Morning came, Mrs. Kim woke up and she ordered pizza before she had to leave for work. While waiting, she chilled on the couch like they used to, before her husband died.

She handed Seolhyun a cup of steaming cocoa. “Don’t forget I have you all day Saturday until I go into work, so don’t make any plans.”

Seolhyun smiled, wrapping her hands around the warm cup. “I’m all yours.”

“Good.” She threw her slipper-covered feet onto the coffee table. “I wanted to tell you something.”

Taking a sip, Seolhyun raised her brows.

She crossed her ankles and then re-crossed them the other way. “Park wants to do dinner with us on Saturday, for your birthday.”

“Oh.”

A faint smile curved Mrs. Kim’s lips. “I told him I wanted to check with you first and make sure you were okay with it.” She paused, crinkling her nose. “You are the birthday girl and all.”

“I’ll only turn nineteen once, right?” Seolhyun grinned. “It’s okay, Mom, we can do dinner with Dr. Park.”

Her mom’s eyes narrowed.

Seolhyun took another drink of cocoa. “Should I dress up for this? Since he is a doctor and all. Oh! Are we going to a fancy dinner and will we talk politics and current events?”

“Shush it.” She smiled, though, settling back. “I think you’ll like him. He’s not stuffy or overbearing. He’s really like...”

Seolhyun’s heart did a funny thing. “Like Dad?”

Mrs. Kim smiled sadly. “Yeah, like Dad.”

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes.

Her mom had met her dad her first year of residency at the hospital in Seoul. He’d been a patient, having fallen off the deck and broken his foot, trying to impress some girl. But according to him, the moment he’d looked into her mom’s eyes, he couldn’t even remember the other girl’s name. They’d dated for ten months, got engaged, and married within the year. Seolhyun came shortly thereafter, and there hadn’t been two people more in love than them. Even when they’d argued, love fueled their words.

Seolhyun would give anything to have that kind of relationship.

She finished off the rest of her cocoa and wiggled closer to her mom. Mrs. Kim lifted her slender arm and Seolhyun snuggled in, inhaling the sweet-scented body lotion she always wore.

“I’m happy you met him,” Seolhyun said finally. “Dr. Park sounds like a really nice guy.”

“He is.” She kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “I like to think your father would approve.”

Her dad would approve of anyone who made her mom happy. Seolhyun closed her eyes. That kind of love should’ve been able to beat sickness. That kind of love should’ve conquered anything.

***

Shin Jimin arrived to History minutes before the bell. She was wearing a vintage Super Mario shirt today. “Hey! You look...”

“Like crap?” Seolhyun supplied, resting her cheek on her fist. She had no idea how to prepare herself for seeing Jimin after the branch issue. Playing it cool wasn’t something she was particularly skilled at.

“I was going to say tired.” Jimin’s eyes narrowed as she watched Seolhyun. “Are you okay?”

Seolhyun nodded. “Look, about yesterday? I’m sorry I freaked out. The branch–”

“Scared you?” she said, eyes locked onto Seolhyun’s. “It’s no big deal. It shocked me, too. It all happened quickly, but I’d swear that branch stopped.” Jimin tilted her head to the side. “Like it was suspended for a few seconds.”

“I...” What was Seolhyun supposed to say? Deny. Deny. Deny. “I don’t know. Maybe the wind caught it or something.”

“Yeah, maybe. Anyway, the big party is coming up!”

Seolhyun smiled faintly, relieved at the change in topic. “You coming?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.” Jimin winked.

“Good.” Seolhyun toyed with her pen, remembering what Hyejeong had said about not hanging out with Jimin. Screw that. “I’m glad you’re coming.”

Jimin’s smile was infectious. They chatted for a little while about the party, waiting for class to begin. A couple of times, her hand brushed Seolhyun’s. She doubted it was on accident. And she liked that. Jimin seemed to like Seolhyun all on her own, and that made her a thousand times more attractive. And, well, that cute pair of teeth helped. She was totally dateable.

Taking a deep breath, Seolhyun did something she rarely ever did. “You can stop by my place first, before the party, if you want?”

Jimin’s lashes lowered. “That sounds cool! Like a date?”

Seolhyun flushed. “Yeah, kind of. I guess you can say that.”

Jimin leaned in, her breath surprisingly cool on Seolhyun’s cheeks. Strawberry-scented. “I’m not sure I like the ’kind of’ thing. I like the idea of calling it a date.”

Seolhyun’s gaze flicked up, meeting hers. The little specks of brown in her eyes were nowhere near as vibrant as Hyejeong’s– why am I even thinking about her? “We can call it a date.”

Jimin sat back. “Sounds better.”

Seolhyun smiled, glancing down at her notebook. They exchanged numbers. She gave her house directions. Excitement bubbled through her. She snuck a look at Jimin, she was watching her with a bright smile on her face.

Oh, the party just got a whole lot more interesting.

***

Making up some lame excuse about having to spend time with her mom, Seolhyun successfully ditched a very pouty Jimin. Getting the keys from her mom wasn’t too difficult, either. She knew her mom wouldn’t be awake to notice her car was gone. They’d waited until darkness fell.

Hyejeong met her outside and tried to take the keys. Seolhyun folded her arms. “Nope. My mom’s car means I’m driving.”

“And if you break something?”

