It's a Monday, which should have been Jeongguk's first clue that the day is going to go anything but swimmingly.

"You're late!" Is the first thing Jeongguk hears when he's startled awake, the loud slap of a hand waking him up as his father smacks the back of his thigh. Jeongguk groans and rubs his leg gently, eyes still crusted over with rheum and sleep.

"Why do you do that," he grumbles, pulling himself out of bed. With a quick check of his phone, Jeongguk finds out that he is, in fact, late, and hurries to get dressed so he makes it to class on time. It's the first day of senior year, he doesn't want to make the teachers hate him already.

Dressed in a pair of dirty jeans and a wrinkled shirt, Jeongguk makes his way to the kitchen, where his mom is throwing together lunch for his little sister. Hani is sitting at the island, a bottle of nail varnish in front of her as she carefully colors her fingers pink. Jeongguk reaches for a piece of bacon on her plate, only to be stopped when the dog, some ugly, mangy thing Hani picked up off the side of the road, bites his leg.

"Get off me, stupid mutt." Jeongguk says, jerking his leg in an attempt to dislodge the dog from his pant leg. Hani gasps and nearly drops her brush, covered in polish, into her breakfast. She immediately ducks down and pulls the dog up by it's collar — diamond studded, fancier than anything Jeongguk has received his whole life — and squishes its cheek against her own.

"Do not talk to Moose like that. You'll hurt his feelings." Hani says, and Jeongguk rolls his eyes before grabbing the bacon off Hani's plate while the beast is preoccupied. Jeongguk turns to his mother, who looks at him a little sadly before her face morphs back into the stoic look she always has –  unless she's at the beach, then she'll smile and look a little wistful, as if remembering time gone by.

"You're going to be late, Jeongguk. Better head out — and no disruptions!" His mother calls after him, as Jeongguk walks towards the front door. Jeongguk looks at her and winks, flipping his keys around his pointer finger.

"No disruptions."

***

"This is a prime example of a disruption, Jeongguk." His mother says as they sit in the waiting area of the main office. Jeongguk is slumped over in his chair, holding an icepack to his eye while his father talks to the principal and the parents of the boy Jeongguk punched.

"It's not my fault." Jeongguk grumbles, staring out the window. Outside the sky is cloudy and overcast, strange weather for San Diego this time of year. Normally it's sunny and blistering hot without hope of shade, but the clouds are rolling quickly across the sky, as if there's an impending thunderstorm. "He started it."

"Are you in fifth grade? I swear, sometimes Hani shows more maturity than you, Jeongguk. Punching someone over a place in the lunch line? It's juvenile, Jeongguk, that's what it is. I thought you were better than that."

"Call it want you want, Mom, but it's the principle. Bullying a freshman, knowing that, as a bulky, meat-headed," Jeongguk is interrupted when his mother softly scolds, Jeongguk!, but he continues, "senior, that he has no chance— that's what I call juvenile. I was just standing up for the kid."

"My Jeonggukie," his mother says softly, resting a palm on the side of Jeongguk's face, "always standing up for the underdog. It's honorable, and selfless, but sometimes I wish you'd think about yourself more. About your education more."

Jeongguk blushes, probably because his mother hasn't called him Jeonggukie since he was seven. An air of comfortability and peace falls over them, like a warm blanket or nice hug, but the moment is ruined as soon as his father steps out of the principal's office, jaw clenched so hard Jeongguk can see his incisors through his skin.

"You're suspended for a week. But don't think that this means you can sit at home all day doing nothing, boy. We'll finish this at home. Come on." Jeongguk follows his father out of the office, his mother trailing behind them. As Jeongguk veers off towards his car, his father grabs onto his arm, nearly tripping him and making him eat asphalt.

"What?" Jeongguk spits, nerves and anger melding into an uncomfortable lump at the bottom of his stomach. Jeongguk's mother flinches at his tone, and he wants to turn around and apologize, but he doesn't want to lose the staring contest he and his father are having.

"Give your mother your keys, she'll drive your car home. I want to talk to you, man-to-man." His father says, and the look in his eyes tells Jeongguk that he doesn't have an option, and that arguing with him would only make matters worse. Jeongguk yanks his arm out of his father's grip and shoves it into his pocket, pulling out his car keys a second later. The keys shine in the midday sun, the small dolphin charm among his keys catching the light and glinting softly.

"Here," Jeongguk says, handing his mother the keys. She looks apprehensive, like she doesn't want to leave him and his dad alone, but Jeongguk smiles at her as best he can while nerves wage war in his stomach. He winks, "don't scratch her."

