EUNHA’S POV 

“Why is your sister so stubborn?” I glanced at Yewon who was beside me, sitting at the branch of a tree near the cliff where we watch over Sojung’s action towards the mortal named Sinb

Her eyes that was once dull and colorless were now radiantly sparkling and alive. The way she looked at the mortal was full of admiration and full of passion...

It was evident that she was indeed in love with the human and the more she falls, the more worse the outcome would be for the both of them

“Well, Cupid won’t be Cupid if her characteristics are different. That wouldn’t be Sojung anymore” She said as she project the information given to her by Kyung this morning.

It was also given to me and it was about us reporting the data we have gathered about Cupid’s progress for her mission, the locked file which she still has no clue about who are inside it.

“Can’t wait to see Kyung’s reaction towards his favorite disciple having no progress at all” 

“You know, if she’s here, she might have already smacked you for saying that” I jokingly said towards Umji who was now busy scrolling down through the pairs she had successfully matched.

The tips of formed a small curve upon hearing me and turned her head towards me then darted towards the mortal and Cupid who were sitting at the table at the almost edge of the cliff, watching the sunset “Can’t blame me. I’ve never seen my sister not accomplish something in just a short span of time”

I nodded my head slowly, agreeing on what she had said. Sojung as a Cupid had always finished her given mission in just a day or even just an hour if she was up in the mood to matchmake mortals then after she would immediately go to her room and rest

Watching Sowon stare so passionately towards the human reminds me of someone... Someone who also loved a mortal.

Someone who thought that it was a happy ending for them

Someone who thought that there was no such thing as forbidden love. That it was only something they say to stop mythical creatures fall towards the mortals

They thought that everything is going well until... until that unexpected thing happened

She didn’t know that the more the human love her, the more she slowly put the life of the mortal in danger—great danger...

It’s stupid that she thought that the rule of not falling in love was only a hoax and nothing but a lie because after all, all good things comes with consequences

I crossed my legs with my hands on top of my knee “If you were your sister, would you also choose to bond or fall to a human than solely focus on the given task?”

I could sense that as she hum, she was shaking her head in disagreement to my question “No, I won’t. I am a cupid like her so there’s no other thing for me to do with  humans than matchmake them”—She stared at her fidgeting hands—“It’s plainly stupid that you would risk your life or someone else’ life just for you to be happy and it’s plainly dumb to break the number one rule when you know that the consequences would be bad for you and the mortal that you love”

A faint smile crept upon me knowing that what she had said was definitely true. But to be honest, apart from what she had said... I somewhat disagree

“You know, I agree with you. But as they say, love can come from different form and it comes from the most unexpected place, unexpected time, and most unexpected person that you would never have imagined you would love” She scoffed and laughed a little by my reply making me turn my head to meet a smile that could melt anybody due to how cute it is

“You act like someone who have already fallen in love. By the way you responded, I mean”

“Can’t blame me. I’ve watched and read too much romantic movies and books” I chuckled at the end of my sentence, trying to hide the fact that I was worried—very worried towards Sojung’s future with the human

“If you’re acting like that because you’re afraid that my sister would end up like that grim reaper who fell for a human, don’t worry. My sister’s smarter than you think she is”

I just nodded in reply with a forced smile on my face. I wanted to believe what Yewon had said but a part of me is doubting that, because even the smartest beings can become the dumbest and most stupid ones when it comes to the game called love

“If you say so. If you say so... I’ll believe it because you’re her sister”

She was about to open until our watched beeped and gave us a notification telling that Kyung was calling for me and while hers notified that she had another pair to match

She was the one who got up from the branch, dusting off her skirt while floating in midair. She breathed deeply before bidding me her farewell

“Well. It appears that this is when we say goodbye. I have a couple to shoot at Canada”—She leaned closer and whispered—“Imported couple again”

“You always get the imported ones than Sojung” I said teasingly making her laugh as she flicker pink flames on her index finger

“Well, That is because I am more fluent in English and other foreign language than her. The only language she excels more than I do is Nihongo”

“So much bragging. Why do people call you innocent when you always drag your sister when she can’t hear nor see it” She shrugged and laughed it off

“And thats when the saying ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ enters” Then she darted off the air and completely vanished from my sight which I followed, but I went back to the mythical world than travel in another country

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I took a deep breath before raising my hand and knock on the door of Kyung’s office

“Come in” I heard Kyung’s deep voice answer, intimidating me. Afraid of what I should report to him. If I should lie and tell that Cupid is progressing very well on her task or tell him the truth that she had fallen for a mortal and had a complete zero progress on her task

But the latter part would be recommendable due to the fact that it would make Kyung aware of the worse thing that could happen to Sojung and that could lead for him and me to be able to help her from the crisis that could happen

I peaked at the door and saw him with his glasses and doing some paperworks. As soon as he felt that the door was opened, he stopped writing and dropped her pen along with his glasses and positioned himself

I bowed ninety degrees as my greeting and respectfully said “You have called me for a matter I presume?”

