D-91

 

“Starting today, you will be living as a human, and your name will be Park Jaehyung.” 

 

The sound of the gavel hitting the hardwood is the last thing he hears before the whiteness around him swallows him. One moment he’s falling into a limitless void, and the second he jolts awake in a hospital bed. He still has a needle buried in his skin, injecting some liquid in his body, drop by drop. He tries to sit up, but as soon as he tries to lift his upper body a piercing pain goes through his head. 

 

‘!’ He innerly swears, ‘Does this mean that what the old man said is true??’ 

 

With his panicking thoughts getting wilder and wilder, and reality slapping him right in the face, he lets out a devastated cry, “How can this happen to me!!” He yowls, covering his face with his hands, “What am I going to do now??” 

 

In the midst of his mental breakdown, the door opens and someone enters. He doesn’t realize he’s no longer alone until he hears the familiar voice.

 

“Are you okay?” 

 

He peeks through his fingers to see the newcomer. It’s him.

 

With his index pointed accusingly in the face of the guy, he yells, “It’s all your fault!” 

 

This dude is the reason why our protagonist is laying in a hospital bed, why he had to face trial. He’s the reason why Cupid J159 is now Park Jaehyung. 

 

But you can be the better judge, so let’s go a little bit back in time. 

 

 

 

D-91

 

Flying at dawn is exceptionally enjoyable for Cupid J159.  

 

The dark night sky recedes as the first rays of sun creeps up the horizon, and a thick layer of fog descends over the still city. With only the tops of skyscrapers in sight, it practically feels like flying above the clouds. And then, slowly, the fog disperses as the sun rises higher, and the city is alive. It’s time for work again, for both humans and cupids.

 

Cupid J159 scans the city with his eyes, then with a smirk, decides where he needs to be for now. Gracefully, he lands on the rooftop of a bakery, his wings slowly folding back against his back. He sits on the edge, legs dangling.

 

“Okay, let’s see what we have here today,” he singsongs, analyzing the overall atmosphere. 

 

The street is crowded for such an early hour, humans are rushing to get their fuel to start the day. The cupid society, AKA Cupid J159 and his curious friends, would give anything to know what’s so special about that muddy, dark drink humans can’t function without. He watches them enter coffee shops with dark auras dancing around them, but then, as soon as they sip out of that magical cup, poof, the dark cloud dissipates and is replaced with a calmer, clearer aura. 

 

He gets his bow and arrow ready, in case he sees something interesting. Two people bump against each other. Shoot. A guy holds the door for a woman. Shoot. A group of colleagues heading to work together. Shoot. Shoot. A love triangle. Someone waiting for the light to turn green, watching a student cross the road. Shoot. 

 

Sometimes it’s unavoidable, sometimes it’s cliché, sometimes it’s random, sometimes it’s just for fun. He does it for all kind of reasons, not giving two s about the consequences. If he feels like igniting that love sparkle in someone, he does just that. The aftermath is for humans to take care of. His job is to keep emotions in that mortal world, no strings attached. Well, at least for him. 

 

Cupid J159 quickly gets bored and flies to another street, and another, and another. Sometimes he gets into buildings, schools and companies and the likes, or houses, it doesn’t really matter. He’s got the ability to walk through doors and walls for a reason, and he uses it very well. Eventually, when he thinks he’s done enough good and caused enough trouble, he goes to his favorite street. 

 

“And I was wondering how come you’re not here yet!” His coworker, Cupid 100, exclaims as soon as he lands besides her in the middle of the busy intersection. 

 

“Is he here yet?” He asks, looking into a certain direction. 

 

“No, not yet.”  

 

Cupid J159 gives her a suspicious look, “Why are you here anyways?”

 

Cupid 100 sighs heavily. She raises the arrow in her hand to show it to him. 

 

“I stupidly thought it would be a good idea to grace someone with a chance at true love in this lovely morning,” her sarcasm does not hide her burdened expression.

 

The arrow in Cupid 100’s hand is of shining metal, the feather of the fetching is white, with a few lines of glimmering soft pink, just like her wings. 

 

All cupids possesses an infinite amount of identical, standard arrows. They are either made of silver or pure gold. Despite their fine materials, these arrows are ordinary, just like the kind of love they ignite. Their initial sparkle doesn’t last long, and it’s up to humans to act on it or not. If they choose to ignore it, it will eventually fade away. Otherwise, it will evolve into something deeper, something more irreversible. 

