"Do people up there answer prayers?" Jaebum asked as he meticulously scanned each document over and over again for any sort of peaceful resolution of a human and angel being together.
Youngjae looked up at him, raising a brow in question. "What do you mean?"
"When humans pray, is that like... received? Like a message or something?" Jaebum had been wondering that for a long time, even back when he wasn't sure if angels and such heavenly beings existed. He just wondered if anyone was ever listening in his times of need.
Youngjae hummed, shrugging in response. "Um... well we can hear your prayers. Doesn't mean we'll do anything about it. Praying doesn't mean much despite what you humans think, they're often just useless desires, so we tend to ignore them."
"That's harsh..." Jaebum mumbled, though he did feel a bit guilty since he had prayed for meaningless things before.
"Sorry." Youngjae replied.
"Still, I'll try it." Jaebum slid off the couch to his knees, pressing his hands together just in front of his nose. "Dear whoever can hear this, my angel boyfriend has been taken from me, and it's been 27 hours since I've last seen him. I need him to come back to me safely, I love him so much, and I can't lose him. Jinyoung, baby, if you're okay, I hope you return to me soon, safe and unharmed. I'm a wreck without you. Please. I love you so much. Amen."
Jaebum let out a breath, glancing over at Youngjae who kindly waited for him to finish.
"Feel better now?" The younger asked.
"I guess..." Jaebum replied as he sat himself on the couch. He felt a bit embarrassed about saying all of that in front of someone, but he wasn't the type to hide his feelings. Though, he did feel a bit ridiculous after praying, especially since Youngjae said they were mostly ignored. "That was useless, wasn't it?"
"Pretty much." Youngjae replied, trying to hide his giggles behind his hand.
"Then why did you let me do it!" Jaebum shoved the younger who couldn't help but laugh, needing a moment to regain his composure.
"I thought maybe it would help you calm your nerves. Y'know people tend to pray when they're most desperate, I didn't wanna stop you from letting your feelings out."
Jaebum huffed, after thinking about it, realizing he did feel a bit lighter. Who knows, maybe someone did hear his prayer and knows exactly how much he loved Jinyoung. Though it probably did go unheard, the thought that he at least put his prayer out there made him feel a bit more relieved than before. "I guess I feel a bit better, though no one's probably listening..."
Youngjae hummed, clicking his tongue as he set down the paper he'd been reading. "I'll try contacting Jinyoung through projection again. Maybe it'll transmit this time."
Jaebum nodded, watching Youngjae head to the bathroom to use the mirror as a means of contact. "Please, I hope it does."
🕊
"Why are you crying?"
Jinyoung let out a shaky breath, the sound of him sniffling and his chains clinking together filling the narrow, dimly lit corridor as the guard guided him towards his awaiting fate. "I... just heard a prayer for me... from someone special..."
The guard hummed, not pressing any further. They walked for a bit more before stopping by a set of large wooden doors decorated with intricate carvings. "You should wipe your tears before standing before the council."
The guard pulled a handkerchief from his robes, handing it off to Jinyoung to use to clean himself up.
"Okay..."
"Through there." The larger angel pointed at the big set of doors while taking back his handkerchief and shoving it in his robes.
Jinyoung turned towards the door, taking in a deep breath. He wasn't prepared for this at all, but he had no choice. He stepped up to the door, pushing it open, and disappearing behind it.
He was immediately met with darkness aside from a light coming from high up above, so high, that he couldn't even see the source of the light. Around the edges of the circular room were large pillars, in the center a smaller gold plated circle decorating the floor.
He stood there just looking around, wondering where he had to go next.
"Step forward." A deep voice boomed, sounding as if it came from above.
Jinyoung looked around for the owner of the voice, though he wasn't surprised that he couldn't find them. He did as told, stepping forward towards the middle of the room.
"Stop there." The voice commanded.
Jinyoung froze, looking down briefly at the golden circle that he was now standing on. Suddenly, the ground under him began to shake, or rather, the platform under his feet started to rise. He was lifted up slowly closer to the light, but still not close enough to see the ceiling. He soon figured that those pillars at the edges of the room must've been just extremely tall seats for each council member.
"You are?" The voice asked.
Jinyoung swallowed hard. Was he talking to the council right now?
"S-Siros class angel, Park Jinyoung." He answered, his voice shaking a lot more than he planned it to.
