Two days have already passed since Kibum’s appearance in front of Jonghyun and he’s almost used to Kibum’s antic’s—almost. Just the other night he was shocked when the blonde took off his clothes with a single snap. He didn’t know whether to look away or blabber on in horror. Kibum told him to shut-up and set up an online dating account. Jonghyun didn’t do online dating—“Why can’t you understand?! I’m fine when it comes to dating, but falling in love is an entirely different trope to learn.” He had snapped and Kibum, with a towel wrapped around his waist, reached over—still smelling of chocolates and roses—hit the backside of Jonghyun’s head. Currently they were walking through the café doors in which Jonghyun worked. A few other employees greet them with warm smiles, their eyes focusing on Kibum with gossiping curiosity. Kibum wasn’t dressed in his blood red suit, instead he wore ripped jeans and a simple white tee, over his head was a cap with the words CALM DOWN in bold white letters. “I play over there.” Jonghyun points to a small stage set-up front. “Nice, do you get nervous?”

“Who doesn’t.” he replies, hoisting his guitar bag up and walking towards the stage. There were a few people clustered around tables, some, Jonghyun recognized as regulars. Kibum smiles to them as he passes, taking note of the faint voice he could hear. “He’s cute.” It said and Kibum’s eyes widened when he realized that the comment was directed at Jonghyun and that the voice was male. Jackpot. Jonghyun sits in the little chair set up on the stage and places his guitar on his lap. He adjusts the mic and clears his throat. “Welcome to Always Bright Café, I hope you enjoy your time and the music.” His voice is mellow and smooth, the people clap. And he clears his throat again before hooking the guitar under his left arm and tuning the strings until they produced the sound he wanted. Kibum steps aside, watching Jonghyun with steady eyes, waiting to hear his music. He wondered if Jonghyun was going to sing a romantic song, but that thought was quickly swept away by the dulcet sound and continuous pluck of the guitar strings. The chatter in the café quickly dies down and everyone becomes enraptured by Jonghyun’s guitar playing. He produces a sound that is both refreshing and sensual. The tune brings up a memory in Kibums mind with his previous subject (the one he had loved); they were skinny-dipping in the Han river, the air chilly as the sun went to set behind the horizon. He remembered how they had got in trouble, but laughed it off, their bodies shivering in the cold. Kibum’s eyes glaze over and Jonghyun looks up to judge his reaction. His expression falls when he notices the dazed way in which Kibum was staring.

He changes the rhythm to something more rushed and bitter; the sudden shift in melody catches the customers off guard and they stare at Jonghyun perplexedly. Kibum snaps out of his daze and looks to Jonghyun confused. Gradually Jonghyun plucks the strings tenderly and the tune changes back to its original composition. After about three more song, Jonghyun stands up and excuses himself for a 30-minute break. Kibum takes a few napkins from the counter and dabs at Jonghyun’s face even though there was no sweat. “Nice work, as your manager I’ve already scheduled your next gig.” He jokes, but Jonghyun doesn’t laugh. “What were you thinking about?” he asks, his brown eyes gleaming sternly. “How well your playing was, you’re really good at changing rhythm suddenly like that.” Jonghyun grips Kibum’s wrist and pulls him close. “Stop playing, Kibum, it looked like your soul had drifted out of your body.” His tone had changed now, he sounded worried. “Does being on earth too long effect your health?”

“Huh? Oh no, not at all.” Kibum pry’s his wrist out of Jonghyun’s grip and steps back. “I just thought about something…”

“What?”

“Nothing of your concern.” Jonghyun was becoming pissed. “If you know my everything, why can’t I know yours?” He tries not to raise his voice, not wanting to cause a disturbance while at work. “It doesn’t work like that.” He replies and Jonghyun rolls his eyes. “This isn’t a drama you see on TV; you can tell me what’s on your mind without the worry of me backstabbing you or something like that.” Kibum smiles slightly, not knowing why he found humor in the way Jonghyun said “something like that.”

“Fine then, we’ll talk and I’ll tell you all you want to know.” Jonghyun’s eyes light up hopefully. “Seriously?”

“Yes.” Kibum nods, flashing a quick smile to reassure him. After ordering an iced tea, they make their way to a table located at the back of the café. Kibum sips his tea, savoring the flavor and the heat in his throat. His lips smack free and he stares at Jonghyun. “So…what do you want to know?” His hands fold around his cup and he holds onto it as though he were holding onto a prized possession. Jonghyun clears his throat and shrugs. “Anything.”

“So whatever crosses my mind?” Jonghyun snaps his fingers and nods. “Yes.”

