Chapter Text
"You must understand. It's too dangerous to send them alone to the world of the mortals!"
"I am aware, brother. Unfortunately, though, we have no other choice. We need to keep them seperated. Who knows what might happen if they would interfere."
Silence took over, filling the ginormous room. While the place may feel empty at first, the twelve gods on their thrones are hard to miss. Nevertheless, despite the lack of words communicated in the room, the tension was heavier than all of those thrones combined. Who would have thought that the glare of a godly father could be so deadly. A fist clenched over a giant trident, slammed onto the ground, causing trembling all around.
Much to the others' luck, the goddess of wisdom spoke before any violence could ensue.
"I have a proposal, although we would have to bend the rules slightly." There was a pause, making sure they would hear her out. Proposals would mean they would have to place their votes, whereas majority wins.
Upon the curious looks, she continued. "Leave only one son to the mortals, the youngest shall get summoned by the usual system. Send the other one with his kind, he shall grow up learning and training with the demigods. That way, at least the first born would have full protection."
Another silence ensued, however it was different. The others were deep in thoughts, carefully considering the proposal. The one who represents the sun and light and many more, ended up being in favour of the proposal and raised his hand. Slowly but surely, the others raised their hands as well, placing in their votes.
A heavy sigh filled the room and the trident disappeared in thin air. The ground felt stable once more. "Very well, I suppose it is the only sensible way. I believe in the camp to take good care of my oldest."
"Great! Now that that's settled, the meeting is over. You are all excused."
---
A locker slammed shut loudly, echoing in the deserted hallway. Followed by a headbutt against the metal door, both sounds startling the other person next to the younger teen. Though, that person only seemed to be enjoying the whole scene in front of him, having a grin on his face as he tried to keep his laugh in.
After waiting a few seconds for him to say something, he decided to speak up first, but quickly got interrupted by an annoyed voice. "Mr. Kim knows I'm dyslexic; it takes longer for me to read the questions! I usually get extra time, but he wanted it to be 'fair for everyone'. Fair my ass."
His fist made contact with the locker, although he regretted it immediately from the pain that came after. "Stop making dents in innocent people's lockers. Maybe if you studied better..." The older teased annoyingly at the unimpressed younger, receiving a light push on the shoulder in return. "Ouch! I'm just kidding, Sungie. Gosh. Well, you should report this to the headmaster. If you ever get a really bad grade, it would be the teacher's fault."
Jisung frowned before sighing and unintentionally pouting, which made the older coo loudly and pinch his cheeks. "Is the baby upset? You're so cute, did you know? And your cheeks are so-" It wasn't new for the older to behave like that towards him, but at that moment, he was already frustrated, leading to him pushing the other away.
"Donghyuck-hyung! This is serious! I need better grades, or I won't get the scholarship." Jisung didn't mean to snap at him like that, let alone push his older friend, but all the stress piling up became too much. Donghyuck snickered in return, patting the younger's back. "On the bright side, at least you have a passing grade!"
Only when Jisung turned to glare at him, did he take a good look at the other. The boy was two years older, but shorter. His brown, fluffy hair went up to his neck and his bangs slightly covered his round eyes that shone from the reflection of the lights. His beautiful, tanned skin shined brighter than others', even in the dark. Although unusual, he was sometimes bright enough to be a light at night. The sweater he was wearing was obviously oversized, contrasting the skinny jeans.
It was a well-known fact that he was pretty, the number of confessions and letters he received throughout the year was proof of that. Though, even without all that, just one look would be enough to see it. People call him the second most beautiful guy at school, which is a crazy achievement, considering how the number one was undefeated.
The younger sighed, "But I could've gotten higher or even aced the test if he gave me the extra time I was supposed to have. That is what I'm the most upset about, he set me up for failure! And this grade is 30% of the final grade. All that studying gone to waste." Donghyuck couldn't blame him for being so frustrated.
When he had to do a test, something similar had happened to him. His test was taken right in front of him because he was 'disrupting the class' while having an anxiety attack. Some of his classmates were laughing at him for crying during a panic attack that he got right after. Would they still have called him names and laughed at his face if they knew? Who knows.
Moreover, Donghyuck completely understood the younger. Their school didn't have the best teachers, and the headmaster couldn't care any less. The staff wasn't very helpful at any case. Whether it was about a student, a teacher or anyone in general, barely anything would be done except for a useless verbal warning.
