Archived/Do Seokjin

**Name:**Do Seokjin (도석진)

**Age:**22 (was it?)

**Species:**Demigod

**Parents:**Ares and An Yeon-Woo

Long ago, in a faraway land . . . . .

*Parents*

An Yeon-Woo was a simple woman who lived a simple life and had the common problems an everyday woman has. She lived in the Gangwon Province of South Korea, alone except for her sickly mother. She had a fair job in a thriving company, and it was enough to let she and her mother get by. However, her mother's illness worsened,  and the hospital fees were overwhelming. Yeon-Woo had to take longer hours at work to get a higher salary, but no matter how hard she tried and how tires she'd always become, her mother wasn't meant to be saved that time.

Like every foolish person in the world, to quell her grief, she went out drinking in a random bar, the noise pushing her thoughts of her mother away. Although it was annoying to have drunkards, male and female, bumping into her every single time, she stayed longer than she intended to, and had almost finished up her pocket money on drinks if it weren't for the stranger who started to chat with her. She wasn't in the mood for talking, but the unknown male insisted. She was just so much drunk. The last thing she remembered was kissing the guy.

She woke up in her bed the next morning, naked and cold. Did she just hook up with a complete stranger? No, no, she didn't do that. She tried not to thing about whatever had happened last night - or was it last night? Further on, she continued working, but showed signs of pregnancy sooner. Yeon-Woo had hovered over the choice to just abort the child. But her mother seemed to be speaking in her head, being her conscience each time. She had broken down, and decided to try raising the child. *Her* fatherless child.

Months later, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. However, she thought so much of what could happen in the next days to come and got too anxious. Desperate to lead a life with little to no troubles, she sought for an orphanage to give the baby to. She didn't even consider naming the child. She found one far from her, and left him before its gates, under the light fall of snow.

*Childhood in the orphanage*

The matrons in the orphanage named him Seokjin, leaving out a surname. They cared for him while he was still a babe, until only when he turned five years old. Like the other kids residing there, they made them work at day - gardening, laundry, cleaning, and chopping of firewood. Little Seokjin had always been punished for suddenly dreaming off during the day, and he was always the one left out every night, the time when all the kids gather around the fireplace or play games in their rooms. *Useless dimwit,*the matrons would often call him. For his young age, he knew a lot of words, and had cried himself to sleep some nights, wondering what he'd done wrong to displease them.

The orphanage had its own library. No one was allowed in there, but Seokjin would sneak in every time the matrons were busy doing something else. He'd read and read until his eyes hurt. His brain was like a huge drive capable of keeping many an information and a vast imagination. Though occasionally he'd get caught and punished, but it was worth it. He'd secretly borrow a book and bring it to bed, sitting under the window and reading under the light of the lamp outside. In the morning, he'd wake up earlier than anyone and return the book, just in case one might notice it missing, though rarely did someone do. Then he'd endure all the bullying and accept whatever name they'd call him, so that they wouldn't be able to hurt him with those anymore.

He lived liked that for the first eight years of his life - alone and miserable. But if that was just it, he decided that solitude would be his own armor. Until a childless couple visited the orphanage with the goal to adopt a child of their own. Later that day, one of the matrons called for Seokjin into the main office. There he saw the pair of strangers he spotted earlier. The man had said, "He's perfect," and the woman kneeled in front the boy, asking if he wanted to have a family. Seokjin happily said yes, and so much more when she said that she and her husband were to adopt him.

*A new family*

Jae-Sun Do and Hei Ryung Do were his new parents, and even though he was silent and reserved, they still tried to make him laugh and feel at home in their huge house in the city of Sokcho. They gave him a large room, all for his own, with a bed so comfy and big he couldn't stop rolling on it in delight. It even had its own bathroom! Jae-Sun knew Seokjin like books, so he showed him a room full of books just down the hallway, all for the boy himself. In no time, the boy loved his new family so much, just like his new parents have found happiness in having him.

