ᴍᴀʟᴇ! ᴇᴄʜᴏ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ × ɴᴀʀᴄɪssᴜs! ᴋɪᴍ sᴇᴏᴋᴊɪɴ
ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ = 2026 ᴡᴏʀᴅs
ʀᴇǫᴜᴇsᴛᴇᴅ?: ❌
𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲: 𝗜 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵 '𝗘𝗰𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝘀' 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁'𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 :)
𝗔𝗹𝘀𝗼, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗜'𝗺 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆, 𝗜'𝗺 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲. 𝗦𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗸𝗮𝘆-
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗶'𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀!!
𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆.
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Ｅｃｈｏ ａｎｄ Ｎａｒｃｉｓｓｕｓ ｐｔ.１
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𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
In Greek mythology, there is a myth about a nymph named Echo, who gets cursed by Hera (the goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth) and loses the ability to speak anything other than another's last words.
Well, Echo falls in love with the fair sheperd boy Narcissus, but Narcissus isn't into it. You see, Narcissus was vain and hated the aspect of women, men, nymphs alike, falling at his feet with love filled hues in their bright eyes.
So, he mostly kept to himself, brutally rejecting every potential lover that happened to cross him in the forest. Their hearts always broke into small, mesmerizingly small pieces. Much to Narcissus' delight.
Despite this, Echo proceeds to pine over Narcissus until her body withers away, with a last wish for Narcissus to suffer just as she did. All that is left of her is her voice, just like an echo.
Meanwhile, Narcissus stops for a drink at a small pond. When Narcissus sees his reflection in the water of the pool he falls hopelessly in love-with himself. But once he realises he can't be with the person in the pond, he kills himself, and ends up turning into the Dafodil flower.
Echo's dying wish had come true.
But... what if Echo knew better? What is she didn't fall for the vain and arrogant Narcissus?
What if Narcissus' crude vainity decided to not let Echo's ignorance go? What if both their tragic fates were prevented?
Well, now you'll know.
𝗠/𝗡'𝘀 𝗣𝗢𝗩
I watched as Hera stalked a small deer quietly, her chest rising and falling slowly from concentration. A sly smile crawled onto my mouth as a small giggle left my lips at how serious she looked. She immeadiatly turned around to see me watching her, sending me a crude yet playful glare.
I only smile in response.
"Hello, M/N." she whispers, a small smirk forming on her lips. I respond quickly, pointing at myself while stepping away from my hiding place. "M/N.. M/N!" I repeat, seeing a glint of sadness spark in Hera's eyes, before she beckons me over.
I sigh quietly, as I stalk over to where she was hiding, looking intently on the deer still infront of us.
"M/N, can you look for some cooking herbs? I want them to go with the deer once I have caught it." she says, reaching over to the leather satchel next to her to pull out some arrows and grabbing her bow. "Make sure to do this for me, okay?"
"Okay, okay!" I whisper, a big smile spreading on my face.
I can only mirror the last words of others' conversations. It's a heavy burden, as I can't speak with my friends as freely as I could've wanted, leaving me literally speechless till they start to speak.
The only words that aren't repetitions of others' words are the ones I say in my mind. The words only I can hear. Though I don't mind, as it's more peaceful in my mind then in the real world.
But back to the hunting, I scramble away from Hera, searching for a small clearing I knew had the herbs she wanted for the deer. I keep running, until I hear soft grunts and groans to my left.
I halt my movements, curious as to what the noise was. 'Hm.. what could that be..?' I thought, turning away from the path and following the noises.
As I walked, the soft muffles and groans of anger got louder and louder until I was met with a fair sheperd boy sitting in a similar clearing to the one I had been searching for. He was combing through one side of his hair, cursing as it seemed to not be cooperating with his movements.
He was shockingly beautiful.
He had fair, perfect skin and gorgeous brown eyes. His brown, chesnut hair fell perfectly against his pale brow. His robes were simple, but framed his body in such a way that it made him seem like a diety, or some far off god I didn't recognise.
But I didn't recognise his beauty as I giggled and hid, watching him struggle with his hair before sighing deeply and giving up, throwing his wodden comb behind him.
"Stupid hair.. never doing what I want!" he shouted. I repeated what he said in a low whisper.
"Want.. want."
He seemed skilled enough, since he had a sheperd's staff and fairly nimble fingers. Maybe he could help me with the herbs.
I walked out of my hiding place, raising an eyebrow at his nonchalant expression. Surely he would be suprised, as I would've seemed to just come out of nowhere. Ignoring his beauty once again, I sat down infront of him, waiting for him to speak so I could try and communicate.
"What are you doing here? What do you want?" he sneered, standing up slowly before not-so subtly grabbing his staff from next to him. My pupils enlarged in suprise. Not fright, suprise.
How gutsy.
"Want! Want!" I said, standing up quickly while pointing at him, then behind me to the forest. When I looked back at him however, he held a disgusted look on his handsome face.
"Ugh. How utterly exhausting. You must be in love with me. Well, I don't love you." he says, placing a hand on his hip and sighing.
....
I can't hold back the laughter vibrating in my chest.
I laugh loudly, holding my abdomen as I doubled over. I shook my head, wiping the tears from my eyes and almost laughing again at his astonished face.
"I don't love you... don't love you." I snicker, fanning my hot face in amusement.
"You're... not? In love with me?" he exhagerated, his eyebrows furrowing as pointing at himself in disbelief. I sighed and nodded as my laughter died down. It was already beginning to become obvious that this man was an arrogant fool.
