#guardian angel au | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ohmyamor · 1 year

Text

oh my ***

Pairing: ateez (ot8) x reader

Summary: Everyone supposedly has a guardian angel, one that’s tasked to always keep their human out of trouble and on the right path of life. But you don’t just have one, you have...eight?!

w.c. 10.2k

Warnings: fluff, angst, near death experiences, threatening someone wooyoung with a bat, cursing, comfort, reincarnation, i think that’s it?

You wouldn’t necessarily consider yourself a lucky person.

You also wouldn’t really consider yourself an unlucky person either.

You just kind of exist, with the occasional good and not-so-good things happening to you.

Like when you somehow managed to score you and your friends front row seats to see your favorite group in concert. Or the time that you somehow managed to break your ankle and your phone all in the same day.

So, yeah, you wouldn’t say you’re the luckiest person in the world, but you’re also not the unluckiest person, so you’re pretty fine with continuing your life as is.

Today, however, has been going oddly perfect.

You woke up for the first time in forever feeling incredibly well-rested, which has not happened since before you hit puberty. The weather was perfect, maybe a little too perfect, but you didn’t care. You could finally open your windows completely to let in the cool breeze from outside, listening as the birds sang outside of your apartment.

Checking your phone, you also noticed that your paycheck came in a whole day early. Opening your bank account, you stared wide-eyed at the number that was deposited. It was certainly a much larger amount than your last paycheck.

Feeling absolutely ecstatic over how well the morning was going, you decided to make a trip to your favorite coffee shop and treat yourself to some breakfast.

Connecting your phone to your speaker, you selected your favorite playlist and allowed the music to flow through the apartment. Picking out some cute clothes, you began to get ready. As you finished washing your face, you also noticed that your skin seemed to be really nice today, with hardly any redness seeping through and the dark circles under you eyes had seemed to disappear over night.

Smiling brightly at yourself in the mirror, you finished applying your skincare before moving to get dressed and apply some light makeup. Once you finished, you couldn’t help but check yourself out in the mirror.

I look so cute today.

Giving yourself a wink, you let out a small laugh at your own antics before grabbing your purse from where it hung on the wall and stepping outside. Making sure the door was locked, you began the short walk to your favorite cafe.

You couldn’t help but admire how nice the sun felt on your skin. For the past few weeks, the weather had been anything but nice, and it almost felt like the weather had been reflecting your mood. With the project you had been assigned at work, you had been feeling so overwhelmed and stressed out that you often contemplated just quitting in order to get rid of the stress.

But thankfully, the project was finally done, you had received great feedback from your boss, and it finally seemed as though your little slump was beginning to improve.

Making your way inside the cafe, you walked up to the counter and ordered your usual drink as well as a small pastry.

A little treat for myself.

Sitting down at a table that had the best view of the street, you made yourself comfortable with your drink as you waited for your pastry. Though, you were pleasantly surprised when the man who took your order came out with two pastries instead of one.

“Um, I think you might’ve given me the wrong pastry,” you frowned slightly. “I only ordered this one,” you pointed at the pastry that you know for sure you had ordered.

“Oh!” the man smiled brightly. “No, don’t worry, it’s on the house!”

Before you could even respond, the man gently placed both pastries on your table, sending you a small wink and making his way back behind the counter.

You could feel your cheeks warm slightly at the man’s actions.

Damn, today really is a great day you thought, bringing the pastry up to your mouth and taking a bite out of it.

Holy shit this is so good too you hummed appreciatively.

After thoroughly enjoying your breakfast, you bid goodbye to the barista before making your way out of the store.

Hmmmm, what should I do now?

Glancing around, you remembered that one of your favorite bookstores was about a block away, and quickly made up your mind to go there.

Walking to the nearest stoplight, you pushed the button on the pole and waited patiently for the light to turn green. Fishing out your phone from your bag, you scrolled aimlessly through social media and responding to some texts your friends had sent. Glancing up, you noticed the light was now green.

Placing your phone in your pocket, you began to cross the street.

You were almost at the other side of the crosswalk when a loud screeching noise caused you to whip your head to the side. There was a car moving down the street in your direction incredibly fast, and you watched as people on the sidewalks jumped out of the way as the car swerved from side to side and hit things on the street.

Your heart raced you watched the car come barreling towards you. It felt like your feet were stuck to the ground and you couldn’t find it in yourself to move.

Right as the car came feet away from hitting you, you shut your eyes, bracing for the impact of the car hitting your body.

You barely registered the feeling of someone grabbing your hand and yanking you forward.

Landing roughly on your hands and knees on the sidewalk, you stared at the cement in front of you as the sound of the car slowly disappeared in the distance. There were people running up to you from both sides of the street, some yelling while others gently crouched next to you and asked if you were okay.

The strangers helped turn you around and you sat on the sidewalk unable to calm your racing heart.

“Th-thank you,” you breathed out, looking at the woman who was closest to you.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked at you concerned.

“For what?”

You swallowed.

“For grabbing me and pulling me forward. I couldn’t move and I though for sure the car was going to hit me,” you explained.

It was your turn to look confused when she opened her mouth.

“Honey, there was no one around you. I certainly wasn’t going to reach you on time and neither was anyone else.”

After the lady explained to you that the other pedestrians on the street had just barely reached you after you were already on the sidewalk, you couldn’t shake the feeling of someone’s eyes on you.

The strangers who had come up to check on you were incredibly nice, and after convincing them to not call an ambulance and that you could stand on your own, the crowd slowly dispersed.

The woman who had helped you insisted on calling a cab for you, even though you reassured her that you didn’t live far and you could make it home safely. She was adamant, saying that she wouldn’t let you walk home alone after what just happened and said it would weigh heavy on her conscious if she did.

Eventually, you relented, and waited with her patiently as she called a taxi.

When the cab eventually pulled up, she gave you a hug and said that she was happy you were okay and to get home safely.

Waving goodbye through the window, you watched as her figure slowly grew smaller.

Leaning back against the leather seats, you finally allowed yourself to process what had just happened.

