Jongin kept his guard up as the boat took him further away from camp. No one, especially his father or Aphrodite, should find out that he’s on his way to meet Hades. The travel took quite a while since he’s navigating the boat on his own but eventually, a familiar cave comes into view. He steps out and he sees Charon. 

 

The ferryman leers at him as he approaches him. “You are not supposed to be here, son of Ares.” Charon says. 

 

“I need to speak with Master Hades.” he says. 

 

“And what for?” Charon asks. 

 

“Madame Persephone sent me.” he starts. “I’m sure you remember Sehun, he’s in trouble right now and Ares and Aphrodite are also involved in this mess. She says it’s best if we get help from him.” he explains. 

 

Charon looks at him and Jongin feels like he’s staring right into his soul. He showed no signs of nervousness. He has to appear strong and fearless, it’s for Sehun’s sake. 

 

“Very well.” Charon nods. “I’ll take you to him.” 

 

Upon arriving to the Underworld, Jongin wonders how Sehun felt when he first came. Was he scared of Charon? Was the view terrifying for him? Jongin is used to war and chaos so he wasn't fazed when he first came but the atmosphere still felt heavy for him. But it still amazes Jongin that Sehun is able to make the Underworld his second home.

 

“This is the furthest I can take you. I wish you luck, son of Ares. The whole family is fond of Sehun, they would do anything to help him.” Charon says as he steps out. Jongin smiles to himself when Charon addressed Sehun by his name. That only means that even the ferryman is also fond of Sehun as well.

 

The mansion comes into view and so does the massive dog that is resting just outside. Jongin winces when he recalls how Cerberus nearly attacked him when he first came. He opens the gates and that’s when Cerberus catches his attention. The massive dog snarls at him. It stands up and moves closer. Jongin stands his ground since the dog will attack him more if he shows any signs of fear. Cerberus sniffs him and after that, he sits down and allows him to pass. 

 

Jongin doesn’t question it anymore since he’s in a hurry. He knocks on the door and when he notices that it’s unlocked, he steps in. “There are two more hellhounds…” Jongin tells himself as he closes the door.

 

As if on cue, he hears rapid footsteps and barking. Jongin braces himself when he sees the hellhounds running towards him. Just like Cerberus, the two snarl at him. One of the dogs even pounced on him which causes him to step back and hit his back against the door but right after sniffing him, they don’t attack him anymore. In fact, the hellhound that pounced on him even his cheek and wagged its tail at him. 

 

Jongin hesitantly reaches a hand out to pet the hellhound and surprisingly, it allows him. He smiles to himself. “No wonder Sehun likes you.”

 

“They can smell Sehun’s scent on you, that’s why they’re nicer to you this time around.” Jongin sees Hades coming down the staircase. 

 

“Master Hades,” Jongin bows down to greet him. “I apologize for the sudden visit but I need to talk to you about Sehun.” 

 

Hades nods. “My wife already gave me a heads up about your visit, come to the living room.” 

 

The last time Jongin met Hades, the god was incredibly intimidating. He was wearing a suit and he didn’t even smile at Jongin, not even once. This time, Hades looks much more approachable and less intimidating, in a good way. Of course Jongin still looks at him as the god of the Underworld but much nicer because of Sehun.

 

“So, what’s the problem and what can I do to help?” Hades asks.

 

“Sehun is in love with Kris.” 

 

The god laughs then he realizes that Jongin looks completely serious. “Wait, you’re not kidding?” 

 

“I wish I was,” he says dejectedly. “Eros got involved and he took Sehun. I asked Kris for help and when we found them, Eros shoots Sehun with an arrow and Kris was the last person he saw. When Sehun woke up, he thinks he’s in love with Kris and not me.” 

 

“Wait, why did that happen in the first place?” Hades asks. Jongin tells him most of the things that happened when Sehun got back camp. 

 

Hades tiredly rubbed his temples and groans when he hears the rest of the story. “For ’s sake, hearing all that made me regret sending Sehun back sooner.” 

 

“I tried my best to protect him, I really did.” Jongin says. 

 

“Hush, it’s not your fault.” Hades retorts. “You are also a victim as much as Sehun is. I feel so sorry for the two of you, your parents are acting as if you committed a crime.” he says with a sigh. 

