As everyone gathered in the dining hall, I could hear whispers all around me, most of them directed towards me.

"Oh, my god. It's that chick from yesterday."

"You think she'll get pissed if we don't throw food in the hearth again?"

"I bet she's just clinging to the council for selfish reasons."

I simply sighed and tried to look away, unamused by these children. I spotted Taehyung sitting at the end of the Artemis table. Every time I see him, he seems to be staring or looking at me. It was strange and rather unnerving. The corner of his mouth perked up as he let out a soft chuckle. He quirked his brow, as if to ask me, "What're you going to do about it?" 

I snarled at him, and he shrugged, returning to his dinner. I sighed and quickly turned away, continuing towards the line to get my food. Once I had filled my plate, I looked around for Suga, only to see that he had decided to eat with J-Hope at the Apollo table today. I pursed my lips, feeling a bit abandoned before taking a seat at the table I was at before. I sat there, eating my food by myself at a slow pace as I sunk deep in thought. I had always felt a bit outcasted in society, seeing as I had trouble keep up with the times. I was finally in a place with my own people, people who understood and believed in Greek myth, and here I was, eating mashed potatoes, green beans, and turkey all by myself. My shoulders slumped in disappointment as I bit onto my spoon and held it in my mouth, shutting my eyes as the scene from yesterday replayed in my mind. Stupid. I began banging my head lightly on the table, upset I was the one who caused my own misery. 

"Ahem," someone cleared . I looked up to see the girl from yesterday and sighed. With my spoon still in my mouth, my eyes shut, and my brows furrowed in irritation, I picked up my tray and began to walk away. I don't have time for this. "Don't you ignore us!"

The girl scoffed, offended at my actions. She put her food out and tripped me. Falling forward, I fell on top of my tray, sitting up to reveal a shirt covered in food. I pursed my lips, more than upset by what just happened. This was a new uniform... literally the only clothes I have right now. The dining room erupted in laughter. I sat there, feeling a bit defeated. 

"Serves you right!" She sneered, sharing high fives with her posse.

I took in several deep breaths and stood up, picking my tray and plate up. Turning towards her, my hand unconsciously hovered over the pile of whatever was left of my mashed potatoes. I wanted to fling it. I had to fling it. I was going to fling it. Just as I was about to pick up the goop and throw it in her snobby face, a hand reached out and grabbed my shoulder. I turned around to see Taehyung, shaking his head with a serious expression on his face.

He leaned in and whispered softly, "Don't give her what she wants. Feeding the beast will not get rid of it." 

I breathed in deeply through my nose and put the mashed potatoes down as Taehyung led me away, seating me beside him at the Artemis table. Several of the Artemis kids didn't seem very pleased with the whole act. They gave me pitiful looks as I sat down, though I kept my line of vision on my plate. Someone began wiping the food out of my hair, catching my attention. I turned to see a young girl, perhaps no older than twelve helping to clean the food out of my hair. She looked at me in surprise, retracting her hand.

"I-I'm sorry. I just... let me help you clean up," she said, nodding as to persuade me to say yes. She began wiping the food off the side of my shirt and my skirt, clicking her tongue. "Aish, really, that girl. Hyojin is really biting off more than she can chew if she thinks she'll be more popular by picking on the new girl."

"Yeah, just ignore her, Jiae. She's a brat who think she's better than everyone because her father's a billionaire and her mother's Aphrodite," a boy spoke up, handing me a napkin. I quietly took the napkin from him and nodded, refusing to take my eyes off my plate. The boy looked the young girl up and down before shouting out, "Yah, Saeron. Where do you think you're wiping?"

Saeron stopped and I looked down at where she was wiping. Her hand was stopped right on my , and I pursed my lips, unsure of how to react at the moment. Saeron dropped her napking and put her hands together, apologizing rapidly. "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry! I didn't mean to! Oh, my god," Saeron stammered.

I looked at her and couldn't help but start chuckling. My chuckles soon grew into soft laughter as I leaned back in my chair, a bright smile on my face. "I-I'm sorry, but you're absolutely adorable. Don't worry about it. It was an accident. Saeron, was that your name?" I asked, holding my hand out. "I'm Yoo Jiae. A pleasure meeting you."

"Nice to meet you, Jiae. I'm Saeron- Oh, wait, you already know that," she giggled lightly. "Sorry..."

"Yo, I'm Lee Hongbin," the young man saluted me, smiling. I awed quietly at how his dimples sunk so deep into his cheeks. I hear they're called "dollar tokens" in some cultures. If that's the case, Hongbin must've been worth millions.

"Well, glad to see you're bonding with my siblings," Taehyun spoke up, placing a small rag in my lap. "You still have food stuck in your hair." He took a handkerchief out from his pocket and began wiping at my hair as Saeron did before, though he was a bit rougher than the female was.

