Classes managed to end without much happening during that day. Sehun is thankful that for once, he didn't attract trouble like he always does. 

 

"There is still a lot of time left." Jeonghan says. "Do you have any plans today, Sehun?" He asks. 

 

"Not really." He shakes his head. "But if you guys have plans, you don't need to keep me company. I'll manage." He immediately adds. 

 

"You sure?" Jeonghan asks. 

 

"I'm sure." 

 

"I have another task for today as well." Krystal sighs. "I'll see you later Sehun." 

 

Donghae keeps his eyes on him when his siblings left. "Do you really have no plans this afternoon?" The son of Eros asks. 

 

"If you have plans, you can go. You don't have to keep me company if that's what you're worried about." Sehun says. 

 

Donghae scratches his head sheepishly. "I'd feel bad if I left you alone." 

 

"Don't worry about it." Sehun waves him off. "What are you up to anyways?" 

 

"We're going nymph hunting." Heechul grins. 

 

"Nymph hunting?" Sehun asks. 

 

"Basically, they'll be searching for nymphs to flirt with." Hani rolls her eyes. 

 

"Oh…" Sehun slowly nods. "Well good luck with that. I think I'll go find something to do while I'm alone."

 

"Well pretty boy, you don't have to worry about that." Heechul says. 

 

Sehun is about to ask what he means when he suddenly sees Jongin approaching them. The son of Ares looks like he's in a rush. 

 

"Perfect timing as always." Donghae clasps his hands as he shoves Sehun right into Jongin. "Don't do anything stupid. See you two later." He grins before leaving with Hani and Heechul. 

 

Sehun glares at Donghae's retreating figure before muttering an apology to Jongin. "Is your training done?" He asks. 

 

"Yeah, I'm only supposed to check the morning schedule so I'm free for the afternoon." Jongin says. 

 

"Is there something wrong? You seem to be in a rush when you got here." Sehun asks. 

 

"Let's go somewhere else first." Jongin says. 

 

"Okay. Have you eaten?" Sehun asks him. 

 

"I have, how about you?" 

 

Sehun shakes his head. "But I'm not hungry."

 

"You sure?" 

 

"Yeah, where do you want to go?" Sehun asks as he instinctively takes Jongin's hand. 

 

The son of Ares blinks at him at first. Sehun is about to pull his hand away but Jongin intertwines their fingers. "The usual place." Jongin answers with a smile. 

 

Sehun doesn't know why he suddenly decided to hold his hand, it just felt natural for him. He's glad Jongin went along with it. It felt nice. 

 

Like he expected, Jongin takes him to the lake. They sit down at their usual spot. "Is there something important that you want to tell me?" Sehun asks. 

 

"I know you wouldn't like it if I brought up our parents but we need to talk about this." Jongin starts. 

 

Sehun's brows furrow. "Did something happen?" 

 

"Remember your talk with your mom?" Jongin asks and Sehun hesitantly nods. "She said that she gave you the strongest charm, right?" 

 

Sehun purses his lips. "She did." 

 

"I think your charm is even stronger than you think." Jongin says. 

 

Sehun looks at him with a confused expression. "What do you mean?" 

 

"Last night when we were in my room…" Sehun flushes when he recalls what happened. "Your eyes were changing colors despite the restrainers." 

 

Sehun's expression wilts. "You saw that too?" 

 

Jongin looks at him attentively. "Wait, you know about it?" 

 

"Heechul noticed my eyes changing colors earlier despite the ring you gave me." Sehun frowns. "Jeonghan and Krystal can't explain it too." 

 

Silence passes by between the two of them. Both of them look worried. "So my charm really can't be contained?" Sehun looks into Jongin's eyes. 

 

"Perhaps there's another explanation for that." Jongin says. 

 

"Your father's words somehow make sense." Sehun sighs. 

 

"There is actually something suspicious about that." Jongin starts. "Your mother and my father said something similar to you in a span of two days. I think they've been meeting each other but we need to confirm that." 

 

Sehun ponders over his thoughts. It did make sense. Ares warned him about his power right after his mother told him that he was given the strongest charm. 

 

"It is… suspicious." Sehun says. "But what do you think is the best thing for us to do? If it is true that they've been meeting up, confronting them might cause more trouble." 

