I stared at the person in front of me, unsure of how to react to his sudden appearance. I waved slightly at him, though my attention was elsewhere. 

"Yes, my name is Jiae. Pleasure meeting you, Daehyun," I responded, trying to peek over his shoulder. I pouted when I realized J-Hope had disappeared and let out a soft, disappointed sigh. 

"Why the long face?" Daehyun asked, quirking a brow with his lip jutting out. Putting on a grin, he slipped his arm around my shoulders, and I cringed at the feeling. Something didn't feel right. "Are you alone? Do you want to hang out with me?"

"N-no, I'm good. Thanks," I said nervously, trying to push him away. He kept a tight grip on my shoulders, refusing to let me slip away. 

"How about a drink? Here, try this. It's really good, promise," he held a cup up to my lips, and I shook my head.

"No, really. I'm good. Please stop it," I said, profusely shaking my head as to keep the cup away from my lips.

"She said," Taehyung came up from behind us and grabbed Daehyun's hand, causing Daehyun to turn his head and shoot him a glare. "No. Thank. You. Let go of her." Taehyung squeezed the cup in Daehyun's hand, causing the liquid to spill onto the floor. 

Daehyun clicked his tongue in irritation and let go of me. "Damn it, Taehyung. The little lady and I were having a good time until you showed up."

Taehyung looked to me with a stern expression, surprising me slightly. "Are you having fun?" He asked. I shook my head, and Taehyung raised a brow at Daehyun, as if threatening him to say another word. "Anything else you have to say?"

Daehyun scoffed and simply gave up, walking away and tossing the crumpled cup angrily into the trashcan. He walked down the dark hallway of the Apollo dorm and disappeared. Around the corner, a dark figure stood waiting for Daehyun. He stopped and kicked the wall beside the figure, an irritated look on his face. 

"Don't ask me to do your dirty work ever again. That was embarassing. Who the hell does that Taehyung kid think he is? He shouldn't even exist. If he wasn't there, I would've finished the job," Daehyun growled, complaining.

The dark figure nodded and handed him a small bundle with gold coins inside, instantly bringing a wide grin to his face. Daehyun nodded his head in approval and shoved the bundle into his pocket before saluting to the figure and walking off to his room. The figure then disappeared into the shadows, leaving no trace of their presence. 

Back at the party, Taehyung stared at me angrily. I shifted uncomfortably and looked the other way. He lifted his hand, still drenched after he squashed the cup, to his nose and took a whif of it. He narrowed his eyes. Just the smell of it made his chest burn. It was a high concentrate of nectar, a drink most demigods can drink but in moderation. That cup of nectar could have easily killed me, immortal or not, I was still a human being, not a god. I glanced at him and relucantatly took out a handkerchief, taking his hand in mine and slowly cleaning it off. 

"What are you doing?" He asked, retracting his hand.

"Will you hold still? I'm cleaning your hand off. It'll get sticky," I said, irritated by his attitude. He watched me in silence as I wiped his hand. "I haven't thanked you yet for the times you've saved me yesterday and today. So thank you."

"Whatever."

"Come on, now. Don't reply like that. I'm trying to reach out to you. We seem to have been in some hot water since the beginning, and I apologize. Let's try to get along, yeah?"

He kept silent for a moment before sighing quietly and nodding. "Fine."

I smiled. "That's better. Is there anything I can do to thank you for the times you've saved me?"

"Not really," his eyes looked off to the side, avoiding eye contact with me. 

"Surely there must be something," I said, folding my handkerchief up. 

"Well," he paused before bringing his gaze back to me, looking me in the eye. "You could save a dance for me later."

I blushed lightly. "What?"

"Nothing," he replied, tucking his hands into his pockets. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted J-Hope passing by and a smile grew across my face. I immediately turned to go after him. "J-" Taehyung suddenly stuck his foot out and caused me to trip. "Hope?"

I yelped in surprise, waving my arms about when Taehyung caught me and helped me stand back up. I stared at him in astonishment before slapping on his shoulder. He let out a low hiss and held his arm.

"What was that for?" He asked.

"You tripped me!" I shouted, making a commotion. 

He huffed and put his hands on my shoulders. 

"What are you doing?" I asked.

His lightly pressed against my ankle with the back of his shoes, causing me to flinch slightly as a sharp pain shot up my leg. I lifted that foot up and held onto my ankle, whimpering. "O-ow."

"I knew it," Taehyung sighed, taking on of my arms and draping it across his shoulders as he helped me hop to the nearest chair. "You haven't worn heels before, have you?"

"I have," I replied, sharply taking a breath in as he slipped my heels off. "A long time ago..."

He pursed his lips at my ankle where the heel had rubbed me so roughly, it was scraped up and bloody. "Stay here. I'll go get some bandages." Without letting me protest, he got up and went to get disinfectant wipes and bandages. Once he got back, he crouched down and helped clean off the wounds before applying large bandages to them.

I flinched slightly when a blurry vision hit me. I blinked my eyes rapidly, not once taking my eyes off of Taehyung. I suddenly remembered long ago when I was involved in a similar situation like this. I could see the boy in Taehyung's position, but he looked nothing like Taehyung. For one thing, the boy had dark hair, like a starless night sky. I could see the boy look up, a friendly smile on his face. His smile was the only thing I could remember. The rest of his facial features were blurry beyond comprehension. I shook my head, causing the vision to disperse. What was that all about?

Taehyung finished up and took my hand, placing another bandage in my hand. "That's in case one of them falls off."

