Chapter 17
The hairstyle my sisters had painstakingly done for me at the crack of dawn was completely ruined by a single sudden gust of wind.
I’d wrestled with the mirror for ages, wanting to look pretty for my first date—only for it all to be destroyed in an instant.
Swallowing my disappointment, I was just about to fix it when—
“Just a moment.”
Adis approached quietly and gently tucked the loose strands of my hair behind my ear.
For a split second, his fingers brushed lightly against the rim of my ear.
“!”
Startled, I flinched—and Adis, just as startled, immediately pulled his hand back.
Our eyes met. His blue eyes trembled slightly as they looked at me, then hurriedly looked away. I felt my face heat up all at once and had no choice but to turn my head as well.
After that, an awkward silence lingered for quite a while.
Pretending to fix my hair, I kept rubbing my ear for no reason. The spot his hand had touched felt hot and itchy, like it had been lightly burned.
But the bigger problem was my heart.
Please, be quiet……
Thump thump thump! My heart pounded as if it were about to leap right out of my chest. Cold sweat broke out at the thought that Adis might hear it too.
Completely oblivious to its owner’s wishes, my tactless heart screamed, What are you doing? Go in for the kiss—now! You lunatic.
My reason fought back, slapping my heart across the face. Are you insane? Shut up!
Haa…… please calm down, Leuke.
I placed a hand over my chest and took a deep breath when—
“Leuke.”
“Y-yes?”
“Are you busy tomorrow?”
He said something I hadn’t expected at all.
—
Hades opened his mouth on instinct—and immediately regretted it.
When giving orders to his subordinates, he never hesitated, never misspoke. So why was he like this now?
Acting with half-sincerity mixed into pretense wasn’t that difficult, but sometimes, like now, his emotions slipped out of his control. It felt as though the scale that had always functioned perfectly had broken.
Wondering if he’d rushed her, he saw a flicker of discomfort cross her face.
“I don’t think I can. I already have plans with a friend tomorrow and the day after.”
“A friend?”
“Yes.”
“……A man?”
“No. A woman.”
Hades let out a sigh of relief, the chill in his expression instantly vanishing. Still, having been rejected twice in a row, his mouth clamped shut like a shell.
“But I think I’ll be free the day after that. Would you like to meet then?”
Leuke suggested it shyly, smiling.
“Sure.”
Hades nodded without missing the chance.
“We’ll meet here again, right?”
She asked, a smile playing on her lips. Distracted for a moment by lips red as rose petals, he answered,
“Yes. We’ll meet here.”
Watching the goddess smile brightly, unaware of his dark thoughts, Hades rubbed his face repeatedly.
I’m not some beast—what am I even doing……
Next time, instead of a sedative for beasts, I should take one meant for monsters.
Pressing his reddened cheeks down with his hands, Hades made that vow.
Chapter 3
It’s Not a Crime to Fall in Love
When I got home, I buried my face into my pillow and screamed.
Thump thump thump!
I kicked wildly, then pummeled the innocent pillow with my fists.
Only after completely destroying one pillow did I finally come back to my senses.
This is definitely a green light, right? This is what people call something, right? You know—you’re mine, but not quite mine, but kind of mine?
That’s why we set up another date!
What do I do, what do I do?!
Letting out shrieks of joy, I rolled all over the bed.
“What should I wear next time? Should we have matched our outfit colors…… Aaaah!”
I was about to get up to look at my Stone Age–era wardrobe when I froze in horror.
Iante was staring at me with the most exasperated look imaginable.
“Hey! You should’ve knocked before coming in!”
“I did.”
“I didn’t hear you.”
“That’s because you were throwing a full-blown tantrum.”
“Y-you—how long have you been standing there?”
“Since you were screaming into the pillow?”
“……”
So she’d been there from the start. Barefaced.
That little—
I tossed a ring from my jewelry box at her. Iante snatched it midair with lightning speed.
“I heard absolutely nothing.”
“And next?”
“I will take no interest whatsoever in my sister’s affairs.”
“Good.”
Deal struck.
For someone like Iante, who went crazy over anything shiny, this transaction would definitely keep her mouth shut.
“So why’d you come here?”
“Dinner.”
“Let’s go!”
After all, Koreans run on food power.
Even if I wasn’t Korean right now but a Grossin goddess—still.
You have to eat well to absolutely crush the next date too. Smacking my lips in anticipation, I walked off full of enthusiasm.
—
The next day, I headed to Arcadia in high spirits. Artemis had said she wanted to introduce a new subordinate of hers.
After wrapping up the date so nicely, the world looked beautiful. I even had a good feeling that today would go well too, but……
If things went smoothly like this, it wouldn’t be Greek mythology, full of disasters and calamities.
“This is my first time introducing her to you, Leuke. This is Callisto, the princess of Arcadia and a nymph.”
The deer-horned nymph standing beside Artemis smiled brightly and greeted me.
“Hello, Goddess. I’m Callisto.”
“……”
I couldn’t smile back.
Zeus—the infamous, legendary scoundrel of adult-rated Grossin mythology and the great king—was notorious for his insatiable appetite for women.
According to him, it was all to create demigod heroes of his bloodline for the future Gigantomachy (the great war between the Gigantes and the Twelve Olympians)…… but to me, it sounded like nothing more than a pathetic excuse to justify his lust.
Anyway, he never discriminated when it came to beautiful women—and Callisto was among his worst victims.
Thinking about it now still pisses me off.
Callisto was both a nymph and a princess who had sworn chastity as a follower of Artemis.
That day, she was diligently hunting when that scoundrel laid eyes on her and fell for her.
“Oh, beautiful Callisto! Become my fairy!”
He even spouted the infamous nonsense that, as king of the gods, a mere vow of chastity meant nothing.
Terrified by the scoundrel’s insanity, Callisto fled on the spot. But if he’d given up that easily, he wouldn’t have been that scoundrel.
Disguising himself as Artemis, he approached Callisto and stole her chastity.
Ugh, bastard. Even insults are wasted on you.
After becoming pregnant with Zeus’s child, Callisto was abandoned even by Artemis and hid away in a cave to give birth to her son. Learning the truth, Hera flew into a rage and turned Callisto into a bear.
Later, when her grown son came and tried to hunt the bear she’d become, Zeus preserved them both as constellations in the sky.
It’s just too cruel……
Thinking of Callisto’s fate, I suddenly felt a strange sense of kinship with her.
As if it weren’t enough to be unjustly violated, she couldn’t even find peaceful rest—only to be preserved forever as a constellation.
It reminded me of myself in the original myth, preserved as a white poplar tree.
Maybe that was why, even though I’d just met her today, my heart went out to her.
We’re too pitiful to deserve such tragic fates.
We could live happier lives—what a waste we are.
If that’s what destiny has in store for us, then let’s be the ones to kick it away first.
Resting beneath a tree, I stood up. Then I headed into the forest where Artemis and her nymphs had gone hunting.
Yes.
Let’s not look away even though we know.
I don’t want Callisto to end up like the original me.
I went deeper and deeper into the forest. Around now, I should be able to see clouds…… there.
A cloud that should’ve been in the sky had unnaturally descended to the ground. I immediately realized that Zeus was hiding inside it.
Just like with Io, Zeus often turned into clouds to avoid Hera’s eyes.
The moment I was about to approach Zeus—
“Leuke!”
Huh?
Why are you here?
