AKMU- Chantey

When Minjae arrived she was sitting on the bench, drinking by herself. She was staring ahead with no emotion whatsoever on her face.

"Hey, why did-" his eyes widened when he saw her up close. "What happened, did you find her?"

"She found me."

"...and?" He asked seeing how Fei didn't continue.

"She was erased by Death. She's gone." She answered in between sips directly from the bottle.

Minjae felt there was something more to the story but he didn't force it out. If she wanted to tell him, she will do it at some point or another. That's how she has always been and she, eventually, told him everything.

"Do you want me to walk you home?"

"No. I'll stay here for a bit and then go buy coffee and go to work." She said reminding herself that she won't see Jiah's name on the list of dead souls because she wasn't human. That...really felt disappointing.

"Are you sure?" He asked, "Are you sure you are sure?"

Fei turned to Minjae and chuckled at his cute little brother complex. He wanted to be there for her because there was no other option. They only had each other now; actually ever since they met during the Joseon era. It has always been just the two of them: the nymph and the raven.

"I'll be fine, I promise. I need to be by myself for a bit. Go home." She said softly and placed one hand over his. She was very cold for someone who was so fired up on the inside.

Begrudgingly, Minjae left. Now that she had some time to think, she couldn't help remember the day she was punished. It was just like it happened yesterday...

The great hall that she was brought into was dark and cold. There was no furniture inside and she could see her reflection in the material on the ground.

"Do you know why you were brought in here, Fei?" A voice echoed throughout the whole room. She didn't have time to answer because the voice continued, "You were the cause of a massacre. Thousands of lives were taken because of your tongue."

"That is highly incorrect. I only helped during wars, I never started one." She said with confidence.

"After stealing more years for you to live now you dare correct me? I know who you are and what you have done." The voice raised in volume.

"Then you know I made a deal with God Ares who granted me immortality. I didn't steal anything, I earned it." Fei spoke ardently defending herself. "I am not dead so why am I here?"

The answer did not come for a few long minutes. In the end, a man dressed in all red and with a hairstyle worthy of a Korean king came from the darkness. He expected Fei to bow or show some type of respect but she didn't.

"Your Gods are gone now and you came to us by yourself. You were curious how eastern gods are, weren't you? Well, now you know. There are rules and you broke them." He said looking at Fei with superiority. "People died because of you and you must be punished."

She was ready to speak her mind when she was forced to bow her head. She looked to the side at the person that had the bravery to push her head down but she couldn't yell at him.

"Lord Hades," she mumbled surprised that he made an appearance.

"You are right, Lord Hwanung, this ungrateful nymph has come to your land and brought a lot of trouble. But we both know she didn't start the war between Joseon and Japan."

"She gave them information-"

"I never looked at army documents while I was there. As you know, I was...busy with other things."

"You seduced the king, you mean." Hwanung said coldly.

Fei glared at him and she really wanted to curse this godly figure but Hades forced her to bow once more.

"And she deeply regrets it, don't you, Fei?" He said subtly urging her to agree.

"But I didn't," she whispered to him however Hades threw her a look that silenced her.

"She does deserve to be punished but we can't have her take the blame for what humans provoked. The regeneration period that she went through took more than five years. When she woke up, the Japanese troops were already ravaging villages." Hades defended her using facts, not emotions.

"I didn't tell that general anything about the army. If anything, I just pointed out the scum in the palace. Even after more than five years, they were still very much alive and active." She added to her plea although it wasn't helpful.

"Shut up now and let the adults speak." Hades hissed at her and she looked down like a compliant puppy.

"Why are you helping her, Hades? You are the last of the Underworld Greek Gods...her life means nothing, I can easily take her immortality."

"I am the God of the Underworld," he corrected Hwanung with authority. "And Fei is a nymph not a human. A deal once made between a God and a lower deity cannot be broken. Ever. I will take responsibility of her for future references. She is part of who I am, part of the ancient beliefs."

Fei bit her lip nervously. If Hades was vouching for her then she was saved but he was going to make her pay for this favour.

Lord Hwanung moved his sight from Hades, who had his own rights and power, to the witty nymph and came to a conclusion.

"Very well. I, Lord Hwanung, Supreme Divine Regent thus proclaim that Fei, the Greek nymph, does not hold a fault in the massacre in Joseon. But she did leak information that should not have been known and she lied to the king Lee Hyang and led him to an early demise."

She wanted to correct him that she didn't do anything and she never lied to him but Hades stopped her by forcing her to bow once more.

"Therefore, the punishment is the following: Fei shall not be able to leave this land and will live all alone in the forest of the Jirisan Mountain."

Both Hades and Fei thought it was acceptable.

"And Fei, from this moment on, you will not be able to lie to a human. Never again will your words bring pain."

