Chapter Text
Even though he's been told they were mortals, nothing prepares him for air of disdain and disappointment as they gallavant their way towards the entrance of the underworld. Mark watches as they throw two golden obols into Charon's outstretched hand, giddily readying themselves.
It's been a while since he's conversed with humans, with living ones. The last time he's interacted with actual humans was after the dreadful war a couple of years ago, where countless mortals died for something his other family relatives were responsible for. Mark didn't find it in himself to care but when the death toll became concerningly high, he found himself as the silent audience watching how his family were tearing each other apart for a couple of mortals at best.
They spoke in a language Mark was partially familiar with, one of them snickering at the prospects of meeting the Queen of the Underworld. He lets their words reach up to his ears. After kidnapping another mortal girl, they were attempting to do it to him . They were using the guise of a quest, similar to how other mortals and demigods have prepositioned Mark previously. Some come asking for their spouses back, others ask for their fallen brethren.
Each time, Mark has to turn them away, having to be impartial and fair.
This time, his rage will most likely earn him scorn from the rest of his brothers and family but he couldn't be bothered to care. Once they had a stable relationship worth defending, then he'll attempt to listen to them.
Mark's known of the arrogance humans can have, when they're drunk off their powers and fleeting riches that they harvested which are rightfully his. He's seen them bet their children, their wives, and even lives for more of materialistic fortune or power. It doesn't interest nor repulse him, the pattern becoming boring and miniscule in the grand scheme of things.
He can hear the humans talking, about their plans to prepare and ruin Haechan once they got their hands on him. They were supposedly of a wealthy origin, speaking of the festivities their parents would throw for having caught such an ethereal, beautiful being.
His fingers twitch at their conversation;
"Say, Pilsung, have you ever met a god before?"
"No, never, butー we have the element of surprise on our side! We'll slip down and kidnap the queen once no one's looking and we'll leave. When they do find out the queen's missing, we'll be out of here and no one would be the wiser." The taller snickers, looking awfully proud of his delusional plan. Taehwan nods along, clearly also lacking any intellect.
Mark tilts his head, content to observe. Not only were they audacious but they were stupid.
Charon didn't say a word to their pestering questions about the state of the world beneath them, about him and Haechan- still silently rowing the boat and delivering them to his doorsteps. Mark appreciates that with the older being. He never says anything. No matter how the souls beg, scream, or whine- Charon's dead quiet, emphasizing the haunting journey from the human world into the underworld. The wails and moans of the swampy muddy waters dimmed the appearance of any light from the human world.
Mark wills himself to meet them at the other side of the grand, massive doors.
"Hey you!" They shout out. Mark has to register that they were using that tone with him. Mark turns around, his hands hidden inside his dark robes.
"Yes?" He gives them a neutral expression. The arrogant, ignorant looks on their faces make it clear they don't know they're standing in front of a god right now.
Hm. He can work with this.
"Are you a servant of the queen of the underworld?"
Mark smiles, he is, with heart and soul.
He nods serenely. "Yes, I am."
Taehwan brightens, "You are? Is he as pretty as they say?" He nudges the man next to him. "My father says his beauty rivals a thousand flower fields."
"..he is."
Pilsung nods, satisfied. He raises his left arm, pointing his finger at Mark's face. "Take us to your queen at once."
Mark doesn't flinch. "I wasn't aware of the palace having any visitors."
Pilsung matches his stare head on, a foolish smile that makes him an appealing target for an arrow to his body."Well, I wouldn't expect a lowly servant as you to know anything." He waves a hand flippantly. "However, if you know what's good for you, you will escort us."
Mark closes his eyes briefly, the images of their suffering in the near future doing barely enough to placate his anger. He plasters another smile that only lasts until he turns around, his face hidden from them. "I see, I wasn't told who was coming. You may follow me."
"The queen's invited us for dinner, you probably don't know but we're actually really chose with him." Pilsung adds, the two of them on Mark's tail immediately.
They didn't even bother with coming up with a believable lie , Mark twists his face in disgust. Gods, this was becoming insulting.
