Chapter Text
Taehyung already knows he’s going to invest in this start up.
He’s in a meeting with his board and the CEO of a cosmetic company. The CEO is doing really well in their presentation. But there’s a newness to it. A sort of air that gives away that they’re new to this kind of thing.
Taehyung finds it endearing.
He had decided he would invest the moment he saw the CEO setting up. There wasn’t anything concrete about it. More of a feeling.
Taehyung saw the way the CEO moved and knew that he’d like them.
He always trusted his gut more than anything. It had led him this far for a reason.
“We’re in.” Taehyung says, and his voice interrupts the CEO mid-sentence. They blink, surprised and caught unaware.
Taehyung can feel some of his board members side-eye him. He doesn’t care.
He wants to leave. There shouldn’t be a reason he should stay longer than he needs to when he’s already made a decision.
“I like you,” Taehyung says, and the CEO blinks at the bluntness. “I think we’d get along well. For now, take it easy. We’ll get in contact with you about a deal.”
He stands before the CEO or his board can say anything. He wants to leave and see his mother. He had been thinking about her all morning. “I’m leaving early today. Have a good day, everyone.”
There’s a chorus of, “Thank you for your hard work,” and Taehyung knows that they’ll start bad mouthing him soon enough.
He’s too easy going. Too reliant on his emotions.
But it was exactly this that made him one of the most influential businessmen under thirty in South Korea.
And he was only twenty-one.
“Noona,” Taehyung calls, loosening his tie as he nears his office. His secretary pokes her head over her desktop, eyebrows raising, “Can you reschedule the rest of my meetings today? I’m heading home early.”
“Okay,” she says, quickly picking up her phone, “do you need me to get you anything?”
“It’s okay,” He says over his shoulder, slipping on his coat and picking up his bag. “I just need an early day today. I’ll text you when I feel better.”
He didn’t want to mention his mother. He knew she’d worry.
“Okay. Good job today.”
“Thanks.” He waves at her as he passes, and she smiles in return, “Have a good day, Noona.” He enters the elevator and is quick to enter the lobby. He’s about to enter the parking lot when a painting catches his eye.
Oh… He thinks, recognizing the artwork. It’s O’Keeffe.
The lobby of his company switches artwork to display every six months. For a long time they had been displaying Henry Matisse’s work. But this…
Georgia O’Keeffe’s Black Iris III was right in front of him.
It was beautiful.
He suddenly missed painting.
He thought of it from time to time. The way his paintbrush smeared across a canvas.
But he… hadn’t painted in several years.
He misses it.
He… wants to paint again.
He turns away instead, fishing his keys out of his bag.
The parking lot is empty of people. It’s cold here, noticeably so considering it’s only noon. Parking lots are always cold, he muses to himself.
He nears his car, a Cadillac his mother had picked out for him. He thinks about how she always looked tiny in the passenger seat, fingers lazily searching for his car’s unlock button.
He’ll stop at Kim’s Flower Shop and buy her some flowers, he thinks, finally unlocking his car. He thinks she’ll like that.
Hopefully they still have some sunflowers left—
A figure is suddenly in his peripheral vision. It’s so close and so sudden, the sight of it has Taehyung jump and press himself against the car door.
“What the fu—?” He shrieks, trying to identify what it was that startled him and—
It’s a man. A beautiful man.
With gray eyes so deep Taehyung is momentarily stunned at the contact with them.
Wow… He thinks.
He wants to paint this man.
“Kim Taehyung?” He asks, and his voice is smooth. Like a song. A melody. Taehyung is reminded of the way his mother sang him to sleep when he was young.
He doesn’t mean to, but he answers, “Yes…?”
“You’re the next Oracle.”
What.
“What?” He says, frowning, waking up from the short stupor and suddenly very very aware that a stranger is in the parking lot and knows his name literally sneaked up on him— “Who are you? Who let you in here? This is really really strange, I don’t like—”
His keys fall out of his hand, and his eyes snap down to follow them. He’s about to make to pick them up and looks up to keep an eye on the stranger but—
He’s gone.
A shiver runs up Taehyung’s spine.
He doesn’t like that.
He doesn’t like that at all.
His mother had joked that he was getting important and needed a bodyguard.
At that moment, he seriously considered it.
He quickly unlocks his car and gets in, an unsettling sensation traveling through his skin.
