Yoon Min was lost in her own thoughts. How did it happen? How come he just touched her and the pain disappeared? Was it magic?
Ella flew quickly through the crowds with an antidote which is the only medicine in Love Universe and it cured every pain. She was already crying like a child when she saw her Guardian on the floor.
“Miss! I'm so sorry! Are you okay now? Did the pain go away?”
Yoon Min was brought back to senses when she saw her. She nodded slowly and moved away from Seokjin's grip. Ella ran to her and buried her tiny body inside Yoon Min's jacket. It was obvious she was crying.
“I'm very sorry, Miss. I didn’t know what to do. I got you this antidote! It will help you to lessen the pain. Oh, please forgive me...” she was begging as if she committed a great crime.
Yoon Min was taken aback by her cries, “Hey, Ella, it's okay. Don't cry. I'm fine now. It's okay.”
She rubbed her tiny body with her fingers.
“Fairy Ella.”
A sudden voice made everyone turn at him.
Seokjin was already on his feet, looking at the fairy. Yoon Min also stood up and tried not to look at the other guardians. Ella flew right up and stood in front of him, lowering her head.
“Yes, Sir?”
“What is a Fairy's top responsibility?”
No one expected a question like this from him. Ella was flabbergasted but remained silent.
“I-It's...to serve its Guardian and make sure he/she is helped in every way.” she almost stuttered every word.
Yoon Min was getting anxious as well.
“So did you help your Guardian when she was in pain?” He asked sternly.
Every guardian and fairy present in the cafeteria exclaimed and whispered their opinions. They just love to watch dramas, don't they?
Yoon Min tried to defend Ella, “S-Senior Guardian, i-it wasn’t--”
He cut her off as if he never heard her, “A fairy is appointed to help her Guardian in every situation so that he or she doesn’t feel burdened or over stressed. How do you explain this situation now? Why did your Guardian need my help instead of yours!” He suddenly shouted at her, making everyone flinch.
Ella was literally petrified by his rebuke.
“I'm extremely sorry. I will never do it again. I promise. Please forgive me.”
Hold on, what was her fault?
Yoon Min had many things to say to his face but being a newbie was being an obstacle. She already created a mess on her first day, how more attention will she gain? So she kept silent though it seemed wrong to her that Ella was getting scolded without any reason.
Seokjin then turned back and walked out of the canteen, followed by the other 6 Senior Guardians. The whole cafeteria released their long breaths they were holding for a long time. Wow, Seokjin turned out to be exactly different than Ella described.
Ella looked really down and upset. Her wings were fluttering slowly with no excitement. The others went back to their business as if nothing happened.
Yoon Min sighed heavily.
Love Universe won't be much of a nice home to stay for the time being.
--------------
Sometimes we say that luck is not on our side. Guess what? Even after death, luck wasn’t on Yoon Min's side.
Her first class was with Senior Guardian Seokjin.
She cursed herself and her ill fate for God knows how long for creating a drama in the canteen. Well, she couldn’t help it, the pain was violent. Currently, she was sitting in the middle row and the class was getting filled by guardians second by second. Unfortunately, fairies aren't allowed in classes so Ella had to wait outside. Or else, Yoon Min would had been less nervous.
Within a few minutes, all seats were occupied. Which was a bit odd. Then she guessed that Mr. Heartthrob's face must be the reason everyone's attending. You know, most guardians roam around here and there instead of attending their classes.
Everyone was busy talking with each other untill suddenly the door opened with Senior Guardian Seokjin entering with three books in his arms. Everybody stood up, bowed, then sat again after he told them to.
When Yoon Min looked at him, again that pain started. And tears gleamed on her cheeks. This time, luckily, the heart wasn’t that aching like before but in words, it was more like someone stepping on her heart mercilessly. She wiped her tears time to time but they flowed down more. Why was she so unlucky?
Seokjin at first scanned every face of the students. Most of them were looking happy and cheerful. Who won't be after seeing his handsome face?
“Good Morning, guardians. Any newbies today?” he asked.
Four of them raised their hands excluding Yoon Min who was busy clenching her heart, begging it to stop aching. The boy next to her elbowed her slightly so she looked at him in surprise.
“Aren't you new?”
She took time to reciprocate everything and then immediately raised her arm as well. Thank God he didn’t see her delay.
“The girl with ponytail, introduce yourself.” He said gently before sitting on his own chair.
One by one, the newbies introduced themselves. Finally, it was her turn. And she was super nervous. She stood up awkwardly and still, while the heart inside her was wrecking her quite torturously. Tears were coming out as well but she held them back.
“Hello, I'm Guardian Song Yoon Min. I've been recruited in Love Universe yesterday. And apparently, I died on 4th December, 2025. I am still learning and I hope everyone will help me. Thank you.”
When she was about sit back, Seokjin suddenly asked, “You died on 4th December?”
All the guardians in the class were indeed taken aback by his question. Why did he ask her that? Is he related to her? He didn’t ask others so why only her? Yoon Min basically had no idea if she did anything wrong by mentioning her death day. Others did too. So what made her unique?
“Yes, that's what Princess Aereum informed me.”
He nodded and gestured her to sit down.
Maybe it was nothing.
He stood up from his chair and walked to the centre so that all guardians could see and listen to his lecture.
“Does anyone here know why Love Universe was created?”
A boy from the last row raised his arm.
“Yes, Taemin?”
“Love Universe was mainly created by Almighty to prevent humans from taking their own lives.” Taemin confidently responded.
Seokjin nodded while walking from the centre, “Then can anyone tell me why it is named as Love Universe instead of Suicide Preventing Universe?”
