Raise your glasses
over your heads
as high as they can be seen
anywhere
I got the answer

Answer// Ateez

.

WHEN DEALING with someone, whoever this person is, the only things that can trigger your conscience in an insane way are the two following sentences pronounced by enquiring curious lips: we have to talk and can I ask you something(?).

The crippling anxiety that suddenly spreads around our tensed body, instinctively makes us think about all the wrongdoings hidden at the back of our minds. We start feeling like criminals ready to seat in front of a judge, while he or she mercilessly list all our fatal errors and all we can do is to remain there, speechless and hoping that such a psychological challenge will end as soon as possible.

Humans can be so dramatic sometimes...

At least this was what Ten thought while staring at both Jaehyun and Doyoung, not understanding where the nervousness of the latter came from since Reira wanted to speak to the doctor alone.

Perhaps he was having second thoughts about what his selfish pride and jealousy caused? Well, it was too late to save the situation, anyways.

On the other side, Mark quietly floated behind the demon. His piercing eyes metaphorically set the other's figure on fire, as if he was accusing him of being the author of all the misfortunes of his protege.

"Sorry to interrupt your magic moment, but the lady is waiting for you."

The dark angel nonchalantly informed, while approaching the brunette and smirking at him. He then started patting his shoulder, almost mocking him and whispered a low "See you on the other side."

Chills went through Jaehyun's spine, when those words echoed in his ears but still decided to shrug the whole thing off for the meantime: what was waiting for him strangely sounded more terrifying.

The car ride to the Han river was silent, too silent. The air was filled with a suffocating fear and an even more choking negativity, the thoughts of the passengers getting louder and louder.
Tapping on the steering wheel several times and biting his lower lip, Jaehyun glanced at Mark every now and then hoping that he would naturally speak words of assurance and heavenly security, but no.

Instead the angel simply sat there, his gaze fixed on the road and the light around him slowly fading away. His hands were delicately placed on his knees, while fiddling with each other and his wings randomly lost feathers, which would then spread around the back of his seat.

"Are you okay?"

"You shouldn't be the one asking."

Mark immediately replied, his tone as cold as ice.

Meanwhile, as the boys got out of the car, the sky gradually darkened as water drops fell across the town. A chilly wind accompanied the change of weather, along the living waves of the river mentioned above.

When Jaehyun finally found Reira, something told him that the situation was way worse than he hoped to be: with the knowledge of a woman who knew even the deepest secrets of her man, the fierce of a person who feared nothing and the carelessness of a being who had nothing to lose, the florist stood across the the sidewalk of the bridge, where they both now parked on.

Her features, in that moment, ruined her innocent beauty, while her aura broke the balance of her inner peace:

deceit was written in her eyes,
disappointment displayed in her heart.

The female adjusted her coat and began stepping closer to the man she was once happy to date. Her feet moved heavy on the cement, while her hands crumbled in two fists. She caught a glimpse of the male's scared expression, before walking past him and stopping right behind him and in front of Mark, who froze at her actions.

Her eyebrows furrowed, as her expression unfolded in a sad one

"Let me see him."

she spat out, out of nowhere.

"Please, I want to see him."

The florist repeated with a more demanding tone, this time facing Jaehyun.

"W— Who? Who do you want to see?"

He wondered, sincerely being caught off guard, his mind being bombarded with all kinds of questions and tragic scenarios.

"The angel. Are you not scouted by one of them since when you were born? Because that's it, right? Or should I say born again?"

At each and every word pronounced by Reira, Jaehyun felt himself being strip off of the mysteries than connected him to Mark. Slowly appearing naked in front of the woman he wanted to protect from the past, the male felt something inside him breaking in an uncountable number of little pieces

"Listen, I'm still not 100% familiar with this absurd story, but what I know is that the time where I'm always the one being mocked ends now."

at this point, the female stepped farther from Mark and sighed, walking to her car.

