Chapter Text
The crack of thunder up ahead only made Yukhei sprint faster, his feet hitting the hard pavement with a splash each time. Fuck Australia, Yukhei thought, struggling to keep the endless stream of water out of his eyes. Just this morning, the sun had been beating down as Yukhei had struggled to make it to school on time. Head down, he pulled his blazer tighter around him as he dashed across the footbridge towards his street. One moment, Yukhei’s foot was on the ground, and in the next he felt his entire body hit the concrete, groaning at the impact.
“Shit.” Yukhei muttered, already dreading how soaked his back would be.
Standing up, he craned his neck behind him, trying to get a peek at the damage, but instead of glimpsing a massive wet patch, something drew his eyes to the figure sitting on the dreary footpath. A boy that looked around Yukhei’s age, was curled up in the foetal position, shivers running across his body. Yukhei walked closer, noting the boy’s small physique.
“Hey,” Yukhei knelt down. “You okay? I mean… do you have anywhere to go? While it rains, at least.”
The boy stared back at him with chocolate brown eyes, before slowly shaking his head. He didn’t look prepared for anything, sitting out here, just him and the thin items of clothing that covered his body.
Sighing, Yukhei racked his brain for options. He could either leave the boy here, which would hurt Yukhei’s heart just a bit too much, or take him home, at least for a bit. Just until the weather cleared up, he told himself. Kun wouldn’t mind. Would he? Before he could regret it, Yukhei scooped up the other boy, the rain still pouring down like a waterfall.
In the five minutes that it took to safely arrive at the front door, the smaller boy had let his eyes flutter shut, drifting into an uneasy sleep. At the sight of the pink terrace that Yukhei called home, his walk sped up, making his way up the front steps. Yukhei fished his house keys out of his pocket, struggling to carry the boy without waking him at the same time. At this point, the rain had completely soaked through Yukhei’s uniform, his hair sticking to his face. Hurriedly flicking off his shoes, as he opened the door, Yukhei rushed to the couch, placing the bundle down before grabbing several blankets to wrap the shivering figure with. Drying off the boy’s golden-brown hair, Yukhei turned on the heater, glancing at the silent figure before heading into the kitchen to grab a snack.
Where could he have come from? Yukhei wondered as he fed himself a TimTam. He’d never seen him before, and Yukhei walked the same route to and from school every day. He didn’t even have anything with him, making the situation even stranger. He just had to hope he wasn’t dangerous or anything, Yukhei didn’t want to have accidentally brought a murderer into his home. Yukhei shook his head, the boy wasn’t a murderer, he was being silly.
Yukhei turned his eyes down to the practice maths test that was sitting, lonely on his desk. Starting the timer, he picked up his pen.
Cooking dinner was a disaster. Yukhei honestly wasn’t sure why Kun still trusted him to provide their evening meal when it usually (read: every time) turned out an uneatable mess. Yukhei sighed, mindlessly stirring the stir-fry he was trying not to burn while simultaneously dancing along to the radio. Mid-spin, Yukhei found that his head would no longer move past a certain point. An arm had wrapped itself around his neck and Yukhei quickly dropped the spoon, twisting his head upwards to catch a glimpse of the culprit. The smidge of golden-brown hair at the edge of his vision was enough to notify him. Maybe he really was a murderer? Yukhei’s heartbeat sped up, panic starting to set in. Before he had a chance to protest, the boy tightened his grip.
“Who are you? Where am I? Where’s my father?” The questions ran off the boy’s tongue as though he were running a race with his words.
“Woah, slow down.” Yukhei gestured at the arm currently restricting him from moving. “I can answer your questions, just… could you let me breathe a little? Maybe stand comfortably?” He joked, despite his pounding heartbeat.
There was a pause, then Yukhei felt the weight lift from around his shoulders. Standing up fully, he was probably a head taller than the other teen, who was presently glaring at Yukhei with an intensity that would invoke fear in even the bravest of people.
“One question at a time,” Yukhei said. “First, I’m Yukhei!” He grinned, attempting to look as less intimidating as possible. No need to scare his new guest, who was also a potential murderer. “I found you this afternoon, in the rain. Are you okay?”