"But-" Hades gripped her head and she knew she should be quiet. But that didn't mean she was speechless, oh she had a lot to say.

"What bull," she mumbled to herself. "Being sincere can hurt people too but I guess the great regent didn't think about it." She added with a pout as she went to throw the soju bottles and plastic cups in the trash can.

The walk back to the library made her feel like she had run a marathon. Her feet hurt and her cheek was probably very sore. She entered a random coffee store and tried to look as normal as possible yet the employee still stared at her cheek.

"One large caramel macchiato, please. With extra caramel and whipped cream." She ordered and paid before she took the button and went to sit down and wait for her drink.

Fei kept her gaze down and even after she sat down in the back she felt like sleeping. She sighed and rubbed her head, hoping she won't remember more than she already did. Why couldn't she live freely? That was the only thing she wanted and here she was, having to do the jobs that higher ups didn't want just because she was around when war broke out. And it wasn't even the only war that she faced but no, lord Hwanung needed someone to blame so why not the nymph. She groaned loudly at her thoughts.

"Hey! We meet again!"

Fei was scared to look up but she did it nonetheless. She frowned at Dohyun's smiley face, thinking that the planets were against her these days.

His eyes moved on her cheek and the smile fell.

"What happened to you? Are you alright? Who scratched you?" He was just so full of questions.

She touched her cheek and realized Death did scratch her because he had a ring on the hand he slapped her with.

"No, no, don't touch it. What if it gets infected? Here, wait-"

"No need, I-" she saw him take out a patch for children with Minnie Mouse. He carefully stuck it over the scratch and smiled at her.

Fei couldn't take her eyes off him. It was impossible. All her good memories were connected to him and to that foxy face. After a shaky sigh she forced her eyes to focus on what he was doing.

"You're very serious about mythology, hm?"

He glanced at his notes and the open book and gave an awkward laugh.

"I guess. I'm trying to incorporate mythology in my work so I'm flipping through the book and online sites. There is just too much, to be honest. It's overwhelming."

"I am quite an expert in Greek mythology." She regretted saying it as soon as it came out. "There are old books back at the library. They are very old and precious so you can't buy or borrow it. You'll have to come and do your research at the library."

His eyes lit up and Fei felt all her worries fade away. At that moment her button started to vibrate informing her that her coffee was ready.

"You don't have to take me home," she mentioned seeing how he was walking next to her.

"I'm not. I live near your library, just a few streets away."

"Ah," she covered her flushed face by drinking from her cup.

"Why did you name your library Ethos?" He asked, making small talk.

"I didn't. It used to be a vacation house but the owner gave it to me and told me to start a business. He named it Ethos."

"Do you know why?"

"Because it means character and he always said I have a lot of that." She said with a laugh. "I used to live very far so I am thankful for his gift even if it feels like a burden most times."

Dohyun nodded in understanding.

“Ah, right! I don’t even know your name!” He realised now that he thought about it.

“Fei. My name is Fei.” She said and couldn’t help blush.

Lee Dohyun was not the man that Fei fell in love with, he was not born back then nor were his great grand-parents probably. But he looked so much like the Lee Hyang, they had the same warm voice and the same curiosities. It impossible not to get swept away by all these details and imagine she was speaking to the man who killed her. But it wasn’t as bittersweet as she thought, it was just disappointing because she knew this guy in front of her was someone else. And yet, staring at him from under her long lashes, there were little details about his face that made her heart beat fast: his foxy eyes were sparkling no matter what was coming out his mouth, they were so lively and understanding even if his life was not all rainbow and honey. Then she couldn’t help stare at his nose, which was very, very slightly crooked. She could only imagine what he did as a kid for that to happen. And there were his creases around his lips when he smiled, making him look more approachable and boyish. And his lips. Fei felt her pulse increase as her eyes fell on his lips.

“Ouf,”

Because she was analysing his face, she didn’t notice that a plant shop put a little plastic tree in front of the building. She went straight into it and had to take the plastic out of and face. Dohyun laughed, not able to contain his reaction with how funny it looked.

“Why did they put it in the middle of the street?” She gagged and coughed at the ghost touch of the plastic on her face, “They could have put a real one at least.” She mumbled shuddering at the feeling. “Stop laughing, it wasn’t that funny.”

They walked the rest of the way in silence but that was alright. It felt nice and she finished her coffee by the time they arrived in front of the library.

“Well, have a good night!” She said feeling awkward while unlocking the door.

“Wait, so, I can come tomorrow right? For my research,” he said, using those eyes of his and smile to win her over.

“Yes, you can.” Fei answered without thinking it through.

He smiled and continued his way home while Fei watched him for a bit, her mind playing tricks on her. For a second she swore she saw Dohyun dressed in rich Joseon attire.