"You're not in love with me??" he asked again, earning a shake of my head. My eyes narrowed in dissapointment.
This saddened me, as it meant that I had to fetch the herbs by myself. Although I didn't mind, it would've been nice to have company. I looked down in annoyance before turning to walk away from the man and back towards the trail.
"W-wait! How is this possible?! Don't you think I'm handsome?!" he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. I turned around, giving him an obviously strained smile and nodded.
"Handsome.. handsome." I say, rolling my eyes and pulling away from his touch. His eyes widened in suprise, and I giggled at his stunned expression.
"But then.. why aren't you throwing yourself upon me? Why aren't you pining over me like the others.. ?"
"Others?... Others?" I say, confused. This man seemed to charm every person who saw his radient face, but then brutally driving them away as if it was a type of game. Breaking so many innocent hearts because of his vainity and imprudent arrogance.
How rude.
I felt anger bubble inside me, and I glared at him. He seemed to shrink into himself as I scrutinized him.
"You're... different. Most don't react this way.. I-I'm Seokjin." he meekly said, placing down his staff before meeting my eyes once again. I scoffed, crossing my arms.
"Seokjin.. Seokjin." I once again mirrored. His eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed. Damn my voice.
"You.. you seem to only be able to repeat my last words.. how strange." he observed, smiling a little bit. My patience was running thin. I had to get those herbs quick, or who knows what might happen to me.
"Strange.. Strange!" I proclaimed, jabbing a finger into his chest before stroming off into the woods and back on my trail. As I walk, I soon see the clearing that I had been searching for, running towards it and plucking different herbs I recognised to be for cooking.
I just hope I don't see that arrogant man again, what a headache.
𝗦𝗲𝗼𝗸𝗷𝗶𝗻'𝘀 𝗣𝗢𝗩
I stood there, stunned. How did he walk away from me with such flair and ignorance? How could he have belittled my beauty and radience? I felt a pang of confusion pierce my chest as I pondered the reasons why.
Am I... not handsome enough?
I shook my head at the thought. So many men and women threw themselves at my feet, begging to be mine. Surely it couldn't be my looks.. right?
Maybe, this is a test from the gods, to prove my beauty to the uncharmable. Maybe this man is the one I need to charm, in order to prove myself to the gods..
Hm.
With a determined look on my face, I run in the direction the man had walked from, on the way spotting him in a clearing picking herbs from the ground.
He seemed so serene.. so at peace. He carefully plucked every plant he selected from the earth, placing it in his satchel beside him. And all through this..
He had a small smile on his face, his (s/c) skin shimmering against the sun's rays.
I felt heat rising to my cheeks as my heart filled with a foreign emotion, my heart rate speeding up the more I looked upon the stranger.
... this couldn't be. I couldn't be falling for this stranger. He had rejected my.. my rejection! I couldn't be falling so deeply in love with a person so ignorant of my pure looks!
I whimpered in annoyance, as I lifted a hand to my beating heart, beckoning for it to calm down. I didn't pull my eyes away from the man, my cheeks now fully red, I presumed.
Never in my life did I think I could fall for any of the men and women who harassed me everyday.. and I was true to my thoughts. I just would've also never thought I'd fall for a person who sees me as just.. a normal man. Not an astonishingly handsome man.
But just a lowly sheperd boy.
I scoffed softly before standing up and finding a better place to hide. The man was still plucking at different herbs quietly, until a loud shout cut through the silence.
"M/N! WHERE ARE THE HERBS?!" the voice shouted. It was the voice of the goddess Hera. So I was right.. this was a test from the gods.
I nodded in affirmation as I watched the man, now known as M/N, quickly stumble to his feet, grabbing the satchel full of herbs before shouting back to Hera.
"Herbs.. HERBS!" he shouted, running in the direction of the voice. I sprinted after him, using the trees as cover. I watched as the wind whipped M/N's (h/c) locks back and forth.
Now matter what.. I had to prove to him that I was handsome enough to deserve his praise. His attention. I stopped running once I saw Hera, and I crouched down so I couldn't be seen.
A resolute grunt left my lips as I saw M/N walk towards the goddess, holding up the bag with a proud glint in his (e/c) eyes.
I had to make him mine.
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ʜᴇʏʏ. sᴏʀʀʏ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ɢᴏɴᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴀ ʙɪᴛ. ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ᴍᴏᴜɴᴛᴀɪɴs ᴏғ ʜᴏᴍᴇᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ, ᴀs ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴀs sᴏᴍᴇ ᴇxᴛʀᴀ sᴛᴜғғ ғᴏʀ sᴄʜᴏᴏʟ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜɪs ɪs ɢᴏɴɴᴀ ʙᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴘᴀʀᴛs.. ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ.
sᴏ ʙᴇᴀʀ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ, ᴍᴋᴀʏ? ᴍᴋᴀʏ. ᴀʟsᴏ, ᴇᴄʜᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴀʀᴄɪssᴜs ɪs ᴏɴᴇ ᴏғ ᴍʏ ғᴀᴠᴏᴜʀɪᴛᴇ ɢʀᴇᴇᴋ ᴍʏᴛʜs, sᴏ ɪ ᴡᴀs ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴇxᴄɪᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ᴛʜɪs.
...
ɴᴏ ᴏɴᴇ ᴀsᴋᴇᴅ-
ᴀɴʏᴡᴀʏs, ᴛʜᴀɴᴋꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ. ʜᴏᴘᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ ɪᴛ! ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴅᴀʏ ᴍᴀᴍᴀs~ ❥︎
-Diom