Turned out, Aurem was not at her house. Neither was Hana, who, aside from being her best friend (after you of course, hehe), was also her flatmate, nor was Soobin, her idiot brother and unofficial couch-crashing resident.
(Really, someone needed to tell that boy he had his own perfectly fine flat with Yeonjun and there was no need for him to come along with his debauchery and mess up the sparks that had been flying between your two best friends while they were living together— but you know what, you could cut him some slack, since that blue-haired menace otherwise known as Choi Yeonjun was notorious from bringing girls home and them being awfully loud.)
Anyway, none of your best friends were at their apartment.
So you were pretty lucky to have found all of them where you never thought they'd be lurking, considering their usual pastimes.
"I think I have to make it clear that you're beginning to make my head hurt, b*tch."
"You and me both," Soobin sighed, nodding Hana in a rare moment of agreement. You sighed and rubbed your knuckles to your temple, feeling a migraine coming on yourself.
"Same here, but I'll forgive you for the food," Aurem mumbled around a mouthful of fried rice, shoring you a grin.
"You'd sell your soul for food."
"That's fair, actually, but Y/N! My head still hurts because of you!"
"It's not that hard to understand!" you protested, feeling a flush decorate your cheeks as you glanced at where Taehyung was sprawled on a bench on your campus, eyes glittering as he watched you. You'd considered leaving him in the car after what had happened in your apartment, with the way you'd felt so weak and helpless under his soft words and hopeful stare... but well, the thing was, Kim Taehyung seemed to be remarkably adept at completely and utterly dissolving any awkwardness, any tension. A single mischievous joke or box-shaped smile could send the whole situation whirling back into comfortable, familiar territory, no strings attached, no awkward silences required. He was very good at playing things off, pretending things never happened.
And so were you, really. That was how you lived, how you got through life without dying of embarrassment as people usually did at 3 AM while remembering that one time in middle school. It never happened.
And anyway, Taehyung was ridiculously adamant about not leaving you alone. Because clearly, that was what Namjoon had meant by asking him to keep you safe.
Clearly.
In any case, you were secretly glad that Taehyung had decided to tag along. The energy between you two had changed, even you could feel it— before, it had been nothing but a back and forth banter, him teasing and you snapping with no real affection between you. The protectiveness had been for self-interest, the flirting had been a way to both tick you off and because Taehyung was just naturally privy to it.
But now... the way you felt soothed with his presence, the way his touch made you melt and his flirting and teasing now made you flush and laugh and his voice made your heart clench and his smile made your stomach flutter, made you feel something you hadn't felt in a long, long time.
Butterflies.
You but your lip and swung your attention back to your friends, trying to school your expression before they realized you'd been daydreaming. Good god, what had Taehyung done to you? Shaking your head, you once again focused on Soobin, Aurem and Hana.
It had struck you as both flattering and also kind of terrifying when you'd seen the three of them waiting like some sort of wrathful spirits bent on vengeance when they'd seen you walk on campus. It was slightly funny but also terrifying when they'd both leaped on you, yelling so loudly that you proooobably had PTSD at this point.
And yes, they'd asked (ahem— demanded) an explanation. Naturally. Soobin made a face at you as you snorted at both of them, trying to keep a handle on your panic at their clear skepticism in your story.
"I mean, what do you guys not get?" you groaned, sipping at your strawberry smoothie and exasperatedly kicking the lanky motherf*cker beside you in the shin, "Look, I've been a little preoccupied for the past few days with my brother, I've missed him and I hardly get to see him these days."
"That's it?" Hana scoffed, flicking her silky black hair over her ears as she shook her head at you, "Honey, we were this close to sending a SWAT team on your a*s, and you were only hanging out with your brother?"
"Yeah, idiot, do you know how worried we were?" Aurem demanded, face furrowing into a frown that was probably supposed to be intimidating but looked rather like a pout.
Wincing, you let your head hang back, giving you a full view of the annoyingly cheerful blue of the sky that day. A cool wind brushed over your cheeks as you did so, buffeting a few strands of hair you'd let escape from your messy ponytail over your face.
