Permanently Yours | ✓

vii

“Angel…” Hyunjin sighs, eyes still closed. “What are you doing?”

Felix let out a giggle, not making an effort to stop tracing his fingers over the Vampire's face, just feeling the smooth, and cold skin.

“Hyunnie, did you hate me a lot?”

“Why ask?”

“Why not answer?”

The Vampire opens his eyes, squinting at him. “That smart mouth.”

The Angel bats his eyelashes playfully at the other. “I want to know.”

“What gives it away?”

Felix gasps, pushing away from the other. Hyunjin stops him by the arm, pulling him back to his chest. 

“I was just kidding.” The taller smirks. 

“I feel like you're not kidding at all.” Felix mumbles, sulking. “You were always telling me to leave.”

“To be honest, you annoy me.” The Vampire confesses. “You still smile so brightly even after what happened to you, you still try to defend those mortals from me, and it confuses me immensely. Is it because you're an Angel that you come so forgiving? Where's the limit to your kindness? What is it that was the breaking point to your patience? Where does it end?” He pauses. “It got me thinking about a lot of things, but I can't come up with an answer. And because I don't understand it, it rubbed me the wrong way.”

“Is that why you didn't like me?” The Angel asks, his tone not as cheery as before. 

“Perhaps a little.” Hyunjin admitted. “You're so easy to read, you wear your heart on your sleeves, still, I could really not understand you. You seem effortless at first glance, so I can't understand why I couldn't figure you out.”

“So you hated me because I'm more complicated than you thought?”

“I didn't hate you.” The taller denies, and Felix believes him. “I just found you a bit naive and foolish.”

“I guess it could come across like that, since I did not have any sort of anger, nor ill sentiment towards humans even after what they did to me.” 

It is not uncommon for Angels like him to feel negative emotions, especially hatred. It happened for more than times he could remember, that fallen Angels increased in number. Even so, Felix doesn't feel anything of that sort. All there is gratitude in his chest that at one point, living with them had been wonderful for him, and relief that when the situation turned for the worst, he was able to escape and find a place for himself.

In the end, everything turned out for the better, so there's really no reason for Felix to be sad or angry at anything. 

“And it's not your fault I couldn't understand that's just how you are.”

Felix wraps his arms around Hyunjin, and it didn't take long for the Vampire to reciprocate the gesture. 

“So you don't hate me?”

“I apologize if it appeared to be like that.” Hyunjin caresses his face with the back of his hands. “But just to be clear, I never hated you.”

Felix smiles. “That makes me happy.”

The other's eyes never left Felix's face, and it seems like the longer he locks eyes with Felix, the more intense it gets. 

Those reds don't seem so dead anymore, not as intimidating as when he first saw them. Those reds were as calm as the night roses now… still in the dark, but more peaceful. 

“What?” Felix asks, noticing as Hyunjin didn't say anything else.

“You can be surprisingly charming at times.”

Felix's face grew hot with the sudden compliment.

“I think you're absolutely beautiful, Hyunjin.”

—

Many years had passed. Felix remained in the safety of the forest, along with other magical creatures, his friends and Hyunjin.

Felix may have been a little too happy, enough for him to forget that an Angel doesn't belong on the surface. 

He was sent there to experience the way of human living. Just like all the other Angels who have turned eighteen, Felix came down from heaven to live with the humans.

He remembered thinking he couldn't wait to turn twenty-one, so he could go back, and be with all his friends again, but now it was in front of him, he wanted to run away. 

Felix never felt so fulfilled before. He felt like he'd become so much more, even though he's much less than what a real Angel should be. He had made a family with everyone and everything in this forest, and he's afraid to leave them all behind. 

No one really knew why Felix burst into tears when it was supposed to be a happy occasion. Everyone he held dear was there. They were gathered around Jisung's lake, everyone was having fun, happy to know that Changbin and Seungmin had finally decided to marry each other. 

It was a little funny, as the faes have known each other since forever, but only then did they realize things on their own. After a long courtship, Seungmin finally decided to say yes.

All creatures of the forest were gathered to witness the two seal their bond. It was a joyous night, everyone was happy. 

Until Felix saw a light in the sky.

It was as if the brightest star was talking to him, and Felix knew exactly what it was. And all the Angel could do was cry, knowing he couldn't exactly defy the command. 

Everyone turned to him, concerned, especially Hyunjin who suddenly dropped everything just to get to him quickly. He was asking what happened, why, and what it was that had Felix crying like that, but Felix couldn't say anything.

All there was were tears, and near good byes.