ー athens

@▪ psyche "Well, he's always in a nasty mood if things don't go his way," Hades starts, shaking his head as he sighs into the receiver. He glances over at the watch on his wrist, calculating the amount of time he has before his photoshoot and lets out one more sigh. Hades' does not have a lot of time as he will be needed on the scene for the photoshoot in less than fifteen minutes. Even if the way time works in his realm and the mortal realm is different, Zeus is a gossiper. Him talking about Hera's fashion of the day would round up to fifteen minutes, and he is not in the mood to be on the listening end.

From the tone of Psyche's voice, he knows that the girl must have wanted to take this opportunity to run away from the situation. Perhaps, for some reassurance, it must have been better for her to escape before Zeus blow up even more; his temper is as big as his ego. But, he isn't sure whether he would like to have Psyche to know about his activities whenever he's playing hooky from work. Rubbing his temples, he nods. "If you tell anyone about this, I will make sure to prepare a cell for you down in the dungeon. I'll send you the address, come around and ask for Chanyeol and say that you're his sister."

@▪ hades Psyche had let out a small sigh, loosening up a tad. "I'm sorry, Mister Hades, but even if I had told him to go away, he wouldn't listen to me. I already told him to wait in the waiting room, but he nearly popped a vein." She didn't dare peek back into the waiting room, expecting one look to him would set him off. "He seems to be in a nasty mood, did you do something to upset him?" Her eyebrows furrowed; question rhetoric, not expecting an answer. She was, perhaps, already a bit too comfortable around her boss. She thought it was mostly because of how caring he was. Unlike her other bosses at her other dreadful jobs, Hades seemed kind and caring: wanting to make sure Psyche did her job well and that she wasn't crying in the closet every day. Psyche took pride in how strong she was, had this been a few millennia ago where she was at her worst emotionally, had this been her first job; she would've been out the door weeks ago. Here she stood, worrying over her boss.

"Are you sure about that, Mister Hades?" Worry was laced in her voice, speaking in a hushed tone so that whoever passed by wouldn't hear her. "If you would like I can come to see you, I won't bother you!" Though yes, she didn't usually care what Hades did on his off-days. Maybe she would ask him politely the next day what he did though he would hardly ever answer in very much depth, but for the most part, she knew her boundaries and didn't want to bother him with Underworld office to-dos. That was, really, the depth of their relationship. Psyche had no business getting to know her boss, they had an excellent professional relationship, and neither of them wanted to jeopardize that. However, Psyche didn't want to stay in the office, especially with the angry thunderstorm in the next room. Gods know what he would do if he caught sight of her; she had no idea. "I can help you out if you like. Are you in Olympus?"

@▪ psyche Hades couldn't help but let out a small sigh at the other's blatant, unfiltered words at this point. He understands, clearly why most of his secretaries quit by the end of their first month. It is because of his brother, Zeus and his incapability of making an appointment. It is never Hades' fault in the beginning as Zeus did the same to him too. His brother had ignored his request for a face-to-face meeting in the past. It is what he reaps and sow. But threatening Hades' staff shouldn't be a frequent occurrence. He calls out for a small break, thanking everyone before disappearing into his changing room. He pushes the door with the plague of his mortal's name, Park Chanyeol, locking it after he has entered.

"If you're wondering whether he might strike you with lightning or not, he wouldn't," Hades explains, catching a breath as he settles down on the comfy chair. He taps his fingers on the armrest before giving out a small sigh into the receiver. "Miss Psyche, I'll have to let you know that this is the first and the last time I will do your job. I'll send him away but, if he comes around next time without making an appointment, send him off."

"And wherever I am shouldn't be concerning you. As I stated late evening last night, I would be on my own for a personal errand. A secretary should know to give her boss some space of his own, okay?" Hades asks, his tone low, nevertheless warm. He knows the girl has just entered his realm. Her bright, cheery tone is quickly earning her this spot. The one thing she needs right now is someone to calm her down.