But their first months of happiness were short-lived when they knew of Hei Ryung's sickness that could eventually kill her some time soon. Jae-Sun was always at the hospital, sitting by her bed and falling asleep. She would wake up when he was asleep and Seokjin was awake, watching her. They'd talk while the husband was peacefully snoring, and she asked the boy to promise her that he will protect Jae-Sun. Seokjin unhesitatingly swore he will. A month before Seokjin's tenth birthday, Hei Ryung passed away.

Although sad, Jae-Sun and Seokjin made their birthdays happy, which happened to be on two consecutive days. Three days later, a man named Seo-yeon Jhang knocked on their door, introducing himself as Jae-Sun's stepbrother from a southern province to Seokjin. His father was more than happy to get to see the sibling he was closest to. Seo-yeon was a happy-go-lucky guy who only cared about having fun without hurting anyone. He always had jokes and puns on his sleeve that would either make you laugh your heart out or leave him entirely as if you never knew him. However, he was good at giving advices, making Seokjin want to keep running by his side, too. One day, while roaming around with his uncle, he witnessed a boy not much older than him

A year passed, and Seo-yeon came back to greet them both on their birthdays, and he was on time those days. They arranged a little picnic at the beach near their residence. Jae-Sun forgot their sandwiches, so he went back to get them. Seo-yeon told Seokjin to stay put and watch their spot while he searched for some firewood. Once his uncle was out of sight within the forest nearby, three telekhines broke from the surface of the water and went to shore, waving their swords as they approached Seokjin. On the other hand, the boy just tilted his head and rubbed his eyes repeatedly, believing the weird creatures were a part of his growing imagination. When one of them threw a dagger at him - him barely dodging - and his arm took the gash and bled, he knew it was real. Stumbling away, he tried to scream for help but no sound came.

When the seemingly ringleader of the monsters came upon him, he yelled a wordless cry and, faster than he ever thought he'd be, he had disarmed the stunned telekhine with a dodge and roundhouse kick to its head from behind. It fell to the ground with a sharp thud. Not wasting a second, he landed with a slide and took the fallen sword, slicing the monster's head off before it even got up. The other two creatures charged at him, and he ran to a position where the two would slash at him face-to-face. He ducked, and each's sword slashed the unarmed chest of the other. With a heavy and quick strike, he cut their heads from their necks. They burst into golden dust, mingling with the white sand, as Seokjin lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Seo-yeon had been watching by the trees, raising his suspicions.

Jae-Sun came back with two baskets of sandwiches and found Seokjin sleeping and his brother preparing the lunch and the wine he brought. The weird part? His brother had three sharp swords by his side, glinting under the sun. Seo-yeon immediately pulled Jae-Sun and told him all about what he saw, frightening him. Jae-Sun asked for his help, and he agreed, grinning widely.

*"C'mon! First the orphange, now a*demigod*?"*

Seokjin felt like  wanting fall into a state of comatose after hearing the amazing yet terrible news from his beloved uncle that he was a demigod, still having the god parent unknown. Seo-yeon explaiend everything, from the Greek myth to all the dangers he'd be facing. For example, the telekhines - marine monsters that always had weapons with them. Jae-Sun suggested weapons for the kid, and Seo-yeon found it done. He didn't choose the telekhines's - it was too dull for his taste. So he gave his little nephew one of his weapons from his collections - a *jedok geom,*also known generally as the Korean sword, made from Celestial bronze with a black-leather grip. The sword was so beautiful that Seokjin forgot all of his problems now that he knew he was monster food. Seo-yeon told him he'd train him himself, as he was also a demigod son of Hermes.