The only reason neither of them have moved schools yet, was because there wasn't any other school they could afford. Scratch that. They could barely even afford this school. Especially Jisung, who had been an orphan for as long as he remembered. His mother died giving birth to him and he had no clue who his father was and could be.
Only thing he had left from his family, was a shell-shaped necklace. One of the staff at the orphanage gave him it when he was seven years old, saying they had to keep it safe first considering how he was too young and might've tried to break it. Ever since then, he had kept it on, not wanting to lose the only thing he had of his parents.
Jisung had been living at an orphanage his entire life. The orphanage could only offer and afford a small amount of schools they could be sent to, one of which was the one he is in right now, unfortunately. While Jisung was lucky that the staff and kids at the orphanage were all kind and he had never been bullied at school, he was always alone.
The boy had his own room, and he used to be ecstatic to have one. Yet, over the years he had grown up feeling lonely. He would hear the laughing and giggling from the other rooms, where the others had roommates. Ever since he became five years old, he had to learn how to do basic things by himself, as he didn't have a parent to raise him.
When he went to elementary school, he had met a boy almost two years older than him. While Jisung was extremely shy and calm, the older boy was the complete opposite. Despite being polar opposites, the boy insisted they should become friends. The two of them somehow became close and grew up together.
However, when they graduated elementary and had to go to middle school. The boy told him he was leaving for an unknown reason but promised to come back. Jisung felt heartbroken, but the pained look on the older's face made him realise that he wasn't the only hurt one. The following three years of middle school had been the worst years in his life.
With his friend by his side, he gained slightly more confidence and could speak with strangers. That was only the case when the older was with him, leading to him not being able to make new friends in the entirety of middle school. His classmates forgot his whole existence at times, when they did remember they would try to get him to talk in ways that he'd rather forget.
While his middle school had a high school right next to it, he wanted to start his life all over again. It wasn't like he was leaving any friends or family behind, not that he had either of those. Luckily, there was one other high school that his orphanage could enrol him in. On his first day of high school, he was surprised to see someone he missed dearly.
Lo and behold was the one and only person who had saved him from loneliness. The person who came up to him with the single thought of becoming his friend. And the person who left him when he needed him the most.
There were so many things he wanted to tell him. So many things he wanted to say. Though, when he took a second look at him, he felt like the other had been through a lot in those three years, just like he had. The boy barely changed, except for how well he grew up and how handsome he grew to be, yet he looked more mature.
On top of that, there was something new about him, or better to say someone new. Right by his side was a slightly taller boy with out-of-the-world beauty. Anyone could fall in love with a boy like him, his beauty was on another level. With the two of them next to each other, it almost felt illegal to be able to look at the duo freely.
When Jisung's childhood best friend spotted him at the new high school, he pulled his taller friend with him as they approached Jisung. At that moment, the latter was conflicted on what to do. Parts of him were telling him to yell at him, lash out and tell him how he abandoned him which led to his awful middle school experience.
However, his thoughts were interrupted abruptly as the boy moved quickly. The boy ran until he reached the boy. He ran until he could embrace the other in a long and warm hug. It was always the boy seeking skin ship and hugging, cuddling, or clinging onto him, and Jisung trying to avoid it. But at that time, Jisung hugged back.
The soft voice speaking in Jisung's ear washed away all the negative thoughts he had about the other. Even if he only spoke four simple words, those words were enough for him to realise that he wasn't the only one who had it rough the past three years. There was something that happened in which he wasn't informed of.
"Sung, I missed you."
"I missed you too, hyung."
At first, Jisung kept quiet on his past experiences and decided to enjoy his time back with the boy. While he did spend a lot of time with him, he also made good friends with the boy's handsome friend. The friend had been dotting over him ever since they met, which he didn't really have a big problem with considering how he finally had people to talk to.
The boy and his friend joined the high school at the same time as Jisung, but were in the year above. Which made sense considering the age difference, but he wished he were with his friends in his classes. By some miracle which was the boy, however, he managed to make some more friends through his two model-like friends.
Those two boys quickly became popular due to their looks, understandably so. They were loved even more because of how kind they were to everyone and how they both gained many friends. Somehow, Jisung became popular, too. Although, it was for a slightly difference reason. Jisung was known as the hallway prince. He was handsome, yet people only noticed him in the hallways.
The boy stuck by his side throughout his whole childhood, even if there was a three-year break where they hadn't seen each other. When he did come back, he brought someone with him. The two became Jisung's best friends and he liked to keep it like that. Jisung looked in front of him, where the boy was standing gracefully.