The boy only glared in response.
“Where am I?”
“Sydney.”
The only reaction was a shift from aggressive to confused. Okay, maybe he was just a lost teenager.
“Sydney?” The boy asked.
“Australia,”Yukhei responded. “Y’know, the large island country in the middle of fucking nowhere?”
Again, no response.
“Look, you can use my phone to call whoever, and I’ve also made dinner, if you want food?” Yukhei pointed down at the chicken and veggies that were, by that point, burnt. “Oh.”
“Am I…” The boy paused. “Are you human?” He asked slowly, with a curious look.
What kind of question was that? Yukhei thought.
“Uh, yeah? I mean, what else would I be?” He answered, shifting his attention to the state of dinner. Kun really was going to be annoyed. Sighing, he cut up more vegetables for round two of cooking, reckoning he could salvage the chicken.
“Oh my gods,” whispered the boy. “You’re a mortal. I’m in the mortal world.”
“You are indeed.”
----
Yukhei hadn’t even noticed Kun enter the house.
“Sit down, sit down.” He said to their guest. “You can explain everything over dinner.”
Yukhei hadn’t moved from his position next to the stove. “Um… I’m not sure when dinner will…”
“I brought something back just in case.” Kun waved a bag full of takeaway, placing it on their small, wooden table.
Yukhei’s face instantly brightened at the prospect of food. “You’re a lifesaver.”
Digging into the Thai takeaway Kun had brought home, Yukhei turned to the boy that had been sitting at the table in silence. “What’s your name, anyway?”
He looked up. “Me?”
Yukhei nodded.
“Donghyuck.”
“I found him on the bridge.” Yukhei explained to Kun, whose expression shifted at the mention of the bridge. “Sorry for not asking you before I took him home, I –”
Kun held up a hand. “Where are you from, Donghyuck?” Kun asked gently, “I think I should be able to help.”
“I’m from the underworld.”
“The what?” Yukhei interjected. That was no part of Sydney he had ever heard of.
Kun shot him a look. “Who are your parents?” He asked, turning his attention back to Donghyuck.
“My father is Hades, my mother Persephone.”
Kun nodded. “I see. Have you tried leaving?”
“It doesn’t work,” Donghyuck said with a sigh.
“What about your other powers?”
Donghyuck shook his head. “Nothing.”
Yukhei’s eyes flicked between the two men, mind spinning as he thought through what he had just heard. Hades… wasn’t that some type of mythology? And powers? Was Donghyuck some kind of…god? And how was Kun so calm?
“Would someone please explain what’s going on?”
Kun glanced at Donghyuck. “Please excuse us.”
Kun led Yukhei into the living room, before turning around and saying in a hushed tone, “What do you know about Greek mythology?”
“Not much… “So it was mythology! Yukhei knew paying attention in history would be useful at some point. “But those people he mentioned… his parents, who exactly are they?”
“Hades, his father, is the god of the dead and the underworld, while his mother, Persephone is the goddess of springtime, and the queen of the underworld.” Kun’s eyes seemed to drift away for a second, as though he were reminiscing about a better time. “You’ve picked up a minor god.” He said, turning his attention back to Yukhei.
Yukhei opened and closed his mouth. “A… a minor god?”
“It sounds like he’s trapped here, at least for the time being. I’ll try to figure something out, I know some people.”
“Uh, what kind of people, exactly?” Yukhei asked, surprised that his cousin would have any sort of strange connections.
“Let’s just say… they too would have alliances to certain Greek deities.”
Yukhei simply nodded, his mind too boggled to think too deeply about how Kun would know people… related… to Greek deities.
“You okay to go back now?” Kun asked, noticing Yukhei’s silence.
“Yeah.”
----
Donghyuck was pouting into his plate, still picking at the food as his eyebrows furrowed together in concentration. The expression made him look adorable, Yukhei thought.
Donghyuck looked up. “Don’t call me that!”
“Did I say that aloud?” Yukhei yelped, covering his mouth.
