IU- Love Poem

Pirape was not a talkative centaur. Dohyun was walking behind him, studying him from behind and also the bookcases and corridors they were passing. It was incredible and he couldn’t believe he was in an ancient warehouse where the workers were centaurs.

“Are you immortal?” Dohyun suddenly asked.

“No, of course not. Chiron was the only centaur that was immortal, as the step-brother of Zeus.”

“What happened to him?”

“He exchanged it for the life of Prometheus. You really are a beginner, aren’t you? That’s basic knowledge.” Pirape said, sounding more and more like Dohyun’s former professor.

Dohyun shrugged his shoulders, not embarrassed by his lack of information since he has just started his research.

“Who’s Prometheus?” Dohyun asked again after a brief pause.

Pirape stopped and glanced at the human with an annoyed look. How could Fei stand him was above his understanding, especially because he was a mass of constant questions.

“What makes you believe I will tell you the story?” He asked sensing the level of persuasion this kid had.

Dohyun’s foxy eyes narrowed slightly as he smirked in a way that made Pirape doubt his innocent façade. There was definitely more to him than he let out, a mischief that he had seen before in both humans and semi-gods.

“A story told by a centaur is more precious than one read in a book.” The boy replied noticing that Pirape quite liked flattery.

“…he liked humans so he stole the fire from the gods and brought it down to Earth. He was punished to eternal torment. “Prometheus was bound to a rock, and an eagle was sent to eat his liver. His liver would then grow overnight, only to be eaten again the next day in an ongoing cycle.”

Dohyun’s eyes grew wide and he stared at Pirape in amazement.

“I…am definitely going to use that in my work.”

“What is your work, anyway? What is it that pays the bills, as they say nowadays?” Pirape asked returning to walking.

“I’m a manhwa writer. I draw stories and post them on the internet.” Dohyun answered proudly. He had worked since he was a child to achieve this dream and now that he actually made it, he was more than happy to shout it to the world.

Pirape scoffed finding it both funny and pitiful.

“What about centaurs? Are there many left in the world?” Dohyun asked not feeling comfortable walking in complete silence.

“Many believe that centaurs are wild and lustful and that they follow Dionysus in his endeavors. That might have been the case in the past but now it’s not. As you can see, we are civilized creatures who prefer to be among our kind. We are also forbidden to drink.” He added not looking at the human.

“Dionysus is the God of wine, right? I guess since you stopped hanging out together, your habits naturally changed.” Dohyun commented thinking how he could insert these details into his story without offending anyone. “Is he still around?”

“Probably. Like you said, we cut any type of connection with him.” Pirape answered with a shrug, “And for your previous question, we are only five left and we’re all working in the warehouse. Unfortunately, we are not sure if there is a chance for more centaurs to be created, we’re probably on the verge of extinction.”

Dohyun wanted to feel sorrowful for Pirape and the other four centaurs but he couldn’t. It was so new and shocking that he was almost afraid what these centaurs could do if they walked around in Seoul.

“How were the centaurs created?” Dohyun asked but he didn’t expect Pirape to go into a long (extremely long and detailed) genesis story.

Since he had nothing else to do and Pirape was going on and on about different types of centaurs and their meaning on Earth, Dohyun looked at the books they passed. He noticed that some of them were in Korean and he grew excited. His eyes glinted and with a final glance at the back of the centaur, he slipped away.

He was in his own world and he wore a smile that made him look insane. But Dohyun was happy to smell old books and documents that were part of his heritage as a Korean man. His major in university was Korean literature and his grandfather always had an interesting story to tell from his youth, during the war. Actually, his grandfather was the reason he was interested in his country's history and nowadays, mythology.

By the time Fei arrived in the 15th century row, Dohyun was long gone. It took two hours only to get there and time was precious.

Horace and Minjae glanced at each other before they turned to her.

"He's not here." Minjae muttered.

She didn't glare but her stare alone made him feel like he should get on his knees and ask for forgiveness.