His gut says something bad is going to happen.
Taehyung trusts his gut. It’s gotten him far in life.
He doesn’t like what it’s telling him.
Taehyung is still spooked, but has calmed down enough that he’s still willing to go to the flower shop. It’s on the other side of the city, in the neighborhood he had grown up in. The parking lot is empty this time of day. Taehyung has come here so often he knows that their busier hours leaned towards the evenings.
He steps out of the car and makes sure it’s locked behind him. Kim’s Flower Shop was a place of comfort for him. Just being in the parking lot of the establishment was already relaxing him. I’ll get sunflowers, he thinks, adjusting his coat as he walks towards the building. He sighs deeply, feeling himself calm down completely, and maybe some—
Duck.
He falls to the floor, the motion jarring. He can feel a gust of wind pushing at his back, and he lifts his head slightly to see what the fuck is going on the weather said nothing about strong winds I am not prepared for this—
Oh.
That…
Taehyung doesn’t know what that is.
It’s…
A creature…
One of his nightmares .
The creature roars, and Taehyung’s blood runs cold. For what feels like a long moment, he can’t move. Can’t think. He sees that the creature has a lion’s head, big enough to swallow him whole. Its mane is matted in blood, and the sight of it makes Taehyung’s heart pound pound pound—
And then he sees—
Is that a goat’s head on its’ back?
The shock of it seems to wake him up.
He inhales, feels like he’s going to scream, but a large paw makes a move to swipe at him. He rolls out of the way, arms covering his face, feeling a tug that makes his heart race race race—
He wiggles a little, losing his coat under the monster’s paw. Fuck fuck fuck— He’s too busy thinking about how to get away to notice it at the moment.
What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck—
He pushes himself onto his hands and knees, his heart beating so so fast it hurts . He can feel his pulse at his throat, the beating of it nearly making him dizzy. He’s gasping for air, and he can taste how smelly the creature is.
“What the fuck is this?” He asks out loud, spotting the creature’s tail to actually be a rattlesnake.
“You have got to be kidding me,” He groans, looking for where to run. His coat had had his keys and phone in the pockets. He didn’t know what the fuck the monster was, or why it was attacking him.
But he knew he had no weapon to defend himself with, and that he wouldn’t be able to outrun what looked like a lion with a goat’s head on its’ back and a rattlesnake tail.
Oh god, he must be dreaming.
He must be.
The goat’s head on the creature’s back started breathing fire.
Okay. Taehyung didn’t think he had that much creativity to come up with a breathing fire goat's head.
Then… did that mean this was real?
The creature roared again, and the sound of it had Taehyung shaking.
Fuck fuck fuck what the fuck—
He doesn’t know what to do.
He wants to run away.
But he doesn’t think he can.
Tears started pooling in Taehyung’s eyes. He started thinking about his mother, waiting for him in the apartment he grew up in—refusing to move out even after he had bought her a house.
His stubborn mother who loved him very much.
His lovely mother who laughed louder than anyone he knew.
His beautiful mother whose smile shone brighter than the dawn.
His Eomma who encouraged his dream to paint.
His Eomma who believed in him.
His Eomma… who rivaled the sun.
Is Taehyung going to die here?
He didn’t want to leave his mother behind…
There’s a shout, and the sound of it startles Taehyung. A figure jumps from the rooftop of Kim’s Flower Shop. In one leap, they land on the creature’s shoulders, right between the main lion head and the goat’s head on its back.
That’s— The man from the parking lot. The one that had scared the crap out of him.
In one motion that Taehyung barely sees, the stranger wraps something around the lion’s neck, and then he tugs.
The creature raises itself on its hind feet, trying to throw off its rider. It shakes its head, the goat spewing fire but unable to turn its neck all the way around. The rattlesnake can’t reach the stranger, unable to stretch around the goat's head.
It’s genius.
The creature writhes, shaking its head in the hopes of dislodging whatever cord is around its neck. But by the way blood begins running down its mane, Taehyung is sure it's only making it worse.
The monster begins to sway, and falls onto its left side. The ground under Taehyung’s feet shakes from the impact, and he sees the stranger wince, but he doesn’t let go. He continues to pull, pulling and pulling until—
The monster turns into dust.
Taehyung stares, unable to think.