His mother smiles softly and winks back, "wouldn't dream of it." Then she turns and walks towards Jeongguk's car, leaving Jeongguk alone with his father, who stalks towards his own car without a word. Jeongguk follows him, hands pushed deep in his pockets as he fidgets uncomfortably. They pull out of the parking lot without a sound, Jeongguk staring out of his window while his dad glares out of the front windshield.

There's a cough that breaks the silence, and then, "you got any idea how ungrateful you are, boy?" Jeongguk's head snaps in the direction of his father, who's eyes are still glued to the road. Jeongguk opens his mouth to retaliate, but his dad isn't finished. "I have done nothing but care for you, make sure you have a roof over your head, food in that wise-ass mouth of yours; I even buy you a car, and what do I get in return? Calls from the school about how you've caused another disruption."

"It wasn't my fault, he was picking on that freshman kid, I couldn't let it slide—"

"Well I can't let this slide either, Jeongguk, there needs to be serious punishment for your actions—"

"My actions were completely justified!" Jeongguk yells, slamming his hands down on the dashboard. Just then, the sky opens up and it begins to rain. Jeongguk groans and flops back in his seat, holding his hands over his face. "How come you never punish Hani, huh? She does bad stuff all the time, like she cut that girl's hair last year for calling Moose ugly, and she told her teacher to pull the rod out of her ass that one time. You never punish her for anything."

"I don't punish Hani because she's my daughter," Jeongguk's father says, squinting to see through the rain beating against the windshield. It's coming down so hard that Jeongguk can hardly see the car in front of them.

"I'm your son! Doesn't that deserve some kind special treatment, too?" Jeongguk asks, glaring at his father as he drives down the road. Jeongguk's dad looks at him for a second before turing back to the road. The air around them falls eerily silent as Jeongguk waits for his father's reply.

"You're not my son." He says calmly, and Jeongguk splutters, looking at his father, confused.

"That doesn't make any sense, you... you're lying." Jeongguk says, and his father glances at him again, just as lighting flashes across the sky. Jeongguk can't see the road ahead of them, much less the cars on each side of them, and he silently prays that his father will turn his eyes back to the road.

"Think about it, Jeongguk. Your hair is dark brown, nearly black. Hani and I both are blond. You look nothing like me, and only some parts of you resemble your mother. You're not mine. I can't believe it took my telling you for you to realize you're not even a part of this family." Jeongguk's father finally turns his gaze back to the road, leaving Jeongguk to silently soak in what he's just been told.

"So you just... lied to me, then?" Jeongguk asks, his sadness being replaced with anger. He never cared for his father anyway, at least now he knows he isn't the same flesh and blood as the man next to him. "What good did that do you, huh, Dad? What's the use of lying to me, calling me your son for so long, despite you absolutely despising my whole existence?"

"It's what your mother wanted. She wanted us to feel like a family." Jeongguk's father says, and Jeongguk scoffs. He turns his head towards the window, where the rain is beating loudly against the glass.

"Stop the car." Jeongguk says, placing a hand on the door handle.

"Are you crazy? Jeongguk we're not finished—"

"Stop the car!" Jeongguk shouts, angrily undoing his seatbelt and pulling up his hood. "I need some time to think. Tell mom I'll be back later." His dad stops in the middle of the road, cars honking and drivers swearing as they swerve around him. Jeongguk gets out of the car and slams the door before zipping up his jacket and walking off the road, headed to god knows where.

***

He's still fuming hours later, after the rain has stopped and the sun has started to set. Jeongguk wanders the streets of downtown San Diego, unknowing of how far he's walked, or how long he's been walking. He hasn't checked his phone since he left his dad's car on the middle of the highway. As the sky grows darker, Jeongguk looks for a place to rest, somewhere he can sit down and maybe eat.

Jeongguk turns down another side street, and at the end of the road there's a sign that reads, OPEN 24 HOURS, with the 's' hanging onto the rest of the sign precariously. He's making his way towards it when Jeongguk hears, "hey, kid," from one of the alleyways off the street.

Like an idiot, he stops and looks, and in three seconds flat he's surrounded on each side by three boys that look about his age. Fat, white kids with gold chains around their necks and their pants hanging low. Jeongguk sighs and pushes his sleeves up, ready to fight. He's not quite sure if he'll be able to take all of them at once, but judging by the fact that only one is advancing towards him, he should be okay.

"Look, Eminem, I don't have any money on me, go mug someone else." Jeongguk says, and the boy who was previously walking towards him stopped and lifted his fat chin to the air before cackling wildly, like a witch at her cauldron.

