The Cupid and the True Ancestor

"I'm so glad you kids are safe. I nearly had a heart attack this weekend when I heard the news while I was home!"

"We didn't exactly expect to get teleported out of nowhere while we were having fun at the aquarium, sir..."

"Right. And we ended up all the way at the South Korean Antarctic research station, of all places."

"Heh heh, well, Hana, you sound perfectly healthy, so that's a relief. I sent you a text yesterday saying I could process the sick leave for you, but I guess you didn't see it."

Because yesterday I was nearly chopped into firewood by a Balrog's axe, that's why...

There was no way I could tell him I'd almost filed my sick leave under a completely different reason.

"I'm going for a three-year perfect attendance award, hee hee. Can't be missing school over something like this~"

"In any case, if anything hurts, go see a doctor! If you have worries, request a counseling session right away! Your teacher, meanwhile, just had his blind date this week fall through, so I'm a free agent now... *sniff*."

"I think it's you who needs the counseling, sir..."

Maybe it was the aftereffects of Antarctica, but I couldn't focus on class no matter how hard I tried.

Coming back to the mundane daily grind after an environment overflowing with dopamine — I just couldn't adjust. Sitting there listening to lectures like it was any ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ordinary day felt, to put it mildly, surreal.

Hana, on the other hand, wasn't missing a single word the teacher said, taking notes with meticulous care.

Then Jemin, back from a quick bathroom trip, slipped in through the back door and tossed a folded piece of paper onto my desk.

What's this? A request to run a bread shuttle to the school store at lunch?

Or maybe telling me to turn on my phone hotspot in advance?

Great — because I'd fallen asleep reading a delinquent-school webtoon, even a single note was now setting off paranoid fantasies.

"What is it, Seha? Are you receiving a love confession? Is today day one for you two?"

Hana, mid-note-taking, had apparently taken an interest in the paper Jemin threw as well.

"What kind of nightmare fuel is that... Jemin's a guy, Hana."

"Ugh, I think my breakfast is coming back up. This one's on me, I'll admit it. So what does the note say? Weird that he sent a paper note instead of a text."

Good point. Our school didn't even have a policy of confiscating phones, after all.

Unless it was some dire emergency, he could've just left a message or told us during break.

Well then — shall we see what's inside, hmm~?

Keeping a drumroll going in my head, I unfolded the note.

"There's barely any time to eat. Accounting for the line, maybe ten minutes? Our lunch period runs from 12:10 to 1:10. That's brutal~"

"Check the back of the note, Seha. It says: 'Campaign workers get a separate lunch line this week, so you'll be able to eat first.'"

"Seriously? He's already calculated everything and set it up in advance. Like they say, even if you're going to be a servant, serve in a great noble's house. Now this is some class."

"He's not bad at getting things done, and his organizational sense is solid. I just personally don't like how calculating he is, that's all."

"Let's just use lunch to figure out which corner of the field to work. If there are lots of students wandering the athletic field, it might be easier to find a suitable soul?"

"True. I just hope a soul that could make Jeong Harin drop dead on the spot shows up."

We had lunch, then killed time in the classroom fiddling with our phones until it was time.

Small perk of Jemin being ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in our class: the meeting spot is right here.

"Alright, here are my pickets and the campaign sashes. Go spread my name far and wide~"

The pickets and sashes Jemin handed out had an overall yellow-and-white color scheme.

Had he matched them to his own hair color and white, the symbolic color of angels?

Each picket bore a slogan beneath a photo of Jemin smiling so brightly you could count his molars. His campaign pledges were printed alongside, though next to the slogan they were remarkably ordinary.

'Kim Jemin for the legislature. Kim Jemin for the executive. Kim Jemin for the judiciary. Kim Jemin for Student Council President!'

What the — this slogan took separation of powers, threw it in the trash, and promoted a three-branch dictatorship instead.

That's less an angel and more a demon dreaming of world conquest. Angels are allowed to do this?

If Han Ara had seen this back at the cathedral, she'd have hurled a lance at him and demanded repentance.

Hana seemed to share the sentiment, eyeing Jemin with an ambiguous look.

"Did no one proofread this? Did an autopilot AI write it for you?"

"Provocative works these days. A slogan's supposed to be edgy — the more stimulating, the better. I agonized over it and made these ahead of time this year~ So don't overthink it, just shout it with me at each stop."

"Fine, fine. If you say jump, I jump."

"Oh, and Jiyoon and Gyuri are here too. Thanks for coming right on time, guys. Say hi to Hana and Seha, then we'll all head to the athletic field and get campaigning~"

I looked where Jemin was facing and saw two girls approaching, wearing matching name tags.

