The Cupid Tragedy

XI. The Meddlesome

Laying on his back, Jinho watched the clouds floating along in the clear blue skies from the rooftop. There was a lot on his mind, especially after the 'date' on the weekend. Hongseok had walked him home after they finished up at the cafe and then left shortly after giving him the box of cupcakes they made together. Jinho had stressed over what could potentially happen at the end of the date, fearing Hongseok would confidently go in for a kiss of some sort. Jinho had mentally prepared himself to knock Hongseok out with his powers and drag Hongseok's body up to his apartment to deal with the next morning if that were to happen. But he had worried over nothing. Hongseok seemed more concerned about assuring Jinho that he would keep his word not to say anything to Kino. He wanted to make it clear that he didn't have any malicious intention and just genuinely wanted to get to know Jinho better. For what reason, Jinho was still unsure. However, it was their conversation about Kino that had been bothering Jinho the most. Up until that point, he hadn't really considered whatever he felt for Kino as 'love' but hearing it come from another person was oddly confronting. Then again, if it wasn't love, what else could it be? Jinho closed his eyes, hoping to find some peace since his mind was in turmoil.

"Jinho! Good afternoon!"
The corner of Jinho's eye twitched at the sweet familiar voice and he reluctantly opened them to meet the person standing over him, blocking out the sun. An angel? Jinho abruptly sat up and slowly scuffled backwards.
"Kino?" He rubbed his eyes with his small hand and still saw Kino standing in front of him with a blinding smile. Am I thinking about him too much to the point that I'm imagining things?
"What are you doing up here on the rooftop?" Kino asked after squatting down to get closer to Jinho. The cupid gulped, feeling his eyes getting strained from staring at Kino with too much intensity. It wasn't his imagination, it was the real deal. He also couldn't help but admire how beautifully Kino suited the backdrop of clear light blue skies and fluffy clouds like a scene out of a picture book.
"I usually come up here to clear my head..." Jinho smiled unnaturally, "What about you?"
"I was looking for you and this was the only place I hadn't checked." Kino giggled with a soft blush coming across this cheeks all of a sudden as he crawled inwards on his knees, almost on top of Jinho who was still stupidly staring at the cute boy. Jinho froze up, unable to comprehend what was happening. His mind was starting to go blank, his palms sweaty. What is he doing!?
"Oh..." Jinho really couldn't muster up any actual words, let alone form a sentence.
"I'm really glad I found you." Kino moved dangerously closer until their faces met and Jinho was pinned to the ground, "To be honest, I have something I wanted to tell you..." The soft-looking boy averted his gaze and seductively bit his bottom lip. Jinho's pupils shook erratically, stuck between the temptation to keep staring and looking away. When all seemed lost, a slight sly smirk on Kino's face was enough to snap Jinho out of his trance. Sensing something was off, Jinho slapped Kino across the face and the boy fell to the side onto the ground. As the cupid had suspected, Kino's image faltered and soon disappeared completely, revealing none other than Seonho.
"Damn it, I thought I had you!" Seonho stupidly grinned, quite proud of the result of his shape-shifting. It was considered an especially hard skill for cupids to master so most preferred to refine other talents and have subpar shape-shifting skills. So it was surprising for Jinho to see Seonho, who he had deemed a rather dim-witted cupid upon their first meeting, demonstrate such a high level skill with scary accuracy. He could only imagine what powerful potential Seonho would have once he mastered replicating soft details such as personalities and mannerisms. It was now clear why he was actually chosen to be Eunkwang's secretary. Jinho tried to remain calm and stood up to dust off the dirt on his pants, "I may be stuck in a human body but I'm not an idiot." There was no way he would admit he was even briefly fooled by Seonho. Jinho had unfortunately witnessed something he should never have - the lustful look in Kino's eyes. He took a deep shaky breath to slow down his racing heart. This is bad...I have to compose myself.
"I had to try." Seonho bounced up onto his feet, "Sooooo? You know what I'm thinking, right? It's a great idea, riiiight?"
"What's a great idea?"
"Come on! You know what I'm talking about!" Seonho shape-shifted into Wooseok and towered over Jinho, "I can simply pretend to be one of them and then confess to the other person!" Seonho beamed with a twinkle in his eyes, "It's the perfect plan!" Jinho looked up at Seonho, silently in awe with the transformation which was accurate down to Wooseok's deep voice.

