“I can’t believe you punched me,” Woohyun, now proven not a ghostly apparition and just an insane guy spouting nonsense, rubs his bruised cheek as he whines, “You can’t punch me, I’m a god. You’re lucky I’m a benevolent one, or I’d curse you to hell.”

A god. Right. Howon snorts and tries not to be affected by a pitiful looking pout that didn’t look godly at all. “You’re not supposed to be in here. This is trespassing.”

“But Howon-ssi,” Woohyun says, blinking stars in his eyes. “Where you are is where I’m supposed to be.”

Howon tells himself that his heart was not beating faster because of a few words coming from some creep. Realizing that he wasn’t getting closer to settling anything, he carefully reaches over and fists Woohyun’s collar, pressing his back to the wall. Not too harshly, but the threat was there. “How do you know my name? Who are you?”

If Woohyun was intimidated, he didn’t show it. In the close proximity, he lightly pokes at Howon’s chest, the left side where he could probably hear his heart race as his finger rested there. “I’m the god of hearts. Since you called me, we have a contract now.”

Woohyun’s smile is too dangerous, too sharp.

“I will find you love.”
 

/////
 

After all was said and done, nothing changed immediately. Woohyun backs away and lets him do his job, but he doesn’t fully go away, either. He was clearly trespassing on school property, but Howon didn’t want to involve the police and have to go down to the station and make statements and get his boss involved. Woohyun didn’t look very destructive, so long as he didn’t vandalize any more walls he would let him prop himself on a desk and watch him wipe down the tables.

Actually, why was he just watching him? Howon had a better idea. He tosses over another rag. “If you’re going to sit there, make yourself useful,” he challenges, and secretly enjoys the way Woohyun’s eyebrows furrow before he slides off the desk and grudgingly helps him.

“I’m a god,” he hears him mutter as he wipes away chalk dust from the boards with a slight frown on his face.

“Thank god,” Howon lightly quips, and dodges the rag thrown back at his face.

They spend three hours cleaning, the pace slightly expedited with the extra pair of hands. Woohyun didn’t do much, but it was… nice? Howon was used to spending his shifts in complete silence save for his own breaths and the extra presence after he’d essentially isolated himself was reassuring. It helped that the guy didn’t know him from before. He was weird but seemed harmless enough, and although he grumbled a lot, he didn’t look like he meant much of it.

He didn’t say anymore of his cupid bull either as he helped refill Howon’s mop bucket and bought him a bottle of water from the vending machine.

Of course, after they were done and locking up Woohyun went right back to it. “So, now that the god of hearts is by your side, what’s your dream location for meeting the love of your life? We should get right to it. Love doesn’t wait for people!”

Woohyun is tight on Howon’s heels as he latter stalks off.

“Can you not follow me. I’m going home,” he says without looking backwards. The self proclaimed cupid was still following him a block later.

“I can’t do that,” Woohyun’s voice floats from beside his ear. “You called my hotline so we have a contract.”

Howon stops and turns around with a glare. “You’re the one who wouldn’t stop drawing on my walls which I still have to clean. Just forget about it and bother someone else.”

“Hey, business was slow! But now we have a contract, and I can’t leave you until I find you love.”

Howon snorts. “If you don’t stop following me, I’ll call the cops,” he threatens again.

He can’t shake off the feeling of disappointment when Woohyun actually pulls away. He knows it’s contradicting; he definitely doesn’t want a stranger he met in the freaking janitor’s room following him home, but he’d thought the other man would’ve put up more of a resistance. He had stuck with him for hours and after all that nonsense about being a god of hearts or whatever, he was going to leave Howon alone so easily?

Don’t be dumb, Howon tells himself. Of course he’s going to leave. Howon was such a bland person, with a sarcastic lilt and blunt edge to his words. His resting face was cold and so were his manners. No matter how they met, Woohyun was probably older than him and helped him with his job, but Howon addressed him casually and he couldn’t blame the other man for being fed up. There was nothing special about him that could pique someone’s interest, god or not, wasn’t that why he hadn’t been chosen in the end? All he had were some above-average dance skills, easily overshadowed by the next kid who not only was a good dancer but had an friendly, charming personality and contagious laugh and a better raw singing voice to boot. A triple threat, they called them. INFINITE hadn’t needed two of them.

When Howon looks up again, Woohyun is already nowhere to be seen.

If his fists are shaking, balled up in his pockets, he attributes it to the cold seeping in from the hems.
 

/////

The first thing Howon does when he gets home is take a shower.

The steady stream of hot water clears away his doubts as much as it can--it’s trying, and so is he.

