D-55

 

“Tell me again why am I here?” Wonpil helplessly demands, after putting down a particularly heavy box on the floor. He’s breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Jae, on the other hand, is only carrying a carefully wrapped vintage lamp, which gains him a deathly glare. 

 

He rolls his eyes while placing the lamp on the kitchen’s counter, “Cause we can’t let Sungjin do this all by himself,” he replies, as a matter of fact.

 

Sungjin has briefly mentioned that he’s moving apartments on the weekend, and Jae has insisted to help. His definition of help being dragging Brian and Wonpil to do all the hard work. Sungjin has packed everything beforehand, so they had to load the boxes and furniture in a truck, then unload the truck at the new apartment. Definitely, it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially with Jae barely helping. Still, it’s faster having the four of them than just Sungjin by himself.

 

Wonpil scoffs, “He’s your friend, what does it have to do with me?”

 

“Stop being so mean!” He hits him on the shoulder, “You’re his friend as well!” 

 

That’s true. The cupid has gown to like Sungjin’s company a bit too much. That’s why he didn’t stick to only meeting him at the bar, but even outside. Since the bartender only works at night, he’s always available to join him during the afternoon in whatever useless thing he’s doing. Most of their hanging-out time is spent at the café, though, and Sungjin is already too familiar with the staff there. Even Jaebum seems to really tolerate him, and that’s saying too much. So Wonpil is close enough to Sungjin to help him now. It’s just the tiredness getting to him.

 

“This definitely was not in the job description,” Wonpil grumbles to himself as he walks away, to go and get another box from the truck. Jae shakes his head him with a small chuckle, then follows him. At the apartment door, he comes face to face with Brian, who’s carrying two boxes at once. As expected.

 

They both freeze, as if surprised to see each other. Brian smiles at him nervously, so he sends him an equally awkward one in return. He then quickly steps aside, letting him in. As soon as Brian passes by, Jae runs out of the door, not wanting to get in any kind of verbal exchange with the other.

 

It’s been like this between them, for days now.

 

The day after their hug came with a lot of regret. Jae has feared than Brian will start avoiding him afterwards, and that he had ruined their friendship by his actions. Like did he have to go and hug Brian, out of all people? He kept reprimanding himself for the whole day, gaining a lot of concerned looks from the other because of his contemplating silence -which is a totally novel sight for them. 

 

Great relief came along a simple text message from Brian, telling him that he’s finished with work, and that he’s on his way. None of them has mentioned the previous night -at least not the part where they hug for far longer than it’s generally accepted between friends. They both act as if no such thing has ever happened, and Jae can’t be glad enough for that. 

 

He knows that Brian remembers. They weren’t that drunk anyways, and the human is a heavy weight. Jae himself was barely tipsy, which makes it more complicated for him. He can’t even use it as an excuse.

 

Even though Brian doesn’t seem to hate him for the hug, Jae can’t completely say that it didn’t change anything between them. For instance, Brian is becoming more affectionate around him. The hug was like an authorization for him to touch Jae more. Whether it’s a hand at the small of his back when they’re walking through a busy street, or on his arm when he’s laughing too much, or his fingertips brushing Jae’s bangs out of his eyes. 

 

The touches are very brief, very gentle, but their effect is so hard to ignore. Something inside of Jae feels like filling up and swelling every time their skins meet, and the pattern of his heartbeats changes drastically. The feeling disappears as soon as they lose contact, and is replaced with a cold emptiness, his heart slowing down. It’s very concerning, raises a lot of questioning marks inside of his head. 

 

Being the intellectual he is, Jae has decided to ignore it all together. He’s got enough things to deal with,at the moment. Any additional issue could drive him to insanity. 

 

 

By the time they finish unloading the truck, they’re all starving, so Sungjin orders pizza for them. They sit down on the ground in the middle of all the boxes, and eat in silence, too exhausted and hungry to bother talking. Jae is peacefully eating his fourth pizza slice when a hand reaches to his face, and a thumb wipes the side of his lips. 

 

If it was anyone else, Jae is sure his body would’ve jerked violently. But his subconscious must be well aware that Brian is sitting on his side, and that he’s the only one who’d dare do such a thing. Therefore, he only freezes, his eyes moving in shock to Brian. The latter doesn’t seem to find anything wrong with what he’s just done. 