Your day had been going so well and that car had quite literally come out of nowhere. Even though the lady who helped you said there was no one near you, you were 100% positive you had felt someone grab your hands and pull you forward onto the sidewalk.

Your mind wandered to your parents and the stories they had told you when you were younger of guardian angels.

“Guardian angels? What’s that?” seven-year-old you has asked your mom.

She smiled, softly running her hand through your hair from where she sat on the edge of your bed.

“They’re people who are assigned to watch over you and always protect you. They help you when you’re in trouble and make sure you always make good decisions.”

Younger you wrinkled her nose.

“They’re always watching me? That sounds creepy.”

Your mom laughed, tossing her head back.

After what you had experienced today, maybe the stories your mom used to tell you weren’t that crazy.

As the cab you were in slowly came to a stop in front of your building, you thanked the driver and rummaged through your bag looking for some cash to tip him.

He waved his hand at you, telling you the lady who had flagged him down already paid and there was no need to tip.

“I’m just glad I could get you home safely.”

“Oh,” you blinked, kind of surprised he was saying no to being tipped. “Well, thank you, sir.” You said honestly. “I hope you have a great rest of your day,” you said, stepping out of the car.

The driver bid you farewell and drove away from your building as soon as you walked through the front gates.

Sighing heavily, you made your way to the elevator in the building and walked into the old machine, watching as the doors closed and the numbers for the floors slowly climbed up.

Honestly, you couldn’t wait to into your bed and knock out. Way too much has happened today that was out of your comfort zone, to say the least.

Eventually, you reached your front door and reached into your bag to fish out your keys.

Searching inside your bag with your hand, your eyebrows furrowed when you didn’t feel the familiar metal of your keys.

I know I brought them with me, so where are they?

Taking your bag off your shoulder, you opened it up and began pulling out everything you had in there. You could feel the pit in your stomach get heavier with every item that was removed and no keys were found.

You eventually emptied out your entire bag and still, you were unable to find your keys. Leaning your back against your door, you slowly allowed yourself to sink to the ground.

They must’ve fallen out when I fell, you though bitterly. You could feel the familiar sting of tears in your eyes and you felt a lump in your throat.

This was the last thing you needed today.

You’re unsure how long you sat outside your apartment door, wallowing in your own misery.

The sound of footsteps brought you of your thoughts.

Glancing up, you noticed a tall man with short pink hair come to a stop in front of you.

“Is everything okay miss?”

Holy shit he has a deep voice

You sighed loudly.

“Not really,” you admit. “I lost my keys at some point when I was out today and my friend who has my spare is out of town for the week.”

You’re not really sure what compelled you to tell all this to the strange man who you’ve never even seen in your apartment, but something about him gives off a very peaceful aura.

You feel like you could tell him anything.

The man furrows his eyebrows and a soft pout forms on his face.

“Aw, I’m really sorry,” he sympathized.

You shrugged, there wasn’t really anything he could do to help.

He glanced around nervously. Why? You’re not quite sure.

“I’m, uh, actually one of the maintenance people and we’re here doing some routine check-ups,” he started.

Check-ups? The building manager didn’t notify me of anything going on this week.

“If you want,” the man continues. “I can go back down to the leasing office and grab the master key to unlock your door for you?”

You hesitate.

On one hand, this man is literally offering to go out of his way to help you out and unlock your door for you.

On the other hand, you have absolutely no way of proving he’s actually who he says he is. He could be a serial killer for all you know and you’ve basically just given him access to unlock your apartment and kill you in your sleep.

Giving him a once over, you notice the bluish jumpsuit he’s wearing and the work boots he has on. Quite frankly, he does look like he’s been doing some manual labor, so maybe he’s telling the truth.

“Okay,” you finally reply, albeit hesitantly.

Honestly, if he does turn out to be a serial killer and comes back to murder you in your sleep, you’ll make sure to haunt him for the rest of his life.

“Great!” he smiles widely, his eyes turning into the cutest crescent moons you’ve ever seen.

At least he’ll be a cute serial killer, you think.

“Oh!” he says, as though he just remembered something. “Also, my name’s Mingi! It’s really nice to meet you!” the man, Mingi, reaches his hand out.

Pushing yourself off the floor, you quickly dust yourself off before reaching out as well to shake his hand.

“I’m (Y/n),” you introduce yourself.

Mingi hums.

“That’s a really pretty name.”

You can feel your cheeks get warm.

“O-oh, thank you.”

It’s quiet for a few moments before Mingi speaks again.

“Okay, well I’m gonna go downstairs to get the masterkey really quick. Don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone!” he jokes, beginning to walk back down the hallway.

“I’ll try,” you laugh nervously, thinking about the day you’ve had.

If anything else goes wrong today, you don’t think you’ll have the willpower to keep living.

You’re only waiting for a few minutes before you can spot Mingi coming back down the hall.

Damn he’s quick.

“Got it!” Mingi says cheerfully, waving a small key in the air.

You smile back, feeling relieved that you can finally get inside your apartment.

He stops in front of your door, pushing the key inside the lock and wriggling it around a few times before you can hear the familiar click of the lock. Letting out a small “aha”, Mingi twists the doorknob and sure enough, the door to your apartment opens.

You might actually cry tears of happiness.

“Ma’am,” Mingi says in a fake posh accent, gesturing with his hand for you to go inside.

You let out a small laugh and walk inside. Mingi remains outside of your door.

“Well, thank you so much Mingi,” you say earnestly. “I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t showed up at the right time. My knight in shining armor,” you joke.

Mingi blushes furiously, bringing up a hand to rub the back of his head and looking off to the side.

“It’s nothing,” he says. “I’m just glad everything worked out.”

You nod, unsure of what to say next.

Mingi’s head suddenly snaps to the side, looking at something down the hallway, almost as if he heard something. You frown. You didn’t hear anything.

“Well, it looks like I have to get going,” he begins.

You nod.

“Better get back before the big boss gets mad at you for slacking off, huh?”

You say it as a joke, but Mingi only lets out a nervous laugh.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Um,” you’re not quite sure what to say. “Okay, well thanks again Mingi, I really do appreciate it.” You slowly begin to shut the door.