 

However, the most powerful arrows are very limited in number, and they’re forged by cupids themselves, using hard steel and their own wings’ feathers. These arrows pierce right through the heart and feed on already existing feelings. The deeper the love gets, the more the steel melts inside the heart. Humans cannot feel it in a physical way, but the pain these arrows leave behind is unbearable, and it never really heals. 

 

Because of its intensity, a human should not be shot more than twice with a steel arrow during a lifetime. Some humans end up heartbroken in both times, while others never get the chance to experience true love at all. Cupids should never shoot these arrows randomly, whatsoever. They have to wait for the perfect moment to present itself to do so. Cupid J159 knows the responsibility that comes with these arrows, so he barely use them. 

 

“Did you have someone in mind?” He questions.

 

“Actually, yeah,” there’s disappointment in her tone, “but now I regret my decision.” 

 

“Why is that?” 

 

She doesn’t answer right away, hesitantly looking away. It gives Cupid J159 the wrong idea.

 

“Don’t tell me-” he suddenly feels betrayed, “I thought we had an agreement!” 

 

Cupid 100 panics at the accusation, “It’s not what it looks like!” She puts a hand over her heart, “I swear on our friendship I’ve never thought about shooting him, and I’ll never do so.”

 

He scoffs, “What’s with the promise? It’s not that I don’t want you to shoot him, I just want to approve of the person you choose for him beforehand, that’s all.” 

 

Cupid 100 rolls her eyes, “Yeah, sure.” 

 

Her expression goes back to being sad and bitter, “The guy I wanted to shoot just found his girlfriend cheating on him,” she explains, “I’d be ruining his life if I do it now.”

 

“Then find someone else.”

 

She raises both her arms in exasperation, “Look around you! Everyone’s ing depressed!” 

 

He can actually feel it. The overall aura surrounding them is dark and gloomy, as if no love exists in this part of the city. It would be hard to find two compatible souls nearby. 

 

“Who am I supposed to shoot in such place?” 

 

If it was any regular arrow, Cupid J159 would’ve simply replied by ‘anyone’, but this one was special. It’s like giving a part of yourself. It’s never easy. 

 

“I’m sure you’ll find someone who deserves it,” he pats her on the head softly.

 

“I’m going up now, good luck.” 

 

He flies to a nearby building to get a better view. The building is very old, and is currently being demolished, thus the loud noise around him. But it got the best view in the whole street, so he always come here at this time of the day.

 

There’s nothing particular about this street. It’s very uneventful, with only people rushing on the pavement or few cars driving by. It holds a series of medium buildings that are mostly offices. Nothing exciting if you ask him. What brings him back here on daily basis, whatsoever, is a certain human. That human is named Kang Brian. 

 

There’s nothing particular about this human as well. He too starts his day by drinking coffee, just before going to his office work. He gets happy when something good happens, and sad when something bad happens. He gets satisfied when things go the way he wanted them, and angry when they don’t. He’s as moody as any ordinary human, and his aura changes accordingly.  An ordinary guy living an ordinary life, totally oblivious to the cupid stalking him (or watching him, as Cupid J159 prefers to call it).

 

Actually, it’s in his job requirement, to watch over humans and choose what’s better for them. Still, his excessive attention towards Brian was very suspicious. His coworkers learned to leave the topic alone after several curious discussions that lead to nowhere. They decided that it’s not worth the hustle of advising him if he’s going to ignore them anyways. Cupid J159 should know what he’s getting himself into. Or they hope he does, at least.

 

At the exact usual time, Kang Brian rounds the corner, a hand holding a cup of coffee and the other his briefcase. The air swimming around him is of light blue, a sign of his usual calmness. He’s wearing his usual plain outfit; a white button up and black pants. His hair is naturally black, and cut short in a neat hairstyle. Despite his painfully generic style, he strides down the street like a model on a runway (Cupid J159 has seen a lot of those shows to be able to use such a metaphor). He is always confident and charismatic. A true charmer. And Cupid J159 truly admires him for those traits. 

 

It’s not that Cupid J159 is not confident. He flies for God’s sake! But it’s hard not to be when you’re invisible to humans. Although he sees them as powerless mortals, he still find them intimidating (and stupid). So, he simple can’t imagine himself doing anything embarrassing in front of them if they could actually see him. Maybe it goes back for the fact that they are more judgmental than cupids, or maybe he knows that they won’t be able to handle his level of weirdness. (It’s the second possibility, it’s just too early for him to realize it.)

