Chapter 7

Baek's POV

She keeps her eyes on me. "And what part of this mythical world are you from?"

"Destruction. The grim reaper's."

"The grim reaper?"

"Yes. Death."

"Wait, you mean like the grim reaper? The grim reaper himself? Death?"

She obviously does not believe me and is only trying to make a mockery of me. That is one thing about hiding my true identity. Even if I do not hide it, humans would never believe me unless of course, they are in their last moments.

It is unfortunately going to be the same with Hera. Again, my heart breaks at the thought.

I nod in total agreement anyway.

"Yep."

"What's your mom like then? Satan's wife with pointy horns and shiny red lipstick?" Heea demonstrates with her hands, then pauses and slowly turns around to look at the expression on my face. She seems to notice how cold my face has become.

Her face falls in guilt.

"Oh I am sorry I...I didn't mean it that way."

She apologizes.

"My mother is not Satan's wife. Maybe she is Satan's mother but she is different. She is a good woman and the goddess of life."

Hera throws her hands into the air in pure disbelief. "Here we go again. And for your information, life doesn't birth darkness. Life and darkness are too different. They have nothing in common."

"It's the will of fate".

"Dude, you're not even dressed like the god of death. Aren't you supposed to be dressed in all-black and carry some kind of sacred weapon of destruction or something like that?"

She laughs ridiculously and points to my feet.

"And come on. Sneaker?"

I look down to my feet to see what was wrong. Oh, yeah. She is right. A grim reaper in a pair of white expensive Nike sneakers isn't a typical sight.

But that doesn't make it impossible.

I watch her continue her blabberings.

"You're not even putting on some ripped black robes and having skeleton figures. My point is, you don't look like any of the grim reapers I've seen on screens."

"Well, that is because it's the movie, Hera. Movies are based on imaginations. Not realities. Plus, deities do look a lot like you humans."

She huffs. "Whatever alien suits you."

"Well, you do not look like any human I've come across before".

She has a confused expression on her face now. "Uhhh…what is that supposed to mean?"

I stare closely at her facial features and I automatically find myself falling short of words. If only there is a more deserving word to describe her features. If only there is a magical word to describe how enchanting those eyes of hers are.

I move ahead without replying to her.

Behind me, I can hear her huff again in annoyance. If there is a reward for a person who gets so easily pissed, I would gladly hand it over to Hera. But it didn't bother me. If anything, it amuses me.

I pause and rotate to face her with a sigh.

"Fine. Your eyes. They are adorable."

I notice a small smile twitch at the corners of her lips.

"Except for those glasses. Makes you look like the female version of Harry Potter."

The smile of her face wipes off and she closes the distance between us. She throws a punch on my arm.

"Jerk."

"Ouch. That hurts."

We continue to stroll again. I take notice of how the weather has turned cold and the clear night sky becomes gloomy and cloudy with rain.

"We should hurry up before it starts raining…" Before I can finish my sentence, the rain starts to pour.

"Oh, shit."

"Run!"

We both look at each other for consent and pick on our heels at once. We run carelessly in the rain and laugh as we do so. We are completely soaked in the rain but cannot stop running or laughing.

And for the first time in hundreds of years, I am living the moment and enjoying the littlest things.

When we finally reach Hera's house, we stop for a minute to catch our breath. Hera bends and rests her hands on her knees. The rain is still pouring without mercy. We laugh again.

"That was fun." She comments.

"You think? My expensive clothes are drenched in rain."

"You know, if you like, I could talk to my dad to allow you to spend the night since it's still raining heavily."

"You seem to trust strangers easily, don't you?"

"Not really. Your school records are with the principal. There's no way you can get away with hurting me."

Foolish girl.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"Alright then."

She takes a few steps towards the entrance door and turns to spare me a look before finally walking into the house.

I turn to leave after seeing she is safely inside the house but Hera's voice stops me to my feet again.

"Hey baek!"

I turn to face her and she throws an umbrella my way. I catch it expertly.

"Thank you for walking me home." She smiles at me before entering the house again.

I look at the black umbrella on my hands and a small painful smile crosses my lips.

What am I doing, drawing too close to a girl whose life I am supposed to take in the next two days? Why am I feeling so much emotion for her?

Am I making the worst mistake of my life?