“Anytime,” he sends you a small wave and bright smile, turning to walk down the hallway as you finally shut the door.

You don’t spend too much time thinking about Mingi’s strange behavior at the end, chalking it up to him having a really strict boss. Plus, you honestly can’t wait to change into your pajamas and knock out.

Dropping your purse on your couch, you make your way to your room and quickly change into your pj’s before flinging yourself onto your bed.

You hug the stuffed bear on your bed closely, feeling the tension and stress from your body slowly begin to fade away as your body succumbs to sleep.

You’re not sure what time it is when you wake up.

The lack of light coming in from outside lets you know that it’s dark, leaving you to assume it’s either really late or really early.

You roll back over, fully intending on returning to dreamland when the sound of hushed arguing catches your attention.

You groan, assuming it’s your neighbors who are always going at it. Seriously, if they argue this much, they should just break up. Arguing that much can’t be healthy for anyone.

You’ve just grabbed onto your pillow, intending on using it to block out the voices, when you suddenly realize that it’s only male voices you can hear. Sitting up, you strain your ears to try and catch more of what they’re saying.

You feel yourself freeze when you realize that the voices are coming from your living room.

You sit frozen on your bed for a few minutes, unsure of what to do.

Did these people break into your apartment? What are they doing here? What are they going to do to you?

Reaching out blindly, you attempt to locate your phone, hoping you can at least call the police before the robbers can reach you. Pressing the power button, your heart drops when it doesn’t turn on. In your excitement to knock out, you never put it to charge and now it’s dead.

Taking a deep breath, you try to think of a course of action.

Slowly getting out of bed, you reach under the bed to grab the metal bat that you keep in case of emergencies. Maybe, if the robbers don’t have any weapons, you can either scare them off or hurt them enough to grab the home phone sitting on your kitchen counter and call the police.

You cautiously make your way to the door of your bedroom, letting out a shaky breath before slowly twisting the doorknob. You gently push the door open, thanking whatever gods are out there that it doesn’t make any noise.

Now that the door is open, you can hear the voices more clearly.

“Why would you show yourself to her?”

“What did you want me to do? She was having the worst day, I wasn’t gonna sit back and watch her suffer.” The voice sounds oddly familiar.

Someone else hums.

“Don’t even say anything,” the original voice whispers angrily. “You should have never interfered earlier.”

“She was about to get hit by a car, hyung! What did you want me to do, let it happen? Then we would be back to square one all over again.”

It’s a different voice this time, slightly higher in pitch.

They’re talking about what happened to you earlier.

Who the fuck are these people?

You arrive at the corner of the hallway, gripping your bat impossibly tight and peeking around the corner.

From what you can see, there’s a few men standing in your living room. One with dark blue hair sits on your couch facing the kitchen, another stands with his back to the hallway where you stand, and there seems to be someone standing in front of him.

You can’t help but let out a small gasp when you realize the man standing with his back facing you has short pink hair.

Mingi.

All three men whip their heads around.

They stare at you wide-eyed, including Mingi.

You come out from behind the corner and point your bat at the men.

“Who the fuck are you?” you demand. “And why the fuck are you in my apartment?”

Your eyes dart around, trying to keep an eye on every person in the room. Your heart pounds in your chest and your hands are sweaty, but you’ll be damned if you go out without a fight.

Mingi takes a step forward, his hands raised slightly.

“(Y/n),” he starts.

He stops when you take a step backward.

“Mingi, if that’s even your goddam name,” you spit. You miss the way all three men flinch slightly. “What the fuck are you doing in my apartment?”

“Was helping me earlier just a plot to figure out where I live? Are you gonna kill me?” you question.

A crestfallen look falls on Mingi’s face. A small part of you almost wants to feel bad. Almost.

“No, not at all,” he defends. “Look, it’s kind of complicated, but I can explain. I just need you to put the bat down.” His eyes dart to the metal bat you have a death grip on.

You let out a harsh laugh.

“No fucking way. I don’t care who the hell you are, I need you and your friends to get out right now before I call the cops.” You demand.

“The cops aren’t going to help you sweetheart,” a voice comes from behind you.

You let out a scream, turning around and blindly swinging your bat. It hits something hard.

“OW!”

A man with long hair that’s black and silver hunches over in front of you, clutching his stomach. You stare wide-eyed.

There’s more of them.

And where the fuck are they coming from?

“(Y/n),” someone else says your name. You whip back around, moving backward towards the wall and making sure the men don’t leave your sight. You keep the bat pointed at them.

The man with dark blue hair siting on the couch is standing now, and he looks at you with wide eyes as well.

“Please, just put the bat down and we can explain everything to you.”

You shake your head vehemently.

“You guys broke into my fucking apartment and you want me to calm down?” You laugh incredulously. “Are you guys fucking insane?”

You miss the way the shorter male standing next to Mingi has disappeared.

Mingi frowns, looking genuinely saddened.

“I’m really sorry we have to do this.”

You furrow your eyebrows, now genuinely concerned he’s going to murder you.

“What are you-”

You don’t get to finish your sentence when you feel fingers touch your temple and you black out.

“What did you do?”

“What we had to! She already managed to hit Wooyoung and she was obviously freaking out so we had to calm her down!”

Someone snickers.

“Shut up Yeosang.”

“C’mon, you’re telling me it’s a bat that took you out?”

“She has a good swing! You should try getting a metal bat swung directly at your stomach and see how you feel.”

You let out a soft groan at the voices that surround you. They’re too loud.

You’re laying on something soft and it feels familiar as well.

Am I dead?

“You’re not dead.”

Your eyes shoot open.

Sitting up, you groan at the light that shines harshly into your room and shut your eyes. Opening them softly, you glance around. You’re definitely in your room, which is a relief.

But the eight bodies that surround you bring anything but relief.

You tense up, your hands gripping at the sheets.

You can feel tears beginning to blur your vision and you can hear your heartbeat in your ears.

“Please don’t hurt me,” you whimper.

Someone lets out a sad noise.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” a deep voice comes from your right side.

You look over to see who said that. Familiar brown eyes stare deeply into your own, and the soft pink hair instantly allows you to recognize who just spoke.

