For a Son of Victory, Jongin sure felt like a loser.

 

He nearly died when he had attempted to scale the camp’s climbing wall. It was usually pretty acceptable – the wall began pouring molten lava and dropping boulders whenever a camper took too long to get to the top. Unfortunately, Jongin could barely get himself three meters off the ground.

 

During his last sword-fighting lesson, Baekhyun had him practicing viper-beheading strikes. Things were going pretty okay until Jongin managed to trip on his own two feet, fall and nearly lose a hand.

 

Jongin was grateful to be born with two functioning hands, thank you very much. He’s accomplished many things with them, like competing and dominating in the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) last year. His hands needed to be in perfect form so he could use a mouse and navigate his champion through victory after victory again this year.

 

Normally, Jongin would have been okay with the trade-off. Being known as the best player in North America but having to at everything else? He could live with that.

 

Today’s bow incident (his arrow went flying and managed to anger the camp’s team of unicorns into stampeding through the strawberry fields – don’t ask how) was the last straw though. Face redder than the ruined strawberries, Jongin bowed his head to his fellow campers in apology before running back to his own cabin.

 

The Nike cabin was unlike the other godly cabins that have been around for a longer time. Painted a metallic gold all around, the cabin glistened the brightest in the sun. At both its side were symbols of Nike: huge, shiny golden wings that should have been able to retract and make the cabin fly. Its placement was a camp joke for a period of time, largely due to its near resemblance to a certain mortal brand.

Made up of four smaller modular cabins that had been stacked together back to back, each modular cabin had different facilities for different uses. One was the main living quarters, another a small gym and the other a recreational area packed with various video and board games. By far, the recreational area was most popular with campers who were looking for non-life threatening forms of entertainment in camp.

 

Jongin’s brother, Baekhyun, made better use of those facilities. Unlike him, Jongin preferred the comforts of his personal modular cabin area where he spends most of his time.

 

What made Jongin’s area his own was the inclusion of a state-of-the-art gaming set-up. Strategically located near both the refrigerator and the toilet, Jongin virtually had everything he needed to remain, well, virtual, for long periods of time.

 

Usually, campers avoided using the internet in Camp Half-Blood. Electronic devices tended to attract monsters in the mortal world, so demigods had made it a habit to avoid using them in (their slightly safer) camp. Jongin, however, needed to always be connected in order to keep practicing League of Legends.

 

He would have been perfectly content playing alone inside of his modular cabin all day, and would have done so if not for Baekhyun conning him into going for archery classes earlier that day.

 

Though not as athletically gifted as his half-brother, Jongin could just as easily get riled up. An issue of a challenge and the promise of competition was enough to convince Jongin to pick up a bow (and subsequently cause his arrow to fly and anger a team of unicorns… you get the idea).

 

Jongin was 15 minutes into a normal game when Baekhyun sauntered back into the cabin.

 

“I won the bet with the Ares cabin! We’re officially better archers than they are!” he announced.

 

“That’s great,” Jongin grumbles as he tries to tune his brother out in favor of responding to a jungler gank. He knew it was in vain, however, his brother needed to be heard whenever he emerged victorious.

 

“They’re mad at us now though, and are completely set on kicking our in next week’s Capture the Flag.” Baekhyun leans into wall beside Jongin’s computer setup comfortably, eyes twinkling with knowing.

 

“Why do you always have to get me into trouble? You know I can’t keep up with you or the Ares cabin. They’ll come for me when you’re not around!” His jungler managed to land a ‘q’ on the enemy ADC. Jongin knows he’s about to get a double kill.

 

“I managed to come up with an alliance with a certain cabin though, so we should be fine,” Baekhyun replies smoothly.

 

“Another cabin? Which one?” Jongin says right as he kills the enemy ADC. The enemy support is trying to run away, but it’s too late. Jongin is in range and poised to make the kill.

 

“The Athena Cabin,” Baekhyun drawls out. Jongin slays the enemy support for a double kill as he looks up to meet his half brother’s eyes. Too bad the enemy bot lane fell for the trap.

 

“Oh gods,” Jongin whispers as Baekhyun grins in triumph.

 

The Athena cabin had always been a good ally for Nike. Combining their gifted minds with the penchant for victory in Nike’s children was always a winning combination. Other cabins had voiced out their frustration when it became clear that the Nike and Athena cabin were unbeatable together (sore loser mentality in Baekhyun’s opinion), so both cabins were almost always placed on opposite sides.

 

Jongin was ready to argue further against the new alliance when a horn blew in the distance.

 

“Time to go for dinner, little brother. Hopefully you won’t cause as much of a scene as you did with the unicorns today,” said Baekhyun with a smirk before leaving the room.

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

 

Jongin knew better than to try and pry more information from Baekhyun on their way to the dinner pavilion. Instead, he opted to sulk and focus on appearing as little as possible behind his brother.

 

Word on the strawberry field incident seemed to have gotten around pretty quickly. Other demigods kept eyeing Jongin, barely concealing whispers and tiny giggles behind their hands.

 

Jongin thanked the gods when they neared the dining pavilion. A circular area with Greek marble columns along the circumference, each cabin had a designated stone table that could easily accommodate about twenty campers. Jongin kept his eyes fixed on the white tablecloths, curbing his desire to look right and stare as he normally would because the Athena cabin was probably still laughing at him.

 

Only when dinner was served, and Jongin knew that most campers would be too busy talking among themselves to pay him any attention, did Jongin dare to look.

 

There he was, seated in the middle amongst his half brothers and sisters. He was small in stature, and could have easily been passed off as unremarkable if not for his presence. His big, doe eyes sparkled from right to left as he followed the table’s conversation. Though he’d barely open his mouth to speak, his plump lips would occasionally form the most adorable heart shape whenever he smiled or laughed along with his siblings. Every time that happened, Jongin could feel his heartbeat go a little faster.

 

“Do Kyungsoo!” shouts Baekhyun as he makes his way towards Jongin’s object of affection. Jongin had been too distracted to notice his brother leaving his side, and had been way too careless with his staring because Kyungsoo looked up Baekhyun was called. It was fleeting, but their eyes had met for the briefest of seconds before Jongin was able to divert his attention towards his older half-brother.

 

“I hope you’re ready to use that big brain of yours. We’ll need it to win next week’s Capture the Flag,” said Baekhyun as he drapes a hand over Kyungsoo’s shoulders. The entire dining pavilion falls into silence, necks craned in order to witness the exchange between the two.

 

“We’ll win,” came the deep-voiced reply. Jongin inhales sharply, eagerly straining to hear Kyungsoo’s next few words. Everyone knew that Kyungsoo, though gifted in knowledge and strategy, was a man of little  words. So whenever he did speak, people tended to listen.

 

“Athena always has a plan. As long as you and your brother don’t shoot too many stray arrows, of course. Gods know we don’t have enough strawberries to destroy,”

 

The camp roars in laughter as Kyungsoo’s eyes once again meet Jongin’s. No longer fleeting this time around, they hold each other’s gaze as Jongin processed his long-time crush’s words. Jongin could clearly see the whites of Kyungsoo’s eyes though they were a table apart. One side of his heart-shaped lips were turn up into a smirk directed at Jongin.

 

Too stunned to do anything else, Jongin just continues to stare with his own mouth slightly opened. Kyungsoo is the first to break the eye contact, brows furrowing in annoyance as Baekhyun laughs and pulls him closer to his body.

 

Jongin’s eyes sting as he keeps his attention once again on the white tablecloth, cheeks burning red in both embarrassment and jealousy.

 

He keeps his mouth shut and eyes downcast as dinner progressed on. Baekhyun’s prodding and constant attempts of trying to get him to look up fall dead and useless. Soon, the trying stops completely as Baekhyun realizes that this was a battle he would never win.

 

“Soo…” Baekhyun tries again when they’re both in their modular cabin designated for sleeping. Jongin shifts his back to his older half-brother in response.

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jongin remains cold and unresponsive, body as dead as his feelings inside. The silence stretches on for a few more minutes before Baekhyun tries for the last time.

“Tomorrow onwards, we’ll practice really hard. We’ll prove em’ wrong, alright?” Jongin gives a small nod of affirmation before he curls further into a ball under his sheets.

 

Baekhyun gets up to turn off the lights. He makes himself comfortable on his own bed, trying to ignore the sniffling coming from Jongin’s side of the room. With his heart breaking the entire time, Baekhyun manages to fall asleep listening to his half-brother’s quiet sobbing.

 

__________________________________________________________________________

 

The week passed pretty quickly for Jongin. His motivation sustained him throughout the week of Baekhyun’s rigorous training sessions, but he knew deep inside that it would never be truly sufficient. Baekhyun had been the more optimistic of the two, hyping his brother up as they walked together to the dining pavilion for lunch.

 

“Now, you’ll be able to cream anyone who comes your way! Victory will be ours!” said Baekhyun on their final training session before the game.

 

“What happens if Chen from the Zeus cabin sends a bolt of lightning flying at me? He’ll knock me out before I can even lift up my shield,”

 

“Just avoid him and you’ll be fine. Be patient and wait for the right time to strike. Victory is ours and you’ll reclaim your honor!”

 

“The Ares cabin will kill me in two seconds tops. Minseok never holds back unless you’re Luhan, and I’ll never be able to see him move until he’s already kicked me on the face,”

 

“I told you already, just stay away from them and you’ll be fine. We’ll remain victorious; we’ve never lost a game allied with the Athena cabin. Just wait for the right moment before you strike and deliver the finishing blow,”

 

While he had been in the combat arena more times in the past week than he’s ever had all his years in Camp Half-blood, Jongin could never be able to feel truly comfortable fighting physically. His only solace had been his gaming practice after Baekhyun’s morning sessions.

 

As much as he wanted to prove to everyone that he wasn’t a complete demigod failure, most of his focus still remained on his upcoming competition. Jongin was determined to win (again) and prove that he was the best League of Legends player in North America (again).

 

The camp was abuzz with excitement when the sons of Nike reached the dining pavilion. Excited chatters on Capture the Flag happening just after lunch were being thrown left and right. Jongin, however, could feel nothing but dread pooling at the bottom of his stomach. Praying to his mother for guidance while he offered a portion of his food into the fire didn’t help at all. Jongin had a sickly feeling that no amount of godly intervention could save his atrocious fighting skills.

 

“We’re allied with Aphrodite, Poseidon and, of course, Athena. We’re definitely going to win! Kyungsoo will be going through the strategy after we’ve reached our base,” said Baekhyun, eyes shining in anticipation for the fight to come.

 

Even though Jongin lived through his years in Camp Half-blood mostly uninvolved, he knew that Baekhyun’s optimism wasn’t unfounded.

 

The Aphrodite cabin consisted of pretty girls and boys who would mostly sit out on camp activities that could potentially ruin their designer clothes. One of their members, Oh Sehun, however, had a reputation for using charmspeak on his opponents before running them over with his spear. His half-brother and the Aphrodite head counsellor,  Luhan was also rather fearsome when wielding a dagger. Dazzling and dangerous in combat, Luhan had captured the attention of the Ares cabin’s head counselor, Minseok, when he had managed to beat the war god’s son in a fight. Everyone in camp knew that ever since Luhan had held Minseok in headlock with a dagger pressed against his neck, Minseok had been smitten.

 

Poseidon Cabin, on the other hand, consisted of one member: Suho. He mostly went about his camp activities with Zeus’ son, Chen, who was also in the same boat in being their father’s only child in camp. Like the ocean, Suho was known throughout camp for his rapidly changing moods. Though nice most of the time, campers were wary of pissing off Poseidon’s son lest they be drowned by wave after wave of water.

 

Jongin felt numb as the camp cheered excitedly after the activity director’s customary speech before the game began. Legs wobbling as he marched with his allies to their base, Jongin fought off the urge to puke out his lunch. His blue team helmet, made of bronze with a blue horsehair plume on top, felt too large kept sliding down the sides of his head.