 

“What can we do? Is there a way to reverse Eros’ spell?” Jongin asks.

 

“Aphrodite and Eros can reverse it but I’m afraid we can’t make that happen unless we want this to be an even bigger problem than it is.” Hades scoffs. “Forcing their powers on Sehun might end up badly and we can’t let Sehun suffer more from this than he already had.” 

 

“I already confronted my father and Madame Aphro. Madame Aphro looks like she regrets it, my dad wants me to get shot with an arrow too so that I’d forget Sehun as well.” he laughs bitterly. 

 

“Aphrodite should definitely regret it. It’s one thing to manipulate mortals’ feelings but doing it to her own son is too much. Now I finally understand why Sehun dislikes her so much and yet, a part of him is always longing for her. The poor boy.” Hades shakes his head. 

 

“I just don’t understand. She knows that I am already Sehun’s greatest love and yet she still took that away.” Jongin comments.

 

“Greatest love.” Hades repeats. “If it’s so great then how come it was so easily manipulated?” 

 

Jongin eyes the god in confusion. “D-does that mean that Sehun doesn’t love me that much?” 

 

Hades gives him an unamused look. “That sounds ridiculous and you know that.” 

 

Jongin purses his lips. Of course that was a dumb thought. Doubting each other is the last thing that he and Sehun would do.

 

“Eros said it could be replaced, right? All of it is just an illusion then, Sehun is made to believe that he loves Kris but deep down he will always love and desire you.” Hades says. 

 

“What should we do?” Jongin asks. 

 

Hades stands up and Jongin follows. “I’ll introduce you to Sehun’s least favorite creatures here in the Underworld.” he grins. 

 

Jongin gulps but he nods. He’s meeting the Erinyes. 

 

“Oh, before we go you should check Sehun’s bedroom first.” Hades suddenly says.

 

“What for?” 

 

“When he left, I asked one of my servants to have it cleaned. She says Sehun left something in one of the drawers. I told Kris to check it if it’s important but I think the rascal forgot about it.” Hades says.

 

“I’ll go and check.” Jongin nods.

 

“Noir will show you the way.”

 

One of the hellhounds, Noir, leads the way upstairs and to one of the bedrooms. Jongin enters and Noir follows him. The bedroom is exactly as he recalls when Sehun sent that message to him. There were still traces of Sehun’s pheromones left in the room.

 

He checks the first drawer of the study table and his brows arch in confusion when he sees another one of Hermes’ envelopes. As far as Jongin remembers, Sehun only has three. He used two for Donghae and one for him. He takes the envelope and checks if there’s anything written behind it. 

 

M

 

Jongin blinks at it. There was no address and no name, just the letter ‘m’. Jongin tries to think of whatever it could stand for and he could only come to one conclusion. 

 

“Mother?” he says. Why would Sehun send a message to Aphrodite? There was definitely a message inside since the envelope is sealed, Sehun just never wrote the address and name and that’s why it didn’t get sent. 

 

Jongin keeps the envelope in his pocket for safe keeping, he’ll give it to Sehun once he returns but for now, he needs to meet the Erinyes.

 

“Well… you seem to be coping well.” Persephone resists the urge to laugh when Kris returns to her quarters. 

 

“Mom, please it isn’t funny. It’s driving me insane how I’m suddenly caught up in this drama.” Kris complains.

 

“How is Sehun?” Persephone asks. 

 

“He’s feeling better. Luckily, Donghae said he’ll watch over him and distract him for the night.” 

 

“Jongin told me everything, how is it like being Sehun’s temporary boyfriend?” Persephone grins. 

 

“Weird.” Kris grumbles. “He wasn’t even that touchy with Jongin but Eros’ powers made him more… loving, I guess. It’s so out of character, he’s not acting like the Sehun I know.” 

 

“I hope it isn’t that bad.” 

 

“Mom, he tried kissing me a while ago!” Kris groans. “I was so surprised that I shoved him and he sulked about it.” 

 

Persephone giggles. “I can imagine how cute he was.” 

 

“Snow White is lucky he’s cute, I would have thrown him to Tartarus.” Kris complains. “I hope Jongin comes back soon, I feel so bad for him.” 