“How can I trust you Mingi?”

A heartbroken expression falls over his face and he looks unsure of what to say.

“He’s right sweetheart,” another voice speaks up. “We’re not going to hurt you.” This time it’s another tall man who speaks. He has peach colored hair. His eyes bore into yours, and you feel slightly unnerved at the raw honesty that comes across.

You don’t say anything, opting to take a glance at all the men who are spread across your room.

A shorter man who stands closest to your bed sighs and takes a step forward.

“This isn’t how we wanted to meet, so please accept our deepest apologies for scaring you,” the man begins.

“We’re your guardian angels.”

The man, Hongjoong, had explained to you that they were in fact your guardian angels.

Typically, humans only had one guardian angel, he had explained, but you were assigned eight.

Guardian angels were also never, under any circumstances, to reveal themselves to their humans, but some people, Hongjoong glared at the man sitting at your desk with dark blue hair as well as Mingi, had broken these rules.

Which is why you were currently able to see all of them.

“How do I even know you’re telling me the truth?” You questioned. This entire situation was absolutely insane and you could barely wrap your head around any of the information that was just given to you.

“Well, we’ve been watching over you your whole life,” the blue haired male spoke up. “Ask us anything that no one else knows and we can answer it.”

You stayed quiet for a moment, thinking about different things throughout your life that no one knew about you.

“When I was in middle school and I asked out that boy a year ahead of me, what did he say?”

There’s no way they could know the answer to this. This is literally something I’ve never told anyone and I intend on taking it with me to my grave.

“He said no because you reminded him of his mom and that grossed him out.”

You stare wide-eyed at the man with medium length blonde hair that sat in the middle of your floor.

What the fuck?

“Don’t worry, you honestly dodged a bullet with that one,” another male with cherry red hair shook his head. “You know that guy ended up marrying his first cousin?” The man snorted.

You had no words.

You had never told anyone that secret because it embarrassed you so much, but clearly, the men in front of you knew it.

Maybe they’re telling the truth.

“Of course we’re telling the truth, we’re angels.”

The man with two-toned hair speaks up.

You narrow your eyes at him.

“Did you just read my thoughts?”

He shrugs.

“They’re very loud.”

You stare at him.

“Do you want me to hit you with my bat again?”

The man shudders.

“Please, don’t.”

Another voice speaks up.

“You’re taking this surprisingly well,” the man with peach hair pipes in.

You shrug.

“I don’t really have any reason to doubt you, I guess.” You hesitate before saying your next words. “Plus, I don’t know what it is, but you guys have this vibe,” you gesture your hand vaguely.

“It feels...safe?” You shrug, looking down at the spare thread you’ve been messing with since you woke up. “I felt it when I met Mingi earlier, but I didn’t know what to think about it.”

You miss the way Mingi’s ears turn red.

An awkward silence falls across the room.

“Well,” another man, the one who stands next to Hongjoong, begins to speak. “Now that that’s done, we should introduce ourselves. I’m Seonghwa,” he sends you a beautiful smile.

“I’m Hongjoong, as you already know,” Hongjoong says and you nod.

“My name’s Yunho,” the man with peach hair speaks up.

“I’m San,” the man with dark blue hair pipes up, sending you a bright, dimpled smile. You can’t help but send him a small smile back.

“I’m Yeosang,” the blonde one on your floor gives you a small nod of acknowledgement.

“I’m Wooyoung!” Two-toned hair chirps loudly. You can’t help but side-eye him slightly. “What?” he cries.

“Please don’t sneak up on me if you don’t want me to hit you again,” you warn.

A few snickers sound throughout the room.

“I’m Jongho,” the one with cherry hair tells you.

Your eyes land on the last man who sits closest to you.

“I’m Mingi,” he says. “But, you already know that.”

You nod. He still seems a little bit sad.

You hesitate, but reach out to softly grab his hand that rests on your bed.

“Thank you for your help earlier,” you start. “And I’m sorry I didn’t believe you at first.”

You glance around the room.

“But, you guys have to understand that this whole situation is kind of crazy.”

Seonghwa nods.

“We understand, and we’re sorry for scaring you so much.” He nods his head toward Mingi and San. “But those two broke one of the most important rules that guardian angels must follow.”

You nod, understanding what Seonghwa’s saying.

“Wait,” your eyebrows furrow. “I know Mingi broke the rule when he helped me get back inside my apartment, but what did San do?”

You look at him as he crosses his arms and pouts, reminding you of a scolded child.

“He’s the one that pulled you out of the street yesterday before the car could hit you,” Wooyoung explains.

Your eyes widen and you sit up even further.

“So I was right!” you exclaim.

Mingi raises a brow.

“I knew I felt someone grab my hands and pull me forward, but the lady who helped me said there was no one there!” You pout slightly. “I thought I was going crazy for a second.”

You look over at San.

“Thank you for saving my life,” you tell him sincerely.

San throws his hands up in the air.

“See? At least she’s grateful for what I did!”

Yeosang rolls his eyes.

“Of course she is, you idiot, she would’ve been dead if you hadn’t.”

This time, you don’t miss the way they all seem to wince at Yeosang’s words.

You frown.

“Yeah, actually,” you begin. “If you guys are my guardian angels, how come I almost died yesterday?” You look at them expectantly. “Isn’t the whole point of you guys being here to like, keep me alive?”

They avoid your eyes.

“We were a little...preoccupied,” Hongjoong admits.

You click your tongue.

“Well, at least San was there for me.”

You send a grateful smile to him, which he returns with slightly red cheeks.

“Hey!” Mingi whines. “I helped you too!”

You roll your eyes.

“Yes you did, you big baby, but San literally saved my life,” you emphasize.

“And I didn’t?” Mingi asks, offended. “What if I never showed up? You would’ve had to sleep on the streets and who knows what would’ve happened then?”

“Oh my god,” you groan, throwing yourself back on your bed.

“I didn’t know angels were this dramatic!”

Jongho lets out a laugh.

“The most,” he admits.

The sound of your stomach rumbling has a warm flush spreading across your cheeks.