 

"I think it's best if we find out why your eyes are changing colors in the first place." Jongin says. "For now, all we have are suspicions. But you need to promise me one thing Sehun." 

 

"What is it?" Sehun asks. 

 

"Don't doubt me." Jongin takes a hold of his hand and brushes a finger over the ring. "I understand if you'd feel insecure about your powers and how your charm could affect others but I assure you it won't affect me. Your charm won't affect how I feel about you." 

 

A lovely blush spreads all over Sehun's cheeks. He smiles bashfully. This is probably the most direct confession he got from Jongin so far. 

 

"You're the best." Sehun says.

 

Jongin gives him the most charming smile. Jongin's expression suddenly changes a bit but the son of Ares gently brushes his fingers over Sehun's bangs. 

 

"Come, I want you to look." He gently pulls Sehun towards the edge of the lake. He points at their reflections. Sehun sees that his eyes were changing colors.

 

"Is this bad?" Sehun worriedly looks at Jongin. 

 

"I honestly find it so beautiful though." Jongin gestures towards their reflections again. "What do you think?" 

 

Sehun scoots closer towards the lake to get a closer look of himself. "It's like an Aurora borealis in there." He chuckles. "I don't want to scare anyone off with these eyes though." 

 

"Scare off?" Jongin snorts. "They actually draw me in." Sehun's eyes stopped changing colors by that time. "But it's you anyways, you don't even have to try." 

 

"Jongin, I think I'm--" Sehun stops when he hears footsteps. Jongin turns around to look at the intruder and his eyes widen in surprise. Sehun is mirroring the same shocked reaction as well. 

 

"Kris?!" Sehun gasps. 

 

The son of Hades greets them with a lopsided smile on his face. Sehun quickly stands up to run up to him. 

 

Sehun tackles Kris with a hug. Jongin fondly looks at him. He feels a bit jealous because he and Sehun acted so awkwardly at first when they first got reunited but that jealousy is eased down because Sehun sees him differently compared to Donghae or Kris. 

 

"Yeah, I missed you too Snow White." Kris chuckles as he ruffles Sehun's hair. 

 

Jongin stands up as well to greet Kris. "Nice to see you back here so soon." 

 

"Mom is here so I decided to accompany her for a bit." Kris says. 

 

"Aunt Persephone is with you? Where is she?" Sehun asks excitedly. "How about uncle Hades?" 

 

"Calm down. Mom has to meet up with Demeter first. Dad doesn't like the surface so he didn't bother to come but he told me to check on you." Kris answers. 

 

"Tell him I miss him and the hellhounds too. I miss cuddling with Noir." 

 

"Noir misses you too but I think you have someone else to cuddle with now." Kris smiles knowingly as he looks at Jongin. 

 

Jongin chuckles while Sehun blushes, but neither of them denied it anyways. 

 

"Anyways, do you have any plans for the day?" Kris asks. 

 

"I'm done for the day, actually." Sehun replies. 

 

"Great. Want to come with me to Olympus then? I have the key for mom's quarters. Want to stay there while we wait for her?" Kris asks. 

 

"Of course, I'd love to!" Sehun immediately agrees. 

 

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Jongin tells him. 

 

"Silly, you're coming with us." Kris chuckles. 

 

"No, I don't want to intrude." Jongin says. 

 

"Oh please, you're as welcome as Sehun is. I'm sure he wants to introduce you to mom." Kris shrugs. 

 

"Come with us." Sehun smiles. "I told Aunt Persephone about you, I'm sure she'd love to meet you." 

 

How can Jongin say no to that?

 

"I'd love to meet her as well." Jongin smiles back. 

 

They stopped by Irene's place again for a quick change of clothes. The daughter of Aphrodite is delighted to dress the three of them up. She says it's 'every stylist's dream' to have the honor of dressing three men with perfect body proportions. 

 

Since they're not going to formally meet any god or goddess, Irene dressed them up in something more casual. She gave matching denim jackets to Jongin and Sehun while Kris is wearing a black satin shirt. 

 

"Sorry, still no undershirts. It's a strict rule." Irene chuckles when she stops Sehun when he's buttoning up his jacket. 