Okay, you were technically telling the truth, but seeing Hana's intensely skeptical expression, you knew your perceptive friend was sure you weren't telling her everything. Which... you weren't. But how in the world were you supposed to explain the entire demigod fiasco to your friends?
Ah, yes, Taehyung Thanos snapped from a sword into my apartment, turns out he and my brother are demigods, turns out my boss is a sphinx, turns out Aphrodite runs Gucci, turns out I've got Athena's blood and I'm cursed by some psycho war spirits who are jealous of a dude who can't even tie his shoelaces.
AH YES, PERFECTLY NORMAL.
"Guys..." you huffed, lip jutting out in an involuntary pout. You hated lying to your friends, it made you feel sticky and tacky and left with the residue of something twisted, but what could you do? You didn't want to make their lives more complicated as well, even if yours was beyond saving. "I'm sorry for worrying you. But I swear nothing's going on, really."
Both Soobin and Hana looked similar— arched brows, narrowed eyes, pursed lips. They exchanged a glance as you very casually dipped at your drink. Aurem arched an eyebrow at you in that knowing way that made you want to kick something.
Finally, Hana relented, sighing. "You know, I was beginning to think you were kidnapped or something," she scoffed in usual Hana fashion, gaze flickering to Taehyung with his phone clothed in his giant-a*s hands today swathed with gloves, because he just wanted to, evidently. "Not that I care, or anything, but your little boytoy has been giving me some weird vibes."
"He's not my—!"
Hana ignored you, barreling on. "I mean, he's a grown-a*s man and he can't drive, he doesn't drink, he wears gloves in the middle of summer, and ever since he showed up, you've been acting sus as f*ck."
You blinked, slightly alarmed at Hana's very clear and also very accurate description of Taehyung's confusion on your world. Jeez, maybe the idiot was right— he did need to learn some stuff. And learn it fast. But how did Hana...?
"So either you're getting railed every day so hard you physically cannot go to class, or that red-haired f*cker has dragged you into the mafia or some sh*t," Hana said matter-of-factly, not seeming worried about the fact that you had begun to choke furiously on your smoothie as Soobin and Aurem snickered like the little sh*ts they were.
"I AM NOT— HE IS NOT— KANG HANA WHAT THE F— he is NOT in the mafia!"
"Hana, I think you've been reading too much fanfiction," Soobin, oddly, jumped to your defense as you kind of died in the corner, "he's not in he mafia. Even my sister wouldn't go that far. Someone needs to suspend your Wattpad account."
Aurem let out a squeal of laughter that made Hana glance at her for a long moment before she whipped around to glare at Soobin.
To his extreme credit, Hana flushed so brightly at Soobin's words she looked like she was cosplaying a firetruck.
"I DO NOT HAVE A WATTPAD— you know what, Soobin you have three seconds to RUN—"
You and Aurem leapt up before Hana could lunge at a grinning Choi Soobin, laughing yourself as you hooked your arms around hers and pulled her back with surprising strength, Aurem giggling as she wrapped her hands around Hana's waist and instantly making your colder friend stiffen. If you didn't know better, that mischievous look on Aurem's face would make you think she knew exactly what she was doing.
You were blissfully unaware of Taehyung's amused eyes on you, softening as he caught you laughing you heart out when Soobin finally lost it at Hana's livid expression, you still having to hold her back before she decided to kick a b*tch to hell.
Couple of ordinary college students, nothing strange happening here.
When everyone finally settled down, with Hana straining against your right grip until she'd given up and promised not to punch Soobin in the balls or something (even though she totally did have a Wattpad account), all of you were drunk on laughter, previous suspicion and awkwardness forgotten.
Hell, you'd missed this. Just chilling with your friends with not a care in the world, laughing and worrying about nothing but your next test or how you were going to deal with Aurem's next douchbag boyfriend.
Everything was simpler when Taehyung wasn't around.
And yet... were you really better off not knowing? Not knowing monsters were on you at every turn, only backed off by your boss who enjoyed how smart you were? Not knowing your chaotic, lanky-a*s brother was a son of Athena? Not having... not having met...
