D-1915

 

Cupid J159 was bored out of his mind. It was a slow day and a slower night, nothing interesting, at all. He’s only used five arrows all day long. The couples he’s stumbled upon so far were either fighting or so cringe-worthy that they made him want to pull his eyes out.  

 

Snow came early this year, and with the snow storm hitting the city, the night is lifeless. Cupid J159 wonders what’s so viscous about snow that makes humans lock themselves in their houses for so long. He finds the wind blowing with the snow flakes flying around beautiful and magical. Certainly, one of his favorite sights.

 

To kill some time, he flies into some apartments and houses, but all he’s came across were rounds of or loneliness. He should’ve expected that, humans are so single minded as usual. 

 

He goes to a part of the city that he barely visits in hopes of finding something interesting. Finally, he sees a whiff of a soft aura coming from a closed window, as if calling him over, and he follows it. Inside the small apartment,  a lovely couple is having an alone-together birthday party. The whole place smells disgustingly sweet, the air a soft pink. Obviously, they are an established couple, with one of them having an arrow piercing right through his heart. Well, this must be a good opportunity to give the other guy a matching arrow. 

 

Cupid J159 takes out a True Love Arrow out of his quiver. He floats around them for a while, watching their interactions, and waiting for the right moment to spread his magic. 

 

“This is for you, Brian,” the guy with the arrow says, handing the other a small, rectangular box. 

 

Brian takes it with a shy thank you, and hesitantly opens it. It’s a promise ring. The aura around him quivers straightaway, and even his face darkens a little. His boyfriend, however, is oblivious to these minor changes, being more focused on his confession. He keeps talking for a while about how much the other means to him, and how happy he is, before saying those sacred three words.

 

“I love you.”

 

Cupid J159 knows how much these words mean for humans, can sense if they’re genuinely spoken or thrown away just like that. In this guy’s case, they’re spoken from the heart. It’s time for him to shoot Brian and make him say them back. He gets his arrow and bow ready and pulls, aiming directly at where the guy’s heart is. All he needs to do now is to release the arrow. 

 

He doesn’t.

 

If you ask him what made him stop, he’d say it’s the small things. Like how slightly repulsive Brian’s aura was towards his boyfriend’s, or how it lost its glow, in comparison to how bright it was a few moments ago, just before the confession. The cupid didn’t only see the fear and hesitation in the air, he felt it as well. 

 

Still, these are just excuses. Cupids shouldn’t care about such things, anyways. They just shoot, and the rest is left for humans to deal with. Brian is free to commit to their relationship or end it whenever he wants.  So when Cupid J159 lowers his bow and arrow, it’s because he simply didn’t want to, thinking that Brian can do better, can find someone better. He will make sure to find him his perfect match.

 

That night, and for the first time ever, Cupid J159 returned an arrow to his quiver. 

 

When he came back to the apartment a few days later, Brian was alone, and has remained as so for all of his next visits. Slowly, the cupid has developed a habit of following the human around, getting to know more of him little by little. 

 

By the time Cupid J159 had Brian’s whole weekly schedule memorized, the memory of the ex-boyfriend was pushed to the very back of his mind. So maybe, if he paid a little bit attention to the people surrounding Brian, he would’ve noticed that the bartender was none other than Brian’s ex.

 

 

 

D-67

 

There’s a long silence that overtakes the office after Jae finishes his story. Wonpil has dropped his sandwich in his lap, his mouth still hanging open. Hyeji’s face is hard, a deep frown on her forehead. Jinyoung looks borderline angry, but he tries to calm himself before talking. 

 

“So,” he starts, taking a deep breath, “Brian was supposed to really be in love with Sungjin, but you decided not to shoot? Just like that?”

 

Jae lowers his head in shame, “Yeah.”  

 

“Why did you do it?” Wonpil asks, helpless. All that Jae can do is shake his head. His excuses are going to sound like bull. They are bull, he came to realize. 

 

“I know I screwed up, and now I’m paying for it,” he admits, his head still hanging low.