Lee Donghyuck was truly a blessing in his life.
All of a sudden, Donghyuck exclaimed loudly, this time startling Jisung. "You know what we should do? We should get ice cream! You know what they say, an ice cream a day keeps the misery at bay." The latter raised an eyebrow at him. "Literally no one has ever said that. And I don't feel like getting ice cream right now." Truthfully, he hasn't eaten yet, too busy with stressing over his tests.
The older's usual shining eyes slowly turned watery, making Jisung panic. "Okay, fine. You're right, as always. But that won't change the fact that I'm not in the mood for it." While the first statement did stop Donghyuck's eyes from forming complete tears, the older still had a pout on his face, so Jisung was eventually forced to give in.
Don't get him wrong, he can and will decline the older's requests when he doesn't want to do it. Though, of course, just like everyone else, it is hard to decline the boy when he's sulky.
"Ugh, there's this new ice cream shop nearby. If you want we can check it out? My treat." That somehow managed to completely wipe the upset look off Donghyuck's face and get replaced by a cheerful smile. "Really? Yay, free ice cream! I was just messing with you, by the way." The older smiled brightly, as if nothing happened, but he couldn't stop the smirk from forming.
That was when Jisung realised that it was another one of Donghyuck's shenanigans; he was simply acting. The fact that he was in the theatre club could only prove his suspicion. It wouldn't be the first time for Donghyuck abusing his refined acting skills to get what he wants. Jisung sighed to himself in annoyance, but at least he'll get a small break from studying.
In order to get the scholarship, he couldn't get grades lower than a B. That would mean that he would spend most of his time studying, he couldn't afford to waste time. Especially with his dyslexia, he needs to spend more time on one page than usual. There are so many times where he wished he was normal like his classmates.
"Do I get free ice cream, too?"
Another voice suddenly spoke. Jisung already knew who it was before turning around. There was the most beautiful man in the school, probably of the city as well. Pieces of his soft, light pink hair fell over his eyes. The silver silk blouse, with the first few buttons unbuttoned, hung nicely over his frame. Furthermore, he was wearing black, pleated chinos, tailored to the perfect length.
Everyone knew the boy, he was well known for his kindness and beauty. The boy was the friend that Donghyuck introduced to him when they first saw each other in three years. It was the same boy who treated him like he was his own kid and never failed to show him how it felt like to be cared about or loved ever since they met.
Before Jisung could reply, Donghyuck ran past him and threw his arms over the pink haired's neck, making the other carry all his weight. "Jaem! What did you get for the test?" Jaemin was quick to wrap his arms around the older's waist, careful not to drop him. "A+ along with extra points, of course." Jaemin replied with a smile.
Na Jaemin had always been the one with the highest grades between the three of them. Na Jaemin had always been the one with the most beauty between the three of them. Na Jaemin had been the one who was attached to Donghyuck's hip when Jisung first came to the high school.
Na Jaemin had always been the one who showed him how it felt to be loved by a parental figure.
Donghyuck frowned before raising an eyebrow at Jaemin. "Did you use your charmspea- I mean, your lovely charms to convince you teacher, again?" The boy had almost forgotten about the youngest's presence, nearly saying something he shouldn't have. Jaemin's eyes widened upon hearing his words before quickly collecting himself.
"I would never. How could you accuse me of something like that!" Donghyuck seemed unimpressed at Jaemin's response. Just a single look was enough for the latter to give in. "Yes, I did use my charmsp- Ugh, stop doing that. It's not like you didn't just use your dad's gift literally just now." The younger groaned and let go of the grinning other.
Looking back up at the visibly confused Jisung, Jaemin smiled as he slightly tilted his head. "Anyways. Am I getting free ice cream, too, or what?" Once he promised Donghyuck free food, Jaemin would never miss the chance to get it too. Jisung sighed, knowing there is no escape out of it. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just one thing-"
All of a sudden, a song rang loudly, the sound bouncing in the hallway. The three of them immediately turned their heads to look at Donghyuck's bag on the floor, leaning against the lockers. The owner of the bag opened it and pulled out his phone. "Ah, it's just Sunwoo. One sec." Donghyuck at least had the decency to look apologetically before taking the call.