 

“You had a little bit of sauce,” he tells him, casually shrugging, before going back to eating.

 

Jae doesn’t dare talking, too many things happening inside of him. He glances back to the other two, finding Sungjin’s evil grin on him. It sets his face on fire -or maybe he’s been burning for some time now. Wonpil, on the other hand, gives them both an unexplainable gaze, something akin to concern, but Jae doesn’t dwell on it. He downs half of his cold coke in one gulp, hoping it would calm him a little bit. He can literally sense the coolness spreading through his burning body.  

 

‘This is getting unhealthy,’ he thinks, pressing the can to his flushed cheek. Sungjin winks at him, so he quietly flips him off -something he’s learned from Jinyoung. The human shakes his head, barely holding down his laughter.

 

 

Sungjin is always teasing him just like that. And that’s probably the only annoying thing about him. Otherwise, he seems to enjoy Jae’s weird behavior and doesn’t mind entertaining him in return. It’s really hard to find someone who tolerates him as much as the bartender does. Sungjin is usually very curious about the cupid’s life and the people around him, but even that doesn’t bother Jae as much as it should. Of course, he feels bad for lying when answering questions about his family and hometown -something he needn’t do with Brian cause he never asks-, but he has to do it not to raise any suspicion around himself.

 

 

After eating, they go back to work. Brian and Sungjin take on the task of reassembling the furniture, while Jae and Wonpil are left to empty the endless boxes. Jae is mindlessly stacking one of the kitchen cabinets with plates, all of his attention drawn to the continuous sound of chatting and laughter coming from the bedroom. He can’t exactly hear what they’re talking about, and it’s annoying him. He wants to eavesdrop so badly. He blames it on his need to keep the progress of their relationship in check.  

 

After all, it’s his sudden closeness to Sungjin that drawn the two closer to each other. Actually, the three of them seem to get along too well. Even Brian is starting to talk more, laugh more, and is being brighter in general. Still, there are no arrows in sight, and Jae is getting restless.

 

If Brian is going to fall for Sungjin, he better do it as soon as possible. Otherwise, Jae would have to search again for someone that would catch his attention. That would be a nightmare. There’s barely any time left.

 

 

The laughter stops momentarily, and Jae is surprised to see Brian rushing to the mountain of boxes, frantically searching for something.

 

“What’s wrong?” Wonpil asks with a frown, alarmed by his actions.

 

Brian opens one of the boxes with the label ‘Toiletry’ on it, getting out a small box.

 

“I cut my hand,” Sungjin answers in his stead, walking in with a bloodied hand. 

 

Wonpil’s eyes widen at the sight of blood and he runs to his side to check on him.

 

“Are you okay?” Jae questions, he too moving closer to the injured guy.

 

“I’m fine, it’s a small cut,” he reassures them, “Brian just likes making a scene.”

 

Said guy completely ignores him, holding the hurt hand in his. He carefully cleans the blood off his palm, and frowns. 

 

“You got a splinter. I’ll have to take it out.”

 

Totally focused, he takes a tweezer and slowly pulls the small splinter out. Sungjin winces in pain when he starts cleaning the cut with alcohol. 

 

“Does it hurt?” Brian glances at him, looking apologetic.

 

“It’s supposed to hurt, just keep going.”

 

Sungjin in a pained breath, as the other resumes disinfecting the cut. To ease some of the pain, Brian keeps blowing softy on the injury.

 

The scene unfolding right in front of his eyes does remind Jae of a certain moment, shared between him and Brian not so long ago. The latter was as careful and as caring when he treated the small cut on his finger. The realization that he’s nothing special doesn’t sit well with Jae. Something inside of him tugs and pulls at his heartstrings, and a need to tear Sungjin away from Brian grows inside of him at a scary speed. It’s weird, cause he knows that Sungjin did nothing wrong. And wasn’t this what he wanted in the first place? To get them together? Shouldn’t he be happy that they’re having a sweet moment?  

 

Jae is terrified of what he can do if he lets that feeling take over him. It’s awfully similar to when he first saw them together, five years ago. They were such a happy couple, but something inside of him kept telling him that Brian deserves betters and he’s having the same thoughts again. 

