Featured song: "LIE" - CNBlue  

"Have you ever felt this way, Chanyeol?"

"NO."

That was a clear and sharp answer.  

"You haven't been in love?" asked Luhan, who looked surprised at his response. 

"No," replied Chanyeol. His breathing pattern changed. He was standing still; hands inside the pockets of his jeans. He clenched his fists while unconsciously bobbing his head slowly.

[Luhan] Do you like someone at the moment?

He stopped moving and replied firmly, "No. There's no one in particular."

.......

"When I think about it, you and your brothers haven't told me about your pasts," Luhan continued. "Except for Kris and his story with Hye-Jin. I have no idea about your feelings..."

 Chanyeol cleared his throat and he smiled to suppress a sigh, ""I'm too busy to be in love."

"But do you also wish to find someone to lo--"

"NO," Chanyeol blurted out. His smile disappeared. He then immediately snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Luhan with slightly bigger eyes. "No," he repeated in a much composed tone.

......

Luhan looked away and retreated, "Sorry if I'm being nosy. I just thought, we can talk about these things like friends do." He returned to eating his noodles uncomfortably while Chanyeol watched him with worried expression.

......

Not long, Luhan finished his dinner and cleaned his desk. When he turned to Chanyeol, the latter was now seated on his bed quietly. Luhan was starting to feel uneasy of the silence between them. Usually with Chanyeol, he felt much safer and at peace than with the other cupids. But that night, the ambiance felt different. Luhan decided to remain seated near his desk across the room while waiting for Chanyeol to speak.

"There are many things you don't know about us, Luhannie," Chanyeol began. "I want to tell you everything you wanna know. But I can't do that. At least for now." Things are much complicated than you think. I'm just trying to protect you.... and my brothers....as much as possible.

"I understand," Luhan answered faintly. 

Chanyeol rose to his feet and approached Luhan. "I won't be staying long." He slipped one of his hands out of his pocket and tapped Luhan's cheek gently. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Luhan frowned after his touch. It was almost burning. He felt his cheek and the heat lingers for a while. Chanyeol was now walking towards the window to depart. When he slowly opened the window pane, a blanket of orange and yellow blinded Luhan's eyes for a moment.  The cupid turned into a burning flame and vanished. The traces of the flashy lights were carried swiftly by the wind through the window, away from Luhan's room. 

Chanyeol never felt to be strongly attracted to someone because of his responsibilities to his brothers and as a cupid.

Before someone could knock, he already closed the door.  

And here comes Luhan who ignited his static emotions through his innocent question about love; not knowing that it hit Chanyeol harder than it seems. 

The next morning, Luhan woke up earlier than usual. He stayed in bed for a while before someone's presence disturbed his thinking. He glanced at the window shortly and stood up. 

A playful smiled greeted him as he opened the window. 

"GOOD MORNING, HANNIE!!!!!!!!" 

A strong wind carried him up as Sehun rushed in to hug him. 

"G-g-ood.. morning," Luhan struggled to answer with his head buried on Sehun's chest while the latter enjoyed embracing him. "--now, let me go, Sehun...I can't breathe..."

"Good morning, Lulu," Tao appeared and held him away from the youngest cupid. He faced Luhan and was about to kiss his cheeks when Baekhyun grabbed Luhan's arm and pulled him away from Tao.

"How are you, baby?" Baekhyun whispered while 'backhugging' the mentally tortured Luhan. "I missed you," the cupid added.

"Heeeyyyyy." A lazy voice interrupted them. "What are you doing with Luhannie? We were trying to sleep peacefully until you arrived," uttered Lay while rolling on Luhan's bed. 

D.O, who was sitting on Luhan's desk with legs crossed, smirked. "Dream on, Lay." He then jumped down and motioned towards Luhan. He kicked Baekhyun to get a hold of Luhan who was now starting to lose his mind at the early chaos. "Luhan, let me see your palm." D.O opened his hand and the magical flower sprang. He smiled with content.

"You guys," Suho started as he made way inside Luhan's room. "You are disturbing Luhan." He grabbed Luhan's shoulder and tugged him closer before he greeted, "Morning, Luhannie. It's good to see your beautiful face again."

Sehun, Tao, Baekhyun and D.O rolled their eyes simultaneously. 

"Good morning EVERYONE," Luhan finally responded with an exhausted voice. "You came early today."

"We missed you," Xiumin appeared and replied. "Here. I bought you some strawberries." He handed the pack to Luhan. 

"Thanks Xiumin. Much appreciated."

Xiumin beamed at Luhan's response while the rest pouted in jealousy.

Luhan took one strawberry and gobbled it. He saw Kris at window, floating outside and watching them. When their eyes met, he waved at Luhan and smiled.

While the others started their usual petty arguments on who will go to school with Luhan, the latter decided to gather his clothes and take a shower. It's also a good way to escape from the chaotic scene in his room even just for a while. He put his clothes on the rack and washed his face. 

