Love...an emotion that can cause the greatest of rulers to be reduced to the mentality found in that of a jealous child, only a fool would ever succumb to such a fleeting emotion. Sehun thinks to himself after another successful mission. He sheaths his bow, watching disdainfully at the love-induced couple in front of him. He scoffs at the thought of their shallow love, a love that could only blossom with the prompting of his poisonous arrows. Sehun knows that a love like that can only end tragically with both parties left with nothing but broken hearts and bittersweet memories. He sighs knowing full well that soon enough he would be sent back to the couple to break them up.

He doesn't know how long he's been standing there, but it must have been for some time for when he began his trek back to his mother's temple, the sun was already beginning to set. Unlike the other gods who live at Mount Olympus; away from the prying eyes of the humans, he preferred living alongside them, for he found their capricious nature amusing, and it made his job a lot easier to do.

Maneuvering through the crowded stalls, he proceeds slowly, even though knowing that normal mortals cannot see him nor feel his presence. Distracted by the endless thoughts buzzing in his head, he fails to notice how the once busy market; that was filled with the clamors of haggling woman, aggravated vendors, and the bleating noise of livestock, was now uncharacteristically quiet. It was as if the god of sleep, Hypnos, himself had graced the town, and lulled everyone into a saccharine-like sleep.

Only when he walks into a wall of mortals, does he realize that something was amiss. Though the mortals cannot see nor feel him, he can still feel them. So he definitely felt it when he walked into a wall of flesh. Furrowing his brows, he tries to look over them, curious as to what has captured their attention; growing more annoyed per second at realizing how futile his actions were. Fed up, he unfurls his wings and uses them to fly over the rapidly gathering crowd.

He lands awkwardly, managing to fumble over his own legs and fall gracelessly onto his bottom; completely unaccustomed to using his wings, in favour of using his legs just like the humans. He dusts himself off, thanking the gods that no mortal can see him and the embarrassing position he was just in.

 

Finally satiating his curiosity, he turns back, ready to take flight towards his home when suddenly, he's struck with a bout of shivers that begins from his neck, slowly traversing all the way down to the plains of his back. It was an uncomfortable sensation, one he's unfamiliar with; it was like someone was carving their glare onto his back, and his body can only respond pathetically. He slowly turns, berating himself for being so skittish, when he knows that no human can see him unless he makes his presence known. He stops scolding his inner-self when he locks eyes with a young girl, in the middle of the group.

 

The two stare at each other for what felt like centuries, neither one willing to drop their gaze and break the eye contact. It was the girl who looked away first, probably from being jostled by one of the other girls, Sehun later mused. He can't help but feel his curiosity grow at the thought of the girl seemingly able to see him; she looked like a normal human to him, albeit a beautiful one but still a human nonetheless. Before he could follow the group to confront her, he remembers how his mother wanted him back before sunset to give him a very important mission. A mother's boy at heart, he pushes aside his own wants in favour of pleasing his high-maintenance of a mother. Casting one final glance at the group; the mysterious girl in particular, he takes flight towards his mother's temple, ignoring the burning itch he feels in his chest.

 

••►Vale►

 

Sehun can hear his mother's angry voice even before passing through the pillars located at the entrance of his mother's temple. Her normally enchanting voice; which Sehun refuses to admit has a calming effect on him, is instead laced with venom as it curses out for all to hear. He narrowly dodges a flying amphora as he walks through the entrance. He can't help but scowl at how it nearly hit him, already envisioning the bruise that would have formed if he didn't manage to dodge it. He can't help his vainness, it's a trait from being an offspring of the goddess of love, Aphrodite. After collecting himself from the near-death experience he just had, he clears his throat, hoping to gain his mother's attention.

"Mother, what has you so flustered? You're acting as if Athena won the golden apple and not you." Sehun asks in a bored tone, already feeling the upcoming headache he'll get after listening to his mother's harangue about some trifle topic he could really care less about.

"Oh, Sehun! You won't believe what happened today," Aphrodite starts with a whine, all but throwing herself onto her son." first, Athena had the gall to bring up my affair with your father Ares, at the banquet. You don't know how tempted I was to curse her out."