"Ah. The one who's broken too many rules to count." The deep voice responded.
"We thought your excursion to Earth would do you good. You've just caused more trouble." Another voice startled Jinyoung. In comparison to the first, this one sounded slightly angry and worn out, as if coming from a cranky elderly person.
"H-How did I do that?" Jinyoung mindlessly stuttered out, though such questions and responses would probably not bode him well if taken incorrectly.
"Getting emotionally involved with a human is just asking for trouble! You've been schooled all your life on the important rules an angel must follow, have we wasted our precious time teaching someone who can't retain such crucial information!?" The elderly voice scolded, whoever the owner may be seemed to have quite the disdain towards Jinyoung.
"Jinyoung. I shall list your crimes, and from there we shall discuss your ultimate punishment." A woman's voice echoed through the chamber, her's sounding softer yet commanding enough to have Jinyoung's hairs standing on end. "You have broken numerous rules consecutively, and haven't shown any plan to learn from your mistakes; from having an illogical hate for humans, to interfering with the life and death of a human, to exposing your status as an angel to a human, and falling in love with said human as well."
"These cannot be taken lightly. The world of humans and angels are separate for a reason, you know this, Jinyoung." The deep voice stated.
"Would you like to give an explanation as to why you felt it was necessary to break such crucial laws, and put not just yourself, but the angel world and human world in danger?" To woman asked.
"I..." What was he to say? How should he respond? There was so much he could say yet couldn't formulate into words, and so much he wanted to say but was worried about angering the council. More than anything, he didn't think of a reason since he broke many of those rules unintentionally. He didn't want to hate humans, he just did. He didn't plan to fall in love with Jaebum, it just happened. How could he explain things that were hardly explainable? He was never the ill intent sort of person, so giving a proper reason was a bit difficult. "It's many reasons... I'm..."
The elderly one seemed to get upset with his lack of explanation. "If you cannot explain yourself, then you have broken these rules with not even an ounce of thought or remorse. You must be punished for what you've done-"
"Give him a chance." The woman chided. "Jinyoung? Your reason? There had to he something driving you. Maybe start with your initial crime, the forbidden use of your powers to extend a humans life?"
Jinyoung swallowed hard, his throat uncomfortably dry. Remembering back to that time wasn't easy, he's pushed that so far out of his mind so many times. But before him was the opportunity to express his frustrations to the most powerful people in Heaven, he couldn't give that up.
He let out a breath, deciding to just let his words flow and hope he says the right thing. "I just think it's unfair. To allow us to have so much power and we can't use it to help people. Thousands of humans die everyday, and all I did was try to save one, yet I get in trouble for it? I don't get how that makes sense! We could be saving millions of lives, not just watching them all die off!"
"They die due to their own circumstances. If humans want to live better, they have to evolve into doing so. As angels, our job is to guide, not save." The deep voice responded.
Jinyoung couldn't live that way. Watching good people die off because of their uncontrollable circumstances, it just didn't sit right with him. "But why? Why can't we save them? They're no different than us, and I learned that through my time on Earth! Someone I met there told me that I'm just as human as he was, so I don't understand why our worlds have to be separate. Why do we have to hog our powers and knowledge from those who need it? There are diseases and natural disasters that kill people everyday down there, and we have the knowledge to protect everyone but we don't use it? You're all selfish!"
"That's enough Jinyoung." The woman started firmly, making Jinyoung quiet instantly.
"A human has twisted his thoughts. He thinks angels and humans are the same race, we're obviously different species." The elderly one nagged.
Jinyoung shook his head, his thoughts and emotions whirring around like a storm. "We may be different but... if we weren't meant to live beside one another, then I wouldn't have been able to fall in love with a human."
One of the voices, Jinyoung wasn't sure who since he'd stopped listening too closely, quickly disagreed. "That's nonsense-"
"It's not! I have real feelings for him! I've never felt so much love for another person before, I want to protect him at all costs! Why won't you let me? Why is it such a bad thing!?" Jinyoung yelled up at the ceiling.
"If we were to listen to you, we'd throw the whole universe out of balance." The deep voice explained.
The woman continued. "I'm sorry Jinyoung, but this is how it has to be. I understand your frustration, it's hard to understand it since you're a mere Siros class-"
"My rank has nothing to do with it! All of you have a lack of sympathy or care! You'll kill everyone off in a heartbeat without even blinking-!" Jinyoung was cut off by his own gasp as he was tugged to his knees by his shackles. He didn't see anything connected to them, but they were probably magically controlled by one of the council members.