Jinho crossed his arms and tried to lecture Seonho on why his plan was far from perfect (only after he got him to sit down because his neck was starting to hurt from looking up so much). In theory, it was the 'perfect' plan in most cupid cases. However, in practice, it was a flawed plan which really showed Seonho's inexperience as a field cupid. If all cupids could just shape-shift and confess to their subject's targets, their job would be, quite frankly, too easy to warrant having a whole sector of the Heavens dedicate the service to humans. For cases to be considered truly resolved by the Association, declarations of love had to be genuine with the intention of longevity, otherwise, the case would remain open in the system. Shape-shifting to simply confess had more often than not only lead to bigger problems.
"I strongly advise you stop with your meddling here on Earth before you make things even more complicated than they already are. Don't worry about us and return to Eunkwang's side." Jinho's words struck through Seonho's enthusiasm like a hammer to glass. Before closing the door behind him to go back into the building, Jinho turned back and warned Seonho, "I better not see you around here after today or else I'll make you regret ever coming to Earth."

~

Hui scanned his surroundings for signs of other people but could only see various flowers and plants in the garden beds. This looks like a good place to nap...The only sounds of people talking seemed to come from the other side of the main building which was considerable far. Hui had made his way to the small secluded greenhouse after his nap was disturbed by Seonho who had had the audacity to shape-shift into Yan An and try to make a move on him. At least now, he was aware of the young cupid's dangerous skill. He only truly sensed something was wrong once 'Yan An' uncharacteristically started talking too much, and to him of all people. Other than that, the physical appearance and voice of Yan An was unfortunately flawless. Seonho had excitedly proposed the plan of pretending to be either Changgu or Yan An and confessing to the other person. Hui had seriously considered the plan because it was perfectly suited for cases which involved mutual attraction. All Yan An and Changgu needed was that extra push to confess their feelings and then their case would most likely be resolved. But he ultimately rejected it due to pride. Hui did not need help from a novice cupid. He was going to prove his skills and resolve this himself even in his measly human form.

The cupid must not have closed his eyes for more than 10 minutes on a bench in the hidden garden when a loud crash woke him up from his light sleep. He sat up immediately, feeling groggy and looked around to find the source of the disturbance. It was none other than Hyojong who was on the ground amongst the remains of the smashed potted plant scattered everywhere. He had noticed Hui sleeping earlier and had been trying to continue his gardening duties quietly as to not wake Hui up. Clearly, that idea was short-lived as soon as he tripped on his own loose shoelace whilst trying to tip-toe past Hui with a potted plant in his arms. He tried, he really did.
"Sorry for waking you up! I didn't mean to." Hyojong cried out whilst trying to cup some dirt and the wrecked plant in his hands. Hui stretched his arms out and let out a loud yawn.
"It's fine." There was no point getting irritated at the human when he had already been interrupted once by a damn cupid anyway. Before he could get another word out, Hyojong came over to the garden bed behind the bench Hui was sitting on.
"Can you quickly dig a small hole right there with the shovel in my pocket?" Hyojong stuck his hip out and to Hui's surprise, there was indeed a small striped shovel in his pocket. After he dug a hole as instructed, Hyojong quickly placed the roots of the plant into the hole and patted the dirt around it with his bare hands. He placed his dirty hands on his hips and then stuck out a thumbs up at Hui who was less than impressed. He had wanted to steer clear of humans but here he was, stuck with a clingy oddball.
"Is this your secret garden or something?" Hui asked as he returned to laying down on the bench.
"Oh, no, I wish it was. Although it is rather secluded and not many people come by here..." Hyojong paused, looking as if he was in his own world, and then grinned, "I volunteer to help out with tending to the garden sometimes during lunch."
"Right, so it is your secret garden. Sorry for intruding." Hui said with sarcasm. Of course the guy who believes in spirits and ghosts was into gardening. Now that he thought about it, Hui had never seen Hyojong around other people from school other than that one guy, Hongseok. But Hui couldn't care less. All he cared about was how much time remained until he had to go back to the much dreaded classroom, not knowing Hyojong shared a similar sentiment.

Hui noticed that Hyojong seemed more concerned about the plants than tending to the scratches on his arm which were oozing out blood. The cupid closed his eyes to get whatever rest he could before time was up. He could hear the sound of Hyojong walking back and forth, occasionally whistling some random happy-go lucky tunes. Eventually, he was unable to ignore the nagging thought in his mind any longer and forced himself up, "Hey idiot, your arm is bleeding."
Hyojong stopped in his tracks to examine the back of his own arm and burst into a bright chuckle which lit up his face, "Oh! You're right!"
Hui shook his head, How can someone be so dense? It was tempting to just reach out and heal the wound using his powers but he knew that wasn't a viable option.
"Is there a first-aid kit somewhere?" Hui asked, annoyed at himself for getting involved in the first place. It wasn't like him to be so meddling like a human.
Hyojong listlessly looked up for the longest time before replying, "There should be one in the shed."
Disgruntled, Hui went to the shed to grab the first-aid kit and came back. He had checked the contents beforehand and it was practically empty with only a few band-aids which had been tampered with anyway. He used his powers to fill the kit up to the brim before walking back out. He beckoned Hyojong over who obediently sat cross-legged on the floor and held his bleeding arm out. Hui was surprised Hyojong didn't wince whilst he swiped the wound with antiseptic. Instead, Hyojong just continued to stare at Hui without saying a word.
"Stop staring at me or I'll poke your eyes out." Hui said as he carefully put a band-aid over one of the smaller scratches.
"You're a really nice person, Hui." Hyojong beamed. They were definitely words the cupid didn't think he'd ever have to hear. Hui fought back a smile of amusement. A nice person, he says. The two things I am definitely not. Hyojong suddenly grabbed onto Hui's hand which was holding a fresh band-aid, "No really, you're not a being of this world, are you?" His shift to such a serious tone caught Hui off guard. Hyojong's strong gaze was starting to burn into Hui who quickly pulled his hand away from Hyojong's tight grip.
"What makes you think that?" It was a cleverly cautious question from Hui. Hyojong had already demonstrated his sharp senses once before when they encountered Seonho. Of course, it could have been a fluke but it was better to be careful.
Hyojong giggled and relaxed his arm for Hui to hold again, "I was just thinking you're too nice to be part of this world." Hui saw a hint of sadness flicker in Hyojong's eyes before the human started flailing his arms around and complaining how his arm was getting tired like a child.

