May The Stars Guide You

XAVIER (Word count : 499)

You glance at the phone resting on the restaurant table once again.

No missed calls.

No new messages.

The text you sent still sits unread.

Earlier, while you were waiting outside the Hunters Association headquarters, your boyfriend, Xavier, had messaged to say he needed to finish some reports and told you to head to the restaurant without him. He'd meet you there as soon as he was done.

You hadn't thought much of it.

As neat and organized as Xavier was, paperwork had never been his favorite task, much to Captain Jenna's frustration. Besides, with his light evol, he could teleport to you in seconds.

But now, more than thirty-five minutes have passed since you arrived.

He is nowhere to be seen.

You have already finished both of your drinks and the appetizers.

At last, your phone vibrates.

A new message.

Sorry. A last-minute mission came up. Meet U at home later.

You let out a quiet sigh.

You aren't angry.

As a fellow Hunter x albeit one who works in data processing and analysis - you understand how unpredictable the job can be.

After paying the bill, you leave the restaurant and begin the walk back to the apartment you and Xavier share.

As you stop at a crosswalk, a familiar figure catches your eye.

Silver-blond hair.

A hunter's uniform.

Xavier.

But he isn't alone.

Walking beside him is his partner, MC.

Their pace is slow and unhurried. Though you can't hear their conversation, they're smiling.

They certainly don't look like they've on a mission.

Without hesitation, you follow them from a distance.

The two of them disappear into the Twinkle Toys arcade.

You trail after them, stopping just inside the entrance.

It's close enough to see them standing shoulder to shoulder at a claw machine, laughing as they take turns trying to win a plushie.

Completely carefree.

You turn around and quietly walk back outside.

Your feet carry you down the street on autopilot.

Xavier lied to you.

He wasn't on a mission.

Or if he had been, it had ended long ago. Instead of meeting you, he'd chosen to spend time with MC.

This isn't the first time you've seen them together.

Every other time, you'd convinced yourself it was nothing more than coincidence.

MC is his work partner.

She also happens to live in the apartment below yours.

There were plenty of reasonable explanations.

Or at least, that's what you'd kept telling yourself.

Before you know it, you've wandered to Philo, Jeremiah's flower shop.

He greets you with a warm smile.

The moment he sees your face, it disappears.

You don't have to say a single word.

He already knows Xavier is the reason.

Time and time again, Jeremiah has warned him that this MC wasn't his MC - the queen he'd loved back on Philos.

If Xavier kept chasing the past, he would lose the person standing beside him in the present.

Judging by the emptiness in your eyes...

It seems that day has finally come.

ZAYNE (Word count : 535)

You are almost at the bakery when your phone rings with an incoming call from your boyfriend, Zayne.

His voice is as calm and measured as ever.

“An emergency came up at the hospital, so I won't be able to join you. I'm not sure when I'll be done, so don't wait for me.”

The call ends before you have a chance to respond.

As the head cardiothoracic surgeon at Akso Hospital, emergencies are simply part of the job.

Since you're already nearby and the hospital isn't far away, you decide to stop by the bakery anyway. Even Zayne can't spare the time to enjoy something sweet with you, at least you can leave him a small treat to brighten his day and satisfy his sweet tooth.

When you step into Akso Hospital, you nearly bump into Dr. Greyson.

“If you're looking for Dr. Zayne, he's in his office,” he says as he hurries past.

You make your way there, only to pause outside the half-open door.

A woman's laughter drifts into the hallway.

Then comes Zayne's voice.

Soft.

Gentle.

The kind of tenderness you've only ever heard him use with one person.

MC.

You know she's Zayne's childhood friend, someone he'd recently reunited with after years apart. You also know she's a Hunter with an Aether Core embedded in her heart, making Zayne her primary physician.

By the sound of things, though, she seems perfectly fine.

When you'd first met MC, you'd been genuinely excited. You'd wanted to hear stories about what Zayne was like as a child.

But over time, you couldn't ignore the way he looked at her.

Or the way he spoke to her.

It wasn't the concern of a doctor for his patient.

Nor was it simply the affection of one friend for another.

It felt like something much deeper.

You quietly turn around and leave.

...

When you unlock the door to the apartment you and Zayne have shared for nearly two years, you're greeted by silence.

The apartment feels cold.

Sterile.

Empty.

You sink onto the couch, your gaze falling to the sonogram in your hands.

Today, at the bakery, you had planned to tell Zayne you were pregnant.

You are around ten weeks along.

Judging by the timing, you must have conceived that night when the two of you attended one of his senior colleagues' birthday parties. You'd both had a little too much to drink - Zayne especially, considering what an incredible lightweight he is - and neither of you had been as careful as usual.

