Blue Moon and Red Muhly: A Tale of the Underworld

Kicking a rock as he shuffled along the paths of the Underworld, Donghae pouted and sighed. Even the company of his constant companion, the three-headed dog Cerberus (three heads meant more petting, but also more kisses), couldn’t lift his sour mood.

He was bored and lonely. His minions kept things running smoothly most of the time, and while the people above ground had affixed a lot of scary rumors and myths to his person, even inventing the name Hades to call him by, thinking that the use of his real name might invoke his wrath, Donghae really wasn’t a bad guy.

It wasn’t fair that he’d been stuck in this place. He was the firstborn son, but since his father had swallowed him and all his siblings as soon as they were born, it was the youngest of them, the one the humans called Zeus (his real name was Heechul, but only their family used it anymore) who managed to escape their fate and grow up first. Eventually he had tricked their father into spitting out the rest of them. But Donghae was the last one out, and so everyone treated him like a baby.

When he and his brothers decided to split things up and take a realm each to rule, he’d lost their silly game and ended up here. Heechul got the sky, Kangin (known as Posiedon) got the sea. It was truly a travesty, because Donghae loved the sea. He loved the sky and the land, too, but here he was in the Underworld where it was always twilight, and he could never see the sun or stars or feel a cool breeze on his face.

Needless to say, he rebelled a little in the beginning. He didn’t understand death, since he couldn’t die himself. Suffering and sadness always made him cry. Finally, his brother was forced to send down some helpers to keep him company and take care of the business of things. And they were nice people, sure, but none of them wanted to play around and have fun.

But after some time had passed, Donghae realized that in one respect, he was far better suited to this job than either of his brothers. Heechul was a hothead who often said and did things without thinking through the consequences. Kangin could be a real meanie sometimes (though never to Donghae) and loved to create chaos in the seas for excitement. Neither of them had the patience and gentle nature to handle consoling all the souls that arrived here. Donghae had a sweetness to him, despite all the nasty tales people spread about him. Once he held someone’s hand and listened to their stories, most souls accepted their fate and settled into eternity here waiting for their loved ones to arrive.

The ones that didn’t; troublemakers, murderers, and nonstop complainers, were left to his minions to handle. He didn’t ask what they did with those souls and was convinced he never wanted to know.

Today he felt exceptionally restless. Of course, he was allowed to leave the Underworld for short periods of time. But unfortunately, he was bound to this place. Staying away for too long led to things falling apart and souls getting crazy ideas about escaping back to the real world. And that would be a disaster, as he’d found out during his rebellious phase when he attempted to run away for a while.

It made it really hard to meet new people. Living people, anyway. And more than anything he wanted a companion for his lonely days. A day trip above ground wouldn’t hurt anything. Maybe he could pay his brother Kangin a visit. He always enjoyed spending time with Donghae and wouldn’t nag him about sneaking away. If he asked nicely, Kangin would probably talk to the fishes again and have them put on a little show just for him.

**

Later that evening, with a blue moon full in the sky, Donghae was coming back from an adventure in the ocean with his brother. He was in a good mood, since Kangin had let him swim with the fish and showed him a new coral formation that was bursting with life and color. Donghae loved colorful things. He spent his life in the shadows, after all, so he tended to dress brightly and change the colors of his hair depending on his mood.

As they neared the shore, he could see some of his brother’s helpers, the Nereids, and frowned suddenly, not wanting to get too close. They were too bold, those women, always teasing him and asking him questions. They made him feel shy and uncomfortable and he honestly had no idea why his brother liked having them around so much. They were pretty, certainly, but none of their faces caught his attention, they all looked too much alike.

Tonight though, as his brother was about to leave, Donghae caught sight of something beautiful. Sitting on a rock at the edge of the water, chatting with the Nereids as if they were old friends, was a young man, slender and graceful, with silky hair, pale skin reflecting the light of the moon, and large, dark eyes.

He didn’t realize he’d in a breath of awe, until his brother chuckled beside him.

“What? See someone you like? Point her out and I’ll call her over for you,” his brother laughed knowingly.

Donghae didn’t pay any attention to the teasing, murmuring, “Not one of them. Who are they talking to, though?”

“The boy? That’s Teukie’s son. The mortals call him Persephone, he’s a demi-god that was abandoned by his mother. Teuk found him in a field of grass and decided to raise him. Don’t you remember? He told us all about it at that family dinner a few decades ago.”

Rolling his eyes, Donghae didn’t bother telling his brother that he hadn’t been at the last family dinner. No one had remembered to invite him, and it was years before he finally figured out the slight. As for his brother Leeteuk, known above ground as Demeter, the god of nature, Donghae had no idea the man even had a child.

At least the boy was adopted. Because Donghae thought he might have fallen in love at first sight and learning that the ethereal young man was his nephew by blood relation would be all kinds of wrong.

“He’s pretty,” Donghae murmured, unable to take his eyes off the young man, his white, gauzy clothing moving gently in the sea breezes, showing off the sleek lines of his body.

“And Teukie guards him like a lioness. Why do you think a grown boy like that has to be babysat by my Nerieds whenever Teuk is busy? One of these days I’m going to tell him no when he asks to borrow them.”

Snorting, Donghae knew that day would never come. Kangin had a soft spot for Leeteuk almost as large as the one he had for Donghae. Back in the old days the two had been thick as thieves. But Leeteuk liked things calm and peaceful and eventually got tired of Kangin’s need to stir up trouble. They were still close though. Maybe too close for Donghae to tip off his brother as to his newfound obsession.