Unwilling to spend another moment longer with them than necessary, Mark willed them closer to the palace within seconds. He's sent the actual servants away, wanting to deal with this matter personally. Some of them offered to stay, their intentions of watching their lord
"The queen's currently in his bedroom quarters." Mark informs. He leads them through an arch to the dining room and gestures to the long table full of delectable foods and morsels. The candles that light up the walls flickers on and so did the fireplace at the end of the room. "You may have a seat while you wait, I will call on him."
He leaves the room when he hears them whispering amongst themselves.
"What do we do about the servant, Pilsung?"
"We'll kill him," he whispers. "Then we'll get the queen."
Taehwan hesitates. "And…the king?"
Pilsung laughs boisterously. "I'm not afraid of him. Word has it that he's an old, rotting god that can barely hold his kingdom together. No one likes him, even more so- his brothers do not care for him. When we get back, we can ask the gods- my father is privy to one of them- they can help keep him out of our way. Did you know…he actually kidnapped the queen and forced him to marry him?"
A gasp. "Really?"
"Yes, so if anything we're saving the queen of the underworld…so eat up, Taehwan! We got to see this through."
"Okay! Mm, all this food looks so good."
"It does, doesn't it? We can go ahead and eat some before we get the queen. We'll need the energy."
Mark smirks a little, of how much ignorant confidence radiates in his words. He gets comfortable, sliding past a veil that allows him to watch what they're doing while still remaining hidden. They grab for the nearest plate and begin shoving it into their mouths, pausing to exclaim how delicious the food is.
The veil connects to his throne room and he settles in, propping up his chin on his ringed fingers while he waits for his plan to settle in.
Within 5 minutes, Taehwan had food crumbs all over the table and floor. His fingers were dirty and caked with the food remnants, ones that he shamelessly wipes on the tablecloth. He leans forward, about to grab a pastry farther away until he stops abruptly. A wounded sound comes out of him that gets ignored by Pilsung who's still engrossed in eating.
Taehwan clutches his stomach with his other hand that's tightening into a fist. "Wait, hyung- my stomach-"
Pilsung's attention still enraptured by the spread of food in front of them but he mutters, "What is it?"
"There's- my stomach's burning-" Taehwan gasps, standing up to alleviate his body of the pain but ultimately falling back into his chair with no strength left. He tries to "The food- there's something wrong with the food- I can't breathe, my head is pounding, my body- oh god-"
Pilsung furrows his eyebrows and turns to face his buddy, when he begins feeling the effects too. He chokes on the mouthful of food, trying to spit out what's left of his chewing. He claps his chest with a hand, coughing and his eyes tearing up at the hell his body's going through.
"What's going on?!" He rasps out, anger splintering along his weak, shrill voice. "The servant, where is he?!"
Mark hides his grin behind his fingers as he continues watching. He makes a mental note to thank his beloved for taking some of his plants without notice, thinking of planting them along with Haechan next time.
Taehwan's writhing in his seat, his hands clawing at his throat, turning it red and raw. "It h-hurts-"
Pilsung is also worse for wear, bent over the table while his veins begin bulging out of his arms and forehead. He's still shouting for demands and threats to find the servant from earlier, raspy and as threatening as mouse.
"Where is he- that damned bastard, this was a trap-"
The king of the underworld opts to watch them suffer for just several moments, relishing in the feeling. Mark closes his eyes, the groans and sounds of pain ringing through his ears. Shame that he isn't allowed to touch the human mortals but this was a good substitute. Who's to say it wasn't already poisoned with Haechan's plants?
By the 9th minute mark of their cries waning out of exhaustion, Mark pushes himself off his throne and slides open the veil. He trains his eyes on the shriveled up bodies at the head of his dining table, both of them still too much in pain to notice his arrival.
He clears his throat and snaps his fingers, vines coming up from the ground and wrapping around both Taehwan and Pilsung. The rough greenery roughly secures themselves against their feet, arms, neck and chest, binding them as tightly as possible to the stone chairs. Pilsung finally turns his attention toward him and his eyes flash in recognition, "You!"
Mark smirks, holding his hands behind his back. "Me."