Kun rolled his eyes. “Yukhei why don’t you find something for Donghyuck to wear, at least for tonight. We can go shopping tomorrow. Donghyuck,” he turned his attention to the smaller boy. “I’m going to try to get you home, but it might take time. You’re welcome to stay here, and I’ll even try to get you enrolled at Yukhei’s school.”
“Thank you,” Donghyuck expression grew serious. “I just don’t know how this could have happened…”
“No need to worry, everything will be fine.” Kun patted Donghyuck on the shoulder. Yukhei’s respect for his older cousin had grown significantly this evening, with his stress-free handling of the situation as well as his bizarre knowledge of Greek mythology. “You can set up the air mattress in your room.” He said to Yukhei, who hopped out of his seat.
Grabbing the air mattress from the storeroom, Yukhei hurriedly set up the temporary bed on the floor of his bedroom, eager to have a reason not to do the washing up. Donghyuck silently followed him, taking in the clothes strewn across the room, the desk by the window, and Yukhei’s terrible attempt at making his bed. Yukhei rifled through his wardrobe, throwing Donghyuck his findings.
“Those are the smallest things I could find. They’re probably still-”
Donghyuck looked through the clothes. A massive t-shirt, along with a pair of track pants that would probably, no definitely, hit the floor.
“You’d probably be better off with Kun’s clothes, honestly,” Yukhei said, once he saw Donghyuck hold up the t-shirt against himself. “The bathroom’s the second door to the left.”
Once Donghyuck had left the room, Yukhei quickly changed, then threw himself down on his bed, letting his eyes drift shut. His day had been ridiculously uneventful, boring even. Then he brought Donghyuck home, and everything spiralled into… just plain weird. How was he going to explain this to his friends? Donghyuck was his… cousin? His long-lost friend? A sudden exchange student?
Donghyuck re-entered the room quietly, Yukhei still pondering over his thoughts.
“Hey.”
Yukhei reopened his eyes and sat up. Donghyuck was now wearing the t-shirt Yukhei had given him, but as a dress, the hem reaching his mid-thigh. The grey track pants were still in his hand.
“Sorry, they were huge, and well… this was long enough anyway.”
“Oh.” Yukhei’s eyes trailed down Donghyuck’s legs, thoughts spiralling, before he turned his attention back to Donghyuck’s face. “You can leave the trackies anywhere, my room’s a mess as it is. Um… are you tired?”
Donghyuck hummed as he sat down on the mattress. “Kind of.”
“I’ll turn the lights out then, if that’s okay?”
Donghyuck nodded, crawling under the doona. Yukhei dashed for the lights, clambering back into his bed as the room turned pitch-black. Donghyuck had turned over on his side, breaths coming even and steady as he lost himself to his dreams.
---
“So, I’ll meet you guys in Cotton On in 45 minutes, okay?”
Yukhei nodded, grabbing Donghyuck’s hand as Kun walked toward Coles. “Come on, let’s get Chatime.”
Westfield was ridiculously busy, as per normal, and Yukhei led Donghyuck through the labyrinth of shops designed for shoppers to get lost inside. The white floors and bright lights seemed to overwhelm Donghyuck, who’s eyes moved from shop to shop too quickly.
“Have you ever had bubble tea before?”
Donghyuck shook his head.
“Man, you’ve never lived. It’s tea, right, but you can get it in tons of different flavours and add toppings. Wanna choose a flavour?” He asks, pointing at the illuminated sign displaying the menu. “Other companies have other flavours too, Chatime’s just the most convenient.”
Finally deciding for himself, Yukhei glanced over at Donghyuck, who was immersed in studying the menu with great intensity. “Do you know what you want?”
“Can I just have a sip of yours?” Donghyuck asked shyly.
“Sure. Could I have a large chocolate milk tea with pearls?” Yukhei asked the shopkeeper.
While they were preparing the drink Donghyuck continued observing the huge assortment of shops surrounding the small Chatime booth. Customers moved in and out, some carrying large bags, some carrying none.
