He nocked, drew back his bowstring, aimed.

Right as he loosed, they met eyes, he and his mortal target.

Thwonk.

He missed.

Damn it, damn it, damn it.

The things the myths don't tell you, is what happens when a cupid's arrow misses. No, not the target entirely – they are expert, godly marksmen – so that of course never happens. But rather, the heart. Hitting a mortal's heart is the trick to the whole thing. No heart shot, no love spell. But, worse than a professional embarrassment for a cupid, for the mortal, it hurts like hell. It won't kill, but it feels like it. It's about the worst mistake a cupid can make. Well, maybe second worst.

Some will say – or they did, ages ago when people still believed in gods – that being targeted by a cupid is the worst thing that can happen to you, that the very love spell is the worst thing they can do. That forcing love on an unwitting mortal is morally dubious, meddling with their agency, etc. Well, morally dubious meddling in the lives of mortals is kind of the gods' main pastimes, after all. It's why there was so much wonderful chaos in the world. Gods just loved messing around with mortals, demigods were the ultimate proof of this, even if they didn't go around flaunting their existence these days. Not with modern beliefs or lack thereof, and modern inventions like cameras and smartphones. For some, like a cupid, messing around with mortals wasn't just a hobby, but actually an official occupation.

Hyukjae didn't have any qualms with his job, after all, there were still rules. They responded only to the great longing of a heart in one-sided love, where the unrequited party did not have any conflicting attachments or other destined love in their future, and other nuances were also taken into account. There was a great deal of recon that went into selecting a target for the arrow. When correctly shot, the target would never know of it, all they would know was a blissful mutual love from that day forward. It was quite a victimless meddling, he thought, as godly meddling was concerned.

When...incorrectly shot...there were all sorts of reports that needed filing, and an imminent performance review, no doubt. Then, there was the tricky detail of the mortal who saw him right before he pierced his torso painfully with a supernatural arrow. That certainly needed some damage control.

&&&

Donghae woke up in a bed, surrounded by white, pristine white. Glowing, ethereal white.

“Am I...dead?” he thought aloud. It certainly could be heaven...to him, laying in bed when he rarely got enough sleep in life.

But then, his chest and back wouldn't hurt so damn much if this were heaven, right? It felt like he'd been stabbed with a fiery poker, a burning, aching, deep pain. He groaned as he shifted to sit upright, a rather undignified groan, and from beside him came a hand that gently pressed his shoulder for him to lean back again.

“Who...” Donghae blinked hard again, trying to adjust to the extreme brightness, “What happened? Am I in the hospital?”

“Ah...not exactly,”

Finally, his eyes were able to focus a little better, and he turned his stiff neck to the man at