 

The blue team’s march ended when they reached Zeus’ Fist. According to Chiron, the pile of rocks was given its name because it looked like a fist from a certain angle. At all other angles though, it looked just like a pile of poop.

 

Everyone gathered around Kyungsoo as he began to unfurl a huge map. With the help of a few other senior Athena cabin members, he flattened the map to the ground for all of the blue team to see.

 

“We’ll take most of our forces and cause a huge diversion towards the north of the border,” Kyungsoo placed a finger on the map, tracing it along the outline of the creek which served as boundary line for the game.

 

“Most of the Athena and Aphrodite cabin will be here with Suho. Everyone just give a wide berth around him and he’ll do his thing with water,” he glanced at Suho who nodded his acknowledgement.

 

“A smaller unit will then sneak pass the border to the south and try to take the enemy flag while the enemy’s distracted in the north. Baekhyun, you’ll lead that,” Baekhyun grinned in response.

 

“Can I take Jongin with me?” Baekhyun asked.

 

Time seemed to stop as eyes turned warily towards Jongin. Jongin tried his best not to swallow visibly under the scrutiny of his sudden audience.

 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea…” Kyungsoo said, trailing off.

 

“Why not?”

 

“It just isn’t,” said Kyungsoo with finality.

 

Kyungsoo turns towards Jongin, expression unreadable. “Jongin, you just keep behind Suho and try to make sure no one sneaks up on him. His powers are important in keeping the red team busy.”

 

Jongin felt himself blush as his crush looked on. Bowing his head in embarrassment, he gives a meek nod. Jongin knew that Suho didn’t really need him guarding his back, what with his ability to manipulate water all around when he steps inside the creek. This was a pointless job and Kyungsoo was giving a clear message: Stay away and don’t do anything stupid.

 

Kyungsoo soon dismissed the crowd and everyone scrambled to their respective positions. Before Jongin could move towards Suho who seemed raring to go, Baekhyun clasped his soldier.

 

“Don’t listen to them. You can do this! If you see an opportunity, take it. Winning is our birthright as sons of Victory!” whispered Baekhyun.

 

He gave a small wink before running off, disappearing behind a few bushes as he made his way to the south side of the creek.

 

Jongin kept thinking about his brother’s words as he soundlessly followed Suho. Could he really do it? Could he do something to redeem himself after that stupid unicorn incident?

 

Lost in his own thoughts, Jongin didn’t notice Suho calling out to him as they hid behind a bush, the creek visible about ten meters away. Eyes blinking owlishly, Jongin looks at the Son of Poseidon.

 

“What?”

 

Suho gives a wry smile. “Nothing. Just keep your eyes peeled and don’t do anything rash. I’m trusting you.”

 

Jongin swallowed. There it was again: someone was asking him to do nothing. No one but Baekhyun trusted him to do anything right.

 

Before he could formulate a response, a conch horn blew throughout the forest. Cheers erupted from both sides of the creek, and Jongin could soon hear the clash of metal on metal.

 

Capture the Flag had begun.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

With the mere task of staying behind Suho, Jongin had a clear sight of the skirmishes happening all around the forest.

 

Jongin could see Luhan in the midst of a battle with Minseok. The Ares head counselor’s broadsword kept swinging too slowly to catch Luhan’s quick feet. They seemed evenly matched however, with Minseok also being able to evade Luhan’s dagger. Jongin had the sinking suspicion that neither party were truly fighting full out. Both boys appeared far more concerned with throwing heart eyes to the other as opposed to landing a clean hit.

 

To their left, Sehun was surrounded by a group of Ares and Hermes children. Jongin would’ve been worried for the Aphrodite son’s safety if not for the heavy breathing of the red team members around him. Sehun smiled sweetly as he expertly twirled his spear around him. Giggling as the red team members immediately crouched when he feigned a step forward, his opponents seemed both mesmerized and terrified at the beautiful boy’s antics.

 

A wave of water erupted high into the air, crashing down where Chen was a mere moment ago. Zeus’ son looked as sharp as lightning with his sword drawn, warily eyeing Suho. Unfazed by his enemy, Suho sent another jet of water flying towards Chen who had to scramble quickly to avoid getting hit. Wave after wave kept coming at Chen, and it became increasingly obvious that Suho wasn’t letting him stand still long enough to summon a bolt of lightning.

 

In fact, it was clear to Jongin that the blue team was going to win. Most of the red team members were within his line of sight, meaning Baekhyun should be able to effectively neutralize whoever was left of them on the other side of the forest. As expected, Kyungsoo’s plan, though simple, was working.

 

Jongin could see wisdom’s son running with a few of his siblings towards a group of Apollo archers. Using shields to block arrows coming their way, Kyungsoo was able to get near enough and engage his opponents in close range combat. After a quick swipe of his sword and a nasty backhand to an Apollo archer’s face, Kyungsoo was able to neutralize them all.

 

Kyungsoo’s eye scanned the forest floor, quickly assessing the ongoing battle. Realizing that his side was winning, his doe eyes lit up with satisfaction.

 

His wandering eyes landed on Jongin, and Jongin could do no more than hold the gaze with bated breath. Kyungsoo looked at him owlishly before his heart-shaped lips began to lift up to a smirk.

 

Jongin envisioned the upcoming celebrations later on. Kyungsoo would pat Sehun and Luhan on their backs for a job well done. Suho would laugh with mirth as Kyungsoo complimented his ability to single handedly keep Chen at bay. And then, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo would be carried on blue team shoulders for proving once again that Nike and Athena were an unbeatable combination.

 

As the victory was celebrated, Jongin would remain behind in the shadows, undeserving of any praise for having contributed nothing.

 

The mental images left a bitter taste in Jongin’s mouth. To a Son of Nike, nothing was worse than a hollow victory.

 

His body moved before he could rationalize his actions. Jongin drew his sword and charged into battle. Wading through the creek, his mind was focused solely on contributing to his team’s victory.

 

He was halfway through the creek, about to pass by Suho when the water in front of him began to shift. Jongin flung himself sideways just before Suho could manipulate the water to form a wave.

 

Unfortunately, he crashed into Suho who had been too focused on Chen to notice the approaching son of Nike. Concentration broken, the newly created wave of water fizzled out just before it crashed into shore. Suho tried to stand up, eyes wild and searching but it was too late.

 

Finally free from the onslaught of water, Chen was able to take a deep breath and drop to one knee, pressing an open palm against the earth. Bolts of lightning descended from the heavens, one of which was able to zap into Suho before he could fully stand up.

 

Chaos ensued around the forest as more lightning descended to assist losing members of the red team. The smell of ozone became thick in the air, flashes of light and destruction coming from multiple directions. Unable to handle both Chen’s unpredictable lightning bolts and their respective opponents, more and more blue team members fell.

 

Sehun fell to his face when a bolt that had been too close hit the ground to his right. Luhan distraught after seeing his brother fall in combat, became too distracted, . Minseok was then able to use the flat of his broadsword to knock Luhan to ground. He pounced on Aphrodite’s son, wrestling with him briefly before he was able to press a knife against the Aphrodite boy’s neck.

 

Jongin couldn’t believe his eyes when a particularly nasty bolt hit Kyungsoo square on the chest as he ran towards Chen. Wisdom’s son crumpled to the ground, body shaking wildly from the electric shock.

 

Soon, most of the blue team members were either disarmed or knocked out. Yixing from the Apollo cabin appeared from behind Jongin with a bunch of Athena members chasing after him too far behind. He sprinted across the creek, flag in hand, blowing past Jongin without a second look. As he entered his side of the boundary line, the flag began to change.

 

The blue of the Athena flag began to burn away, revealing a shade of bright yellow. The owl displayed at the center shimmered to become a golden lyre, the symbol of Apollo, and the entire flag gleamed brightly under the afternoon sun.

 

The red team cheered in delight as Yixing held the fully transformed flag in the air. They rushed towards him and carried the healer above the crowd, chanting ‘Apollo! Apollo! Apollo!’.

 

Members of the blue team began to stir and stand up, some groaning in pain while others twitched from the after effects of Chen’s electricity. The red team had won, the blue team had lost, and it was all Jongin’s fault.

 

Jongin sees Kyungsoo approaching him, face passive. They maintain eye contact as Kyungsoo slowly trudged towards him. Jongin could feel his own eyes stinging, his face crumbling whilst Kyungsoo approached him with a mask of perfect neutrality.

 

Kyungsoo stops in front of Jongin, and Jongin could feel a few tears escaping down his face. Kyungsoo says nothing, and the seconds of silence feel agonizing. Jongin waits, and soon a hush of silence falls throughout the forest as campers begin to notice what was going on.

 

Taking a deep breath, Jongin readies himself to speak first, anything to make the painful silence end.

 

“I …”

 

“We lost,” Kyungsoo beat him to it.

 

“We lost and it’s completely your fault. The plan was going so well,” Kyungsoo chuckles darkly. “Everyone’s right. You’re no son of Nike. You’re just a loser.”

 

Kyungsoo turns away from him and disappears behind a tree. More tears flow down Jongin’s face, and he bites his lip to keep a sob down.

 

Campers to whisper all around him, and Jongin could feel the mocking gaze of the entire camp bearing down on his shoulders.

 

Unable to bear the stinging humiliation, he flees to his only safe haven in camp.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Jongin refuses to leave his personal modular cabin for two months. He remains inside, practicing excessively for the upcoming LCS Championships. He grinds on solo queue games when he isn’t having scrims with his teammates. He could still feel the pain of Kyungsoo’s words whenever he allowed himself time to think, so he resorts to gaming until his exhausted body fell immediately asleep when he falls on his sleeping bag.

 

A few days into his isolation and when his supplies were running dangerously low, Jongin had guilt tripped Baekhyun into promising to deliver food straight to his modular cabin. Reminding Baekhyun of how his humiliation was partly the brother’s fault for initiating the alliance in the first place, Baekhyun had caved. He now occasionally dropped by to give Jongin a few bags of groceries to keep his only brother in camp alive.

 

With everything he needed to survive around him, no one could pry Jongin out of his gaming room. After two weeks of staying completely indoors, Baekhyun had taken it as a personal challenge to get Jongin out of his cabin room. Jongin’s stubbornness prevailed, though, and Baekhyun had no choice but to acknowledge defeat.

 

Jongin had never felt more confident on his gaming abilities thanks to his excessive practicing. Only after a 20-game solo queue winning streak did he begin to feel better for himself. To him, it didn’t matter that Jongin was a demigod failure as long as Kai could lead his team to victory again in this year’s LCS Championships.

 

It’s a few more days to the big day when his mid laner, Z Tao, drags him back to reality.

 

“Kai, have you gotten permission to leave your summer camp for our competition?” he randomly brings up over their Discord voice chat in the middle of a game.

 

Jongin freezes and his finger stops clicking on his mouse. The opponent ADC moves forward and fires an Ashe arrow towards Jongin’s temporarily immobile champion, but Jongin recovers quickly enough to flash away in time. Z Tao takes advantage of his opponents’ mispositioning, landing a quick Zoe bubble on the opponent ADC. A messy teamfight occurs, but Jongin’s able to manipulate his champion to stay alive through it all. He’s the only survivor left after the fight, and he hurriedly destroys the opponent’s nexus to end the game.

 

It’s not until they’re in the post-game lobby screen when Jongin replies.

 

“Not yet,”

 

“What? You haven’t? Dude the championship is in three days!” Z Tao shrieks at him, voice going up an octave.

 

“I know that! Why’d you think I’ve been working so hard?”

 

“All your effort is going to waste if you can’t even go!”

 

Jongin bites his lip, knowing that he can’t argue himself out of this one.

 

Z Tao continues. “We need you there, shotcaller. We can’t win without you. Now get out of here. I’m not gonna duo with you until you have it all settled,”

 

Z Tao quickly kicks him out of their lobby before queuing up for another game on his own. The discord chat ends abruptly, and Jongin knows from experience that he won’t be allowed to join his teammate again until he does what’s necessary.