Jae-Sun wasn't really into fighting, so he had been the two's sparring audience since then. Seokjin was pretty much proficient in using the sword even though he was new in these kind of things. His moves were smooth and controlled, and he was fast as he was stealthy.  Seo-yeon figured his godly parent was a combat god, and there were lots. First that came to mind was Ares, of course, but it could also be Athena (since he was smart, too) or Enyalius or Enyo or Eris or Nike or either of Ares's sons, Phobos and Deimos, or someone else entirely. Maybe it'd be fine not to know yet; the kid's protection was what mattered.

Four months after that, Seo-yeon suggested they both live with him in Daegu in the North Gyeongsang Province. At the most, Seokjin would be safer with him. Jae-Sun agreed, and kept his house in Sokcho a holiday home. Seo-yeon showed them around, and the kid had the roads and alleys and structures memorized through walking and reading maps. The sea was far away, sadly.

A couple of months after turning twelve, Seokjin, going to his father in a diner, spotted a younger boy running from what seemed to be like a pair of ridiculous hellhounds. Thinking he might be someone like him, he chased the monsters down a street and took them both down with his sword (that he recently discovered could turn into black bracelet). It wasn't even a moderate exercise. He ran to a corner he thought the boy might run to and waited. Like he expected, the younger boy turned to where he was leaning, and Seokjin grinned at him. He didn't let him pass, and he took him by the hand and pulled him along. The boy looked scared, but Seokjin assured him that he'd bring him to safety, to his father waiting in a diner. While walking, the boy introduced himself as Byungcheol, and Seokjin told him all about what he probably was: a demigod.

Lunch was on Jae-Sun then, and he was surprised by another demigod company. Byungcheol shyly told them about his life story - an ten year-old orphan, like Seokjin was once - and the older boy guaranteed him safety. Seokjin became friends with Byungcheol. He'd walk by the orphanage the latter resided in, then wave at him with a huge grin if he ever found him by a window. He even offered the younger boy shelter in his house, if he ever wanted to. Byungcheol agreed, and he'd escape from the orphanage early in the morning to go to Seokjin's house. They'd go to school together, and even though Seokjin was two years senior, he'd find a way to get to Byungcheol and talk to him. Then Seokjin would escort the younger to the orphange - which wasn't that hard considering the laziness of the old caretaker.

*Byungcheol*

For a year this continued. Seokjin was able to help Byungcheol face monsters and had tests with real monsters that ended up tasting the cold kiss of Seokjin's blade. He even gave the younger boy a nickname, Cheolie, which the latter found uncomfortable but had the former reassuring him it'd soon be familiar to him. One day, while they were staying up late at night at Seokjin's, the older boy suggested that Cheolie audition to be a trainee at SKY Entertainment. He knew he was good at singing (he heard him singing random songs in shower), and he was sure he was also good at dancing. Cheolie complied with him. But that wasn't enough. He wanted something else to seal their agreement. He crawled away from his laptop and cornered Byungcheol on the edge of his bed and kissed him. He'd been feeling something so much more than a friend towards Cheolie, and so this was proof his feelings were real.

More time passed by, and the same old thing kept happening. More schoolwork, more distractions, and more time with Cheolie. One night he was walking by their yard when he saw Cheolie sneaking into their house. He grinned and watched, until a bunch of harpies appeared and started attacking the younger. Without a second thought, like he'd promised at that diner a couple of years ago, he sprinted and toook out his blade. Effortlessly he slayed the monsters, only coming up with some cuts, and helped Cheolie stumble back to his house to fix up his injured ankle. He bandaged it up for him, gave him fresh clothes, and tucked him to sleep with a kiss.

Soon, Byungcheol went for the audition, and Seokjin was as supportive as ever. He then called a party when he heard the news that Cheolie passed. Seokjin invited a few of his friends at school that night, enjoying pizza and video games until the twentieth hour. His friends quickly noticed how he was so close with Byungcheol, and they teased him for no end, keeping his face red. When the guests left, Seokjin decided to make a move on the younger boy before he left for training. He couldn't just let Byungcheol slip away from him, although this was his idea.

