Carystus' cabin was fairly white. Every inch of the wood laths was painted in a porcelain color except for the housetop which was hickory brown. Jiho and Hyejeong shared a bench on the porch, the head of the camp standing in front of them in his full glory and listening intently to their report about the little incident. He his full beard while his other arm rested horizontally across his chest. "Hm," he murmured, "this is the first time you've experienced something like that, right?" Hyejeong's brain cells looked for any relevant information amidst the sea of memories, but no similar situation occurred to her.

"I'm sure this was a first." Carystus nodded; his eyes were closed, images flashed on the inner side of his eyelids like a movie on a screen. He was aware of her outburst being merely an accident, nothing serious, things like that had happened multiple times in the past. However he also was aware of her growing up in a completely different environment, making her abilities unratable. "I will talk to Areum since she possesses pheromones, too. She will show you how to control your ability." Carystus opened his eyes again, his omniscient eyes pierced through Hyejeong's. "Thank you," her voice was rather quiet, being intimidated by the centaur. Now that one of the many problem was half-solved, they bid goodbye and proceeded to enjoy their free-time. Jiho had invited her to the library to relax by reading some books, but Hyejeong kindly declined, not wanting to be her tail after she had been stuck to Jiho the whole time on the previous day, already.

She was walking aimlessly, eyeing every single detail she missed during the tour - pathways that lead through the woods, wild irises and red poppies growing here and there - when she suddenly bumped into a muscular back. Her eyes widened in shock and her cheeks heated up in embarrassment as she stumbled, not so gracefully, backwards. One ought to think the goddesses were playing a bad joke on her when she stepped onto something slippery and landed straight on her with a squeaky yelp. The obstacle Hyejeong accidently ran into turned around; and it was no other than the heir of Zeus. His mouth was slightly open and his coffee colored eyes filled with worry once they fell on her. "Hey, are you alright?", Seungcheol crouched down, putting his hand on her arm. Tiny electric sparks erupted from the spot where their bare skin touched. "Um yeah, I'm fine," her voice sounded way too high-pitched for her own liking. Relief washed over the boy's face and his broad shoulders slumped down, his tense muscles finally relaxing. His hand then retreated only to run through his fluffy hair, making it messy in the process, as he started to ramble on, "God, I'm so sorry. I was just practicing my powers here and didn't see you coming." Hyejeong's eyes darted to the ground - the spot where she slipped - and saw that the plain surface of the small area was glistening in the sunlight. Ice? 

"No, no. Don't. I'm the one who should apologize. After all I did bump into because I didn't see you, therefore I'm sorry", the girl exclaimed while waving her hands in front of her. "How did you not see me? It's not like that I'm that easy to miss", Seungcheol chuckled and then gently grabbed her arm, pulling her along as he stood up. "Trust me, I easily overlook things and people right in front of me whenever I'm observing my surrounding. It's kind of ironic, huh?", she explained her bad habit. Hyejeong then noticed that his hand was still wrapped around her upper arm. She was about to pull her arm back but in the same moment the boy tugged at her limb, exposing red marks that arose from her hands trying to stop the fall. "Here, let me do it", he said in a low voice as he brought he brought her wrist up to his mouth. He blew gently at the redness; the ice-cold air soothed her skin, making it almost numb. In contrast his coffee orbs gazed through his long lashes at her, making her body temperature rise and her head dizzy. "Thanks," she said in a breathy voice. The corners of his mouth tilted upwards and his thumb caressed the red marks just before he let go of her forearm. How come the heir of the most powerful God was so gentle? His touch, his voice... even his gaze. Hyejeong noticed that the silence between them was getting heavier and heavier as each second passed. She opened to break the silence and asked, "So you were just practicing your powers up until now, you said?"

"Ah, yeah. Do you want me to show my little tricks?" Seungcheol replied with another question, raising his right eyebrow and tugging his lips into a smirk. "Oh yes, please," she exclaimed as her eyes sparkled in excitement. The heir then put both of his hands on her shoulder, squeezing them very lightly, "Stay here." He stepped away from her, standing approximately five meters away from her. His feet shoulder-with and arms stretched out parallel to his upper body, fingers spread.

A sudden wind came up, it's strength sending Hyejeong's dark hair flying in her face. The temperature dropped by degrees; goosebumps crawled on her skin. From every direction came wind flows to meet in the eye of the storm, Seungcheol. He in contrast stood still as ever, solid as a rock. The sky above them seemed to darken, angry clouds hovering above the boy. Single thunderbolts raged within the black clouds while growling thunder accompanied the light play in a soft fortissimo. Air swirls started to gather in his right palm, soon turning into a small yet powerful tornado. His eyes fluttered open and a smirk played on his lips as he stared directly at the girl, radiating with a dominating aura. A shiver ran down her spine and she could not tell whether it was because of the now chilly temperature or his intense gaze. Seungcheol closed his eyes once again, clenched his fist and inhaled slowly. The sky opened up, revealing the aestival, clear blue color behind the layer of gray. The stormy wind calmed down to a warm summer breeze. It was as if the tempest was never there. Seungcheol opened his eyes and walked towards Hyejeong, rubbing his nape sheepishly. 

With the disappearance of the storm came the renowned awkward silence.

