A Rose-Colored Dream; Soonhoon

01

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JEONGHAN IS TRULY angelic, like something out of a classic painting; fair, bright-eyed and kind, holding a heart stained white with purity. Soonyoung looks at him often and finds himself sighing. Wish I could be like that.

Soonyoung has bright eyes, but they're reckless. He's a clumsy sort of kind, endearingly sweet, like a child, and his heart is more bruised than pure. He doesn't know how to go about things the way he should, he only knows how to try his best - which, unfortunately, doesn't seem to hold much weight up in the clouds. Jeonghan likes to see the best in him, anyway.

"Don't do this to me," Soonyoung groans. "It's the third time this month. I'm just gonna screw it up again."

"No you won't," Jeonghan insists. "The third time's a charm, I believe it, I can feel it. You got this."

"Says who? I'm no good at these things."

"If that were true, you wouldn't be a Cupid."

"I'm not kidding when I tell you I always wonder how I got stuck with this job. I think the answer is that I'm equally hopeless at everything else. It's probably safest for the Council to just stick me with the matchmaking game."

Jeonghan strides over and tosses the file onto the table by Soonyoung, motioning for him to flip it open. "The Council has kept you here because they see your potential, and they like you. If you were really that useless, they'd probably just dismiss you entirely."

"Can they even do that?"

"What, dismiss you? Yeah. If it gets bad enough, they'll just kick you out. Drop you down on Earth and say have fun living a finite life." Soonyoung gapes at him, horrified, and Jeonghan immediately backtracks. "But that won't happen to you!" he says. "Just look at the file, okay?"

Soonyoung heaves a sigh, dropping his shoulders and reaching to grab the papers, all stacked neatly and bundled inside a creamy folder. He flips it open and starts scanning the first page.

Lee Jihoon. 23 years old. Rookie producer at Pledis Ent. Lives alone, introverted. If he isn't at home or at work, he's probably at the nearest cafe. Sleep-deprived. Overworked. Hopelessly gone for his best friend.

"Your job," Jeonghan interrupts his reading, "is to turn that hopeless into something a lot more hopeful."

"Right, because I'm so good at that." Soonyoung rolls his eyes and turns to the next page, pausing with his fingers hovering over what looks like a license photo. "Oh. He's cute." Jeonghan leans in closer.

"Mm-hmm, and he's smart, funny, talented, sweet - the whole package. Come on, Soonyoung, you're practically set up for success. Just stop putting yourself down and tell yourself you can do it."

"Easier said than done. I can't help feeling like this is just gonna be another disaster. Watch me ruin this guy's chances completely, it wouldn't be the first time." Soonyoung feels pathetic, deflating in front of Jeonghan, who seems to shine so brightly no matter what the setting is.

"At the end of the day, all you can do is go down there and try your best. It'll be a whole lot easier if you don't make yourself feel like shit while you're at it."

Soonyoung knows it, hates that he's right. It's just so much easier to be a pessimist.

"Fine, I'll do it."

"Awesome. You didn't really have a choice anyway, but I appreciate your cooperation. You leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"