“You haven’t eaten?” Yunho furrows his eyebrows.

“Mmmm, not since breakfast yesterday, I think,” you admit.

Wooyoung jumps out of his chair.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll make you the best meal you’ve ever had,” he sends you a small wink before heading out of your room towards the kitchen.

“He’s not going to burn my apartment down right?” You ask worriedly.

Hongjoong shakes his head.

“No, Wooyoung’s actually a really good cook,” he reassures you.

“Plus,” San says. “You have seven angels here to protect you if anything!”

You’re not sure if that makes you feel any better.

As it turns out, Hongjoong was right, and Wooyoung is an excellent cook. In a span of 20 minutes, he’s managed to make you an omelet that looks like it came straight out of a Studio Ghibli movie, along with some oatmeal, fresh fruit, and what looks like freshly squeezed orange juice.

“Wow,” you gape at the food.

Wooyoung motions for you to sit at the table.

“It was meant for you to eat, not just stare at.”

You happily oblige, sitting down at the table and bringing up the fork to your mouth, only to pause when you realize no one else has food.

“We don’t have to eat,” Seonghwa explains, reading your mind. “We can if we want to, but it’s not necessary for us to survive.”

You nod, feeling a little less guilty about eating in front of them.

Letting out a satisfied hum at the taste of the food, you send Wooyoung a thumbs-up. He smiles brightly.

“So,” you start, swallowing your food and taking a quick sip of your juice. “Now that I’ve met you guys and I know you exist, are you going to go back to being invisible to me?”

Hongjoong and Seonghwa share a look.

“Not exactly,” Hongjoong says.

You raise an eyebrow, motioning for him to continue.

“Now that you know we exist, we can’t exactly just disappear,” he elaborates. “It’s one of the reasons guardian angels aren’t meant to reveal themselves to their humans.”

You nod slowly.

“So, humans just never find out they have a guardian angel? Like, ever?”

Jongho mutters something under his breath. Yunho kicks his leg under the table.

“Sorry, what was that?” You ask, looking at him.

He avoids your gaze.

A tense silence falls over the table.

You notice how Mingi shakes his leg anxiously. San taps his fingers on the table and Yunho avoids your gaze.

You narrow your eyes at them.

“There’s something you guys aren’t telling me.” It’s not a question.

“I don’t think now is the best time to talk about this-” Hongjoong starts.

“Humans only find out about their guardian angels when their time is near,” Wooyoung says calmly.

Hongjoong glares at him. Wooyoung only shrugs.

“What? She was bound to find out eventually.”

“Their time?” You look around at the men that sit at your table. “Like, when they’re about to die?”

Yeosang nods.

You let out a small “oh”, looking down at the unfinished food that stares at you.

It’s silent as you think about the information they’ve just given you.

“The car,” you swallow. “The car that almost hit me yesterday. Was it,” you almost can’t get the words out. “Was it supposed to hit me?”

Your question comes out in a whisper.

No one responds, but when you look up, they all fix you with a sad look.

You nod.

“Okay.”

You push your plate away from you.

You don’t have an appetite anymore.

“I’m sorry,” Mingi whispers from your left side.

His large hand gently encompasses yours. You nod, refusing to look him in the eyes.

“But we’re not going to let you die.”

You look up at San’s determined voice, barely able to see him through your misty eyes.

“What?”

“We’re not letting you die,” he says firmly. “It’s not your time.”

You shake your head.

“I’m pretty sure if the universe decides it’s my time, then it’s my time,” you reply. You’re not sure if you’re saying it to convince them, or yourself.

“I can’t just avoid fate.”

Hongjoong sighs.

“San’s right.”

You send him a questioning look.

“We’re your guardian angels. We’re not going to let you die.”

“Screw what the universe says,” Yeosang chimes in.

You stare at them incredulously.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Look,” Yunho starts. “We’ve been thinking about it, and we’re pretty sure the universe is wrong about it being your time. We’ve been around for centuries, usually we have a good sense of when it’s going to be someone’s time and when it’s not.”

“And we don’t get that feeling with you,” Jongho continues for him. “We never have.”

“So, we’re going to do our best to make sure you stay out of harms way,” Yeosang finishes.

Your throat feels constricted and you can barely see through all the tears that have welled up in your eyes.

“You guys would do all that for me?” You choke out.

Mingi squeezes your hand.

“Of course. We’re not your guardian angels for nothing.”

You sniffle, looking down at your lap and bringing up your other hand to wipe at your eyes.

“Thank you guys,” you tell them sincerely.

“Anything for you,” Seonghwa smiles softly.

After the conversation at breakfast, the nine of you come up with a vague plan Wooyoung affectionally dubbed “Keeping Our Human Alive”. Despite the look you had given him, you had to admit, it made you laugh.

You all agreed it would be best for at least one of them to accompany you every day, more if any of them felt like tagging along.

“That way,” Hongjoong explained, “if anything unexpected happens, at least one of us will be able to protect you.”

You agreed.

“What about when I go to work and stuff?” You had questioned. “Won’t it be weird if there’s a different guy following me around every day?”

Yunho shook his head.

“Just because you can see us doesn’t mean everyone else can see us too. We can make ourselves visible to other people besides our assigned human if we want,” he explained.

“Oh, okay. Well, that certainly makes this easier then.”

“What would you prefer for us to do?” Questioned San. “Do you want us to remain invisible all the time or only at work?”

You think it over for a minute before shrugging.

“Honestly, whatever’s most comfortable for all of you. I would prefer if at work you guys are invisible, but while we’re in public and stuff, whatever you guys feel comfortable with is fine by me.”

At your answer, they all give you fond looks which makes your face feel slightly warm. Clearing your throat, you continue.

“Also, I was thinking about it and if you guys are going to be with me 24/7 now, we need some ground rules.”

Jongho chuckled.

“Technically, we’ve always been here, you’ve just barely found out.”

You realize he’s right, and the memories of every single embarrassing thing that you’ve ever done in the privacy of your own home comes rushing back to you.

