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Visiting the Underworld has never been on the list of Wonwoo's favorite things to do but he guesses it can always get worse. Namely, visiting the Underworld and having to share a friendly tea with Hades is Wonwoo's least favorite thing to do. Like, ever.
The place isn't so bad if he has to be honest. The dark colors from pitch black to deep purple are soothing to his tired eyes – though it can be just his bad eyesight. And the people – yeah, ok, maybe the souls inhabiting the place aren't that pleasant to be around because they're not exactly there for vacation but hey, the Elysian Fields are pretty cool. For the lucky ones who can get there, at least. And for Wonwoo, who has a free pass in the whole place.
But still it isn't exactly nice staying in the God's presence for too long because it's a well known fact that Hades despises him. Wonwoo is fully aware that the only thing keeping the God civil is Persephone, his wife and Wonwoo's mother. She's precisely the reason they're sharing an afternoon – if there's anything remotely resembling time in the Underworld – tea when neither is too happy to see the other. It's not personal for Wonwoo; he doesn't particularly think anything about Hades.
But it's completely personal for Hades because, well, if it was up to him Wonwoo wouldn't even exist.
The thing is that being Persephone's only child ever since she's married Hades is a great fucking deal. Not the inheritance a deceased parent leaves you kind of deal, oh no. Wonwoo has no intention nor any interest in becoming the Underworld's uh, prince, king, whatever. Not that there's even the slightest chance given Hades is an old lad who can't die but yeah. It's none of that.
The real deal is that Wonwoo is Persephone's only child and the father isn't Hades.
Once upon a time his grandmother, Goddess Demeter, – whom Wonwoo has unfortunately not met in all of his 22 years – almost warranted the divorce of the couple, something her kids always brag about to him. The case ended with a shared custody where Persephone is to spend half a year by her husband's side and the other half by her mother's side. Easy, right? Wrong.
Something Wonwoo has learned as a demigod and literature aficionado is that Gods tend to meddle a little too much with humans and that generally ends with a murder or a child – or both, not exactly in that order. Lately though, they seem more keen on spreading offspring than chaos. Hades, being a God and one of the Big Three, is no exception. Likewise if he has the freedom to an open relationship Persephone might as well, right? Again, wrong.
One thing Persephone has told Wonwoo is that from the very moment she had laid eyes on Hades she knew what kind of person – err, God – he was. Dark and edgy, the bad boy of the Gods: just what she likes best. Obviously she also knew about his countless affairs but hey, he chose her, rumored to have kidnapped her even – when in reality it was only a stunt so she could live something kids nowadays call teenage angst. But it was all good since she didn't mind monogamy either. Kids gotta have fun, right? For the third time, wrong.
You see, Hades is a pretty insecure guy and one of his many trust issues include Persephone's love. It's been probably thousands of thousands of years since they've been more or less happily married and still to this day, Persephone has said in more than one occasion, the guy can't seem to get a grip of himself.
It's not like he's strictly prohibited her from getting laid with other guys – or girls, or people from all genders, for all he cares. It's that he goes all guilt tripping over the fact he is a poor, full of angst soul that needs constant reassurance of Persephone's undying love for him. So yeah, for a long time she's devoted all of her attention to her husband, denying any advance from anyone else. Hades should do the same and keep all of himself to his wife, right? Damn, it's getting hard counting how many wrong things there are in their relationship.
It happens Hades has never considered stopping with his sexcapades while still begging for Persephone to have him as her one and only lover. Well, it also happens one day Persephone's had enough of this sexist bullshit her husband tries to pull on her and here comes Demeter to the rescue.
In the months Persephone spends with her mother Hades has absolutely no way to intrude in anything she does and Demeter – holding a grudge so strong for her son-in-law even her own kids have inherited the distaste for the king of the Underworld – has enough reasons to let her daughter be and do as she pleases. And pleasure she found in the arms of Mr. Jeon, Wonwoo's father.
Hades went completely nuts when he got the news but alas, he was isolated in his realm while Persephone nurtured the child above. Even if he could have done something about the pregnancy he wouldn't have – because Persephone would behead the fuck out of him with Demeter bringing the whole Olympus to back her up. So this is how Persephone's self proclaimed sunny child, light of her life, sweet little baby, Wonwoo, came to be.