 

He gets up from his gaming chair and stretches, immediately dreading his next task. He hasn’t left his modular cabin for two months now, and he’s sure that everyone at camp would stare at him if he left it now.

 

He’s about to reconsider his actions when Z Tao sends him a private message:

 

You better not think about entering solo queue until you’ve asked for permission to leave! I’ll tell everyone to dodge if they see you in champion select!!!!! >:D

 

Jongin groans. Z Tao had always been an influential figure in the League of Legends gaming community, and has made many ‘Challenger’ friends over the years. He knows it isn’t an empty threat.

 

Jongin breathes in as he stops in front of his door. All he needed to do was go to the Big House, where the activities director, Chiron, was most likely to be found and ask him for permission.

Jongin stands up a little straighter. He was Kai, an LCS Champion and MVP. He needed to do this in order to win the LCS again. It was his destiny.

 

Chin up and eyes steeled, he opens the door and walks straight into the sunlight.

 

As he makes his way to the Big House, campers begin to stop what they’re doing and stare. A few members from Ares stop their arm wrestling competition to openly gape at him as he walks pass their cabin. Jongin controls his breathing as he passes by the gray walls of the Athena Cabin. Willing himself to not dwell about what happened so long ago, he forges ahead.

 

Kids from the Apollo pause their game as Jongin’s journey takes him through the volleyball courts. He catches the eye of Yi Xing, and the healer waves to him with a dimpled smile. He returns the gesture and continues on. He’s near the Big House now, and all was well. This isn’t so bad.

 

Jongin knew he had spoken too soon when he ran into Kyungsoo just as he entered the Big House.

 

Kyungsoo was about to exit the Big House himself, but stopped just before crashing into Jongin. The whites of his eyes were bigger than usual (which was saying something considering how big they normally were) as he stared at Jongin in surprise.

 

It took a lot of willpower, but Jongin refused to react to his longtime crush. He shouldered past Kyungsoo for good measure, just to let the Athena boy know that he had not forgotten what had happened two months ago.

 

Too focused was he on Kyungsoo that he had almost failed to notice Chiron and Baekhyun standing directly behind his crush.

 

Chiron was wearing his tweed jacket again in wheelchair form. With his full beard and sparkling eyes, the activities director always seemed to know something that others didn’t. He appeared unfazed by Jongin’s sudden emergence, smiling pleasantly at him as if it hadn’t been two months since he’d last seen him.

 

Baekhyun, on the other hand, was reduced to gaping stupidly at his half-brother.

 

“Jong... ”

 

“Chiron,” said Jongin, purposely cutting off his brother. “I need to leave three days later for my LCS Championships. I’m going to win again this year,”

 

“Of course, Jongin. Kyungsoo here has also just asked for permission,”

 

Kyungsoo? Jongin resisted the urge to voice out his confusion. Why would Kyungsoo want to attend the LCS? Jongin had been certain that he was the only person at camp with an interest in League of Legends.

 

“Since you both need to go, I’d like for you to travel together. It would be much safer than traversing the mortal world alone,” said Chiron. “Of course, your brother will also be joining you. He’s adamant in seeing you win the championships again this year,”

 

Baekhyun still had his mouth wide open, staring at his half-brother as if he was an underworld ghost resurrected back to the world of the living. Jongin figured that the comparison wasn’t too inaccurate.

 

“Fine, as long as they don’t get in my way,” said Jongin with a venomous look towards Kyungsoo. Jongin refused to let anything ruin his upcoming moment of victory. It didn’t matter who went with him, as long as he got to go.

 

Jongin left the Big House without a second look at Kyungsoo. Mind already racing with team compositions and strategies for the championships, he refused to let unnecessary thoughts cloud his head.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

If silence could kill, Jongin was sure that he’d already have murdered Baekhyun and Kyungsoo.

 

He had ignored them as they boarded the camp van on top of Half-Blood Hill that morning, climbing silently to the front seat. He immediately refused Baekhyun had suggested playing the radio as they cruised down the highway towards the city centre. He had even hissed at them when they tried to make small talk over the New York weather.

 

Jongin knew that he should have drawn the line at letting them both speak to one another, but today was an important day for Jongin. He didn’t want his concentration ruined by a menial conversation on the weather.

 

Jongin already knew he would win; it was just a question of how badly he and his team would crush their opponents this year. And if Jongin were to lead his team into complete domination, he needed silence.

 

They’re a few minutes away from Madison Square Garden, this year’s location for the LCS Championships, when Jongin ended Kyungsoo and Baekhyun’s suffering.

 

“Both of you need to stick with me the entire time or you’ll get lost in the crowds. Keep walking and don’t stop no matter what happens,” commanded Jongin.

 

Jongin could see Kyungsoo blinking in confusion from the rear-view mirror. Confused Kyungsoo was a cute Kyungsoo, but Jongin refused to let himself dwell on the fact.

 

“Do I get to stay with you backstage again this year?” asks Baekhyun, clearly unsurprised with the weird instructions.

 

“Yeah, I’ve made arrangements so both of you can stay. Just keep it down and try not to talk too loudly in the middle of matches,”

 

“Can we bring Kyungsoo’s brother along? All three of us can watch the game from backstage, right?”

 

Kyungsoo’s brother? Jongin figured that Baekhyun was referring to someone from Kyungsoo’s mortal side of the family. He doubts that there was another Athena cabin member hiding in the car’s trunk.

 

“I didn’t make arrangements for a third person, but I’m sure I can pull a few strings,”

 

“You don’t need to,” said Kyungsoo. “Chanyeol managed to get all three of us good seats. We don’t need to be backstage if we’ll just get in the way.”

 

Jongin shrugs in response. Kyungsoo was right; the less people the better. He wasn’t going to go around and insist that his crush should stay near him in the midst of the games. Kyungsoo was a distraction, and champions like Kai didn’t need distractions.

 

“We can still join you for the after party, right? We need to go home together too, Chiron insisted,” said Baekhyun.

 

Jongin nods. “Just come backstage after we win. Tell security who you are and they should let you right through,” said Jongin. “You can bring your brother along for that too,” he directs to Kyungsoo.

 

“I don’t think we need to…”

 

“We’ll be there,” Baekhyun cuts into Kyungsoo. “Your brother would enjoy meeting Jongin and his teammates. Isn’t that what you would want?”

 

Kyungsoo stares at Baekhyun for a few seconds before redirecting his gaze back to the road. The conversation ends, and silence once again permeates throughout the car.

 

The car soon stops in front of the main entrance of the arena. Jongin can see a huge crowd of young people milling around the area, wearing shirts and other merchandise in support of the teams they’re cheering for. He’s pleased to notice that there are more people wearing his team’s signature colors of black and red as opposed to his opponent’s dark green.

 

Jongin takes a deep breath before exiting the vehicle. He grabs his backpack and hurriedly walks towards the arena.

 

He could hear his brother and Kyungsoo scramble out of the vehicle, lightly jogging to catch up to him.

 

“What’s the rush?” asks Kyungsoo, thick eyebrows furrowed.

 

Jongin doesn’t need to reply, because it happens as expected. People begin to notice his presence, and more people begin look on in wonder as he makes his way to the backstage entrance.

 

“Good luck Kai!” A young man shouts, and soon there’s a cacophony of cheers and shouts directed at him.

 

Kai walks a little bit straighter as the entire crowd’s attention focuses on him. The cheers are wilder now, and more and more people shout their encouragement. Kai does his best to smile, bow his head in thanks and wave at the people, his fans, around him.  He welcomes the positive energy of the crowd, especially having had spent majority of the past two months in isolation.

 

He’s enjoying himself, welcomes the completely different reception people have towards him. This definitely felt better than being mocked by everyone in Camp Half-blood. Here, he was respected and a winner in everyone’s eyes. So caught up in the moment, that he forgot about his company until Kyungsoo cries out.

 

“Chanyeol!”

 

Kai pauses and watches as Kyungsoo runs away and towards a young man standing at the sides with the crowd.

 

He’s tall, seemingly younger than Kyungsoo with the biggest ears Jongin has ever seen. He’s decked out in full black and red, the signature colors of Kai’s team. The oversized hoodie he’s wearing has Kai’s name and jersey number printed at the front.

 

He had been too busy staring at Kai, eyes shining in happiness to notice his brother walking towards him. As Kyungsoo nears, however, the tall man directs his attention towards him. He walks forward to meet Kyungsoo when he’s still a few steps away and envelops him in a big bear hug. Lifting Kyungsoo off the ground, he spins the both of them around while they laugh loudly.

 

“Well, I’m off now. Good luck brother, not that you’d need it. I’ll see you when you’re the champion again. Remember, victory is our birthright!” says Baekhyun before wrapping an arm around Kai’s shoulder for a brotherly hug.

 

He walks towards Kyungsoo and his mortal brother, leaving Kai alone as the rest of the crowd watches on.

 

Kai meets Kyungsoo’s eyes before sharing a nod with his longtime crush. There’s something a little bit different in the way Kyungsoo’s looking at him now, but Kai decides to pay it no mind for the time being.

 

Kai makes his way towards the backstage entrance again, determined to prove to the world once again that he’s the best League of Legends player in North America.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

“Calm down Z Tao, we can still win this game if you stop being an idiot,” commands Kai.

 

They’re nearly there; Kai could practically taste victory. It’d been a smooth ride so far, their team stomped on their opponents in the first two games of their best of five. This third match, however, was proving to be a tougher affair.

 

Kai continues. “You’re falling completely for their trap and losing us the game. Calm down.”

 

“What he means to say is,” Kris, their team Jungler, interjects. “You just need to let Kai do the carrying this time around and we can still win the match.”

 

“They ganked midlane three times in the first 10 minutes of the game!” their midlaner, Z Tao, complained.

 

“They did it to tilt you, just keep calm and we’ll still win,”

 

The game had been at a standstill for sometime now. They’ve been at a gold deficit since Z Tao had been prone to team fight misplays after being killed three times because of ganks to the midlane. Kai and his team had been stalling the game, trying to slowly catch up by not making further mistakes.

 

“Baron is up in a two more minutes. Should we contest it?” asks Kris.

 

The five-man team is quiet as everyone waits for Kai’s call. As the shotcaller, Kai knew that he had to make the decision for his team.

 

“We can’t let them take it freely. We’ll definitely lose if they get the baron buff,” decides Kai.

 

“But …” Kris trails off, the unspoken words understood by the team. They can’t win the team fight either, being too weak in comparison to their opponents at the current stage of the game.

 

“We’ll just hold out till Baron’s up. We’ll contest them as they go for it,” said Kai. “Tao, when that happens, go for a backdoor. We’ll try to hold them off.”

 

“What? I can’t do that! We’ll lose the team fight! “ Z Tao’s voice goes up an octave again, indicating his surprise and frustration.

 

“I know it’s a risk, but we’ll have to take it. I believe in you Tao, “

 

Kai knew that this was a desperate play; sending Tao to try and finish off the game on his own while the rest of the team stalls their enemy near the baron. Whoever kills the Baron grants his team a powerful buff, a buff that the enemy team could use to win the game. Kai knew that they had no choice, they needed to do something or they’ll lose this match.

 

The team plays carefully for the next few minutes, tension high in the air. Their opponents aren’t making rash decisions, also clearly biding their time for the match-ending Baron fight.

 

The Baron spawns and their opponent disappear from the minimap, a clear indication they’re headed towards it.

 

“Tao, go!” commands Kai he leads his team towards the Baron pit.

 

Z Tao teleports to the opposite side of the map, split pushing on his own to try and end off the game. He has to destroy 3 towers, an inhibitor and the opponent’s Nexus, the main game objective, to win the game.

 

The race is on.