“That’s Maccas,” Yukhei said, noticing Donghyuck’s interest in the surrounding shops. “They make food. Over there’s Sephora, which is makeup.” Yukhei continued listing off the various shops as well as what they sell, grabbing his drink when they called his name.
“Just Jeans is upstairs, if you want to start there?”
Yukhei handed his drink to Donghyuck, watching as his face lit up as he had a sip.
As Donghyuck tried on some clothes, Yukhei settled down on one of the few chairs in the shop, grinning to himself. Donghyuck was just that cute. Despite having only known him for a day, Yukhei could tell that Donghyuck had taken a special place in his heart. His naivety about the human world had already brought bouts of laughter, and Yukhei was glad for the distraction, although it meant he was very behind on his latest geography assignment. There had been no developments yet with Kun, and Yukhei desperately wanted to find out even a snippet of information to help the shorter boy. Last night, he could have sworn he’d been woken up by the sound of sniffling coming from Donghyuck’s bed, but Yukhei was too scared to reach out and comfort him, preferring to lie in the dark and will himself back to sleep, mouth turned into a frown at the thought of his friend in distress. Friend. Could Yukhei even call Donghyuck his friend yet?
Just then, Donghyuck exited the change rooms.
“Can we get these?” He held up a handful of clothes.
“Sure!” Yukhei grinned, leading Donghyuck towards the counter and taking out his wallet, the other boy jumping excitedly.
As they walked into Cotton On, Kun approached them, hands full with bags of shopping.
“I can take some of those.” Yukhei grabbed a couple of the bags from Kun.
“I can-” Donghyuck started, making a move to take a bag.
Kun waved him off. “Go choose some clothes.”
Donghyuck smiled and sprinted off into the shop.
“Do you need anything new?” Kun asked Yukhei.
“Nah,” Yukhei said, shaking his head.
They fell into comfortable silence, Yukhei bouncing his knee up and down as he, once again, sat himself down in one of the conveniently located chairs.
“Hey, you never explained. How do you know all this stuff about like, where Donghyuck’s from? And all that Greek mythology stuff?” Yukhei asked with caution, not wanting to bug Kun too hard.
“Ah.” Kun got that glazed look in his eyes again. “I knew Donghyuck’s father, actually.”
“Hades?” It took Yukhei a minute to find the name. “You knew the god of the dead?”
Kun nodded. “I knew him by a different name. Johnny. We met when I had just finished school. He was bright and energetic and confident… charming…”
Yukhei got the picture. “What happened? Why did he leave?”
“Summer left, and so did Johnny. I never knew what happened to him, but I guess he went back to his godly duties.” A sad smile seemed to have glued itself to Kun’s face, and Yukhei wanted to reach out and hug his cousin.
“I’m sure he still thinks about you! Like you do.” Yukhei tried to comfort Kun, but Kun only shook his head.
“He has Donghyuck now, I’m sure he has other things to think about. Anyway,” Kun said, noticing Yukhei’s expression. “I’ve been over him for years now, no need to worry.”
Yukhei fixed Kun with a look. “Go on a date, Kun! There are plenty of guys that would love you!”
Kun shook his head. This had become a recurring disagreement with Yukhei over the four years he had lived with his cousin. “I’m really busy with work…”
“Promise me you’ll go on at least one date…before my school holidays?”
School holidays started in June…it was the end of April… “Okay,” Kun said hesitantly. “Promise.”
Yukhei stood up triumphantly, pleased with himself. “You deserve to be happy.” He said with a smile, as Kun grinned quietly to himself.
---
“I guess this is your form room!” Yukhei exclaimed as he delivered Donghyuck just a bit late for his first class of the day. “I’ve had Mr. Moon before, he’s the best. Remember, we sit under the tree next to the tennis courts at recess and lunch.” Yukhei said as he walked away. “I’ll see you there, okay?”
Donghyuck nodded, before entering the classroom. If he was being honest with himself, he was more than a bit lost in the maze of Yukhei’s private, all-boys high school, and the fact that he wasn’t going to see Yukhei until recess made him slightly terrified. Yukhei had tried his best to explain everything over the weekend, but there were things that Donghyuck would never understand. Mostly things about Australia, but also humanity in general.