The whole classroom was silent, each of them thinking of an answer. Yoon Min definitely heard some girls whispering some useless opinions like:
“Because of your existence"
“The universe itself is in love with Seok Jin”
“The word Love also loves you”
She frowned and tried to keep her ears away from their nonsenses.
When a minute passed in silence with guardians thinking their brains out for an answer, he answered himself,
“Because Love is the most powerful healing service among all universes.”
She found that sentence very unique and comforting. It didn’t feel wrong to her. Love is indeed very powerful. And it can heal any pain.
“Almighty named this universe Love Universe because of the definition of love. Love is universal solution to all human problems. It heals wounds, mends broken hearts, unites enemies and encourages growth. Love is all a suicidal human needs during his hardest time.”
Seokjin explained many important facts and examples which were really helpful. Yoon Min almost noted everything down and her attention was fully towards him. She was so deeply focused that she forgot her heart stopped aching and tears dried a long time ago.
“While there are many factors that can influence a person's decision to commit suicide, the most common one is severe depression. Depression can make people feel great emotional pain and loss of hope, making them unable to see another way to relieve the pain other than ending their own life.”
“In half of all suicide cases, depression is present.” he added.
He suddenly asked a question to all guardians, “One of you tell me, pretend your watch beeped and you found out that a boy is depressed because his classmates are bullying him for a long time. He cannot tell his parents as both of them are so busy they're barely give him time. How'll you protect him?”
That's one hard question.
“Taeyong, wanna give it a try?”
A short boy named Taeyong stood up, his jacket showed one experience badge. Of course, he will definitely pass this question. And he looked confident as well.
“T.Y's gonna get it!”
Yoon Min moved her gaze to her right and saw a girl looking at Taeyong intensely with a bright sheepish smile.
“T.Y?” she asked.
The girl gave her a glance, “It's his nickname. He got it when he earned a badge from the Princess.”
She nodded and concentrated on his answer.
He cleared his voice first, “Dear soul, ending your life won't give you peace from what you're running away from. You need to fight back. When those boys raise their hands on you, defend yourself. Don't take beatings from them instead push them away. Be a man and you've to fight them. Show them you're strong enough.”
Taeyong's answer made everyone left in awe. Even Yoon Min knew this was it, the best support that weak boy will ever get.
Seokjin chuckled softly which made everyone look at him in confusion.
“Guardian Taeyong, do I need to inform you the ones who get bullied for a long time end up with no courage, strength or energy for them to fight back? They become so afraid of the bullies that they barely can talk in front of them so I personally think your support won't do any good to the boy.”
He was unfortunately damn right. Yoon Min was quite surprised a guardian needs to think so many facts before approaching the victim. One single mistake can cost the person's life.
Along with her, the other guardians were murmuring many things silently.
“How 'bout you try, Guardian Yoon Min?”
The calling of her name promptly made her flinch and look at him. He was directly looking at her. Everyone in the class again made that Whoooo noise. What's up with them and this whoooo noise?
And why did he expect a Newbie to answer such a hard question?
“S-senior, I-I don't think...I know...” she managed to answer only this far.
“You never know unless you try.”
She gulped all lumps, nervousness down her throat and stood up very slowly with each second trying to think what should she say. This is the first question asked to her in Love School. It would look so embarrassing and funny if she failed to answer. Seokjin will be disappointed in her. The others will make fun of her. Looks like she was worried about social popularity more than answering the question.
However, finger-crossing secretly, she replied whatever there was in her mind,
“Dear soul, you must be feeling very lonely and unworthy. No one helps you, no one cares for you, no one loves you. It's a shame to say that you're correct. But that doesn't mean you have no right to live. If you want to make a name for yourself, to take revenge on them; don't hesitate. There are many ways to show them you aren't worthy of what they are giving you. If you want to have Justice for yourself, don't fight back. Instead be a better person than them. Take revenge on them not by anger but by skills. Earn good marks and show them what you're capable of. I promise you as your Guardian, no one will bother a strong boy like you again.”
The whole classroom was left astonished. Most of their jaws were dropped to a shameless lower level. Taeyong couldn’t even blink. When she felt all eyes on her in deadly silence, she clearly knew somehow she said something they didn’t expect.
Now the question was, was it good or bad?
“I'm surprised no one's giving a clap for what Guardian Yoon Min said.”
Seokjin's sudden compliment made them come back to reality and all of them clapped their hands together with happy faces. Some even whistled.
Yoon Min's cheeks turned clear crimson red as she found the whole class clapping for her. She smiled and bowed at all of them as gratitude while being extremely shy at the same time. Her answer was perfect for a bullied boy to get back on his feet. Take revenge by skills, not by anger. Show them what you're capable off by being a better person than them.
The class came to an end after some minutes. The class was being cleared out, each guardian leaving the class talking about Taeyong's fail and the newbie's powerful answer. Yoon Min was packing her books in her bag when she felt a presence still lingering around her.
“Girl, you nailed it!”
It was the same girl from before.
“Ah, thank you.” she bowed slightly.
The girl flipped her hair dramatically to the back, revealing her flawless forehead and showing a gorgeous side of her face. Yoon Min's mouth was about to part but thankfully, it didn’t.
“I'm Guardian Lee Yian, a newbie like you. But I'm here since a month, I guess.” she spoke so melodically.
Yoon Min nodded and gave her introduction, “I'm Guardian Song Yoon Min.”
“Hey, wanna hang out with the other newbies?” Yian suggested.
“The last thing you don't want in this marvelous universe is Isolation. So come with me, I'll introduce you to the other 3.”
She put her hand over her shoulder.
This is a great offer.
“S-sure.” Yoon Min replied nervously.
Well, looks like, she won't be alone in Love Universe.