Chapter Text
It’s been an awfully sunny week when he was sent to the mission that he was assigned to.
Kim Soleum wipes the sweat that was starting to form by his brow, fanning himself with his right hand. It’s been a while since he walked around amongst humans on land, considering the fact that he was locked away for a few centuries just because of something the gods didn’t like. He squints his eyes at the sleeve that was wrapped around his arm, feeling strange with the clothes he was wearing.
Back before he got punished, he was pretty sure clothes were less stuffy than this.
Well, there was no reason to complain. In the end, the world develops while he wasn’t looking, and this was just one of those developments.
…Not to mention…
Kim Soleum, who was sitting on a bench placed just off the main road, looked around the place. Towering buildings dared to reach up to the skies, challenging the domain of the gods. It lacks the artistry that he remembers people being so obsessed with back then, instead being replaced by a faint feeling of arrogance that he couldn’t quite place.
So many things have happened over the years. He feels a little out of his depth.
The good thing was that because of the kind of existence he was, he didn't need thorough explanations to understand what was happening. Centuries worth of information had flowed easily to his head as soon as he was free. He could roughly tell what was going on.
Ehem! Anyway, back to the task at hand…
“Thank you for waiting!”
A person jogged up to him, wearing an easy-going grin. He hands a purple can to the other man who’d been sitting patiently the entire time.
He turns it around in his hand to check the flavor. Then, he paused and frowned.
“This is…Fanta?”
“Grapes flavored Fanta!” the brunette declares while squeezing himself next to him. “I don’t know which one you’d like, so I went with my instincts.”
“I’ve never actually tried this one.”
Or any kind of soft drinks, for that matter, Kim Soleum completes in his head. But he didn’t quite say it out loud, lest he blow his cover.
“Is that so? Then we’ll find out, won’t we?”
He takes his time to inspect the can, taking in every detail of this thing that he was having for the first time in his many years of living. The brunette seemed quite oblivious of what he was doing this for, which was good for him.
Finally, he pops it open, listening to the hissing sound and the bubbling that soon came down. Kim Soleum takes an experimental sip, savoring the cold drink that saved him from the heat.
He feels eyes watching his actions.
“Is it good?”
Ah—
Although he was startled by the sudden question, he composed himself quickly, keeping a mildly embarrassed expression.
“It’s refreshing, especially for a hot day like today,” he says, like he was hesitant to admit so.
“That’s a good thing, right? Haha…” His current companion chuckles to himself for a short while. “So, what brings you to the city?”
…That, well…
Kim Soleum’s cover, as of the current, was that he was from the countryside who traveled all the way to the city, which will be convenient if he acts like he hasn’t properly seen some things that he comes across at some point. However, the truth was so far from it that it was a little absurd to hear the two reasons side by side.
The real reason was the very same person in front of him.
He was acting like a completely normal person who is nice even to strangers at the present, but Kim Soleum knew that this person was someone who had once done something that earned him the ire of the gods. While he doesn’t know exactly what the details were, it was enough to make him feel a little wary.
So there it was. Some person who was apparently clever enough to trick the gods. And on the other side, a sort-of errand runner who made a mistake in the past and had to be punished for several centuries because of said mistake.
Looking at it from that way, it was clear that this mission was a set up for him to fail. There was no doubt that they still disliked him after the incident back then. The gods are capricious beings anyway.
Still, he wasn’t the kind of person who would just calmly take the bullying like so. He was confident enough in his ability to stay in one spot no matter how many times they tried to kick him away.
…Just enough so.
“I’ve seen nothing but the countryside my entire life,” Kim Soleum, who had long prepared this answer beforehand, answered. His tone was carefully set to make it seem like the story he was telling was truly his own. “It’s a little shameful to admit, but…I wanted to see what’s out there.”
“Ah, I understand,” the other person nods. “There’s a lot of things happening in the city, so you might’ve been feeling a little left behind.”
“Just a little,” he admits. “By the way, I haven’t heard your name yet…?”
He sees the hand, which was slowly moving to drink the contents of his can, stop midway. Eyes turned back to him, glinting in a way that made him feel uneasy. As if this person was dissecting his character, trying to pry into the things he’d purposely left unsaid.
It was pretty chilling, he’d admit to that, at least.
“Choi.”
Kim Soleum waited for a long time, wanting to hear the other half of the name, but it never came.
He blinked in confusion. Then, trying to prompt it, repeats while dragging out the final sound.
“....Choi….?”
Seeing his attempt, Choi laughed again, finding the situation amusing.
“Just call me Choi, no need to think about anything else.”
“Okay, Choi-ssi.”
“Drop the formalities too. It’s really fine.”
“...Then, Choi.”
What’s with this person? He seems to be very friendly. Kim Soleum’s initial impression of him wasn’t very bad. In fact, it almost felt as if he wasn’t the kind of person who would come to steal something that belongs to the gods.
Maybe this was a test, too?