When he raised his head, he jumped in surprise to see Kai behind him through the mirror. 

"Good morning."

Luhan turned around quickly, "What are you doing here?!"

"I want to see you alone," answered the cupid honestly. He motioned towards Luhan and kissed his forehead lightly. "Did you have a good sleep?"

Luhan nodded while looking away, to hide his red-tainted face. 

"I see," he moved back a little to see Luhan's face. 

"I need to take a shower now," uttered Luhan. 

"Alright," Kai was fast to answer but didn't move an inch.

Luhan frowned. "What are you still doing here? I said I need to take a shower."

Kai pursed his lips and a teasing smile appeared. Luhan glared at him, "Kai...."

"Alright. I was just joking," Kai chuckled as he Luhan's chin. He then motioned towards the door and went out. "I'll see you in a bit..."

Kai popped up in Luhan's room where his brothers continued their petty quarrel. When Baekhyun noticed him, he stopped hitting D.O. "Oh. There's the latecomer."

They stopped for a moment, watching Kai leaned against the door, looking bored. Not long, they resumed their arguments, except for one. He continued watching Kai silently from a distance. When their eyes met, Kai stared at him with a composed face but a sharp eye contact. The other arched his eyebrows before smiling at him innocently. He then looked away while Kai fixed his eyes on him.

Luhan finished his preparations and soon enough he returned to his room and was ready to go to school. Chen suddenly peeked through the window and caught their attention. 

"Hi there. Have you seen Chanyeol?"

Luhan, who was stuffing his backpack stopped at the mention of his name. He remembered what happened last night. Usually, every morning, Chanyeol would arrive first or if not, together with the rest of his brothers. That morning, he was nowhere to be found.

Luhan turned to Chen worriedly and Kai immediately noticed his anxiety. "What's wrong, Luhannie?" he asked. "Did something happen?"

One by one, they all watched Luhan and anticipated his answer. 

"He was here last night," Luhan began. "We were just talking... about something."

"And then?" furthered Chen.

Luhan responded immediately, "Then he left."

Chen wasn't satisfied. He knows something's up. But he didn't want his brothers to worry; or become suspicious of what could have took place between Luhan and Chanyeol.

"I guess he went home," he uttered to put an end to the conversation before his brothers inquire even more.

Suho nodded, "Maybe our parents summoned him to do a special task."

They all agreed, except for Kai who was worriedly observing Luhan's subtle uneasiness and Chen who was listening to Luhan's fast heartbeat.

[Tao] Okaaay. Shall we go to school now?

[Baekhyun] Right. We don't want Luhan to be late. 

[D.O] *nods Let me help you with your bag, Luhan.

[Sehun] No. I'll carry it for him.

[Suho] *grabs the bag Let me take that.

[Sehun] Give it to me!

[Suho] I can handle this.

[Tao] Ey ey ey! I got it first.

Kris hovered around them and knocked their heads one by one. He then grabbed the bag and carried it with him. While they were busy, Chen approached Luhan. "I know something happened between you and Chanyeol, Luhannie. You can talk to me later about it if you want. I'm worried for him."

Luhan nodded. 

At the university~

Chanyeol found himself surrounded by students while he was lying alone on the bench at the school garden. He immediately sat up and rubbed his eyes. He remembered. After his conversation with Luhan, he went to the univrsity to cool off. He was feeling distraught for some reason. 

"You've never been in love?"

He felt his insides burning until a voice interrupted him.

"Chanyeol? What are you doing here early in the morning?"

When the cupid lifted his head, he saw a familiar face; Mei Lin.

"Oh....it's you," Chanyeol replied faintly. He rose to his feet and the flock of students returned to their own businesses, leaving Chanyeol and Mei Lin behind. "I-- I was sleeping.."

"Were you waiting for..Luhan?" she asked.

Luhan. Chanyeol sighed quietly upon hearing his name. "Ah-yes."

"I see," uttered Mei Lin. 

.....

Chanyeol watched her as she lowered her head and shuffled her feet. 

"Are you waiting for him, too?" asked Chanyeol who sat down and looked away. 

Mei Lin didn't answer. She just glanced at him and gulped. The wind brushed through her long and wavy hair as the silence filled them. She tucked a portion behind her ear while Chanyeol remained seated. They were  both looking at the opposite direction. It doesn't need further asking for Chanyeol to understand what she feels. She was patiently waiting for Luhan. But behind her innocent smiles, there's a painful feeling inside her. Longing. A familiar emotion. 

"I guess we're waiting for the same person," Chanyeol uttered. The words freely came out of his mouth like his own breath.

Author's note: Luhan just set Chanyeol's withered heart on fire. One realization after the other. *Sighs It's not healthy to keep killing what has been trying to grow inside your heart, Channie. It's inevitable.

P.S sorry if this is short. not feeling well today. T^T

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Thanks for reading.