 

Jongin’s team place control wards in the Baron pit to get vision of their opponents. Their opponents have started the Baron, its health was now at around 90%.

 

“Poke them!” Kai commands and his team start throwing abilities at their opponents, lowering their health lines slowly. Kai hopes that they to try and fend off Kai’s team instead of focusing on killing the Baron.

 

It works, and the Baron’s health begins depleting at a slower rate. It’s at 75% health now, and Tao’s only destroyed one tower. Kai could register the crowd in the stadium going wild as the game comes to a .

 

“They’re going to turn on us, but we can’t get caught. Keep your eyes peeled and back away as soon as they try and engage,” said Kai.

 

True enough, their opponents momentarily halt the killing of the Baron. Kai’s team tries to get away, but their support player gets caught and is quickly killed. The enemy team resumes the Baron. 60% health, and Tao has just started hitting the inhibitor. Two more towers and the Nexus itself till the game ends.

 

“Poke them again, don’t let up!”

 

Kai’s team resumes their tactics, but this time around the opponents pay them no mind. The Baron is at 40%, health depleting faster than ever before. Tao’s destroyed the inhibitor, and is moving on to the second last tower.

 

“Kris, when you see the chance, go in and use your abilities to kill a high priority target. Everyone else, focus on whoever Kris manages to pounce on.”

 

“What? I can’t just suicide, they’ll get the Baron for sure!”

 

Kai bites his lip. As the jungler for their team, only Kris has the ability to evenly contest the Baron and try to get the killing blow. Kai knew that their opponents would definitely delay killing the baron to try and kill Kris in order to guarantee a successful baron kill.

 

“Just do it!”

 

Kai’s and his Top laner continue poking out their opponents, waiting with bated breath for Kris to make his move.

 

The enemy AD Carry moves in a little bit too close, and Kris lands a spear before pouncing at her. Kai and their top laner fire off their abilities, and they manage to kill her. The enemy team retaliates and Kris follows her soon after. The Baron is at 25% health now, and Tao needs to destroy one more tower and the Nexus to win the game.

 

The crowd cheers wildly as Kris dies, Kai can hear their screams and cheers even through his sound-cancelling headphones.

 

“Tao, don’t stop! We’ll hold them off!” Kai commands.

 

The enemy team kills the Baron, and Kai’s top laner dies after trying in vain to land a killing blow. They begin to back off, trying to get to Tao who was nearly finished destroying the final tower.

 

Kai gives chase, determined not to let them get away. He needs to keep hitting them to prevent them from easily recalling and getting to Tao.

 

He hears nothing, feels nothing and sees nothing but the screen in front of him. Expertly manipulating his character with his mouse, he uses ability after ability to hit his opponents before they can recall away.

 

He spots an enemy who was about to finish his recall. Clicking quickly, he uses his Arcane Shift to close the distance and land an ability to damage his opponent, effectively stopping the recall. He’s much too close to the enemy now, however, and his opponent turns to kill Kai. The screen turns grey, and Kai is screaming.

 

Z Tao’s hitting the nexus now, and he only has a few more hits before he destroys it completely.

 

A lone enemy who managed to recall away from Kai appears and tries to kill Z Tao. Z Tao manages to calmly keep hitting the nexus, using his Riftwalk to teleport around the Nexus whenever his opponent got too close.

 

A few more hits later, and Kai’s team is screaming with the crowd as the opponent’s Nexus is destroyed. They jump off their gaming chairs and hug one another with joy.

 

They’ve done it again, they’ve won the LCS Championships.

 

The next hour or so is a blur to Jongin. He climbs up the stage with his teammates towards the Summoner’s Cup. Z Tao’s crying again, and he could swear that Kris’ eyes were watering when they hoisted the cup high in the air and faced their fans. It is then announced that Kai’s the MVP of the tournament, so he walks up on stage alone to receive his award.

 

Interviews happen, and Jongin relishes in the spotlight. He’s worked hard for this, and as the undisputed victor, he deserved to bask in his glory. Praises of his shotcalling were brought out during the interview, and soon Jongin’s eagerly explaining his thought processes throughout the clean 3-0 sweep.

 

He’s back in his team’s holding room, packing up to get ready for his team’s celebration when he hears a commotion outside his door. He can hear Baekhyun shouting, and other people raising their voices at him.

 

Jongin pops his head outside the door to see his brother arguing with security. Kyungsoo and the tall man Jongin saw earlier in the day are behind his brother, looking around sheepishly at all the people who’ve begun to stare.

 

“Baekhyun,” Jongin calls out.

 

“Jongin, there you are! I’ve been telling these people I’m your brother but they won’t believe me!”

 

Jongin blinks before nodding his head when security looks at him in question. Baekhyun’s smug as he pushes through them, sauntering over to his brother before enveloping him in a big hug.

 

“Congratulations! I knew you’d win, but it was still pretty exciting!” Baekhyun sing songs.

 

Jongin tries to usher him into the privacy of his team’s holding room, when Baekhyun turns his head back and screams out.

 

“Yah! Kyungsoo, Chanyeol! Get in here! You’re with us!” He smirks at the security people for good measure. Jongin hurriedly herds the group into the room before Baekhyun manages to piss security off even further.

 

“What were you doing out there? Did you have to be so loud?”

 

“They didn’t let us in when I told them your name! Even little Chanyeol here almost thought I was lying when I told him that Kai was my brother!” He brings up a hand to pat Chanyeol in the head. The stretch was rather awkward though, since Baekhyun had to subtly tiptoe in other to reach the giant’s curly head.

 

Jongin gives Chanyeol a once over. The dude’s tall, with ears obviously too big for his head. He’s handsome, sharp features and face red as he stares at his shoes. Long fingers fiddle with the sleeves of his red and black ‘Kai’ hoodie. He’s nothing like his brother beside him, Jongin notes, whose smaller stature and owl-like eyes are quietly observing the holding room.

 

“Chanyeol, meet my brother Jongin: LCS MVP, back-to-back North American Champion and League of Legends extraordinaire. Not that you already don’t know,” Baekhyun teases.

 

Chanyeol’s face reddens further before he bows deeply, bow legged knees folding to a complete 90 degrees. Jongin’s a little confused as he stares at the dude’s scalp when Baekhyun supplies.

 

“He’s Kyungsoo’s half-brother and your number one fan,”

 

Jongin gives Kyungsoo a glance and sees him staring fondly at his brother’s hunched form. His eyes flicker to Jongin, and Jongin sees the worry behind them.

 

Jongin lightly snorts. He’d never be needlessly rude to his fans, even if they were the mortal brother of a cute and handsome from Camp Half-Blood.

 

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kai! Wanna meet my other teammates?” He smiles kindly at Chanyeol, who has finally looked up, before directing his fan’s attention to confused teammates behind him.

 

After blubbering introductions all around the room, the group leaves the stadium and heads over to a Korean barbeque place for celebration. Despite the awkward first meeting, everyone soon warms up to Chanyeol and the celebratory atmosphere returns.

 

They arrive in the Korean barbeque place, the smells and sizzling sounds of freshly cooked meat wafting through the air. They seat themselves on a long table, and Jongin makes it a point to sit away from Kyungsoo. He didn’t want to be around his crush in front of his teammates, knowing that he would definitely feel awkward. Around cooking meat and shot glasses of soju, conversation flows around the table.

 

Jongin and his teammates become rather fond of Chanyeol as the night progresses on, his battery-powered smiles, enthusiasm and fanboy tendencies a huge hit on the team. He spends the night complimenting plays, only pausing occasionally to engulf a huge wrapping of meat and vegetables.

 

Kris has had a bit too much to drink, and attempts to flirt with a passing waitress. Leaning forward, he grabs his drink and tries to smolder her with a smirk. He calls out to her as he tries to drink at the same time. It’s too much coordination for the pro player to handle, so Kris ends up mumbling something unintelligible into his drink.

 

The table erupts into guffaws of laughter, only going louder as the waitress blinks and frowns at Kris before walking away. Face flushed from more than just the alcohol, he buries himself under his hands as others mockingly imitate his failed attempt at flirting.

 

Jongin ends laughing so much that tears began forming in his eyes. He’s missed this, the human interaction. While the attention that comes with being a skillful League of Legends player is appealing, hanging out with his friends beyond the screens of a computer has its own charm.

 

He leans backwards as Baekhyun makes another uncanny imitation of Kris, when he notices Kyungsoo just beside his brother. He’s laughing too, pupils almost hidden behind crescent-formed eyes. His mouth is still heart-shaped as he laughs, and Jongin wonders how his lips can still look so soft from so far away.

 

“What are you looking at?” Kyungsoo asks, tilting his head sideways in a manner so cute that Jongin had to stop himself from cooing.

 

Laughter in the table dies down and they begin stare between Kyungsoo and Jongin questioning. Chanyeol is the last to stop laughing, and he looks at Kyungsoo, eyes widened.

 

“Hyung, do you have to go now? But we haven’t even gotten to talk properly yet,” said Chanyeol. He looks around the table guiltily, having been too distracted with being surrounded by his gaming idols to pay attention to his older brother. Jongin is grateful for the change of topic.

 

“It’s OK Chanyeol, we can always just play League of Legends together after this! What’s your IGN? We’ll add you,” said Tao.

 

Chanyeol’s eyes light up as he immediately exchanges in-game names with everyone. He’s almost finished collecting everyone’s when he remembers something important.

 

“Kyungsoo-hyung can’t play League of Legends in camp,”

 

“I play in camp regularly, so I’m sure Kyungsoo can play with you too,” Jongin opens his mouth before thinking.

 

Chanyeol grins at him and he lightly bounces in his seat. Kyungsoo’s looking at him now too, expression neutral but eyes betraying hope.

 

“Really? Kyungsoo-hyung and I don’t get to see each other often, so it would be great if he could play League with me! It’s been months since we’ve last seen each other, and I was hoping we could have talked more today,”

 

“Yeah, that’s cool. We can set up another computer in my gaming room. No problem,” Jongin wishes he could have kept his mouth shut, but he just couldn’t remain silent when Chanyeol looked so disappointed.

 

Chanyeol’s clasps his hands together in delight, and Baekhyun makes a move to get up and say goodbyes.

 

Kyungsoo and Chanyeol excuse themselves briefly to talk in private, and Jongin does the same with his teammates and friends.

 

“So, you’re going to let him play with you in your gaming room?” Tao questions Jongin as soon as the brothers are out of earshot.

 

“I don’t know, maybe …”

 

“You promised Chanyeol, “ said Tao.

 

“I’ll deal with it when the time comes,” said Jongin with finality.

 

Tao sighs and moves up to hug Jongin to say his goodbyes. Tao’s the touchy one in their team, so Jongin just receives pats on the back and fist bumps with the rest of his teammates.

 

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo return when they’re done, and Jongin is making a move to say his own goodbyes to the taller boy when Chanyeol stands rigidly in alarm. He rummages through his backpack and takes out a crumpled piece of paper and a pen. He hands them to Jongin who laughs at his antics.

 

“Chanyeol, we’re friends now. You sure you still want my autograph?” Jongin teases but signs the paper anyway. Chanyeol touches the back of his neck in embarrassment, eyes flushed with happiness at Jongin’s words.

 

Jongin, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo walk away side by side. They’re a distance away when Kyungsoo stops to turn back. Jongin imitates him and sees Chanyeol with the rest of the team laughing as the piece of paper is passed around the team and signed.

 

Kyungsoo smiles at the sight, a rare kind of smile that had him looking kinder and more mellow.

 

Jongin decides not to comment on it, and the trio walks away in silence.

 

They reach Camp Half-blood, conversation kept to a minimum in the taxi ride back home. They’re near the cabins now and are about to separate when Kyungsoo breaks the silence.

 

“Did you mean it?”

 

He’s looking at Jongin expectantly. Baekhyun, sensing the tension, excuses himself before walking onwards to leave the two alone.

 

“Mean what?”

