[tw car accidents, tw drowning mentions]
Sniffling slightly, Jonghyun kneaded at his head. He’d made the very big mistake of dwelling too long on the car accident and found himself with a headache that made him think his skull was about to split open. It had taken everything he had to not start screaming with the pain. Eventually it had abated, but not without making him completely miserable and close to tears.
Once again, he wished he’d drowned in that car with his friends.
“There is no more need to mope, mortal.”
Head jerking up at the sudden interruption to his melancholy, Jonghyun made a face that was somewhere between a scowl and a pout. Was this girl mocking him or something? But as he turned to face her properly, he say that her face held nothing but (a haughty) kindness and he automatically reached out to take hold of the sunflower before he too realized it wasn’t in the happiest of conditions.
At once, the girl looked as depressed as he felt. Forcing a weak smile onto his face, Jonghyun gestured for her to take a seat beside him, tilting his head to get a proper look at her. He wasn’t so sure about this girl being a goddess, but he’d long since learned that nothing in this city was as it seemed.
“It’s alright. It’s the thought that counted. Not that I deserve your kindness, but… I do appreciate it. So, thank you.”
So saying, Jonghyun cautiously reached out to lay a hand lightly on the girl’s shoulder.
“Don’t be sad, bad times will pass, after all.”
Not that he believed it for himself.
The stranger’s hand is surprisingly... Warm.
Uwah, so humans were this high in temperature... Contrary to the chilly depths of the underworld, life above the great below is indeed extremely different. Ereshkigal supposes she still has a lot to learn about them, but for now, she ought to do something about her exceptionally surprised expression.
❝ Yes, you’re w...welc—— I mean..! Forgive my momentary lack of grace. I meant to say: be grateful. After all, it is only right for a reliable goddess to lend strength to those around her. ❞
She shakes her head. ❝ I don’t think this will ever change for me, though. It has been the same since I first drew breath. In a way, it’s fate... I suppose. ❞ Not that it was a bad thing, per say. Thousands of years have passed since she wholeheartedly accepted her role as a gloomy, terrible mother goddess — and this hasn’t, and will never change. What she feels about her role matters not.
❝ But you’re different. You’re human. As long as you live on the Earth’s surface, you have control of your own destiny and the eventual outcome of this. Unpleasant things happen, and that’s fine. What matters is the future. ❞
‘Bad times will pass, after all?’ Her regal demeanor falls apart yet again, her cheeks flushed. ❝ Wait, d——did you just quote me?! ❞
