ambrosia [NCT DREAM]

9. I Have Awful Luck Today

Jaemin really should have heeded Donghyuck's warning, because the next morning he wakes up with mud in his only pair of sneakers and his wallet stuck to the ceiling somehow.

He slept a little too well and now his belongings were strewn about. Someone left his backpack open and there were marker doodles on his arm, like he fell asleep first at a sleepover (which he kinda did).

At least breakfast was okay. Donghyuck laughed at Jaemin's muddy shoes and the ridiculous doodles on his arm while Jisung stole his pop tarts. The Hermes kids sat at their table, giggling and looking at Jaemin from a distance, which annoyed him.

After he ate breakfast (only one pop tart because Jisung stole the other three), he decided to wander off and explore a little bit. While most everyone else was training or playing games or simply went back to sleep, he wandered back towards the Hermes cabin.

Something made him stop, though. The last cabins at the top of the hill that he and Donghyuck had missed. They were huge and grand, with pillars and shiny stone steps.

Jaemin wanted to know why the last three cabins were so big. They seemed so desolate and empty on the hill, so why were they so huge? They looked less like cabins and more like courthouses.

He walked towards the one closest to the Demeter cabin that Donghyuck had showed him yesterday. It looked like it was covered in limestone and smoothed shell fragments. The doorway was decorated in pretty seashells and windchimes and netting.

There was a whimpering sound, sort of like a child or a wounded puppy of some sort. Jaemin knew he shouldn't pry into someone else's business, but someone or something might have been hurt in those bushes and Jaemin didn't want to assume that everything was fine.

At least, that's what he told himself to excuse his curiosity. In reality, Na Jaemin was simply incredibly nosy, plain and simple.

He reached for the prickly bushes, carefully prying them open to peek into the brambles, before being met with the snarling face of a monster.

He screamed, falling back on his ass and tumbling down the hill before grabbing onto a rock and stealing himself. His shoe had called off and the creature was circling it, poking its nose into the muddy mess. Jaemin stood up, inching his way towards the creature. He noticed a pretty pink bow in its fur above its ears and what looked to be a collar, which was bizarre to see on what Jaemin could only assume was a demon.

It noticed Jaemin was moving closer, because in a split second it's eyes had widened and it's ears had pricked up. With a whine, it pounced on Jaemin's chest and held him down. Sharp teeth but at his face and it drooled, which disgusted him.

His heart raced, struggling to get free from the creature's claws. He tugged at its messy fur and yelled, but nobody seemed to notice.

He didn't know what to do, he didn't know what the hell this thing was.

"Woah! Daegal, down!" A voice shouted from inside the cabin, seashell wind chimes seemingly carrying the voice for them. The creature that had pinned Jaemin down had suddenly stopped gnashing. It's eyes widened as it's ears perked up again, before simply letting go of the boy.

Jaemin sucked in a sharp breath as the creature disappeared into a flurry of sea breeze and sand. He could only briefly observe the sandy air and his own torn clothing before his eyes met with those of another boy.

The boy smiled at Jamin. His eyes were a bright blue-green, like aquamarine. He was quite pale, but his feet were tanned and he wore the same orange tee that Jaemin did, but had on floppy sandals and swim trunks three sized too large, tied with the drawstrings tight.