"You must face punishment for what you've done. We cannot hold sympathy for you, else others would follow in your footsteps. We do not want chaos to ensue." The deep voice stated.
"What punishment would suit fit for him?" The woman asked.
The elderly sounding one answered immediately. "I'd say 1000 lashes...."
"That's too harsh." The woman scolded.
"Imprisonment?" The deep voiced angel suggested. "Should we send him to the demon realm?"
"May I have a suggestion?" Jinyoung asked, his voice coming out weak and small no matter how confidently he tried to speak.
The elderly one was eager to shoot the suggestion down. "You do not get a say in your own punishment-"
"... he feels that he has a rightful punishment for himself. Then, let's hear it." The woman interrupted.
Jinyoung cleared his throat, quickly running through his head what he should say. There was only one thing he really wanted, nothing else mattered. "I don't care what you do to me, as long as I can end up back with the person I love."
"Absolutely not. That's part of the problem, you and that human boy you've fallen for. Couldn't have even been a girl, but a boy?" The elderly one chided.
"His personal preference has nothing to do with it." The woman, who at this point seemed to be the most levelheaded of them all despite her chilling tone, stated. "While I agree that your relationship with the human you've involved yourself with is definitely part of the problem, what kind of punishment do you think would serve you and him well?"
Jinyoung looked down at his hands, shaking his head in response. "I'm... not sure..."
"Take away his powers?" The elder suggested.
"He's already stripped of them. That won't be any punishment." Deep voice responded.
"Then. I've decided." The woman suddenly stated. Jinyoung looked up, squinting into the bright light from above, awaiting his sentencing with sweaty palms and a rapidly pounding heart. "Park Jinyoung. Due to your repeated violations of our rules and regulations, we the council must serve you a fair punishment. Though I understand some of your reasoning for your actions, we cannot have you go free without facing any repercussions. Please, stand."
Jinyoung slowly stood to his feet, taking in a deep breath. He braced himself for his sentencing.
The woman continued. "You will be sentenced to banishment to Earth, for the rest of your life. You are banned from setting foot in Heaven ever again, banned from the usage of your powers, and banned from spreading anymore knowledge of our world to others. Any human who knows that you are an angel will have those memories wiped-"
"No!" Jinyoung yelled, his thoughts immediately going to Jaebum. He can't forget everything, not after all they'd been through, he just can't. "Don't, please, if their memories are wiped then they won't remember me."
"They'll remember you, just not that you were an angel." The woman clarified before continuing. "You will be subject to a limited life, rather than living for the many years that angel lives span, you shall live for as many years as your human lover lives. Whenever he perishes, you shall as well."
Jinyoung blinked, silently thinking over the punishment in his head. "So... you're basically turning me human?"
"You shall always be an angel, that's just how you were born." The woman stated, taking a slight pause, almost as if she were disappointed as she continued. "But you may not have the benefits of an angel, so ultimately, yes. You will functionally become human. Do you think that's a satisfying punishment?"
Jinyoung slowly nodded. He'd be on Earth. He'd have Jaebum. He'd live for as long as Jaebum lives for. What else could he ask for? Aside from Jaebum's memories, he wouldn't be losing anything. Maybe that council member pitied him, or maybe he had won their hearts over. Either way, Jinyoung was content with his punishment. As long as he had Jaebum, nothing else mattered. "I'm... I'm okay with that."
"Do you have any family that we may need to alert of this sentencing?" The deep voice asked.
"Um..." That's one thing Jinyoung forgot about. His family. But they already haven't seen him for nearly a year now and didn't bother contacting him, nor did he have and friends that would care. They'd still be able to see him on Earth anyway, he realized, he didn't mind leaving Heaven one bit. Maybe being on Earth beside Jaebum was where he rightfully belonged. "I'll say goodbye to them myself."
"You have 24 hours before the sentencing takes effect. Please leave this chamber immediately, and take the time to say goodbye to those you'll leave behind." The woman stated, a loud boom following her voice, concluding the hearing.
The platform lowered, and the door Jinyoung came through opened up for him to exit. Jinyoung walked out of there with a smile on his face and one thought in his mind.
'I'm coming to be yours forever, Jaebum.'