||Koi No Yokan|| Park Seonghwa

||Chapter 39||

"My father... he's here."

He's here...'s here...here...

The words repeatedly echoed in her ears, and still, Carys couldn't find it in herself to believe them. Her mouth opened and closed without any sound coming out, and suddenly she felt it; a shift in the air around her, so subtle that it would've been unnoticeable if her senses weren't on full alert.

"...How?" she finally managed to speak, noticing the way his eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets.

"He senses I'm close, even in my human disguise"

She tossed the covers aside and frantically got up from her bed, Seonghwa immediately grabbing her shoulders.

"Where is he?" she asked, trying -and failing- to get past him and to the window.

His eyes suddenly stopped moving, then glowed the bronzed hue they did when he was in his true form.

"He's calling me. Whatever happens, don't come down unless I tell you to, understood?"

"Understood" she whispered, reluctantly.

His hands stopped gripping her shoulders and went to cup her cheeks, his eyes most adoringly scanning her face.

"How about a good luck kiss? Can you give me one, darling?"

She obliged, bringing her trembling lips to touch his, already nauseous at the thought of having to eventually break the kiss. He caressed her bottom lip then went towards the door, closing it behind him not before looking at her one more time. She saw a familiar spark in his eye; it was determination, and that managed to scare her and calm her at the same time.

She couldn't help but approach the door once he closed it behind him. His walk faded from the top of the stairs down into the living room. Then, she heard his voice speak his father's name loud and clear, probably urging him to reveal himself. Her blood froze in her veins when another voice responded: even if she couldn't make out the words, the deepness and the tone with which Ares spoke was enough to have her trembling.

She noticed Seonghwa hadn't bothered to lock the door; a lock wouldn't have been able to keep him out anyway. The temptation to just turn the doorknob and sneak to the top of the stairs was right there, but she had promised him she would've stayed there until he made sure it was safe. She tried to listen to the back and forth between Seonghwa and his father's voice for what felt like too long- and rather useless since she couldn't even make out what they were saying.

As long as I stay on this floor...

She tried to be as quiet as possible while she twisted the doorknob ad the soft moquette of her bedroom was replaced by the cold tiles of the hallway. Now all she had to do was walk past the bathroom and get to the top of the stairs, but those few steps felt doubled in width and heaviness as she pressured herself to be as quiet as possible. By the time she had reached her destination and pressed her back against the wall, the words that were being spoken now becoming much, much clearer.

"...going against your mother like that"

That was what she managed to hear from Ares.

"She's the one going against me!" Seonghwa replied.

"I know, son, I know...but antagonizing her won't do you any good"

"I don't care, I just want her to leave Carys alone. She doesn't deserve any of this..."

A moment of silence passed.

"I love her, father," Seonghwa spoke again "more than I could ever explain. And if loving Carys means having mother fight me for eternity, then so be it"