Jisung sighed, but stayed silent as he watched the older talking on the phone with his friend and classmate. While Jisung didn't have many friends, Donghyuck was the complete opposite. The boy was a social butterfly and popular in most of his classes. He was the equivalent of a loud extrovert, yet he always managed to be called cute instead of annoying.
The youngest got startled as he was suddenly pulled by the arm by his other friend. Jisung glanced up at Jaemin with a questioning look, though walking along without hesitation. When Jaemin looked back with a small but comforting smile, Jisung could feel his heart skip a beat. Any other person would faint at the sight of his graceful smile.
Jisung snapped back to reality when Jaemin spoke with his calming voice. "I'm taking you to the vending machine. I know you haven't eaten anything, yet." That was another thing about Jaemin. The boy could always see through everything to the point where lying is futile. Even if you told him nothing, he would be able to notice the smallest things.
At some point, Jaemin gave up on dragging the younger and pulled Jisung to walk right next to him, to which the younger complied and stayed on the same pace as the other. Jisung wanted to ask the older how he knew, but his answer would've been the same as usual. "I just do." That was a phrase he told him many times.
Jisung had never been able to lie or keep anything a secret from him. Even if he tried lying his way out of something, the older would easily get him to tell the truth. Donghyuck had told him that it was simply because of his charms or whatever, but sometimes it would feel like the truth was forced out of him unwillingly.
Furthermore, Jisung couldn't deny Jaemin no matter what the request was. Strangely enough, Donghyuck would then scold Jaemin for using him, but Jisung knew that it was out of his own will, and he simply didn't want to upset the older, at least he thought. Either way, it wouldn't be a surprise if it was his made-up reasoning.
Jaemin was beautiful and handsome. It was hard to deny a request from such a pretty face. By the looks of his old pictures from when he was younger, it was obviously that he had nothing done, he was naturally that gorgeous. Donghyuck told him it was a gift of Jaemin's mother, to which the younger would hit him in the shoulder for.
Honestly, Jisung couldn't understand that part. Why would Jaemin get so defensive over something like that? Wouldn't it just be a simple compliment to both him and his mother? Either way, the two of them always seemed to lace all their words with double meanings, though he didn't thought much of it and gave up on questioning them.
When he did focus more on those minute details, he noticed that Donghyuck had been more careful with his words and became more mature. It was the complete opposite of when the two were childhood best friends growing up together and when Donghyuck was careless and liked to tease and pick fights with others.
Then again, that was up until he was barely thirteen. When Jisung met him once again after he previously left him, Donghyuck was sixteen years old, meaning he almost completely missed his puberty. The older must've grown up- and glowed up, considering how good-looking he became, he even seemed brighter than usual- well in the time that he left.
Moreover, when Jisung had asked him why he left him for three years and where he was, the only answer he got was a small smile with the words: "I'll tell you when it's time." Jaemin's sudden appearance had also confused Jisung, but he assumed that Donghyuck met him during his time off and became good friends by then.
Even so, Jisung wouldn't dwell too long on that. Especially with the way Jaemin always treated him nicely and cared for him like a parent would. Jaemin told him multiple times that he would adopt him if he could, to which Jisung would respond with an eye roll and a fake-annoyed sigh, followed by laughter from the trio.
Despite his reactions, his heart would skip a beat and tears would well up if he didn't suppress his emotions. Finally getting adopted was one thing, but getting adopted by his best friend and basically his parental figure would be too good to be true. He would at least have someone attending the parent-teacher conferences with him.
In the moments where Jisung thinks about the things that happened in his life, he would never fail to be grateful for having Donghyuck and Jaemin in his life, although they would never hear it from Jisung himself.
"-d be better, right? Hey, Sungie? Are you even listening? God, kids these days." Just then did Jisung notice that the older was talking to him. He must've accidentally closed his senses off and buried his head deep in his thoughts. "Oh- uhm- I'll take the bar, thanks. Sorry, I was just... thinking." Those last words alerted the older.
Jaemin put the coins in the machine and pressed on the buttons, before turning to look at Jisung again. This time with a frown, "Are you alright? You were spacing out more than usual, what were you thinking about?" That was another one of those things that Jisung pretended to hate, but secretly loved about Jaemin.
The older might be overprotective, but his concerns for Jisung made him feel loved. Even though he didn't like to admit it to his face, that moment was an exception. Jisung looked away before replying. "I'm fine, hyung, I was only thinking about how grateful I am to have you in my life. Seriously, thank you for always taking care of me. You mean a lot to me, and I hope you'll always be by my side. Uhm, yeah sorry for rambling." Jisung stopped himself from talking too much.
