XI. The Meddlesome
The Cupid TragedyLaying on his back, Jinho watched the clouds floating along in the clear blue skies from the rooftop. There was a lot on his mind, especially after the 'date' on the weekend. Hongseok had walked him home after they finished up at the cafe and then left shortly after giving him the box of cupcakes they made together. Jinho had stressed over what could potentially happen at the end of the date, fearing Hongseok would confidently go in for a kiss of some sort. Jinho had mentally prepared himself to knock Hongseok out with his powers and drag Hongseok's body up to his apartment to deal with the next morning if that were to happen. But he had worried over nothing. Hongseok seemed more concerned about assuring Jinho that he would keep his word not to say anything to Kino. He wanted to make it clear that he didn't have any malicious intention and just genuinely wanted to get to know Jinho better. For what reason, Jinho was still unsure. However, it was their conversation about Kino that had been bothering Jinho the most. Up until that point, he hadn't really considered whatever he felt for Kino as 'love' but hearing it come from another person was oddly confronting. Then again, if it wasn't love, what else could it be? Jinho closed his eyes, hoping to find some peace since his mind was in turmoil.
"Jinho! Good afternoon!"
The corner of Jinho's eye twitched at the sweet familiar voice and he reluctantly opened them to meet the person standing over him, blocking out the sun. An angel? Jinho abruptly sat up and slowly scuffled backwards.
"Kino?" He rubbed his eyes with his small hand and still saw Kino standing in front of him with a blinding smile. Am I thinking about him too much to the point that I'm imagining things?
"What are you doing up here on the rooftop?" Kino asked after squatting down to get closer to Jinho. The cupid gulped, feeling his eyes getting strained from staring at Kino with too much intensity. It wasn't his imagination, it was the real deal. He also couldn't help but admire how beautifully Kino suited the backdrop of clear light blue skies and fluffy clouds like a scene out of a picture book.
"I usually come up here to clear my head..." Jinho smiled unnaturally, "What about you?"
"I was looking for you and this was the only place I hadn't checked." Kino giggled with a soft blush coming across this cheeks all of a sudden as he crawled inwards on his knees, almost on top of Jinho who was still stupidly staring at the cute boy. Jinho froze up, unable to comprehend what was happening. His mind was starting to go blank, his palms sweaty. What is he doing!?
"Oh..." Jinho really couldn't muster up any actual words, let alone form a sentence.
"I'm really glad I found you." Kino moved dangerously closer until their faces met and Jinho was pinned to the ground, "To be honest, I have something I wanted to tell you..." The soft-looking boy averted his gaze and seductively bit his bottom lip. Jinho's pupils shook erratically, stuck between the temptation to keep staring and looking away. When all seemed lost, a slight sly smirk on Kino's face was enough to snap Jinho out of his trance. Sensing something was off, Jinho slapped Kino across the face and the boy fell to the side onto the ground. As the cupid had suspected, Kino's image faltered and soon disappeared completely, revealing none other than Seonho.
"Damn it, I thought I had you!" Seonho stupidly grinned, quite proud of the result of his shape-shifting. It was considered an especially hard skill for cupids to master so most preferred to refine other talents and have subpar shape-shifting skills. So it was surprising for Jinho to see Seonho, who he had deemed a rather dim-witted cupid upon their first meeting, demonstrate such a high level skill with scary accuracy. He could only imagine what powerful potential Seonho would have once he mastered replicating soft details such as personalities and mannerisms. It was now clear why he was actually chosen to be Eunkwang's secretary. Jinho tried to remain calm and stood up to dust off the dirt on his pants, "I may be stuck in a human body but I'm not an idiot." There was no way he would admit he was even briefly fooled by Seonho. Jinho had unfortunately witnessed something he should never have - the lustful look in Kino's eyes. He took a deep shaky breath to slow down his racing heart. This is bad...I have to compose myself.
"I had to try." Seonho bounced up onto his feet, "Sooooo? You know what I'm thinking, right? It's a great idea, riiiight?"
"What's a great idea?"
"Come on! You know what I'm talking about!" Seonho shape-shifted into Wooseok and towered over Jinho, "I can simply pretend to be one of them and then confess to the other person!" Seonho beamed with a twinkle in his eyes, "It's the perfect plan!" Jinho looked up at Seonho, silently in awe with the transformation which was accurate down to Wooseok's deep voice.
Jinho crossed his arms and tried to lecture Seonho on why his plan was far from perfect (only after he got him to sit down because his neck was starting to hurt from looking up so much). In theory, it was the 'perfect' plan in most cupid cases. However, in practice, it was a flawed plan which really showed Seonho's inexperience as a field cupid. If all cupids could just shape-shift and confess to their subject's targets, their job would be, quite frankly, too easy to warrant having a whole sector of the Heavens dedicate the service to humans. For cases to be considered truly resolved by the Association, declarations of love had to be genuine with the intention of longevity, otherwise, the case would remain open in the system. Shape-shifting to simply confess had more often than not only lead to bigger problems.
"I strongly advise you stop with your meddling here on Earth before you make things even more complicated than they already are. Don't worry about us and return to Eunkwang's side." Jinho's words struck through Seonho's enthusiasm like a hammer to glass. Before closing the door behind him to go back into the building, Jinho turned back and warned Seonho, "I better not see you around here after today or else I'll make you regret ever coming to Earth."
~
Hui scanned his surroundings for signs of other people but could only see various flowers and plants in the garden beds. This looks like a good place to nap...The only sounds of people talking seemed to come from the other side of the main building which was considerable far. Hui had made his way to the small secluded greenhouse after his nap was disturbed by Seonho who had had the audacity to shape-shift into Yan An and try to make a move on him. At least now, he was aware of the young cupid's dangerous skill. He only truly sensed somethi
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