"It's fine. He couldn't have gotten too far by himself. He is a human, he must make ruckus somewhere." Horace explained feeling the same stare but he decided to look away.

"Minjae, you'll have a better view from above. Find him and keep him there until we come." She ordered the raven. He nodded, saluted and ran to his post.

A few minutes passed by and Horace couldn't help turn with a serious face to Fei.

"I heard about the rogue reaper," he started. "And what happened afterwards."

"Quite the gossip, hm? The irresponsible nymph did it again, she tried to force Death's hand." She said with a stoic face but ironic tone.

"You know we do not think badly of you. I often wondered why you didn't ask to be placed in a different library. You'd still do the same work, but at least it would be closer to home."

"I don't have a home anymore. The world is polluted and I'd dry on the pavement with nothing, not even a flower nearby. The world has changed." She said with a tinge of melancholy.

"Your place is not in Asia, Fei. I know your whole appearance changed after the regeneration but one look in your eyes is enough to see your true colours. You are a Greek nymph. Ares saw a great asset in you."

"Either that or I was incredibly persistent." She joked. "I'm not allowed to leave Korea, not yet."

"I'm sure that after all this time lord Hades could pull some strings. You could go back to Crete."

That sounded heavenly for someone who, in theory, wanted to return to her roots. But in practice, Fei was doubtful.

"Do you, by any chance, have a different reason to stay?" Horace asked seeing how she wasn't saying anything. "Is it because of Lee Hyang?"

"He's dead."

But that was enough for the centaur to know. He sighed and rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

"How can you still love that man? He killed you and then he married someone else. Twice! He was married when you met him too! He had children and he lived on as if nothing happened."

Fei raised an eyebrow and chuckled. The reaction Horace had was common whenever someone spoke of that man. Even Hades rolled his eyes and stopped speaking altogether about that subject.

"You weren't there when it happened."

"Fei, he literally broke your heart. You should move on too."

She knew that, she really did and she often thought about it when she was by herself. But it was easier said than done. Those years at Lee Hyang's court were the happiest of her life. No man ever made her feel such complex emotions before, to think about something else than knowledge and war. He was special and not because he was the king.

Minjae was flying around, his eyes set on finding the human. Luckily, he did. He couldn't believe it but Dohyun was on his knees in front of a bookcase from the Korean section. Minjae landed on the bookcase right behind and watched bemusedly as the human checked that nobody was around. Then he grabbed a document that seemed rather familiar to the raven. His eyes widened when he remembered what it contained.

Dohyun was intrigued. It was a document that drew his attention immediately because it had drawings. He smiled as he rolled it open, more and more so that he could read and look at everything. He wasn't good at reading Hanja but he figured it was about merchants and their trades. Some foreigners arrived in Korea, people with bright red and blonde hair. With them was a woman who apparently lived at the court. He really wanted to see their sketches but suddenly a thick book fell on his head and left him unconscious.

From above, the raven panicked and found no other way to stop the human without giving an explanation. He made loud noise informing Fei where he was and quickly changed into his human form.

When Fei arrived, she needed a moment to calm down. She bit the inside of her cheek as she shook her head in disappointment at Minjae.

"You...what did you do again?"

"Look, I didn't think about it. He cannot read information that he shouldn't, especially about you. So I just...pulled that family registry a bit and it fell. On his head." Minjae explained his reasons.

But Horace had a different problem.

"Fei..." he said in a voice that made the nymph roll her eyes. “He looks exactly like Lee Hyang."

"So?" She asked nonchalantly, picking the young adult male with ease. Horace rolled his eyes and grabbed him from her, after all it was his fault for having him in the warehouse and Fey was a lady.

"Don't make the same mistake twice."

"Just because they look alike, that doesn't mean they are the same. He isn't Hyang reborn, they have very different approaches on everything." She insisted on the way back.

"You say that while still having the murder weapon in the library, as if you're showing it off." Minjae mumbled to which he got hit in return.

"Lee Hyang was not reborn as Dohyun. I know that, I am the one to verify the reincarnation applications. So shut up, both of you." She said in her usual bossy tone.