 

But Sungjin is by no mean a bad guy. In fact, he’s great, and Jae likes him. A lot. He sincerely considers him as one of his favorite people -not his most favorite but still ranking high on that list. 

 

Thus, by thinking that Brian deserves better, he means that he needs someone who’ll better understand him, and who’ll love him more. And Jae wants to hit his head against the nearest wall. Where is he supposed to find that person? He doesn’t have enough time for such a dilemma. 

 

For the whole time, Jae had his hands fisted by his sides, his fingernails certainly leaving crescent marks on his palms. He forcefully tears his gaze away, wishing for the thing growing inside of him to die. Wonpil notices this, and gives him a questioning frown. He just shakes his head in response. It would be a hustle to explain something he doesn’t understand himself to another person. 

 

When they make sure that Sungjin’s injury is well treated, they all go back to work, and this time, Jae borrows Sungjin’s earbuds and blasts music at full volume. That way, no sound of laughter would distract him or cause him any questioning feelings. 

 

Again, Jae convinces himself that it’s better to ignore any irrelevant issues. 

 

 

D-49

 

Not acknowledging something, it turns out, does not make it disappear. And Jae is having that ugly feeling more often than not these days. It’s the most prominent when he’s around both Sungjin and Brian, especially when they’re having a moment. At this point, Jae desperately wants Brian to fall in love so that he could stop this painful third wheeling. He’s shared his frustration with Wonpil, who seems to have an insight on the issue. 

 

“Maybe having you with them all the time ruins the ambiance?” He points out, having witnessed the trio’s interactions. 

 

“But how am I supposed to eliminate my presence?” Jae demands, “I’m the one who plans all of our hang outs. I don’t think they’d meet if not for me.”

 

He’s not exaggerating when he says that he’s technically their dates planner. The two humans contact him daily to know about what he’s doing, and they just tag along. It seems that they barely contact each other outside the group chat.

 

Wonpil pats his shoulder, “Don’t worry my friend,” he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, “There’s a way to fix this.”

 

“Really?” 

 

“Believe me, this plan has a zero fail rate,” he’s said with all the confidence in the world. 

 

 

Wonpil’s genius plan -as he’s called it- is to ask them both to go watch a movie with him, but bail on them last minute. Simple, but effective. Hopefully. 

 

With the help of the mastermind himself, Jae has picked a romantic movie, and suggested going to the premier together. As usual, Sungjin agreed right away, but there was a little bit of reluctance from Brian, who eventually conceded. 

 

For once, all Jae has to do is stay at home and wait for them to reach the mall and call him. But he was too fidgety and nervous to stay still. That’s how he ended up going to the cinema in disguise. Originally, he didn’t feel the need to conceal his identity, too used to being unseen as a cupid. Jinyoung was the one that insisted on picking an outfit for him. He made him wear a trench coat, a black bow hat, sunglasses and a mask. 

 

“Make sure not to get arrested though,” was what he said to him with a mocking laugh as he sent him out. 

 

Jae didn’t get it at first, but seeing how humans kept giving him weird looks all along the way, and even now as he sits on a bench waiting for his two friends, he realizes how suspicious he looks. He’ll think about a revenge later.

 

When the two arrive, finally, he sends the text Wonpil has prepared for him to the group chat. Jae deeply prays that they’ll watch the movie, even without him around. He most fears Brian’s reaction. He’s scared that he’ll leave and ruin the whole plan. 

 

The cupid watches with bated breath as the two check their phones simultaneously. Brian’s face blanks out for a few seconds, before a worried frown settles on his face. He sends back a text, asking if he’s alright. Jae rolls his eyes as he reassures him through another text. He even blatantly asks them to watch the movie together, without him. 

 

They exchange a few more words, Sungjin looking worried as he talks. This is so frustrating! If Jae were in his cupid form right now, he’d be standing between them, leisurely listening to the whole conversation, with no one giving him any weird looks. 

 

At the end, Brian says something, and Sungjin smiles. Then, together, they head for the tickets booth. Jae jumps happily at that. For once, something is going the way he’s wanted it to. When he’s made sure they headed inside the theatre, he too purchases a ticket and follows them in. He chooses a seat in the back where he can watch them unsuspiciously, while they can’t see him. He takes off his glasses and mask, and leans back on his seat. 

