The days relentlessly passed by without ever changing. 

After indulging in his despair and getting familiar with the surroundings, Ryeowook had little to no choice then to accept his fate, now that he was forced to live in the underworld, since no one had yet showed up to claim him amongst the livings.

He was alone, trapped in that garden which merely showed itself as a shadow of a past glory. No one, not even Hades, were paying him a visit and he felt lonlier than ever. Often, Ryeowook found himself thinking back to that fateful day, when Hades had first brought him to the underworld, claiming that the place was to be his new home for the time being.

What an irony, then.

Hades had told him, or better screamed to him, that he was in love with him and for that he had taken him to this kingdom hoping that he could become his lover, however, now that Ryeowook needed it the most, there was literally no one to take care of him and that particular feeling of neglicence was making thoughts of unacceptance creep silently in his mind.

If Hades had truly loved him like he had said a bunch of days before - at that point Ryeowook had lost count of them - why wasn't the god-king himself paying him a visit to check up on him? But more importantly, why wasn't his mother even trying to look for him? 

That didn't even make sense. She was dearly attached to him, seeming to never leave him alone not even while sleeping, as she frequently stopped by to indulge her eyes on his quietly sleeping features; then why wasn't she trying to fight her brother and ask for her loved son back, like any other desperate mother would have legit done, were they in her shoes?

Too many were the questions swirling in Ryeowook's head, resulting in doubling his level of physical and mental strain.

He had tried to revive the garden anyhow, in order to make it become a livelier place to be at, but nothing he did made him succeed.

Ryeowook was about to surrender then, his tears had long ago dried on his cheeks, his eyes had swollen and become redder, not to mention that his tunics had gotten all ruined and stained with mud and dirty soil. But nothing mattered to him anymore if everybody had long decided that he had not to be cared of and left to wither and fade away like a weak rose.

That night - or day, for every corner of the underworld was dark and he couldn't recognize which part of the day he was actually living then - his mind had decided that Ryeowook was too weak to even keep on wishing to be saved anymore, making him practically giving up to life, when some steps approached and inavertedly broke a thin, fragile branch laying on the floor.

The resounding crack of the old wood woke him up and Ryeowook, laying in the dirt by the lake basin, opened his tired eyes to direct them towards the dark point from which another shadow was emerging, just like Hades did back to when they met.

"Poor soul" a friendly voice breathed right into his face as the shadow crouched down and his chirpy eyes starded scanning his features "I told Hades, he shouldn't have left you in his hands, but he rarely listens to me and this is the result" 

Ryeowook blinked a couple fo times and could have then a better glimpse of the newcomer's face.

Despite being all crouched down and hidden in the tangle of his dark tunics, Ryeowook could see that the man was a rather tall one and his face, a pale oval that showed two bright, clear eyes as white as warm milk and without pupils at all, wasn't that frightening whatsoever. Perhaps it was his smile that somehow betrayed his nature, but since his intentions were still unknown to the little god, Ryeowook wasn't that well-inclined to trust him, yet.

The taller one understood him and decided to retract the hands he had brought closer to the trembling lump, waiting for the time when Ryeowook would have willingly asked for help instead.

"I am Hypnos and I'm the god of Sleep. My true name is Changmin though, I'm one of Hades' subjects and one of his best friends as well. I'm here on his order, please don't be scared..." he explained, revealing his identity as he sat down with legs crossed under his weight.

Ryeowook cracked a tired smile, but he kept it on for less than a few seconds before going back to his tired stance. He was somehow pleased that his prayers had been listened, though he was nowhere close to resurface back to Earth.

"Persephone, right? Hades says your name numerous times a day, one can difficultly forget it" Changmin sighed "I came here to take on my twin brother's shift and check up on you, and it was better this way or who knows what would become of you, little one" Changmin lightly shook his head in somehow disapproval.

"W-why isn't he here?" Ryeowook croaked, and his throat seemed on fire. He hadn't drunk in so many days, his tongue had t