 

“It’s all in the past, so there’s no point in blaming you for it now,” Hyeji interferes, after keeping silent for too long, “We can use it in our advantage, since we know that those two are meant to be. We just need to push them closer, and try to smooth the auras around them, if we want Brian to get shot.” 

 

They all nod in unison. Dwelling on the past mistakes won’t get them anywhere, and definitely won’t get Jae back to his cupid life. 

 

 

That’s why he gets into work right away, making going to the bar a daily task. Sungjin is surprised to see him again that night, but he gets used to it by the third consecutive one. The cupid uses the excuse of being lonely and new to the city, and the other actually believes him. The bartender also takes mercy on him and only give him drinks that are low on alcohol. 

 

Mostly, they talk about random things, and Jae skillfully throws some personal questions every now and then. Sungjin gladly answers, especially when he thinks that the other is drunk. And this is what Jae has collected so far: Sungjin and Brian met on their first day at college, became friends, then started dating at the end of their freshman year. Sungjin only dated a few after he broke up with Brian, and he’s been single for almost a year now. 

However, he keeps reminding Jae that he doesn’t have any feeling left for Brian, over and over again. Jae hopes he’s only lying, or trying to convince himself. Anyways, the cupid can always find a way to change that. 

 

Despite his new friendship, he still spends most of his days with Brian, and they eat dinner together. Jae doesn’t tell him about it, knowing very well that Brian will know about it eventually. Eventually comes on Friday night, when Brian arrives at the bar to find a tipsy Jae laughing hysterically at something Sungjin said.

 

“I didn’t know that you two are this close,” he comments as he sits next to Jae. 

 

“Oh Brian,” Sungjin grins happily, “You’re finally here!” 

 

When he turns around to get him his drink, Brian raises a questioning eyebrow at Jae, “What are you doing here?” 

 

Jae raises his glass, smirking. 

 

“Hyung seems to like the bar as much as you do,” Sungjin says, winking at Jae. 

 

Brian gives Jae a suspicious look, “Hyung?” He then averts his gaze to Sungjin, hoping that one of them would explain.  

 

Defeated, Jae releases a deep sigh before explaining, “I was feeling bored this past week, so I came here regularly to drink, and to chat,” he ends with a wide, innocent grin. 

 

That doesn’t lift Brian’s suspicion. He keeps watching their interactions with scrutinizing eyes for the rest of the night. Even when Jae tries to engage him in their conversations, he only gives curt answers. He only keeps drinking, asking for a glass after another. 

 

“Oh right,” Jae suddenly remembers, “Can you make time this Wednesday?” 

 

Sungjin think for a second then nods, “It’s a weekday, so I guess I can ask for a night off. Why?”

 

“Great! It’s Youngjae’s birthday and we’re holding a barbecue party for him at the café, you’re invited, but no gifts please.”

 

The bartender opens his mouth to protest, so Jae holds a hand up, “Aunt Hyeji asked me to invite you. She really wants to meet you. So if you don’t come, she’ll come here and drag you over herself.”

 

That’s not exactly a lie. Hyeji wants to meet Sungjin, that’s true, but it’s also a scheme to get him and Brian to interact more outside of the bar. Jae has a feeling that it’s going to be a fun night, with everyone gathered together. Chaotic, but fun.

 

“What about me? Am I not invited?” Brian demands, trying not to sound bitter, but failing badly. 

 

Jae masks his amusement with an innocent smile, “Of course you’re invited! Auntie said she’ll personally call you, so just be patient,” he pats his shoulder to reassure him. Brian shrugs his hand away, and aggressively downs his drink, asking for another. He’s obviously sulking.

 

After serving him, Sungjin leans closer to Jae and whispers in his ear, “I guess you got him jealous enough for one night.”

 

Intoxicated, Jae releases a loud giggle, “You think so?” 

 

With his elbow placed on the counter and his head being supported by his hand, he amusedly turns to Brian. The latter does look annoyed, and with the way he’s gripping his glass, his knuckles white, he’s got to be angry. Is this what jealousy look like without colors? 