 

“Just hold on a little bit more. Jongin is with your dad, they’ll find a solution together.” Persephone says.

 

Kris perks up at the mention of his father. “Well, things will get interesting then.” he says. “I hope Aphrodite and Ares get the punishment they deserve.”

 

“I can’t imagine ever doing that to you Kris.” Persephone’s expression is sullen. “I can’t imagine forcing you to love someone that you don’t. I can’t imagine how Sehun feels this whole time.” 

 

“I’m lucky to have you and dad.” Kris smiles gratefully. “Sehun deserves unconditional love from his mother too. I hope things turn out for the better soon.” 

 

Persephone sighs. “Me too.” 

 

It was around dawn when Jongin arrives back at camp, Hades is with him. “You have what you need, right?” Hades asks and Jongin nods. “Go on and try that first, if it doesn’t work out I’ll be at Persephone’s quarters. I’ll talk to Aphrodite and Ares myself.”

 

“I do apologize for having your whole family involved in this.” Jongin says.

 

Hades shakes his head. “It’s not a problem, Jongin. You and Sehun can always come to us for help." 

 

"Thank you. I'll see you again later Master Hades." Jongin bows. 

 

"That's uncle Hades to you." The god corrects with a smile on his face. 

 

"Thanks… uncle." Jongin smiles back. 

 

Jongin assumed that Donghae wouldn't take Sehun to his cabin since Eros might drop by so Jongin checks Sehun's own cabin first. When he doesn't sense Sehun there, he goes to Irene's cabin instead. 

 

He immediately senses Sehun's pheromones inside. The door was locked so he settled with climbing the windows instead since the bedrooms are upstairs. 

 

There were no lights inside except for the lamp on the bedside table. Jongin is able see that Donghae and Sehun were inside. 

 

Sehun was asleep while Donghae is cuddled up beside him, he looks restless. Jongin lightly knocks on the window. 

 

Donghae's eyes widen and his mouth gapes in shock when he sees the son of Ares. He carefully gets up, just to make sure that Sehun doesn’t wake up and tiptoes his way towards the window before opening it. Jongin slides in quietly. 

 

“How did it go? Were you able to find a solution?” Donghae whispers.

 

“I went to the Underworld and got a bit of help.” Jongin responds as he takes a look at Sehun’s sleeping figure on the bed. “How is he?” 

 

“Well he still thinks that Kris is his boyfriend.” Donghae shrugs. “He’s a bit… out of character when he’s with Kris but he’s still the same Sehun I know when he’s with me.”

 

Jongin exhales. “Is it alright if I ask you to leave me with him?” he asks. 

 

“Go on, I need to sleep anyways. I’ll be sleeping at the other room if you need me.” Donghae says with a yawn.

 

“Thank you." Jongin says before Donghae exits the room. 

 

Jongin heaves another deep sigh once he's left alone with Sehun. He takes a seat at the edge of the bed. He lightly brushes his fingers on Sehun’s face. It was just last night when they first exchanged their first ‘I love yous’ and now here they are. 

 

Jongin takes out the vial from his pocket, it was a potion from the Erinyes. Should he just give this to Sehun now? 

 

“What… is this?” Jongin asks once the vial was handed to him.

 

“The son of Aphrodite is already familiar with that, he had already drank it before.” Tisiphone chuckles. 

 

Jongin arches a brow at them. “Wait, if he drank it before then this is the potion that made him…”

 

“Oh, seems like you know about it.” Alecto laughs. “A potion that makes one embrace their desires.” 

 

“And how will this help Sehun though?” Jongin asks.

 

“There’s so much that Eros’ powers can manipulate. He can make Sehun think that he’s in love with Master Kris but his innermost desires would say otherwise.” Megaera adds,

 

Jongin looks towards Hades. “Is this alright?”

 

“Sehun is your lover, Jongin. He trusts you the most, it’s up to you.” Hades says.

 

Jongin looks hesitant but he keeps the vial anyways. “I’ll try… but what if this doesn’t work?” 

 

 “Then step up your game lover boy, you are his greatest love for a reason. He will come through.” 

 

Jongin absentmindedly plays with Sehun’s hair as he continues to look at the vial. He can’t just wake the other up since Sehun won’t be too happy to see Jongin as the same bed as he is when he’s ‘dating’ Kris at the moment. 