The positive test catches you off guard, but it doesn't frighten you.

You and Zayne have been together for three years. You both have stable, well-paying jobs and a spacious apartment. You know he'll take responsibility.

More than that, you know he'll make a good father.

At least...

Those had been your first thoughts.

Your hand trembles, and your voice quivers ever so slightly as you speak into the phone.

“I'd like to make an appointment at your clinic, please.”

You have no intention of trapping Zayne with a child, let alone bringing a baby into a relationship that already feels forced, or raising that child as a single parent.

RAFAYEL (word count : 500)

You give yourself one last glance in the bathroom mirror before heading out for work.

Just as you're about to leave, your phone rings.

An incoming call from your boyfriend, Rafayel.

“Pleaseee tell me you're still at the studio.” His voice is a whine the moment you answer.

“I am. I was just about to head out,” you reply.

“I think I left my ID badge there. I can't find it anywhere,” he complains.

As a renowned artist, Rafayel occasionally teaches art classes at Linkon University. The badge isn't just an ID, it also grants him access to the campus and its studios.

“Can you look around for me? Thomas is already on his way,” he pleads.

Before you can answer, he hurriedly adds, “I've got to go. My students are here.”

The call ends.

You check the time.

You still have some time to spare, so you decide to look for the badge before Thomas arrives.

The problem is, Rafayel isn't exactly the tidiest person.

You search the studio from top to bottom, checking every place you can imagine he'd absentmindedly leave his badge.

Nothing.

Eventually, your attention settles on a door.

A door that's always closed.

Locked, in fact.

A room Rafayel has never let you enter, not even when he's with you.

For the first time, it's standing slightly ajar.

He must have forgotten to lock it in his rush to leave this morning.

You slowly push the door open.

The room beyond is filled with paintings.

Portraits.

Every single one depicts the same woman.

You recognize her face, yet you can't place where you've seen her before.

You wander farther inside, your eyes moving from one canvas to the next.

Then your foot bumps against something on the floor.

You look down.

Rafayel's ID badge.

You bend down to pick it up.

Just then, you hear Thomas calling your name.

You don't answer.

A few moments later, he finds you standing in the middle of the room.

His eyes widen.

“Rafayel…” he breathes. “Every time I ask how his paintings are coming along, he brushes me off. But... look at all of these.”

His gaze sweeps across the room before suddenly stopping.

“Wait a minute…”

His expression shifts to one of genuine confusion.

“Why are all of these paintings of MC?”

MC.

The name finally makes everything click.

She's the Hunter who'd come to Rafayel's studio not long ago while investigating a lead involving a painting. After a Wanderer attacked the studio, he'd insisted on hiring her as his personal bodyguard.

The same MC he'd been spending so much time with lately.

Always "for work."

Rafayel has only ever painted one portrait of the two of you together.

You'd always felt something was missing from it.

It lacked…

The passion.

The spark that seemed to exist in every other painting he'd created.

Now you know why.

Without a word, you place Rafayel's ID badge into Thomas's hand.

Then you turn around and walk out of the studio.

SYLUS (word count : 423)

You stand in the lobby of the office building, staring out through the floor-to-ceiling windows as you search the pouring rain for a familiar car.

Or a familiar face.

Your workday ended long ago.

You check your phone again.

No missed calls.

No messages.

You've already tried calling your boyfriend, Sylus - the man who was supposed to pick you up - but the call went straight to voicemail.

You tried the twins.

Luke.

Then Kieran.

Neither of them answered.

You can only assume something involving Onychinus has come up.

With a sigh, you hurry out into the rain and flag down a taxi.

He eyes you warily when you ask to be taken to the N109 Zone.

You promise him a generous tip.

A heavy sigh escapes your lips as the taxi pulls away.

You hardly ever ask Sylus for anything.

Yet the one time you do - something as simple as picking you up from work, especially when the forecast had warned of heavy rain - he lets you down.

You'd come to the office building for a meeting with a client alongside a colleague, and the two of you had shared a ride.

Unfortunately, she'd had to leave early.

That's why you'd called Sylus.

There wasn't exactly another way for you to get home.

No bus runs into the lawless N109 Zone, and no sane taxi driver would willingly drive into a place where danger, illicit trade, and powerful Wanderers coexist.

The taxi drops you at the edge of the district, refusing to go any farther.

Fortunately, you managed to reach Hank.

As one of Onychinus's members, he runs an auto repair shop and agreed to drive you the rest of the way to the base.

When you arrive, you're surprised to find Luke and Kieran there after all.

“Where is he?” you ask, your voice sharp.

The twins exchange a nervous glance.

One look at your expression is enough.

“Boss-man is helping Miss hunter with a mission,” they answer in unison before making a very quick escape.

