“Yujin, tell me again why I’m tagging along with you?” Yena asked as the two made their way through the forest. It had been around ten minutes since they left the cabin area with no geysers in sight.

“Because, as one of my best friends, you wanted to lend me a helping hand,” said Yujin cheekily.

“I’m one of your only friends,” Yena muttered back. “Where’s Chaewon? Can’t she help too?”

“Chaewon-unnie’s still asleep. It was a pretty long day for her yesterday, remember?”

“Can you two just quit yapping and follow me?” Another voice spoke. It was Yuri, who had chosen to accompany Yujin and Yena to the geyser.

Yena had figured that getting water from a geyser would be easy, but as Yuri ended up explaining last night, that was not the case. Just as the trees were home to dryads, water sources have their own share of water spirits. Rivers are usually inhabited by naiads, and the geysers they were visiting today had Palikoi.

“Are you sure we can’t just go up to the geyser and take the water?” Yujin asked.

“If you want third-degree burns, be my guest. Just trust me on this.” Yuri replied before venturing on ahead.

Yena sighed and decided to focus on the scenery. It was definitely a stark contrast to the bustling city of Seoul. Every once in a while, she’d accidentally step on a tree root, much to the annoyance of the dryad living in it.

“Who do you think our godly parents are?” Yujin wondered out loud, breaking the silence.

Yena chuckled. “Whoever they are, I’m going to give them an earful for leaving our moms alone for years.”

“You could say that again… but if you really think about it, they’re beings who’ve existed for thousands of years. Maybe they just don’t care,” Yujin said with a tinge of sadness.

“Yah, regardless of how powerful you are, you have a responsibility to your kid. I don’t care how many children my father has. My mom went through hell because he wasn’t around,” Yena replied, her irritation starting to build up again. She half-expected Yuri to try and shush her again for the ruckus she was making, but instead, she gave a light laugh.

“You’re right, you know? A lot of demigods wish their parents were more involved in our lives. But I promise you, some of them do care,” Yuri said, her gaze drifting towards the sky as she said that. Yena recalled Yuri saying she’d only met her father, Apollo, once, and was starting to get curious on what that meeting had been like. Before she could ask more questions though, Yuri stopped in her tracks.

“We’re close…” she whispered. In the distance, Yena could hear the sound of water frothing until a big boom echoed throughout the forest.

“I assume that was the geyser?” Yujin asked a bit apprehensively.

Yuri nodded. “Again, let me do the talking, and maybe we can get some water.”

~~~~

“It looks like a regular geyser to me,” said Yena, though, she’d never actually seen a geyser in person. The trio were standing in an open clearing, and right at the center were two wide holes in the ground with steam billowing up from them. Compared to the green grass spread throughout the forest thus far, the surface here was rather rocky with pools of hot water sprinkled around the area.

“Shush, you would’ve hurt their feelings if they heard that,” Yuri chided. Yena wasn’t exactly sure how she could offend a waterspout, but she decided to humor her.

Yujin took out a thermos she’d been lugging along out of her backpack and opened it.

“So, we just walk over, fill this thing up and hand it back to Wonyoung, right?” she asked in a hopeful tone. Unfortunately, Yuri shook her head.

“Nothing in the demigod world is free,” she replied as the ground began to rumble again.

While Yena and Yujin dropped to the ground to take cover, Yuri simply stood in place and watched as another geyser spout went off. When the mist cleared this time though, Yena could make out two figures standing over the two smoky pits. They were wearing matching blue polo shirts with the Camp Half-Blood emblem on them. Both figures had muscular builds, chalk-white eyes, foamy hair and gray skin that appeared almost translucent. Their lower bodies were a different story, though, as they consisted of pure steam. It looked like they were genies with the way their forms were sprouting from the geysers.

“Demigods! To what do we owe the pleasure!” The one on the right greeted cheerfully.

Before anyone could respond, the second Palikos cut in. “Come on, Jackson, it’s obviously because they gave some thought on that marketing proposal we sent the other week!”

Yena and Yujin looked at Yuri confusedly, but the child of Apollo gave them a look that told them to keep their calm.

“Hey, Jackson, JB!” Yuri replied, taking a step closer and bowing. “Of course we did! Mr. D is still making some minor edits, so we don’t have a final verdict yet.”

At this, Jackson sighed. “See JB, I told you the billboard suggestion was too much of a money waster! Nobody looks at those anymore!”

“Most magical creatures don’t use gadgets though! I still believe that traditional advertising has a place in our society,” JB argued back before turning towards the demigods again.

“So, what are you here for then?” he asked.

“We have some new demigods here, and one of them was just super curious about the water from these geysers. We wanted to know if we could just get a bottle?” Yuri replied, making room to show the thermos Yujin was holding behind her.

They Palikoi looked at Yujin intently, and Yena could see the color in their eyes brighten when they did, if that was even possible. It was as if they sensed something, the mist forming their lower halves also turning grayer.

“I see… Well, if you want some of the water, you must do something for us in return,” Jackson said with crossed arms.

“Are you suuure we can’t just fill this up and get out of your hair?” Yujin suddenly asked. “I mean, it seems like you have a lot of that to spare.”

“We’re afraid not. This water has magical properties, so we can’t just give it away for free, you know? Then, everyone would want to come here. Good for marketing, bad for overall business,” JB replied.

“Then what do you want?” Yena then asked.

“There’s been an infestation of Myrmekes in the forest behind us. Find a way to block them from getting closer to here and you got yourself a deal,” Jackson said.

Yuri’s face went slack. “What? These campers just got here. I don’t think they’re ready to fend off those things,”

“That is our condition, so take it or leave it. Besides, I think these demigods will be just fine,” JB said with a knowing look in his eyes.