Sehun pats his mother's back in a comforting manner, wincing slightly as she then proceeds to screech in his left ear.

"You don't understand Sehun! She was saying that my adulterous ways caused you to be raised wrongly. The nerve of that woman!" Aphrodite scowls unattractively, marring her normally perfect face." Might I remind you, she was one of the reasons as to why the Trojan war happened. If she didn't side with the Greeks, the whole Trojan war could have been prevented!"

Sehun knew better than to bring up the fact that the reason Athena sided with the Greeks in the first place was because of Aphrodite.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that-"

"Sehun, you're not listening to me. You should have been there and saw it with your own eyes! How I wanted to smack the pretentious smirk from her beastly looking face." Aphrodite sneers, shattering her image as the divine embodiment of beauty,

"If the mortals could see your face right now, they'd stop worshiping you as the goddess of beauty." he says offhandedly, immediately regretting as he sees Aphrodite's face darken. He tries to take his words back, but the damage has been done.

"Follow me."

"Wa-wait mother, I was--"

"Shut your mouth lest you want to anger me even more," Aphrodite hisses out, eyes ablaze with barely concealed fury, "now follow me."

"Yes..." Sehun complies while silently following after his mother.

As they venture deeper into the temple, Sehun notices the boundless offerings littering the room. He takes note to later clean up the offerings, knowing that his mother gets pretty annoyed when her worshipers don't place all the offerings together. 

The duo soon enter the main room, with Aphrodite walking towards the altar. She grabs a golden goblet from the assortment of offerings; taking a small sip after identifying the contents of the cup. She lays down on top of the plush cushions right beside her statue.

"Mother, I really didn't mean what I sai-" Sehun begins but with a simple flourish of her hand, she successfully shuts him up.

"Sehun, do you know why I called you here tonight?" Aphrodite quietly asks, a complete contrast to the boisterous voice she was displaying at the beginning of their meeting.

Sehun shakes his head cautiously while gauging his mother's reaction, not wanting to anger her even more. He can't help but grow wary at the tone in her voice; normally used to her bubbly personality, the serious person in front of him makes him nervous.

"I need you to get rid of something for me," disguising the menace in her words, she speaks in an innocent tone."There's this thing I need you to get rid of. Originally I turned a blind eye to it, not thinking it would grow into such a pest, but it seems I was wrong and now it needs to be addressed."

Sehun stares at his mother in confusion, not understanding what she was exactly implying, it wasn't until he repeated her words a couple times in his head did he get an inkling of what his mother wanted him to do.

"You want me to kill someone for you?" Sehun deadpans, already ready to refuse such a cruel request. He may despise the idea of love but even he has a heart. "I'm sorry mother, but if that's what you want me to do, I'm going to have to decline it."

Aphrodite looks at Sehun while letting out an exasperated sigh, "You buffoon, I didn't think you'd have your father's idiotic traits, I thought I raised you to be smart. I wasn't implying for you to kill this pest. Rather I would like you to...impair them."

"Impair?"

Aphrodite nods, before continuing her request." Yes, impair."

"Mother, please explain what this entails. I'm not really getting what you're trying to imply." Sehun his head to the side; one part of him, curious as to what his mother has in store for this so called pest and what she means by impair, but another part of him is telling him to run away before he's dragged into another of his mother's crazy schemes.

"I need you to make this mortal fall in love with the ugliest monster one can lay their eyes on, and I'm not talking about Athena," Aphrodite smirks at her petty jab at the goddess of wisdom. She raises her left hand, signalling for Sehun not to nterrupt her." I'll give you the backstory before you say that I'm being too cruel."

She quickly ushers him onto a cushion, her actions telling him that he's either going to hear the story of the century or gossip. He fears it'll be the latter.

"Do you remember the tales I use to tell you during bedtime? Of a king of a distant land that was as hopeless as could be with the other gender." Aphrodite begins, smiling faintly as memories of Sehun as toddler resurface.

Sehun nods slowly, confused as to why she was bringing it up.

 

"Yes? But mother, I don't really see how that correlates with--"