“Well, yeah, now that I know you guys are here,” you stumble over your words slightly. “Privacy is really big for me. I don’t have many rules, but I just ask that you guys don’t show up unannounced or else that might really freak me out, and please, if you’re going to come into my room, just knock.”

Everyone nods their heads in agreement.

“And,” you continue, “no more reading my thoughts please.”

Only a few of them nod, which makes you grow slightly concerned.

“Is that a problem?” You ask, a slight edge to your voice.

“Not at all,” Seonghwa reassures.

“It’s just that we do get a little concerned for when you’re alone. Being aware of your thoughts helps us decide if you need our help at that moment or not,” Hongjoong explains.

You nod.

“I get that, but if at least one of you is going to be by my side every single day from now on, I really don’t think there’s any need for you to read my thoughts.”

You continue.

“Plus, it’s really just about privacy for me. I don’t really feel comfortable with you guys having access to every single thought in my head, no matter how big or small.”

Hongjoong and Seonghwa both nod.

“We understand. And we’ll do our best to respect your boundaries.”

“Thank you guys,” you send them a small smile.

“Plus, if I need any help or anything, I’ll just yell out ‘bat’ really loud,” you joke, referring to the bruise you might’ve left on Wooyoung’s stomach.

Everyone laughs except for him.

“Not funny,” he pouts.

You let out a small giggle, patting him lightly on the arm.

“You did kind of deserve it, my friend.”

Clapping your hands together, you let out a deep exhale.

“Now that that’s all settled, I need to go grocery shopping. All of you are more than welcome to come.”

A few of them look very excited, which both excites you and makes you slightly nervous.

“Thank you for the invitation,” Hongjoong starts. “But Seonghwa and I will have to pass this time.”

You pout slightly.

“Aw man.”

“Trust me,” Seonghwa starts. “We would love to go on our first official errand run with you, little one, but we have some business to deal with upstairs.”

He uses his index finger to point up and you look up as well.

Upstairs?

“Ohhhh, you mean, like, heaven and all that,” you laugh nervously at your lack of understanding.

The two men nod.

“But don’t worry, we should be back by the end of the day,” Hongjoong reassures you.

“Don’t worry guys,” Mingi slings an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into his side. “We’ve got this.”

Hongjoong and Seonghwa stare at the male by your side, slightly unamused.

“That’s what we’re scared of.”

It’s officially been about a week since your near death experience and finding out about your guardian angels.

While having all of them around had certainly been awkward at first, you’ve all slowly begun to fall into a routine. Sometimes, you feel as though you’ve known them your whole life.

Which, to a certain extent, you kind of have.

Something about having them around just makes you feel incredibly safe and warm inside. Not to mention the slight butterflies you’ve been experiencing around them, but you’re quick to try and cage them as soon as they appear.

Wooyoung and Seonghwa have taken it upon themselves to cook most of the meals for the nine of you. Every day when you come home from work, you can always count on a warm, freshly cooked meal to be waiting on the table for you.

“You’re kind of like my house husbands,” you joked to them one time.

Seonghwa blushed, while Wooyoung had blown you a kiss.

“Anything for you sweetheart.”

Yunho and Mingi are the two that typically accompany you to work, although sometimes Jongho will tag along if he doesn’t have anything else to do. Despite the tall men’s playful personalities, they were both incredibly smart and helped you with your work whenever you felt particularly stressed out.

San was certainly one of the more playful angels, you had noticed.

Although all of them were fun to be around, San was always the first to notice when your mood wasn’t the best, and he was the best at comforting you after a long day. A bad day at work usually ended with San waiting for you with open arms as soon as you walked through the door for some cuddles and quiet time.

When Wooyoung and Mingi had found out about this little routine, they both immediately demanded to be allowed into the “cuddle time” as they called it.

Jongho and Yeosang were the two individuals who you enjoyed spending some quiet time with. The three of you would usually wind down together with some tea and some books or a show. Although they were a little more reserved than the others, you still genuinely enjoyed your time with both of them.

But they certainly had their moments where they could be just as chaotic as the others.

Exhibit A was the day you walked into your apartment to see Yeosang and Yunho standing in your kitchen covered in flour.

“What happened?” you had asked, absolutely astounded by the amount of flour that somehow managed to cover every inch of your kitchen. You didn’t even think you had that much flour to begin with.

The two of them sheepishly admitted that they were trying to bake some cookies, but things had gotten out of hand.

Clicking your tongue, you walked over to the roll of paper towels to begin cleaning up.

“What am I going to do with you guys-”

You had just turned around when the feeling of something soft and powdery hit your face. You sputtered, staring wide-eyed at the two angels. Yunho looked at you and then turned to Yeosang, who avoided your eyes.

What followed next was a flour fight that resulted in a very long clean-up shift.

There was also the time you found out Jongho literally had the voice of an angel.

The two of you were headed to your local plant store to look for some new plants to decorate your apartment with when one of your favorite songs came on the radio.

Turning the volume up, you began singing along softly as did Jongho. As the song continued, his voice grew louder, and when the two of you reached a red light, you were unable to do anything except stare at him slack-jawed at the voice that was coming out of him. Only the sound of the car behind you honking was able to shake you out of your stupor.

Now, you guys have little karaoke parties in your car when the two of you are alone.

The only angel you had yet to spend a lot of time with, however, was Hongjoong.

The man always seemed to be busy, as he was hardly ever in your actual apartment. Most mornings when you woke up, he was gone and he wouldn’t show up until the evenings.

You would be lying if you said the hushed arguments he would have with some of the others didn’t concern you. They always occurred at night, when they assumed you were fast asleep. And they always revolved around the same thing.

“She’s not the exact same, and that’s okay, but you guys can’t keep expecting her to be the same as our (Y/n).” You heard Hongjoong say one night.

You had been unable to fall back asleep after that.

Today, though, you really needed to go to the post office, and Hongjoong was the only angel available to accompany you.

You stood awkwardly at the end of your table where Hongjoong sat using your laptop to do something.

“Uh,” you clear your throat. “Hongjoong?”

He looks up a little startled.

“(Y/n),” he acknowledges. “Is everything okay?” He looks at you concerned.

“Yeah everything’s fine!” You reassure him.

