Chapter Nine

Jin had a very bad headache. It reminded him of Nes who sometimes could not get her head up from her pillow because of her headache. He was always sympathetic to her, but now he could understand her clearly. Headaches were no joke. 

"It should take around five days per your human world for Agnes to come here."

Jin looked at the man who was talking. He was very tall; not tall like Theo. This man was tall, a little too much. He had black hair and red eyes like fresh blood; saying eye would be much more fitting as he had only one eye. He wore a black eyepatch over his left eye. 

"Why are you so fixated on her?" Jin asked. "Is she the reason you brought me here?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I saved you," he said. "You were going to be killed by the demons that took you. If it were not for me, that is. You humans are rather ungrateful."

"Yes, but it looks like you know about Nes already, and quite honestly, it is unsettling. Besides, those beings are demons for certain? I never knew those things existed."

All this information was taking a toll on his head. It was the reason for his headache. 

The man explained to him that he was taken by demons and his three friends being angels had to do with it. Jin's head spun at the probability of Nes being an angel. 

"So, you are saying because their parents were angels, they are angels?" Jin asked. 

The man nodded. 

"I saw her… their parents. They looked pretty normal to me."

"Did your friends look any different to you?" the man asked. 

Jin wanted to nod. He wanted to say- yes, Nes did look different all the time. But not in an angelic way. He remained silent instead. He was not going to tell this strange man everything about his friend. 

"Your friends have angel parents. However, there is always a chance the child of angels might not be angelic in nature," the man said as if he could read Jin's mind. "The same way demons' child might not be as manipulative as their parents."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is- Alexandra and Theodore will be chosen to start training as angels right away. However, the Base still has not decided anything about Agnes," he said. He smirked then. "Agnes is a little different from angels. You will agree, won't you?"

They knew all about Agnes, Jin thought. "What will happen to her?" Jin asked. 

"The Base will probably punish her," he said. "They might lock her up in a cell. The best thing to do would be to hand her over to the demons so she could train there. But an angel can't be a demon, they say. It's forbidden." 

"I can't just watch as they hurt her," Jin said. 

"Do you love her?"

Jin did not hesitate as he answered. "Of course."

"How much do you love her?"

"Is this even a question worth answering? I said I love her. It means I will do anything for her."

"Even if she kills people? In your human world, it is seen as something bad."

It did not matter what Nes did. It never mattered. Jin would always love her. Jin would let her ruin everyone, even himself. He loved her that much. He would watch her burn the world and he would still be by her side. 

"It's interesting. I never thought a relationship as close as yours and Agnes could be only platonic."

A lot of people wondered the same thing. But Jin could not see what the problem was. He loved Nes. They were friends. They were a boy and a girl. But did that make their friendship less real? Only because they were of different genders? 

"Although it's hard to believe, I know it's the truth," the man said. He smiled in a way that made Jin uncomfortable; he felt like prey in the presence of a predator. "Or, I wouldn't have saved you."

"How well do you know her? Were you stalking her?"

"I know her well enough. Better than you do," he said. 

Jin took in his surroundings once again. He was seated at a huge dining table, which could seat thirty-two people. But it was only him and the stranger. 

Calling the stranger a man was probably a stretch since he would not be more than two years older than Jin. It was the way he spoke that made him seem older. There was something ancient about him. Something ageless haunted his youthful face. 

"What are you?" Jin asked. 

"What?"

"If you are powerful enough to protect me from the demons and yet, you don't seem to like the angels, then what are you?"

He chuckled. "I was an angel," he said. "Not anymore."

"You are not a demon either?"

"No."

"A fallen angel. Like Lucifer."

"I'm surprised you know the term, although my name is not Lucifer."

"What is your name then? I cannot call you 'you' all the time."

"Seth."

Jin could not touch his food. His head was hurting way too badly now. He just wanted to go and lie down. 

"Will you do something to save Nes?" Jin asked. He could not stop himself. He needed to make sure Nes was okay. He was in no position to help her himself. He was not delusional enough to think he could protect her at this moment. But the man sitting in front of him could. 

"Agnes is perfectly capable of saving herself if need be," Seth said. "Only if she realizes the truth. However, at this moment, she is the same as an untrained angel or a demon. I don't want to take any risk. When the time comes, she will have the help.

"In the meantime, you will stay here. To get to her, you might be targeted."

"By who?" Jin asked. 

Seth ignored his question. "Besides, I think Agnes would love to see you safe."

Jin could swear on his head that Seth protected him only because Nes would like for him to be safe. He had no idea what Seth wanted with Nes, but one thing was certain; Seth had something he wanted from Nes, or he wanted Nes herself. 

"You can go to your room if you like. The library is free for you to go to. However, do not, for any reason, enter my bed chamber or office. They are off-limits."

Jin rolled his eyes. It was not like he would go running into Seth's room in the middle of the night because of a nightmare. He got up from his chair. 

"Why Agnes?" Jin asked. 

"What do you mean?" Seth looked up, confused.

"We all call her Nes. Why do you call her Agnes?"

"That's her name though."

"Yes, but her nickname is Nes."

"She is Agnes to me," Seth said and his tone suggested, Jin should not ask him anything else. 

***

As a five-year-old boy, Jin was advanced. He loved math. He liked to sit in a corner and multiply numbers. He could multiply up to four digits. 

Unlike other kids of his age, he hated to run. Running made him tired and he did not like the feeling of being sweaty. He loved playing, but only it involved sitting down. 

On the second day, Ms. Pineapple introduced three children who she called 'triplets'. There was a boy and two girls. One and one girl looked exactly the same. The other girl was slightly brownish and she had eyes that reminded Jin of the huge diamond of his mother's ring. The kids did not know what triplets meant. So, Ms. Pineapple told them triplets meant three kids born at the same time. They were the same as twins, except there was one more child. 

One by one, the triplets introduced themselves. The girl named Alex smiled as she told her name. The boy's name was Theo; he was a little moody. Jin suspected he was not really moody, but was a little intimidated seeing all the kids. The girl with almost white eyes said her name was Agnes. 

"But people call her Nes," Alex said, interrupting her. Jin did not like how she was interrupted. 

Nes did not talk anymore. She simply looked around the room at the kids. A girl named Sunny asked Ms. Pineapple why Nes's eyes were like ghost's eyes. Nes heard her, since she turned her head towards her. 

"Because she was born with it, you idiot," Jin said loudly. 

Nes acknowledged him then. She watched him for a while, before turning her gaze back to the girl. Jin was told off by the teacher. Later that day, a fat boy who everyone called Champ, shoved Nes out of nowhere. Jin called him stupid and fat. 

Ms. Pineapple told Jin off again, although he did not make him apologize. Instead, Champ had to apologize to Nes. Nes shrugged it off. She thanked Jin. After that, they always sat together and played sudoku together or did multiplications. Nes was better at it than him. She could multiply even six-digit numbers which was impressive. 

Seven days later, Champ fell from the stairs and broke his neck. He died at the spot. 

That was the first time Jin saw Nes smile.