“Yes. And I assume that you already know why I have called for you”

I nodded in response as I clench my jaw at what might his orders be once I say Cupid’s progress. Hoping that he will send me down there in a form where mortals could also see me for me to be able to help her, completely. That is if she would let me help her.

“What’s Cupid’s progress down there?” The dominancy in his voice was inevitable. The saying about him being kind and outgoing always but can change once it is about a serious matter was indeed correct. Because I can feel his dark aura as a boss lurking around him. I could feel the room getting colder and the air getting thicker and thicker as time goes by.

“According to my observation and the data I have gathered, it seems like Cupid hasn’t done any progress on the given task”

“And why is that?”

I stared at him and kept quiet which made him raise his left eyebrow

“As Cupid’s guardian for this mission of hers, you should know every single details about what is happening on her and around her” His voice was definitely irritated by my silence and it definitely sounds like he’s getting angry and could erupt at any moment, specially if I keep quiet or decline that I know the reason so I had no other choice but to say it

“She’s in love with a mortal. That’s why”

“Since when?”

“Not quite sure about which date it was but I believe it has been a week since she had realize her feelings towards the mortal”

“Their current relationship?”

I took a deep breath trying to think what word suits their relationship the most because as I’ve observe at the cliff a while ago, the mortal’s feeling towards her cannot be read and too vague

“If you say it in a humanly manner, I guess their status would be ‘It’s too complicated’ but to be precise, It’s vague. The mortal’s feelings cannot be read as the last time I’ve checked upon her which was just a while ago before you have sent a notification that you are calling for me”

Kyung’s expression turned softer. more like he was now worried for Cupid’s sake. About what might happen to her or the human she’s in love with

There was a complete silence inside the room for a couple of minutes. Guessing that Kyung had been thinking on what he should do to be able to stop the coming crisis

The silence stopped when he leaned his back on the head of the office chair with her arms crossed in front of his chest

“What’s the name and information of the mortal?”

I raised my wrist and clicked my wristband to project the profile of the human “Name: Hwang Eunbi, Age: 18, Sinblings: None, she’s an orphan. She had lost her parent when she was eight—during her eight birthday from a car crash and she was the  only one who survived from it. She barely made it though. Her survival could be even called a miracle due to the fact that one out of ten could survive that fatal blow in a crash”

“Hwang Eunbi... what an odd name...”—He stood up from his seat and leaned in front of his wooden desk—“Could you show me a photo of her?”

I remained silent and just did what he ordered to avoid any arguments. I showed her a photo—the I.D. Photo of the mortal to be exact, and Kyung’s reacting was so vague that you might think that he knew the mortal which of course be impossible. He doesn’t leave the mythical world just to fool around the other realms

He gestured to me that I gust close it down and clicked his tongue right after I closed the program

“Okay. You’ve got a new task” I didn’t give out any word and just blinked as if I was just waiting for further instructions

“I want you to head down to the mortal world and watch over Cupid. Like literally watch her”

“By that... what do you mean? I’ll be visible to the humans?”

He removed his fingers in his chin and snapped it out loud with a bright and sadistic smile on his face “Exactly. You’ll be like Cupid whom mortals could see but”—He leaned away from the desk and started walking in circles and raised his index finger in midair—“Your mission is not to matchmake. It’s to watch over Cupid and do whatever it takes to stop her from further developing her feelings towards that human”—He stopped walking, stopped right in front of me with that expression that could make one nervous or have cold sweats—“And I want you to stop that mortal from getting near her”

“But what if I wasn’t able to separate them apart?” I asked anxiously making him sigh

“I will find a way to keep my niece safe”

“What way would that be?”

“Just wait and see”—He slid his fingertips at the edges of the desk and then dusted it off as he raised his hand—“I won’t let her destiny be like the grim reaper who had loved a mortal”

I suddenly felt myself shiver from fear as he mentioned the reaper who fell for a mortal. The story about them was all over the place but nobody knows what exactly happened to them, specially the reaper herself. Only the higher ups know the real punishment of the reaper was.

Some say that he was persecuted. Tortured to death. Sent to an unknown realm where lost souls are thrown. Some say that the reaper had chosen the date and time that she will die and how—and it was at the same exact time and date and how the mortal would like, like a joint death such as an accident or such

“H-W-What exactly happened to the reaper?” I hesitantly asked with my voice quivering. He turned his head towards me, with eyes sharp as knives

“She vanished as the rumor say”

“But why and how?”

“She chose to sacrifice herself in order to save the human that she love”

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Author’s Note: What do you think about Umji’s short appearance? And what does Kyung means by sacrifice? o.o