Upon not hearing any response from the older, Jisung faced up again, only to get pulled into a warm hug. "Jisungie, that's so- wow. You mean a lot to me, too." The two of them broke the hug. "Don't worry, I would never leave you, I promise." Jisung smiled at the older's words. Right before he could reply, a loud voice startled them out of their moment.
"Na Jaemin and Park Jisung-ah! How could you leave me alone like that without telling me?"
Jaemin grunted in annoyance, turning to face his best friend storming at them. What the two of them didn't expect was to see another, taller boy with his arm around Donghyuck's shoulders with an amused face, waving at them with a smile. "To be fair, you're not alone right now. Hey, Sun." Jaemin rolled his eyes at Donghyuck, then turned to look at the other boy with a smile back.
"Sup, Jaem and Jisung-ah. I'll take my leave now, Hyuck just wanted company while we searched for you. Kev is probably searching for me right now anyway." Sunwoo let go of the younger and ruffled his hair. "Fine, tell Eric and the others 'hi' for us." Sunwoo nodded at Donghyuck's request before walking away, leaving the latter with the other two.
Jaemin sighed when he remembered about the protein bar, finally retrieving it from the machine then giving it to the youngest. "For you. Next time, don't skip your breakfast and lunch." Before Jisung could thank him, Donghyuck cut him off once again. "You skipped breakfast and lunch?!" The youngest grimaced and smiled apologetically.
"It wasn't on purpose! I just forgot cause of the exams today." He tried reasoning himself as he unwrapped the bar. All of a sudden, Donghyuck gasped dramatically, remembering his previous annoyance. The boy stormed up to Jaemin and rested his hands on his hips.
"Ah! Na Jaemin, I'm not done with you. Seriously, just because you're her son and all, doesn't mean you should take advantage of that in every way possible. I'm fairly sure mister Kangta and her would want you to be honest and excel by your own. Not use your stupid charmspeak every time you want your grades to improve without working on it yourself. Oh, apologies for calling the charmspeak stupid, my lady. Anyway, you should-"
It took a whole rant for Donghyuck to realise his mistake. Jaemin had a look of disbelief and wide eyes, mentally face palming himself. Donghyuck covered his mouth with his hand, stopping himself from continuing and spilling more unwanted things, but it was already too late. "What is charmspeak? And who is mister Kangta?" Jisung raised a confused eyebrow.
Jaemin was quick to walk up to Jisung, muttering a small apology. "Park Jisung, forget what I-" As soon as Donghyuck realised what Jaemin was about to do, he pulled the other back. "No, stop! You know what, don't you think it's time already? He's turning seventeen next week. I'm sure his dad would claim him the moment we bring him there."
"Well, they said we should wait until it was a few months after he turned seventeen. I doubt it's safe to tell him about it right now." Jaemin reminded, turning around to look Donghyuck in the eyes. "It's safer than him not knowing anything happens. Besides, he's heard a lot." Donghyuck insisted as he crossed his arms.
The other lightly rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and who's fault is that? I still think we should wait some more. He's still young and stressing about school, we shouldn't just drop the huge burden on him." While he did admit that he was over exaggerating, it didn't change his opinions of still keeping it a secret until he thought he was ready.
"Okay, first of all, Sungie is at the right age, if not a quite older age, to get claimed. Even you were claimed when you were fifteen! I mean, just look at Saku! The kid already got claimed and is barely even twelve. Besides, he would be way better off knowing about it than staying in the dark." Donghyuck retaliated, determined to convince the other.
However, Jaemin only groaned in return. "Oh, come on. You can't compare Ji to Sakuya-"
"Uhm, hyungs? I'm still here you know. Look, I have no idea what you guys are talking about- nor who- but if it's about me, I'd rather have you tell me than talk about me as if I'm not even in the room." Jisung interrupted unimpressed. Donghyuck and Jaemin slowly turned to look at the youngest with apologetic gazes.
Jisung sighed. When the oldest opened his mouth to explain himself, the school bell rang and classroom doors started opening. Students started flooding the hallway as all classes had finished by then. "Would you look at that, we're free to go. Let's go to the ice cream shop now. You guys better explain yourselves there." Jisung walked ahead without looking back.
That was the moment where the two knew; they had no other choice but to do as he says. They were given the task to look over the youngest and bring him to the place where they came from when it was time. While it was because of an accidental slip up, perhaps it was a sign for it being the day where they finally spill everything.
