The Lonely God (Rosekook)

4

"Am I ever so glad you found me."

"Well now I couldn't leave my partner in crime drifting in another dimension after facing that gorgon now, could I?"

"Hecate would vaporise you if she heard, Irse."

"Well, glad she doesn't know I exist then," purred the woman as she lounged on the grass.

She pushed her midnight-black hair out of her face. "So, reanimating corpses wasn't the smartest move. But did they really have to put you in this stupid place? I had to search everywhere for you and the connection's so weak too," she whined.

Her yellow eyes observed Jeongguk lying close by with his eyes shut, mirroring his actual body lying on the bed in the apartment in real life.

"Jeon, are you listening to me?!"

"Loud and clear m'am."

She snorted and tossed her head.

"Eh it's not so bad you know," Jeongguk said in his head, "from all you told me, this place sounds a whole lot more advanced than our Seoul. This science and technology thingy really improved the quality of life of a few....at the expense of a chunk of the remaining population."

Irse rolled her eyes. "But, what about the magic? Or should I say, lack of it?"

"Well yeah, that's a drawback," he frowned.

He had already experienced awkward situations in the past few days when he tried to do something instinctively using magic, like lifting a pack of water or trying to impress Rosé with some trick and failing but always managed to save the situation with his quick thinking.

"Exactly!" Irse exclaimed. "So! What's the plan?"

In the dreamscape, Jeongguk chewed thoughtfully on a stalk of grass. "I have the beginnings of an idea," he ventured, "but I'm still-"

"Jeongguk!" a voice rang out within the dreamscape.

"Oh not her again!" Irse groaned. Jeongguk grinned and sat up with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry Irse. Talk to you later."

"'Whipped' is what I believe the mortals in this realm say for your situation," Irse muttered before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Jeongguk scrambled down the stairs to find Rosé already dressed up with her guitar case slung behind her. She giggled, causing him to smile.

"What? Is my handsome face laughable?" he quipped.

She shook her head and pointed at his feet. "Are you gonna be singing in those Ironman socks?"

>

He had to thank the stars that the gods had no control over this alternate version of Seoul: he had never been so lucky before.

Rosé was a kind-hearted person to a fault, trusting Jeongguk enough to invite him to stay in her tiny apartment. He had been wary of her intentions, keeping tense and stiff until it was clear that she was merely offering him only a roof over his head and food to feed his gnawing hunger. Not only: she even offered him a room and new change of clothes, previously owned by her brother.

"He moved out," she explained, "I think he was around your size though so these should be okay..."

She noticed him studying her and looked up, non-plussed. "What?"

"How can you....trust me like this? A girl, alone with a boy....I could be some criminal....who could bring you a load of trouble..." he said quietly, scuffing his toes with his hands behind his back. "I mean, I could be some inter-dimensional criminal exiled here as punishment. You wouldn't want to be involved with the likes of me."