Parties had never been Beomgyu's thing. The loud music, the alcohol, it was all a little too much.
So a party thrown by the son of the God of partying? The God of wine? The God of ecstasy?
It was disastrous.
Chan had a designated house off campus for parties, no doubt gifted by his dad, and Beomgyu had to admit it was surprisingly nice for a place that was meant to get trashed.
He'd just barely dodged his third vase-to-the-head of the night when he finally spotted Yeonjun and Hyunjin talking in a corner.
They looked incredible, Beomgyu noticed. In fact, every student had really stepped up to the god parent outfit rule. Yeonjun was sporting a hot pink suit. It was just barely a different shade than his hair, which he'd placed a heart-shaped headband on top of. He truly looked like the God of love.
Hyunjin, was...wow. Beomgyu was secure enough to admit that he looked gorgeous. He'd put his long blonde hair half up, and was wearing a white suit with a dark green vine going all around his middle. There were purple flowers sticking to different parts of the suit, and his purse was shaped like a hearth.
Admittedly, Beomgyu felt underdressed. He'd decided to stick to the one god gene he was proud of, and do a mock-piano look. His shirt was black, with a shredded heart shape cut out of the back; underneath which Soobin helped paint white lines. His pants were white, and his hair had white streaks.
Twirling the guitar ring gifted for his 16th birthday around his finger, he walked over to his fine-ass friends. (A.N// my bad i couldn't help it.)
He felt better about his look when both boys smiled approvingly. "Are you trying to seduce the entirety of the party?" Hyunjin asked playfully.
Beomgyu gaped at him. "Says you. You're literally enchanting!" Hyunjin beamed and tapped on Yeonjun's shoulder.
"Speaking of enchanting...who are you cursing with affection for you tonight?"
Yeonjun sighed and explained to a confused Beomgyu: "Part of my powers as Aphrodite's son is that I can make people fall in love with me."
At Beomgyu's skeptical look, he added: "Oh, god. I never use it for anything real. It's funny sometimes to see it for a second, and then I immediately reverse the effect before something bad happens."
Beomgyu nodded, but barely understood. Powers? Was that a chapter he missed on Wikipedia?
"I thought you could make people fall in love with each other?"
He remembered the article he read on Aphrodite's son being Cupid. He almost laughed, now, as his own naivety just a week ago. He had no way of knowing he would soon befriend the icon.
"Oh, that too. If I wink at someone, they'll far for me, or whoever I want them to. But I feel weird about ever using it. Usually, I can just tell when someone is in love with someone else. Or even crushes."
(A.N. please remember the wink detail thank you ily.)
Hyunjin moved on. "All I know is, I don't need a winking love spell to get with Ryujin tonight. Have you seen her Athena outfit?"
Yeonjun choked on his drink and stared at Hyunjin, bewildered. "Dude. You're kidding right?" Then, when the other just stared back, "Her and Yeji have been dating for like... a year. It's painfully obvious."
It was Hyunjin's turn to sputter. "What? When did they tell people?"
Yeonjun smiled fondly to himself. "They haven't. Don't worry, they knew I would know and gave me permission to tell anyone. Especially if it kept weirdos away from them", he stated as he flicked Hyunjin's forehead.
"Ugh. Get off. Fine. I'll find someone else." He said and stalked off towards the punch bowl. They both laughed at Hyunjins dramatics, and Yeonjun turned to Beomgyu, smirking.
"So... speaking of. No pressure, but have you found anyone that you think is cute?"
Beomgyu shook his head and smiled. He chose to ignore the thought in the back of his head reminding him of Taehyun.
He noticed Yeonjun looking at him for a little longer than he'd like, but if he picked up on anything Beomgyu was more than grateful he chose not to say.
"Hey, is that Jisung?"
He noticed the boy sitting with his back to a wall, a few feet away. He was staring ahead, holding a drink but never taking a sip. Beomgyu noticed the tears threatening to spill from his eyes as Yeonjun turned to look.
"Shit. Probably something fucking Minho said. I'm gonna go check on him, are you alright by yourself?" He nodded as the taller walked towards the boy on the wall, now fully crying.
Beomgyu decided enough is enough. He'd seen way too many bullies like Minho at his old school, and needed to find the other and give him a piece of his mind.
He started opening doors on the second floor without thinking, and knocked into a tall figure on their way out of the bathroom.
He stepped back and was startled to see Minho there, his eyes puffy as if he'd been crying.
