cupid's mistake

#015

[YEONJUN'S POV]

(before she left)

"ay hyung," beomgyu emerged after he watched y/n leave. he sent me a teasing look before sitting down beside the other three boys. he wiggled his brows. "so? you got someone new?"

"and you didn't even tell us?!" huening kai added, playfully feigning offense in his voice.

"what?" i frowned, "no, no. she's... a friend."

"friends don't look at each other the way you look at her." taehyun remarked, clinging onto soobin.

i rolled my eyes, feeling the weight of their collective scrutiny. "seriously, she's just a friend. we were talking about something unrelated to relationships. why are we talking about her and my relationship with her?"

the mischievous glint in their eyes, however, suggested they weren't buying my casual explanation. beomgyu leaned in, whispering conspiratorially, "come on, hyung. you can tell us. we won't judge."

soobin added, "yeah, and we promise not to tease you too much."

yeah, that's a lie.

i chuckled. however, there was a feeling; a subtle discomfort that i couldn't quite pinpoint crawling on my back. the image of y/n flashed in my mind, and for a moment, i was lost in the memory of our rooftop conversations. i still remember how i stole glances at her.

"hyung, you're blushing!" huening kai exclaimed, nudging me again back to reality. the sudden realization of their observation made me touch my cheeks, slightly surprised by the warmth.

"alright, alright," i relented, deciding to share a bit. "her name is y/n, and she's just a neighbor. we bumped into each other a couple of times, that's all. we're friends, that's it. nothing more or less."

their eyes widened in unison, and they exchanged knowing glances. "y/n huh?" soobin teased, his tone carrying a hint of playfulness. "sounds like more than just a neighbor and a friend."

"you're hiding something, hyung," beomgyu asserted with a grin.

soobin raised an eyebrow, shooting a knowing look at the others. "you seem pretty invested in this 'neighborly' friendship."

"yeah, we saw the way you were looking at her," taehyun added, his grin widening. "it's not just a friendship, hyung. admit it."

caught off guard, i tried to steer the conversation away. "come on, guys, it's not like that. we're just friends. besides, we've got more important things to focus on."

but as the childish banter persisted, a subtle realization dawned on me. y/n really became more than just a friend to me. i found myself finding peace with her. i rarely felt troubled. god, i can't even remember when was the last time i even touched the green glass bottle full of alcohol.

soobin, sensing my discomfort, shifted the conversation. "alright, enough about our hyung's neighbor. let's play some games."

as the topic shifted, i couldn't shake off the lingering thoughts about y/n. the mere mention of her name sent ripples of warmth throughout me, a sensation that felt both unfamiliar and oddly comforting. it was as if the world around me had shifted, and y/n had become a constant presence in my thoughts. the movements around me blurred as the four boys began moving around in search of the consoles to play.

"yah, hyung. where did you put them?"

i wordlessly pointed to a shelf at the corner. however, beomgyu had his head buried into the wrong place. soobin assisted him, making a mess out of my stuff. huening kai had already found himself in my room and taehyun was in my kitchen. i shook my head, forcing myself to watch these dumb human beings who began to turn my home upside down. i frowned, "what are you doing? it's not there, stupid."

[💘]

i tiredly collapsed on my bed. my back submerged itself into the soft material and i sighed. my hands blindly reached out to the tabletop beside my bed to grab my phone. i chuckled, realizing my wallpaper changed to a picture of kai. he must've changed it when he was in my room for god knows what reason. i opened my gallery and that was when my gaze landed on the collection dedicated to my ex.

my lips twitched to a frown and i pressed it open, skimming through all the pictures. we were happy. she was happy.

what happened to us?

i let out a sigh of frustration and without hesitance, i deleted the entire collection filled with pictures of her and us.

"gosh," i exited the app, "why do i still have the pictures? didn't i delete them? it's already the end. get it into your head, fool." i gritted and tossed my phone beside me. i shut my eyes closed. the memories of us were turning hazy in my head. i already accepted it. 

[Y/N'S POV]

"lady y/n," a senior cupid called out to me. i stopped in track, turning to the older man with curiosity.

"can we talk in private?"

upon hearing his request, i gently whispered to the little cupids around me to go on before parting from them. the kids gave me a nod and began to run away, their childish laughter filling the anxious air of the realm.

"so how are you progressing? it's a disappointment the nexus turned unstable while you were doing your mission." the man began the moment i joined him. hearing him, i frowned. i didn't even feel like i was halfway done with the mission. although i am sure the love nexus instability was part of the reason why i couldn't get stuff done but then again, yeonjun was a stubborn one for me nudge. he hopelessly clung onto that string of finished love and i needed to cut it off. but, i did see an improvement which is that he stopped indulging himself with alcohol and crying to sleep every night.

"i'm trying, sir. though, it'll take me some time to put him on the right path."

"having issues with him?"

"not really. i believe i can do it. it's just i'm not using my bow and arrows for this mission hence why i'm taking a long time to complete the task." i admitted, looking at the cupids who fluttered about. the realm was barely back to normal. even though the higher ranks managed to stabilize the pillar a bit, it'll take time for cupid works to continue and for me to return to yeonjun.

"well, don't be disheartened that there's barely any progress." the older cupid heartily laughed out loud just like santa claus. his large hands warmly patted my back, "love conquers all!"

my hopeless eyes sparkled. that's right. in the end, love will conquer all.