𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲•𝐣𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐧

six

castle after castle. jeonghan's gonna go nuts! all they do is stop for castles, roaming around and taking notes as their professor lectured. this field trip is so boring. seungkwan had ditched jeonghan, too, after jeonghan absentmindedly said 'yes' when seungkwan asked if it was okay to stay with seokmin and soonyoung for today. jisoo was not speaking much, too.

(in jeonghan's defense, he was thinking about seungcheol's departure from the field trip so he wasn't very much aware of what's happening around him. it wasn't anyone's fault that he's lonely today.)

"alright, this is the last castle we'll be visiting. feel free to roam around, after twenty minutes, come back to the front of our bus and we'll go grab a bite for dinner." the professor states, looking at the sky. jeonghan observes the twilight. "alright! go!"

"you're not talking to me." jeonghan fished out one of his airpods from its case, plugging it in his left ear. jisoo looked at jeonghan, amused. "i'm bored shitless!"

"you're supposed to learn in this trip, not chitchat." jisoo replied, puckering his lips to appeal innocent to jeonghan. "you're using your earphones. wow, you can talk to me in front of crowds now."

jeonghan subconsciously shoved his hand inside his scarf, reaching for the ring on his necklace. he played with it as he replied. "whatever. what will you do now? seungcheol's back in korea and your... mission won't be completed so soon. we'll be here for a couple more days."

"we can wait."

"i don't like waiting!" jeonghan nags, walking past jisoo. the matchmaker followed him with a chuckle. "can't you use your whisper thing to get us home?"

"who will i whisper to, then?" jisoo asked. "the professor? if your university finds out, he'll be fired. be sensitive, jeonghan-ah." jisoo poked jeonghan's side, making the other squirm and huff in annoyance. jisoo was grinning from ear to ear, clearly enjoying this.

"i don't know! are matchmakers usually like this? dependent?" jeonghan turned his head to scoff at jisoo's face, who, scrunched his nose in reply. "you see, if you do something about this, i'll be able to see seungcheol again and you'd finish your mission sooner!"

"nice proposition, but i can't harm the lives of other people. there are a lot of things to take into account, jeonghan." jisoo replied calmly. jeonghan rolled his eyes. "ah, you're very far from what i thought you were going to be from first glance."

"i can be kind if i want to." jeonghan shrugged, glancing behind him after he heard seungkwan's loud laugh. "anyway, what happens to you if you complete this mission? do you get another mission? do you watch over us or something? what necessarily are matchmakers?"

"hmm, many questions, but hey, i understand where your curiosity comes from." jisoo hummed, staring at the dark sky with a tinge of orange. twilight was almost ending. "when you die, you get two choices. you go straight to the afterlife or you go to the land of the matchmakers, the lost city of carat, as a matchmaker. ah, if you die as a vengeful soul, you don't get a choice—you become a matchmaker instantly."

"oh, so you're dead," jeonghan nods. "do you get older? and why did you choose to become a matchmaker when you can go to the afterlife and rest there? infinitely? i'd want that." jeonghan reminisced the feeling of being snuggled up in your bed comfortably.

"okay, so you become a matchmaker, and all throughout your life as a matchmaker, you get only one mission. once accomplished, you get to be human again." jisoo tore his gaze from the sky to jeonghan. "we don't age. it's like our aging process stops when you become a matchmaker, and when you get back to earth, you continue where you left off. i died when i was twenty, i think."

jeonghan knitted his eyebrows, fanning himself using his notebook. "so, basically, you get two choices when you die; go back here or go to the afterlife, but to go back here you need to accomplish a quest."

"correct." jisoo nodded, smilling at jeonghan.

"and, they make vengeful souls go for the matchmaker route because they're going to poison the peaceful land of the afterlife and they still have to learn a few things they missed while they were living on earth." jeonghan explains, raising an eyebrow. he was unsure if he understood the concept well. it felt like a graded oral recitation.

"correct!" jisoo clapped his hands once, making jeonghan nod in satisfaction. he understood the concept, after all. "are you a dean's lister or something? you get things fast."

"oh, no. i'm just average." jeonghan replied, skimming the pages of his notebook. he looks back up at jisoo and tilts his head in curiosity. "do you remember your life as a human?"

"nope."

"so you're making memories with me!" jeonghan exclaimed. jisoo didn't know why the college boy was so excited about that, but he didn't voice it out. "aigoo, jisoo, you're very lucky to fill your mind with memories of me. the most beautiful being in seoul architectural university."

"wow, full of oneself," jisoo blew a raspberry, making jeonghan shove the matchmaker's shoulder. jisoo laughed. "you trying to make yourself look special to me?"

"you're irrelevant." jeonghan spat, running a hand through his black locks. he clicks his tongue after catching a glimpse of jisoo.

"wow. i'm the one you're going to thank in your wedding with seungcheol, and you call me irrelevant? thanks." jisoo huffed, shaking his head. what he was saying was true, anyway, and if jeonghan really disregards jisoo when he gets married to seungcheol, he'll attend the wedding with a gun hidden in his suit.

"welcome."

jisoo scoffed, but it soon turns into a chuckle. jeonghan joins in not too soon, finally, having some fun in this field trip.

there were some slip ups on jisoo's part, and he should've done something to stop seungcheol from leaving so he can accomplish his mission faster. but then, what about seungcheol's father? seungcheol really should be there for his father, and jisoo had all the time in the world. he can try again next time.

jisoo had time, which seungcheol's father might not have. jisoo can't be selfish. seungcheol has a life, too. jisoo can keep jeonghan hanging in there for a few more days before he can continue his mission. he becomes human again, jeonghan is happy with seungcheol, then boom, all problems are solved.

"ah, anyway, jisoo," jeonghan says, taking off his airpods. "i have something for you to do."

"i'm not exactly a genie, i'm a matchmaker." jisoo quips, shrugging. "but i'll hear you out."

"tell seungkwan to hang out with seokmin and soonyoung," jeonghan stops walking, and so does a confused jisoo. what does that have to do with anything? "i think i want to hang out with you more."

"hmm, you picked me over your best friend?" jisoo nods acknowledgingly. "such sacrifice. okay, i'll do it."