“It’s either this or–” Seolhyun squealed as Hyejeong slid an arm around her back, lifting her into her arms. Hyejeong zipped them up the driveway, wind blowing at Seolhyun’s face. She put her down, and Seolhyun stumbled to the side, dizzy. “Gosh! Could you give me a warning next time?”

Hyejeong grinned, getting into the passenger seat. “And miss that look on your face? Never.”

Sometimes Seolhyun seriously wanted to just punch Hyejeong in the face. “You’re insufferable.”

“You like my kind of suffering.”

Hyejeong’s long legs were no match for the cramped seating. She looked like she’d outgrown the car. Seolhyun laughed. Hyejeong scowled. Evensi Field was only fifteen minutes away, but it would be the longest damn drive of her life.

“So how did you drop your new BFF?” Hyejeong asked.

Seolhyun shot her a look. “I told her I have plans with my mom. It’s not like I spend every freaking minute with Jimin.”

Hyejeong snorted.

“What?” Seolhyun glanced at her. Hyejeong stared out the window, one hand on the handle, as if Seolhyun’s driving was that bad. “What?” she repeated. “You know what I’m doing with her. It’s not like we’re hanging out and watching movies.”

“Do I really know what you’re doing with her?” Hyejeong asked softly.

Seolhyun’s hands tightened on the wheel. “Yes.”

The muscle worked in Hyejeong’s jaw, and then she turned, angling her body toward Seolhyun the best she could given the limited space. “You know, your whole life doesn’t have to involve befriending Jungmin. You can take time off.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Hyejeong said. “What for? For being a crappy friend?”

In a second, anger flashed through Seolhyun, wild and hot like a fireball. “I’m not trying to be a crappy friend, Hyejeong. You know what I’m doing. You’re the one who told me to keep Mina out of this. Just tell Mina I’m sorry, okay?”

The familiar challenge was in Hyejeong’s voice. “No.”

“Can we not talk?”

“And that would also be a no.”

But Hyejeong didn’t say anything else while she gave Seolhyun directions to the subdivision where Xiumin lived. Seolhyun parked the car halfway between the suspected six houses, grateful that her mom tinted the windows of her car.

Then Hyejeong started in again. “Are you still able to freeze things? Move objects around?” When Seolhyun nodded, her eyes narrowed. “Have you had any unexpected outbursts of power?”

“No,” Seolhyun said, not wanting Hyejeong to worry needlessly. Well, today she’d blown the light in her room. And she’d moved her bed about three feet. “God, I love how you’re all up in my personal business but don’t want to be involved in it.”

“I like talking about your personal business. It’s usually entertaining and always good for a laugh.”

“Well, I don’t,” Seolhyun snapped.

Hyejeong sighed as she twisted in her seat and tried to get comfortable. “Mina is worried. She won’t stop bugging me to check on you with Jimboob and see what’s wrong with us, since you–“

“Oh, so we’re back to you doing things to make your sister happy? Are you getting bonus points for asking?” Seolhyun asked before she could stop herself.

“No.” Hyejeong reached out, catching Seolhyun’s chin in a gentle grasp, forcing her to look at her. And when Seolhyun did, she couldn’t breathe. “I’m worried. I’m worried for a thousand different reasons and I hate this. I hate feeling like I can’t do anything about it.”

Her words opened up a hole in Seolhyun’s chest and suddenly she thought of her dad. When she was little and would get upset, usually over something stupid like a toy she wanted, she could never really put her frustration into words. Instead, she would throw a fit or pout.

Words were the most powerful tool. Simple and so often underestimated. They could heal. They could destroy. And Seolhyun needed to use her words now. She wrapped her fingers around Hyejeong’s wrist.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Hyejeong looked confused. “About what?”

“About everything. About not telling Mina this, and being a terrible friend to Doyeon and Jieqiong.” Seolhyun took a deep breath and gently pulled Hyejeong’s hand away. She looked out the windshield, blinking back tears. “I’m sorry about not being able to get ahold of my power. I understand that you don’t want me in danger and that you somehow don’t trust Jimin.”

Hyejeong sat back against the seat, and Seolhyun forced herself to continue.

“Most of all, I do know you fear that I’m going to end up like Chanmi and Yuna, whatever really did happen to them, and you want to protect me from that. I understand. And it... it kills me knowing that it hurts you, but you’ve got to understand why I need to be able to control and use my abilities.”

“Seol–”

“Let me finish, okay?” Seolhyun glanced at Hyejeong and when she nodded, she took another breath. “This isn’t just about you and what you want. Or what you’re afraid of. This is about me, my future and my life. Granted, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life after college, but now I face a future where if I step out of the range of the protection quartz, I’m going to be hunted. Like you. My mom will be in danger if a Kloom sees and follows me home. And then there’s this whole AOE mess.”

Seolhyun squeezed her hand around the Culpa pendant.

“I have to be able to defend myself and the people I care about. Because I can’t expect you to always be there to protect me. I’m doing it so that I can stand beside you, as your equal, and not be someone you need to protect. And I’m doing this for myself, so that I don’t have to rely on anyone to save me.”

Hyejeong’s lashes lowered, shielding her eyes. Seconds passed in silence and then she said, “I know. I know why you want to do this. And I respect that. I do.” There was a ’but’ coming, Seolhyun could feel it. “But it’s hard to stand back and let this happen.”

“You don’t know what