Walking into the classroom, Donghyuck immediately took in the bright white tables and whiteboard, as well as the brand new…was that a TV? None of the other boys turned to look at him, all preoccupied with their own conversations or staring at their laptops. Donghyuck slowly approached the man whom he assumed was the teacher, Mr. Moon.
“Hi, I’m the new student?” He cautiously said. “This is my form room, right?”
Mr. Moon looked up from his work, lips moving into a smile. “Donghyuck Lee, correct?”
Donghyuck nodded.
“You’ve just moved here from…?”
“Um, from South Korea. I’m Yukhei Wong’s distant cousin, so I’m staying with him.” They had decided on telling people that they were distantly related, so as not to raise questions as to why Yukhei had never mentioned Donghyuck before or any Korean relatives.
“Yukhei! He’s a bright student…very loud.”
Donghyuck nodded again, agreeing. Donghyuck’s ears were probably already damaged from a weekend with Yukhei, but he couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the other boy.
“Well, that’s sorted!” Mr. Moon said, finishing marking Donghyuck in on the role. “You can sit anywhere, we have half an hour left. Here’s your diary and timetable – your teachers and rooms should be on it too.”
Donghyuck slid his gaze across the room, checking out his options. He settled on a boy sitting by himself, ferociously scribbling in a notebook. His bubble-gum pink hair brightened up the whole room, and Donghyuck seriously doubted it was following school rules. Sitting down next to him, Donghyuck placed his books down before grabbing his timetable. Form, Geography, English, Recess, Maths… Donghyuck sighed. He’d just have to hope no one asked him any questions. What humans did and didn’t know was something Donghyuck was not willing to test the limits of.
“You’re not from around here.”
Donghyuck jumped in his seat. The pink-haired boy had turned to look at Donghyuck when he’d sighed and was now scrutinising his face with avid interest.
“Yeah, I uh, just moved here from Korea.” Donghyuck tried to sound believable, fingers crossed under the table that the boy wouldn’t ask him anything else.
“No, not from here. This world.” He tilted his head, sticking out his hand. “Jaemin Na.”
“Lee Donghyuck.” Jaemin’s hand was firm, and Donghyuck made a mental note to ask Yukhei about Jaemin later.
“So, are you a demigod? A satyr?” Jaemin fixed him with an inquiring look.
Donghyuck stared back, sweat starting to drip down his forehead. “Um…” He started, anxiously. Would it be safe to tell a stranger who he was? Was Jaemin even related to Greek mythology at all?
“I’m a demigod, son of Hecate, just to break the ice.” Jaemin smiled, and Donghyuck instantly relaxed.
“Um, I don’t know if I’m meant to tell you this, but I’m a…god.”
Jaemin’s face lifted into surprise.
“Son of Hades and Persephone.” Donghyuck nodded, glancing around the room. “I’m kind of…trapped here.”
Now that the news had set in, Jaemin’s smile had returned. “Can I help you? Please?” His eyes glowed in excitement.
“Um, sure. Let me just talk to Yukhei about it.”
Donghyuck replied, surprised by Jaemin’s eagerness.
“Yukhei? Yukhei Wong?”
“Yeah.” Donghyuck nodded. “I’m staying with him.”
“So Yukhei knows about this…” Jaemin gestured towards Donghyuck. “Godly thing.”
Donghyuck hummed in agreement. “I’ll fill you in on the whole thing, if you want?”
Jaemin nodded, leaning forward.
Donghyuck broke down the whole situation over the next fifteen minutes of form time, Jaemin eagerly lapping up every piece of information, nodding from time to time. When Donghyuck finished Jaemin quickly responded.
“I should be able to help you. I’ll need to do some more research, but I think I may know how you can get back.”
“Really? Do you wanna come over this afternoon? We can research together.” Donghyuck offered, sure that Kun would be fine with it.
“That would be great.” Jaemin gave him a comforting smile.