Before Cheolie ever got to training, Seokjin bought him a new phone (with him already in the contacts) to update him about everything and he also gave him Celestial bronze shurikens (from hus uncle, too) in case monsters appear and he wasn't around to protect him. Byungcheol happily thanked him, and that was all Seokjin could ask in that moment.

For another year they communicated through the phones, Byungcheol updating him about his training and Seokjin sharing wonderful moments that he wished Cheolie was also there to see, even the monster fights that he found so easy. Sooner he saw Byungcheol performing as a backup dancer in some music videos, to which he was proud of. Then, more amazingly, he was so happy to know that little Cheolie was to be a part of a band called *LV.*But he also got wind of the news about Kyuhah, an older trainee who was part of another band called *Wake Up*, who seemed to be getting close to Cheolie. Seokjin got the feeling he might be replaced, and he was scared to let that happen. So he invited the younger to spend time with him before his debut, for there would be little to no time for them to talk when that came.

Another worse news was his father and his uncle. They told him about Camp Half-Blood, a safe haven for demigods, and that he should go and find refuge there. Seokjin pleaded with him to postpone it, for he wanted to be there for Byungcheol. Seo-yeon said there was no time, and monsters kept coming, putting his life in more danger. Jae-Sun got mad, and Seokjin backed away. He never saw him get mad. His father told him that he wanted him to be safe, and he couldn't risk losing another family member again. Seokjin, knowing how his father feels, hesitatingly agreed to their wishes.

Before *LV'*s debut and Seokjin's sixteenth birthday, on a Valentine's Day, he told Byungcheol about departing for the US. The younger was shocked, as Seokjin expected he would be, and he grasped for words as he cried, then finally told Seokjin that he loved him. In the same affection, the older repeated the words to Cheolie. They spent the day wrapped in each other's arms, enjoying their last moment together.

*The Big Apple, oh yeah . . .*

Seokjin, Jae-Sun, and Seo-yeon moved to a village in Southampton, a town in the East End of Long Island. It was nearer to Montauk, nearer to Camp Half-Blood. But Seokjin didn't want to go, not yet. He pleaded with his father and his uncle to let him settle down for some time; he didn't want to leave them yet, not after leaving Byungcheol. Jae-Sun considered, and told his son to promise him to go to Camp if he went to school, too. Seokjin happily agreed, and Seo-yeon, disappointed and laughing, just gave him another weapon that would be of help.

So he went to a nearby high school, continuing what he'd finished back in South Korea. He didn't make so much friends, but there was this one guy who was totally a friend, Randy Ashford. He was also a demigod, a child of Asteria, but he couldn't go to Camp because he had to take care of his little half-sister on his own; his father left him for good. Randy, although burdening the responsibility of both a mother and father to his sister, was like Seokjin's uncle — laid back and easy to get along with. They became close friends, and sooner the best of friends. On Seokjin's sixteenth birthday, Randy gave him one of Asteria's gifts to him — a locket that could turn into a bronze shield when taken off. He told Seokjin to put in there pictures of those he hold dear, so that it'd be like they're protecting him even though he's not with them. Seokjin loved it, and promised to cherish it forever.

Seokjin would visit Randy from time to time, helping him take care of his little sister while he was away. Monsters came and went, but the two would defeat them together effortlessly. Seokjin had a picture of him, Jae-Sun, Seo-yeo, and Byungcheol together put in the left pocket of his locket, and a picture of him and Randy in the other. *Ridiculous,* Randy would say, and he'd laugh him off.

Two years later, after lots of monster fights and trainings and schooling, Jae-Sun died from cancer. Seo-yeon told his nephew that Jae-Sun was hiding it for his sake, and it was even a miracle he had lived for two more years. Seokjin spent the whole week crying himself to sleep, guilty with only Randy to comfort him.