“Well,” Kibum leans back, crossing his legs and looking out of the window. “If a cupid falls in love with a human, it’s like an endless unrequited love.” He says softly, Jonghyun stares at his lips as he speaks. “We can never be with them…”

“Why?” the question slips past his lips, Kibum turns to face him and says simply. “Our job is to help them fall in love, not to fall in love with them.”

“What’s so bad about that?” Kibum sighs seeming to regret telling Jonghyun any of this. “A cupids halo is a source of their life—yes we have a heart—but the halo is our soul of sorts.” He takes another sip of his tea, it was still hot. “If our halo fades, so does our life; loving a human is a slow death because such a love will never be returned.” His expression had turned grave. “The human I loved…I came close to dying for him.” Jonghyun struggles to keep his expression blank. “What was his name?” Jonghyun asks in a quiet voice. Kibum meets his gaze and says softly. “Haeil.” Jonghyun could hear the heartache in his voice. And a flicker of pain crosses over his features as though he had remembered all the bad things that happened in his life.  “Oh my god, stop worrying about me and worry about yourself.” Kibum snaps suddenly, rising up from his seat and walking away. Jonghyun stares after him, his mouth agape. After swallowing what felt like a dry pill, he gets up from his seat and rushes towards Kibum. He grips his arm and yanks him back. People were looking at them, the guy who had called Jonghyun cute had his eyebrows furrowed trying to discern what was going on. If Jonghyun did something stupid it would ruin his chance of getting together with that guy. Kibum glares at him and leans over to whisper. “There’s a guy over there who’s interested in you.”

“So?”

“Talk to him.”

“I don’t want to, I want to talk to you.” Jonghyun stresses the word you, by sliding his hand down to meet Kibum’s. Kibum’s eyes widen. “Jonghyun,”

“Kibum, just talk to me.” He was begging now, his brown eyes glimmering desperately. “I at least want to be a good friend to my cupid.” He says sweetly, his cheeks flushing slightly. Kibum’s heart stirs and he slowly slides his hand out of Jonghyuns, placing it awkwardly at his side. “Fine, later…”

“Okay.” Jonghyun doesn’t press on for anything more, instead he walks towards the guy that was checking him out and they exchange numbers. Kibum flashes him a thumbs up, Jonghyun rolls his eyes.

A few hours later…

Kibum was waiting out front for Jonghyun who was saying his goodbyes to his manager and employees and to the guy whose number he now has. “Tomorrow is your off day.” Jonghyun’s eyes widen as he slings his guitar over his shoulder. “Really?”

“Yes, you’ve been working hard, you deserve a break and besides,” the manager leans towards him. “I think your boyfriend would like it if you took sometime off.” His eyes flick over towards Kibum who was waiting outside and Jonghyun chokes on his laughter. “Kibum? He’s just a friend.”

“Oh? Really?” Jonghyun nods, ignoring the new found look of hope in his managers eyes. “Yeah, we met a few days ago.”

“He seems interesting.”

“He is.” Jonghyun shifts on the heels of his feet. “He’s a bit taller than you.” His manager comments and Jonghyun glares. “I know that.”

“But there’s a beauty about him.” Jonghyun looks to his manager skeptically. “What beauty do you see?” He asks sharply, glancing back at Kibum. “You don’t see it?”

“No….” his manager laughs. “Then I may just have to steal him.” He slugs Jonghyun in his stomach and he laughs nervously before bowing and going out to meet Kibum. He was standing with a hand to his hip, his chin tilted up confidently. “Kibum.” He looks back and flashes Jonghyun a half grin that read: took ya long enough. It’s not that Jonghyun didn’t see his beauty—“Should we go get something to eat? I think we should, I’ll pay.” Kibum says in one breath—it’s just that he ignored it because he couldn’t fall for his own cupid. “Dining out is cool with me if you’re paying.” Jonghyun replies, Kibum beams. “When we get home, you should play me something else.”

“Look at you, talking all comfortably to the person you’re freeloading off of.” Jonghyun jokes, Kibum looks to him from the corner of his eyes and says sheepishly. “Sorry about that, I’ll be leaving in a few days.”

“At the end of this week right?” Kibum nods, Jonghyun goes quiet, his feet suddenly feeling heavy. “You can’t stay…?” he asks meekly and Kibum laughs lightly. “Your expression is cute,” Kibum says, the look in his eyes changing. “But I don’t want to impede on your relations.”

“You’re a cupid. That’s your job, Kibum.” Jonghyun reminds him, walking ahead. “True…” Kibum murmurs and then he remembers. “Sooo, what’s his name?” He asks with an eyebrow wiggle, Jonghyun looks over his shoulder. “Jooyoung.”