 

Brian might burst at any moment. But wait a second, why would he be? Is it because Jae and Sungjin suddenly got too close? Is it because he felt left out? Or maybe because he’s not getting the attention he usually gets from Sungjin? 

 

Well, if it’s the last one -and it has to be the last one-, then Jae’s plan is going on the right track. 

 

 

 

D-58

 

The Cupid Café is closed this afternoon and evening because of the special event. Hyeji decided to hold the barbecue party in the backyard, so she assigned her employees to organize the place. Wonpil prepared the barbecue grill and the drinks, while Jinyoung and Jaebum brought several tables and chairs from inside to make a dining table that could fit everyone. 

 

They left the decoration for Jae, only because he kept complaining about everything they did without moving a finger himself. He hanged a big ‘HBD, Youngjae!’ sign on the wall, then scattered an excessive amount of balloons around the courtyard. 

 

“Someone should’ve stopped him when he started inflating them,” Hyeji comments on the sea of balloons covering the grass. Not even a bit of green can be seen.

 

“He was unstoppable,” Brian says. He’s came midway the preparation to help, only to find Jae sitting on the floor, covered and surrounded by balloons, “I’m not even sure where he’s got that lung power from.”

 

Jae rolls his eyes at the two of them, “I’m here you know. And if you’ve given me a better task I wouldn’t’ve reached this number.”

 

“We were afraid you’d end up screwing the whole party,” Wonpil interjects, emerging from the kitchen with a bucket of ice, “Don’t forget how many glasses you’ve broken this morning.”

 

“Whatever,” he shrugs them off, and to their horror, takes anther balloon and starts inflating it.

 

 

Fortunately, Jae doesn’t cause any more incidents till the dinner starts. The number of guests was very limited. Just the café staff, Brian, Sungjin, and Youngjae’s friend, Bambam. Most of them were familiar with each other, so the atmosphere during dinner was friendly and relaxed. Even Sungjin, who barely knew anyone, clicked with them so quickly, and aunt Hyeji seems to really like him -Jae thinks it has to do with the fancy wine bottle he brought with him.

 

Another thing that Sungjin has in common with them, is that he enjoys teasing Jae as much as they do. It turns out that having everyone gathered together at the same place is a nightmare. Not fun at all.

 

Being the sneaky person she is, Hyeji has made Sungjin and Brian sit next to each other, and Jae is sitting across them. He’s been focused on trying to steal another piece of meat from Wonpil’s plat when Sungjin points at his forehead in concern.

 

“Hyung, what’s that on your forehead?” 

 

And now, everyone’s attention is set on the bluish bump on his forehead. Feeling his face heating up in embarrassment, Jae honestly replies, “I ran into a door.”

 

Sungjin grimaces at this, looking sympathetic, “Oh, I once bumped into a glass door as well. It was painful.”

 

He hears Jinyoung snorting, but he refuses to look in his direction. Wonpil and Hyeji are barely holding their laughters as well. They’re the worst friends ever, really. 

 

“It wasn’t a glass door,” he admits.

 

With the sympathy gone, Sungjin releases a small, “Oh,” his lips tugging up. “Did you not see it?” He asks, an evil smirk settling on his face.

 

“Oh he did see it,” Wonpil finally butts in to further embarrass him, “He just didn’t consider opening it.”

 

“I’m going to kill you!” Jae threatens, but the other doesn’t seem the least intimidated. 

 

“It’s a Jae thing,” Jaebum adds, seemingly enjoying the situation way too much. He too has witnessed Jae running head first in doors multiple times. “He usually forgets to open doors, and ends up walking into them. One time he had a nose bleed because of a particularly strong hit.”

 

Then, the whole table is filled with laughter at Jae and his weird habit. If he could only explain his situation to them, just to see who’ll be laughing then. 

 

“Is young master used to peasants opening the door for him?” Sungjin further teases him, and Brian next to him chuckles loudly. 