Not have ever known Taehyung?
You sighed and shook your head, trying to force your thoughts out of your mind. Hana took a long look at your face and spoke up again.
Are you quite sure he's not in the mafia?" Hana huffed suspiciously, amber eyes narrowing as you sighed loudly, "Because if you've gotten swept up in some drug scheme thanks to this prick, I'll—"
"Two days," you muttered faintly, shaking your head, "I go missing for two days, and suddenly the guy you liked perfectly fine just a few days before is in the mafia. The logic escapes me."
"I think my big bro's right; she's been reading a bit too much Wattpad fanfiction," Aurem sighed apologetically from the background, stifling giggles when Hana whirled to glare at her.
"I DO NOT—" the blush that coated Hana's cheeks at Aurem's adorable grin made you want to snicker despite yourself.
"Yes, you do~" Aurem cooed.
If Hana got any redder, she'd be cosplaying a goddamn fire truck.
"Well, you tell me who wears gloves in the middle of summer!" She defended as everyone began to laugh, "no, shut up, hear me out here! A mafia boss wouldn't need to drive because his driver would be doing all that for him!"
Hana aggressively gulped at her black-as-her-soul coffee as the rest of you chortled. But you settled down for a moment, because something she said struck you. "Wait a second," you began, frowning as you regarded her previous statements about Taehyung. While they were true... "How do you know that Tae can't drive?"
Soobin shot you an incredibly amused glance. "Tae? On a nickname basis already?"
You smacked him in the back, although you'd have preferred it was his throat so he could shut up.
Hana, on the other hand, gave you an incredulous look. "Did he not tell you I was the one who drive you home from Kai's party?" she demanded, shooting Taehyung still sprawled across the bench a disgusted glance, "Men. Always taking the credit for something or the other."
"He's a typical f*ckboy alright," Soobin smirked at you in a way that suggested he knew something you didn't, which, as it usually did when anyone did that, wanted to make you hit him again. "But our sweet little Y/N's fallen for him already, hasn't she?"
Hold the f*ck up.
He did not just say what I think he said.
"Excuse— the f*ck?" you spluttered, so affronted by this false accusation you gaped at him like a dying fish, tugging at the black straps of your stylish black suspenders. Fallen for Taehyung? That was impossible. Taehyung was annoying. And irritating. And so outlandishly good-looking there was no question as to why every female eye on the campus had at least given him a double-take as they watched him do something so innocent as play a game on your phone. God, if you weren't forced to stick with him for the time being, you never would have even been able to hold a conversation with him. Ever.
And yet...
You couldn't help but soften as you watched him shake his red hair from his eyes like a wet puppy and glance up at you watching, eyes big and sweet. Your brain was keyboard smashing, and yet you couldn't find it in you to care.
"Hey, baby!" he mouthed, winking playfully at you and flashing you something that looked an awful like the 'peace' sign— two fingers up, spread in a V. Where the hell he'd learned that, you had no clue.
But it was so adorably dorky you were melting.
"God, already?" Aurem snorted, her incredibly pleased voice tearing your attention from your dork as she leaned forward, chin in her palm, "Oh, you're gone, girl."
"Your boytoy had better not be in the mafia," Hana grumbled again.
"OKAY ENOUGH WITH THE MAFIA, HANA."
"Thank you Aurem and also— he's not my boytoy!"
"Boytoy, boyfriend, whatever, males suck."
"I'm very flattered."
"You know what?" you chuckled, shaking your head as you glanced at a dryly snorting Soobin, "males do indeed suck."
But Taehyung...
You glanced back to see him frowning cutely at your phone screen, lips moving for some reason, and you all but collapsed.
"But not this male, huh?" Hana shot you a knowing look, smirk playing at her slender lips when you instantly sneered defensively at her, "yeah, he must be real great, to keep you away from us for so long!"
Aurem's and Soobin's eyes locked onto something above your head, and they both smirked at each other in a way that made you frown, but you looked at Hana anyway. "Oh come on, I said I was sorry for that—!"