He’s already beginning to doubt the events that occurred earlier. He’d... called a number on his cell phone and a blonde man--the blonde was a bad dye job that didn’t suit his bronzed skin, by the way--had materialized out of nowhere? Did he really wipe down the cafeteria tables with said blondie and spend his shift with him, and almost bring him home?

It was surreal. It was far more probable that Howon, in his ually deprived state, had imagined someone out of his dreams. The man had been attractive. Howon had long since accepted that he was gay, and as a trainee he’d seen a lot of sweaty and half guys (and some fully, to be honest).  He had been thinking of the conversation on the bathroom wall too much, somewhat wanting to meet the one behind it. Woohyun, the name Howon had merely thought up, had felt so real. And yet...

As he shakes his head to get the water out of his ears, he thinks he smells a wisp of something. It smells good. He lived on ramen and cheap takeout and he’d almost forgotten how good food could smell. Great, now he was hallucinating food too?

He ties a towel around his waist and steps out of the bathroom, finding his body following the beckoning smell. Luckily he had tied his towel well or he would have dropped it the minute he looked to the kitchenette.

His first reaction was that a burglar had somehow gotten in--and he was about to reach for his desklamp as a weapon, but a burglar would find nothing of value in his dorm and certainly not at the stove, and Howon recognizes that shock of hair, the slim build.

The crazy man claiming to be cupid was in his apartment. Howon takes a second to close his mouth as he stares at the scene. There are bags from the local mart on the cracked counter by the sink and Woohyun had put on his apron as he stirred whatever was in the pot on the stove. Now he was positive he is hallucinating again, and that was a very worrying thought.

Just as he is about to say something to break the magic, Woohyun seems to sense him and looks away from the stove to beam at him.

“I bought you groceries! I dropped by earlier but you had nothing in your fridge except some expired milk. Don’t live by yourself if you can’t handle it, I don’t get youngsters these days. Always trying to move out prematurely when you’ve got a nice bed and warm meals at home. Meals prepared by your mother are full of love! I’ll make you remember them,” Woohyun says this all in a rush, and turns back to stir the pot.

Howon walks up to him and yanks him by the shoulder, ignoring the inkling of guilt when he may have gripped it a bit too harshly. “Yah, get out.”

Woohyun doesn’t try to struggle out of his hold. Rather, he calmly reaches to turn the stove off, and then steadily meets Howon’s gaze. Howon is momentarily thrown off by the depth in those eyes, just before they disappear into a crinkled smile.

“Okay, okay, I’ll leave! After you eat. It’s good, I swear.”

It did smell good.

"It's a galbitang made with love."

Howon must have made a face; Woohyun is somehow laughing at him. Howon doesn’t understand how the man could find him amusing when he had practically manhandled him seconds before. “Come on, set the table. I’ll bring this over after I add my secret finishing touches.”

Well, Howon doesn’t think the self proclaimed cupid will poison him. There are easier ways to kill him cooking him food in his apartment. So he lays out two sets of dinnerware begrudgingly; he only had two to begin with, at least cupids didn’t come in twos.

The broth is simmering when Woohyun brings it over. It smells really good. “Are you sure you’re not a food god?” slips out of Howon’s mouth before he can stop it.

Woohyun’s answering smile distracts Howon from digging in at once. And when he does, and gives Woohyun a compliment, he’s rewarded with a smile all the more blinding.

Soon, he’s finishing up the last of the soup.

"It's quiet in here. Let's play some romantic songs."

Howon doesn't know how Woohyun got hold of his music player but it is suddenly in his hands.

"Cheh, it's all hip hop and R&B. Oh, hey, I like this song too."

Howon bites down the sudden urge to throw up. There’s the faintest sting as blood breaks past the barrier of his lips but his heart is pounding too loud for him to notice.

“Turn it off.”

“Eh, but I want to dance~”

“I said TURN IT OFF!”

His vision goes red as the walls close in on him. Howon barely registers plucking the mp3 out of Woohyun’s fingers and flinging it across the room.

It becomes silent after that.
 

/////

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"You're a god, right? You already know."

Woohyun doesn't deny it, but he doesn't back down either. "Tell me." His voice softens as he advances and slowly wraps an arm around Howon's tense shoulders. "You'd feel better if you told someone. Vent to me."

Howon swallows. He lets a feeling of calmness wash over him, anger having drained the rest of his emotions away, and slowly shakes his head.

“Why… are you doing this?”

Woohyun gives him the most earnest answer he can. “To love someone, you have to learn to love yourself first.”

Drawn by the sincerity of those eyes, Howon takes his first step.

/////