"Do that again." Mark demanded.
Haerin nodded her head, showing Mark her power of shooting a bolt of darkness from her fingers.
"And you really just got that just now?" Mark asked.
Haerin nodded her head. "Yeah, I was just fooling around."
Mark rubbed his temples. "Hecate wasn't kidding about you."
"You two talked about me?" Haerin exclaimed, making the bolts of darkness dissipate into thin air.
"Yeah." Mark said, leaning back on his arms. "She told me I'm not special."
"What do you mean?" Haerin asked, narrowing her eyes.
Mark lifted his hand and that's when Haerin saw it.
It could have easily been missed if you blinked, but with Haerin's heightened abilities, she easily saw it.
A small bolt of electricity, between Mark's thumb and index finger.
"You probably have a billion questions for me." Mark said with a sigh. "I just answered all of Haechan's so I'm sort of exhausted."
"Just cut to the chase." Haerin told him. "When was the last time you saw Hecate and what did you two talk about today."
"I saw Hecate last night in my dreams." Mark told her. "I passed out immediately, I didn't know I was doing all... that."
Haerin felt her cheeks burn as she recalled the previous night's events. "It's fine."
"Anyways, she came to me in my dream and showed me everything that happened today. It was like deja vu, living through it all again."
"Did you take the path on the right in your dream?" Haerin asked, referring to the crossroads.
Mark nodded his head. "Yes, I did."
"How was it in your dream?" Haerin asked. "Did we find Dasom and the others?"
Haerin stared into Mark's eyes as he gulped. "It didn't get that far."
He's lying.
"Anyways, today, it really wasn't that long. Hecate must have manipulated time so that we went slower than yours. She just told me that someone else had magical powers as strong as mine. I should have known it was you."
Mark's laugh couldn't have been faker as he forced the sound out.
"That's it?" Haerin asked, unimpressed. Mark nodded.
"Yup. That's all."
He's suspicious. Very suspicious.
"Anyways, I just wanted to check up on you. Goodnight Haerin."
Haerin watched as the male got up, exiting her tent.
"Goodnight Mark."
...
Haerin hated liars. They made her uncomfortable and lose trust. And that was what Mark Lee was now.
Haerin was quiet as she followed the boys, purposely lagging behind. She noticed that Jisung would glance back at her every now and then but the other three didn't really seem to care.
During lunch, she was asked to go hunt with Jisung while the other three prepared the fire. She followed Jisung into the woods, looking for any animal that they can kill for food.
"What happened, noona?" Jisung asked, once they were out of earshot from the others. "You're not normally like this."
"Do the others ever lie to you?" Haerin asked.
Jisung winced at the question, stopping to look at her. "Who lied?"
"Mark." Haerin answered as she spotted a rabbit.
"Mark-hyung normally tells us everything unless it puts us in danger." Jisung said, pulling out his sword as he eyes the same animal but Haerin was faster.
The bolt of darkness escaped her fingers, and the rabbit was instantly killed, lying dead on the forest floor.
"When did you get that?" Jisung exclaimed, hand over his mouth.
"Last night." Haerin answered dryly.
Jisung shook his head, mumbling under his breath.
Haerin ignored him as she went and killed three more rabbits before deciding they had enough. As she turned to head back, Jisung gave her a light nudge.
"Don't be mad at Mark, noona." Jisung told her.
"I'm not mad at him, I'm disappointed." Haerin told him. "He lied straight to my face as if I wouldn't notice."
"It's because he cares about you." Jisung told her. "He cares about you a lot."
Haerin stopped walking. "What?"
"Whatever is between you and Mark is more than just the bond because you two are both children of the big three. Mark genuinely likes spending time with you and worries about you. That's why he spends his time with you instead of with the rest of us. Haechan, he's jealous because Mark and him used to spend their nights together instead of with you. Mark explained to us that while we have each other, you don't really have anyone so we have no right to be jealous." Jisung blurted out.
"You can be mad at a lot of people, noona, but Mark, he's the one person you can't be mad at."
Jisung shoved his hands in his pockets, walking back towards the others while Haerin stayed back for a moment, stunned by the younger boy's words.
...
After lunch, they continued walking through the forest.
Haerin still stayed at the back of the group, but tried to contribute to the conversation when she could. Jisung's words had stuck with her, and she couldn't help but think about Mark.
"Keep walking." Mark told them as he moved to the side. "I need to tie my shoelace. I'll catch up."
Haechan nodded, now leading the group. Haerin gave the three boys a glance before stopping to stand beside Mark.
"Did you want something?" Mark asked as he tied his shoe laces, noticing the girl hovering over him.
"Why did you lie to me?" Haerin asked. "You made it so obvious too."
Mark sighed as he got up, looking at where the others were, making sure they were out of earshot before meeting her eyes again.
"I didn't want you to worry." Mark told her. "Seems like it didn't work."
"No, it didn't, Mark. I'm just losing my trust in you." Haerin said, glaring at the male.
Mark sighed, reaching out but Haerin dodged his arm. "Tell me the truth, Mark."
"The truth can be dangerous, Haerin." Mark warned. "It can hold more pain than you could ever imagine."
"I would never lie to you, Mark." Haerin said, glaring at him with her dark eyes. "I have enough respect for you for that. I was hoping you would do the same."
Mark clenched his jaw, his hands slowly balling into fists as he began to give in. "I saw pain, suffering, and grief."
Haerin's eyes widened as she saw Mark's eyes become glossy.
"You went through a lot, Haerin. It hurt a lot for you, that's what I saw. And it would happen to you because of the choice I made, taking this path but this is also the one that would lead us to Dasom. So I lied and didn't tell you because I feel guilty. Guilty for knowing that this will hurt you in the end."
Mark sniffled and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "Mark, I didn't know."
"Well now you do." Mark said, bitterly.
Haerin had a terrible feeling in her gut and she didn't know what to do. Mark seemed too hurt to continue talking to her so he took a deep breath before jogging to catch up with the rest.
Haerin quickly followed and that's when she saw a clearing in the forest, the mountains coming to sight. Before they could celebrate, mist began to appear, covering it.
In the middle of it all was a male with long jet black hair and pale skin. He wore dark robes, that dragged along the ground, the hood over his head.
Unlike the other goddesses they had encountered, this one looked exhausted, dark circles under his sad eyes. As Haerin stared at him, his name came straight to her.
"Penthus."
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Oof mark being all salty 👀
Also, go and google penthus if y'all don't know who he is (or naver or whatever else y'all use)