It is a natural thing for demigods to be raised by their human parents alone so Wonwoo only had the chance to meet his mother later on his life. Even then her visits were scarce – she was a Goddess after all, and only able to roam the Earth for six months – but Wonwoo's never felt left aside. Spring through summer has always been the most anticipated time of the year because it meant, if not a physical visit from his mother, at least a happy surprise each day he woke up to a different flower placed on his windowsill. If he was lucky, sometimes a pomegranate would be added too.
Speaking of which, there's a huge bowl of pomegranate seeds in front of him, the glossy bright red a contrast with the dark ebony table they're seated at. Wonwoo's always been fond of pomegranates – because they remind him of his mother, of her visits and the time they spend together tending to gardens and making flower crowns – but he's hesitant to even look at them right now. The fruit has always been associated with Persephone's love story with Hades, the promise they'll always be together. Apparently that promise now includes Wonwoo so it's understanable that Hades so much as fumes at the sight of him eating pomegranates.
Wonwoo wants to say it's not his fault, his mother is the one who first offered him the fruit. How the heck was he supposed to know what eating underworld pomegranates meant? But reasoning with a God is a constant failure in demigods myths and Wonwoo wants to be remembered as anything but a tragic myth. So he refrains from eating pomegranates in front of Hades – out of respect and fear, even though nothing bad can happen to him. His mother is the Queen. He has every privilege that status guarantees him. But he chooses to behave and keep his head down, awaiting.
“She should be here any time now,” is what his stepfather grunts and Wonwoo just nods because he won't dare speak.
And soon enough – but not that soon enough to prevent the tense situation ongoing between stepson and stepfather – Persephone appears in a gust of perfumed wind. She is as stunning and as young as Wonwoo remembers, to the point it's becoming rather awkward for them to be seen together in public because sometimes people assume Persephone is his girlfriend and dude, gross, he doesn't want to partake in the Gods' incestuous orgy, thank you very much. Besides, he already has a boyfriend and he's the very reason Wonwoo's gone so far as personally escorting his mother on her leave.
“My sweet child,” Persephone opens her arms and for the first time since he's stepped into Hades' palace Wonwoo genuinely smiles. “My beloved baby, you've come to see me.”
“Yes, he's come to see you out of here, how convenient.”
“Hush, Hades, I'm not having this conversation right now.”
Most demigods have little to no contact with their godly parents for obvious reasons: there are just so many children Wonwoo swears half the world's population are demigods. (Ok maybe not half but that one dude from his chemistry lectures? He's a hundred percent sure the guy's an unclaimed Athena kid.) But not all demigods get to know about their ancestry, much less have the chance to be claimed by their parents. Actually meeting them in person is even rarer so Wonwoo considers himself a lucky guy.
How else would he be able to witness Persephone scolding Hades because – and these are her words, not his – he's older than her and still every part of a child, can't he grow up and stop getting jealous over a single fucking child when he's spilled his seed for more trees than he can handle growing? It's a good thing Wonwoo took theater classes when he was young; you never know when a pokerface is gonna be useful. Still, he needs to bite his tongue hard because it's just so funny having his mother completely destroy anything that was left of Hades' menacing figure right before his eyes. Gosh, the Demeter crew would love hearing about this.
“And I want to hear no word from your sulking while I'm gone, do you understand me?”
Hades grumbles some nonsense neither Wonwoo nor Persephone mind anymore when she goes to her child and tucks him to her chest. It's kind of awkward because Wonwoo has grown taller than his mother's human figure so he's bending down a little to fit into her embrace. Persephone's always been affectionate and her regular hugs are more than welcome but Wonwoo thinks he can feel his soul burning in suffering ahead of time. He really needs to get to the Elysian Fields when he dies because he ain't spending a thousand years beside his stepfather.
“Wonwoo, you've become such a fine young man,” Persephone pinches his cheeks and ok, Wonwoo can definitely feel his soul leaving his body.
“Fwanks, mwotha,” Wonwoo gently slides her hands off, holding them between his. “Hum, actually, can we get going? I– there's some things I'd like to talk to you.”