"Do you even know how worried we were?" Soobin piped in, hitting you lightly, "like, REALLY WORRIED. And then you come in here with your boyfriend in tow like you just got done with some damn date—"
"We're not dating!"
"Are you sure?" Aurem arched a brow, shaking her head, "I mean, I find it pretty sus that as soon as this 'so hot I burned myself just by looking at him' dude starts living with you in your apartment, you start missing class and going wild and, well..."
"I thought I already explained this! It had nothing to do with Taehyung! We're not dating!" you growled, groaning as you threw your hands up in exasperation at all of their now-grinning faces. Seriously, why were they so adamant about this? Just because he made you feel— and damn feelings too— made you feel weightless and happy— he couldn't give you what you wanted, what you were looking for after you'd mended your heart after the last time you'd made a mistake. "Come on, guys, he can be sweet at times and okay fine, he's handsome as hell like damn but don't make assumptions, he doesn't— we're not— it's not like he sees me in that way anyway, so HA!"
Aurem snorted so loud she nearly knocked herself over, as if she knew you were just saying that to get them off your back.
Soobin leaned back and ran his fingers over his lips, smirking so wide you were a little concerned.
And Hana? She was still looking above your head expectantly, as if waiting for something.
Wait a second.
"Are you sure about that, love?"
You froze.
You were pretty sure Taehyung's husky, low rumble right in your ear that sent your lungs collapsing was enough to send Aurem falling off her chair, because you damn right near did just about then.
Playfully, Taehyung behind you tugged at a strand of your hair as he pulled you up, playing with it absentmindedly when you slowly turned to see him biting hard on his lip. "Mmm, so this morning, then, was that not..." he lowered his voice a little, "...what you mortals call... a date?"
You flushed hotly as your friends chortled under their breaths at your speechless state.
Taehyung pulled away for a moment at your sudden spike of unease— PDA was never really your thing, and with Taehyung, who you couldn't even decipher your feelings for...
One hand still flung over your shoulder casually, Taehyung turned to face your friends, a grin decorating his face as he held your phone in his other hand (and it looked flipping TINY in his huge-a*s fingers). "I apologize to all of you for have making you so worried for Y/N's wellbeing," he hummed easily, tone deep and yet polite as he lightly ducked his head in their direction, "really, it partly was my fault in keeping her incredibly busy, as she took some time to adjust to my presence, and it was a bit of a surprise when I first met her brother, as he was my old friend. But in any case, I'd like to steal her away again, but I promise I'll make it up to you later."
Screw this demigod for sounding so effortlessly fancy and polite and formal when he was a little devil underneath the surface. Again, he'd drawn into that effortless charm he exuded and all of your friends once again just nodded and smiled with slight surprise.
"Wow, you know Namjoon?" Soobin raised an eyebrow, although he didn't look very shocked.
"Seriously, Y/N, why are all of your brother's friends so hot?" Aurem whined. You facepalmed as Taehyung chuckled and winked at her.
Playboy extraordinaire indeed.
"I promise I'll try to let her be more free in the future, she cares about you a lot," Taehyung promised, arm over your shoulder still soft and gentle. You shot him a look.
"You had better, idiot," you grumbled. You didn't know how Taehyung effected you in this way, like you wanted to tear your hair out but also kiss him blind, but he did. Damn him. The way Taehyung had so easily managed to win everyone over was kind of getting on your nerves.
"I ship this so much, oh gosh," Aurem squealed and clapped her hands together, making you groan.
Soobin smirked knowingly over at you. "Don't worry, it's endgame."
You would have snorted at Soobin's fangirl-type use of language if he didn't sound so certain. How was this fool even so sure? Yah, he was weird.
Hana looked over at you two with a faint frown as Taehyung once again asked if he could borrow you for a moment. You knew what she was thinking; even though Hana was notoriously hard to read, you had practice. It was clear that the thoughts flitting through her head were only concerned for your wellbeing when Taehyung asked to pull you away from your friends again. But you also knew Taehyung wasn't like that.