Since those people don’t have good opinions of him, then could it be that they were doing this, not to set him up for failure, but to force him to make a blunder by ruining an innocent person’s life.
What a dilemma, seriously! No, maybe he was just overthinking it. After all, this person did something wrong to the gods! There was no way they’d wish him a good life!
He chats with Choi for some time, and together, they go around the city. This was because Choi was insisting to help him adjust to the place, saying that he could be the tour guide for the day. Before they knew it, the sun was already starting to set, and the person who volunteered to show him around was standing in front of him with a regretful smile.
“It’s getting late, so I will have to go now.”
“I understand,” Kim Soleum responds with a nod. So they bid their farewells and separated ways.
He didn’t even notice just how quickly the time passed by. Choi was a pleasant person to talk to, and he genuinely enjoyed their conversation. He seemed to know a lot of things about what happens in the city. It was only unfortunate that mortal time goes by so rapidly that it almost felt like a moment.
Kim Soleum looks for him again the next day. This time, rather than appearing in the form of a human, he was instead cloaked in the natural invisibility that comes with being a cupid. His large white wings were draped and folded languidly on his back. He was just sitting on an empty couch, chin resting on his palm with his elbow propped on his knee.
Choi was talking to who might be his co-worker. He seemed so at his element, just interacting with others with a smile. However, there was something different about how he was with these people compared to when he was with Kim Soleum just the day before.
Kim Soleum adjusts the tie on his neck. Again, the clothes of modern people these days felt more constricting compared to back before his time out.
Choi continues living his usual day at work. Meanwhile, the person who was supposed to match him with an unpleasant person, watches on with impassive eyes.
He moves as well when Choi has to leave the room. When he leaves the building, Kim Soleum follows along, flying idly behind him and observing everyone that this person crosses paths with. When his wings got tired, he would perch himself on top of a street light and move only when his target was moving out of his line of sight.
When the day ended, Kim Soleum watched until there was no more chances of Choi meeting anyone else. Then, he returns up to the skies and waits for the next one to come.
He finds out quickly that this was truly a difficult job.
It was difficult to find anyone who seemed to dislike him enough. Choi matches his personality well depending on the person he was talking to. It was even more difficult when he was working, but he is very casual with them, like everyone in that place are good friends. There are times when Kim Soleum would just slump helplessly over the couch, unable to figure out just who he should match with this person.
He takes a break from his reconnaissance at some point. He returns to the same spot where he first met Choi, popping open yet another soda can to handle the heat that he could now feel due to returning back to a human body.
He rearranges the information he has inside his head so far.
First of all, it will be difficult to find anyone that would not get along with Choi. He was the kind of person who knew how people would like him best, and he has a wide range of connections as well.
Secondly, it was strangely difficult for him to notch an arrow and point it at that person. Choi was nice to him when they’d first met, and he was also nice to everyone else. He seems to be a genuinely good person. Even if he managed to annoy the gods, then it might as well be justified because he knew just how much of a pain those beings are.
It was surprisingly difficult to give him a terrible love story. If he wanted to make a bad matchup, Kim Soleum could’ve just pointed the other arrow at some criminal. Or he could just shoot a stranger and leave it up to fate if it works out well or not between Choi and that person.
But in the end…Kim Soleum was the kind of person who wouldn’t do that. Especially since he'd already seen the kind of person that Choi is.
Many years ago, he’d been tasked to do the same thing by one of the gods. The situation was that apparently, he got into a bad argument with another god that he was close with. He poured all his annoyance towards an unlucky mortal, who just so happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Kim Soleum was the one who was ordered to make that woman fall in love with a cow.
However, having met and talked to the woman before he commits to the plan, he finds that she is a genuinely good person with bright aspirations, not much different to the situation with Choi at the present. Someone like him simply couldn’t find it in him to ruin it for her.
So he matched her with the childhood friend she’s been in love with for years.
Gods are petty. Even when he made excuses for what he did, they weren’t happy with him for disobeying their orders. That was the reason why he was punished for so many years, a forceful way to teach him a ‘lesson’.
“You look troubled again.”
!!
Kim Soleum looks up abruptly. The familiar face of Choi chuckles at the surprised expression that he made. Speak of the devil and he shall arrive, huh?
“Hello, podo-yah.”
“...?” The cupid’s face turned blank. “Podo-yah…?”
“That’s right! I realized too late that I never did ask for your name, and I needed something to call you. Weren’t you having a grape-flavored drink when we met?”
“...I guess so?” he responds unsurely. “But I have a name, too. It’s Kim Soleum.”
“Oh, it’s great to properly meet you, podo-yah.”
Hey…
Is he seriously going to stick with that nickname? Who gives that kind of name to someone they’re not even very close with…?
“How come you’re here?” he gives up and asks instead.
“I was just passing by. I remembered meeting here before, so I made a small detour to see if you’ve come back. Turns out you did!”
Oh, that’s right.
