Don't Be Cruel (MilkCiize)

DBC - 19 🥛🎀

POV: Love

Finally, we arrived at the camping spot after that exhausting and melodramatic ordeal. Everyone quickly busied themselves with their own tasks, while I simply sat back and enjoyed the view. How I love being on the summit—it feels so refreshing.

Kapook started setting up their tent, while Milk did the same on the opposite side of the campsite. Ciize, as always, was her helpful self, immediately beginning to prepare the food and grill the meat.

However, as Ciize tried her best to light the fire and heat up the food, I noticed her struggling due to her recent injury. I could tell it still pained her, but she shrugged it off and continued focusing on her task. 

Milk, on the other hand, couldn't stop fidgeting, her eyes darting toward Ciize, clearly wanting to help but hesitating.

Her indecision started to annoy me. Watching her half-heartedly build the tent while her mind was obviously elsewhere—focused solely on her "princess"—was painful. She was torn between staying put or going over to help Ciize, her thoughts consumed with worry.

To put her out of her misery, I decided to do something. I stretched, got up, and walked over to Milk.

"Hey, enough with the act. Go help your princess. I'll take care of the tent," I said firmly, giving her a way out.

"No, it'll be done soon. Just wait, I can handle it," she insisted stubbornly, not wanting to back down.

"Do yourself a favor," I sighed. "Don't waste my effort trying to do some good in life. Ciize needs you more than I do. Or would you rather watch her make her injury worse as she keeps working? She's struggling with all those tasks."

Those words seemed to finally get through to her. She dropped what she was doing and, at last, found the courage to go to that oblivious girl.

-----

We gathered around the bonfire. Instead of the expected couple setups, the seating arrangement was bizarre, to say the least. 

I sat a few feet apart from Kapook, while the two audacious, unofficial couples sat closer than they should, fully immersed in their own little world—giggling and laughing for no apparent reason. Their carefree display was both amusing and irritating.

I couldn't stand it any longer and decided to prod Kapook back to reality. Surely, she would at least try to reclaim her girlfriend, that is, if she actually cared.

"Kapook, how long have you and your girlfriend been together? They look more like a convincing couple than you two," I said, my words laced with sarcasm, hoping to jolt her into acknowledging what was happening. But instead of rousing her, I found myself caught in my own game.

Kapook simply smiled and shrugged, explaining with a casual air, "Me and Ciize? We've been together like forever, I guess. She's always called me her girlfriend as a friendly term of endearment, but there's really nothing more to it than that. It's just... friendship."

I blinked, genuinely shocked. "So, you're saying this whole time, you've been fooling us into thinking you two were an actual couple? Is that it?" My voice came out louder than intended, as if I had stumbled upon the latest celebrity gossip.

I wasn't the only one affected either—Milk, overhearing the conversation, couldn't help but grin ear to ear, entirely forgetting that she was engaged to marry me. Such a lovestruck fool.

Despite everything, I found myself oddly happy for them. At least now they could breathe a little easier, no longer playing pretend. My little games had worked, and it felt oddly satisfying, like I had been a playful cupid without even realizing it.

What a good day it had turned out to be, having a bit of fun stirring the situation. Maybe I'm a hopeless romantic after all. Love sickness—it seems like it's contagious.

Kapook, clearly intrigued by my antics, asked, "So, how long have you and Milk been together?"

I decided to give her the truth, sparing no details.

"Just a week ago. We got caught up in this cliché family arrangement, trying to tie us into a setup marriage that we both detest." I locked eyes with her, letting her know I wasn't joking.

Like Kapook and Ciize, Milk and I were stuck in our own strange arrangement, forced into roles we never asked for. And in that shared frustration, we had somehow managed to form a bond.

"I think that's why we've befriended each other so quickly," I added thoughtfully. "It's like we both agree that the real-life couple should be MilkCiize, not us."

Milk and Ciize listened intently, and for the first time, it seemed as though they were starting to realize the truth behind the tangled emotions surrounding all of us. The question now was, what would they do with this new understanding? Would they give it another try or walk away from it all? Only love could say.

But as the night went on, I couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe, they would finally take that leap.

Because sometimes, in the strangest of setups, love finds a way.