"Alright, done." Hui said after placing the final band-aid, "Don't move your arm too much or the bandage will - Hey!" It was too late. Hyojong was already vigorously swinging his arm around as if to test it out. He then enthusiastically pulled Hui up by the wrist and lead him to a garden bed inside the greenhouse. He proudly showed off three plants in small white pots with names that were badly written on with permanent marker.
"These are my children! I got permission to grow my own plants in the school garden as long as they weren't too big." Hyojong's eyes literally sparkled as he explained the names he gave to each plant without Hui even asking. At one point, Hui found himself watching Hyojong, who was too focused on tending to his plant children to notice, and then smirked to himself. What a weird human.

~

Guanlin almost spat out his water when he noticed Seonho laying down underneath the sink of the taps, hugging his own knees. I've never seen this guy before, is he a new student? After wiping the water off his mouth with his sleeve, he squatted down and hesitantly shook Seonho's shoulder.
"Um, are you alright?" Guanlin quietly asked. He felt compelled to ask even though it was none of his business. Seonho stretched his legs out and as he was sitting back up, hit the back of his head against one of the sinks.
"Yeah, I'm alright...I'm just a little upset is all. Thanks for asking, human." Seonho pouted, sadness just pouring out of his eyes. You look a bit more than just a little upset... Guanlin felt bad for the guy even though they just met, Maybe he's being bullied?
"Did you need..." Guanlin paused as he tried to recall his temporary loss of Korean, "some food?" He was meant to say 'a teacher'.
"No, I don't eat human food." Seonho let out a long sigh, not noticing how shocked Guanlin was by his statement. Human food, what does he mean by that? Guanlin's eyes widened and he let out a gasp, Is he being fed pet food!?
All of a sudden, Seonho grabbed Guanlin's shoulders and started shaking them, "I just want to help them out but they won't listen to me!" Seonho cried, "So what if they're like a century older than me! They're powerless now! I just want to help them!"
Not quite grasping the context, Gualin just slowly nodded with a confused look on his face and patted Seonho on the back. He dismissed the whole 'century older' thing, thinking Seonho was just exaggerating, when in reality, Seonho was being quite literal. Uh, this is getting awkward, he looks like he's about to burst into tears any minute now. What should I say?
Guanlin thought about what he would want to hear if he was in this stranger's position and then cleared his throat, "Well, maybe you can prove them wrong."
Seonho lifted his head up and looked at the human with watery eyes, "Y-you think so?" Going ahead with his plans would be against the rules but he knew deep down he had already accepted the potential consequences. He was determined to help his respected seniors out.
"Yeah!" Guanlin tried his best to channel the passion of his inner sportsman, "Just go ahead and do whatever it is you planned to do and prove those haters wrong! They'll be thanking you later!"
Guanlin anxiously waited for Seonho's response who looked like he was seriously digesting the advice.
"You're right! I can do this!" There was a new fire in Seonho's eyes, "I CAN PROVE THEM WRONG!"
"Yeah! That's the spirit!" Guanlin couldn't help but be swept up in the uplifting mood. He was just glad to have been able to help out a fellow student.
"Thank you, human! I will remember your kind words and this fated meeting!" Seonho wrapped his arms around Guanlin for a tight squeeze and then promptly ran off in high spirits. The Taiwanese boy scratched his temple and shrugged off the strange interaction, innocently unaware of the consequences to the world around him.

A/N: Yeeeaaaahh, that's right, a bit of HuiDawn to celebrate TRIPLE H's comeback! Remember to check out RETRO FUTURE which is out tomorrow. The concept looks really fun and the chorus sounds super catchy so I'm really looking forward to it, hehehe.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! A lot more to come so stay tuned. :)