~~~~

“Uh, so what exactly happened back there? You said you had a plan.” Yena said to Yuri as they made their way deeper into the forest.

“I knew they’d give us a challenge, but I didn’t expect it to be about the Myrmekes. I figured they’d just ask you to finish reading their marketing plan and give suggestions,” Yuri replied with a shrug.

“You’re kidding, right? What was their deal with that anyway? Billboards?” Yujin asked.

“The Palikoi are the main marketing team at camp. They’re how we get connections to sell the produce we grow in the gardens and advertise the camp to wandering demigods. That’s all they usually talk about, but it seems they saw something in you.”

“Okay…” Yena butted in to change the topic. “How about the Myrmekes? What are those, and why did you think we couldn’t handle it.”

“They’re basically giant ants, and they are notoriously hard to kill. We have an entire section of the camp area blocked off specifically to avoid their nest.,” Yuri said.

“And we’re supposed to find a way to get them from spreading further…? Maybe we’ll need some help,” said Yujin.

“Demigod rules. If the quest was assigned to you, you have to be the group that does it. Otherwise, you lose credibility.”

“And I’m sure our lives are worth risking for credibility,” Yena muttered sarcastically.

~~~~

After a couple minutes of trekking, a sudden buzzing noise caused Yuri to take Yena and Yujin with her down to the ground.

“Shh, they’re close,” she whispered. Sure enough, when Yena poked her head out from the bushes, she saw a group of armored ants the size of German Shepherds foraging around. On a closer look, Yena noticed shiny rocks and pieces of armor in between their mandibles.

“Myrmekes love to collect shiny objects,” Yuri explained as she surveyed the area.

“There’s too many of them, how are we going to block them off?” Yujin asked.

At this, Yuri seemed to notice something. “You see that big divet in the ground? That looks like a riverbed.”

Sure enough, when Yena and Yujin looked at the area Yuri had referred to, they could see a five-foot indent in the ground. It looked noticeably damper than the surface above it, which meant the water flowing through it must have been cut off recently.

“Myrmekes hate water. They must’ve expanded their territory because the river here was blocked,” Yuri explained. “Let’s find the source and open it up again.”

“I think I hear it coming from that way,” Yujin said, pointing to their north.

Yena looked at Yuri confusedly. “I don’t hear anything. Do you?”

Yuri shook her head. “No, but if Yujin can hear it, it’s worth a shot.”

Yujin and Yena nodded, but just as they were about to sneak away, the snap of a twig began echoing through the forest. Yena looked down at her foot and saw a broken piece of wood under it.

“Great…” With the Myrmekes now all looking in their direction, the trio sprinted away.

~~~~

“Up ahead! I see it!” Yujin shouted. Just like they’d thought, the river had been diverted in another direction because of a large oak tree that had fallen over it.

“We have to find a way to move it!” Yuri said, but the Myrmekes were closing in fast. Parts of group’s clothes were now singed after being hit by their projectile poision.

