Cold. That’s how the weather felt in Seoul city today. A woman walked slowly, hiding both of her hands in her black coat’s pockets. Once in a while her long silver coloured hair whisped around due to the wind. She walked into a busy coffee shop and her feet walked straight to the line in front of the cashier. After a couple of minute, she finally came face to face with the cashier.

“What do you want to order?” the cashier gave her the most genuine smile that she has.

“Latte Macchiato, medium.” She answered shortly.

“Okay.” Still smiling, she input the woman’s order to the machine in front of her before taking a medium size plastic glass and a sharpie, “Name?” she asked again.

“Moon Byulyi.” She answered while reaching for her jeans pocket for money and gave it to the cashier.

After inputing the rest of information, the cashier let the woman named Moon Byulyi to wait for her drink at the designated counter right beside the cashier counter. Without having to wait for long, the Latte Macchiato with the name Moon Byulyi written on it already ready. Moon Byulyi took her drink and sipped on it. Walking to the empty desk not too far from the counter. She put down her backpack on the chair and took seat right next to it before putting down her drink on the table. Taking out a book from her backpack, she opened the marked page and her eyes soon directed to the words on the book.

The order to hide her true identity made Moon Byulyi into a quiet and reclusive person. Sitting alone amidst the crowd, just like now, was usual for her. she was afraid, if she formed a relationship with human, her identity would be known and the worst scenario would be that “Mevius”, the being which goal was to destroy this Earth would also know about her existence.

Whispers can be heard from a couple of teenage girls sitting not far from where Moon Byulyi sat, Moonbyul looked at the girls direction and they gave her sweet smiles, but Moonbyul quickly averted her eyes toward the window and her gaze fell into a running woman on the street.

A woman was running in the middle of the busy city, her straight bang swishing around by the wind. She stopped right in front of the bus stop, reaching inside her brown coat pockets and retrieved her buzzing cellphone.

“Ya, Jung Wheein!” a middle age woman yelled from the other line.

 “왜 엄마?” (‘wae eomma?’ Why mom?)  she asked, a little bit breathless.

“What’s the secret code that you wanted for your new apartment?” asked the mother of the woman named Jung Wheein.

“Up to you eomma.” She answered while straightening her disheveled bangs.

“Okay then the secret code would be ch.....”

“Jung Wheein!” distracted to listen to her mother finishing her words by the sound of someone calling out her name, she turned around, distancing her cellphone from her ear, only to find that the source of the voice already holding her.

“Oh, Hyejin-ah” she said after realizing who was the owner of the voice that called out her name. The owner of the voice released her hold, letting Wheein to put her cellphone back to her ear,  “네 엄마, 알았어 고마워 사랑해, 끊어,” (‘ne eomma, araseo gomawo saranghae, kkeuneo’ Yes mom, I know thank you I love you, hang up).

Without waiting for her mother’s reply, Wheein cut the phone connection and put her cellphone back to her coat pocket before returning her attention back to the woman that she called Hyejin, “Hyejin-ahhhh” she said with a happy tone before drawing Hyejin into a hug.

Hyejin tightened her hug,  “보고싶어어어,” (‘bogoshipeo’ I miss you)” she said with a pretend sad face. 

 “나도,” (‘nado’ me too) Wheein release her hold. It had been two years since she went to the USA for a short term student exchange. And now she was back in Seoul to finish her study as an Astronomy student. Two years away from her best friends, Wheein was beyond happy to be able to see her again.

“You know, our campus just got a new professor, heard that he’s really handsome.” Said Hyejin suddenly.

Wheein rolled her eyes, but kept listening on her friend’s obvious excitement until their bus came to take them to the campus.

After class was over, Wheein and Hyejin walked hand in hand at the campus’ hall. They were laughing while talking about the new professor that taught one of their subject just then.

A silver haired woman wearing a black coat walked passed them. She glanced at Wheein with her intense gaze before by passing them and entered the exit door at the end of the hall. Moon Byulyi took a couple of steps down before finally she found an unconcious man on the floor. She walked toward the man. Her gaze caught the grip mark on the man’s left arm. The grip mark was blazing red, too red for a normal human grip. He was here. Moonbyul said to herself inwardly. She then put both of her hands inside her coat pockets before she walked out, leaving the man behind.

The buzz on her coat pocket shocked Moonbyul from her own thoughts as she walked along the deserted road.  She took out her phone and there was an incoming message from Kim Yongsun. Moonbyul immediately opened the message and read it while still walking straight ahead. Was he around you? , was the content of the message. Moonbyul took a deep breath before typing the words to reply the message. I think so. She pressed the send button, screen locked the phone and put it back into her coat pocket. After 10 years of waiting, finally the time come to put an end to her life here on earth as human, and as a woman.  Too lost in her own thought, Moonbyul didnt realized that she was already standing in front of her apartment’s door. She was about to enter the secret code to her apartment when a woman stopped her movement.

 “저… 저기요,” (‘jeogiyo’ excuse me) said a nervous woman who already standing beside her.

Moonbyul looked over and found a woman with a straight bangs smiling at her shyly.

“Can I go into your apartment for a while to charge my cellphone?” she asked Moonbyul carefully, receiving no answer, she quickly added, “Ngg, my cellphone batere drained and I just moved to the apartment next door,” she explained while pointing at the apartment door right next to Moonbyul’s apartment. “Because I have things to do,  I let my mom set the secret code,” her lips closed as she gulped before continuing, “But, I dont remember the secret code....” she said with an innocent face.

Moonbyul was still silently looking into the woman’s eyes.