Track 62. SANCTUARY by Joji | ♩

The following day...

So it seems like even though the school I go to is for mortals, the headmistress, Bo Nayeon, my college research adviser in my world, is Athena, the goddess of wisdom, in this world. My aunt. My mother had asked her to allow me to study from home, well, from the Underworld because of unforeseen circumstances. And she obliged. 

Baekhyun had told everyone in the Underworld about their latest guest and to treat her well. When he gave her permission to roam around and explore, he told her not to worry about getting lost, because being the ruler of such a place, he’d immediately know her placement. 

Rara took her time exploring the place, which was not as dreadful as she expected. It was like a normal workplace in cool, gray tones. The lampads, or the nymphs of the Underworld, were very nice and welcoming to her, probably because word got around very fast, and they probably knew she was Demeter and Zeus’ daughter.

Walking along the hallways of the offices, she spotted Baekhyun, his back facing her, and he was talking to a lampad, whose face was very frightened. Is he mad at him or something? Curious, Rara walked towards them and when she was close enough, she reached for Baekhyun’s arm, to which he reacted quickly, and when he faced her, Rara understood why the lampad looked scared because Baekhyun looked petrifying, as if he was about to stick a staff down someone’s throat. 

Good God, he made me feel the same terror I felt when I maxed out the Other Baekhyun’s patience at the Christmas Ball. “Hey, relax, it’s me.” Whoa, this version of me didn’t waver at all. A true goddess. “What’s wrong? You’re scaring the poor nymph.” The lampad gasped lightly, probably surprised that someone defended him in front of his boss. 

“R-rara!” Baekhyun looked at her with a bit of shock. “I—”

“Well, the cat’s out of the bag, so let me handle things from here, boss.” 

Shinae! She’s Hecate in this world!

“Shinae, you really need to stop appearing out of nowhere.” Baekhyun said stressfully.

“Really? You’re saying that to the goddess of ghosts and sorcery? Some king you are.” Shinae snickered. She took a peek at Rara, who stood beside Baekhyun, and smiled. “Why, hello there, daughter of Demeter. How have you been, Rara?”

“Fine, thank you.” Rara said. “You must be Hecate.” 

“Yeah. Shinae, please. Nice to meet you, spring goddess.”

“Likewise.” 

She playfully put her arm around the lampad’s shoulders and said, “Well, we’ll take care of these shortcomings, and uh, you can take Rara under your wing from this point on, boss.” 

“Uh, sure. Thanks, Shinae. You—” His phone rang, and he excused himself to take it.

B