CHAPTER 3

A silver number 7 is engraved in the wooden door. From the outside, Seulgi heard nothing but silence. Unlike all the other cabins that she passed, some doors open wide and Seulgi managed to take a glimpse on the inside, and she found out all the decorations and designs were different. But the other cabins are still buzzling with people here and there, but why not this cabin.

She pondered to herself in front of the cabin for a few moments. Taking deep lengthy breath to steady herself as she her palm starts to get sweaty for no reason. Her right hand reached for the doorknob and slowly she twist.

She was greeted with a hallway view, and the first thing that came to her mind was, bright.

The cabin has different background colours on each wall—bright, bright colours. The floor tiles itself was white, but it was artistically splashed and blotted with a variety of red, blue, yellow, green—in other words, rainbow-like colours.

Seulgi closed the door behind and observe the quiet cabin. There were only two doors, one on the left and the other on the right. With baby steps, she stood in between the two doors. Both doors have a rainbow pattern and a pair of wings hovering over an unknown face rooted on the door. The only difference is the left is for the boys, and the right is for the girls—for Seulgi.

Seulgi stared down at the cracks underneath the door—no trace of light. Are they asleep already? Seulgi wondered. She twisted the handle door slowly and peek her head inside, to feel sudden drowsiness. She also find two girls sitting on the floor, legs folded with a saucer on their palms and two standing candles.

“Kang Seulgi?” one of the girl whispered, looking quite eager and curious at the same time.

Seulgi nodded and make her way in. The sudden air of drowsiness still hung above her and she shook her head vigorously to get rid of it, before approaching the two girls.

“I’m Solar,” the girl who whispered her name earlier hold out her hand, “and this is Byul.” The girl beside Solar, Byul, shook Seulgi’s hand with a toothy grin. “I’m sorry we couldn’t welcome you in a more festive manner. It’s already past those two bedtime, so yeah.” Solar bowed her head a little with an apologetic look.

“You’re still unknown, right? The wind told me,” Byul whispers in her husky voice, “but don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll know who your mom—“

“Dad,” Solar corrected.

“—dad is,” Byul puts up an ‘ok’ signal to Seulgi.

“That’s your bed over there, your clothes and other things are all in that closet,” Solar pointed out at the single bed on her left, an iris blue sheets and rainbow-coloured blankets. That’s it, this cabin is all rainbows and sleepiness, Seulgi thought to herself.

“You can go and settle yourself, and once you’re done, let’s talk for a bit, okay?” Byul signalled the pose ‘Ok’and Seulgi replies with a smile.

Although the room was only lit with two candles, she can still see the multiple nicely folded navy blue pants and white collared shirts in one stack. Her toiletries were also placed in one small carrier bag and a bright orange towel hung above. An oval shaped mirror placed on the right door of her closet and she saw herself and almost yelp.

Her hair was slightly dishevelled and sticking in odd ways, probably because she slept in the car or something earlier, her face looks slightly bloated somehow and her eyes—well her eyes remain the same. The mirror reflects the two other girls behind her, sleeping soundlessly, blankets draped over their head and Seulgi looked at them in a curious manner.

“Don’t mind about them so much, they sleep a lot,” Solar answered Seulgi’s unspoken inquiry.

“They’re Hypnos’s daughters right?” Seulgi asked, “and you guys are…”

“Iris,” Byul answered in a cheerful tone, a little bit too loud as Solar signalled her to be more quiet and points at the sleeping two, “We’re Iris’s daughters, the Goddess of Rainbows and messenger of the Gods.”

“That explains,” Seulgi said with a snigger, “I thought Hermes was the God of Messenger?” Seulgi did know about the Greek Gods as her mother has a habit of telling heroic tales of the ancient greek time back when Seulgi was little. And now she knows why.

“Hermes is the God of Messenger,” Solar explains, “but our mom is the Goddess of Messenger—“

“—and humanity.”

“Yup, and humanity,”Solar agrees with a smile.

“Cool,” Things are starting to sound fascinating already somehow, Seulgi thought in the back of her mind. She just wish she knew who her dad is. The dad who supposedly abandoned her to do more great, heroic things. The dad who she never knew.

Seulgi then when to the washroom and showered again, as she thought she might smell unusual after a night fill with many new things has occurred. The warm water hitting her back made her shut her eyes and Seulgi drift in her own thoughts for a moment. She thought of her favourite bow shut in the locker at school, the bread she bought at Wendy’s store, her mom, her sun-shaped pillow and—Irene.

Seulgi opens her eyes. What is this sorcery? Why is the girl whom ‘kidnap’ her on the back of her thoughts. Irene is an Aphrodite’s daughter isn’t it? Seulgi thought to herself, maybe she cast some sort of a spell to Seulgi earlier. A spell to make her mind fill with thoughts of her pretty face.

Her long auburn hair draped down her back

Her brown jade like eyes

Her small straight nose

Her rosy red lips

Her—

Stop

Kang Seulgi, stop.

“Uhh, you alright there Seulgi?” Byul asked her as she continuously bangs her head on her closet. “If you’re done, come here~”

Seulgi sat down and both Solar and Byul put the saucer in the middle. All three of their faces illuminated by the flickering candle, and Seulgi thought that this view kinda look like a scene on TV where they were about to exchange horror stories. She slightly shivered at the thought but when back to earth when Solar spoke.

“Since you’re new here, there is a few unofficial rules that we would like to tell you about this place,” Solar cleared , as if to deliver an important speech,

Rule #1 : Never fall for an Aphrodite’s child

“What?” Seulgi wasn’t sure whether she heard that right. “Never fall for wh—“

“Never fall for an Aphrodite’s child,” Solar repeated herself and exchange knowing glances with Byul. “You’ve met Irene and Krystal before, right?”

“Yeah,” Seulgi still could not completely comprehend on the rule, “She—Irene, and Yuri, they’re the one who brought me here. So…”

“She’s pretty right?” Byul asked with a smirk plastered on her face.