Sebastian told his close friends that he was cursed never to find his one true love. It was the punishment for abandoning the promise he made to someone a long time ago. Nine years ago, to be exact. He was cagey when telling the whole story. He deliberately omitted the parts considered unbelievable and supernatural because doing so saved him from being labeled a loony.

Would you believe that I made a promise to a vampire but failed to fulfill it? He wanted to ask Millie.

That creature cursed him, and rightly so. Vampire or not, what he did was unacceptable. He made a promise but his misplaced passion got the better of him. That night, he wasn’t just rejected by a man he was crushing on for a long time. He was cursed too. 

He never experienced a steady, fulfilling relationship.

If only he could turn back time, he’d rather skip that summer camping trip in the mountains with his college friends. Then he wouldn’t have met that vampire. He wouldn’t have confessed his feelings. 

So how can he let go of something ingrained in his brain for nine years? 

The thought of it made him anxious. 

He enjoyed reading fiction romance because it filled the void in his heart. But based on his previous experiences, romance is superficial. And love is like an unreachable summit. 

He murmured, “Damn.”

It’s that time of the year again when he should be hiking in that mountain. It’s a summer pilgrimage, an excursion he has done for the past four years, following the advice of a shaman regarding his bad luck. 

He furrowed his brows. He’d be seeing that shaman again. He better not tell that to his friend. Otherwise, he’d get an earful, like she did four years ago. And that almost broke their friendship.

“Hey, Mr. Romance Editor! Why the glum face?”

“It’s nothing. Well, just thinking about summer, that’s all.”

“Oooh!?”

“What?”

“Are you sure you’re not thinking of going to a shaman for a consultation?”

“Jeez! I stopped four years ago…”

“Good,” she said, “Our trip to the shaman is still giving me the creeps when I think about it…” she said as if squirming. She extended her arms for him to check. “See? Goosebumps!”

“I’m sorry about that…” 

His eyes started to get watery. He was dumb and selfish by involving his friend on his trip to that shaman. That time, he and Millie thought they’d die.

“Hey! Stop that. I’m gonna kick your leg if you go crybaby on me!”

The liquor must have gotten into him. Earlier, at the urging of his friend, they sampled some liquor at the bar before they settled in this table. He gets emotional when he’s drunk. He nodded and poured champagne into his glass. He’ll drown his sorrows with this expensive drink.

“We’ve made up. Past is past, okay?” She winked at him. “I’m just angry that after what we went through, that curse wasn’t lifted, hah!”

She drank the red wine with unabashed gusto like a habitue at the pop-up bar. 

“Hey, go easy on the wine—”

“Ugh! I’m still pissed off at that old perverted hag—”

Suddenly, someone came to their table.