"Hey! Ow! Couldn't you be a bit gentler?" I complained, swatting at his hands. 

He pushed my hands away and continued tugging on my hair harshly. "Pain builds character," he scolded. "Something you definitely need."

I scoffed, offended. Tilting my head up, I glared at him, furrowing my brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have no character," he said, lightly smacking me in the face with the handkerchief. 

"Yah! You!" I began violently flailing my hands at him, and he swatted back at me. 

Saeron and Hongbin turned to each other, smiling slightly before turning back to the two. "You two look like a bickering couple," Saeron teased.

"Get any closer, and people might think you're married," Hongbin snickered.

"No way! No with this guy/girl!" Taehyung and I shouted in unison. We turned towards each other. "Stop that!"

"Unnie! Don't ship me with her. She's not worth it. She's weak," I cringed slightly. "Ugly." I lurched forward as if someone smacked me upside the head. "Stupid." I let out a long and slow breath.

"You done yet?" I asked in a hushed voice, lips pursed tightly in irritation. My brow twitched, showing I was more than angry.

"No. Kind klutzy. Annoying. Has some serious grudge issues. Smells like mashed potatoes--"

"Enough!" I hissed, slapping my hand over his mouth. "One more word, and I swear to the gods, the last meal you'll be having is a knuckle sandwich."

I let go of him. "And she's violent."

"You little!" I grabbed him by the collar. I paused for a second, suddenly realizing something. "Wait, did you call her unnie?" I turned towards Saeron who was girnning from ear to ear, squinting my eyes hard. "She's... you're unnie?" 

"Yup."

"How? She's like... twelve."

Saeron covered her lips as she smiled, her face almost illuminating as she did so. "Oh, thank you. I do take good care of my skin..."

"Twelve? My sister... twelve..." Taehyung snorted. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Potatoes, but Saeron is as old as Greece. She was one of the first maiden hunters of Artemis."

My eyes widened in surprise. "Wow... you've never fallen in love all that time?" I shook my head. "I-I mean, I read in one of the pamphlets that Artemis children have immortality as long as they don't fall in love."

Saeron chuckled and nodded. "Yup. Surprising, right? I don't know. Love has never interested me. And I've realized I can live without it," she looked rather calm but suddenly put her fists in the air in excitement. "But that doesn't mean I can't cheer others' loves on! Set sail S.S.Jiaehyung!" I closed my eyes in defeat and sighed.

"But, uh," Hongbin spoke up. "What are we going to do about your uniform? Do you have a spare?"

I shook my head. "No... this was my only pair of clothes I currently own..."

Saeron tapped a finger on her cheek, smiling widely. "I think I have an idea... Why don't you come spend a night at our dorm, and I'll lend you some of my clothes?"

"R-really?" I sputtered. I shook my head, refusing. "N-no, it's okay. I feel like I'm impeding on your family."

"Nonsense!" She slapped me on the back, causing me to lurch forward. "We love guests. Oh, my gods. I just realized something."

"What?" Taehyung quirked a brow, curious about his sister's antics.

She squealed suddenly, bouncing up and down on her chair. "Jiae! We can have one of those sleepovers normal children always have. Oh, goodness. This is going to be so much fun! We'll do each other's hair, paint our nails, and talk about--"

"Boys?" I spoke up, trying to finish her sentence.

"Hunting," she grinned widely, obviously more than uninterested in the topic of boys. 

I smiled softly, thankful to have met such a kind person. "Thank you," I said, looking down into my lap. "You know, I've lived for a long time, too. I've never met someone as kind as you, Saeron." 

Saeron lifted my chin up and looked me in the eyes. Her warm brown eyes seemed kind and warm, like those of a mother doe looking over her fawn. "You've been missing out on life then, my dear. And there's no need to thank me. Unlike Hyojin, I accept everyone as my friend. No matter who they are." My heart fluttered at the word. Friend. It's been a while since I've been called that. "Shall we head to the dorm then?"

"Ah, first!" I jumped up and scurried over to the hearth, ignoring all the stares stabbing into my back. I quickly scraped what was left of my food and clasped my hands together, praying to mother Hestia. Mom, if you're up there and watching over me... thanks. I slid my dishes into the cleaning area before hurrying off with the Artemis kids as they left. I had a feeling things would take a turn for the better soon... hopefully.

******Small Author's note: Previously in the story, I said Jiae was like... 3 or 4 centuries old. I miscalculated Ancient Greece's age by A LOT. Jiae's actually like 13 centuries old or something. But I'm too lazy to actually do the math, so we're gonna say she's realllllllly old. And so are most of the Artemis kids.