Not as startled, however, as he was for the boy to simply say "Sorry" quietly, and move away in a flash. He could've sworn he heard him say something like, "Need to find Jisung" under his breath.
Weird.
This party was clearly getting to Beomgyu; he needed fresh air. He made it out into the yard when he heard voices that turned his blood cold.
"Hey, Ace. Big-shot. What are you doing here all by your lonesome?"
Finally turning around to face the fact that he was right, he saw the A Holes smirking and leaning against the house.
"Um... I don't know. Getting air? Why do you give a shit?"
One of them who, from Seungmin's mention of the scars on his forearm he presumed was Seunghyun, stepped closer.
"Just wanted to congratulate you on being the son of Apollo. You're really living up to his big-shot name."
Beomgyu's jaw tightened as he tried to ignore the comment. It was impossible to ignore, however, when one of the others grabbed him by the chin and slammed him against the wall.
"Think you're so tough, huh? Such a good fighter? Let's fucking fight right now then. Come on, Ace of fucking gods. Show me your moves."
He grabbed Beomgyu by the throat, who felt his breath become strained. He would not, however, show them any weakness.
"Seems...seems like a pretty unfair fight if- if you're choking your way through it." He struggled to get out as the other two of them punched him, straight in the nose and stomach.
He doubled over and held his face, blood seeping onto his hands. Shit.
"Still wanna have a smart ass mouth?"
Beomgyu scoffed as he leaned over, holding his nose. Yes; he'd always have a smart ass motormouth.
Before he could think of a retort, however, a shadow moved above him and moved his body to stand up straight. He glanced to his left in confusion, at almost jumped at the sight.
Taehyun was there, standing next to him, looking at the group with what could only be described as something from Hell itself.
"Go."
He watched, amazed, as the four fully shifted demeanor. They were too proud to fully give up yet, however, and continued to berate.
"Oh, shit. Sorry. Didn't mean to upset your boyfriend, Ace."
Taehyun squinted his eyes and looked unamused at the comment. "Dude. Seriously? Of all people to make a homophobic comment."
The member raised his eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Taehyun took his arm off of Beomgyu, and stepped towards the group. Beomgyu couldn't help but stare in awe as the entire group took a step back.
"Jiyong, right? Son of Achilles? I see your dad make out with his fucking boyfriend in the afterlife every day. You have literally no room to speak."
Jiyong glared. "I don't know what you're fucking talking about."
This time, Taehyun actually laughed. "Yeah, alright. I'll tell Pa-tro-clus you send your best."
At this, the shortest of them threw a punch towards Taehyun. It was pointless, however, as Taehyun caught his fist before his arm even fully extended.
Beomgyu stared as something passed between the two. The shorter one, who he assumed was Daesung from the whispered warnings of the others, jumped back and held his arm, as if somehow he'd been electrocuted.
Beomgyu was having trouble following the scene, or maybe he was just stupid. Taheyun was simply standing there, staring at the group. To be fair, it was an expression that sent a shiver down his own spine. But nowhere near enough to garner the reaction it was from the group.
Jiyong had left as soon as Taehyun looked up, and the other three were slowly stepping back. He could've been missing something, as a black fog was starting to cloud his vision of the scene. The pain must've been affecting his head, as he could barely see two other members run off through the black of, what he assumed was, his brain.
Seunghyun stood there, looking pale but stupid. He shot a glare towards Beomgyu, along with a whispered string of threats. "This isn't over Ace. You're lucky he was here or I would've snapped your fucking neck for being such a smug dick."
Taehyun took one last step towards the other, a haunting calm in his voice. "You really think he was the lucky one? You do realize there's a literal rule against campus murder right? Why do you think you're still here?"
Before Beomgyu could decipher what the hell that meant, he noticed a small stream going down Seunghyun's leg. He softly gasped, then held himself back from laughing.
Surely he was imagining things. Surely the other wasn't actually pissing himself.
"Run" Taehyun whispered as Seunghyun bolted in the other direction, leaving Beomgyu completely and utterly bewildered.
Why had Taehyun gone to such lengths to protect him? Most of all, what were the lengths he had gone to? What had scared the others so shitless that Beomgyu couldn't even decipher?
The thoughts still suffocating his brain, he turned and looked at his savior.
"Thanks", he smiled. "You saved my ass."
The other boy just stared at him for a moment, unreadable thoughts behind his eyes.
Leaving Beomgyu alone and confused, he stalked off without a word.