 

‘Traitors!’ Jae thinks, sending both of them a deathly glare.  

 

The tease-Jae time lasts a little bit longer, his most embarrassing incidents brought up again to further humiliate him. Thankfully, they soon move to other random topics, all while simultaneously grilling and eating. It takes them a few hours to end all the meat, swipe the other dishes clean, and finish the cake and wine as well.  

 

After stuffing herself full, Hyeji has drunkly stumbled inside with a bottle of beer. Jae highly doubts she’ll make it to her bed. The rest has done some cleaning before they gathered around the table to play a game of ‘Never Have I Ever’. Of course, Jae has never played it before, but he’s got an idea about the concept and rule of the game. Wonpil still discreetly explains it to him before they start. 

 

The questions start as basic and random, but after the boys got more intoxicated, they got more daring and strong. When everyone had to drink for questions like ‘never have I cheated on exams’, ‘never have I ever been kissed’, and ‘never have I ever had ’ - Sungjin and Brian stiffly avoiding each others eyes when drinking for the last two- Jae swiftly avoided drinking. It did gain him a lot of weird looks, but who cares, as long as he stays sober. 

 

The guys start getting suspicious though, and it suddenly turns into a battle of who gets Jae to drink. None of their attempts has worked so far, though.  

 

“How can you not get caught? Not even once?” Bambam whines, irritated by Jae’s completely clean and perfect record, “I’m going to get you, you’ll see,” he drunkly threatens. Once it’s his turn again, he smirks mischievously at him, then says, “Never have I ever bleached my hair.”

 

Jae doesn’t drink. He only waits for Wonpil, Bambam, and Jinyoung to drink so that they can move on to the next person. 

 

“You can’t expect us to believe that you are naturally blond, do you?” Jaebum points out.

 

Technically, Jae has never bleached his hair. It has always been that golden shade, like the sunlight. Still, how is he supposed to make them believe that it’s natural? Bracing himself for the bitterness and dizziness, he downs the shot in one go. 

 

“That’s what I thought,” Bambam says, satisfied. 

 

Thankfully, Brian doesn’t participate in their game of attacking him, his questions keeping a certain degree of randomness and weirdness.

 

“Never have I ever got arrested.”  

 

Jaebum sighs in defeat, “That was one time,” then drinks, leaving them baffled. No one dares to ask though. A shiver runs down Jae’s spine. He should seriously start fearing that guy more, and stop stealing from his chocolate chips cookies. 

 

It’s Jinyoung’s turn. He gives Jae a small smirk before throwing his question.  

 

“Never have I ever gotten a tattoo.”

 

A collective sigh leaves Bambam, Youngjae and Wonpil as they reluctantly drink. Bambam excitedly announces, “My turn!” it seems like he has another question that will get Jae to drink. However, he gets stopped by a tipsy Wonpil.

 

“Wait a second, wait!” He stands up and accusingly points a finger at Jae, “Aren’t you going to drink?” 

 

Caught red handed, Jae shrinks into his seat. Again, his tattoo is not something he’s ‘gotten’ by human standards, since it’s magical. 

 

“What,” Jaebum snorts, “You’re telling me Mary right here, has a tattoo? What a joke.”  

 

Bambam and Youngjae are laughing mockingly. Even Brian doesn’t seem to believe it, “Maybe Wonpil is dr-”

 

Before he could finish the sentence, Jae downs the shot and loudly slams the glass back on the table, “Can we move on now?” 

 

A long silence takes over them as they all stare at him curiously, and he’s getting annoyed. Only Wonpil smirks in satisfaction, “Don’t let that innocent face fool you.”

 

“Uh,” Youngjae hesitates a little, “Is it a micro tattoo?” 

 

Jae releases an irritated sigh, “Let’s just move on with the game.”

 

“It’s not small at all, and it’s really badass!” Wonpil tells them before Jae could shut him. 

 

Obviously the gossiping type, Bambam curiously questions, “Where is it?” 

