01: Cruel

Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick

The clock ticked noisily in the silent classroom. Silent Study was written messily on the blackboard located at the front of the classroom. While most students were deeply buried in their books, Yue was lazily gazing out the window.

The peaceful and quiet atmosphere was lulling her to sleep. Her eyes threatened to close and her head bobbed up and down every few minutes. Right before her eyes closed, Yue’s watch suddenly beeped harshly, it pulsated against her skin. Her eyes snapped open and saw a sea of eyes staring back. She sheepishly excused herself before escaping to the roof of the building.

“Yes?” she asked sharply, the annoyance was quite evident in her voice. Cupid, however, was in no mood to deal with her attitude.

“I have another mission for you. It’s urgent so come now!” he briefly said before hanging up. He left Yue with no chance of protesting.

“One day I’ll kick him to the moon,” she darkly muttered underneath her breath. Letting out an annoyed grunt she jumped off the roof.

Knock, Knock

“Come in.”

“You called sir?” Yue gritted through her teeth.

Cupid glared back at her and sighed. “I need you to take over Tao’s job for today” he stated. It took a few minutes for Yue to register what Cupid had just said.

“What?!” she exclaims out loud.

“I can’t possibly take over his job! I don’t know how it works and I’ll probably mess up,” she cried to the boss.

He nodded his head at her protests, “All true, all true, but I have no other choice. Tao is busy today so you’ll just have to learn on the spot,” he said gleefully.

Yue groaned at the unreasonableness known as Cupid. She tried to glare him down before letting out a loud sigh.

“Fine,” she started, pausing a little for a more dramatic proclamation. “But I expect a huge bonus on my check!” she demanded.

Cupid nodded his head, “Deal, but if you mess up I’m cutting your pay,” he retorted back.

“What!? Fine, I’ll do this job perfectly you cheap jerk,” she yelled before slamming his door shut.

Cupid rubbed his temples in frustration, “Teenagers and their mood swings,” he muttered to himself, but a small smile made its way to his lips.

 

Yue peeked her head around the corner and glared hatefully down at the cheating scumbag. “I outta slap him to Jupiter,” she hatefully said underneath her breath.

She quickly took a picture and sent it to his girlfriend. Soon enough an angry girlfriend stormed up to the male and slapped him across the face. Yue grinned in victory and fist pumped the air.

But when the girl ran past her, the tears that were streaming down her face broke Yue’s heart. Yue couldn’t wallow in pity for long; she still had a lot of missions to complete.

A teenage boy was sitting on a hospital bed in a completely white room. He looked much too skinny for a boy his age. His head was wrapped tightly with white bandages. His hands, trembling as he wrote a letter, were incredibly bony and rigid. His eyes were damp as he tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

He quickly stuffed the completed letter into an envelope and sealed it with a bright sun sticker. He called in a nurse and handed her the heartfelt letter.

“Make sure she gets it,” he desperately says. The young nurse nodded her head and gave him a reassuring smile. He leaned back into his pillow and closed his eyes. He looked almost peaceful.

Yue quickly ran into the ladies’ restroom to take off her nurse cosplay. She stared at the tear-stained envelope and felt her heart break a little more. Yue darted out of the hospital thinking about how much she wanted the day to end already.

Yue tried to calm her beating heart as the elevator dinged. She wasn’t sure what to say to the girlfriend yet. Standing in front of the apartment, 3D, she knocked softly. “Letter delivery,” she whispered.

The door was quickly yanked opened. “Come in, come in,” a bright, smiling face answered. Yue forced a smile and walked into the small apartment.

“This is from JungHyun isn’t it?” she asked hopefully. Yue could only nod. The girl’s smile only got larger and Yue’s heart only sank more.

Yue slowly walked out as the girl tore open the letter like it was a present. When she shut the door she heard a loud cry. She leaned against the door and soaked in the cries of the poor soul inside.

At the end of the day, Yue’s energy was completely drained. She trudged home only to find Tao sitting on the steps outside her door. He held out a bouquet of yellow sunflowers. “Happy Birthday!” he said gleefully.

Yue could barely crack out a smile. “Thank you. Happy Birthday to you as well,” she said grimly.

“Tough day at work?” he asked as he pulled her into his arms. She sat on a step below him as his arms encircled her body and his chin rested on her head. He started to sway her slowly from side to side.

“How do you do it?” she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “How do you take the heartbreaking stories every day? It’s like practically living them,” she cries. Tao’s smile was small and sad.

“I feel nothing,” he said. He put her right hand over his left . “You know that already don’t you?” he asked. Yue nodded her head and cried against his chest.

Although Tao looks normal from the outside, he has lost the feeling of love. A better way to describe the situation is to think of the heart as a puzzle. Each piece has a role and Tao the lost the most important piece. The piece which allows humans to love.

Yue could only think of how God is such a cruel person.

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Sorry, I changed it up because I wanted it to flow differently