 

"It's a weird rule." Sehun huffs.

 

"You won't mind once you get used to it." Jongin says.

 

Sehun instinctively looks at Jongin, the son of Ares hasn't worn his jacket yet and he flushes when he sees the exposed skin. Jongin looks at him in amusement.

 

Kris notices it and he couldn't help but snort. "Why are you still acting like a complete around him?" 

 

Jongin chokes, Sehun turns even redder while Irene looks completely scandalized. "For the record, I haven't really… forget what I said." He blushes. He pulls Irene away from the two and exits the cabin. 

 

"You're so cute." Irene giggles. 

 

"Stop it." He whines. "It's not my fault that I'm not used to it." 

 

"I thought you seduced several men before? So why are you this flustered right now?" Irene asks. 

 

Sehun pouts. "Well that's because it's Jongin…" he sighs. 

 

Irene smiles fondly as she pinches her brother's cheeks. "Oh Zeus, aren't you adorable. I can't blame you though, Jongin is known as a hotbod here in camp. Years of training really did him well." 

 

"Oh…" Sehun absentmindedly nods. "He's known for it?" That means a lot have seen him shirtless, Sehun thinks. 

 

"I know that look, Sehun." Irene smiles knowingly. "It's just because of his training sessions back then. Everyone would go crazy since doesn't mind training shirtless sometimes." 

 

That fills Sehun's mind with a lot of indecent thoughts so he shakes them off. "But wait, have you dated him before?" Sehun asks. 

 

Irene an eyebrow at him. "We went on like one or two dates. Why?"

 

Sehun averts his gaze. "I was wondering if you… used your charm on him?" 

 

Irene shakes her head. "Not to brag but there's no need to. Jongin really has a thing for children of Aphrodite so it just comes naturally, I guess." 

 

"I see." Sehun nods. He badly wants to ask her about how a child of the goddess of love realizes that they're--well, in love but it doesn't look like she's the right person to ask. He doesn't even know if there is a right person to ask. 

 

"Hey, I heard my name several times. Stop gossiping about me." Jongin says with a chuckle as he steps out of the cabin with Kris following him. 

 

"Oh don't worry about it, I was just teasing Sehun on why he got so flustered when he saw you shirtless." Irene snickers. 

 

"Hey," Sehun whines. 

 

"That's because he hasn't seen me shirtless… sort of." Jongin shrugs. 

 

Kris' brows furrowed. "How is that possible, haven't you two fuc--" Sehun rushes to clamp his hand over the taller's mouth. 

 

"I've seen you shirtless when you wore that red suit." Sehun huffs. "Anyways, can we please go to Olympus now? We need to stop disturbing Irene." 

 

"Oh please, you're welcome here anytime." His sister smiles. 

 

The three of them thanked her before heading towards the gates. Kris has been to Olympus a couple of times so he knows the way to Persephone's quarters. 

 

When they reach the quarters, Sehun realizes why the place seems so familiar to him. His mother's quarters is only two houses away. 

 

"Mother's place is just right there." He sighs as he looks at the mansion. 

 

"Well you better get in before someone sees you and tells it to her. Hermes keeps track of the people crossing the gates, he'll know soon." Kris says. 

 

Sehun's eyes still remain fixated on his mother's quarters. Jongin gives him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder before leading him to follow Kris. 

 

The interior of Persephone's quarters isn't that much different compared to Aphrodite's. The mansions only differ from the interior decorations and furniture. 

 

"So as you know, mom will be staying here for six months so you are free to visit her anytime." Kris starts as they head over to the living room area.

 

That takes Sehun's mind off of Aphrodite. "But won't she be busy though? Those six months are for her and madame Demeter, right?" 

 

"She still has free time. She can always spare some time for you. Besides, six months is way too long. I'm sure dad will visit if he has the time too." Kris says. 

 

"Really? That's great! I can introduce you to uncle Hades soon." Sehun smiles at Jongin.

 

"I'm sure he still remembers me. I was so stiff when I first met him." Jongin cringes. 

 

"He always likes to try and scare off demigods at first. I think that didn't work on Snow White though, he's one of a kind." Kris chuckles. 