 

When Wonpil opens his mouth to answer, Jae decides that he had enough fun for one night.

 

“Okay, game over for you!” He stands up and drags him away, covering his mouth with his hand, “Let’s get you to bed.”

 

In such situation, Jae would certainly be called a party pooper, but he really wanted to keep his tattoo a secret. He’s not even sure for how long it would be there, and he certainly doesn’t want people to know about it, or worst, see it.

 

After he makes sure that Wonpil is well locked in his room, Jae goes back down to check on the other troublesome guys. However, he finds Brian sitting alone, playing with one of the candles that were previously on the cake.

 

“Where did the others go?” He asks, sitting by his side on the bench. 

 

Brian glances at him briefly, “Jaebum and Sungjin volunteered to take them home, they were almost passed out anyways.”

 

He then falls silence, like he always does. Jae enjoys these peaceful moments around him, but sometimes, he enjoys talking to him more. 

 

“Tonight was nice, don’t you think?”

 

He shrugs, “Yes, I guess. I’m not really fond of birthday parties.”

 

‘I know,’ Jae wants to say so badly. He knows for a fact that the other never celebrates his birthday. The most he gets is a text from Sungjin, and that’s about it. If Jae didn’t know beforehand his birthday date, he would’ve never guessed it.

 

“It’s not that you can’t celebrate your birthday without a party, there are other ways to do so,” he points out, “It’s still a special day, you shouldn’t treat it as an ordinary one, anyways.” 

 

“Yeah sure,” Brian dismisses him, and it’s totally infuriating. 

 

“You people are so narrow minded! Even if you don’t have anyone to celebrate with you or you hate people in general, that’s not an excuse for you to wallow in self-pity for the rest of your life! If you want to enjoy yourself and treat yourself, then do it! All by yourself! Who ing cares!” He’s almost breathless when he finishes, half because he said it all in one breath, and half because he’s angry. 

 

Jae didn’t mean to get so worked up about it, but he’s had enough of watching Brian being always alone and living like his life was so meaningless just because of that. More than finding him a lover, he wants to make him enjoy his life. He genuinely wants to make him happy.

 

Brian, on the other hand, is giving him this really surprised look, and he panics for a second. What if he has offered him? Did he make him angry? 

 

Eventually, a small chuckle leaves Brian’s lips, and he takes it as a good sign. Even the surprise turns into astonishment. 

 

“Keep going, I actually wanna hear your point of view about this,” he says, his eyes holding a glint of curiosity. 

 

Jae almost sighs in relief. He grins widely and continue with his idea, this time less furious, and more enthusiastic. 

 

“For a starter, you have to take the day off. You should also dress nicely and go somewhere you wanted to visit for a while, or a place you like, whichever works best for you. You have to treat yourself for a meal as well. Something delicious and heartwarming. And a gift! You definitely should get yourself a gift! Whether it’s something you wanted to buy for a while or something you’re buying on impulse. If it means you have to save for it, then be it! Spoil yourself all you can when you have the chance! And of course, the cake!”

 

Brian interrupts him, seemingly only finding that part ridiculous, “Are you saying that I should buy myself a cake and sing the birthday song for myself?”

 

The cupid shakes his head, “That would look like a satanic ritual. Just wish yourself a happy birthday, silently wish for something and blow the candles. Look at the bright side, that way, not only you get to avoid that awkward moment of waiting for others to finish singing for you, but you get much more cake!” He finishes with an excited clap, and a wide smile. 

 

The other shakes his head at him in fascination, “You’re crazy, have I ever told you that?” 

 

That only makes his smile wider. He bumps his shoulder against Brian’s, “I know that you like it.”

 

“I do actually,” he admits without much resistance. Jae brightens straight away. He’s not sure if he meant his idea or craziness, but he’s fine with both.

 

“You should definitely try it then!” 

 

“How about you celebrate it with me? Wouldn’t that be better?” Brian suggests, and Jae almost agrees. His brain does a reality check and reminds him that he’ll be mostly leaving before the human’s birthday. His happy smile falls at once. 