"Did you tell Carystus? About the incident earlier, I mean." Hyejeong was slightly taken aback but quickly rallied, realizing he was referring to the incident earlier, and told him what Carystus had said. "Hey, don't worry. You are in good hands, Areum can help you the best from this camp. And it's not that you're the only one whom something like that happened to. The first time I came here I accidently gave everyone electric shocks whenever we touched," he told her as his finger poked and rubbed the spot between her furrowed eyebrows. He surely had no fears of touching others. Hyejeong couldn't help it but to smile at his audacity. "Way better," he referred to her genuine smile, "I think I have only seen you frowning or looking stoic so far." She swatted his hand playfully away and replied, "You try living and believing your whole life that you're just an ordinary human until one day two stranger stand in your apartment and your mother tells you that you aren't ordinary at all so you leave them to live in another world." Seungcheol's smile grew bigger with each word that left . "Sounds like fun," he sat down on a nearby rock and motioned the girl to join him, "Tell me more." She did not know why but something about that boy made her trust him easily so she took his invitation and told him about the feelings, thoughts that plagued her since she arrived there. He listened intently to her, occasionally telling about his embarrassing moments in the past to make her feel better. None of the two seemed to be unaware of how fast and how much time passed by as they sat there and got to know a little bit more of each other until another camper, a boy with a very bright smile and wheat straws stuck in his hair, appeared and asked them whether they were going to have lunch or not.

The huge fireball was hiding behind the horizon, signaling that the day was coming to an end. Hyejeong let herself fall on her cozy, flower-scented bed in exhaustion as soon as she entered her cabin. Motionlessly she lied there and watched the darkness slowly slipping in through the window next to her bed. Today's evening training session was sword fighting and she had been practicing with a wooden dummy until her arm hurt. No doubt that she would wake up with sore muscles the next morning. Archery was way more relaxing and easier to her. After all she was a born huntress, not warrioress. Gathering her remaining strength, she pushed herself up and disappeared in the small throat to take shower and to get ready for sleep. Once she stepped out with pajamas and freshly brushed teeth, she made herself comfortable on her bed again. Hyejeong pulled the soft blanket over her bare legs while her upper body rested against the headboard. By now the night had taken over the sky, only millions of stars and the faint lights of the neighboring cabin illuminated the darkness. This was a sight she would love to get used to. Back home all she could see through her window were the neon lights and busy streets of the city. And it was so pleasantly quiet, no buzzing cars or drunk people whooping. Only the chirping of cicadas could be heard, even the faint sounds of waves crashing on the shore in the distant if you listen closely.

As she admired the beautiful view she did not notice the wafts of mist gathering at the end of her bed. The mist silently climbed up the wooden frames and became one dense cloud just above Hyejeong's hidden feet. "Hyejeong?", a worried voice resonated from the end of her bed. The called girl whipped her head around, being pulled out of her trance. This all too familiar voice, could it be? The surface of the misty cloud shimmered colorfully like oil leaked on the wet streets until a clear image of a young woman appeared. "Mom," she leaned forward, attempting to get a closer look. It was indeed the face of her mother. "Thank the Gods, I haven't forgotten how this works," the woman said with relief upon hearing the voice and seeing the face of her daughter. "Am I dreaming?", Hyejeong rumbled to herself and shook her head. Nevertheless, the image was still there. "No, you're not. I'm using Iris Pearls, it's like video-chatting just without Wi-Fi and more dimensional," she gave her a reassuring smile, "How are you? I wanted to call you yesterday but there were so many things I had to do." Hyejeong's lips curved upwards as she answered, "I'm good, Mom. The whole thing is more exhausting than I thought." Her mother chuckled, "I am so sorry you have to go through this. Anyways, what have you done so far? Did you make any friends yet?" It was all like her first day at school. Her mother had asked her so many questions until her father had to interfere and suggest to get some ice cream in order to save his poor eight-years-old daughter from his nosy wife.

Being amused by that memory, Hyejeong then told her about the ability-test in the morning, her little pheromone outburst (she was a bit embarrassed about it, though) and her new friends. She almost lost herself in her stirring tale that she missed how her mother's face softened at the mention of Zeus' heir. "You two seem to get along well. Zeus' heirs are always good guys." Her murmur was so faint it did not reach Hyejeong's ears properly. "Are you going to bed with wet hair, again?" She then asked in disbelief, he face came closer towards the cloud. Hyejeong chuckled. She would always get scolded by her mother whenever she went to bed with wet or damp hair because it was not good for her health. Her thoughts were interrupted as the girl suddenly gasped, "Oh, I almost forgot! I didn't tell the others about me going away." Her phone didn't work in this realm. And even if it did, what would she tell her friends? After all they had made plans for the summer together. "Don't worry, Hyejeong." Her mother calmed her and continued as the confusion became visible in her face, "Your friends and your brother believe you're spending the whole summer in a strict English camp." Hyejeong nodded and then hesitantly asked, "So... When will you tell him the truth about this thing?" A heavy sighed escaped from the woman's lips and her heart became heavier, "I don't know, it's not the time yet, but he surely will become suspicious when he realizes that you're gone during every break." Hyejeong wanted to open again but became aware of her mother's uneasiness and fatigue therefore she decided against it and nodded instead. "Oh dear, I should let you rest. I know too well how tiresome the training sessions can be, good night. I love you."

"Alright. I love you, too." Just how the mist appeared, so did it vanish. The cloud burst like a bubble, the individual billows descended slowly until a breath of air carried them away; not leaving a single trace behind. Hyejeong blew out the candle on the nightstand, releasing the dancing smoke into the air, before she snuggled up in the blanket. Once again she admired the starry night sky until her mind was engulfed by dormancy.

Ω Here we have Seungcheol showing off his really cool ability of controlling the weather and Hyejeong's mother video-chatting with her via clouds lol.

Do you ever go to bed with wet hair?

I often do so because I always shower in the evening/night and my mother would always scold me because it's not good for your health... 

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