Jinho had always found comfort in books even if he wasn’t an avid reader. It was probably why he was happily at a local bookstore on the weekend, on the hunt for novels he needed for classes. The bookstore wasn’t a particularly stunning place but it had a warm and welcoming atmosphere like an old memory. There were only two other people inside in a far corner looking at something together. As he searched through the different sections, Jinho noticed he was surrounded at the tall wooden bookshelves and gulped, hoping he wouldn’t find what he needed up on the top shelf. But of course he did. Damn it.

Jinho cautiously looked around to make sure no one was watching and this time, instead of getting on his toes, he even tried jumping a little. He knew it wasn’t going to work but he was stubborn enough to try. He immediately backed down when he heard animated chuckling nearby. To his surprise, it came from Hongseok who was leaning on his side against the bookshelf with his arms crossed.
“Why are you always trying to get books that are too high up?” He said, filled with amusement.
“Oh hey...Hongseok…” It really wasn’t that unusual to bump into someone from school in a neighbourhood bookstore but it was still too sudden for Jinho. He shuffled aside for Hongseok who walked forward and reached out to grab the book with ease. Hongseok raised a brow at Jinho when he saw the cover.
“It’s the book we’re studying?” Hongseok said, seemingly surprised.
“Yeah, it is. I wanted my own copy...” Jinho’s voice drifted off, watching with confusion as Hongseok put the book back onto the shelf.
“Mmm, wait here.” Hongseok was about to walk away when he turned back whilst chuckling and added, “Actually, the animal section is in the next aisle since you seem to have an interest in that sort of stuff.” Jinho glared at him, not appreciating the mockery and decided to stay put. He heard Hongseok make his way upstairs and it was not long before he came back down, this time with a book in his hand.
“Here, you can have my spare copy.”
“Are you sure?” Jinho looked at the book, thinking there must have been a catch, “I can pay you for it.”
Hongseok shook his head with a big grin on his smile, “I’m sure, don’t worry about it.”
It took Jinho by surprise when Hongseok started ruffling his hair up and he was about to thank him when a lady called out for Hongseok. The tall boy gave Jinho the book and hurried over to the front, “Coming!”
“Where were you? Why are you not looking after the store?” The lady scolded him but with a tone of endearment.
“Sorry mum, I was with a friend.” Hongseok chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. His mum looked over to Jinho who had shyly poked his head out from the aisles whilst hugging the book in his arms. Unsure of the social norms for greeting the parents of others, Jinho awkwardly bowed to greet the tall beautiful lady.
“Oh, why didn’t you say so?” The lady whispered to her son and then warmly smiled at Jinho who did a second bout of bowing without saying a word.
“Awfully shy, isn’t he?” Hongseok’s mum giggled and then continued on, “Anyway, can you go to the market for me? I realised I forgot a few things this morning.” She handed a small piece of paper over to Hongseok who was already taking off his half-body apron. Before he could get a word in, his mum immediately left to greet other customers.
“Sorry about that. Were you going to head somewhere after this?” Hongseok asked as he shoved his apron into a drawer behind the counter.
Jinho shook his head, “No, just home I guess.”
“Oh okay, mmm,” Hongseok paused as if to contemplate over what he was about to say, “do you want to go to the market with me? I don’t like going by myself. It’s too boring.” Hongseok chuckled, certain that Jinho was going to decline. Jinho blankly blinked at Hongseok, not sure how he should process the invitation. Everything seemed to be going too well according to Jinho. Making friends wasn’t meant to be this easy.
“Sure. It sounds like fun.” Jinho responded with his eyes lit up. He did genuinely think it sounded fun because he had never been to the market before but Hongseok was left wondering if the response was sarcastic or not.

The market was only a short walk down the street from where they were and it was crazily busy as usual. It was sensory overload for a Cupid who was used to roaming the peaceful and spacious skies. There were people hustling and bustling about, children running around and filling the place up with their laughter, storekeepers shouting over each other and the occasional stray dog running past. Overwhelmed, Jinho closely trailed behind Hongseok, worried he might get himself separated from the human but he didn’t want to make it too obvious that he was nervous as well. Hongseok tried his best to keep a conversation going by asking Jinho about himself but the poor Cupid had only been a human for a week. There was only so much he could make up on the spot about his non-existent human past.
Why did you move schools? Parents had to relocate because of their jobs.
Do you have any siblings? Only child.
Do you have any pets? No.
Since he was feeling bad for giving such lackluster answers, Jinho took the opportunity to find out more about his classmate. It turned out the bookstore belonged to Hongseok’s parents and he liked to help them after school and on the weekend. He was the eldest child with a younger brother and sister and also had a pet dog. Another thing that Jinho found fascinating about Hongseok was how often he liked to make bad jokes and puns. It was the complete opposite of what you would expect from someone who looked so mature and manly.

They stopped by a vegetable stall where they were greeted by chatty old ladies. Jinho watched from the side as they raved on amongst themselves about how handsome Hongseok was and how he would make the perfect son-in-law. Even though he was joking and laughing along with them, you could tell he was getting embarrassed from the slight redness in his ears. Well, he is a very handsome human. A small smile made its way across Jinho’s face but it quickly disappeared as soon as Hongseok turned around to face him.
“One more stop and we’re done.” He beamed, holding up the bags of vegetables in his hand like they were trophies.