 

“Helping me set up another computer in your gaming room so that I can talk and play with Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo’s expression is guarded, looking at Jongin as if already preparing himself for the son of Nike to go back on the promise.

 

“Of course I did, Chanyeol’s my friend now too and I want him to be happy. Plus, an LCS Champion and two-time MVP doesn’t go back on his word,” said Jongin.

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes soften, and he searches Jongin’s own for any hints of a lie or deception. He seemed be satisfied with his findings as he bows down deeply in gratitude.

 

“Thank you,”

 

Jongin feels awkward at the gesture and turns his back on Kyungsoo. He raises a hand as he marches away from his crush.

 

“Don’t mention it,” said Jongin. The distance between them widens, and Jongin’s doesn’t dare to look back for fear of revealing his impossibly red face.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Jongin was going to keep his promise… Later.

 

It’s been three days and he hasn’t spoken to Kyungsoo since that night. With the LCS Championships behind him, Jongin elected to be more involved in camp activities.

 

The weird thing for Jongin was that everything was going as smoothly. He’s still bad at most camp activities, but he’d been careful enough to avoid any more accidents (he’s EXTRA careful when he goes for archery class. Baekhyun’s impressed that his stray arrows don’t end up anywhere near the stables).

 

He still games from time to time, and has even played a few games with Chanyeol. Chanyeol had yet to mention Kyungsoo, and Jongin figures that the excitement of playing of a fan playing with his gaming idol was to blame.

 

Jongin’s interaction with Kyungsoo has been kept to a minimum. They only exchange polite smiles when their eyes meet, and Jongin makes it a point to avoid camp activities that involved the Athena cabin.

 

On the eve of the third day after the championships, though, everything changes.

 

They were having dinner in the dining pavilion. Everything was as usual: campers were enjoying their meals, Minseok was leading his cabin through an impromptu arm wrestling competition and eyeing Luhan from across the pavilion every time he managed to beat someone. As normal as a demigod camp could be.

 

Jongin was picking through his french fries, half-listening to his brother talk about possible allies for the next Capture the Flag game a few months away when Kyungsoo slipped into his side.

 

“Hi,” said Kyungsoo, reaching out to nonchalantly grab a fry from Jongin’s plate.

 

It’s a few seconds of mental processing before Jongin could utter a reply. “Uhh … Hi,”

 

Kyungsoo’s staring at him intensely now, his big eyes searching for something on Jongin’s face. Jongin suppresses the urge to visibly swallow.

 

“What’s up?”

 

Kyungsoo reaches out for another fry, chews on it thoughtfully before responding.

 

“I just wanted to ask you about when we were going to play together,” he finally says.

 

Jongin’s surprised that Kyungsoo would go out of his way to ask about it. He had figured that Kyungsoo would no longer be interested, but here he was, approaching him about it during dinnertime. Jongin knew that Kyungsoo probably just wanted to talk to Chanyeol again, but he couldn’t resist teasing his crush. Mustering up courage from his Kai persona, he replies.

 

“So eager to spend time with me in my gaming room?”

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t miss a beat before smirking back. “Well, last I heard, an LCS Champion and two-time MVP always keeps his promises.”

 

Jongin keeps his face schooled, as he carefully studies Kyungsoo. Did they just flirt with each other?

 

“So when can I come over?” Kyungsoo continues after a pregnant pause.

 

“Come over tomorrow afternoon, I’ll have everything set up for you then,”

 

Kyungsoo reaches over to try and steal another fry, but this time around Jongin’s reacts. He lightly grabs Kyungsoo’s wrist before he can succeed.

 

“These are mine, get your own,”

 

“I thought you didn’t mind sharing,” said Kyungsoo. His heart-shaped lips are slightly puffed out as he lightly smirks. Jongin curses himself for feeling absolutely smitten with wisdom’s son.

 

Baekhyun laughs out loud, bringing both boys back into earth. They give him dirty looks as he comments.

 

“What’s up with the two of you?”

 

“Nothing,” says Kyungsoo.

 

He carefully uses his other hand to pry his wrist away from Jongin’s hold, gets up from the table and walks away. Jongin could feel his fingers fluttering from where Kyungsoo had to touch them. He’s looking at the son of Athena’s retreating form when Kyungsoo turns back just before getting out of earshot.

 

“See you tomorrow,” he says. His face is serious once more, but Jongin could see the playfulness dancing behind his big eyes.

 

He returns back to Athena table, and his siblings immediately converge around him, no doubt to question what had just happened.

 

Jongin flinches when Baekhyun kicks his shin from under the table.

 

“Keep it cool! Everyone’s looking,” his brother hisses from under his breath.

 

Jongin could feel everyone’s eyes on his back, but he pays them no mind. He grabs another fry and takes a small bite from it.

 

“Let’s go back to our cabin soon, I have a gaming computer to set up,” he tells Baekhyun with a smile.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

The next day, Jongin struggles.

 

Setting up an extra PC was the easy part: he had made it a point to have two extra PCs in his modular cabin in case something were to happen to his current setup.

 

The difficult part? Deciding where to place it. He placed Kyungsoo’s computer table in the center of the room and deliberated. Jongin could easily have Kyungsoo sit away from him and have them both play back to back. That way, he could concentrate on games without a distraction because this was Kyungsoo.

 

He could also place both computers side by side, making it easier for Jongin to reach out and help Kyungsoo should he need it. This would make the whole teaching process much more effective and personal, a positive outcome because this was Kyungsoo.

 

Jongin sat on the floor, carefully mauling over the pros and cons of both options when the door behind him opens. He figures that Baekhyun must have come to check up on him, especially considering how invested he seemed to be last night on their way back to the Nike cabin.

 

“Should I have Kyungsoo sit beside or behind me?” asks Jongin.

 

“I think being beside you would make it easier for you teach me. I know next to nothing on League of Legends,” comes the reply.

 

Jongin jumps up and turns frantically around. Kyungsoo is standing at the doorway, smirking at Jongin. Well that was embarrassing.

 

Jongin gathers himself quickly and starts moving the new computer table towards his old setup.

 

“Thanks for the input. For a second there I thought you just wanted to sit beside me,”

 

Kyungsoo blinks at Jongin owlishly and remains mute. He moves towards his seat and begins cracking his fingers.

 

“Are we going to just flirt all day or are we actually going to get some gaming done?” Kyungsoo finally says.

 

Flirt? Does that mean that Kyungsoo was indeed flirting with him last night? Jongin mentally files the line for in-depth analysis with Baekhyun later tonight.

 

“You ready? This could get pretty complicated and you have to absorb a lot of info,” says Jongin as he makes a move to power on both computers.

 

Kyungsoo snorts. “I’m a son of Athena, I was born to take in a lot of info.”

 

Jongin smiles, launches both game clients and starts teaching.

 

“That was too much info,” says Kyungsoo as the Victory Screen flashes across both their screens.

 

“You didn’t do too bad. You only died like... 19 times,”

 

“You didn’t die at all and got 22 kills,” Kyungsoo mutters under his breath. “I didn’t know what’ was happening half the time. Is it normal to die so much on your first time?”

 

“Well ...” Jongin trails off. “This is just a bots game, so not really. Player vs Player matches are way more difficult, because actual opponents are smarter.”

 

Jongin quickly adds when he notices Kyungsoo’s face fall. “But you don’t need to worry though, you’ll get there!”

 

“When will we get to play with Chanyeol?” asks Kyungsoo sullenly.

 

“Hopefully a few days from now! You wouldn’t want to completely in front of Chanyeol, right?”

 

Kyungsoo jabs Jongin arms, making the younger flinch.

 

“Completely ? This was my first time. Maybe you’re just a terrible teacher,“

 

Jongin keeps quiet, opting not to mention that Baekhyun had caught on much more quickly and had been a better student when he expressed interest in League of Legends last year.

 

“Are we gonna play another game? I need to get better to play with Chanyeol in the future.”

 

Jongin takes a few seconds to think. “You just try to play on your own first. I’ll sit beside you this time around and guide you through.”

 

He scoots himself closer to Kyungsoo and leads him through another game. Kyungsoo seems to fair better this time around, making less mistakes and eventually getting the hang of things.

 

Soon, Jongin’s able to let Kyungsoo navigate through the game on his own. Jongin could see Kyungsoo chew on his lip in concentration, eyes darting around the screen as he navigates his champion ‘Annie’ around the map.

 

Jongin’s too caught up on staring when Kyungsoo’s eyes turn on him, shining bright in excitement.

 

“Did Y\you see that? I used the combo you thought me and managed to kill someone!”

 

“Huh?” Jongin mutters unintelligibly.

 

“You weren’t paying attention,”

 

“I was!”

 

“You were too busy staring at my face to notice,”

 

“W-What? No I wasn’t!”

 

Kyungsoo snorts before concentrating on his game once more.

 

“You can stare as much as you want, as long as you keep teaching me while you’re at it,”

 

Jongin swallows. Was Kyungsoo flirting with him again? Shaking off the idea in the meantime, he goes back to guiding Kyungsoo along.

____________________________________________________________________________

 

“He’s definitely flirting with you,” Baekhyun exclaims as Jongin finishes his re-telling of the day’s events. Both brothers are in their cabin, getting ready for bed.

 

“I’m not really sure but…”

 

“Yes, he is, don’t deny it! And though you at it, you’re flirting back too!”

 

Jongin throws a pillow at his brother’s direction, but Baekhyun’s quick enough to dodge.

 

“After so many years, he’s finally noticed you!” Baekhyun teases.

 

“But why now? It’s not like I’m getting any better at being a demigod,”

 

“Maybe it’s because of the LCS Championships? He’s realized how attractive you can be when you’re winning, even though you’re still a giant dork to me,”

 

“Have you won any championships in North America at all? Or even MVP awards? Face it, Baekhyun, I’m the more recognized winner between the both of us,” Jongin teases back.

 

Baekhyun jumps on Jongin’s and they wrestle for a little while. They’re both squealing and laughing by the end of it, settling for a truce when they’re out of breath. They settle together on Jongin’s bed, side by side.

 

“Do you think he really likes me?” Jongin whispers once both of them are done panting.

 

“What’s not to like?”

 

“I’m still a loser …”

 

At that, Baekhyun sits up. He lightly slaps his brother across the face, and Jongin’s too stunned to do anything.

 

“You are Jongin and Kai: a back-to-back LCS Champion and MVP. You’ve proven time and time again that you’re unbeatable in League of Legends,” Baekhyun is screaming now. “You’re also a Son of Victory. Neither of us are losers.“

 

“But …”

 

Baekhyun snarls and punches his brother in the arm.

 

“You may at sword-fighting, archery, rock climbing and other demigod activities, but that doesn’t erase the fact that you’re a League of Legends superstar. Winning is your birthright, and you’ve already proven yourself.”

 

Baekhyun climbs back on his own bed and lies down, back facing his brother as he tucks himself in.

 

Jongin takes a few minutes to process what his brother just said. His cheeks and arms are aching, but he finds that he deserves it.

 

“You’re right, I’m sorry for doubting myself,” Jongin says into the quiet room.

 

Baekhyun makes a sound of disapproval and says nothing else.

 

Jongin drifts to sleep with a smile, mind racing with what he could teach Kyungsoo in the days to come.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Kyungsoo manages to die less in the next few days. He gets the basics of the game down and has managed to steadily improve at League of Legends as expected.

 

What comes as a surprise, however, is how close Jongin and Kyungsoo have become ever since. They occasionally talk about topics beyond the game, and Jongin has learnt so much more about Kyungsoo.

 

“So cooking is your hobby?” Jongin lightly laughs.

 

Kyungsoo frowns at that, eyes still focused on the game on his screen as he replies. “What’s wrong with that?”

 

“Nothing, I just assumed it would’ve been reading or something. Child of Athena and all,”

 

“Cooking requires knowledge and wisdom too. Idiots like you probably can’t cook,”

 

“Hey!”