“My, my, of course we can. You had all the trouble to come here when you could have waited at home.”
“It's kinda urgent.”
x
That urgency has 1,85m of golden skin and endless goofiness and goes by the name of Kim Mingyu, Wonwoo's boyfriend.
Speaking of which, he's late.
It's a bad habit of his, sleeping in even on days he's got important appointments. Wonwoo is kind enough to compensate this habit with one of his own, phoning Mingyu regularly when he knows his boyfriend needs it. He calls at least twice – one time to wake Mingyu up if he hasn't already, the second to either make sure he is on his way to wherever or guaranteeing Mingyu hasn't slept on his first call. Except for a couple exhasperated sighs from time to time, it's not that much trouble; he loves hearing Mingyu's lazy voice saying “Good morning, baby” and his disheartened whine when Wonwoo informs “It's already noon, sleepyhead.”
And noon it is now as the clock on his phone shows twenty five minutes past their agreed time. Wonwoo doesn't want to look too suspicious – he's already made his daily calls and damned he is if he dares spoil his plan because of some late teenager eagerness. But is this Mingyu's normal delay? Wonwoo never stopped to notice the lateness whenever they go out because he has it engraved in him to arrive late to prevent moments like this. But today is a special day and his special boy seems too laidback to care that it's his fucking birthday and they should have started celebrating it already.
To make things worse, Wonwoo feels like he's woken up from the dead. He grabbed maybe two hours of sleep last night because he couldn't stop thinking about making this day absolutely perfect for Mingyu. Apparently that doesn't equal making himself presentable because when he checks his reflection on the coffee shop window behind him yes, he looks fresh from the grave.
Even the cashier inside seems to agree, looking at Wonwoo with a frightened expression. It could be just Wonwoo's resting bitch face though. He's been told he looks either super sexy or super threatening when he's spacing out so the cashier's reaction means Wonwoo looks deadly in some way or another.
He coughs to mask the awkward exchange, fixing a stray strand of hair on his faint reflection. He possibly ruins his hairdo altogether but Mingyu loves messing his hair so Wonwoo tries not to be bothered. It probably fails, judging by the cashier's staring.
Fortunately Mingyu chooses this exact moment to tackle-hug Wonwoo with a loud squealing that might have been something like “Kyaaa! Hyung!”
It's really hard untangling from Mingyu when he's being his giant puppy self because it's incredibly adorable how Mingyu shows his affections without restraint. Also because Mingyu has been working out and two muscular arms gush the air out of Wonwoo. It takes a couple pats – and absolutely no public calls of good boy – for Mingyu to trade his bone crushing hug for a simple holding hands.
To put it simple Mingyu looks stunning. Like the real sun with his recent bleached hair – that Wonwoo had been skeptical at first but grew to love –, tanned skin and blinding toothy smile. Wonwoo swears it must be the Godly genes because how is a human being allowed to be this radiant? He must be staring a little too intently because Mingyu starts blushing.
“Hyung, you look really nice today.”
“You too,” Wonwoo is quick to reply, too quick apparently since Mingyu can't contain his grin at a praise. “You always look good.”
Wonwoo doesn't mean to spoil him – Zeus knows the brat is as spoiled as it gets being the one friend who's stood beside him since his first day at Half Blood Camp, never once having doubted Wonwoo's parenthood. When Persephone claimed him at dinner table on his third night there, the silence was so morbid Wonwoo thought himself dead already. Mingyu was the one to pull him out of it by shouting proudily that he knew it, he's always known Wonwoo was telling the truth. Only later would Wonwoo understand all that was Mingyu's form of flirtation and he had totally fallen for it.
Mingyu has never been anything but sweet and caring towards him – only sometimes a little too hungry for affection, reacting to every bit of love Wonwoo shows him. But Wonwoo guesses a little compliment won't hurt, right?
“You too, hyung! In fact I could recite a haiku right now about your–”
Ok, Wonwoo takes that back.
Mingyu's inherited it all from his father: his shining beauty, his adorable dorkiness and a very questionable taste for poetry.