He stands there… gasping. Trying to process what he’s just seen.
The stranger lays down, breathing heavily. Taehyung can now see that it was wire that he had wrapped around the creature’s neck. And—
He sits up, wincing at the slight movement of his left leg. He curses under his breath, and is quick to search for something in his bag.
Taehyung watches, not knowing what to do. Not knowing if he can help, or if he was even allowed to.
The stranger eats something and takes a large gulp of something else. He sighs after he does, like it was refreshing or healing. Taehyung can’t tell which.
The stranger stands up, and Taehyung waits, expecting…. Something. Anything—
“Where are your car keys?” The stranger asks.
“In my coat…” Taehyung answers, watching as the stranger picks up the cloth. He searches the pockets, and finds his keys. He heads towards Taehyung’s car, and makes to slip into the driver’s seat when—
“Hey!” Taehyung says, hurrying forward, “What are you doing?”
The stranger blinks at him, gray eyes curious. “Driving? We need to leave. I wasn’t expecting a chimera of all monsters to follow you.”
Chi...mera…?
“Chimera?” He echoes, looking incredulous. “What the fuck is going on, what the hell is happening? Who are you?”
“Oh,” He says, like he just remembered something. “My name is Park Jimin. I was sent to bring you to Camp Jeseok*.” He turns around fully, looking serious, arms crossed. “You’re to be the next Oracle of Delphi, Kim Taehyung.”
Jimin.
Camp Jeseok.
Oracle.
“What?” Taehyung asks again, looking lost. “Jimin-sshi, I really don’t know what’s going on, can you please explain it to me clearly?”
Jimin sighs, and uncrosses his arms. “I’ll explain everything on the way, can you please get in the car?”
Taehyung stares at him, trying to get a good gauge on Park Jimin.
His gut is telling him to trust him.
He hates his gut at this moment.
“Okay,” He says, exhaling slowly, “I’ll go with you Park Jimin.” He gets into the passenger seat, and belatedly he questions why he’s letting a stranger drive his car.
“Where are we going?” He asks again, watching Jimin exit the parking lot.
“Camp Jeseok.” Jimin answers.
“Okay…” Taehyung says slowly, inhaling, “Where’s that?”
Jimin smirks, “It’s hidden by the mist, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you a clear address. I can give you the fake one we use though.”
The… mist...
Oh God is Taheyung being kidnapped?
“What’s there?” Taehyung asks, and it sounds a little choked. He’s trying really hard not to panic.
Jimin hums, seemingly trying to think of the right way to answer this question. “Let me start at the beginning. My name is Park Jimin, I’m a son of Athena.”
What.
“The Greek Gods of the western world are real and procreate with humans frequently.”
What.
“Camp Jeseok is a place where demigods are protected from monsters, and where they are taught how to survive in the world. Fighting monsters. Healing wounds. History and monster anatomy.”
What.
“Things like that.” Jimin shrugs, “Korea’s Oracle of Delphi is one hundred and fifty years old.” Jimin merges into a freeway, Taehyung notices they’re heading north. “We’ve been overdue for a new one. The Oracle gave a prophecy a week ago. That you, Kim Taehyung, will be the new Oracle of Delphi.”
What.
“Any questions so far?”
Too many.
“I need to call my mother.” Taehyung says instead.
“Probably a good idea,” Jimin says, wanting to laugh as Taehyung fumbled for his phone. “You might have a hard time believing me, but your mother might just convince you.”
Taehyung doesn’t think Jimin is lying.
He just… He just can’t believe—
“Yeoboseyo?”
Taehyung exhales shakily. He didn’t realize until he head his mother’s voice but—
He was scared.
So so scared…
“Eomma…” he says, and the word comes out broken. Teary.
“Taehyung? Taehyung baby, what’s wrong?”
“I—”
“Taehyung!”
There’s a screech that drowns out all noise, and then he’s weightless. His heart in his throat. For a moment, Taehyung thinks he’s flying—
But then there’s crunch and glass flying everywhere and his seat belt is digging into his chest and he can’t breathe the airbags are going off and he’s being suffocated his head hurts —
Everything goes black.
Jeseok — from Jeseok bon-puri, a Korean myth where a girl is impregnated by a supernaturally potent Buddhist priest, who was previously a sky god, and who gives birth to triplets who themselves become gods