WINGS ARE MADE TO FLY ✓

Chapter 5

"Why can't we just fly to Gwacheon?"

Taehyung was in the backseat of Namjoon's seven seater van, setting up the new phone that they had just gotten for him. His old one had broken, and Jungkook said that, in case of emergencies, they should all have phones and each other's contacts.

Jungkook was driving (apparently, Namjoon didn't have his license) and Namjoon was in the passenger seat.

"Because," Jungkook said, not taking his eyes off the road, "when Hell attacked Heaven this time, they destroyed the Barrier. The Barrier comes from this thing called the Beacon of Light. It keeps mortals, humans, whatever you want to call them, from seeing angels. I'm guessing that Hell's forces destroyed it by accident, because it also kept mortals from seeing monsters and demons. Father made repairs on Heaven as soon as possible, so you still can't see Heaven itself. But we can't fly on Earth anymore, or we'll be seen."

"Why not fix the Beacon, then?"

"Father is waiting for us to come back victorious from the battle with Hell. No use repairing it if Hell would wage war again and destroy everything after getting it rebuilt."

"But that's risking the exposure of angels."

"I know."

"How about—"

"How about you be quiet and let me drive, yeah?" Jungkook snapped.

Taehyung looked back down at his phone. Namjoon and Jungkook were already in his contacts. He added his mother and sent her a text message.

Mom, it's Taehyung. I got a new phone. I've been meaning to call but I haven't got the time to. How are you and Yeontan doing?

His hand hovered over the word send. He was planning to call her, but due to circumstances...

"What are you doing?"

Taehyung looked up at Jungkook. "Huh?"

"You went silent. Thought you died or something."

Namjoon mumbled, "Don't make jokes like that."

Taehyung shook his head. "I was just sending a message to my mom. Haven't called her since you broke into my apartment. How did you do that, anyways? Magic?"

"Bobby pin."

Taehyung raised an eyebrow before looking back down at his phone. He pressed send and shut it off, slipping it into his back pocket.

He heard Jungkook say, "Crap."

There was something at Namjoon's front doorstep. It looked like a rather small human being, maybe four and a half feet, with a scrunched up face and a long pointy nose. It wore fancy clothes, which Taehyung found odd. It was milling around, as if waiting for someone.

Taehyung's eyes widened. "Alright, what the hell is that? And, uh, no pun intended."

"A goblin," said Namjoon, squinting at it. "They've found us. I thought we'd have more time..."

"It's a good thing I already put everything we needed in the back seats," Jungkook muttered, making a U-Turn. "Change of plans; we're going straight to Gwacheon."

As Jungkook turned, Taehyung stared at the goblin. "Damn it. It looks nothing like the ones from Harry Potter."

Namjoon turned around to look at Taehyung with bright, excited eyes. "What house are you?"

Taehyung smiled proudly. "Hufflepuff. You?"

Namjoon grinned. "Gryffindor. It's always nice to meet another Potterhead."

"Would you two shut up?" Jungkook asked, with less heat this time and more worry. "I don't know if you've realized the gravity of the situation, but Hell is currently on our tail. You can talk about your geeky stuff later."

"It's not geeky," said Taehyung. "It's a great series."

"I know," said Jungkook. "I've read it."

"What house—"

"Joon says I'm a Ravenclaw— but that's besides the point!" Jungkook looked embarrassed that he'd gotten sidetracked. "The point is: there may be more monsters once we get to Gwacheon. Hell might even know where Seokjin lives. So get ready to fight if we have to."

Taehyung frowned. "Seokjin?"

"The Angel of Air, Kim Seokjin," said Namjoon.

"I've heard that name before... isn't he famous or something?"

Jungkook nodded. "He's a model. His manager is an angel. I'm sure he can pull some strings and make an excuse to the agency as to why Seokjin will be gone when we leave for Hell."

A thought occurred to Taehyung. "Has every elemental other than me had their powers since birth or something?"

Namjoon shook his head. "If you're a descendant from one of the First Seven, you get your powers at age fifteen, the same age you get your wings."

"And I didn't start blasting random beams of darkness around the house by accident in my angsty teen years because... ?"

Namjoon frowned. "I'd suspect it's because you had no idea you were an angel. The powers surface faster if you're more aware of them, I think. On his fifteenth, Jungkook sent someone flying across the room because he accidentally blasted them."

"We don't speak of that, Namjoon. Father was furious; you remember what happened when everyone left and you stayed back, yeah?"

Namjoon went silent all of a sudden.

Looking back and forth between the two, Taehyung said, "Forgive me for asking, but, um, what happened?"

Jungkook shrugged. "He slapped me."

Namjoon winced at the words, as if he himself had just been slapped.

Taehyung paused before saying, "Sorry."

"Why do mortals always apologize for things that don't even concern them?" Jungkook asked, and Taehyung could tell he was trying to change the subject. "It's confusing and mildly infuriating to me."

Taehyung didn't reply and sunk back into his seat. He had a great selection of swear words for Jungkook's father if they ever met.

But Jungkook's father was the king and Taehyung didn't want to die quite just yet.

The car ride continued in silence for a while until Taehyung realized they had stopped moving completely. He looked out the window to find they were stuck in heavy traffic.

Jungkook cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "Get comfortable. We're gonna be in here for a while."