It's not something that can be controlled – each demigod is a random set of traits passed down by their parents that just naturally develops, like Wonwoo's interest for botany. He didn't choose it. It simply sprouted one day and there he goes majoring in Biology while working part-time at a flower shop. It's in his blood, quite literally. Likewise, it is in Mingyu's blood to have a very artistic side.
Sometimes very unnecessarily artistic, which leads to him reciting – worst of all, rapping – haikus out of the blue because something sparked his inner muse. Most of time, that spark is Wonwoo.
“Mingyu, no,” he asks, or demands judging from Mingyu's crestfallen pout. Wonwoo almost regrets cutting off what would probably be another endearing poem about himself. Almost. Mingyu is quite generous on his lyrical demonstrations of love which is fine. By no means Wonwoo wants him to change.
It's just that sometimes Mingyu writes stuff that sound straight from Wonwoo's guilty pleasure romcom movies. It's cute on the screen but oh so embarrassing when Mingyu does it for real.
“I'm sorry, hyung.”
“Don't be,” he kisses Mingyu's pout away as an apology, nudging them from the coffee shop. “We should just go, come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“Well...”
x
When Wonwoo had first searched for his mother's help, he had been afraid. Sure they had a relationship like no other demigod had with their godly parent but Wonwoo had no desire to abuse her kindness. Much to his relief though, his mother had called him a silly boy, how could he doubt his mother's love? Of course she would help him, she was more than happy to do so.
But such willingness to comply had him oblivious to a crucial point on their plan, something Wonwoo didn't realize up til they reached Seokchon Lake and settled down to eat.
His mother is watching their date.
“Wonwoo hyung?”
Deep down he probably knew it. What was he thinking anyway? Persephone is a fucking Goddess and that had to included some level of omniscience, omnipotence, omni-whatever that would let her know her cue. Wonwoo basically handed his mother a free pass into their privacy to fangirl as much as she wants and he knows she will.
It's one trait they share apart from a love for nature and some bizarre hair metamorphism by each new season that comes (thankfully conceiled by morning hair dying in Wonwoo's case): a taste for romance. The cheapest, the sappiest, the best.
Last year they had binge watched every tear jerker romance movie on Netflix and Wonwoo had found out just what kind of fangirl she was. Persephone is a sucker for love stories and Wonwoo just knows he's about to become her next passionate sighing material and–
“Wonwoo hyung, you're gonna spill tea on your coat.”
Oh right, where was he again?
Probably spacing out for a solid five minutes because his hands are fucking frozen amid pouring tea from his thermos bottle. Mingyu is right, he's on the verge of spilling it all over himself but luckily he comes to his senses on time to serve a cup of steaming tea for his boyfriend. Wonwoo blushes because damn, he's gotta stop getting inside his head during moments like this otherwise he'll make a fool of himself in front of both Mingyu and his mother.
Mingyu chuckles an amused thanks when Wonwoo hands him the cup, too used to Wonwoo's little mindscapades to read too much into it.
“Sorry,” Wonwoo apologizes anyway. “I wanted to do something special for you.”
“This is special though,” Mingyu's smile disappears behind his tea and Wonwoo takes that moment to wish for death.
His boyfriend thinks anything Wonwoo does for him is cute and enough even if it's some not so romantic picnic in a chill, cloudy day threatening on a downpour at any time now. Of course Wonwoo had completely forgotten to check the forecast for the week, of course he would run over this detail. One rain drop and his whole plan is ruined, no matter how romcom material it would be to share a kiss or two with Mingyu under the rain.
Wonwoo gives the grey sky a frustrated pout. Surely Zeus wouldn't want to ruin his grandson's – and thinking now, his daughter's – diversion, would he?
The answer is a loud thunder.
“I guess the weather could help a bit,” Mingyu frowns at the sound but shrugs in dismissal. “But we can't have it all, can we? I'm just happy to be with you.”
Wonwoo wants to coo at that and he does – internally, because he isn't giving his mother any more embarrassing images of him. He gazes around the lake, where couples and students stroll aimlessly. The place is rather empty, which isn't surprising if you consider the reminiscent winter weather and the lack of cherry blossoms, shy inside their buds. It's a rather sad view but Wonwoo hopes to compensate for it.