 

Sungjin and Brian chatter for a while before the movie starts. Instead of watching the big screen, Jae is more interested in them. However, the longer he watches them, the more desperate he feels. As much as movies make cinema scenes romantic, nothing of that cliché happens. There’s no leaning against each other, no shy talks. There’s no accidental hands touching when reaching for popcorn, or intentional hands holding. The distance separating the two stays the same the whole time, no body part crossing the invisible line between them. 

 

Jae is practically seething after the movie, he even sends a dozen of angry text messages to Wonpil, ranting about his big failure. 

 

‘Be patient. They’re still going to eat together.’

 

‘And what makes you so sure genius?’

 

‘It’s lunch time duh!’

 

As Wonpil has expected, the two do go to a fast-food parlor on the first floor of the mall to eat. Jae, back to his disguise, follows them. He decides to sit at a table outside, and watch them through the glass. Thankfully, the two seem in a good mood. The ambiance looks perfect if you ask him. Are there no cupids around to do him this favor? 

 

He devours his burger and slurps on his soda, his eyes never leaving them. At least he gets to eat.

 

“Ahjusshi, ”

 

The high pitched voice startles Jae out of his wits. His head whips to the side to find a small girl tugging at his coat, her big innocent eyes looking at him in anticipation. Forgetting his initial surprise, Jae smiles at the girl. 

 

“Yes, little kiddo?”

 

“Ahjusshi, are you a criminal?” 

 

It takes Jae a moment to process her question. He releases a baffled chuckle, “No! What made you think so?” 

 

Still looking innocent, she answers, “You look weird.”

 

Jae confidently points at his outfit and says, “I’m on a mission, that’s why my outfit is a bit weird.”

 

“Oh, so are you a killer? Do you kidnap little kids too?” She asks again, tone too casual considering her question. 

 

“What?!” he suddenly feels offended, “I told you I’m not a criminal and I’m not a dangerous person!” He defends himself. 

 

“Are you sure?” She gives him a suspicious look, “or are you saying that because I’m a kid?” She crosses her arms.

 

“What’s wrong with you? If you think I’m that dangerous, then why are you here talking to me?”

 

The girl has the audacity to roll her eyes, “Ahjusshi, I’m not a stupid kid that will let you kidnap me.” 

 

Jae takes a deep breath to control his anger. 

 

“First of all, I’m not ‘ahjusshi’! You make it sound like I’m too old,” technically, yes, he is old in humans’ standards, but his current looks are still youthful, “Second, please tell me, how will you protect yourself from kidnappers when you’re this tiny?”

 

The kid smiles wickedly at him, and Jae thinks, ‘!’. In a fraction, her expression changes and she starts wailing loudly like there’s no tomorrow. Jae panics immediately, not knowing how to react. 

 

Her way turns out to be effective, because now, everyone in a two-hundred meters radius is looking at them. And in less than two seconds, a worried woman runs to the kid to comfort her and hug her. When asked why she was crying, the girl shamelessly points at him. The woman gives him a stern look and throws a few insults at him before taking her daughter and going away. People are still staring at him, and whispering among themselves. Embarrassed, he leaves the restaurant and goes to hide behind the few plants decorating the center of the plaza. 

 

It takes him a few minutes to recover. Jae has never realized how scary human children are before today. They’re more vicious than adults. He looks around, to make sure that no one is giving him the stink eye anymore. Before he can relax in relief, Jae suddenly remembers his mission, and the two he’s supposed to be watching right now. He can’t see them from his spot, and he can’t go back their, so he decides to wait.

 

Thankfully, they exit the place only a few minutes later, both having big smiles plastered over their faces. Something good must’ve happened for them to look that happy, especially Brian. Jae doesn’t need to dwell too much on that thought. The sight of the shining arrow with the feather fetching lodged right over Brian’s heart explains everything. 

 

‘Oh.’

 

-TBC-

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SURPRISE!!!!! Did you guys see that coming? Tell me what you think about this chapter in the comment section :p 

Anyways, I will probably sticking to an update per week from now on, so stay tuned =D 

Stay safe, healthy, and happy <3