@▪ hades “gosh darn it, mister hades!”

psyche never really thought of herself as a “respectable employee” even though many around her would think that she was. she was kind, peppy, and kept on task. she was too humble for something like that. despite that, she couldn’t help but unleash her frustration at her boss, who was usually quite competent. “he’s your brother, mister hades, he shouldn’t have to inform you of a visit.”

though yes, psyche agreed, she wouldn’t want to be hanging out with her serpentine sisters either, she still wished hades felt some sort of remorse for his meek secretary. she didn’t know zeus well, and her fear just made her think of the worst to come. she wanted to avoid zeus as much as possible, smiling at him falsely as she told him to take a seat in the waiting area as she looked around for hades. not only did she want to avoid him because she didn’t know him, and he was said to be quite scary according to nymph gossip— but she was a mortal. she would be struck down by lightning if zeus ever figured out that she was here. aphrodite wasn’t here to protect her, the only one who knew of her situation.

“please, come back, mister hades. i don’t want to face your brother alone... give him a call and tell him you won’t be showing up. i can’t talk to him by myself... he... he scares me.” psyche looked around the corner frantically. the walls had ears. “and tell me where you are. i’m worried.”

@▪ psyche Per usual, before the rise of the midnight sun, Hades will be long gone from the Underworld. Dawning only a robe, he escapes through the portal gates situated in the kitchen. No one knows of the portal there except for him and Thanatos, but the other is now on a business trip — no one will be telling him to go to the meeting with Zeus. He disrobes himself, revealing an office attire. Hades decides to pair up a buttoned-up white shirt, black slacks, and his usual oxford shoes. Poseidon's realm moves a few hours faster than his. So, as he walks out of his world, Hades is greeted by the bask of sunlight over his eyelids.

The portal reveals itself to be connected to the back of a shop lot which is now open for business. His phone vibrates inside of his pocket. He pulls it out, glancing through the missed calls and the messages he hasn't read yet. Today is a busy day. He enters a small quaint cafe, ordering a cup of freshly brewed earl grey before he departs to his next destination — the modeling company.

For the rest of the day, his phone keeps buzzing, again and again. At one point, during a photoshoot, his manager calls out to him to inform him of the incoming calls by someone named, Sy. It's Tuesday — his off day, his play day but Zeus just has to come, announcing his arrival a day before the actual date. The least his brother can do is be courteous. "Yes," Hades answers after the fifth time his manager keeps glancing at him worriedly behind the cameras and light rings.

It is a blare, Hades notes, pulling the phone away from his eardrum. "Tell my brother that it's not up to discussion. He should be informing me of his visit a week, and not a day."

@▪ hades “where is he?” psyche whispered to herself, almost like a hiss. she held a clipboard in her hand, peering at her mobile phone as she looked around. she hadn’t been working here long, so she didn’t know the ins and outs of the underworld like many of the employees did. she had gotten lost on many occasions, however, never to the point where she was being strangled by undead soldiers. still, she didn’t know her boss’ routine, well, at least the one that wasn’t scheduled by her. so when he ran away, when he was supposed to be meeting with his brother, zeus, she had no idea where to find him. zeus was a mad fellow, someone psyche didn’t like encountering much herself. that being said, she had no choice but to track down hades and get him back in his chair.

she sighed, feeling hopeless. she had looked everywhere she could in the building, everywhere that hades might have been. to no avail. none of the workers had said they had seen him either, so she was beginning to lose hope. did he go back to his house? no, she called and there was no answer. sure, hades and psyche weren’t best friends but he always picked up her calls. maybe he was avoiding her because he knew she was going to drag him back to zeus. however...

“mister hades! mister hades!” psyche called out, completely given up trying to be discreet about it. she quickly pulled out her phone, finding hades’ contact and dialled his number, calling his cellphone. she hoped he would pick up, at least this time, and give her a valid excuse to turn away zeus. either way, she was going to be the one who felt his wrath, but at least she wanted to do it with good reason. the phone rang a few times before clicking.

“hello? mister hades? where are you?”