“How is your mother doing, by the way?”
Speaking of which...
“Oh, she's...good. I've seen her very briefly yesterday. She's, you know, doing Goddess stuff I guess.”
“And when am I having the pleasure to meet my future mother-in-law?”
Mingyu's cheeky grin and wiggling eyebrows make Wonwoo snort through a frown, giving his boyfriend's arm a playful slap. It's more out of ridicule than embarrassment because well, should he follow the same custom Wonwoo ought to ask when he's meeting Mingyu's father.
The thing is, Mingyu has never met his father in all his (now) 22 years. Meanwhile, Wonwoo collects more tales about his mother than he judges safe for a single demigod. He's offered to stop telling Mingyu these things if it ever upsets him but Mingyu has assured many times he's more than happy to listen. “If it's important to you, then it's important to me.”
Wonwoo swears Mingyu not-so-guiltly binge watches romcoms too to have that many perfect lines.
“Like I know my mother's full schedule to know when she's suddenly going to show up for a visit.”
“But you know your father's schedule for sure. So, when am I meeting him?”
Wonwoo gives Mingyu his no-bullshit-allowed glare.
“Kim Mingyu, are you asking my hand?”
“What do you think, Jeon Wonwoo?”
“On your own birthday?”
“Give yourself to me as my present.”
Yeah, ok, that's it for cheap romcom lines. Wonwoo rolls his eyes so hard they might as well fall into their sockets. He doesn't bother answering, but an expectant silence stretches between them and Mingyu is smiling that stupid puppy smile of his, begging to be indulged. He can't be serious about all this, can he?
“You're fucking kidding me.”
“I'm not.”
“Mingyu, we've been dating for less than two years.”
“So? I've seen it all already. You're the love of my life. The Oracle tells no lies.”
That is another thing all kids from Apollo share, this strange clairvoyance about things. None have it strong enough to match their father's prophetical powers but it does get some things right at times. That's how Mingyu actually knew Wonwoo wasn't lying about his parenthood; Mingyu just knew about him in some supernatural, Bella Swan and Edward Cullen rip off way. He literally yelled at Wonwoo that he knew what he was the first time they've met. Wonwoo has no idea how the fuck did that shit won his heart and made them stay together for almost two years.
Apparently because the Oracle says they're meant for each other.
“What do you say, hyung?”
How does Wonwoo politely say that yes, he'd marry Mingyu any day but he also wants to maybe smack that fake whine from his mouth because Mingyu knows Wonwoo can't refuse him anything and it just feeds to Mingyu's ego and he hates it when Mingyu acts smug and–
“Wonwoo hyung?”
There he goes spacing out again.
“No.”
“No?”
Now Mingyu is using his full set of distressed puppy pout and God – Wonwoo hates how weak he is for it. He doesn't even like puppies yet somehow he ended with a giant, human sized puppy who gnaws at his hand and swings his tail each time he wants attention.
His mother is probably watching this at the edge of her seat like her kid is the hero of a sappy drama on the cusp of canonizing the main couple. He can almost hear her fawning in the distance like a soccer mom cheering for her son to score the winning goal.
Wonwoo has never felt this distressed for dating Mingyu. He hopes it gets better in their married years – if they fulfill the prophecy and do get married, that is.
“No, I mean that's not a no. It's a yes.”
“It's a yes?”
“Yes. I'll marry you.”
It's surely not what he pictured for a marriage proposal – what about the dinner by candlelights? The fireworks? The emotional, meaningful long gazed between them? The loud thumping of his heart before they share the fateful kiss to seal their destinies together?
Instead Wonwoo facepalms kinda hard to hide his face because damn – Mingyu looks so embarrassing even if a little cute when he starts hollering with his fists on his chin, smile stretched so wide it could split his face in half.
It looks more like the time Mingyu asked him to be his boyfriend and when Wonwoo said yes Mingyu started hopping around like a bunny. Wonwoo tries but fails to understand how have things not changed a bit between them. Perhaps they're too domestic already to expect anything else.
A tud beside his knee catches his attention and Wonwoo peeks between his fingers, fearing Mingyu has fainted from excitement but – what the fuck is that?