“He had this rocker vibe.” Kibum says approvingly. “If you weren’t my subject, I probably would have hit on him.” He continues and Jonghyun’s eyebrow shoots up. “Is that your type?” Jonghyun asks and Kibum catches up to him. “Something like that.”

“So if I changed my acoustic guitar to something electric, would I become your type?” Kibum’s eyes loll to the side as he thought about it and then he exclaims. “Will you wear eyeliner?”

“What the hell does eyeliner have to do with anything?”

“It creates a dark, moody look.”

“I’m moody as it is already.” Jonghyun says and Kibum laughs loudly, the bright and obnoxious sound bouncing down the empty street. Jonghyun looks towards Kibum and he thought that it would be alright if Kibum watched over him for the rest of his life. Kibum’s almond eyes flit over to Jonghyun and he points to a restaurant across the street. “Lets eat there.” Jonghyun follows his gaze and he gasps. “Do you have the money to eat there?” Kibum scoffs. “What do you take me for?”

“A stupid cupid.”

“I’ve worked all my life saving up for the day I’d come to earth.” Kibum continues on, ignoring Jonghyuns snide comment. Seeing that he was being ignored, Jonghyun laughs quietly to himself before walking across the street, the weight of his guitar pressing against his back, like a back-hug from a faraway lover. Kibum was still going on about how he had more than enough money and that they should go shopping later and he would help Jonghyun buy some new clothes. Jonghyun found the sound of his voice comforting and tilting his head up to the sky he tells Kibum “to keep talking”. So—not understanding why—Kibum continues talking. He talked about how annoying it was to wash his wings and how the color red wasn’t the best color and he preferred pink. He talked about that one time during highschool when Jonghyun made a fool of himself by confessing to the wrong girl. “I saw her back, okay, all backsides look the same.” He had defended and Kibum shook his head with shame. He talked about Haeil a bit more; about the color of his eyes and the husky low tenor of his voice and Jonghyun found the lost-in-love look of Kibum’s eyes pretty, yet it annoyed him. Kibum held the door open for Jonghyun, before following behind him. Once inside, they found a seat and talked a bit more before ordering. When the food came Jonghyun was tempted to reach over and kiss the sauce from Kibum’s lips. Maybe all these ual thoughts was because of his abstinence from and Kibum’s attractiveness, so the need for it was growing again. But he would ignore it, he wouldn’t use Kibum for his release like that.

Kibum takes his time eating, savoring each flavor and texture, in awe of human food. He didn’t notice Jonghyun staring at him with his arms crossed over his chest and his lips drawn together in an amused smile. He only noticed when Jonghyun spoke up and said. “You must have been hungry.” Kibum swallows and blinks, embarrassed that he had been seen eating so ravenously. “Just a little.” Jonghyun chuckles and the chuckle made Kibum feel even shyer, as though Jonghyun knew what he was thinking. “I haven’t had human food since Haeil.”

“What do cupids eat anyways?”

“Love.” Jonghyun blinks, but he doesn’t ask any further.

<3

They stumble through the apartment; Kibum had, had a few drinks. Jonghyun was holding him up by his waist, the strong scent of alcohol stinging his nose. “You…idiot.” He huffs, draping Kibum over the couch and taking off the cap he had on his head. His forehead was glistening with sweat. “Guess cupid’s can’t hold their alcohol well.” He was slightly amused by the thought; with Kibum’s hat in his hand he tosses it on the table and glances back at the blonde. His lips were parted in a sigh and his left arm was hanging off the couch while his right was placed on his stomach. Jonghyun’s gaze slowly descends across Kibum’s body, taking in the sweat on his neck and the dip of his collarbones. An emotion he once thought distant stirs in his heart and he takes a step closer to Kibum’s half-sleeping figure. The blonde stirs slightly, his lips trembling. Jonghyun hunches over him wondering how a cupid like him could become so vulnerable after three drinks. He leans down towards Kibum’s face and stares at his closed eyes. They were lovely eyes and he thought about how Haeil looked into these eyes and what did he see. Jonghyun brings a hand forward and just as gently as he the strings on his guitar, he caresses the moist skin of Kibum’s cheek, his thumb dragging down to touch his bottom lip. He’s only my cupid. These feelings are because I haven’t—“Mmm,” Kibum sighs, his head drooping to the side and revealing the sensual length of his neck. “Damn it.” Jonghyun yanks his hand away and turns his back to Kibum’s figure. He ignores the odd feeling in his heart and hurries to shower. He’d have to hurry and develop some sort of feelings for the guy he met today…for Kibum’s sake at least. He wasn’t good with love, but he’d learn to adapt for his annoyingly cute cupid.