 

 

Cupid J159 waits until Brian enters a building, before he flies inside an office in the third floor. A minute later, the door opens, and Brian comes in. As the clueless human sits on his desk and starts his work, Cupid J159 settles on the small files cabinet and starts talking. He speaks about his early morning hours, the humans he’s shot since he’s last seen Brian, and so on. He speaks about all the questionable things he saw humans do -as if he didn’t see enough-, and occasionally asks some questions. He talks and talks, knowing very well that the human can’t hear him, and won’t respond. 

 

“I mean why would she take a picture of herself looking like a dog? What’s so entertaining about having dogs’ ears and tongue? Is it attractive for you?” He leans against the desk, leaving just a few centimeters between his face and Brian’s. The latter is just focused on his computer screen, a serious look on his face. Cupid J159 leans back with a sigh and continues his rant.

 

After he finishes his morning briefing, Cupid J159 leaves to resume his work somewhere near. This time he renews the flame between a divorced couple, gives a patient a small crush on her doctor, and starts a tragic love story between a married woman and her secretary. He enjoys making chaos just like that. Careless cupids like him are the reason why humans got an abundant amount of romantic movies and dramas. 

 

In the late afternoon, he follows Brian to his apartment, while talking through the whole way. He passes by few cupids on his way, but no matter how crazy he seems to look, talking and walking with a human, they just greet him from afar. For those who know him, this is only a normal occurrence.  

 

Brian’s routine consisted of going back home, washing up, and then having dinner by himself. Afterwards, he stays at home finishing some work, or sketching something while watching a movie, till sleep takes over him. Cupid J159 usually stays for dinner then goes on a night stroll. 

 

“Is it delicious?” Cupid J159 asks as Brian hums satisfyingly after taking a big bite of his burger takeout. Brian is one of those people who makes him really curious about what food tastes like. He tosses a few fries in his mouth and hums again. 

 

“It must be delicious,” Cupid J159 pouts, slumping agains the table. Even though he lives alone and rarely gets visitors, Brian had the courtesy to get two chairs for his kitchen, making it seem like he’s sharing a meal with Cupid J159 every time. However, the guy spends his meals either scrolling on his phone or watching something on tv, always oblivious to the cupid’s presence. 

 

Today’s a Friday, so Cupid J159 doesn’t leave after Brian finishes eating. Instead, he waits for him to get ready to go out. It’s the only night of the whole week that Brian spends outside, in a low-key bar nearby. He only goes there to get a few drinks, chats with the bartenders and some other regulars, and when he’s slightly tipsy, he goes back home. 

 

“Our bar’s heartbreaker is here!” The bartender announces as soon as Brian sits on a stool, while Cupid J159 sits on the one next to him. Brian smiles in amusement, “Happy to see you too, Sungjin.”

 

“You’re so punctual, as always,” the bartender places Brian’s usual order in front of him, “And alone too,” he adds with a teasing smirk.

 

Brian’s smile flatters slightly, “Isn’t it better this way?” He then downs his drink in one shot, letting it wash the bitterness off his words with it. 

 

Cupid J159 watches his actions attentively, and can’t help but feel bad for this human. Brian is always alone, wherever at home, at work, or outside. He’s kind, for sure, but he’s not close to any of his acquaintances. He’s attractive as well, getting a lot of offers for dates and the likes, and even those, he rejects so coldly. That’s why Cupid J159 feels responsible for finding the right person to fill that gap in Brian’s life, and wants to take his time to do so not to make any mistake. He wouldn’t want to be the reason behind a huge heartbreak or a toxic relationship for the guy. 

 

Oh the irony!

 

Brian spends the rest of the night drinking, while exchanging some words with the bartender. The cupid gets bored quickly, so he takes his chance to recklessly shoot some arrows around. By the times he decides to leave, the human is a little bit more drunk than usual, he even staggers while walking. Cupid J159 walks by his side, and tries to use his powers to clear the way for him. He’s not supposed to, but he does so anyways. 

 

After he’s made sure that Brian has reached his apartment and fine, he flies away to the busiest street he could find. As usual, all clubs and pubs are packed with humans, and the air is filled with all kind of emotions, colors floating around and merging together. Time for him to set a fire in this place. Weekends are so busy for cupids, as they consume a week’s worth of arrows. If they can actually get tired, then these nights will sure exhaust them.