The piercing sound of the bell shocked Donghyuck, jumping. Jaemin chuckled, looking over at Donghyuck’s timetable.
“What’s your first class?”
“Geography.” Donghyuck groaned.
“Oh, we both have Mr. Lee!” Jaemin grinned once again, teeth blinding. “He’s kind of a bad teacher though…”
“At least I have you to keep me company!” Donghyuck replied, finished packing up all of his stuff. “Lead the way!”
---
Yukhei opened his lunchbox, sitting down on the crowded bench. He had told his group about his new guest over the group chat a couple of nights ago, but none of them had met Donghyuck in person yet.
“Is that him?” Renjun shoved Yukhei’s shoulder, pointing into the distance.
Yukhei looked up. “Yeah.” But why was he with-
“Jaemin?!” Jeno said in surprise. “You shouldn’t have left him alone, Yukhei.”
Yukhei sighed. “I’m sure Jaemin’s fine.”
Jeno only gave him a side glance. “Whatever you say.”
“Donghyuck!” Yukhei exclaimed, standing up. “Let me introduce you to everyone!”
“Okay!” Donghyuck smiled. “Um, I brought Jaemin along, is that okay?”
Yukhei nodded, though he silently made a note to tell Donghyuck about Jaemin later. “This is Renjun,” He started, gesturing towards the small black-haired boy.
Renjun waved, smiling. “Nice to meet you, Donghyuck.”
Donghyuck smiled back,
“This is Jeno, Renjun’s annoying boyfriend.” Yukhei continued.
“Hey!” Jeno protested. “Hi, Donghyuck. I apologize for the fact that you have to live with Yukhei. He’s the annoying one around here.”
Donghyuck let out a giggle. “Nice to meet you.”
“I don’t know where Chenle and Jisung are, but this is Mark, our resident SRC member.” Yukhei wiggled his eyebrows. “He’s going places.”
“Shut up Yukhei,” Mark said jokingly, smiling at Donghyuck.
“And, of course you know me, the most handsome boy in the school!” Yukhei said. “Sit down!”
Donghyuck sat next to Yukhei, Jaemin reluctantly following him.
“So Donghyuck, you’re from Korea, right?” Renjun asked.
“Uh… yeah.” Donghyuck began.
“He’s kind of shy about his family.” Yukhei explained, they had agreed to try and keep questions to a minimum rather than placing their bets on Donghyuck’s acting skills.
Jeno nodded. “Do you like Australia so far?”
“It’s…it’s a bit weird?” Donghyuck said cautiously. “Some things here are really different from what I know about… other countries.”
Jaemin laughed at that, the first noise he had made throughout the conversation. Yukhei noticed Donghyuck visibly relax. Jaemin had always been a bit of an outcast at school, for reasons Yukhei couldn’t quite explain. He mostly stuck to himself, and Yukhei hadn’t seen Jaemin outside of school for years.
As lunch finished, Donghyuck waited until everyone had left, before approaching Yukhei.
“Is it okay that I’ve invited Jaemin over this afternoon? He’s going to help me research. About getting home and stuff.” Donghyuck looked up at Yukhei with worried eyes.
“Oh.” If he was being honest with himself, this had caught Yukhei a little off guard. Were Donghyuck and Jaemin really that close?
“He’s a demigod, if you were wondering.” Donghyuck added. “Son of Hecate. That means he can do magic and stuff.”
“Sure!” Yukhei said brightly. If it meant he could help Donghyuck, Jaemin was welcome. A son of Hecate, huh? Yukhei thought to himself. Maybe that explained Jaemin’s lack of social interaction. “You’re sure he’s legit, though?”
Donghyuck nodded. “Certain.”
----
“Hey, Jaemin.” Yukhei said, opening the door. “Come in.”
Jaemin was wearing an orange oversized hoodie, his hands awkwardly stuffed in the pockets as he followed Yukhei through the house to him and Donghyuck’s room.
Donghyuck was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring blankly at a bundle of notes in his hand.
“He’s trying to get a gist of what we know.” Yukhei explained, rolling his eyes at the sight of Donghyuck.