 

"He was wearing a sweater and jeans on our first meeting. It's not really what I'd expect the god of the Underworld to wear, you know." Sehun points out. "I was more intimidated by you… and Cerberus and the hellhounds." 

 

"I nearly got mauled by Cerberus when I first got there." Jongin snorts. 

 

"Cerberus reacts based on your aura. You were intimidating him so he was more aggressive towards you. Meanwhile he just wants to scare Sehun off." Kris says. 

 

"It felt like I'm in a horror movie scene." Sehun laughs. 

 

"I bet he was cute." Jongin says. 

 

"You should have seen the look on his face." Kris grins. 

 

"I bet it's the same look he had when he first found out that I'm a son of Ares." 

 

"I'm sure nothing would beat that look." Kris laughs with him. 

 

Sehun rolls his eyes. He actually thought that Kris wouldn't warm up to Jongin so easily but he's wrong. Instead, these two are definitely going to gang up on teasing him.

 

Persephone arrives at around evening. Sehun introduces Jongin to Persephone and they easily get along. 

 

Persephone makes dinner for them and Sehun offers his help. Kris and Jongin were sitting by the counter and watching them. 

 

"I didn't know that you're this skilled in cooking." Jongin comments. 

 

"Aunt is an awesome teacher and cook." Sehun grins as he helps Persephone in cutting the vegetables. 

 

"Oh, what's this?" Persephone smiles knowingly as she takes Sehun's hand. "You didn't have this before." She looks at the ring. 

 

Sehun's cheeks turn crimson while Jongin smiles sheepishly. "They're actually restrainers. It's a gift." 

 

"How lovely." Persephone coos. Kris already found out about it earlier and he already teased Sehun enough for it. "That's sweet and thoughtful of you Jongin." 

 

"It's no big deal, really." Jongin looks at him. 

 

Sehun smiles at that. For a moment, he wanted to kiss Jongin and tell him how thankful he is because words aren't enough to thank the son of Ares for everything he's done. 

 

"Wow, you're literally flirting in front of my mom." Kris suddenly interferes. 

 

Sehun looks away and continues in cutting vegetables while Jongin clears his throat. Persephone rolls her eyes at him. "Kris, I know you're just jealous because you want your own Snow White." She teases. 

 

Kris makes a face at her. "I already said that pretty twinks aren't my type." 

 

"You still called him pretty." Persephone lilts. 

 

"He's a son of Aphro. He glimmers." Kris groans. 

 

Sehun looks at Kris with a cheeky grin. "Why thank you."

 

"Sorry Snow White, I'm not interested in you. There goes your chances of having a god as your man." Kris shrugs. 

 

Jongin laughs in amusement while Persephone rolls her eyes in disbelief. "You should have stolen me away while I was in the Underworld." Sehun shows off his ring and smiles smugly. "You don't have to regret it." He jokes. 

 

Kris sticks his tongue out at him while Persephone and Jongin burst out laughing. 

 

Sehun asked if he could get some time alone with Persephone after. They left Kris and Jongin to head to the study. 

 

"What is it Sehun?" Persephone asks. 

 

"You taught me what I must know about my powers." Sehun starts. "There's something that I want to ask you." Persephone gestures him to go on. "

 

"My eyes have been changing colors despite the restrainers. I asked my siblings about it but they don't know. Perhaps you have an idea?" 

 

Persephone's brows furrow. "I only taught you what's written in the books. Have you asked your mother?" 

 

Sehun's expression falls. "I… I don't think it's a big deal." 

 

"You won't be asking me like this if you think it isn't a big deal." She caresses the side of his face. "Go and ask her if you're ready. I believe she has the answer for this." 

 

Sehun sighs in defeat but he leans into Persephone's touch. "I'll try to." He softly smiles. "Thanks aunt." 

 

It was a bit late when Sehun and Jongin said their goodbyes. They were offered to stay in the quarters but they both have siblings that might be waiting for them so they had to go. Kris offered to walk them to the gates but they declined.

 

Sehun longingly stares at the door as they walked in front of his mother's quarters. "Aunt Persephone told me to ask my mother about it." He sighs. 

 

"I think she's right but… if you're not ready, it can wait." Jongin says. 