“I just need to run a quick errand and the others are all busy so I was wondering if you could go with me,” you trail off.

God this is awkward.

To your surprise, although you really shouldn’t be, he nods his head quickly.

“Yeah of course. We can go now, if you’re ready?”

“Cool, let me just grab my bag and we can get going!” You rush to your room to grab your bag before walking back to the front door where Hongjoong already waits for you.

The two of you agree to make the short walk to the post office, commenting on how the nice weather is today.

Exiting through the front gates of your apartment, you two begin walking down the sidewalk shoulder to shoulder in silence.

“So is-”

“I wanted-”

The two of you start talking at the same time.

You both let out a laugh and you can feel your shoulders relax a bit.

“Go ahead,” you allow Hongjoong to speak first.

He takes a deep breath.

“I just wanted to apologize for the way I’ve been acting lately,” he says as he stares into your eyes.

You have to admit, that’s not what you were expecting him to say.

“Huh?”

“I’ve been really distant and pre-occupied lately,” Hongjoong continues. “And I know you’ve noticed, so I want to sincerely apologize. There’s been a lot of stuff I’ve been dealing with and I don’t want you to think I don’t like this,” he gestures between the two of you, “thing we have going on.”

You shake your head.

“No, please don’t feel like you have to apologize Hongjoong. To be completely honest, I have no clue what it is you guys have to deal with in the first place, but I’m really grateful you’ve all gone out of your way to help me.”

You let out a small, sad laugh.

“If I’m being honest, I don’t really get why you guys are helping me in the first place. I’m sure you’ve all had hundreds of different assigned humans throughout your existence, so I’m nothing special.”

Hongjoong stops abruptly and turns to face you.

“That’s not true,” he says firmly. The serious expression on his face has you taken aback.

“What?”

“You said you’re nothing special. That’s not true.”

Hongjoong sighs and grabs both of your hands.

“Look, it’s complicated to explain, and I will tell you, but we agreed we all wanted to tell you together. So, if you’re okay with waiting, I can tell you everything that’s been going on as soon as we get back to your apartment.”

You would be lying if you said his words don’t scare you a little bit.

“It’s okay Hongjoong, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” you reassure him, softly running your fingers over his knuckles.

He shakes his head.

“I- We all want to tell you, and you deserve to know the truth.”

You nod your head.

“Okay. Back at my apartment it is then,” you send him a small smile, which he returns.

“Before we head to the post office,” you start. “Do you want to visit my favorite cafe with me?”

Hongjoong smiles softly at you.

“I would love to.”

You guys continue walking down the few blocks and after a few minutes, you both stand at the stoplight that sits across from the cafe. You and Hongjoong laugh at the stories you tell him about the antics Yunho and Mingi get up to when you’re at work. The light turns green, and you begin to cross the street.

“I’m telling you, I just told them about this lady in my office who’s always getting on my nerves and they made it their mission to inconvenience her in every way possible!” You exclaim.

Hongjoong lets out a hearty laugh and you smile widely at how relaxed he looks.

Just as your about to continue your story, you notice the wind blowing your letter out of your purse.

Cursing, you tell Hongjoong to wait on the sidewalk while you run quickly after the paper. The letter lands in the middle of crosswalk and you’ve just barely managed to pick it up when the sound of someone yelling your name makes you whip around.

Coming towards you at a terrifying speed is a car.

You stand frozen in the middle of street, unable to move your feet.

You barely manage to catch a glimpse of Hongjoong’s terrified face when you feel your body get thrown back, and everything turns black.

You stand in a green field.

The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and you can feel the warm sun and cool breeze on your skin.

Looking around, you notice a large, crystal blue lake in the distance. Your legs begin to take you in that direction on their own accord.

You reach the lake and crouch down, slightly dipping your hand in the cool water. Soft ripples make their way across the surface of the water and you can’t help but feel completely at ease in this place.

Whatever this place is.

As you continue staring down into the water, you notice your reflection seems to look different.

The you staring back has much longer hair than you currently have, and the clothes your reflection wears is older, looking like they come from an early Victorian age.

You tilt your head to the side and notice that your reflection’s head doesn’t move.

A voice sounds out through your mind.

“You need to go back.”

“Go back?” You whisper aloud.

Your reflection nods.

“They need you.”

Other you doesn’t specify who you two are talking about, but deep down, you think you already know the answer.

Your reflection sends you a gentle smile before disappearing. You watch as the water returns to its calm state before gently pushing yourself back up to your feet.

You take one last look around the field you’re in, before closing your eyes.

The first thing you notice is how dark it is.

You can hear the sounds of people talking and crying around you, and you can feel hands softly grabbing your body, but you’re unable to open your eyes or move.

“Please,” someone whispers over your body.

“Please don’t leave us again.”

You lose consciousness once again.

The next time you wake up, your entire body hurts.

You let out a soft groan, slowly opening your eyes and allowing them to adjust to the soft light of your lamp.

Something heavy rests near your right hand, and turning your head slightly, you can see a head of familiar pink hear laying down next to you.

Using what little strength you have in your body, you raise your hand and gently rest it on Mingi’s head. Softly, you run your fingers through the short strands on his head.

He makes an inaudible noise and turns his head over so that you can now see his face. As you continue stroking his head, his eyes flutter open. He looks a little bit confused for a few seconds before his body is shooting up and he stares at you shocked.

“(Y/n),” he whispers softly.

“Hi Mingi,” you reply.

You watch as tears well up in his eyes and he throws himself on top of you, mindful to not rest his entire body weight on you. You can hear footsteps rushing towards your room before your bedroom door is being slammed open.

You can barely see over Mingi’s broad back that covers your frame, but you already know who it is.

As Mingi releases you, you attempt to sit up, only to stop and hiss in pain when jolts of pain shoot up your back.

“Be careful, little one,” Seonghwa says, moving forward to help adjust some pillows behind you.

You thank him and take a moment to look around at each of the men that surrounds your bed. You notice the dark circles under their eyes and the way their skin seems to lack it’s normal glow.

“You guys look worse than I feel,” you joke, trying to lighten the mood.

Yeosang frowns.