He had no rights over you. Well, aside from the curse of course, but he knew his limits. Most of the time.
You sighed as Taehyung smiled winningly at all of them, beginning to be drawn into another conversation where he could once again prove he was able to charm anyone and everyone over no matter how suspicious he was to them.
But he'd come here for a reason, clearly...
"Guys, I'm going to throw a wild guess out there and say that Taehyung needs me for something right about now," you interjected when Aurem was about to gush over some 'adorable' thing Taehyung had just said, the way Taehyung had so easily won everyone over kind of getting on your nerves. With the sheepish grin he shot you, you knew you'd been correct.
"I guess I do."
"Of course you do."
Soobin laughed as you said your goodbyes, hugging the girls and flicking the annoying dark-haired boy on the head before Taehyung led you away. "You two... your future is something else."
Your eyebrows furrowed as Taehyung led you away, arms sling over your shoulders easily, but you didn't think much of it. Soobin was weird sometimes.
You turned to Taehyung, who looked devastating as he tilted his head up, revealing the clean, golden lines of his sharp-as-a-blade jawline. "So?" you prompted after a moment as you walked through your campus to your car, trying not to flush at his position when he looked down at you, "Come on, Tae, what did you need me for?"
A smirk crawled over Taehyung's lips.
"Well, for starters, you could go ahead and suck my—"
"KIM TAEHYUNG."
As you stepped away from his hold, scowling, Taehyung protested and pulled you back. "No, no, sorry, sweetheart—" he whined, making you want to pinch his cheeks at the cuteness. You kind of wished you'd worn the gloves Taehyung was wearing then— there for safety in public, according to him. Even if it was weird in the middle of August.
You were acutely aware of the eyes tracking you two as you walked. Unbidden, a word popped into your head to try and come up with some wild explanation and/or definition to the way Taehyung was behaving.
Boyfriend. Taehyung, hell with him, really was acting like your boyfriend as he chuckled and pulled your close to him, drawing you in a back-hug for no good reason.
Taehyung was so touchy. You'd hated it at first, but now...
You face stilled. His touch soothed you, calmed you. He made you feel things you were not supposed to.
At your suddenly quiet expression, Taehyung's face sobered up at little as he glanced at your phone on his hands. Your frozen attitude stopped when he pulled the door of your car open but caged you in, leaning over it.
You looked up at him, searching his gaze for a moment as Hana's suspicious, sharp irises flashed across your vision and made your throat feel tight.
"This had better be important, Tae," you sighed after a moment of silence, "really, I haven't seen Aurem, Soobin and Hana in a while and I feel bad for making them worried by just leaving—"
"I know, pretty one," he hummed back instantly, reassuringly, "I'm sorry, but this really is important."
You felt bad for the shot of relief that hit you. "What's up, then?"
Taehyung subtly shook your phone in his hands, mouth settling into a firm line that distracted you for a hot second when his jawline turned sharper than a razor blade. His eyes turned apologetic for a moment, though. "I know I shouldn't have snooped," he admitted, lips curling up when you reared back and looked at him irritably, arms crossing over your chest, "but the box just popped up!"
You glanced over at where you'd left your friends, who were probably still bickering over something as Taehyung continued, a worried look entering his irises even though you were trying not to laugh at the way he flung his arms up in exasperation at your odd contraption of a phone.
But what he said next wiped the laughs from your lips.
"Your sphinx called," Taehyung said quietly, seriously, deep tones somber as he glanced at you, "and she sounded worried, pretty one."
He looked up to the sky, revealing the tanned expanse of his thick neck, and then glanced back down at you.
"Really worried."
A/N: Hey, guys! I'm back from my road trip and as promised, here are two chapters for you beautiful people. I don't know when I'm going to update next, because school has started and... well, family stuff. I hope I'll find a way to overcome this, though.
I love you guys, stay safe and happy. And please remember to vote and comment, it really encourages me! That's it, love you, I wish you all an amazing 2021 to make up for a crappy 2020 (lowkey f2020~ stan TXT for good grades and clear skin) XD.