oo8

Prometheus
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“You at making friends, you know that, Jongin?”

 

He glared. “And you’re any better?”

 

“Well, you at human contact in general. What are you, an alien?”

 

“...go away and do your homework.”

 

Chapter 8

 

Cho Eunhae was really nice.

 

After handing me a couple tissues to stop the bleeding on my ear (“Gosh, Jimin did that? He’s acting like he’s on his period or something.”), we sat down on one of the benches at the side of the arena, and Eunhae insisted on waiting with me until Kai returned. She was constantly smiling and laughing, and it didn’t take long for me to start feeling at ease around her. Jimin was just an exception, very obviously, it was foolish of me to think otherwise -- not everyone in Ignis was like him.

 

She explained a bit about the city to me, and in exchange, I told her about the events of the past couple days. Ignis had been built one thousand five hundred years, Eunhae said, and the reason its architecture and names resembled what was built in the Greek and Roman times were because the Greeks and Romans had been a huge group of people who collectively believed in things similar to what the Athanatoi saw and did. All the Greek and Roman myths, and the monsters and creatures from them -- they were taken off from real things people saw, and recorded (“There’s plenty more mythical creatures that aren’t recorded in Greek and Roman mythology, but they’re real. Some harmless, and some who want to destroy everything in its path).

 

When I got to the part of my story where Luhan came in, she immediately perked up.

 

“Luhan!” Eunhae exclaimed, suddenly sounding very excited. “He’s the Spellcaster that got you guys into Ignis?”

 

“You know him?”

 

She giggled like a schoolgirl with a crush. “He’s my boyfriend. I mean, it makes sense, since he was in Seoul for a few days with Kai...but still.”

 

There was a moment of awkward silence. It wasn’t unexpected; Luhan was undeniably good looking as Eunhae was pretty, but it was still a shock that Eunhae was, in a way, related to one of the five people I knew in Ignis. Which, for some reason, made her seem closer than before -- and Luhan and I weren’t even close.

 

“Ah,” I finally managed. “That’s...nice.”

 

She laughed, apparently amused by my awkwardness. “Are you and Kai dating? Pretty much everyone knows about… well, your situation, and he’s been watching you for three years when he could’ve easily quit. I’m sure mom would’ve sent someone else in his place if he really didn’t want to do it, but he insisted -- well, as much as Kai can insist without sounding desperate, that is.”

 

Her following sentence momentarily made me forget the remark of Kai and I dating, though normally I would be choking up at it. So he hadn’t been against it in the first place? And wanted to do it? So why’s he acting so… out of it now that I know everything? “Your mom?” I asked instead.

 

I could’ve been mistaken, but a shadow crossed Eunhae’s face, and her lips tightened ever so slightly, to a look of almost anger. It disappeared the moment I seemed to see it, and I brushed it off as a trick of the light.. “Yeah, my mom,” she muttered, sounding way less excited than she had sounded when Luhan had been brought up. “Lee Hyunsook. The woman who probably spoke to you from the council. She’s my mom.”

 

“Oh, she’s nice.”

 

“Yeah, I guess. Anyways -- you didn’t answer my question. Are you and Kai dating?”  

 

Before Eunhae could finish her sentence, footsteps sounded. “Mira!” Kai’s familiar voice sounded, and my head snapped upwards in relief -- saved from answering Eunhae’s horrifying question that I had been asked one too many times in Ignis alone. I hadn’t been keeping track of time, but it felt like forever that I had last seen him. How long had he said it would be to get the keys? Twenty minutes? I had a distinct feeling that double that time had already passed -- in fact, I had probably been sitting for twenty minutes before I decided to get up and wander around.

 

“Oh, Kai,” Eunhae greeted, smiling slightly.

 

“Eunhae noona,” he replied, not returning the smile, though Eunhae looked unfazed by that. “I see that you’ve found Mira?” He turned to me, raising his right hand, where a keychain dangled. It let out a faint tinkling sound. “Sorry that took so long. I had a rather unpleasant run in with someone on the way here, and I had to wait a little while for Baekhyun’s parents.”

 

“We did too, with this certain someone,” Eunhae chirped. “But seeing that he’s picking fights with you, he really must be in a bad mood today. Or this week, knowing his mood swings last for days.”

 

Kai raised an eyebrow at me. “Park Jimin? He was here too, Mira?”

 

I nodded and opened my mouth to speak, but Eunhae beat me to it, jumping in fervently. “Has anyone found him a counsellor yet?” She sounded so passionate about the subject that I had to fight the urge to laugh. “He has serious anger management issues. He threw a knife at Mira and I think it grazed her ear, because it was bleeding a little while ago.”

 

“He what?”

 

In a flash, Kai was sitting next to me, pushing away the hair away from my ear. How had he known it was my left ear? I wondered, but didn’t dwell on it, because it had dropped from my top priorities now that Kai was sitting beside me, fingers brushing against my face. For the first time in a while, this was the first sign he had shown that he was actually worried about me, and frankly, I couldn’t put down what I thought about it.