 

Tonight, Cupid J159 couldn’t focus much on his work, so he retreats earlier than he usually does. He flies through the closed window, and softly lands inside of Brian’s bedroom. Despite being in deep sleep, the air around the human is sombre and stuffy. The cupid sighs when he notices the frown on Brian’s face. He must be having a bad dream again. 

 

The cupid puts his hand on top of Brian’s head, and caresses his hair, “I’m here, I’m here,” he whispers over and over again. 

 

Touching humans is forbidden, even though both humans and cupids are unable to feel it. Weird enough, whenever Brian is having a perturbed sleep, Cupid J159’s touch is the only thing that calms him down.

 

The creases on Brian’s forehead and between his brows slowly disappear and his eyes flutter open. The cupid’s motion stills in place. Despite being blurred with sleep, Brian’s gaze fixes on him, and a small smile forms on his lips, before his eyes close again. Cupid J159 is sure no human can see him, but something about what just happened feels terribly off. Even the aura surrounding Brian has turned to a foggy white, bright but still suffocating. 

 

This doesn’t sit well with Cupid J159, and stays at the back of his head even after he leaves. That’s why after flying for a while at dawn, he ditches his morning tour and flies back to the human’s apartment. 

 

He keeps watching Brian as he gets ready to start his day with great attention, in search of anything out of the ordinary. His aura doesn’t seem to be changing at all, which is really concerning. It’s not even the usual blue. And while white is always considered as a good color, representing clearness of the mind and lightness of the soul, Brian’s white is more ominous than any black the cupid has ever seen.  

 

There’s barely any change in Brian’s behavior though. He follows his routine without fault, his expression as neutral as ever. Everything seems fine, so why is Cupid J159 having such a foreboding feeling?  

 

When they’re about to reach Brian’s workplace and nothing bad happens, Cupid J159 decides to leave it. That’s when it happens. 

 

He didn’t notice which building they were paying by, and neither did Brian. The continuous honking of the cars and the loud sound of the drilling machines covered the sound of the breaking and the shouts, but his cupid senses are what alerted him first. He looked up just in time to see the wrecks raining on them. A particular big rock is falling at full speed, as if aimed to Brian’s head. That’s when Cupid J159 understood what the white fog meant. 

 

 

Death. 

 

 

His body moves before he even thinks it over. There’s no time to think it over anyways. In the speed of lightning, he snatches Brian out of harm’s way. It’s his first time having such contact with a human body, and for once, it feels more than holding air. He didn’t know this was possible in the first place.

 

He thought he’d be able to land Brian somewhere near and safe, before he flies away and leaves as if nothing happened. The human would be too shocked to question what really saved him. But suddenly, all of his strength drains out, and he finds himself unable to push the guy far enough. Heck, Cupid J159 can’t even lift his own body. A strong power pulls him down, making him fall to the ground, on top of Brian’s body. 

 

He tries to lift his body in a last attempt, but something heavy hits the back of his head, then everything turns black. 

 

 

 

 

When he regains his consciousness, he’s in a hospital room. Well, he’s quite familiar with those. Hospitals are common places to spread love. This time, however, there’s a lot of different things. For instance, he’s laying in a bed, and something feels terribly wrong with his body, especially his head. 

 

Flashes of the events happening before his blackout floods his memory, and he panics. 

 

“You’re awake?” 

 

A nurse walks inside, smiling. He looks around the room, making sure he’s the only one in there. He is. 

 

“How are you feeling?” She asks again, this time, putting a hand on his shoulder. As if he’s been burned by fire, his whole body jerks away from her. 

 

“Y-you can see me?!!” he questions, almost hysterically, “W-who are you? What am I doing here?” 

 

“Please calm down,” she tries to reassure him, “You injured your head, and you’re at the hospital now.”

 

Cupid J159 refuses to listen to her nonsense anymore and tries to stand up. His body, however, refuses to cooperate, his vision swimming every time he makes a move. He tries to take off the needle buried deep in his forearm, but the nurse is fast to stop him. He register her saying that she’s going to put him back to sleep, before he loses focus, and his consciousness eventually. 

 

Cupids cannot dream, but at the moment, Cupid J159 wishes for this to be nothing but a bad dream. 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

“Cupid J159, wake up.” 