“What the fuck is this?” he pulls nothing short of a fucking shimmering gold arrow that somehow seems to have fallen from the sky to bless their little moment with some bizarre touch. Wonwoo unwraps a slip of paper tied around the shaft and reads–
Damn.
Damn.
“Damn!,” he actually curses out loud then slaps his mouth because that's a big discourtesy considering what the paper says.
Wonwoo looks at the sky and bows an apology, hoping he isn't too screwed. But damn, what the fuck? Is this his mother's doing? How far gone into making this the perfect date for them is she to be resorting to–
“Wonwoo hyung?”
Oh right, Mingyu.
His boyfriend-now-fiancé looks just as confused by the presence of that arrow, hopeful that Wonwoo will explain it. Only Wonwoo doesn't know how to explain the content without bracing himself for quite a big reaction.
“What's in there?”
Well here goes nothing.
“It's from your father,” he says the words clearly and slowly, watching as Mingyu's expression grows from curiosity to something close to combusting. Wonwoo thinks his eyes do actually twinkle at the mere mention of his father noticing him but Wonwoo doesn't have the time to feel bittersweet because, “He gave us his blessing. Says that any date we choose to marry will be a sunny one sponsored by him.”
If Wonwoo thought he's seen all of Mingyu's puppy eagerness before, this very moment proves him wrong. Mingyu so much as tackles him to the ground and starts hollering for earnest, all high pitched squeals and flailing while hugging Wonwoo against the floor. Wonwoo is sure this looks inappropriate from certain – if not all – angles. He needs to save every last won for the wedding and going to jail for attempted indecent assault won't helping his savings.
He gives Mingyu's back a couple pats for enough but that only seems to spur his PDA further.
“Hyung, we're getting married!”
“Like I don't know.”
Mingyu just squeals louder, untangling from their embrace to look up at the cloudy sky – now somehow less cloudy with sunshine peeking through – and shout at the top of his lungs.
“Thank you, father!!!”
Ok Wonwoo thought he was embarrassed before? Because right now he is totally ready to ask Hades to bring him down and end his misery. He's not getting past this day with all the staring from basically everyone around the lake who suddenly stopped to watch Mingyu having some kind of religious experience. Wonwoo is about to drag him out of anyone's sight for the rest of their lives when something catches in his eye.
He blinks it away thinking it might be his imagination but the thing slips to his lap and – oh God, now of all times? At least it's a good cover up for when Mingyu starts shouting again, only this time not for his father. One hand pulls at Wonwoo's and the other is pointing up. Wonwoo tugs Mingyu's hand back to try and contain some of his excitement but oh who is he trying to fool?
The view is breathtaking.
All around the lake the cherry trees start to bloom, turning the air into a light shade of pink when petals fall down like little shooting stars. Wonwoo is sure Mingyu looks more beautiful than them though, eyes twinkling in joyful surprise and grinning wide as the cherry trees come alive. Wonwoo thinks that if love had to be expressed in one single image it would be Mingyu looking at him with flower petals in his hair and sunlight on his face.
“It's for you, actually,” Wonwoo smiles shyly, squeezing Mingyu's hand. “I asked mom a favor. If she could help me do something special for you.”
Mingyu's freezes for a minute before his hands are on Wonwoo's cheeks and his lips over his. Wonwoo panics for half a second thinking of their parents watching this but he forgets the world when Mingyu slips a tongue between his lips. When Mingyu breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against Wonwoo's, he looks about to cry. Chuckling softly, Wonwoo runs a thumb on the corner of his eye.
“Even my father's letter?”
“No, that wasn't part of the plan,” Wonwoo shrugs, smiling. “I guess your father is giving you his own birthday gift.”
For the first time Wonwoo is glad someone is watching their date. He hopes Apollo is watching as Mingyu retreats to look for his father's note, reading each word with quiet fondness in his eyes. It makes Wonwoo think of himself when he was ten and his mother was only a fabled magical creature his father spoke of as bed time story.
From an early age he understood it was unlikely they would ever meet, but one morning Wonwoo had woken up to a pomegranate in his windowsill. His bedroom's window faced the family's backyard garden which Wonwoo tended to with his father. It had no pomegranate tree.