 

Sehun stirs and unconsciously moves closer to Jongin. He badly wants to wraps his arms around the other and feel his warmth but he can't do that. 

 

He slightly scoots away from Sehun because the last thing he needs right now is Sehun’s body pressed closely to his. The son of Aphrodite frowns in his sleep and lets out a soft groan. “It’s cold, stop moving Donghae.” he yawns out. 

 

Jongin smiles fondly. “You’re really bad at detecting pheromones.” he whispers. 

 

Upon hearing that, Sehun slowly opens his eyes and turns his head. He blinks a couple of times to get his vision into focus. Shock slowly overcomes his features and Jongin had to cover his mouth because he was about to scream. 

 

“Let me explain, please.” Jongin says.

 

Sehun gives him a doubtful look and says a muffled ‘let me go’. “I will, but please don’t scream. Donghae is the one that allowed me in here, he’s asleep in the other room. I can assure that.” 

 

Sehun glares at him but he relaxes and Jongin slowly takes his hand off of his mouth. Sehun does not scream but he sits up and moves back to keep a distance between them. “What are you doing here Jongin?” he asks. 

 

“What do you think?” Jongin asks back.

 

Sehun sighs. “I told you, I’m no longer going to fool around with you anymore. We should stop.” 

 

Jongin nods, blank expression on his face. “I thought you’d say that.” 

 

“What do you even mean, Jongin?” Sehun frowns again.

 

“Since when did you and Kris start dating?” he changes the topic instead.

 

“Right before I returned to camp. It’s not like you don’t know. I told you everything.” Sehun replies. 

 

“What about our promise?” Jongin asks. 

 

“What promise?”

 

“You promised that I’m your last and I promised the same to you.” 

 

Sehun is silent for a moment. Jongin thought he remembered something but Sehun just looks even more confused than before. “That’s something I promised to Kris.” he says.

 

Jongin lets out a defeated laugh. Wow. That stings. “Eros deserved more than one punch from me.” Jongin mutters. 

 

“You did what?” Sehun gasps. “You assaulted a god?” 

 

“Yeah, and I should’ve done more.” Jongin grunts.

 

“You’re crazy.” Sehun says. “I was sent to the Underworld all because I talked back to my mom. Imagine what kind of punishment they’d give you for doing that.” 

 

“Why are you worried? I’m not your lover.” he bitterly says. 

 

Sehun heaves a sigh. “But you are my…” he looks into Jongin’s eyes. “Friend?” 

 

At that, Jongin sees a chance so he asks, “What are we, Sehun?”

 

For some reason, Sehun couldn't answer at all. Jongin repeats the question and Sehun simply winces. 

 

"You can say that we are friends but even that sounds like a lie, right?" Jongin starts. 

 

“I care about you Jongin.” Sehun says instead. 

 

He tilts his head. “I know, but that’s not what I want to hear.” 

 

“Then what do you want to hear? Let’s not do this Jongin. You should go.” Sehun frowns at him. 

 

The vial with him suddenly feels much heavier. He wants to give it to Sehun but he knows what it would result to and a part of Jongin does not want to put Sehun through that embarrassment again. 

 

But then again, it is for his and Sehun's sake… it might help. All he has to do is force the other to drink it and things might go back to normal. But the question is, would Jongin go that far? 

 

"Jongin," Sehun's voice snaps him out of his thoughts. The son of Aphrodite looks tired and upset. 

 

Jongin chuckles bitterly. "It's not fair." he whispers. 

 

Sehun's brows furrow as Jongin looks into his eyes. "It's not fair that you're just looking at me like that while I feel like I'm being crushed every time you push me away." 

 

The other gives him a confused look. "It isn't fair that I'm fighting our parents alone right now and despite having a solution to get you back to normal, I'm still hesitating because I love you that much." 

 

Sehun looks both confused and hurt with the words that Jongin just said. "Jongin, I don't know what you're talking about." 

 

"I know." Jongin says, sounding frustrated. "And it's not your fault, I should have protected you better." 

 

"It’s not your responsibility to protect me. I’m--" Sehun suddenly winces. 