"Where are you going?"

The doctor wondered, his throat becoming dry and his palms sweating

"I was actually testing you, but it looks like you just won't be honest with me..."

Reira admitted chuckling bitterly. Her eyes travelled to her foot placed in the car, then to the angel standing on the other side of the bridge.

A small smile appeared on her face, before she fully opened the door of her vehicle and spoke her last words to the dumbfounded male

"I can actually see Mark. I actually know why he's wandering around with you. I know why Doyoung is so rude to you, why he doesn't want us together.

I know what happened in hour past life, I know the promise you made in this present one. I know everything, Jaehyun."

when the word everything was pronounced, the surgeon felt like the world was crushing on him.
He suddenly felt an heavy weight on his chest, while his gaze desperately searched for the angel's one who was now nowhere to found.

A thunder brought the man back to reality, as he started chasing the lad's car sprinting down the bridge.
He was struggling with his breathing, calling out his lover's name and praying to his legs to run faster and faster.

"Reira!"

Jaehyun kept screaming like a mad man, now gripping on his coat and gasping for air: his feet moved on their own, splashing water on his apparel, his lungs craved for a refill like never before and his whole body suddenly felt weaker and weaker.

The car became too far for him to reach out to.

She was gone.

On the other side, without realizing, Mark was brought in the presence of the seven senior angels. He sat on the golden chair, where he saw the doctor for the first time, realizing that the only difference now was that in front of him was a desk with a paper and fresh ink.

"Mark."

One of the seniors called out of the blue, startling the called one, while trying to communicate through telepathy how sorry he was to meet his junior in such a situation.

No one in that room actually wanted to be present in that moment: the day that nobody wished to come true, unfortunately arrived and things must've been done as decided at the beginning of the journey.

"I hope you know the reason why you're here, Mark."

Gulping his own saliva, with drops of sweat forming on his forehead, the youngster slowly nodded. He slightly lowered his head, feeling guilty for the outcome of this pledge and responsible for things that he believe could've been under his total control.

"Good."

Another angel commented before proceeding,

"Jung Jaehyun, your protege, didn't transgress only one rule but more and at once. As you obviously know, this can't be permitted and it leads us to put an end to the agreement..."

as he spoke, on what was a simple blank paper a long test gradually appeared on it.

It was the proof that the angels were really going to take the doctor's chance from his hands, ceasing everything, and at the bottom a straight line was ready to be filled with Mark's signature.

The male's eyes started stinging, as little tears formed at their corners along a lump in his throat that he tried to hold as long as possible.

"Please brother, sign."

The same senior kindly told him, flashing a sympathetic smile.

Breathing deeply in and out, Mark grabbed a feather and soaked it with the dark ink. He looked at the parchment, as he believed he could actually see the memories of the last days on it.
Chuckling bitterly, the guy strengthened the grip on the pen and started writing his initials.

At that moment, on the bridge that crossed the Han river, Jaehyun fell on his knees while clutching his chest, where his heart was placed.
He felt like someone was using a hammer to pound on it, as another person kept stabbing his back.

He hissed at the pain, closing his eyes shut and wondering what on earth was happening to his body and if that was some kind of punishment coming directly from the most High.

Lowering his gaze to his hands, the surgeon realized that he was now dressed as a soldier: he now wore his dirty uniform, stained with blood and soil. At his neck fell the necklace given to all his team back in the days, with his name and original birthdate written on it.

He squeezed his eyes, to see if he was actually dreaming but no: everything was real. His vision became blurry, when he finally realized that he was dying to his second death, although it seemed too unjust to be accepted just like that.

At that point Jaehyun gathered all his strength and stood up, he took small steps as he kept his right hand on his chest. He wandered on the sideways, not being able to walk straight.

Little did he know that Mark had written the last letter of his surname, and officially closed the pledge, ending his second chance.

The heart of the brunette stopped beating.

unedited.