night time.

everyone was camping at the main entrance, making sure that no monsters would enter the camp. yeji was ordered by chiron to lead the group and surprisingly, she was able to manage the duties well. all of the demigods loved the way yeji handled different things and chiron indeed made a great choice of choosing her to lead.

“hey ryujin,” yeji called out, her arms gently snaking around the short-haired girl's waist. the two of them were alone beside yeji's tent and the cat-eyed girl thought that it would be a great chance to tell ryujin what has been bugging her for a long time.

“what's up?” she asked, not minding the pair of arms hugging her close.

ryujin had other stuff in mind.

“i.. i know we have known each other for quite a long time now. it has been five years since we became friends and i can never forget the times where you saved my life whenever we attend dangerous quests,” yeji started.

it somehow managed to catch ryujin's attention. the latter was now looking at her straight in the eyes and yeji couldn't help but to feel nervous.

“.. and?” ryujin asked.

yeji cleared the lump that was inside . she didn't know what to say next but she knew how impatient ryujin is with a lot of things so she tried her best to keep herself from being tongue-tied.

“and.. i was just wondering if you want to–”
ryujin blinked.

“are you confessing to me, hwang yeji?”
yeji blushed. 

ryujin just stared at her with a blank expression.

“i guess i am,” she sighed. “i'm sorry, i'm not really good at this. it's my first time falling for someone and it's also my first time confessing,” yeji uttered in all honesty.

the short-haired girl untangled herself from the tight hug that the other female gave her. yeji tried to read her expressions but she just failed to do so. ryujin has always been so mysterious but yeji was just too bold enough to push herself into getting to know the girl better.

“ryujin..?” yeji called out when she received no response, already missing the warmth of the younger girl's body.

“i'm sorry, yeji. but i hope you're aware that i like someone else.” 

the cat-eyed girl gave an awkward laugh. she felt her heart ache but she chose not to make her pain evident. it would surely embarrass her more. 

“it's still karina, isn't it?” 

ryujin just nodded. 

“but ryu.. she doesn't like you, right? she has been rejecting you countless of times already and i still cannot understand why you push yourself further to her,” yeji replied. 

a soft chuckle escaped from the latter's lips. 

“doesn't matter. what's important is my feelings for her. also, lia likes you, right?” 

yeji looked away. 

“she– she doesn't. lia knows about my feelings for you, chaeryeong and yuna too.” 

ryujin was about to speak when she saw four girls walking towards the entrance. 

karina, winter, giselle, and ningning. 

the four of them were carrying huge backpacks with them and seemed to be in a hurry.

ryujin raised an eyebrow as she noticed winter and karina's fingers intertwined with each other. 

“where the heck are they heading to? it's dangerous outside the camp,” ryujin uttered. 

“you didn't know? chiron sent the four of them on a quest. i think they will be heading to the sea of monsters to get something– at least that's what i've heard from the announcement.” 

a sly smirk crept up on ryujin's lips but yeji wasn't able to see it because of how dark it was. only the moon served as the camp's light. 

“a quest, you say?” 

“yeah. the other centaurs said that winter would be the most useful demigod for the quest,” yeji answered. 

ryujin quickly headed towards the main entrance to where the four girls were headed to. she was fast enough to stop them from their tracks. 

“where are you girls heading? it's dangerous outside this camp,” ryujin said. 

karina just wore her stoic expression. 

“chiron sent us to fetch something. none of your business, shin,” ningning replied with a shrug. 

the short-haired girl just chuckled. 

“you do know that there's no point in hiding, right? everybody in this camp knows that the four of you are going on an important quest. i was just teasing you girls. take care of yourselves and make sure to come back alive,” she stated. 

they were about to walk away when ryujin spoke again. 

“daughter of athena.”

karina turned around. 

“what?” 

“don't affiliate yourself with the spawn of the sea god. who knows what your mother would think?” 

the raven-haired girl cleared the lump that was stuck on . it was then she realized that she was holding hands with winter. 

karina immediately let go of the brunette's hand. 

winter frowned at the loss of contact. 

“mind your own business, daughter of hermes. i hope you are aware that i have more knowledge than anyone here in this camp. i know what i am doing so do not dictate me with the things that i have to do,” karina dismissed before reaching for winter's hand again. 

it made the latter blush. 

ryujin just flashed a bitter smile. 

giselle cleared when she felt the tension between karina and ryujin. 

“well, we should get going. we still have a long way to go,” giselle uttered before pushing the three girls out of the camp. 

they were now in the middle of the forest. 

winter shivered at the sound of hustling leaves and the growling wind. right, they were no longer safe because they were already outside the camp. 

“so, how are we supposed to get to our destination?” ningning asked as she fiddled with a small golden compass. it was a gift from her father, ares. 

“before we head to sea, we must see hermes.” 

winter frowned. 

“ryujin's father? what does he have to do with our quest?” 

“hermes is not only the messenger of the gods, but he is also one of those who are advanced when it comes to gadgets, devices, and other weapons that we could use for this quest,” the raven-haired girl replied. 

as soon as the girls reached the dark road, karina slid her hand inside the pocket of her denim jacket and fished a golden drachma inside. after a few seconds, she threw the coin on the road and uttered, 

“stêthi 'Ô hárma diabolês!” 

silence. 

“what did she just say?” winter whispered to giselle. 

“she's summoning the gray sisters' taxi. we will be needing them to reach the city where hermes' shop is located. those phrases meant 'stop, chariot of damnation'.” 

winter was about to reply when a rusty and old taxi stopped in front of them. she didn't even see where it came from, the vehicle just literally appeared out of nowhere. 

the taxi's door opened and the four girls immediately hopped inside. there were three women on the front seat, clothes were all dusty and seemed like they haven't been washed for years. winter could only stare at them in a weird manner. 

“where to, half bloods?” one of the ladies asked.

“hermes,” karina answered. 

“ah, the city. it is quite far from here so we're gonna be needi–” 

the raven-haired girl didn't speak. instead, she grabbed a medium-sized bag full of gold drachmas and threw it on the front seat. winter's jaw almost dropped at the latter's action. 

man, she can indeed be y and scary. 

“to hermes,” she repeated again. 

the three women nodded their heads before starting to drive. 

“just a quick reminder,” the woman in the middle uttered. 

“we drive fast.” the woman who was holding the steering wheel continued before stepping on it. 

the four girls almost flew on the front seat because of how fast the car was going. ningning and giselle had to hold on really tight on each of the car door's handle just to prevent their faces from landing on the back part of the front seat. 

“WATCH OUT!” winter screeched, the car almost smashing on a huge post. 

to her surprise, the vehicle suddenly split in half. giselle was quick enough to pull winter closer to her so she wouldn't hit the said post. 

the car then went back to its original condition as soon as the driver avoided the post.
 
“what the heck was th–” 

“calm your demigod down, sweetie. we know what we are doing,” the woman in the middle said. 

“correct! we wouldn't be getting this license from zeus himself if we were such bad drivers,” said the other. 

the brunette's eyes landed on the driver's license that was taped on the small box. 

“.. holy ,” winter cursed. 

“winter kim, your language.” karina immediately hissed. 

“THESE DRIVERS DON'T HAVE EYES?” 

in a snap, the three women faced the girls with wide smiles plastered on their faces. they look even more horrifying up close– like witches of some sort. the three of them don't have their eyeballs and it almost made winter throw up in her position. 

“oh, we do have the eye. i just can't remember where i last put it,” the woman in the middle replied. she started searching on each of the small cabinets located on the top part of t