Suddenly, Yena got an idea. “You said they liked shiny things, right?”

Yuri seemed to pick up on what Yena was thinking, but before she could stop her, Yena took out her pen and uncapped it. A bright light began illuminating the forest, and immediately caught the Myrmekes attention.

“I’ll distract them! Just get that dam broken!”

Yena made a run for it, dragging all the Myrmekes along with her to the other side of the riverbank. In the corner of her eye, she could see Yuri and Yujin trying to push the fallen tree out of the way, but it was just too large.

With so many Myrmekes on her tail, Yena decided to take her chances and swung her sword at one of them. Big mistake. Her weapon clanged off the ant’s armor the second it made contact, sending shivers up Yena’s spine.

The rest of the Myrmekes were now surrounding her, and Yena was basically dancing the Sirtaki with the way she was jumping around to avoid the ants’ poison. She couldn’t keep it up forever, though, and just before she was about to run out of energy, a loud screeching noise blasted throughout the forest. When Yena looked over, it was Yuri playing the guitar she’d used back when she’d saved her yesterday.

“Hurry, Yena! It won’t stun them for long!” she yelled. Yena didn’t need a second invitation.

By the time she got back to them, the Myrmeke horde was now officially upset and charging right towards them.

“What’re we going to do?” Yena asked, and for the first time since she’d met her, Yuri looked nervous.

“I-I don’t know! We can’t let them get any closer to camp!”

Suddenly, Yujin spoke up. “Guys, hold them off from crossing the riverbed for just a bit longer. I have an idea. Trust me.”

Given that they didn’t have many options, Yuri and Yena agreed. Yena would use her glowing sword to keep the Myrmekes away, and Yuri would strum her guitar wildly any time they got to close. Meanwhile, from Yena’s view, though, it just looked like Yujin was staring at the fallen tree.

“Yah, Ahn Yujin! What’re you doing?!?” she yelled.

“Let me focus!” Yujin shouted back as she extended a hand towards the blockage.

After a couple seconds of strenuous focus, Yujin let out a defiant yell. “COME BACK ACROSS!”

Yuri and Yena did as instructed just as a torrent of water blasted through the oak wood. The Myrmekes that were chasing them were caught by the sudden flow of water and dragged downstream. The others that were further away stopped in their tracks, clicking their mandibles in annoyance before ultimately turning and scuttling away.

“Woah…” Yena murmured.

“Woah is right. Yujin, how did you do that?” Yuri asked incredulously.

The two girls got their answer before Yujin could speak as a blue-green glow began surrounding her.

“It can’t be…” Yuri muttered seeing a giant trident hologram appear over Yujin’s head.

“What? What is that?” Yujin asked, frantically trying to wave the hologram away.

“Earthshaker, stormbringer, god of the sea… Yujin, your father is Poseidon.”

~~~~

The walk back to campgrounds was rather quiet. There were bits of small talk here and there, but the trio were all too stunned to really converse.

Jackson and JB were ecstatic that their Myrmeke problem was resolved, and even said they could sense Yujin’s heritage from the moment they saw her.

“This will be great for marketing!” Jackson had said.

“Yes! I can’t wait to tell Pete and Paulie that we have our own child of Poseidon here in Korea too,” JB added.

The Palikoi then filled up Yujin’s thermos before sending the trio on their way. Yena could’ve sworn she could hear them arguing over whether to put this discovery on a newspaper ad or a YouTube commercial.

Now, as they were heading back, Yena could only think back to the dream she’d had a couple nights ago. If Yujin was a daughter of Poseidon and Chaewon was a daughter of Hades… she was worried about what that meant for her and the future she and her friends would end up having.

 

A/N: Hi everyone! Welcome back to another chapter! I didn't think I'd be able to get the chapter out this weekend because I was busy, but i managed to find some time.

So, as many of you expected, Yujin is a child of Poseidon! Now, I thought about writing this from her perspective, but ultimately decided to do it from Yena's view first. Yujin's thoughts on the moment will be shown in two chapters as we're heading back to Chaewon's in the next.

Thanks once more for all the support! Again, if you have questions or comments, please share them if you can! It helps me write the story better and it's also fun to go through everyone's thoughts and theories.

Have a nice day, and I'll see y'all in the next one!