Telling the truth could end up in usually two ways. Either that Jisung gets upset that they kept it a secret from him, but in the end doing his best to try and accept it. Or that he doesn't believe them and think they are simply clowning him, making an excuse for the absence of his parents, ending up with him leaving them.
Meanwhile, Jisung took a quick glance at Jaemin. Although having been friends with him for some time now, Jisung never completely understood him. The latter was easy to talk to, it was well known how the boy could make you feel comfortable with just his presence. Especially with how he always smelled good and never had creases in his clothes, no matter what material.
It was no secret how much the boy cared for Jisung. The moment Jaemin saw the younger, he felt the immense urge to protect him and keep him safe from the dangers of the world. Since then, he had always made sure to include him in everything and take care of him, he wanted to be the one he relied on with his problems.
It only took ten minutes for them to arrive at the ice cream shop, Donghyuck and Jaemin walking beside Jisung. For some reason, they all felt shivers for a few seconds on their way. When they were in front of the parlour, it seemed as if it was closed. The huge 'open' sign as well as the turned-on lights were the only things proving the opposite.
Jaemin was never the superstitious one. Despite that, his instincts were telling him to leave that place immediately. Donghyuck, however, was an extremely optimistic guy. Or maybe it was the fact that he would get free ice cream, but he tried to reassure them that it was a newly opened shop and people have yet to discover it.
Deciding to look around and inspect the place first, Donghyuck noticed the odd paintings on the walls. Not only that, but the chairs, the tables and the floor were odd as well. Jisung had told him the place was new, yet the furniture seemed old and used. Not to mention the floor having unidentified stains, which looked far from ice cream stains.
Just before Jisung wanted to turn around, a young woman with tinted sunglasses stepped out from the back of the shop, smiling kindly at them. "Oh my, oh my! Finally, some customers. I've been waiting for so long in the back for a single person to buy from here, but I haven't been too successful. Come in, come in." The lady gestured them to come closer.
The lady was undeniably pretty, even with the sunglasses on. She had a long dress on and thick, black hair. Although, when Donghyuck looked closely, the hair seemed to be fake. Before jumping to conclusions, he glanced down to her hands. The texture of her skin was unusual in a way that Donghyuck could easily recognise.
Even so, Donghyuck smiled back, brightening the room. "Glad we found your shop, then! I'm so sorry to hear that, though. In this economy, I understand how rough it must be for you. You even have so many different flavours, which all look so good and makes this shop special! Just give it a week or two and I bet your shop will be popular. I'd like to say that I love your interior design, the little paintings of mythical creatures are such a beauty to look at. Did you know that the creatures on that painting over there, the griffins, are not all as kind as they seem? Some can be incredibly violent-"
Jaemin covered the other's mouth with his hand to stop him from rambling further. "I apologise for him, he doesn't know when to stop talking." Jisung smiled apologetically. Donghyuck licked the hand over his mouth, successfully getting rid of it. The lady laughed in return. "No worries, I'm glad someone appreciates the shop and me. So, what can I do for you, boys?"
"One scoop of coffee and one of cookie dough for me." Jaemin replied when Jisung gestured him to go first. Donghyuck scanned all the flavours before replying. "I'll have two scoops of mango, please!" The youngest pointed at the bright blue one, "I'd like to try that one, it looks interesting."
The lady nodded and scooped up the ice cream, putting them in cones. It was only when she was getting their ice creams that Jaemin saw the unusual anxious look on Donghyuck's face. The older had looked so confident and bright just a few seconds ago, it was strange. When he looked at his eyes, they were locked on something.
Thinking back to Donghyuck's rant, it was full of unnatural word choices for the boy. Some words and sentences had extra emphasis, while he didn't think too much about it, he tried to remember which ones they were. When he found the connection between the words, his eyes widened. 'Special', 'mythical creatures', and 'violent' were emphasised.
At the time, Jaemin thought that the older was simply trying to socialise and be friendly as usual. It's far from new for the boy to randomly start conversations with strangers. Yet only after he processed his words did he notice the signs he was trying to give.
Jaemin quickly looked back at Donghyuck, this time following his eyes. Shit, how did I miss that?! On the other side of Donghyuck's gaze was the very obvious wig on the lady's head. What surprised him wasn't the wig, but what was peeking under of it. Jaemin slowly reached his arm in his bag when the lady's head snapped back up.