 

Kyungsoo smirks and keeps quiet. Agitated at the exchange, Jongin pushes himself extra hard and manages to hard carry the game they’re both on. He’s satisfied when ends the game with a 24/1/0 kill score in comparison to Kyungsoo’s 3/6/11.

 

Kyungsoo sighs as the victory screen flashes across both their screen. “Do you Nike kids always have to be competitive about everything?”

 

“What’re you talking about? I wasn’t even trying,” Jongin lies smoothly.

 

Kyungsoo gives him a deadpan look.

 

“When do I get to pay with Chanyeol?”

 

“Soon. Oh look, he’s online now!”

 

Jongin sends Chanyeol a discord call, and he immediately accepts.

 

“Hi hyung! Wanna duo with me?”

 

“Yeah, sure, just give me a minute. Someone here wants to talk to you,”

 

Jongin adds Kyungsoo to the call. Kyungsoo’s surprised, and it takes him a few seconds to start speaking.

 

“Chanyeol,”

 

Chanyeol gasps and immediately launches into a conversation with his older brother. Kyungsoo is awkward at first, looking at Jongin on occasion. Jongin smiles in encouragement, states that he doesn’t really mind, and Kyungsoo gets more into his conversation with Chanyeol.

 

Jongin silently observes Kyungsoo as he chats with his brother. The son of Athena’s eyes are almost always in crescents, heart-shaped lips wide open as he continuously laughs at everything Chanyeol says.

 

Jongin can’t help but wonder how those lips would feel against his own, how great it would be if Kyungsoo laughed at the things he said and… Wait... What?

 

He shakes his head vigorously to get rid of the mental images. He shouldn’t be thinking of those things, it’d probably never happen.

 

“Jongin …?” Kyungsoo is looking at him strangely now. “You gonna play with Chanyeol now or what?”

 

“Oh, Kyungsoo hyung, are you going to join us too?” Chanyeol asks excitedly over the call.

 

“Not yet,” Kyungsoo replies smoothly.

 

“Why not?”

 

Jongin grins at Kyungsoo, waiting for his response. Kyungsoo gives a dramatic sigh before speaking.

 

“Because I still ,”

 

Chanyeol heartily laughs and Kyungsoo’s cheeks redden.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

“He’s going to come in from the back, so save your abilities for when he commits,” commands Jongin.

 

He and Chanyeol are a team fight away from winning the game, and all they have to do is protect Jongin from the enemy assassin. The enemy Talon jumps up the wall and makes a dash for Jongin. Expecting it, Chanyeol immediately flays him away and Jongin is able to quickly kill him.

“We win!” said Chanyeol, enthusiastic as a team fight ensues with a disadvantage for the opposing team.

 

Jongin is able to play the fight perfectly, keeping his distance away and dodging enemy abilities with ease. A minute later, they’re at the Victory screen.

 

Chanyeol’s cheers are infectious, and Jongin finds himself laughing along with the taller mortal.

 

“What did you think, Kyungsoo?” asks Chanyeol when he’s done laughing.

 

Kyungsoo is looking quizzically at Jongin, mind racing. “You did great, although Jongin is still the better player,”

 

Chanyeol splutters as Jongin laughs. “I’m not a League of Legends prodigy or LCS Champion; you can’t compare us like that!”

 

Kyungsoo teases Chanyeol a little further, clearly enjoying his half-brothers whines of protest. Jongin is surprised when Kyungsoo cuts their conversation short.

 

“Listen Chanyeol, we gotta go. Camp stuff. We’ll talk to you later?”

 

“Oh, right, sure! Pomise that we’ll play together soon?”

 

“Yeah, when I don’t as much so you don’t get to make fun of me,”

 

Chanyeol laughs at that before saying his goodbye. The call ends, and Jongin’s nervous when it’s just him and Kyungsoo.

 

“You’re a good strategist,” Kyungsoo points out.

 

“What?”

 

“You’re good at coming up with strategies on the fly, and you can think tactically,”

 

“Yeah, and?”

 

“Let’s work together again for Capture the Flag,”

 

This time, it’s Jongin’s turn to blink owlishly. “You want to work with me again? Did you forget what happened the last time?”

 

“Of course not, I just think that if we work together we could beat all of them even harder. It’ll teach them not to mess with the Athena cabin,”

 

“What? What did they do to you?”

 

Kyungsoo taps on the table mindlessly as he replies. “Since we lost, the camp has been looking down on our cabin’s ability to think strategically. It’s been a pretty tough few months; even my siblings have been questioning themselves since then,” said Kyungsoo. “It’d really help if we work together again and crush our opponents hard.”

 

Kyungsoo slight manic smile gives Jongin the chills. Kyungsoo has been so different with him the past few days, he had forgotten about his scary reputation.

 

“I’m not sure …”

 

“You’re doing it,” said Kyungsoo with finality.

 

He gets up, stretches and heads to the door. “If we hurry, we could still go watch some sword fighting lessons.”

 

“Wait, I haven’t even agreed to anything!”

 

“Just shut up and do it. You owe me for ruining my plans two months ago.”

 

“About that… I never really got to apologize …”

 

“I know you didn’t really mean it. You’re just a dumb Nike kid with a weird for victory,”

 

Indignant, Jongin begins his retort but Kyungsoo cuts him off again.

 

“Consider yourself forgiven if you promise to work with me for the next Capture the Flag. We’ll win together.”

 

Kyungsoo walks out of the cabin. He’s at the doorway, about to exit out into the afternoon sunlight when he looks back.

 

“You with me or what?”

 

Jongin nods his once and gets up to follow Kyungsoo to the combat arena.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Jongin could think of many things more fun to do than watching Minseok try to slice Luhan in half.

 

To another camper, it may have looked pretty intense: Minseok using two hands to wield a big sword while a lithe Luhan cleanly evades each slice. Their deadly dance was balancing off a knife’s edge — one wrong move and blood is shed.

 

But Jongin could clearly see the pointlessness of it all.

 

Kyungsoo questions him about it when Jongin speaks out his mind.“What do you mean? They’re both really into it,”

 

“They’re into each other more than they are with the fight,” said Jongin.

 

As if to prove a point, Luhan accidentally stumbles after a particularly tough dodge. He nearly slips into the ground, but Minseok is faster and catches him by the waist. They’re both breathing heavily now, face to face. Realizing the awkwardness of their situation, Minseok slowly lowers the Aphrodite boy to the ground, fight forgotten.

 

“See? If Minseok was concentrating on landing a hit, he would’ve subconsciously taken advantage of Luhan’s fall,” said Jongin, tone almost bored.

 

Kyungsoo remains silent as the two boys halt their sparring while Minseok fusses over Luhan. Obviously enjoying the attention, Luhan lightly caresses Minseok’s forearms in reassuring .

 

They both move off to the side, Minseok insisting on carrying a blushing Luhan (“You could have sprained something, let’s not exert pressure on your ankles just to be safe,”). Both Aphrodite and Ares cabins have formed a loose semi-circle around their two head counselors. Jongin could almost see the pleased glows around the Aphrodite cabin members as Minseok fusses over Luhan.

 

Kyungsoo moves towards them while Jongin slowly trails behind.

 

“You okay there, Lu?” said Kyungsoo as he kneels beside Luhan, brows furrowed skeptically as he eyes the undamaged ankle.

 

“I’m fine, Minseok’s just being his overdramatic self again,” Luhan sighs. “Hey Jongin, nice to see you out and about!”

 

Minseok looks up when he hears the name, nods at both newcomers before going back to carefully turning Luhan’s foot carefully in his hands.

 

Jongin smiles awkwardly in response while Kyungsoo continues. “We’re just taking a walk around camp to chat. We’ve decided to work together again for the next Capture the Flag.”

 

Jongin doesn’t know why, but the Aphrodite kids seemed to glow after Kyungsoo’s statement. Luhan raises a perfectly threaded brow before his lips rise to a full smirk.

 

“Oh you’re working together again? That’s nice. Is that why you’ve been spending so much time in the Nike cabin lately?” asks Luhan smoothly, eyeing both boys for a reaction.

 

Jongin’s too stunned to say anything, but fortunately Kyungsoo is quick to respond.

 

“He’s been helping me with something. A personal matter.”

 

Jongin could feel himself begin to sweat under the intense scrutiny of the Ares and Aphrodite cabin. He could practically feel the wave of satisfaction emanating from the Aphrodite kids now.

 

“Is that so? Well don’t let us stop you now. Run along, the both of you,” Luhan shoos them both away.

 

Kyungsoo says his goodbye and they both walk out of the combat arena.

 

“What was that all about?” Jongin whispers under his breath when they’ve both gotten out of earshot of the two cabins.

 

Kyungsoo shrugs and changes the topic. “We should head to the beach. Suho and Chen might be sparring there now. I swear, the two of them spend so much time together they should just date.”

 

Kyungsoo increases his pace before Jongin could respond. Not really knowing what to say to that, Jongin elects to keep quiet when he finally catches up to wisdom’s son.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

 

The following weeks leading to Capture the Flag were weird, but they were also some of the best weeks Jongin has ever had in camp. Kyungsoo is to blame for both reasons, really.

 

Every day, Kyungsoo would bring him all around camp and they’d make observations on campers together. They formulated ideas and discussed everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. Campers began notice the two boys’ hanging together around camp more frequently and occasionally approach Kyungsoo to say hi.

 

With Kyungsoo being a well-known camper, this resulted in Jongin being introduced to many people. Jongin could now comfortably say that he was a somewhat friends them. It was fascinating to put personalities behind faces and names that he had known for many years.

 

Jongin had discovered that Sehun was sweet behind his y exterior, excitedly dragging Jongin around camp for a one day makeover. Jongin became familiar with The Camp Store’s fashion options and the inside of the Aphrodite cabin; He still felt weirded out by how pink a single place could be. Nonetheless, he was grateful for Sehun’s introduction to better fitting clothing.

 

He hadn’t known how much fun poking at Suho could be until he had developed a friendship with him and Chen. While he had been intimidated by Zeus’ and Poseidon’s sons at first, Jongin soon learned of how cheeky Chen could be and how Suho’s mothering nature was more dangerous than his ability to manipulate water. More than once had Jongin become a victim to Suho’s intense chastising after he had worked with Chen to prank Poseidon’s son.

 

Jongin also became less scared of archery thanks to Yixing’s kindness. The Apollo boy had taken it upon himself to slowly reintroduce archery to Jongin with one on one lessons. Having known about Jongin’s past experience with the unicorns, he had slowly guided Jongin into being less fearful of bows. While still not a marksman by any means, Jongin was grateful for Yi Xing’s help.

 

Jongin also gained two new sword teachers in Luhan and Minseok. Both head counsellors were patient with Jongin, their teaching methods feeling much more humane than Baekhyun’s. Unlike Baekhyun who took great joy in beating Jongin up half the time, they took time to correct and instruct Jongin on ways he could move himself in a fight better. Luhan, however, also had a habit of asking Jongin about his friendship with Kyungsoo. Aphrodite’s son would squeal in delight whenever Jongin talked about it. Jongin didn’t really understand why Luhan was so excited about it, so he just brushed it off as a quirk in Luhan’s personality.

 

Overall, Jongin became much more accustomed to camp life. He still preferred hanging out with Kyungsoo and gaming together (the Athena kid now regularly played with Jongin and Chanyeol, though the more experienced two always ended up snickering whenever Kyungsoo made silly, unforced errors), but Jongin could appreciate and even looked forward to doing normal camp activities.

 

Baekhyun had been particularly happy to share camp experiences with his recently more involved brother. Jongin had made it a point to direct Baekhyun to a newly found, more physically capable friend whenever his brother found the need to challenge him. It felt good to ask Luhan or Sehun to deal with Baekhyun whenever his brother challenged him to a sword fight.

