“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home?”

“Seungwan,” you say with a smile, “I live, like, 10 minutes away. It’s fine.”

“But--”

“You already made me breakfast and lunch, lend me your clothes and let me shower at your house.” You reach out to pinch her cheeks only to have her dodge. “You are entirely too sweet, Wan-ah.”

“ off, I’m not five,” she whines, sounding very much like one.

“But you’re so cute,” you chuckle. She scrunches her nose and glares at you, though the effect is lost due to her adorable face.

“Okay, just for that teasing, I’m walking you home.”

Ignoring the stupid blush on your cheeks, you reply, “Seems like you really wanna spend time with me, huh?”

She looks away and smiles. “I really do.”

The blush on your cheeks deepens and you shove her lightly. “Wow, Wan-ah, that’s really gay.”

“Well, I’m really gay so,” she says, before she lets out a laugh and then--

Everything stopped.
 

You feel him even before he appears. The sky darkens slightly and you can hear the ground rumbling as though it’s being split open from underneath. It makes you shiver, the ancient goddess in you being invoked. A faint earthy smell fills your nose before you turn your head to see him.

He appears as an elderly man with a kind smile, cane in hand and a fisherman’s hat atop his head but you can see clearly behind his façade. The 13-foot tall scythe and the dark-as-the-night wings on his back are a dead giveaway.

“Hello, child,” he says gleefully, eyes twinkling.

“Father,” you greet, bowing. Though he’s not really your father, you figured it was a bad idea to treat Father Time disrespectfully.

“It’s been a while.”

“Indeed, Father. I apologize for not visiting you sooner.”

“It’s fine, child,” he says, waving a hand dismissively. “How have you been? I haven’t seen you in awhile.”

It’s been about a century but you nod, anyway. Again, not a great idea to disagree with someone as old and powerful as time. “I’m fine, Father. Just been here, meddling with mortals. As usual.”

“Ah,” the old man nods. “I know about your deal with Zeus.”

“Oh.” You can’t help the lump that starts forming in your throat at his tone. “Are you here to stop me?”

“No, child,” he says, the dark of his already pale eyes disappearing. “It’s unethical but I can’t say I haven’t thought of doing the same thing.”

You nod, relief flooding your whole system knowing that he’s not here to stop you. Or possibly wipe your whole existence from time. “Then why are you here, Father? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh, I just came here to congratulate you. I heard the news.”

“News? About what?”

"I heard you--” he stops and appears frozen for a second, his head tilted to the side as though listening to whispers. “Ah, apologies, child. It looks like I’m almost late for my Senet game with Bast. See you again in time,” he says before disappearing in a flash of light.

You stand there dumbfounded until you heard Seungwan’s laugh again as everything unfroze.

“Whoa, how did you get there so fast?” she asks, eyes wide with surprise.
 

“I just walk fast, slowpoke,” you say, sticking your tongue out at her. You continue walking as though a literal time god did not appear (and disappear) in front of you.

Found what?

---

“I have so much studying to do,” you groan as soon as Seungwan opens the door to her apartment.

She chuckles lightly. “Then why come here?” she asks, “Not that I mind. I like your company but Sooyoung will probably just rope you into watching something on her laptop.”

“I resent that!” you can hear the tall girl from the living room, “But actually, yeah, come sit, there’s this new drama I want to watch.”

You laugh as you sit next to her, taking out your notes and several books from your bag.

---

“Can I draw you?”

The question comes out of nowhere and it kind of catches you off guard. “W-What?” Of ing course, you heard what she said. You’ve done this before, you’ve been inspiration for many sculptures and paintings, even poems and stories. There’s literally a million depictions of you throughout history, maybe more.

And not one of them looks like the real you.

You must have been quiet for too long, staring at Seungwan as she started fidgeting in her bed. “Y-you don’t have to say yes. I was just asking--”

“Can I think about it?”

A dimple on her cheek appears as she smiles. “Of course.”

Going back to your notes from your class, you try really hard to focus as silence envelops the two of you again.

You really can’t stand another disappointment. Especially from her.

---

You say yes, anyway. The smile she sends your way was almost worth the inevitable.

---

The smell of burning fills your nostrils and you don’t even have time to hide before he appears. He stands 7-foot tall with an even taller glowing red hot hammer in hand. Although his smoldering beard hides it, you just know he’s smiling.

“Gods, why must you appear so ing massive?”

“Nice to see you too, wife.”

“Shut up before anyone sees us,” you tell him. “And for ’s sake, look more like a mortal, will you?”

He laughs, a loud booming sound, before smoke envelops his body and a loud crack sounds before a woman appears in his place, almond eyes almost disappearing as she smiles.

You shush her. “Come on, let’s hide at my apartment.”

---

“What do you want?” you try not to sound hostile but ultimately fail. You can’t help but feel wary, knowing this might be an attempt to drag you back to Olympus.

“Do I really need a reason to see my wife?”

“Stop calling me wife, gods, we’re both, like, 19 at best in this form. It’s weird.” You can already feel a headache forming. “And you never bothered to see me before.”

“Fine,” Hephaestus says, “I guess I was a bit of an absentee husband, wasn’t I?”

“If you come to apologize for that, you’re maybe just a tiny bit late. Maybe eons.”

“So feisty,” she comments as she runs her fingers on the various things on your apartment.

“Are you gonna keep stalling or..?”

She hums absently. Stalling it is, then, you think to yourself.

“Why did you turn into a mortal woman, anyway?”

She laughs again, eyes disappearing. “You wound me, my wife. It seems you think I do not know you at all. I know men terrify you,” she says conversationally, as though talking about the weather. “You prefer women because their thoughts are much more, hmm, I wanna say pure. I didn’t wanna make you any more tense than you already are,” she finishes, pointing at your already rigid shoulders.

“Fine, you’ve caught me,” you say in mock surrender, “now are you gonna tell me why you’re here?”

“Zeus told me.”

“Of course, he did,” you reply. “That blabbermouth is as terrible at keeping secrets as he is at keeping his pants in check.”

“I just,” she trails off. “You know I truly loved you, right?”

You roll your eyes in fond exasperation. “I know, my dear blacksmith. I am at fault for this failed marriage. I apologize.”

She rubs the back of her neck. The god of creativity seemingly at a loss for words. “I don’t know what to say. I just- I don’t want you to die. When you disappeared a millennia ago, I blamed myself. I knew it was my fault. If I hadn’t taken her,” you try really hard not to flinch but you do, “away from you, maybe you wouldn’t have to resort t