Dancing Like Butterfly Wings 🦋 yungi [▶]

28

Before leaving Yunho and Mingi’s room earlier, Seonghwa had grabbed a can of beer from the small fridge. Now he was sitting in a lounge chair on the balcony of the seventh floor, beer in hand cooling his throat, chest, and mind. Nothing wrong with that. He took a quick swig, draining half the can’s contents.

“So, this is how it feels,” Mingi said, suddenly beside him without Seonghwa realizing when he’d sat down.

“Hey, what are you doing here?! Go back to the room and keep an eye on them!” Seonghwa hadn’t sensed Mingi’s presence at all. Mingi had followed him, vanishing and reappearing in his solid form next to Seonghwa.

“Do you really love Olympius?”

Seonghwa turned away, taking another gulp of his drink. “That’s a stupid question even Mount Olympus knows the answer to.”

“Love requires trust,” Mingi quoted Yeosang, saying that love exists from familiarity. For any love quote, just ask Yeosang. He has a million stored in his mind, “if you really love him, you’d trust he wouldn’t do anything with Phaedon.”

“If that were true, I wouldn’t have bothered going to your room in the first place, right? But why did I go anyway? Just to be safe. Nothing wrong with that, right?”

“True. I also thought you needed to witness that scene earlier to be a witness to Phaedon’s request being fulfilled by me.”

Seonghwa’s wide eyes narrowed, meeting Mingi’s gaze with a stare as sharp as the stones of Tartarus.

“Uh... with Olympius’s willingness and your permission, of course, hehe,” Mingi scratched the back of his head as if mentally itching. Not literally. Impossible—his hygiene was impeccable, and he washed his hair regularly. “And I’m very grateful for that.”

Seonghwa only let out a small hum in response.

“That’s Phaedon’s beer, by the way,” Mingi nodded at the black can in Seonghwa’s hand.

“He still drinks alcohol?”

“Sometimes.”

Seonghwa sighed softly. “Even though I advised Phaedon for an hour straight from the time his pregnancy started, I understand if he still wants to relieve stress with drinks like this. Carrying a child drives him crazy. He didn’t want this.”

Mingi listened to every word his cousin said without breaking eye contact.

“Kleopatra Loukas Park.”

“Hm?”

“Have I ever told you that you have beautiful eyes? Like a piece of Wonderland in there.”

If Mingi were with Yeosang, that would make sense—maybe Yeosang’s gaze enchanted him enough to draw out that compliment. But this was Seonghwa. The son of Hera didn’t possess any trickery powers like that. Mingi must have said it subconsciously, under the influence of his stressed mind after witnessing Yunho and Hongjoong’s interaction.

Seonghwa chuckled softly.

His friend… how unbelievable.

“Song Mingi.”

“Hm?”

“Did I ever tell you that your face looks… alluring—ow! Hey! What are you doing?!”

Mingi had just thrown a small stone from the courtyard below with his earth-bending, aiming it straight at Seonghwa’s head.

“Don’t return my beautiful words with something so filthy! You’ll ruin it!”

Seonghwa rolled his eyes. He’d only been joking. No way he’d seriously flirt with Mingi. Who did Hades’ son think Park Seonghwa was? A playboy like Hongjoong once was?

“Once again, thank you, and I’m sorry. I’m sure Phaedon will sleep peacefully tonight. I’ll treat you guys to a meal later.”

Seonghwa waved a hand dismissively. “No need,” he patted his companion’s shoulder, “that’s what friends are for,” he smiled, “and family.”

“Thanks, bro.”

“Watch out if your child can’t be close to Olympius after being born. It’s your own kid who craved my boyfriend’s touch while still in her mother’s womb!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

They forgot most of what they discussed until suddenly, Hongjoong was there to pick up Seonghwa, carefully stepping out of the room so as not to wake Yunho. A sleeping request from the pregnant young man would be troublesome to deal with.

Hongjoong had figured Seonghwa would be there because the dorm balcony was one of his favorite spots to unwind at night. Sometimes they’d sit together, hugging, warming each other, comforting each other from the stresses of the day. Hongjoong thanked Eros that the god of love and desire didn’t lead Seonghwa to share such intimacy with Mingi while he was away. He even felt a tinge of guilt for having enjoyed his touch on Yunho earlier.

“All done?” Seonghwa asked his boyfriend rhetorically.

“Yes, let’s continue where we left off.”