Seventeen Muses

Chapter 7

"Tragedy..." Seungcheol repeats, his voice barely above a whisper as if the air has been knocked out of his lungs. "You're a... I'm bonded to..."

Her eyes widen, "No no no. I know the rumors of what a tragedy muse means around here. I promise you, none of you will be impacted by it. A tragedy muse is only considered one because their life is set up to be one of great tragedy. It's not related to those that are bonded to them. It's not spreadable, I swear. I made sure of that before risking bonding to anyone. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I dragged others into this with me."

Seungcheol stares at her with sad eyes, "Little demon, you might not spread tragedy, but we will still be upset on your behalf. I know it's only been a couple weeks, but all of us have grown attached to you. A tragedy is only a tragedy when others feel the emotions with you. And we will. We will feel your hurt and your anguish."

"But... but any tragic events will only happen to me..."

"And you think that makes it better?!" He exclaims, getting to his feet. He walks around the desk, to stand in front of her before dropping to his knees and grabbing her hands in his. "Desdemona, you said you wanted this to be like a family. We all want that. Family cares about each other. I would never want you to experience hurt. If I could I would take it all away for you."

"But it's mine to suffer through."

"I... I know that.... but a good family wants to help each other through the ups and downs of life. To know that you have been marked for a life of tragedy... it makes me upset and angry on your behalf. It makes me want to wrap you up in a bunch of blankets and keep you hidden from the world. You're to be my little sister, Desdemona, why would I ever be okay with you being hurt?"

She folds in on herself a bit, "Everyone else was...."

His eyes harden at that, "Little demon, they might have been your family by blood, but they do not deserve you. They never did. And just because you are blood related to them, doesn't mean you are stuck with them as family. We're your family now." He declares, standing up and pulling her with him, "Me and Jun and Hoshi, and Woozi, and Seokmin......." he takes a deep breath and sighs through his nose, "And unfortunately Mingyu too." She wetly giggles at his stubbornness, "We are your family and we're going to go through all these tragic events with you. Make sure to pull you back from the edge and keep living life the best we can. Okay?"

She nods, "Okay Seungcehol."

He smiles at her, pulling her into a hug, "I'm sorry the universe has been so cruel to you, little demon." He pulls away wiping the tears from her face, "Come on, let's go back to the others. I'm sure they want to see you after the dramatic exit you gave."

--

Seokmin and Hoshi are quick to grab her when they return to the room, pulling her over towards Mingyu who just smiles at Suengcheol's scowl. Woozi, Jun, and Wonwoo approach him slowly. Jun smirks a little before asking cheerfully, "So how was it getting your ass handed to you?"

Cheol laughs through his nose, "Terrifying. If I ever decide to try to cow our muse again. Someone smack me."

Wonwoo laughs, "Will do."

Woozi nods with a smile, "Yeah. I didn't know you had a death wish. Watching her leave that angry, I was honestly surprised to see you walking back in here relatively unharmed. I was expecting at least some visual of a curse or some sign of her displeasure."

Seungcheol shakes his head staring across the room where Hoshi has wrapped around their muse and Seokmin is poking fun at Mingyu. "I don't think she'd ever show her displeasure that way. She wouldn't want others to be cursed."