STUPID CUPID ✶ choi soobin

eighteen.

yumi's eyes slowly peeled open, as she took in her surroundings. people grabbing their luggage from above their seats, other people filing down the aisle towards the door of the bus. some were even just waking up, as yumi was.

yawning, she stood from her seat and grabbed her small carry on, ready to get off the bus and go home. once off the bus, she took in the fresh air with a smile, even though the air wasn't as clear as in her hometown.

looking at her watch, she frowned slightly at how late it was. "soobin must be in bed already."

but her assumption was proven wrong when she noticed a certain black-haired boy standing not too far ahead with his back facing her. smiling softly to herself, yumi quietly crept towards the unsuspecting boy. releasing her bag without a sound, yumi jumped up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "boo!"

leaning over, soobin looked at her as if she was insane, before realizing that it was the person he was waiting for. instantly, his surprised expression was replaced with a warm smile, which caused yumi to smile back. the two stared at each other for a moment, yumi's arms still wrapped around his shoulders as they held the other's gaze. however, the silence was soon broken.

"this is our first hug," soobin pointed out, his cheeks red as he looked at her arms.

coughing to cover up her embarrassment, yumi released him, "w-what are you talking about?" not even waiting to hear his answer to her rhetorical question, yumi grabbed her luggage and walked towards the exit of the transit station.

soobin smiled, watching her retreating figure for a moment, before jogging to catch up with her, "wait for me!"

➴➶➴

"it's so much better now with you here," soobin smiled as yumi set the freshly cooked food in front of him, "i tried to make dinner for myself last night, but i burnt it," he admitted sheepishly. smiling up at her from his seat, soobin grabbed his chopsticks, "i'll enjoy this meal, thank you." the boy took a bite, but immediately began fanning his mouth, "ow, hot, hot!"

yumi poured him a glass of water, quickly holding it up to his mouth, her other hand on the back of his head so he wouldn't lean back too far while drinking. "be careful!" she scolded, her voice stern; however, her eyes were full of worry.

soobin couldn't help but grin, staring up at yumi, "you look cute when you're worried."

ignoring his comment, yumi tsked and set the water by his food, "what would you do without me?"

though he knew the question was rhetorical, soobin still found himself opening his mouth to answer her. "i don't know," he responded, his voice serious as his eyes poured into her's, "i don't know what i'd do."

yumi blinked, her face remaining emotionless; yet, her heart was beating so wildly that she was sure it'd burst from her chest at any moment. visibly swallowing, yumi breathed, deciding this was her first chance at revealing her feelings.

"i don't know what i'd do without you, either."

they both cleared their throats awkwardly, while looking around the room to avoid the other's eyes.

"how was your trip?" soobin asked, trying to change the topic.

"it was good," yumi nodded, "it was nice to see my family."

sighing, he looked at his foods as he said his next words, "it must be nice to enjoy being around your family."

"you don't like your family?"

he shook his head, "it's not like that. it's just- stressful, is all. i feel like i have a lot of expectations to live up to."

"expectations?"

soobin nodded, before continuing to elaborate, a crestfallen look on his face, "my dad is known in the heavens as 'the best cupid to ever live,' so you can imagine the struggle in living up to that." he sighed, his gaze still set on his mostly untouched food, "after my first few months of being cupid, i made a lot of mistakes, and aphrodite wasn't happy about it. so she sent me on a mission, which is the entire reason i was sent here. i came here to experience love, so i could become a better cupid, and not put shame to my father's legacy."

yumi remained silent, as she and soobin never had a chance to have a heart to heart conversation like this.

"and now, thanks to you, i know what love is." he smiled, reaching across the table to grab her hand in his.

yumi could tell the poor boy just wanted to make his father proud. knowing that feeling all to well, she knew what she had to do. but she just wanted to enjoy the feeling of his hand in her's for a little longer, despite it being quite selfish.

tomorrow, she decided, tomorrow, i'll tell him.