Then he heard the news about *LV'*s debut. Immediately he looked it up on the Internet, and found his beloved Cheolie singing as Zero, his stage name. He read lots of news and feedbacks, and messaged Cheolie about it, happy for him. But unfortunately for Seokjin, his good days were always paired up with bad news. Randy had told him a week in advanced that he would be leaving, for his kind aunt would be taking him and his sister under her wing, far south in Florida. Seokjin suddenly thought if he was meant to be always left behind. It was crazy, but painfully real. So he spent his last week with Randy exercising with soon-to-be-dead monsters and going around the whole town eating ice cream. Seokjin gave him a locket the same as the one he had given him, and told the same instructions to him. Randy almost cried, so they just embraced each other and said their goodbyes at the airport.

The next day, Seokjin found himself hating everything and everyone. He didn't want to talk to anyone or do anything, so he tried to find comfort in walking around the busy streets of his village. He went through narrow alleys and crossed wide streets, occasionally bumping into someone. Now, so unfortunately, he ran to a huge group of teenagers, ages varying from what seemed liked thirteen to five years older than him, which happened to be gathering for some mob fight against another street association. Thinking Seokjin was a spy, they pulled him and trapped him in a corner. His weapons wouldn't do — they're plain mortals — but they were too many for him. They started to interrogate him, and when he said he didn't know anything, they started to beat him up. Seokjin rendered the ones around him unconscious, fast and smooth as he fought them, but he was too outnumbered. Six of them had to hold him down while the others took turns hurting him.

Before everything got worse, another boy his age distracted the crazy mob, giving Seokjin time to pull away from their grasp and start fighting them off. The newly arrived stranger joined him, and when they seemed invincible enough to the ones left of the group, they last ones ran away, screaming bloody murder. Seokjin, tired and dizzy, dropped to his knees, wondering what would happen to him. The next thing he knew he was being carried by the stranger, his strong arms holding him by the back of his knees and and his waist.

Seokjin woke up on a bench in a park. His mind was still fuzzy, and he tried to remember how got there. Then he saw the stranger who helped him walking towards him with two cups of hot drink in his hands. The guy apologized, and he said his name was Kyuhah Han, and that name instantly rang a bell to Seokjin. When he searched his palace-of-information of a mind, he finally remembered — Kyuhah was one of the trainees at SKY Entertainment, the one he was scared to be his replacement for Byungcheol.

Seokjin didn't greet him nicely.

*"Why do I have to get irritated so much?"*

Kyuhah still offered him the coffee even though Seokjin cursed so colourfully, for the first time in his life, at him. He took the coffee but didn't drink it. Kyuhah offered to walk him home, and he immediately rejected it and left him, his strides longer and faster than the last. When he was out of the park's sight, he drank the coffee, and got disappointed when he drank it cold. He arrived home and was dead asleep in his bed not a minute later.

His angered thoughts of that other Korean boy slipped away when Seokjin came to trouble of college. What's more, Seo-yeon said he had to go back to South Korea for some business, then stay longer in Japan for another business connected to the one in Korea. He said he'd be giving him allowance every month until he comes back. So Seokjin was off to find his own school to get into, barely avoiding his uncle's blabber about the demigod camp. After his last year of high school, he was turning nineteen, he submitted his forms in a nearby university, and a couple of months later, he started college.

College was tiring and was disturbing his daily routines, not to mention the constant monster attacks he'd been getting. It was getting harder; the last one he fought was a manticore, and he barely survived if he didn't decide to just run away. And not to mention seeing Kyuhah in the university he was attending to. Seokjin didn't know if he was dreaming or not; maybe his anger had taken over him that he would see him to get to punch him. And on the second semester, he proved he wasn't seeing figments. The boy had started following him everywhere, to Seokjin's annoyance, until the time Kyuhah talked to him. He requested Seokjin to move in with him. Of course, Seokjin rejected the offer, but there was something in the older boy's words that made him want to agree.