 

Sehun was about to reply when Jongin's eyes suddenly widen in alert. Before Sehun could even ask what's wrong, Jongin drags him towards a nearby bush, pushes him down and clasps a hand over Sehun's mouth. 

 

Sehun suddenly senses the familiar pheromones as well and he realizes why Jongin did it in the first place. 

 

They hear footsteps. At first, they see Aphrodite entering the quarters. A few minutes pass by and Jongin's hold on Sehun relaxes. 

 

"She would've flipped if she saw us together." Jongin whispers. 

 

"Yeah…" 

 

"What would we tell her in case she ever sees us?" Jongin's question actually catches Sehun off guard. 

 

"Huh?" 

 

"It's just that the way you teased Kris earlier… even if it was a joke, you kind of made it clear that you're taken." Jongin hesitantly says.

 

Sehun looks into his eyes. "Am I not?" 

 

Jongin blinks at him. Sehun feels like he said something wrong. "I'm sorry, I thought the ring meant…" he purses his lips. 

 

Something changes in Jongin's expression. He looks relieved. "I should ask you properly, shouldn't I?" He chuckles. 

 

Sehun smiles but before he could even respond, they hear another set of footsteps. Jongin pushes him down on the ground and clasps a hand over his mouth again. Jongin lowers himself as well and Sehun gulps at the proximity. They're practically curled up against each other since they have to stay hidden. 

 

Jongin is the one looking out through the bush so Sehun simply stares at his face. The son of Ares' eyebrows suddenly scrunch up when he sees whoever is coming.

 

He hears knocking and eventually, he hears a door opening as well. 

 

"What are you doing here?" His mother hisses. 

 

"Have you heard the news?" 

 

Sehun's eyes widen when he hears Ares' voice. No wonder Jongin looks so confused. Why would they meet? 

 

"Hermes told me." Aphrodite answers. "You should leave, someone might see you here." 

 

"I need to talk to you about something. Might as well let me in if you don't want anyone seeing us together." Ares says. 

 

Sehun almost scoffs but luckily, Jongin's hand kept him quiet. Jongin is right about being suspicious of the two. Sehun wonders what they're up to. 

 

A moment of silence passes by and his.mother heaves a sigh of defeat. "Stay for the night." 

 

"Gladly." 

 

Sehun nearly curses upon hearing that. Jongin on the other hand, is a lot better at holding back. He quickly looks at Sehun and caresses the side of his waist to calm him down. 

 

Sehun relaxes but he feels himself heating up at how close Jongin is to him. The son of Ares takes notice and he looks worried. 

 

"Your pheromones." He mouths. 

 

Sehun clenches his eyes shut and tries to distract himself. He is wearing the restrainers but apparently, it's not enough to contain his powers anyways. 

 

"Hold on," Ares suddenly says.

 

"," Jongin panics while Sehun simply kept wishing that his stupid pheromones won't give them away.

 

It felt as though they were in thriller movie. Sehun hears footsteps coming closing while Jongin gives him in an apologetic look (which is ridiculous because this is all his fault anyways). A part of the bush was suddenly ripped out of the ground and they suddenly see Ares looking down on them with an amused expression on his face. 

 

"We have a pair of naughty eavesdroppers Dite." Ares chuckles. 

 

Jongin is quick to move away from him. Meanwhile Sehun is too stunned to even get up. He looks over towards the goddess and she's already glaring daggers at the son of Ares. 

 

"You two," Aphrodite glowers. "Come inside." She says before storming inside the quarters. 

 

Ares smirks at the two of them. "I suggest that you follow her before she throws another fit." The god says before following Aphrodite inside.

 

Sehun worriedly looks at Jongin as he gets up. There are so many things going on inside his head right now. The last thing he wants is for his mother to keep him away from Jongin once again. 

 

Jongin holds his hand and gives him a reassuring look. "It'll be okay." 

 

"I'm sorry." Sehun tells him. 

 

Jongin shakes his head. "I know they're hiding something from us, this is a good chance to find out." 

 

"Whatever happens," Jongin tightens his hold on his hand as they started walking towards the mansion. "Don't doubt me." 

 

Sehun takes a deep breath. "I trust you."