 

The call of his name and the order work like magic, as he snaps awake. This time he’s in a white room, sitting on a chair. Just in front of him, there’s a white desk, and an old man setting behind it. He’s wearing the white cupid’s uniform, and glimpses of his wings can be seen over his shoulder. 

 

Well, this doesn’t seem very promising, but isn’t it better that the hospital room?

 

“Cupid J159, I think you know why you are here,” the man starts, his voice gave. He sounds very authoritative. 

 

“Uh,” he hesitates for a while, “Not really,” he says, nervousness starting to kick in. 

 

The old man shoots him a disapproving look, before he lowers his eyes back to the report in his hands. 

 

“You’ve breached multiple articles of our constitution.”

 

“We have a constitution?” Cupid J159 questions in shock, “Since when?”

 

A glare from the elderly makes him shrink back in his seat, letting a hasty apology. 

 

“Article 6 should be no novelty for you. It states that cupids, under no circumstances, should have direct contact with humans,” the man reads off the sheet in his hand, “Article 21, no cupids should interfere between humans and Death. Article 78, cupids should not show any biased behavior for a certain human. Article 111, cupids should not show any interest in any particular human.” 

 

As the man lists the articles that Cupid J159 has obviously breached, the cupid in question realizes how much in trouble he is. The list goes on for a while, and when it comes to an end, the elderly gives him a stern look. 

 

“These are the rules you’ve broken so far. I could’ve kept a blind eye on some of them, however, that will be impossible after what you did just recently. The immediate punishment for having direct contact with a human, is to be suspended,” Cupid J159 gulps in fear. He’s really done for, “but your case is different.” 

 

Somehow, these words makes him relax a little bit.

 

“For the last five years, you’ve prevented yourself and all the other cupids from shooting this certain human, Kang Brian, which has great consequences,” or maybe he shouldn’t relax too soon, “You have denied this human all forms of love for so long. You also have ruined his only chance at true love.”

 

This is bad news. Really, really bad news.

 

“Our duty is to grant love to humans all the same, and let them experience true love as well. Deserting you from your duties won’t compensate this human for his unrealized love life. So, to fix the mistakes you’ve committed, your punishment is to fulfill Kang Brian’s true love.”

 

“That’s it?” Cupid J159 smiles in delight. 

 

“I’m not finished,” the old cupid glares at him, “First, this matter shouldn’t be dragged any longer, so you will only be given 90 days.”

 

He nods enthusiastically. This is still feasible, if there are no other conditions. 

 

“However, since the immediate punishment for having physical contact with human has taken place, and you have taken your human form-” 

 

“Human what???” Cupid J159  stands in shock. The elderly sighs heavily.

 

“When a cupid gets suspended, they are stripped from their powers,” he patiently explains, “They turn into humans.” 

 

“W-what?” He slumps back into his chair, feeling like he’s been struck by lightning. 

 

Seeing the helplessness on his face, the elderly’s gaze turns sympathetic, “I told you, your case is different. You’ve only turned into a human in form, you’re still a cupid in nature. So, if you succeed at finding this human’s true love in 90 days, you will regain your position as a cupid, alongside your powers and abilities.”

 

“Isn’t it easier for me to finish this mission if I’m in my cupid form?” He questions, still in disbelief.

 

“It’s too late, you already turned and has been seen. If your human body suddenly disappears it will raise a lot of questions among humans. It will be better for you to clear all the confusions you’ve caused before disappearing.”

 

“But- but- what if I fail?” Cupid J159 doesn’t want to consider that possibility, but he needs to know what punishment awaits for him.

 

“If you fail, you will fully turn into a human, and will never go back to being a cupid.”  

 

“You can’t do this to me! Please reconsider!” He strongly protests.

 

The old man shakes his head, “The decision has been taken, and believe me, we really went easy on you,” he takes a deep breath, “Another trial will be held in 90 days, make sure to finish your mission before then. Only then you would be forgiven.”

 

Cupid J159 feels wronged and wants to keep protesting until the elderly changes his mind, but something in the man’s cold gaze tells him it will be in vain. That was the final verdict.

 

“Starting today, you will be living as a human, and your name will be Park Jaehyung.” 

 

-TBC-

---

Well, that was a start? hehe 

PS: Cupid 100 is our girl Park Jimin (the 100 doesn't have any signification, it's just easier to type lol), Cupid J159 = Jae's initial and birthday. 
PSS: Go listen to TBOU: The demon YALL!!

Stay safe and healthy everybody <3 

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