He’s almost forgotten how this person visits this place at least once every day during the time he’s been watching. But frankly, for Kim Soleum, that detail didn’t particularly matter as much. He’s been to so many places that one area doesn’t hold much significance at all.
Choi sits at the armrest of the bench, looking at him.
“Did you see what you were looking for in the city?”
Kim Soleum was silent for a moment, taking a sip from his drink.
When he lowered it, his answer was slow.
“I’m not sure.”
“I see. Well, I hope you do soon.”
The thing is that, as long as he couldn’t figure out what to do with the very same person wishing him luck, there was no way he would be able to accomplish the task.
He sighs heavily. But then, he came up with something that just appeared in his mind, like a daring suggestion.
What if he just…asks…?
Kim Soleum watches the other person from the corner of his eyes. He wasn’t looking anymore, instead having turned his eyes to the street where countless people and vehicles pass by every minute.
Would it be okay if he asked? He wasn’t sure, since there’s a chance that this person might realize who he was. Choi is not an ordinary person. He was someone he was aware that the presence of the gods are very much alive and present in the modern age.
“Choi.”
His call draws the other man’s attention easily enough.
“Yes?”
“Have you ever fallen in love?”
“...Huh?”
Well, if he can’t ask in a straightforward way, he just has to be roundabout with it!
Choi seemed a little embarrassed by the question. He rubbed the back of his neck while thinking about what to reply.
“This is an unexpected question, and from podo-yah, no less! Uh—could it be that you’ve fallen for someone and don’t know how to respond?”
Hey, why did it suddenly become about him? What kind of deflective tactic is this?
“No, I was just a little curious…”
“Really? Well, it’s okay if you don’t want to tell.”
Kim Soleum couldn’t refute much. The truth was that, when becoming a cupid of the gods, it will be impossible for him to fall in love. One of the things that gets stripped off from him upon taking up the title is the ability to feel romantic attraction to anyone, making sure that there is strict impartiality when pairing couples up with each other.
Actually, there was only one instance when this fact was made wrong, but it was from all the way back in ancient times. Most cupids thought that it was likely to be make-believe. From what he knew, many before had tried to figure out how to break free from the constrictions, both out of curiosity and personal reasons.
But it wasn’t like he could explain this to Choi. So he just settles for letting him believe what he wants.
“To answer your question, I haven’t.”
“Really?”
“Well, there might’ve been one. But it was only for a short while. We’re just good friends now.”
Huh. Considering the kind of person that Choi was, he thought he might’ve gotten into more relationships before. After all, there are a lot of people who find sociable men appealing, even more so when he has good looks.
“By the way, podo-yah…”
“Hm?”
Kim Soleum snaps out of his thoughts to look questioningly upon the other person.
“I’ve been wondering about this for a while now, but where have you been staying since you moved to the city?”
“...Me?”
“Yes.”
Wow, this is, uh…unexpected.
The usual case when he was matching someone was that they didn't really think much about him after they’d met. That was why he didn’t have to come up with an excuse upon getting these kinds of questions before.
Too flustered and caught off-guard, he didn’t have the time to think before blurting out an answer.
“Just…around…?”
“Huh? What do you mean, around?” Choi stares at him in shock. “Don’t tell me…have you been sleeping on the streets?”
Of course not! Kim Soleum’s place in the skies was actually far more comfortable that anything that the mortal lands could offer to him! He composes himself quickly this time, and comes up with a proper response that is more convincing compared to what he just said.
“No, I checked in a hotel for now.”
Yes, thank you for the immediate knowledge that comes with ending up in this time! Although he never experienced checking in on a hotel before, this time it will be fine to lie about it since there was no reason to demonstrate or show proof.
“Ah, I see. But it would be hard to keep paying for it as long as you don’t have a job. Do you have one?”
Well, yes? His job is being a cupid…
But he can’t say that.
“Not…particularly…?”
“Then, would you like to stay over my place for the time being?”
Huh?
Wait, what was that again? Why did that offer come out of nowhere?
Kim Soleum already knew that Choi was a good person. However, he didn’t think he would be the kind of person who would offer his home to someone he doesn’t even know so well.
And then he remembered that this man is supposedly a tricky one.
…Was he up to something?
Kim Soleum, having fallen into his suspicions, was about to reject the offer, when a sudden realization comes to mind.
Wait, if I accept…doesn’t that mean it will be easier to learn more about Choi?
The more he knew about Choi, the more he could figure out the best way to matchmake him, right?!
His mouth spoke before he could consider fighting against his own thoughts.
“N—I mean, if you don’t mind…?”
Choi’s hand reaches out, patting his shoulder with a satisfied smile. Kim Soleum stares blankly as he realized what he just said. Did he just dig an even bigger mess for himself, or was it a shortcut? It was a little difficult to tell, so it was honestly a little dizzying...
“Good choice, seriously! Okay. Let’s go, I’ll show you the way there.”
…Hey.
Will this really be okay?