 

He moved away from me a second later, dropping my hair like it was contagious. “Tell Jin to keep an eye out on Jimin,” he grumbled at Eunhae, and she laughed, waving a hand at his face.

 

“I’ll leave you two to it, then,” she trilled cheerily. “I’m supposed to find Luhan this afternoon and I have no idea where the idiot went.”

 

Kai nodded as a farewell, and I waved dumbly at her disappearing figure, with a “see you around, Mira,” thrown back at me. Then, just like that, Kai and I were alone in the huge place once again. I stared at the keys in his hand and wondered what I was supposed to do or say, or if I were to say anything at all.

 

“Jimin,” Kai finally said. “What did he say to you?” He still refused to look at me, and I kept my gaze locked on the keys.
 

“Not much.” Somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him what Jimin said -- did he care? Or was he just asking for the hell of it? I was so confused by now that remaining silent seemed to be the best option. “You got the keys, right? Should we… go get my weapon now?”

 

***

 

I fiercely regretted reminding Kai of our original task, because now, standing in the weapon’s room, I figured that I had found the cause of my doom. Swords, bows, daggers, knives -- they were shelved in neat rows, and though it wasn’t the blade but the hilt that were sticking out of the racks, it felt dangerous even so. Being in a room like this made me feel like I was going to accidentally hurt someone -- and that someone was Kai in this place, or possibly myself because Kai actually had fighting skills. I also wasn’t sure how well I would physically and mentally handle owning a sword.

 

“How do I choose?” I asked nervously, scanning the row that we were currently in. “Or are the sword magic, and there’s one sword that chooses you--”

 

“The swords are enchanted by Spellcasters, but they’re not going to ‘choose you,” Kai told me in a dry voice. “You’re going to have to find out for yourself which one suits you and which one doesn’t.”

 

“...ah.” We didn’t talk anymore after that for a while, and Kai followed me silently as I browsed through the aisles. If I was supposed to looking out for a weapon, then I was failing in doing that task. It felt safe to say that I was concentrating on not touching anything than actually looking at the racks properly, and trying not to trip over my own feet. Can we get out of here? I silently willed Kai. I’ll get a weapon tomorrow. Or the day after. Or preferably, never.

 

After a while, he seemed to finally reach the end of his patience. “Choose a blade,” he grumbled. “And then we can leave.”

 

I scanned the racks in front of me, and debated whether or not asking him to do it tomorrow, though I had a feeling that he was going to say no. “What do you think I should get?” I asked instead, resorting to the method of stalling for time. Maybe then he’d suggest coming tomorrow. “Longsword… sounds too long for me. I don’t think I can handle a knife. What else is there, again?”

 

“Shortsword. There’s a lot more variety of weapons here, but those three are the most popular choices.”

 

“So should I get that?”

 

From the racks, Kai reached over and plucked out a blade. In the dimly lit room, his face was all angles and curves, almost like a carved stone statue -- sharp, precise, though I ripped my eyes away the moment he showed the slightest sign of turning back around. After examining the sword for a second, he handed it to me, and I tried to receive it without dropping it. “You’ll probably do the best with this kind,” h

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Emilieee
[5/31/2017] I'M SORRY FOR THE EXTRA LATE UPDATE PLEASE EXCUSE ME

Comments

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JinxRanger
#1
Chapter 35: I love this story.💘 keep up the good work 🌟
Multifanstan
#2
Hmm...this looks interesting but the fact that this story is incomplete and hasn't been updated for over an year is holding me back. I really can't hold the curiosity which is why I usually only read complete fics.
Does anybody have a suggestion...should I just start reading?...or does this end with a cliffhanger?
MultiStanK
#3
Chapter 29: Trying to avoid the comments because I'm still only on Ch 28, hehe but seriously, this fic, damn. It's so captivating! You captured my attention from the get go. It's honestly so rare to find genuinely good mythology themed or I guess fantasy themed fanfics on asianfanfics, that too one with EXO. (Now that I think about it, that might just be me lol.)

I love how this fic reminds me so much of Mortal Instruments, it's been ages since I read the series so this has been a nice reminder of that. I haven't till date actually found a good MI fanfic so I guess this is as good as it's gonna get, no complaints tho!

[Sorry if this comment seems a bit out of place or random, I just really wanted to comment but didn't really know how to put it all together.]
Jiminniesweaterpaws
#4
Chapter 45: this is still my favorite story of yours!! hope I can read more of your work in the future
Pxnellyxq #5
Chapter 35: A WHAT? BOY- JWNENDNENDND A DATE??
seyeol125
#6
Chapter 45: did I just read 43 chapters in less than 2 days? I love love this story so far ? so much character development & well thought out plot with deep details. I love the characters interactions. You bring so much life to each individual. I feel they all have their own back story. I am so hooked and can't wait for more to unfold!
seyeol125
#7
Chapter 37: their moments are so real, love the different play of tensions in the scenes & GOSH their romance is so ADORABLE gahhhh my heart cant take avdjfmmgmf
seyeol125
#8
Chapter 35: GOSH FINALLY! YES KAI YES
teenfinite123
#9
Chapter 2: i'm reading this again because quarantine, it's been a while too.