After a dozen rejections, Seokjin's mouth finally found itself agreeing to Kyuhah. Happy, the older asked for his address to have his things moved. Seokjin gave it, and asked how big his apartment was that he seemed unashamed to share with. Kyuhah simply replied that it was 'huge', not really mentioning what it was. He dragged Seokjin after classes to surprise him with this 'apartment' of his.

Seokjin almost punched the older boy for making a fool out of him.

A mansion! If he had become part of another band like Byungcheol did, Seokjin realized, of course Kyuhah would have money to buy such monstrosity. What band he was in, he didn't know. Seokjin contacted his uncle to tell the news of moving in with a schoolmate, and his uncle was fine with that. But he still wasn't okay with Kyuhah around. He still didn't know how he even agreed to the idiot. But surprisingly, the older boy was never complaining about his acts against him. Kyuhah was nice and patient — or was that, too, an act? He seemed sincere enough.

Annoying it had been, though. Early in the morning he'd find Kyuhah waiting for him in the dining room, coffee still hot, for him. If ever he skipped breakfast, the older would greet him in his first class (they're classmates then) with a Starbucks coffee. Despite his irritation on Kyuhah's positive demeanor, Seokjin would still take the coffee and drink it before the class started. Some time later, Kyuhah took to surprising him down the hallways and soon had his number and kept sending him messages — like how he was, had he eaten, was he tired, what was he doing, etcetera — that constantly annoyed him to the point that he shut down his phone for some days. The older would buy him lunch and offer to carry his things. There was also a time that he stole Seokjin's assignments to do them himself! It easily enraged Seokjin even with his cool and calm demeanor.

But it never occured to Seokjin that Kyuhah was a demigod. One day, when Kyuhah was basically dragging him home, they were confronted by an empousa. It started to use its seduction abilities, and Seokjin was easily charmed. Ignorant of the other, Kyuhah started and charged at the monster when it tried to attack the poor guy. He slashed it in half with his sword, and pestered Seokjin, who didn't know what had just happened, for several minutes to take a look if he got hurt or what. He, thankfully, stopped when they got home.

The next year (and Seokjin still wasn't used to Kyuhah's nagging personality), on their second semester, Kyuhah got involved in a bad car accident. Seokjin, after getting wind of the news, dashed to the hospital in Manhattan as fast as he can and arrived hours later. The doctor announced that the accident had damged him, leaving him a huge chance of death or paralyzation from the waist down. Seokjin immediately regretted all the things he'd done to him, not being able to thank him or just give back what he'd done for him. Waiting outside the room, tears started to stream down his face, and prayed to all the gods he knew to help Kyuhah. He prayed to Greek gods, now that he knew they were real, to heal him and let him live.

After some time, the doctors made him go in the room. He rushed to Kyuhah's side, whose body was badly damaged, even his pretty face was full of long, sewn-shut wounds. He looked at the heart rate monitor, and wished that the jagged lines didn't go straight flat. Even though crying wouldn't help, the tears didn't stop falling, and he found himself talking softly to Kyuhah, promising him that he wouldn't get mad no matter what nagging he would do, that he'd bring him to wonderful places he'd never seen if he woke up. If *he woke up*, a voice in his head said. Seokjin shook his head and squeezed the other's hand tightly, apologizing and praying and crying until he fell asleep.

*"Finally, some good news for me . . or not"*

A month passed, and Seokjin barely made his grades pass out of anxiety for Kyuhah. The hallways of the school were silent to him,  and the mansion was lifeless than it had ever been. After school he'd go to Manhattan to watch over the older, and stay there during the weekends. He got wind of the news that Kyuhah's former band mates heard about what happened, and Seokjin expected they'd come and help. For all those hours waiting, he barely noticed the wounds healing faster than they should've been.