“You’ve been out for 4 days, sunflower.”

You blink harshly.

“Four days?”

Jongho nods.

“The worst four days of our entire existence,” he says.

You look down at the blanket that rests on your lap.

“I’m sorry.”

You’re not quite sure what you’re apologizing for.

“No I’m sorry.”

It’s Hongjoong who speaks.

He comes to your side, falling onto his knees beside your bed and taking your hand into his. He leans down to rest his forehead against your hand.

“I’m so sorry, my love,” he cries.

“I should’ve known. I should’ve seen the car coming, I should’ve moved faster, I should’ve gotten you out of the way-” he sobs.

“No, Hongjoong,” you shake your head. “There’s nothing you could’ve done, the car came out of nowhere and it was too fast.”

“I don’t think you understand,” Yunho whispers.

“We swore to never let you pass before your time again.”

You can’t help the confused look you give them, but then, you remember the reflection you saw in the lake.

How the person looked just like you, but from a different era.

The arguments you heard Hongjoong have with the others.

Softly resting your palm on Hongjoong’s tear stained face, you speak.

“I need you guys to explain everything to me.”

All nine of you sit in your living room.

The boys helped you get settled on the couch, where you sit with San and Wooyoung flanking both of your sides. Hongjoong and Seonghwa sit across from you three while Mingi sits on the floor next to your legs. Yunho sits to the right of San and Yeosang and Jongho remain standing, but still close.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve met you,” Hongjoong begins.

“We’ve been very lucky to have met you almost every single time you’ve been reborn.”

Yeosang continues.

“The first time we met you was an accident. You happened to stumble upon me when I was helping a wounded human at the time. Soon after, I introduced you to the others.”

“But I thought the only time humans could see a guardian angel was when they were close to death?” You questioned.

Jongho nods sadly.

“You passed away shortly after meeting the rest of us.”

“In almost every single life where you’ve been reborn,” Wooyoung explains.

“We’ve managed to find you, but we’ve never been granted the luxury of time.”

You softly run your fingers through his hair, hearing the tremble of his voice as he speaks.

“The last two times that you’ve been born, we’ve been fortunate enough to be your guardian angels,” Seonghwa smiles.

“But in your last life, you passed away prematurely,” San says.

You turn your head towards him.

“A freak accident that we weren’t able to save you from.”

Mingi turns around to look up at you from where he rests by your legs.

“We failed you,” he whispers sadly.

You shake your head.

“You guys didn’t fail me. Not then, and not now. Just because you guys are angels doesn’t mean you can control everything that happens.”

“Sometimes,” you take a deep breath. “Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you can’t always protect the ones you love.”

“But we have to,” Hongjoong says, looking you in the eye. “Not only is that our job, but for selfish reasons too.”

He looks down at his hands.

“We couldn’t take watching you die another time.”

It’s silent for a moment.

“How am I still here then?”

Hongjoong looks back up at you.

“We made a deal.”

You send him a questioning look.

“A deal?”

All the men surrounding you nod.

“What kind of deal?” You prod, noticing how they seem to hesitate to give you more details.

“Our life in exchange for yours.”

You inhale sharply, the sudden movement causing pain to shoot up your back. Wooyoung and San attempt to soothe your pain, but your mind is only focused on the information they just gave you.

“What?”

“We made a deal with God,” Yunho starts. “Our status in heaven as guardian angels, in exchange for the guarantee that you would live a full life.”

“What?” you say breathlessly. “Why, why would you guys do that?”

“Because we’re selfish,” Jongho says, looking at you with such tenderness you’re unsure of what to do with yourself.

“And we don’t care about being angels or having those powers and helping others if it means we have to live in a world without you in it,” Mingi finishes.

Tears begin to well up and spill out of your eyes before you can stop them. San and Wooyoung cuddle impossibly closer to you, hugging you tightly while the others watch on with misty eyes.

“Thank you,” you sob into your hands. “Thank you.”

They all smile.

It’s been about a month since you almost (should’ve) died.

In that month, the ex-angels did their best to help you recover from your injuries, although they certainly complained about no longer having healing powers to help stop you from being pain.

“Welcome to the life of being a human,” you rolled your eyes.

“This is lame, maybe we should’ve stayed as angels,” Wooyoung muttered.

You smacked him on the chest, ignoring his yelp and complaints.

“Don’t make me bring out the bat again,” you warned.

After you were fully recovered, you focused on helping the boys adjust to their new lives as humans.

“Why do we have to walk everywhere?” Mingi groaned, dragging his feet behind you.

You rolled your eyes.

He’s just like a little kid.

“Because my car can only fit four of you, but all eight of you decided to accompany me to the store,” you remind him.

He says nothing, but you could still hear his grumbling.

As they’ve slowly adjusted to human life, the nine of you have fallen into a smooth routine that’s oddly domestic.

Wooyoung and Seonghwa continue to cook the meals for you guys, and you all make an effort to eat at least one meal together a day.

Seeing as most of them aren’t morning people, you typically opt to eat dinner together instead.

You’ve also decided to introduce them to your favorite bookstore.

“How ironic,” you muse, walking hand in hand with San and Yunho as you all approach the quaint shop.

“What is, sunflower?” Yeosang questions.

“This bookstore is the whole reason I met you guys in the first place,” you give San’s hand a small squeeze.

He squeezes it back three times.

Later that night, when you’ve all returned home, you guys decide to have a small movie night.

After arguing over what movie to watch, Jongho insisted on watching a horror movie, which Mingi complained about loudly.

Not that it mattered, most everyone ended up falling asleep by the time the film was halfway over, including yourself.

You could hear the sound of someone moving around quietly in the living room and turned your head to the side, burying your face deeper into Mingi’s chest. The feeling of a blanket being laid over the two of you was welcomed.

You felt someone leave a soft kiss on the side of your head.

“Goodnight my love,” Hongjoong whispered softly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

You hummed in reply, falling back asleep perfectly content and safe in the presence of your lovers.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

a/n: my fic to celebrate hitting 50 followers, you guys are insane, i love you all so much and i hope you enjoyed this as much as i enjoyed writing it :)