"So let me get this straight. You," she said pointing at Minjae, "You asked Horace to drag me into the warehouse for a short time just so you can have a boys talk with Dohyun." She stated.
Minjae nodded, his conscience already guilty.
"And you thought it sounded like a good idea." She said turning to Hikaru.
The two men were standing on a sofa with their hands on their knees and heads down.
"I told him it was a bad idea but it was too late." Hikaru replied in a meek tone.
"Kim Minjae...you've been with me ever since my days on the mountain. You know very well that if I don't clock in every night then you are back to being a raven. And Hikaru here, he'll probably go back to the Underworld."
Hikaru's eyes widened at the mere idea that he had to go back.
"What then?" Minjae asked finally looking up at her.
"We go in the warehouse and bring him back, obviously. We'll go see Horace and he'll guide us through the maze down there. I just hope we'll find him before ten." She said checking her wrist watch. It was almost 14:00 which gave her seven hours to find Dohyun and bring him back in one piece.
"The warehouse isn't dangerous, he'll be fine." Hikaru mumbled.
"The warehouse is full of centaurs." She said through gritted teeth. "Centaurs don't like it when people, especially humans, roam around their territory."
"Yeah, well..." Hikaru looked down before he threw Minjae a glare. "You should have come and asked me before talking to Horace."
Minjae bit his lip and sighed, trying his best to look like a puppy. Fei could almost see his ears fell on his head.
"Hikaru will stay here, take care that our business is actually successful. But you come with me, Minjae."
He nodded and followed her like a child.
The entrance in the warehouse was in the back, behind a fake bookcase. Fei only had to touch it in order for it to slide to the side and unveil complete darkness and a very long stair. The space of the warehouse was larger than the library as a whole, maybe bigger than the whole district. Only the stair, which was not straight but in an L shape, seemed like it was going on and on. They descended around 10 meters or so in complete silence until they reached the bottom. It was pretty much a whole new library down there, with every section concentrating on very specific books and documents. The rows seemed to be never ending and constantly changing but that was only an illusion created by the librarians. The warehouse held important documents from all over the world, some of them (if not most of them) were hidden from the prying eyes of curious humans. The warehouse was connected to three other libraries such as Fei's since there were several doors towards the Underworld. It was such a complicated space that few dared wander it by themselves because they could get lost or find information that could destroy their system of beliefs.
"Fei! What are you-"
Horace came to them, confused how Fei was in front of him when he was sure he sucked her in several hours ago. He glanced at Minjae who looked very guilty and embarassed.
"Clearly I am safe and sound." She said with an ironic smile.
"Then who is in the row for the 15th century?" Horace asked glancing at the warehouse.
"A human male in his mid twenties. That's why we are here, to retrieve him."
Horace frowned not knowing what to tell her. Minjae kept his sight on his shoes and couldn't stop fidgeting.
"If you know where he is then we can get him quickly, right?" Fei asked thinking it was too easy.
"In theory, yes. The problem is his curiosity. If he moves out of there and wanders around searching for the exit, well...he could be anywhere." Horace answered trying to look anywhere but into her eyes.
An angry nymph was not a good visitor. She could bring bad luck along and Horace did not need to redecorate his beautiful and neat warehouse yet.
The warehouse was by default a quiet place. The centaurs weren't party people and even when they were listening to music it was usually on earphones. So when Dohyun opened his eyes and came back to his senses, the first thing he did was to groan which echoed all around him. He was surprised by that and took a very careful look around him.
"Is this another side of the library?" He asked himself as he got up.
When he fell, he came down right on his back which was the reason it was so sore. The bookcases were three times as tall as him and they were full of old looking books. None where in Korean, it looked like French from what he could figure out from the titles.
It was amazing. It took him a few minutes to completely register what has happened to him but afterwards he just decided to accept it. There was no smell, no noise, no nothing so he walked. He didn't know for how long but he walked and it seemed the row was still far from the main corridor.
"Where the hell am I?" He asked himself turning and turning just maybe he will find an answer.
Maybe a few hours passed, or maybe not, Dohyun wasn't sure because he left his phone on the sofa. He never expected such a situation to occur. His stomach grumbled and just like a child, he sat on his bottom and groaned in annoyance.
"How long can this be?!" He started low but ended up shouting.
But that bit of noise he made was enough to draw the attention of a nearby librarian.
"How did you get in here?"
The husky voice of this person scared Dohyun. He jolted and was reluctant to turn and see who was behind him. He did not hear feet walking towards him but galloping.
"Well?"
Dohyun looked up very slowly, this person towering over him. His foxy eyes widened at the sight of a hairy man who did not wear clothes and whose hair was curly. He also wore glasses that seemed to have slipped a bit down his nose. Dohyun swallowed nervously and jumped on his feet. He turned to this person and realized he was tall and from the torso down he resembled a horse.
"You-y-y-you...are not human!" He exclaimed loudly.
"But you are. Were you sent here by Fei? She has the only library in Asia and you speak Korean."
"You know my language?" Dohyun asked still shocked by what was happening to him.
"Of course, I have to speak to the librarians from all over the world. Besides, there are rows and rows of korean literature."
"Wh-what are you?" Dohyun asked, his brain not functioning at the moment.
"A centaur...? My name is Pirape. And who are you?"
Pirape had a husky voice but he wasn't at all mean or threatening. On the contrary, he was very polite and calm and he stood over Dohyun like a mare.
"Lee Dohyun." He replied. "Where am I?"
"The Warehouse." Pirape said. "We have all the books ever written or published as well as documents long forgotten or supposedly lost. It is where the Underworld comes to get information."
"...excuse me, what?" Dohyun asked blocked on one particular world. "The Underworld?"
"Are you by any chance not with Fei?" Pirape asked seeing how the boy didn't know anything.
"I am! She was teaching me about Greek mythology before I fell down here."
"And yet you couldn't recognize a centaur." Pirape said with an eyebrow raised.
Dohyun swallowed and felt like he was being scolded by his professor.
"It's not like I ever expected to see one in real life." He muttered.
"Mythology is not made out of stories, Mr. Lee Dohyun. It exists in the past, the present and possibly the future. Come with me, I'll take you back to the stairs." Pirape said and started to lead the human back.
"Are there more creatures from mythology around?" Dohyun asked a while later.
Pirape glanced at Dohyun amused.
"Maybe."
"Are ancient Gods still alive?" He asked.
"Who knows," Pirape did not want to tell him everything since Fei clearly didn't tell him about herself.
"You do. I prefer to know what led to my visit to the warehouse."
"Then why don't you ask Fei?"
"I will. She always answers my questions."
Pirape felt bad for Fei's fate. It wasn't that she wanted to answer, she just couldn't lie.
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