"You- you'll pay for this- what do you think you're doing?!" Pilsung growls, his threat not holding much value when he's red in the face and huffing. "Where's the queen?!"
"I'm surprised you have enough energy to talk, Pilsung ah," Mark drawls. He looks over at the body currently on the verge of passing out next to him, periodically flinching. "Your buddy's not doing so good, huh?"
"I will have you punished for this!" Pilsung howls, trying to move around to help with the burn coursing through his body. "Damn you!"
His words make Mark roll his eyes and he chuckles dryly.
"Well, shit, if you have any power in my fucking kingdom, let me know, Pilsung." He slowly leans forward, making sure to emphasize each word he says. "I was hoping you'd be of higher intelligience than this but.." He tsks. "Telling the queen's husband that you two were planning on stealing him away from him, right to his damn face was not a smart move."
Pilsung finally seems to understand who exactly he's been spouting threats to and he immediately starts writhing in his chair- the bodily fluids he's been holding back escapes with both ends . Mark covers his nose with a disgusted laugh. "Well, looks like you finally realized who I am, huh?"
"Sorry I'm not the senile, graying man you pictured but I will take much, much pleasure to tell you why I'm still the ruler of the underworld, I promise, one that no good connections with any god will grant you mercy with." With a glance, Mark wills the vines to start burning up, to the temperature equivalent of boiling, enough to start leaving red welts on Pilsung's skin. He tunes out the pained screams and stands back straighter, "Since you're probably wondering what's about to happen to you, I will be kind enough to tell you what's going on."
"What you ate was my beloved's dear hemlock, along with some of my finer creations. The sensation you're feeling right now is your nerves being fried, your pain receptors are being overstimulated right now- making you feel all sorts of pain. Your stomach's deteriorating from the inside, the acid now acting nondiscriminately against you. Your throat's burning because the epithelial cells are being lit on fire." Mark whispers menacingly, continuing until Pilsung's anger turns into pained tears, being too much for him to bear. He watches the red of the vines' heat reflect off of him, losing himself in the emotion.
"I had half the mind to leave you two to the Furies," Mark scoffs. "But since you two came her and ended up meeting me firsthand, I had to welcome you myself." He pats Pilsung's sweaty, shoulder. "Unfortunately for me, I have no intentions of letting you go. Get comfortable, men, because you-"
"Mark-hyung, are you home?" A voice calls from behind him. "I couldn't find you during the party and you weren't answering so I just went home early. Auntie was being so annoying so I couldn't- Mark?"
Haechan's standing at the entrance of the dining room, dressed in his formal robes and holding a basket of flowers. He's looking at Mark quizzically, obviously seeing the two tortured humans behind his husband.
Mark blinks, noticing the fireplace reflect the faint diamonds in Haechan's hair so beautifully. The white translucent fabric falls prettily on his shoulders and loops back with golden bangles. His favorite part was the matching gold metal choker Haechan had around his neck, holding his robe around his body. He smiles, stretching his arms open, "Ah, hello, welcome back, love. You look so gorgeous-"
"Who are they? What happened?" Haechan asks, letting Mark land a flutter of kisses on his face.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," Mark croons, hugging Haechan away from their dining room table. Perhaps they could start eating outside in the field, he can make a patio for their meals- a good meal would go nice. He snaps his fingers once more, summoning his ghostly apparitions behind them. With a swipe of a finger, he gestures for them to take care of the humans tied to the chairs.
It isn't his preferred choice of action, but it'll do.
"Hyung, what did you do?" Haechan keeps questioning, looking at the furies who are flying close and empty cackles filling the air. He looks more curious than frightened of Mark's actions and it gives Mark a reminder of how much Haechan's accepted of his nature. "Did someone try to do something dumb again?"
Mark buries his nose in Haechan's neck, breathing in the familiar scent of flowers and burnt smoke- the reminder of their union leaving butterflies in his chest.
"Yes, they tried to do something utterly stupid."
"Brother, we heard what happened with the humans!"
"Yes! It was quite a shock to find out what caused it, truthfully, I forgot you had that inside of you!"
"I see that you're both pleased."
"More than ever!"