The smile on her face when she reached her hand out with the ice cream cones gave him the shivers. Before Jaemin could reach into his bag, the lady was screeching as her hand got impaled by an arrow. The gasp from Jisung and the arrow were enough for him to realise what was happening. All heads turned to look at Donghyuck.
The boy's usual bright face darkened. His eyes that were most of the time big and round, narrowed down in a more focused state. The biggest change was the objects that suddenly appeared in his right hand and on his back. Out of nowhere, he was wearing a quiver with arrows on his back. A huge, golden bow of which the middle part was the shape of the sun appeared in his hand.
Before anyone could do anything, Donghyuck had already shot another arrow, this time impaling the base of the lady's wig, making it fly off and pinned to the wall. "Look down." Was all he had to say for Jaemin to get out of his shocked state and retrieve the dagger made out of imperial gold from his bag. It took only a few seconds for him to charge at the screeching lady.
The snake heads as the lady's hair hissed at the attacker, but Jaemin kept his eyes locked on the ground as he slid over the counter to kick her in the stomach. Donghyuck assisted him by shooting his bow on the lady's other arm to prevent her from grabbing him. However, things went south when the lady hissed loudly and opened her mouth, diving her head towards Jaemin.
Donghyuck's eyes widened in realisation. "Watch out!" Said man was able to move quickly, but the lady's teeth reached him and broke though the skin on his arm, causing him to gasp from the pain. "Jaem!" Donghyuck grimaced as he shot a flash arrow, blinding the lady temporarily. It gave Jaemin enough time to stab her eyes before stabbing her in the neck and kicking her into the window, breaking the glass.
The moment she broke through the window, Jaemin collapsed, gripping tightly on the open wound. Donghyuck threw his bow on the ground, running over to the injured boy and grabbing his arm. "Oh my god, how deep was the bite? We have to go to my brother as soon as possible. You're lucky you didn't get full on bitten, otherwise you would be dead within seconds."
"Her teeth did penetrate my skin, but not deep enough for the poison to directly reach my veins. And geez, thanks for letting me know." Jaemin deadpanned, which backfired as Donghyuck slapped his arm. "I'm serious! I don't have my dad's healing abilities, so we have to go to my brother's clinic. Seriously, I knew that woman seemed familiar. What in the world is that gorgon doing here?"
Jaemin shrugged. He pulled his arm back and used the counter to get up. "Well, she should be unable to regenerate for some time now, but we have to leave this instant. Ji, just follow us and-" The look on Jisung's face brought him to realisation. They hadn't told him anything, yet had just used their weapons and attacked the lady without warning.
The youngest was in a state of shock and fear, paralysed in place. The mention of his name broke him free from his place, turning his head towards the two older boys. In just a few seconds, they changed from casual high schoolers to warrior-like figures. Suddenly, all his theories started coming back of what could've happened in the three years of Donghyuck's absence.
Donghyuck picked up his bow and tapped the sun, making it collapse into the small sun, before putting it back in his pocket. "I fear we owe you an explanation. However, our job right now is to bring you to the safest place for people like us. Your safety is our highest priority, so we would appreciate immediate cooperation."
Jisung felt his stomach drop. Throughout his whole life, he had seen some unusual things. What just happened, however, was definitely on the top of the list of craziest things he experienced. How are you supposed to recover from your friends attacking a lady with snakes as hair with the intention of murder? It was all too surreal.
While he still was in shock, at that moment, all he wanted to know was what was happening. His heart was racing and while his mind was filled with too many thoughts and theories, he simply wanted the truth. Donghyuck's words stuck to him, it was the most serious tone in which he had ever spoken. What bothered him the most was the word choice.
"What- what do you mean with 'people like us'? And where are you taking me?" Jisung stumbled on his words, if he hadn't been a calm person most of the time, he might've fainted. Jaemin was the one to answer his question with a bold smile. "For your first question, he means demigods. We're going to Camp Half-Blood, which is not too far from Seoul."
Demigods? Camp Half-Blood? What are they talking about? Jisung felt like he could explode with all the unanswered questions in his head. All he knew was that Donghyuck and Jaemin had many things that they were hiding all along. That he was left in the dark for something about his parents and himself. 'Demi' would mean only one of the parents is a god, meaning...
Donghyuck walked up to the exit and opened the door before turning around, smiling warmly at the wide-eyed boy. "Now, let's take you to safety, son of Poseidon."
"Son of what?!"