Once he bid goodbye to Kangin, Donghae snuck around until he found a good hiding place and spent another hour or two just watching the young man, the moonlight bathing his pale skin. He was perfection, and Donghae thought that he might finally be content with his place in the world, if only he could have that beautiful face to gaze upon every day.

Since he was way too shy to try and speak to the young man on his own (Leeteuk could be scary when he thought you might damage his precious flowers, okay? He would probably be even worse about someone courting his son!), Donghae decided to make a visit to his other brother Heechul for some advice.

***

Hyukjae was bored. If he wasn’t being dragged around by his parent, he was being left in the company of all kinds of other mythical beings because his father didn’t trust him to take care of himself alone. He was a grown man, though! He knew how to protect himself. He’d had training with weapons and was very good at figuring out when someone was using a pick-up line. It wasn’t like he was going to fall for some cheap flattery and allow himself to be dragged off by any of the simple humans that were always trying to catch his attention.

But his father barely even let him talk to anyone. He was too beautiful to be left unprotected, that’s what he was told every day. And yes, he was beautiful, obviously, but so were plenty of other people and they didn’t need babysitters!

He especially grew tired when he had to spend time with the Nereids. They were such gossips, always talking about love affairs and handsome sailors – as if any of the ugly human men on those boats could be considered handsome! The ladies really needed to see a bit more of the world. Being at the seashore was nice and all, too, but it was hard to make things blossom there.

Hyukjae was only a demi-god, unlike his father, and being unrelated, he couldn’t inherit any of Leeteuk’s powers through their bloodline. But he did have some small talents of his own. He liked making things bloom. Even plants and trees that were on the verge of dying would respond to his touch and find new life, immediately showing their colors. His father liked to keep him around, especially during spring, because whatever the god Demeter sowed, his son Persephone would blossom to life. It kept him busy a good part of the year and allowed him to spend more quality time with his dad. But after a while even that joy began to pale, and he wished for something more.

As he was sitting by the sea one day, watching his babysitters play around and splash water on each other, he was startled by a loud wailing noise. The Nereids froze in place for a moment as Hyukjae glanced around in shock.

Then the majority of them dove into the sea and disappeared, leaving just one nervous woman who swam over and explained, “Poseidon calls. We have to go.”

Go? Leaving Hyukjae alone? He tried to hide his smile as he nodded and waved her off. “It’s fine, don’t worry, Demeter will be back soon anyway.”

Only when he was positive they were gone, did Hyukjae stand up and look around, taking a good stretch as he tried to decide where he should go and what he could do.

Knowing that his father would eventually find him no matter how far he might wander, Hyukjae started walking inland. It was a deserted place, free of human habitation, so he had little fear of stumbling upon anyone who might wish him ill. Instead, he strolled through the open fields of flowers and grasses, inspecting his father’s work and occasionally giving some struggling plants an extra jolt of life.

He found a field of thickly blooming muhly, and smiled to himself, quite fond of the pinkish color and always happy to see the products of nature thriving. As he moved through them, lifting his hands to caress the soft flowers, a sweet voice floated through the air.

There was a man nearby, singing, and the sound of his voice pulled Hyukjae in like candy offered to a child. Easing through the tall grass cautiously, he saw that there was a small pond hidden in the center, and someone was floating in the middle of it, arms stretched out to his sides as his bright pink hair, the same color as the flowers surrounding them, swirled in the water.

Suddenly the man stopped singing, letting out a sigh and tilting his body until his feet found purchase beneath him and his head and torso lifted free of the water.

Two things raced through Hyukjae’s mind at once. First, that this man was no ordinary human, if he was human at all. And second, that he was probably the most handsome man he’d ever seen in his life. Before he could do anything like run away, however, the man was walking in his direction, the wind caressing his face and drying his hair with a speed that was clearly otherworldly.

A god then, or a demi-god like himself. It gave him a burst of courage to stand up straight when he was eventually noticed, and the man let out a soft sound of surprise.

“Hello,” he managed to say as they stared at one another.

“Hi,” the other man replied, a beautiful smile spreading across his face. That smile eased any remaining fear in Hyukjae. No one with a bad heart could smile that purely. Right?

“I heard you singing. You have a really nice voice.”

“Thanks,” the pink-haired man responded shyly, dipping his head.

“You’re welcome. What are you doing out here?”

“I just felt like taking a walk. And it’s such a beautiful day, I couldn’t resist taking a swim.”

“In your clothes?” Hyukjae replied with a snort.

“They dry fast. The wind helps me,” Donghae shrugged as if commanding the elements was nothing major.

“Are you a god or something?” Hyukjae teased, “Making the wind do your bidding?”

“Something like that,” Donghae smiled again. “But you must be one as well. Are you the god of beauty? I’ve never seen anyone as pretty as you before.”

Blinking rapidly, Hyukjae’s mind was racing from the cheesy pickup line. God of Beauty? Him? Adonis would puke if he heard such blasphemy, but it was still a small thrill to hear someone as handsome as this pink haired man telling him that. Preening a little, he asked, “Why? Do I look like Adonis?”

“You’re much prettier than him,” the pink-haired man replied with a dreamy expression. “And besides, he’s too full of himself, it’s a real turn-off.”

Hyukjae let out a laugh, flattered and intrigued. “I’m Hyukjae. What’s your name?”

“Donghae,” he grinned back, finally stepping out of the water and moving to level ground where Hyuk was able to see that the handsome man was just slightly shorter than him, even if his muscles were quite sleek and impressive under the brightly patterned shirt that was still glued to his chest.

And while the name sounded vaguely familiar, Hyukjae couldn’t remember his father talking about any god named Donghae, so he shrugged and decided the man couldn’t be dangerous. He surely would have been warned against him otherwise.

“So, Donghae, wha