Of course.

You should have known.

Whenever MC - a.k.a Miss hunter - calls, Sylus drops everything to go to her.

You make your way to your bedroom.

The two of you have always kept separate rooms.

The moment the door closes behind you, something inside you finally snaps.

One by one, you pull out every dress, every piece of jewelry, every gift Sylus has ever bought you, tossing them across the room.

You don't want any of it.

You're not something that can be bought.

CALEB (Word count : 419)

You smile to yourself as you park your car outside the restaurant where you're supposed to meet your boyfriend, Caleb.

He's finally returned from another long mission, and after weeks apart, the two of you are looking forward to sharing a hearty meal together.

Just as you lock your car, your phone vibrates.

Caleb: Something came up. Rain check? I'll make it up to you, I promise.

You can't help but sigh.

This isn't the first time.

As the colonel of the Farspace Fleet in Skyhaven, Caleb shoulders an enormous amount of responsibility.

You've always understood that.

Still, disappointment settles heavily in your chest.

Not in the mood to eat alone, you decide to head back home.

As you drive through the city, two familiar figures catch your eye.

Caleb.

And MC.

They're strolling leisurely down the sidewalk, Caleb wearing his signature boyish grin.

Your fingers tighten around the steering wheel.

You quickly dial Caleb's number before pulling over to the curb.

Through your side mirror, you watch him take a few steps away from MC as he answers the call.

“Hey,” you say, forcing your voice to remain light. “Where are you?”

“Didn't you get my message?” His voice is quiet. “I'm still at HQ.”

You don't let him finish.

The call ends.

Caleb and MC aren't biologically related. They were both adopted by Josephine and raised together.

You'd never questioned their relationship before.

You had accepted how close they were.

For the longest time, you'd always thought of them as siblings.

Until you started noticing the way Caleb looked at her.

The quiet longing in his eyes.

A yearning you never realized he was capable of.

A want that was never directed at you.

The kind of love that couldn't be mistaken for familial affection.

Like she was home.

You unlock the door to the apartment you and Caleb share in Skyhaven.

The first room you walk into is the guest bedroom.

The room is kept ready for MC whenever she stays over.

Every time she stayed over, you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were the outsider.

As though you were the one intruding.

Like the third wheel.

You move into your bedroom and pull a suitcase from the wardrobe.

Without hesitation, you begin packing.

Clothes.

Toiletries.

Everything you can't leave behind.

When the suitcase is finally full, you take one last look around the apartment.

Then, without looking back, you walk out the front door.

This time...

You have no intention of ever coming back.

VALKO (word count : 467)

You look up at the towering EonCore Tech building.

You've been here a few times already, yet you still can't get used to its sheer size.

The reason you're here is simple.

Your college classes ended early because one of your professors had to leave unexpectedly, so you decided to surprise your boyfriend, Valko, at work.

You greet the security guards and receptionist as you pass, flashing the access badge Valko had given you before making your way to the elevator.

His office occupies the top floor.

As the elevator ascends, you glance into the plastic shopping bag hanging from your wrist.

Earlier, you'd stopped by the convenience store to pick up a few of Valko's favorite snacks - chocolate bars and chocolate milk.

You still can't wrap your head around how he can even consume chocolate.

Considering he's a wolf hybrid - a fact you only discovered by accident during a camping trip - you'd assumed chocolate would be dangerous for him. Wolves are, after all, closely related to dogs, and chocolate is toxic to them.

Apparently, that rule doesn't apply to him.

The elevator dings.

As the doors slide open, you come face to face with a young woman dressed in a Hunter's uniform.

She offers you a polite smile before stepping into the elevator.

You watch the doors close behind her.

She must have come from Valko's office.

After all, it's the only room on the entire floor.

You wonder what business a Hunter had with him.

Making your way to his office, you notice the door is slightly ajar.

You raise your hand to knock—

Then stop.

“Grandma, I found her!”

Valko's cheerful voice carries into the hallway.

“The one I've been searching for. I found my mate!”

The word mate catches you off guard.

You know that a mate is, simply put, a destined soulmate chosen by fate.

You don't fully understand what that bond means to Valko's kind, but you've always thought of it as their version of true love.

You and Valko have been together for nearly a year now.

Is he finally going to introduce you to his family?

“She just left my office, so I guess it's more accurate to say she found me,” he says with a chuckle.

Your smile falters.

Something isn't right.

“Her name is MC.”

Your name isn't MC.

The plastic bag slips from your fingers, chocolates scattering across the floor as your knees threaten to give out,

He's talking about the woman.

The stranger you'd just passed in the hallway.

You turn and run.

You repeatedly stab at the elevator button until the doors finally slide open.

The moment you step inside, the doors begin to close.