Then one day in May, Kyuhah woke up. Seokjin ddin't know, and he went to his room that day, miserable and gloomy. When he opened the door, he locked eyes with the only other person in the room. His bag fell off his shoulder and he ran to Kyuhah's side. *You idiot!*he had screamed at him, mixed with tears and anger, and relief. He held the older's hand within his. To all those he prayed to, he thanked them silently.

However, Kyuhah had a lot to catch up on. He became too stressed, too irritable and too temperamental. The smiles were gone, and he rarely spoke to anyone, including Seokjin. The younger was starting to get more worried the longer Kyuhah continues this routine. The monsters made it worse; Kyuhah seemed to be more the monster than them. So Seokjin did what he could. He stole his assignments to finish for him, tried to make him breakfast, cleaned his room and all the simple stuff. But Kyuhah was soon sent back to the hospital for two days.

After getting discharged once again, the older always had his mind far away, oblivious to everything, including Seokjin again, may it be his presence or efforts. He even almost had his heart burst when Seokjin tried to talk to him. On one weekend, Kyuhah's former bandmate, Junior, came to visit for two weeks. Kyuhah greeted him warmly in his house, and Seokjin suddenly had a feeling of jealousy, though he didn't know why he'd feel that way. Kyuhah was just a friend . . . or was he? Nevertheless, Seokjin tagged along like an obvious third-wheel, and the thought of stabbing Junior in parts where it would hurt the most would occasionally cross his mind. By the end of his two weeks, he felt like not wasting the precious time there was before Junior left. In a cafe, although he surprisingly fought the urge to murder him, he indirectly threatened the guy to stay away from Kyuhah.

Everything went well with Junior, until Kyuhah met another handsome boy named Cameron when he attended a mini K-Pop convention, which Seokjin had tried to convince Kyuhah not to go. They became close impossibly fast, including the fact that Cameron lived nearby, and Seokjin held himself from murdering him. As the next school year came, the two started hanging out, while Seokjin found himself always in the company of monsters. Kyuhah would wave him away and tell him to wait for him while Cameron would just smile at him. That just broke a part of Seokjin's heart. And now, his pyschopathic disorder started to take over him.

On a night where no one would suspect him or Cameron to be out, Seokjin luckily found the boy throwing out garbage, even thought it was so late at night. After the bag was in the can, he knocked him unconscious, and carried him on his shoulder like he was no weight. In an average tool shed within the forest he brought him, and got all things ready to make Cameron physically feel the pain he'd caused Seokjin. He tied the boy to an armed wooden chair - chained his wrists and ankles and waist down - then gagged him tight. He propped up dim light, and placed headphones over his head and made sure it stayed on his ears. His playlist was ready.

When Cameron woke up, Seokjin was just done dipping his knife of a platinum blade in harshly-corroding acid. He knew of Cameron's fear of large spiders, so he placed a number of large spiders (but relatively harmless) on parts of his body, making the poor boy cry out in shock. Out of insanity, Seokjin played loud music through the other's headphones, and raised them to the highest volume. How he loved that pained expression! While the ear-bleeding music played on and on, he traced Cameron's torso and abdomen with his acid-dipped knife, pushing in deeper if he felt like it. Oh, if only the whole radius of the place was empty, he'd want to hear him scream his chords out.

Cameron's eyes were pleading with him to stop and let him go, but Seokjin's madness was too great to even consider pausing the torturous music. With a manic smile, he continued 'playing,' soon, ripping off the boy's fingernails one by one, steady and violently. Through those short hours, the pain and noise and fear drove Cameron mad. For some reason, the life slowly slipped out of him. Seokjin found that annoying, so he ended it, but not in that way. He drilled holes on the boy's head carefully, making sure it went through the skull but not deeper. Then he tied him upside down from a tree outside the shed. Seokjin's eyes sparkled as blood agonizingly flowed through the holes like a crimson shower. The acid broke through the dead boy's skin, peeling it off and showing bits of his entrails.

That took off a large burden off of Seokjin's shoulders.