Wonwoo had jumped out of the window in his pajamas with the pomegranate clutched to his chest, heading to the garden. His father had no photos to show him but Wonwoo just knew as he saw her standing there, a pomegranate similar to his in her hands. “Wonwoo,” Persephone had smiled and something inside him overflowed with love. He could only cry as she tucked him into her arms to never let go again.
He wonders if what is making Mingyu tear up now is that same feeling.
“Don't go crying on your own birthday, silly,” Wonwoo scolds him, pinching Mingyu's cheek and making him half smile, half wince.
“It's your fault!” Mingyu laughs, slapping Wonwoo's hand away. “Actually, no, it's all thanks to you. So thank you, hyung.”
“Don't. If you gotta thank anyone, thank my mother.”
“Ok.”
Wonwoo is a little startled when Mingyu looks over Wonwoo's shoulder and says out loud his thanks, probably to a tree. Wonwoo snorts because he's done something similar before, talking to random plants at home and hoping somehow his words reached his mother. It's a little weird doing this in public but Wonwoo guesses he should have gotten used to all the weirdness in their date – in their lives, let's be honest – by now.
But oh does it go any overboard when Wonwoo feels a delicate hand on his shoulder and the smell of dew on his nose.
“You're welcome, Kim Mingyu.”
Damn.
“So you were speaking about meeting me to arrange your wedding?”
Damn.
“Wait no more, I've personally come to congratulate you both!”
When Wonwoo looks over his shoulder yes, there she is. Persephone is as beautiful as the spring, if only a little out of place in her light dress when it's still a little chill outside. Wonwoo has maybe a thousand things to say or ask or please don't baby me in front of my boyfriend but the only thing he can muster is:
“What is that cake?”
“It's my gift for both of you!” Persephone smiles, handing Mingyu what looks like the most luxurious handmade cake Wonwoo has ever seen.
Mingyu is flustered as he accepts it while doing a ninety degree in front of the Goddess, almost dropping the cake altogether. Wonwoo reaches to help him but Persephone hugs her son first, swinging him in her embrace. Wonwoo thinks he hears Mingyu aww'ing in the background.
“Mother,” Wonwoo is blushing when he retracts before his mother seriously starts smothering him. “You didn't need to. I mean, the flowers were enough.”
“Can't I spoil my son – and my future son-in-law – from time to time?” she winks at Wonwoo. “I'm not so sure I'll be able to attend your wedding, might as well give some compensation. Consider it a mother's favor.”
Wonwoo doesn't even have the time to thank his mother properly – and/or ask her to maybe stop prying into their date now that the surprise is done – because after a light kiss to his cheek, a gust of cherry petals blink her away. Her appearance was so brief Wonwoo actually spends a couple minutes wondering if it was all an hallucination.
“Hyung!” Mingyu calls. “Hyung, let's eat!”
But it doesn't seem so given Mingyu is waving a cake knive at him, probably left by Persephone too. Wonwoo pinches the bridge of his nose, feeling suddenly exhausted. At least their crazy day is almost over and they have cake to end their perfect (?) date. He beckons Mingyu and the cake closer.
Mingyu is practically jumping on his seat when Wonwoo hands him a generous slice, which he digs in before Wonwoo has the chance to get himself his own piece. Mingyu looks like a wild dog choking bite after bite but Wonwoo has no heart to chastise him. It's his birthday, after all. Besides, Wonwoo is just as curious to have a bite. He never knew his mother could cook, much less bake something that looks straight from the fanciest bakery in town.
“A mother's favor, eh?” Wonwoo chuckles before taking a big bite. It's maybe a little too sugary for his taste but it's delicious nonetheless. In fact it not only tastes familiar, its bright red jam makes him think of something fruity and pulpy like–
Oh.
Oh.
“Wow, this cake is delicious!” Mingyu says through a mouthful of cake, red syrup catching on the corner of his lips. “I wonder what it's made of.”
Wonwoo gives his plate a mortified look.
“Mingyu?”
“Yes?”
“I'm afraid we'll be together even after death does us part.”
“Aww how romantic.”