While his experiences in camp have been great thus far, Jongin couldn’t shake off the weirdness in his relationship with Kyungsoo. More often than not after they hung out, Jongin had been left a blushing and confused mess thanks to some not-so-subtle flirting. Kyungsoo had recently developed the habit of dragging Jongin around camp by hand and sitting shoulder-to shoulder whenever they were together

 

Many of Jongin’s newfound friends about it in private, but Jongin really wasn’t sure if Kyungsoo was just being friendly with him or if all his actions meant something more. Jongin figured that he shouldn’t be pushing his luck. The gods have already blessed him with friends in Camp Half-blood through Kyungsoo, so he shouldn’t be asking for more.

 

Nevertheless, Jongin greatly enjoyed the times he got to spend time with Kyungsoo.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

A few weeks later, it’s Capture the Flag again, and campers are once again marching towards the forest. Jongin’s helmet is still too big and keeps sliding down the sides of his head, his wobbling legs not helping. The feeling of déjà vu is enough to make Jongin want to puke out his lunch.

 

The blue team reaches Zeus’ fist, and everybody gathers around Jongin, Kyungsoo and some members of the Athena cabin who are unfurling a big map of the forest. Jongin can feel the waves of excitement from everyone around him, and Jongin fights off another urge to puke.

 

When the map is laid flat on the ground, Kyungsoo looks at Jongin with a small smile. “Lead us through, Jongin.”

 

Oh gods. Jongin can’t do it. He freezes on the spot as the blue team looks at him in expectation.

 

“Uhm …”

 

“Come on Kai, we don’t have all day. Tell us what to do already,” said Baekhyun, eyes stone cold on his brother.

 

His brother’s words shake Jongin up, but he gets the message. Jongin was Kai, and Kai was Jongin. As a League of Legends prodigy gifted with a tactical mind, Jongin could do this. He takes a deep breath.

 

“Sehun, ” Jongin commands and the blue team turns silent.

 

“Take the Aphrodite Cabin and charge Suho when you see him. He’ll most likely be on the creek where he’s strongest. Spread yourselves out and use your numbers to try and get close to him,”

 

Sehun nods in approval, but the rest of the Aphrodite cabins looks skeptical.

 

“Don’t be scared of Suho, he won’t throw anything too hard on you. He’s much too mother-like to hurt you guys so he’ll be holding back, especially considering how you guys have never expressed much interest in fighting,”

 

“Luhan, I need you to charge Minseok directly,” continues Jongin. “If you can beat him quick, I’ll see what I can do in getting you guys a chance to go on a date in the city,”

 

Luhan, who was initially smiling, tilts his head in confusion.

 

“You know Minseok likes you too much to try and hurt you. And normally, you wouldn’t hurt him either. But if you can neutralize him quick, I’ll help you guys get permission to leave camp for a date. Everything will be paid for, of course. After you get him, deal with the rest of the Ares cabin.”

 

Though his face is red, Luhan manages to look Jongin in the eye and nod. Jongin wisely neglects to mention how he wouldn’t mind getting them a hotel room either. He can discuss that with Luhan privately after they win the game.

 

“Chen, stay back and defend the flag,”

 

The blue team stirs at that, and voices are raised at Jongin.

 

“That makes no sense, Chen should be in front,”

 

“He’s our strongest member, he should go toe to toe with Suho to be honest,”

 

“Chen and Suho are too cute together to be separated,”

 

“Quiet down,” Kyungsoo commands. “Chen’s the only one able to handle more than one enemy going for him. He’s our best shot at keeping the flag safe.”

 

Jongin takes advantage of the silence that follows. “The rest of us are going to spread ourselves out and try to get the red team’s flag.”

 

“Wait, all of us are going to try and get their flag alone?” questions Baekhyun.

 

“We need to try and get the flag as quickly as possible, so we’ll split up to cover as much ground as possible. Besides, it’s just the rest Athena cabin and the two of us, Baekhyun. They’re pretty crafty, and we’re sons of Nike so….”

 

“So Victory is our birthright,” Baekhyun finishes with a grin and thumbs up.

 

Jongin can’t help his own smile from forming at his brother’s enthusiasm. “That’s pretty much it, any questions? No, then let’s get moving.”

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

“Jongin, maybe two of us should stick and look for the red team’s flag together” Kyungsoo says when most of the blue team has dispersed.

 

“That makes no sense. We need to cover as much ground as possible,” said Jongin.

 

“But …” Kyungsoo bites on his his cheeks, as if wanting to argue with Jongin further. He doesn’t pursue it though, and Jongin figures that wisdom’s son was just worried for him.

 

“I’ll be alright, Soo. I won’t do anything irrational, and I won’t lose us this game. Not again,” said Jongin, voice hardened and determined.

 

Before Kyungsoo could get a reply in, Jongin runs off into the depths of the forest.

 

It’s a few minutes of running before conch shell sounds off in the distance, indicating the start of Capture the Flag. Jongin could hear the clash of metal on metal and the war cries of campers far away to his right.

 

Was the plan going ok? Was everything going smoothly or did Jongin miscalculate? He knew he shouldn’t do it, but Jongin couldn’’t resist. He takes a sharp turn right and runs towards the fighting.

 

He’s carefully crouched behind thick foliage, the sounds of fighting having never been closer. Taking a deep breath, he sticks his head out and is pleased by what he sees.

 

Suho is a lone island on the creek, surrounded entirely by the Aphrodite cabin. Sehun launches himself forward but is blasted away with water. Taking advantage of the distraction, the rest of the Aphrodite cabin inch themselves closer to Suho until Poseidon’s son manage to face them again. Jongin knows that it’s only a matter of time before he’s overwhelmed.

 

Luhan is separated from his cabin, fending off the Ares cabin coming at him from multiple sides. The Ares kids seem particularly bloodthirsty to Jongin, and he soon sees out the reason why; Minseok is an unmoving heap on the forest floor, broadsword a few meters away from his outstretched hand. Jongin would be worried, but the glances of concern Luhan occasionally throws at the unconscious figure is reassuring. No way in the underworld would Luhan be able to seriously harm Ares’ son. Jongin hopes that one of his sword fighting teacher wouldn’t get too mad at his instructions to Luhan. He puts the worry out of of mind though, because Jongin knew that the promise of an out-of-camp date with Luhan was sure to pacify Minseok’s displeasure.

 

Jongin slips himself out of his hiding spot and runs away from the primary fighting location. Though the plan was working, Jongin knew that only the red team’s flag being carried across the boundary line would guarantee complete victory.

 

Jongin wanders around the forest, keeping his eyes peeled for any red team members. It’s a slow process, darting around from tree to tree to ensure that enemies don’t easily spot him.

 

He hears the crunch of twigs snapping the rustle of leaves approaching from the left, so he quickly ducks behind a tree. Two Apollo kids emerge from the branches and run past Jongin’s hiding place.

 

Jongin lets out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding and steels himself to move towards the direction his opponents came from. He keeps his body hunched over as he crouches onwards.

 

It isn’t long before he reaches a clearing in the forest. A spout of water and steam shoots up about five metres into the air from a hole in the center of the clearing. Water splatters onto the ground, and Jongin can see how most of the water pools around the geyser hole. He was in Pete’s Geysers.

 

Towards the east side of Pete’s Geysers were three Apollo kids standing guard around the red team flag. With their bows notched, they surveyed the forest edge surrounding the geysers. Yixing was nearest to the flag, and Jongin just had enough time to press himself behind a tree before the healer could spot him as he scanned the forest.

 

Jongin could feel his heart racing in his chest. He was so close! All he needed to do was overpower the three guards, snatch the flag and run towards his side of the creek. Victory was so close he could practically taste it.

 

He took a few more deep breaths and readied himself to bolt towards the flag. Ignoring his better instincts, he was about to dash out his hiding spot when a hand grabs him by the neck and slams him hard into the ground.

 

Jongin starts flailing against the forest floor, attempting to loosen himself from his attacker’s hold when a hand presses against his mouth to silence him.

 

“Shhh,” his attacker commands, big eyes glaring menacingly at the defenseless son of victory.

 

Kyungsoo’s brows are furrowed and Jongin can sense how pissed off he was. Taking advantage of the Son of Nike’s flustered state, Kyungsoo pinches Jongin hard on his side and makes him yelp.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Kyungsoo whispers harshly at Jongin who’s still too stunned to reply. “You were about to run in there and get yourself captured! There’s no way you could have taken them all down by yourself!”

 

“I … Uhm …”

 

“Your victory was about to cause us the game again,”

 

Jongin raises his voice, indignant. “I don’t have a …”

 

“Keep your voice down!” Kyungsoo hisses.

 

Jongin composes himself, reigning in the pressing need to sprint out of from his hiding place and towards the flag. Once Kyungsoo sensed Jongin returning to his normal self, he lets him go and helps him back up to his knees.

 

Kyungsoo helps Jongin dust himself off, and Jongin could feel his cheeks beginning to turn red. Kyungsoo was touching him all over for gods’ sake.

 

“You okay? You’re looking a little red,” whispers Kyungsoo.

 

“I’m fine! Just tell me what you’re doing here,”

 

“I just happened to run into you in the nick of time. You should be more grateful,” Kyungsoo turns his face away from Jongin.

 

“You were following me,”

 

“So what if I was? If I hadn’t done so you would’ve ran in there hopelessly and end up being taken as a prisoner,”

 

Jongin smirks at Kyungsoo’s response, and this time around it’s Kyungsoo’s turn to redden.

 

“Wow, you really do like me, huh?” Jongin teases.

 

“This isn’t the right time to discuss that. We still need to get their flag,”

 

Jongin couldn’t help but realize that Kyungsoo didn’t deny the statement. He feels pleased with the realization, and is unable to help the -eating grin from forming on his face.

 

Kyungsoo continues. “You go in first and try to draw them away from the flag. Goad them into fighting with you close combat, it won’t work if they just shoot at you with their bows,”

 

“How in Hades do I do that?”

 

“I don’t know. Get creative. Aren’t you supposed to be good at that?”

 

“Fine, then what will you do?”

 

“I’ll sneak around and snatch the flag from under their noses,”

 

The plan was simple and solid, except for one tiny detail that bugged Jongin. “Wait, but I want to be the one to carry the flag to our side of the boundary line,”

 

“Get real, Jongin. I can run faster than you. And with your sense of coordination, you’ll probably just stumble and get captured before you run past the creek,”

 

It made sense to Jongin, but he still can’t shake off the desire to carry the flag. He needed to be the one the hoist the flag up in the air as the blue team cheered his name; he needed to be the one with victory.

 

“I want to carry the flag,”

 

“Use that tactical head of yours and give me one good reason why you should do it, ”

 

Jongin keeps silent, unable to form an argument for his case. There’s nothing but the sounds of the forest between the two of them, and Kyungsoo takes it for an answer. Kyungsoo makes a move to get up, and Jongin panics.

 

“I need to be victorious, Kyungsoo. It’s the only way people in camp will respect me. They think so little of me as it is. I can’t always be known as victory’s loser,”

 

Kyungsoo takes a few moments to process Jongin’s words before carefully wording his next statement.

 

“You don’t need to be the one to carry the flag for people to respect you Jongin. Today was mostly your plan, everyone knows that,”

 

“But …”

 

“Would you rather we risk this one more time, Jongin. Thanks to your stubbornness?”

 

“No, but,”

 

“People will respect you because you’re you, Jongin. You’ve made friends the past few months because you came out of your shell, and not because they know you’re Kai,”

 

Kyungsoo continues. “Everyone in camp knows you for your stubbornness, kindness and tactical mind, Jongin. And also for your density in not realizing others’ feelings even when it’s right under your nose.”

 

Kyungsoo gives him a pointed look, and Jongin feels nervous once again. What was Kyungsoo trying to tell him?

 

“We don’t have time to argue about this. Are you going to cooperate or not?”