 

Jongin immediately checks on him to see if he's alright. "What happened?" he gently cups Sehun's face.

 

Sehun blinks at him. "N-nothing, it was nothing. Just a bit of a headache. It's late Jongin, you really should go." he changes the subject. 

 

Jongin brushes his thumbs over Sehun's cheeks. “This is… giving me hope.” he purses his lips. “You’ve always assured me that you trust me so much and I want you to know that I trust you wholeheartedly as well.” 

 

Sehun pulls away but he looks flustered. “What’s your deal?” he flippantly asks. 

 

“Give me a chance to explain everything to you.” Jongin says. “Just listen to what I have to say.” 

 

"And what if I don't believe you?" Sehun queries.

 

Then I'll have to use the potion on you. Jongin thinks in dismay. "I'll leave you alone for now at least." 

 

Sehun sighs in defeat. "Okay fine, do tell." 

 

"No interruptions?" 

 

"No interruptions." Sehun agrees. 

 

With that, Jongin tells him everything from the beginning. Sehun's expression says that he already knows it all but when Jongin was narrating the part where he's taking him to camp, that's where Sehun starts to look confused. He looked even more bewildered when he told him about the Underworld and how Kris himself knows about how they feel about each other. When Jongin finishes his story, the son of Aphrodite looks completely lost. 

 

“Now tell me, what do you remember and what do you know?” Jongin asks him.

 

Sehun is quiet for a moment. “You… never met with the kids. You took me to camp, I fought with my mom but Donghae comforted me through it. I met Kris and it was all so perfect. Mom didn’t approve and Eros--” Sehun sounded like he was out of breath. He winces and he clutches his chest.

 

“Does that make sense to you? As much as I hate to admit it, your mom would not disapprove of Kris. Your mom dislikes me because of her past with my father. They disapproved of us so much that they were willing to manipulate you for it.” Jongin carefully explains. 

 

"No…" Sehun's voice wavers. "My mother is… she can't be that cruel." 

 

Jongin feels so bad for him. With manipulated memories or not, Sehun still yearns for his mother. He just wishes that the goddess would realize this. 

 

"Our parents are selfish because they want to protect us and… themselves." Jongin adds. "You have to believe me so that we could restore your memories." 

 

Sehun shakes his head. "It's a lot to sink in, Jongin. I need time." 

 

"You still don't believe me?" Jongin asks in disbelief, his hand clutching onto the vial. 

 

Sehun's eyes follow his movements and he sees the vial. "What is that for?" he asks. 

 

Jongin grimaces. "Were you planning to use it on me?" Sehun asks. "Is that why you snuck in here?" he backs away. 

 

"No Sehun---actually yes, but I wasn't going to do it." he explains. “At least, not yet.”

 

“So making me drink that will magically bring my love for you back?” Sehun asks.

 

“It might.” Jongin replies softly. “There’s a huge chance it might.”

 

Sehun looks at him and Jongin doesn’t like the look the other is giving him. It’s not the loving and fond gaze that he’s used to, pity. Sehun is looking at him with pity. “You look tired, Jongin.”

 

“It’s been a long day.” Jongin says, sounding defeated. 

 

Sehun reaches over and takes the vial from him. “You said you are my greatest love, but is it really so great if it can be controlled by an arrow and a potion?” 

 

Before Jongin could come up with a reply, Sehun moves closer and presses his lips against his. He kissed him back, it felt like the longest ten seconds of his life. Sehun breaks the kiss first, he smiles at Jongin but it’s not the kind of smile that he wants to see. 

 

“You should go.” Sehun tells him.

 

“Sehun, please.” Jongin tries again. 

 

The son of Aphrodite places his hand over his own. His hands were trembling, Jongin notices. “If I love you, I would remember. I would have felt it.”

 

After everything he went through that day, Jongin thought he’d be numb enough but he wasn’t. “I’ll go.” he stands up. 

 

“I don’t mean to hurt you, Jongin.” Sehun says right before he left the room. 

 

Jongin looks back at him and smiles bitterly. “I know.” 

 

He closes the door and leaves the cabin. As he was walking back to his own cabin, he feels something against his pocket. He takes it out and sees the letter that he took from Sehun’s room. 

 

If Sehun does not come through, this is his last hope.