Pandora's Box

Chapter 1

Beomgyu hated attention; which, being the son of Apollo, had caused a couple riffs in his life.

Until last month, he'd been totally normal. Well, okay, maybe not totally normal since he still lived with his parents at 21.

But, he was normal in the fact that he lived blissfully unaware of his true lineage.

Then, during Christmas last month, his parents revealed to him that he wasn't their son at all.

And, in fact, that he was the son of an Ancient Greek God.

Not just any God. Beomgyu later realized, while sifting through all the research he could find, that Apollo was, for lack of a better term, a fucking show off.

He would roll his eyes at this guy's inability to chill, were it not for the fact that he was apparently destined to be as arrogant.

It wasn't totally bewildering. He had always been weirdly really good at...well, everything. To the point where he had stopped being invited to sleepovers and laser-tag birthday parties because he kept winning by a mile.

He was getting lonely. And... okay. He may have secretly wished for an escape. But in no way had he wanted an entire life change.

"You'll always be our son, and we love you so much. We'll miss you."

The words turned sour again in his mind as he replayed the moment. Sending him to a new school in mid-January was one thing, but he had to move to a completely different place.

When he stepped out of the bus onto the campus of Pandora Academy, he started to become less and less convinced that it was all a practical joke. That he would actually have to start a life here, and try to live as the offspring of a deity.

He was convinced that he was the worst possible pick to be this guy's son. He'd always wanted to blend in; being good at virtually erything made that fairly difficult.

He slung his guitar back onto his shoulder when it slipped. It was, without a doubt, his most prized possession. Despite his annoying talents, he had always been specifically good at art, both music and visual.

But Beomgyu was convinced everyone found guitar boring. Whenever he'd play in class, the entire room would completely zone out. As if they were on another planet. It didn't matter to him, though. He'd still play it, even if everyone hated him for it.

It wasn't until he read that Apollo, his supposed dad, was the God of music, that he reconsidered whether they were actually zoned out or if it was some weird spell. He didn't really know much about Greek Mythology.

Nevertheless, he brought the guitar to campus.

He was surprised and relieved that his parents let him, fully expecting it to be some sort of prison. The expectation seemed sillier by the minute, however, as looking around this place was anything but dreary.

Just at a first glance Beomgyu saw a glistening lake with students in canoes, and a set of what looked like targets.

(He guessed it was for archery, though he wouldn't have known that if he didn't read that Apollo was also the god of archery. Seriously, the guy was ridiculous.)

There were students everywhere. Sitting on picnic benches, tackling each other, fighting with swords?!

He didn't know what was about to happen, but made his way towards admissions anyway. The man at the desk smiled at him.

"Can I help you?"

"Um. Yes.. I'm Choi Beomgyu. Is, like, my name in the system or.."

It was only now he realized how unprepared his parents left him for any sort of registration. Luckily, the man was still smiling and could probably sense his likeness to pass out.

"Nice to meet you, Beomgyu. I'm Mingi!"

Beomgyu smiled as he typed a couple words in and pulled out a folder. "This is your class schedule.

"Because your dad is an archer, artist, and medicinal prodigy, you have the biggest variety of classes I've seen! No worries, though. There will always be something to learn!"

He looked inside the folder and pulled out a piece of paper with the words "Welcome to Pandora Academy" on the front. Under in small, bold font, was a description.

Welcome, to a school for those who were born of Ancient figures. The mightiest heroes, most powerful Gods of Ancient Greece. Taken from the story of Pandora's Box the school believes students should hold onto the hope that they can learn to either follow, or fix, the legacy of their parents.

He scoffed quietly as Mingi spoke to him again. "You'll be staying in the Health Deity cabin. Your roommate is Choi Soobin!"

Thank God. A normal name. He didn't know why, but Beomgyu was convinced that all of the students would be named Maximus Strout or something.

He smiled at Mingi, thankful for his patience. "Thanks, sorry. I know it's probably annoying to deal with clueless kids all day."

He frowned. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

Beomgyu stared at him. "Well, it's sort of shocking to hear you're the kid of a God. But you're probably used to the disheveledness."

Something clicked for Mingi, and he smiled again. But this time Beomgyu could sense pity in it. The man spoke again, hesitantly. "I'm not sure how much you were told, but most kids have been here since they were about seven."

Beomgyu gaped at him. "Seven?! What the hell? What kind of place rips kids from their families at seven?"

Mingi sighed and took his hand. Beomgyu didn't brush him off, but gave him a questioning look.

"Most kids don't 'get ripped'. They start out with their God parent raising them like normal. Then the God themselves enrolls them if they see fit."

Beomgyu stared and slowly took his hand away. His next words were quiet, but stern.

"How many?" 

Mingi looked puzzled.

"How many other kids were raised by mortals? How many other kids have parents who, I guess, thought they weren't Godly enough to be raised?" He couldn't help the venom seeping from his tone.

Mingi gave him another pitying look, and Beomgyu knew the answer before it was out of his mouth.

"Well... well as of right now it's just you."

He turned, thanked him shortly for the schedule, and stormed out of the door.