charm(less)

trēdecim

—— t r ē d ec i m ——

"YOU KNOW," PARK said, "you never told me what your fears are."

They'd been walking for so long that Park had lost track of time beyond minutes melting into hours, the sky gradually darkening from a deep velvet to a inky black. This far out from civilisation and the bustling noise pollution of New York City, the stars were a bright sprinkling of silver glitter scattered across the canvas of the sky. Night skies like this reminded Park of the reality of Greek Mythology more than ever. Conversation had steered away from the heavier topics after Park had unwittingly spilled the most personal part of himself and Korey, thankfully, didn't bring it up again.

"Me? Oh, my fears are totally lame," Korey said, amused. "Blood, spiders, small spaces. Just normal boring stuff."

Park considered that. "I've always wondered why people have claustrophobia. There's nothing physically dangerous about a small space, nothing that could actually harm you."

"Fair point. But that's the point of phobias, right? They're irrational," Korey said. "I remember when I was a kid and I crawled into the washing machine, in some stupid game of hide and seek. No one found me for ages and when I tried to get out, the door must have jammed or something because it wouldn't open. All I know is that I couldn't get out, feeling like I was trapped in there and the walls were closing in on me, slowly sucking up the oxygen."

Park had never once been scared of being stuck in a small space but hearing Korey's story, a little kid stuck inside the confined space of a washing machine, was enough to send a shudder down his spine.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"Just what any seven year old would. I screamed and cried and banged on the door until my dad finally found me. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to stop crying when he finally got the door open," Korey said, shaking his head with a laugh.

"I can believe it," Park snorted. "You seem like you cried a lot as a kid."

Korey looked indignant. "I did not!"

"Really?"

"Well..."

"That's what I thought," Park smirked.

Korey rolled his eyes and gave him a light shove, but he was still smiling. Park was struck, not for the first time, just how lovely his smile was. Not because it was polished and practiced, designed to disarm, but because it was a naturally perfect smile that could have melted even the stoniest of hearts. Park had felt suspicion when he first saw that smile and his body reacted unconsciously. Now, it was impossible to feel anything but this soft sense of pride that the smile was reserved for him.

"But you know, how that I think about it, it makes sense," Korey said. "That I'm a demigod. I remember seeing odd things during my childhood, things that didn't make sense which I dismissed as my imagination. Adults would never believe me even if I did tell them what I saw."

"But nothing ever attacked you?" Park asked.

"Never." Korey turned his dagger over, from hand to hand, and Park had to restrain from taking it away from him before he sliced open his fingers. He had to learn how to use it now that this was his life. "At least, not that I can remember. I made the mistake of telling Angelica about the strange things I saw once and she honestly thought I had schizophrenia. After that, I just kept it to myself."

Park didn't know what to make of the funny way his stomach flipped hearing Korey mention his girlfriend. He knew he had one and also that it had absolutely no relevant to him. Still, he couldn't stop his next words.