 

Jongin decides not to argue any further, consenting to Kyungsoo’s with a murmur of assent.

 

With that, Kyungsoo creeps away from Jongin and vanishes into the undergrowth. Jongin gives it a few more seconds before getting up and walking confidently into the clearing.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

 

An arrow whizzes pass his head, and Jongin can’t help himself from whimpering. He prays to the gods that Kyungsoo was too busy moving in the forest to have heard that.

 

The female Apollo kid is notching another arrow when Jongin raises his arms up in surrender.

 

“Wait, wait. Why do you need to shoot at me? You guys too chicken to fight me up close?”

 

She pays him no heed and launches another arrow. Jongin manages to tumble away and get back up to his feet. It was a good move, in all honesty, but Jongin just at executing it. He ended up scraping an elbow against a stone on the forest floor.

 

The two Apollo kids cackle at Jongin’s now bleeding form, and Yixing politely hides a giggle behind his mouth.

 

“I can help you with that, Jongin. It shouldn’t take too long to heal. Just surrender already. You’re being stupid,” said Yixing, dimpled face showing as he smiled.

 

Jongin was tempted to take the healer up on the offer, but he manages to swallow through the sting of pain.

 

“Fight me! I’ll beat all three of you and redeem myself as a Son of Victory. Or are you guys too afraid of how much stronger I’ve become the past few months?”

 

“Stop playing, Jongin. The entire camps knows you’re … not the best at sword fighting,” Yixing smiles at the end of his statement, trying to soften the blow.

 

“So? We won’t know until we try, right? I bet I can take all three of you together even when we’re injured. Luhan and Minseok have been training me, and you guys have no idea how awesome I am now,” Jongin lies.

 

The Apollo kids laugh at that, their laughter becoming stronger when Jongin shakily brings up his sword to a fighting stance. Jongin thanked the gods for Nike children’s reputation of being victory-obsessed idiots.

 

Apollo’s children draw their own swords and move towards Jongin. Jongin’s elated; his plan was working! His relief is short-lived, however, when the three Apollo kids begin to near him. He hadn’t thought this far ahead.

 

The female Apollo kids launches herself at him first, and Jongin’s slightly grateful all three don’t come at him together. Jongin parries the strike, and they begin their dance.

 

Jongin hears Luhan’s voice in his head, warning him to keep his arms raised and eyes sharp. Minseok is there too, telling Jongin to keep his feet moving and keep fighting back. Jongin slashes downwards and the female Apollo dodges to her left. She returns the favour with a strike and Jongin’s barely able to block it.

 

He stumbles backwards, breathing heavily and barely keeping his sword arm up. His arms are aching now, and he can feel his body about to give way. The Apollo girl is looking at him incredulously, as if wondering how he’s still standing.

 

Jongin’s confused too. Can Minseok and Luhan’s sword fighting lessons really help him that much? He’s about to start doubting himself when he notices Kyungsoo creeping towards the flag. Yixing and his siblings are too engrossed with Jongin, inching slowly towards him.

 

“Surprised? I have more of that coming for you,” Jongin bluffs and their eyes harden. The geyser shoots another jet of water and steam upwards. The clearing is filled with mist and the splash of water hitting the ground.

 

The Apollo boy approaches Jongin now, and Jongin raises his sword arm again. He stabs forward and Jongin responds with a strike of his own.

 

He and Jongin fight for a little bit, and Jongin can feel the Apollo boy putting more strength into each strike. It’s getting tougher to try and fend him off, but Jongin strengthens his resolve. Kyungsoo’s reached the flag now and he’s slowly pulling it out of the ground, Jongin can’t let him down now,

 

Energized, Jongin puts in more weight behind each attack, pulling an animalistic snarl from the Apollo boy. They break apart for a moment again, and all three Apollo kids are more annoyed than before. They shift their fighting stances lower to the ground, no longer smirking at Jongin.

 

“Let’s go,” Yixing commands, and all three of them come at Jongin.

 

Jongin begins panicking. They don’t give him a moment to breathe, each Apollo member taking turns to attack him. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes of fighting, but Jongin can already feel his body about to give way. At least Kyungsoo and the flag are gone now, Jongin was able to briefly catch the son of Athena looking back before running out of the clearing.

 

Jongin slips on a wet part of the ground and falls clumsily to his knees. He’s on all fours on the ground, trying desperately to catch his breath. His only consolation was that all three Apollo kids were breathing heavily too.

 

“Wow, you really did improve Jongin-ah,” said Yixing between breaths. “But you’re reaching your limit.”

 

“We’ll… see… about that,” Jongin manages to say between breaths.

 

He racks his brain for a solution, staring at his own reflection on the ground. What should he do now? He knew for a fact that Yixing was right, he can’t win like this. Jongin can see how much of a mess he’s become against his reflection on the water surface. Sweat was pouring from his face and snaking down his chin, only to drop to the ground and create ripples.  Wait, the water? He knew what to do.

 

He gets back up on his feet shakily, manic grin on his face.

 

“Come at me, “ Jongin taunts.

 

Yixing dashes forward and swords clash again. Jongin slowly draws them backwards, moving their fight closer and closer to the geyser. Jongin’s body starts failing him, and his weakening grip on his sword allows Yixing to easily disarm him.

 

Jongin’s sword lands a few meters away with a splash. All three of Apollo’s children point their swords at Jongin, satisfaction and relief clear on their face. Jongin, however, felt no fear. Any moment now.

 

“Give it up Jongin, you lost,” said Yixing, voice still aggravatingly polite.

 

“I’m a son of Nike… ”

 

The geyser begins to rumble, but Apollo’s children pay it no mind.

 

“... so I always win,” said Jongin, grin in place as he turns his head to look at the geyser behind him. The Apollo kids follow his vision, all three heads comically tilting sideways in confusion.

 

The geyser releases another jet of water and steam into the air. Jongin rolls away just in time as water lands on where he previously was. The Apollo kids aren’t so quick though, and soon they’re drenched in hot water. Yixing and his siblings scream and run away, furiously flicking water away from their now steaming bodies.

 

Jongin pauses just long enough to observe whether they were in any immediate danger. Fortunately, they just seemed redder than usual, kinda like their father’s sacred cattle. Figuring that they would be alright, he doesn’t stay any longer and runs away from Pete’s Geysers.

 

It’s slow going with his tired body but he forges on through the forest. He hopes Kyungsoo made it out okay with the flag.

 

As he nears the clearing, shouts of victory get louder and louder. His heart beats a little faster and he finds himself tripping more often on exposed roots and fallen branches. Was it the blue or red team celebrating? He could now faintly make out a group of campers gathered together from the gaps between the tree trunks, but nothing clear enough to give him certainty.

 

He stumbles out from behind a thick cluster of trunks and branches, and into the creek.

 

Across the boundary line, Kyungsoo is being raised above blue team shoulders, a gleaming Athena flag in one hand. He’s surrounded by a sea of blue team campers screaming out his name: “Kyungsoo! Kyungsoo! Kyungsoo!”

 

Jongin knew he should be happy, but all he could taste was the bitterness in his mouth. Everything had gone according to his plans and his team had won. Almost everything, he thinks as he watches the blue team shouting Kyungsoo’s name from across the creek.

 

Kyungsoo turns towards Jongin’s direction and he catches sight of Nike’s son.

 

“Jongin!” he shouts. Kyungsoo allows himself to be dropped slowly to the ground, callously passes the flag to another blue team member and runs towards Jongin. All Jongin could do was stare at wisdom’s son in confusion as he wades through the creek towards Jongin.

 

It didn’t make sense. Why was Kyungsoo abandoning the team cheering his name? Why was he walking with purpose towards him when he should be basking in the limelight of his victory?

 

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin asks in confusion when Kyungsoo’s only a few more steps away. That’s all he gets to say, however, because Kyungsoo immediately presses his lips against Jongin’s.

 

Stunned, Jongin has no idea what to do and remains unmoving, the whites of his eyes going so wide it could rival Kyungsoo’s. Kyungsoo holds himself there for a few seconds before unlocking his lips and taking a step back. Jongin could feel his face burning up and his lips tingle. The entire forest was silent now.

 

“We won, and it’s all thanks to you,” said Kyungsoo without meeting Jongin in the eye. “I may have been the one to carry the flag across the boundary line, but I wouldn’t have been able to do so if your plan hadn’t worked so well. Isn’t that right?”

 

Kyungsoo whips his head back towards the blue team, as if daring them to say otherwise. He glares at their stunned faces until they nod their heads in agreement.

 

“If you didn’t distract all three Apollo guards, I would never have been able to sneak up on the flag and steal it.”

 

Right on time, Yixing and his siblings walk into the clearing, skin still red and clothes soaked. Noticing how silent everyone was being but still being painfully oblivious, Yixing asks out loud. “What did we miss?”

 

Luhan, who was cradling a now conscious Minseok on his lap, immediately shushes the son of Apollo.

 

“Go on, Kyungsoo!” shouts Suho in encouragement, his hand reaching out to squeeze Chen’s. Both Poseidon and Zeus’ sons were seated shoulder to shoulder on the edge of the creek, legs stretched out into the water. They seemed perfectly happy watching the scene unfold in front of them, and Jongin registers how please Chen appeared with Suho holding his hand.

 

Kyungsoo clears his throat before continuing. “You’ve proven to everyone here how much of a winner you truly are. No one here doubts that now.”

 

He briefly looks up to meet Jongin in the eye but is unable to maintain it for long. Kyungsoo goes back to staring at the ground in front of Jongin, arms folded expectantly as if waiting for Jongin to say something. It’s quiet between them for a few more seconds.

 

“So… Yeah. That’s all I have to say,” said Kyungsoo, before turning his back on Jongin and starting to walk away.

 

Jongin begins to panic. “Wait! What does that mean?”

 

Kyungsoo pauses and turns his head sideways, clearly annoyed. “Huh?”

 

“The kiss! What did it mean?”

 

“What did you think it meant? For a good strategist, you sure are pretty dumb,” Kyungsoo scoffs before walking away again.

 

Jongin stands rooted for the ground again.

 

“Get it together, Jongin!” Baekhyun shouts from across the creek, arms waving frantically towards Kyungsoo. It takes Jongin a few moments to decipher that his brother was telling him to go to Kyungsoo.

 

Jongin runs towards the son of Athena, planting himself on Kyungsoo’s path to stop him from walking further.

 

“What?” asks Kyungsoo, tone sarcastic and body tense.

 

“Does that kiss mean you… like me?”

 

“Do you think I make it a habit to kiss people who mean nothing to me?” Kyungsoo questions again, tone venomously dripping with sarcasm.

 

“I… Uhm…” Jongin feels completely out his element. He didn’t know what to do anymore, but he was pretty sure Kyungsoo liked him back.

 

Following instinct, he places both hands awkwardly behind Kyungsoo’s head and tries to bring the boy closer to his own body. Kyungsoo lets him, the son of wisdom’s eyes now dancing with mirth as Jongin brings their faces close to one another.

 

Jongin pauses when their nose are almost touching. This felt right to do, but he didn’t know if Kyungsoo felt the same. He waits there for a few more seconds, giving Kyungsoo a chance to pull away.

 

“Well?” Kyungsoo whispers, teasing Jongin further. He hadn’t pulled away, so Jongin takes that as a green light.

 

Jongin breathes in deeply and presses his lips against Kyungsoo’s.

 

The forest is no longer silent, both red and blue team campers alike cheering in delight as the two boys kiss.

 

Jongin is awkward at first, but Kyungsoo is kissing him back and that was enough to make everything feel perfect. He carefully follows the movement of Kyungsoo’s lips, satisfied when Kyungsoo pulls their bodies even closer.

 

They break apart after a while, panting for air. Kyungsoo laughs and presses a finger against Jongin’s chest.

 

“You’re such a loser,” he teases.

 

For once, Jongin doesn’t mind. Because in that moment, he felt completely victorious.