“Would you like anything to drink?” He asked, turning to Jaemin.
“Nah, I’m fine.” Jaemin replied. “Hey, Donghyuck!” He said when the other boy noticed him.
Donghyuck’s eyes lit up at the sight of Jaemin, patting the ground next to where he sat. “Have you found anything new?”
Jaemin hummed. “I found some books that may be useful, so I’ll start there.” Taking a pile of ridiculously thick books out of his backpack, handing two to Donghyuck. “You can start there. I’ll take the rest!”
Yukhei only stared in disbelief as Jaemin began to chant under his breath, green light swirling around his fingers. The books laid out in front of him opened, pages flipping at a rapid rate as certain pages stopped for a bare millisecond to be marked, then the flipping continued. This must have been what Donghyuck had meant by magic, Yukhei thought.
“Is that like, a control-f on a book?” Yukhei wondered aloud.
Jaemin and Donghyuck ignored him. Sighing, Yukhei made his way over to his desk, not wanting to disturb whatever Jaemin and Donghyuck were doing. It was at moments like these that Yukhei wished he had some sort of ‘superpower’, or even some kind of basic knowledge on Greek mythology, at least enough to help them out.
“Anything I can do to help?” Yukhei asked.
“You should start your geography assignment.”
Donghyuck said in a knowing voice. “You’ve been procrastinating for the last two hours.”
Yukhei put on his best puppy dog eyes. “Please…”
Donghyuck only glared back. “Geography.”
Huffing, Yukhei turned back to his desk. Let’s see, a website or an essay? Well, that was an easy decision.
---
About an hour and a half into their research session, Jaemin stood up.
“Got it!”
Donghyuck instantly looked up, and Yukhei opened his eyes from where he was napping on the desk.
“So? What do we need to do?” Donghyuck asked excitedly.
“I have a spell in here, it says to be performed when the barriers to the underworld are weakest…we need an Obol too…” Jaemin said. “I’ll figure out when it will be easiest to access the underworld, and I know some people that should be able to find an Obol for us.”
Donghyuck’s face lit up. “Why didn’t I remember that?”
“Remember what?” Jaemin asked.
“This year is one of the years of the Secular Games! Which means it’s our only opportunity in a hundred years to access the underworld at such a good time.”
“Do you know what dates?” Jaemin furiously scribbled down notes as Donghyuck talked.
“It’s usually around the end of May? I’ll have to research more, but-” Donghyuck threw himself down on Yukhei’s bed, grinning.
Yukhei was fully upright now, eyes bright at the news. “So, does that mean Donghyuck’s going home in a month?”
“If we do it right,” Jaemin responded. “Which we should.”
“That’s great!” Yukhei turned to Donghyuck, who was pouting. “What?”
“You just want to get rid of me!”
Yukhei spluttered. “Would you rather I be annoyed that you’re going home?”
Donghyuck ignored him, turning back to Jaemin.
“Where are you going to find an Obol?”
Jaemin grinned. “I know these two guys-”
Yukhei scoffed at that.
“-called Ten and Yuta. They can get anything. Ten’s a son of Hermes, so it’s right up his alley.”
“What’s this ‘Obol’ thing?” Yukhei interjected.
Jaemin sighed. “It’s basically a payment into the land of the dead. The price to use Charon’s ferry. We’ll need one if Donghyuck is to cross over.”
“Sounds good.” Yukhei nodded, not sure what else to say. “Well, if that’s that… I’ll be going back to my assignment.”
“Please do.” Donghyuck added snarkily. “You’ve been sleeping for the past hour, how much have you done?”
Yukhei stared at the computer screen. “Um… I’ve gotten my website headers up?”
Donghyuck clambered off the bed, walking round to Yukhei’s side. “Have you started researching yet? What topic are you doing?”
“Something about megacities…?”
“Where?”
“Um… I’m doing Bangkok.”
“Let’s get started then.”
“Uh… I’m just gonna go then.” Jaemin slowly exited the room, sighing as he made a safe escape into the hall.