 

“I’m sorry, I- you know that I-” he takes a deep breath to compose himself, “I won’t be here then.”

 

Brian averts his gaze, giving him an understanding nod, nevertheless. He, too, must’ve forgotten that Jae won’t be staying for long.

 

“How about this,” Jae tries to brighten the atmosphere again, “promise me that you will start spending your birthdays like that! Or differently at least?” He holds his pinky up for Brian, with the most cheerful expression he can muster at the moment. The human eyes his pinky with another disbelieving gaze. He releases a scoff, before he hooks his around Jae’s, and even let him stamp their thumbs together. 

 

“You promised!”

 

“Yeah yeah,” he shakes his head again, not believing that he once more gave in to Jae’s ridiculous ideas. 

 

 

They fall into another silence, albeit different this time. Jae can almost feel Brian overthinking. He tries to ignore it at first, distractedly reaching for a beer. The awful taste fails to divert his thoughts away, like it usually does. 

 

Five minutes is his limit, before he breaks the silence once more, “What are you thinking about?” 

 

“Just things,” Brian says after a long pause. 

 

“You seem like you want to say something, though,” he points out, “Just say it.”

 

The human weakly smiles, “You’re really observant, aren’t you?” 

 

Jae snorts, “Don’t say that in front of the others or they’ll think you went nuts because of me.” 

 

They both chuckle at that, but it dies instantly, and they’re back to that foreboding silence.

 

“So what is it?” Jae is persistent, and won’t let it go until he makes him speak.

 

Brian takes his time, contemplating how he should say it. With Jae’s anticipating eyes on him, he finally talks.

 

“Are you really leaving?”

 

That seriously was not what he expected…

 

The question itself doesn’t shock Jae as much as it should. What really, really concerns him is how vulnerable and sad Brian sounds. He hates seeing him like that. Still, he hates lying to him more. That’s why, he nods in response. He then takes a large swig of his beer. 

 

“When?”

 

Without looking at him, he answers, “I’m not sure. Couple of months?”

 

Afterwards, Jae keeps drinking, wishing he could get drunk faster so that he won’t have to go through this conversation sober. When he finds some courage left in him to steal a glance at his side, he finds Brian’s piercing eyes on him. 

 

“Will you come here again?” There’s something burning in his eyes, a mixture of determination and hope. Being locked in such a strong gaze renders Jae speechless. He doesn’t know what’s harder to say right now, the truth or the well-developed lie. At the end, he opts for none. Sometimes, actions speak louder than words, right?

 

“Can I give you a hug?” The words leaves his lips before he can think them over. That probably was enough of an answer, as he watches the hope in Brian’s eyes extinguishing. The sadness lingering around the human is getting too overwhelming for him. It’s breaking his heart, and he wants to comfort him so badly.  

 

Thankfully, Brian nods, and Jae’s body moves before his brain. He wraps his arms around the human, lets him rest his head on his shoulder. Brian hugs him back as well, and it’s warm and peaceful and perfect. He doesn’t want to let go anymore.  

 

They stay like that for too long, that Jae loses sense of time. He gets too comfortable and leans further into Brian’s chest, leaving no space between them. There’s a hand on the back of his head, caressing his hair softly, and it’s only making him warmer, inside and out.

 

Jae is almost drifting away in a deep sleep when he feels himself being hauled up, an arm around his back and another under his knees, his head resting on a firm chest. Brian takes him up to his room, and gently lays him on the bed. He doesn’t stay though, leaving right after tucking him in. Still, the comfort of his hug keeps Jae’s heart warm for the rest of the night. 

 

Morning comes and brings regret and coldness with it.

 

-TBC-

---

Well, a long chapter... and Jae is still oblivious lol (and it was not supposed to turn sad at the end I'M SORRY!! )

Next one is going to be shorter, I guess, but it's a much anticipated one :p

Till then, Stay safe and healthy Y'ALL and thank you <3 <3 

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