Lee Jiyoon, the Cupid, with one wing and a halo, pure white tinged with pink like cherry blossom light. And Seo Gyuri, the True Ancestor, her hair a duller white than Hana's, flashing sharp fangs.

Everyone campaigning with me today had gathered in one place.

Being the sole human — and the sole guy — bothered me a little, but I figured I should introduce myself first anyway.

"We've only ever talked over text, so it's nice to finally meet you in person, Jiyoon, Gyuri."

I poked Hana in the side — your turn, move it — trying to shoo her forward.

"Stop that, it tickles... Besides, I already know everyone's faces anyway. Lee Hana, race: Balrog. I saw Jiyoon last year. And Gyuri — first time since elementary school."

"Hello~ So I finally get to meet the school's famous duo in the flesh? Fufu, so you two went all the way to Antarctica together — how far did you get?"

Excuse me. Why is this pigeon suddenly saying things like that?

"I can feel it♡ A thick, sweet aurora of love radiating off you two. Would you let me just... have a little taste? Hm? Just a liiittle~"

Jiyoon suddenly ran her fingers down her own body, her eyes morphing into literal hearts.

Well, she is a Cupid ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠serving Amor and Eros, gods of love — of course she'd be a weirdo too.

Cupids really are the professionals of the romance industry: marriages, matchmaking, blind dates, the works.

And no wonder — they say Cupids can perceive the abstract concept of love in their own unique way.

Who likes whom and how much, whether a confession would succeed — they can apparently see it all.

Jiyoon had been fielding romance consultations since first year and had made quite a name for herself as a couple-manufacturing machine.

Had Hana ever consulted her too?

They were in the same class, so it was possible.

"Jiyoon... care for a sample of my spicy, scarlet-flavored aurora of passion? Or will you not let go?"

Jiyoon was busily stroking Hana's wing, guzzling down her affection like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Uncharacteristically, Hana was just grumbling verbally without actually doing anything about it.

Interesting. Or had she turned over a new leaf?

"To think the great Balrog herself is this helpless against a single Cupid. The dignity of a Great Demon lies in the gutter, I see. Have you no shame?"

Gyuri sauntered over and looked down on Hana with the haughty diction of a villainess straight out of a webnovel.

Look, I know plenty of vampires talk like imperious young ladies and young masters, but...

Being a True Ancestor, her speech was on another level entirely.

It was like her eighth-grader syndrome had almost gone away, then come back with a vengeance.

"Yes, and next, at the Demon Realm Youth One-on-One Duel Tournament, this would be Seo Gyuri — the bat-head who got cut down in six seconds by yours truly."

"HEY!! That was because YOU cheated! Rematch! Let's duel again, right now!"

"Oh, back to your real voice. So the noble-lady speech was an act, huh, Gyuri."

Jemin, who'd been unwrapping a different picket nearby, chimed in.

"Ahem... *clears throat*. You have witnessed a momentary lapse. Forget it at once."

"Hana, first Yohan, now this — duels are just a regular part of your life, huh? So you really did calm down a lot in high school. You two never fought at all back in middle school."

"Demons have a culture of settling things by strength, and everyone's pride is sky-high.

That's why there are tons of youth dueling tournaments, and everyone enters them from a young age.

That's how Gyuri and I first met. The result, of course, was my overwhelming victory♪"

"Which is WHY we're removing the rank restrictions and settling this fair and square! This time I'll rip your head clean off!"

"So how did you win, that Gyuri's completely lost her act and is losing her mind like this?"

"Hmm? She started chanting some long, high-tier incantation, so I just planted a pillar of fire to cancel it. Then I smacked her with the hilt of my Flame Sword and knocked her out cold."

Um. Isn't that a bit... brutal?

Truly a Balrog with no shred of mercy.

"Honestly, trying to cast a long-cooldown spell in front of a melee fighter from the opening move — what did she expect? And Jiyoon, get OFF me, aaargh. Stop touching the wing and the horn!"

Only a combat race like the Balrog could subdue a True Ancestor this casually, I swear.

These were childhood matches, sure, but that's serious combat prowess.

Frankly, part of me wanted to watch the two of them duel right now.

True Ancestor versus Balrog... that's a species matchup they could broadcast on live TV.

"Alright, alright — bicker all you like, but it's time to move. Keep this up and lunch will be over before you know it."

Jemin clapped his hands once and cut our conversation short.

Huh, it was already this late? The clock read 12:25 on the dot.

Well then, shall we get moving? Time to hunt for souls too.

Out the window, I could see crowds of students spending their lunch hour on the athletic field below.

"Whew. The only ones allowed to cling to me are Mom and Seha."

Drained dry by Jiyoon's onslaught, Hana stood up and smoothed out her rumpled clothes.

Notably, Dad did not make the list.

Hang in there, Papa Balrog...