Stupid Cupid

05: The Plan

- Win's POV -

"Where are we?"

I ask Bright as I look around the place. We seem to be in an abandoned bodega, with several chairs and tables collecting dust.

"Why did you bring us here?" I ask again when he doesn't respond. Instead, he just grabs two chairs and brings them over to where I'm standing.

"We're currently out of the city. It's safe here. Only Azralis and their chosen guests can enter. This is the place we usually hang out when—"

"Hang out? Really???" I cut Bright off.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Seriously? You know what 'hang out' means?" I ask Bright with a smirk as I look around for a cloth to clean my chair.

"What exactly do you mean?" He sounds annoyed as he sits down on a dusty chair.

Gross. Tsk.

"I just find it weird. I thought you guys prefer isolation and loneliness?"

Ah, a cloth at last! I pick it up and realize it's a handkerchief. Well, I don't care who owns it—I'm using it anyway.

"Excuse me, but we are not lonely, okay? And yes, we prefer to isolate ourselves most of the time, but that doesn't mean we don't know how to socialize," Bright defends, rolling his eyes.

There! It's clean now!

I sit across from Bright, cross-legged, with my arms folded on my chest, mimicking him.

"Then when was the last time you hung out?"

Bright looks up at the ceiling, tapping his fingers on his chin. "Last two years, based on human time, I think?"

"Last two years?! You call that hanging out?! Heck, Amosias make sure to at least meet once a month, and it's never enough for us!" I look around, and now it dawns on me why the place feels so abandoned.

Bright just shrugs, and I shake my head in disbelief.

Seriously, these Azralis. I will never understand their lifestyle. Ever!

"Enough about me. So what are you planning to do now?" Bright asks, reminding me that I actually have a bigger problem than their preference for solitude.

"Ooooooooy!" I shout in frustration, aggressively ruffling my hair and burying my face in my knees. "I can't believe I'm having this problem now! How could I have been so stupid to make such a grave mistake?!"

"Can you please sit up straight? You look crazy."

I look up at him, incredulous.

"WELL, I AM CRAZY! I AM GOING CRAZY!" I jump up and pace back and forth, hands on my hips. "I need a plan, Bright. I need a plan to fix this situation."

"What exactly would happen if they fall for each other?" Bright asks.

I stop and look at him. "My doom."

Bright rolls his eyes. "Could you please elaborate?"

I sigh and return to my seat. Pulling the chair closer, I sit near Bright.

"Two things you should know." I raise my right hand, holding up two fingers like a human peace sign. "There's a difference between unsuccessful matchmaking and wrongful matchmaking. In unsuccessful matchmaking, matched people are really meant for each other, but other matters in their lives stop them from being together in their current lifetime. So, we wait for another lifetime to match them again. But what I did earlier is an example of wrongful matchmaking, and it's only happened once before. Once, Bright! Once! And you know what happened?! The two were miserable for the rest of their lives! They thought they loved each other and their love killed their souls. It was tragic, that match. And you know what happened to that Amos after she made the mistake?"