"Okay," I replied, looking around awkwardly. "Thanks." I reached for the heels but he stopped me. 

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Putting my shoes back on?" 

He shook his head. "Nope. Wear these for the rest of the night," he ordered me, placing his black vans before me. 

I looked at him in shock. "But? What about you?"

He sat down on the ground and showed me the new black converse he now sported with a slight smile. "I borrowed Hongbin's shoes. Saeron locked her room so I couldn't get to a pair of her shoes. Sorry."

"N-no, I don't mind. Thank you, really. You went through so much trouble even though I was the one who made the stupid choice of wearing these," I replied, gratefully putting his shoes on.

My feet fit perfectly in his shoes and I giggled softly. He had the same shoe size as me. I didn't know if that was a bad or a good thing, but it was interesting. Looking up, I made eye contact with J-Hope who was dancing in the crowd, and he smiled, making his way toward me. Taehyung noticed this and quickly took his leave. 

"Hey, Jiae," J-Hope greeted, looking me up and down as I stood up. "Whoa! You look pretty."

"Thanks," I said shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. 

"Those shoes are questionable, though," J-Hope teased, looking at the vans.

I blushed slightly, shrinking back slightly. "Long story."

"I think it's cute." 

I looked at him with wide eyes, and after he realized what he said, he began to stammer, blushing along with me. "I-I mean. I meant. I-" We both chuckled awkwardly before he offered a hand to me with a friendly smile. "Would you care to dance?"

I smiled and took his hand, following him onto the dance floor. "Gladly." For the rest of the night, we spent the time dancing together. We made small talk and got to know each other better within just a few songs. I learned that J-Hope had a living mother and step-father. He had a little sister as well, a human one who was born of his mother and step-father. His step-father was an avid archer who taught him from the get go, which is how he had found out he was a son of Apollo, as his mother revealed to him his true identity soon after he discovered his talent. All during that time, I could've sworn he reminded me of someone, but I couldn't remember who. Could he really be the person from my memory? It seemed impossible, we've lived different timelines, but then again, in Greek mythology, anything could happen. When he asked about my family, I kept quiet, stammering my way through. Thankfully he told me it was all right, and my heart lightened a bit. Finally, someone who didn't drill into me when we were talking about personal lives. 

My heart seemed to race at every interaction with J-Hope. The way he had his arm around my waist during slow dances. His eyes glistened every time what little light we had in the room bounced off the surface, making them look like stars. His smile drew me in and made me comfortable and at ease, something I hadn't been for a very long time. It was bliss to say the least. Was this what they called-? No. No way. I refused. 

As Jin called announced the next song would be the final slow dance for the night, J-Hope offered me his hand yet again, but before I could accept his offered, Taehyung intervened. He tapped on J-Hope's shoulder, clearing his throat. "May I?" Taehyung asked, gesturing towards me. "I was promised a dance after all."

J-Hope looked to me, and I nodded. With that, he took his leave, disappearing into the crowd. Taehyung awkwardly put his hand on my hip, hovering as if he were scared to catch the cooties from me. I chuckled at this causing him to become flustered. "H-hey, don't laugh at me," he said shyly, looking away as he blushed.

"Taehyung, just put your hand on my hip. I don't mind," I said, gently guiding his hand until it touched my hip. This caused him to blush even harder as he made an unpleasant face. I paused, the blurry face I'd seen before flashing before my eyes again. I shook my head and smiled, pinching his cheek, holding on tight as he tried to pull away. "So cute."

"St-stop it," he grumbled. "I'm not cute... you are."

I paused, blinking at his retort. "What?"

"Nothing. I'm not saying it again," he said stubbornly. 

I laughed, grinning widely and took the chance to more. "Oh, come on. Say it again. Can you say it more cutely? 'Jiae-ah, you're cute!'" I put my hands on his shoulders and jumped up and down excitedly, happy he's finally opening up to me. 

"Stop. St-stop," he commanded, placing his hands over mine and squeezing it. "Stop!"

I finally obliged and chuckled lightly as he sighed and put his hands back on my hips. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and we silently danced to the music, not really talking much. Though I felt as though the whole time our eyes had quite a conversation.

You're really full of energy, you know that?

I know. 

What are we gonna do with you?

Take care of me?

Psh, please. Take care of yourself.

That's not nice. 

He stuck his tongue out at me, and I gasped in astonishment, slapping him on the arm.

Meanie.

I know.

"By the way, are your ankles?" Taehyung asked, glancing down at my feet.

"Oh, uh," I had forgotten about my blisters. I looked down at my ankles and smiled. "They're okay. They don't hurt anymore." 

There was a silent pause between us before Taehyung spoke up again. "Hey, Jiae... Could I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Well-"

The song soon ended, and J-Hope appeared again, standing beside Taehyung and I. He shuffled in place silently, looking down at his shoes before he asked, "Could I you back to her your for the night, Jiae?" 

"Sure," I said, immediately taking his arm, which he offered to me. "Oh, wait." I turned back to Taehyung with a smile on my face. "What did you want to say, Taehyung?" 

Taehyung shook his head and turned his back to us. "Never mind. Good night, Jiae. I'm going to stick around a while longer." 

"O-okay," I said, shrugging and turning back to J-Hope. 

"Shall we go?"

"Yep! I'm staying in Saeron's room, by the way."

"All right. Let's go." 

Taehyung walked away slowly, coming to a stop before he turned around and looked at me with longing eyes. "Cassandra... please remember."