
Jongin turned towards the blonde Angel quickly flying towards him, several folders and books carefully balanced in his arms. His white wings spread out behind him as he landed softly on the marble steps of their building’s entrance.
“Has Kris told you yet? I think you’re doing this year’s evaluation.”
Today was the beginning of an evaluation year for the Archangels. Every fifty years, the Archangels sent a few chosen Angels down to the Human world in order to update and re-assess their understanding of Humans. Society is ever-changing and the Angels understood they needed to keep their understanding relevant to the present era they watch over. One Angel is sent down to each country from their respective Archangel factions for a year to learn and observe, and ultimately, report back to their Archangel heads.
“Hello to you too, Luhan. And yeah, he did. South Korea, I think? How about you? Got anything going on?”
Jongin adjusted his shirt as he and Luhan climbed up the steps together, entering the grand lobby of the Archangel headquarters. Entering the building was like traveling back in time. While the Angels changed and adapted to the current society, their buildings generally stayed the same, creating an eclectic mix of past and present all under one roof. The Archangel building adapted most of its architectural styles from Ancient Greek design and hasn’t really been updated since. White marble floors led to high ceilings and two rows of solid white pillars stretching down the length of the building. At the reception desk however, an Angel sat typing away on a 15-inch Macbook Pro.
“Yep! I think the Chinese Archangels are having some sort of labor shortage or something so they decided to send someone from over here who could speak Mandarin and guess who got the job?” Luhan singsongs into Jongin’s ear.
“Let me guess... Yixing?” Jongin asks with a cheeky grin.
“No.” Luhan slaps Jongin on the shoulder as they reach the desk. “I did, of course. Morning Baozi!”
The receptionist Angel peeks up at them from the screen as they reach the desk, one hand still on the mouse, the other wrapped around a half-eaten steamed bun. His cheeks puffed out slightly as he chewed the part of the bun still in his mouth and bent over to dig through some of the drawers under his desk.
“Got anything for us today, Minseok?”
The Angel reappears as the rest of the bun disappears down his throat. He holds out a stack of envelopes and papers to Luhan and he begins to sift through the pile.
“I think the details of your evaluation assignment’s in there. Other than that, the usual couple of notices from management, a postcard from Taemin up at the Virtues’ department, oh and your bill for any out-of-work expenses.” Minseok rattles off as Luhan hands Jongin a pile of his mail and begins looking through his.
“Thanks!”
“No problem. Hey, do you know when you leave? We were thinking of going out cloud-hopping before you disappear on us.”
Jongin laughs. “I’m not disappearing. Come on, I’ll be sending reports up all the time, and it’s only a year. And after all, what’s a year to us, right?”
Minseok laughs in agreement.
Jongin travels down to Earth the very next day. Chanyeol, their head of HR, had simply sent him a note with an address printed on it and a very concise everything’s been arranged. So now here he is, standing in the middle of his very own apartment, at a complete loss about what to do next. He knows what he’s here to do, he knows his job, it’s just that after a few centuries of observing from a distance, he’s become a little more out-of-tune with modern Human society than he’d like to admit.
He shrugs on one of the jackets hanging in the closet and decides he’ll just walk around outside, explore, grab some quick takeout for dinner, and head straight back home to rest up for tomorrow. Then, maybe, he’ll have enough energy to go through the documents waiting for him on his desk. He pulls on his shoes, making sure to lock the front door, and makes his way to the elevator (where he spends a good five minutes figuring out how to get down, cursing at Chanyeol because everything is always Chanyeol’s fault).
Before he know’s it, he’s standing in the middle of downtown Seoul.
The stream of people moves steadily past him and he’s almost nervous about joining that swift, chaotic stream of life, nervous about getting swept away a little too quickly. But he takes a breath, steels himself, and begins walking down the street. And in that moment, he can almost believe he’s no different from any of the people walking alongside him.
The air is crisp and fresh and, he can’t help noticing, so much more alive than the air up in Heaven is. Up in Heaven, the air never changes, always a constant pleasant air, but stationary. No change means the perfection stays. Here, in the middle of the city, there’s movement and disorder - the sound of cars and pop music and conversation blending in with the smell of Humans and smoke and food cooking, people breathing, people living. The night lights shine all around him in a myriad of colors and, even though it’s night time, everything seems so bright and blinding to Jongin. Around him, a combination of old and young rush off to unknown places, unknown destinations. So many personalities, so many stories, in those people that Jongin can’t help wondering about. He glances up at the inky black sky illuminated by all the city lights from below. So much stimulation and energy and Jongin drinks it all in like a starved man.
He ends up ducking quickly into a simple fast food restaurant on the side of the road. It’s small and tucked away; an island of quiet in the middle of that sea of noise. Jongin sighs at the break from the outside world and heads up to the counter to order some food. It’s there, while he’s standing and waiting for the nice lady to ring up his order and give him change (not that he’d be able to check if it was correct anyway, Chanyeol hadn’t told him anything about how Korean money worked), that he feels a heavy force barreling into him from behind. His stomach digs uncomfortably into the countertop until the weight lifts and he turns, only to come face to face with the most sincerely apologetic face he has ever seen.
The man’s, no... the boy’s eyes are wide (so, so, wide) and he’s bowing so profusely, Jongin is amazed his neck hasn’t snapped yet. He’s standing in front of another boy with incredibly well-applied eyeliner and a knowing smirk on his face as he observes the spluttering boy in front of him.
“I am so so sorry! It’s just that I - and Baekhyun - he pushed me - why would you do that to me Baekhyun? Why? Anyway, I am just so sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt you or anything horrible like that - please forgive me.”
Jongin can only look on in amusement as the boy looks up at him reluctantly. He’s significantly shorter than him, Jongin notes. Actually, the both of them are. But the one behind the apologizing boy, Baekhyun was it?, hasn’t stopped smirking since Jongin turned around and it’s starting to be slightly uncomfortable.
“It’s no problem”, Jongin smiles, “I hope you weren’t hurt either.”
He hears the lady tell him his order his ready and he turns to grab it from the counter before stepping slightly to the side so the boy and his friend could have their turn at the counter. The wide-eyed boy continues to gawk at him as Jongin gives them a slight bow and a smile.
“I’ll be going now. Have a nice day!”
And with that, Jongin promptly leaves the restaurant and makes his way back home. That had been mildly interesting. but it’s been a really long day and Jongin figures socializing with Humans can wait until he’s had a proper night’s sleep.