"I'm not here for your money, Jeon Jeongguk, I'm here for your life." The boy says, and as he laughs the other two boys grab Jeongguk by the shoulders, their grip nearly crushing his bones as they shove him against the wall of a building. Jeongguk hisses in pain as he looks up at the boy who cackles like a witch.

"How do you know my name?" Jeongguk asks, tugging experimentally at the grip on his shoulders. The boys' meaty hands only clamps down harder, and Jeongguk bites his tongue to keep himself from crying out.

"Do you know about the gods, Jeon Jeongguk?" The boy asks, and Jeongguk huffs in confusion. He's never been big on school, much less history, and the only God he can think of is, well, God, and Jesus and all that jazz.

"I'm a Christian." Jeongguk replies, and the boy cackles once more. This time, his two henchmen join in, and Jeongguk feels like he's being held hostage by a pack of hyenas. After the three of them have sobered up, the boy that isn't holding him down slowly starts to take off his gold chains, and Jeongguk has to stop himself from asking if this is all some kind of weird porn intro; really, where's the camera?

"Well your God can't save you anymore, Jeon Jeongguk." The boy says, and as he yanks off his shirt, underneath are not the rolls of fat like Jeongguk was suspecting, but rather pale, leathery skin and a pair of equally as leathery and pale breasts.

"You're a girl?" Is the first thing Jeongguk thinks to ask, even as a pair of bat wings unfold into the air, making the boy — the thing take up most of the alleyway. Jeongguk's jaw drops.

"I'm a fury, you imbecile!" The thing shrieks, and the grips on Jeongguk's shoulders release as the boys next to him turn into furies, too. Jeongguk reaches down and pinches himself hard on his arm, hoping that maybe all of this is a terrible nightmare and he'll wake up soon.

The furies close in around Jeongguk, leathery wings creating a barrier around him, shielding him from the public eye. Jeongguk usually isn't one to just lay down and die, but he's completely defenseless aside from his fists, and the way the furies are flicking their forked tongues at him doesn't make him feel confident in his only weapons.

"Maybe we can strike up a deal! My mom works at a pharmacy, you let me live, and I can get you free skin cream! To take care of your wrinkles!" Jeongguk says, flinching at a wing smacks him across the face.

"No one makes deals with the goddess of vengeance, Jeongguk." One of the furies say, and Jeongguk feels a stone settle in his stomach; there's no way he's going to survive this.

As one of the furies lunge at him, Jeongguk dives and rolls in the direction of the diner, hoping that someone will see that he's being attacked by a crazy bat-human and save him. Jeongguk briefly wonders if anyone would have gone to see Batman if he looked like that, but then there's claws digging into his back and the thought is gone.

The fury starts to lift him off the ground, Jeongguk yelling as the fury's talons sink into his flesh and muscles, but they don't get very far before the fury is squawking indignantly and being dragged back towards the ground. It lets go of Jeongguk in an attempt to save itself, and Jeongguk falls to the ground, landing with a heavy thud, right on his stomach.

Jeongguk rolls over to see another boy, and for a minute he's afraid it's a fourth fury, come to help tear him apart, but then he sees a long vine wrapped around the boy's arm, the other end coiled tightly around one furies wings, slowly covering the rest of it's body. His other hand is pressed to the ground, his palm glowing as tree roots begin to crawl across the ground, and as the other two furies being to walk towards him, wings flared and teeth bared, they trip over the tree roots. As soon as the furies hit the ground the roots wrap around them, leaving them trapped in a bark-y embrace.

"New definition of tree hugger." Jeongguk mumbles. The boy laughs, and as he does so he clenches his hands. The vine and the tree roots respond, contracting quickly, and the furies explode into gold mist as they're squeezed to death. "Holy hell."

The boy laughs again and makes his way over to Jeongguk, gently wiping his hands on his pants. As he leans down to help Jeongguk up, he says, "Holy Hades, you mean."

Jeongguk grabs onto the boy's hand and being to pull himself up, but shouts and drops back to the ground when a searing pain shoots up his shoulder and arm before taking over his back as well. "Oh right." The boy says, then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small vile of golden liquid. Jeongguk is reminded of the mist the furies exploded in to, and his stomach flips.

"Drink this, you'll feel better." Jeongguk takes the vile hesitantly, not fully trusting the boy not to kill him. The stranger seems to sense his doubtfulness, because he puts his hands on his hips and sighs.