~~(Full scene of torture here bwahaha)~~

Before dawn came, he took the corpse deeper through the forest, a beforehand-dug hole in the soil waiting for them. Once he arrived, he threw the corpse in, covered it with rotten leaves and soil, layers and layers of them. That was a nice feeling. He changed clothes, and when he came by the main road, he took off the plastic that covered his shoes and let the wind take it. He returned to the mansion like planned, and slept soundly.

*"Why can't I get a break?"*

News soon spread out about Cameron's whereabouts. There was no trace of evidence that could lead to what happened to him. His body was never found, and that hurt Kyuhah. It still unsettled him after some days, but went back to trailing Seokjin once more. Seokjin was aware of what he had just done, but he had no conscience to feel the guilt of it. Months passed and their situation raised a positive vibe with less drama, and Seokjin was no longer resisting Kyuhah. The monsters came and went, but that didn't bother them much. Days passed, and before Kyuhah's birthday, they went to Starbucks, on his request. Kyuhah didn't like coffee, but Seokjin was persuasive enough.

Out of the blue, Seokjin asked the older if he could tell him something. Kyuhah happily agreed, but his face was unreadable when the younger told him about Cameron. He was so expressionless that Seokjin was surprised when he stood and threw Seokjin's latte at the younger. Kyuhah's phone rang, and excused himself. Seokjin stared at the table, shocked and oblivious to all the stares he was getting. A few minutes of recovering and he completely forgot about Kyuhah's whereabouts. He dashed out of the cafe and spotted a huge Cyclops with an arrow deep in its eye, wailing about with waving arms.

No wonder it was after Kyuhah. Seokjin took out his sword and helped in its upcoming disintegration. Then he broke down in front of hin, explaining everything - why he killed Cameron, what he really felt, how he really loved him. He could see Kyuhah was uncomfortable, and as he burst into anger, he slashed at Seokjin with his sword repeatedly as he yelled at him for not being able to tell him everything until he unintentionally hit him in the shoulder. Shocked, he ran away. Seokjin called for him and tried to go after him, but his tears were too heavy to let him.

A few days later, his old love, Byungcheol, suddenly showed up in South Hampton, looking for them. Kyuhah had found him first and brought him to his house. He was so jolly that he almost knocked Seokjin unconscious as he greeted him. Excitedly, he told them about Camp Half-Blood, and he even described the place as if it was paradise. Kyuhah agreed to go with him, and after a few sweet words fron Cheolie, Seokjin gave in.

In a nutshell, the car ride back to Camp was absolutely silent and awkward and tense with the exception of Cheol trying to patch things up. Tired, Byungcheol exploded and threatened the other two to exchage just even lone words. Later on they had crossed the border of Camp and were claimed by their godparents and directed to their cabins. Yet both of them didn't spare a glance at each other.

*"Somehow, I got a break."*

His first week at Camp was just as tense as the car ride. At times he'd decide to take the initiative to talk to Kyuhah, but he'd end up just following him and not even trying to poke him. Byungcheol, who was getting tired of their (mostly Kyuhah's) stubbornness, threatened to date Seokjin as a last resort and permanently take him away from Kyuhah. Cheol knew it would deject the older, but that wasn't enough, so, in front of Kyuhah, he kissed Seokjin as sweetly as he could. Seokjin, meanwhile, was overly shocked that he couldn't even move.

In a blink of an eye, Kyuhah ws already chasing off Byungcheol with his sword. After some time (and Cheol was far away), Kyuhah asked the question that ends (and also begins) their (strange) tale of romance:

*"I think we can both confirm we have mental issues so let's just date already, okay?"*

"Well, it won't hurt to . . . like try again, would it?"

"No. On one condition. You don't kill anyone without me being involved."

"Here comes the birth of my partner in crime."

"I love you, weirdo."

— The Present

It has been another week since this incident, and the two are peacefully in love (for now).