"Do you really think I'd kill you after saving your life? Drink up, stupid." The boy says, then he plops onto the ground and beings to pick the dirt from his toenails.

"You don't wear shoes?" Jeongguk asks, then he drinks the whole vile in one go, and he's surprised by the taste – chocolate. Melted chocolate, like a candy bar that spent all day in his pocket. 

"They interfere with my powers. I feel like I work better without them." Jeongguk nods and hands the empty vile back to the stranger, feeling like he could fight ten furies if they came back.

"So you're like, a wizard? Or something?" Jeongguk asks, pulling his sweatshirt sleeves over his hands. The stranger looks at him oddly, light hair flopping into his eyes.

"They told me you'd take some time to warm up, but they never told me you were stupid." The boy mutters.

"Hey!–"

"How much did your mom tell you, Jeongguk? About your dad?" The stranger asks, and Jeongguk feels a lump form in his throat at the mention of his mother.

"Nothing. I didn't know my 'dad' wasn't my dad until a few hours ago." Jeongguk shrugs, and the boy is looking at him so intensely Jeongguk wishes he'd go back to picking at his toes.

"That explains ... so much. Come on, you're probably hungry. Let's talk in the diner, I want a milkshake." The boy hauls Jeongguk to his feet and pats him on the back. Jeongguk flinches, thinking that the stranger's hand would go straight into the wounds left by the furies, but it doesn't hurt, and Jeongguk reaches his own hand up, sweeping it gently across his shoulder blades; the gashes are gone.

Jeongguk follows the stranger into the diner in a sort of haze. Something about the situation feels completely impossible; it should be impossible, but here he is, twenty minutes after being impaled in the back by a rabid bat-human, completely healed and fine.

As they walk into the diner, Jeongguk pulls his hands into his hoodie and prays that there aren't anymore monsters waiting for them.

"Don't you worry, Jeon Jeongguk." The stranger says as they slide into a booth. "Soon enough we'll be back at Camp Half-Blood and you'll be safe and sound."

"Camp...?" Jeongguk trails off as a waitress walks up to their table, pen in hand. She looks annoyed, like she can't be bothered serving two teenage boys this late into the night.

"So, we'll have–"

The boy is cut off when the waitress points her pen at him lackadaisically. "No shoes, no service." She says, and the stranger frowns before lifting his leg and flopping his foot on the table, showing off his shoe. The bottoms are wooden, the tops a dark green that Jeongguk knows has to be tightly entwined vines. The waitress's eyes widen somewhat before she pulls out a notepad to take their order.

"Right, as I was saying, we'll have two cheeseburgers, a side of fries, I want a strawberry milkshake and Jeongguk will have a Coke with no ice – right, Jeongguk? Because the melted ice makes the drink taste watered down? I know I'm right, don't bother verifying that." The stranger rattles off, never breaking eye contact with the waitress. She nods and then scurries away, leaving Jeongguk alone with the stranger – a stalker, by the sounds of it.

"How do you know so much about me?" Jeongguk asks, picking nervously at his placemat.

"Don't be silly, Jeongguk. It's just basic information; as your Protector,"

"My who?" Jeongguk asks, and the stranger rolls his eyes.

"If you'd let me finish," the stranger says. "Anyways, as your Protector, it's my job to know stuff about you, Jeongguk, and to make sure you get safely to Camp Half-Blood. I also have to figure out who your dad is, but that comes later. They used to use Satyrs for these type of missions, you see, but unless they're very well trained, they're not as powerful as us demigods. So Dionysus, the camp director, started using demigods. He probably hopes that we'll die trying to recruit so he doesn't have to deal with us anymore—"

"Who are you?" Jeongguk asks, and the waitress comes back with their food. She waits patiently by the table as the stranger fishes money out of his pockets – two one dollar bills and a silver coin. "What are those?"

To Jeongguk's surprise, the waitress takes the silver piece, and even promises the boy sitting across from him free refills on his milkshake.

"I'm Kim Taehyung, your Protector, and those are drachmas. They're Greek silver pieces." Taehyung says, and Jeongguk nods along, trying to look like he understands. Instead of asking all the questions sitting on the tip of his tongue, but instead he shoves about half of his burger in his mouth and chews slowly. 

"Don't worry, Jeongguk," Taehyung leans across the table and pats the back of Jeongguk's hand, as if he can sense the utter chaos of Jeongguk's mind. "We'll get you to Camp Half-Blood in no time, then it'll all become clear. You just have to have patience."

Camp Half-Blood. Jeongguk mulls the name over in his mind.

Half-Blood what?