“The curves of your lips rewrite history.”

— Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

She should not be looking at her like this. Not after knowing what she did. Not when she finally remembers what she has done – not minutes ago, but years ago.

Irene has seen her ugliest sides and she should not be looking at her like this. Wendy would like to think that perhaps Irene is the crazy one, just like her psychotic cellmate back at that damned prison. Ah, she remembers her too. That woman wo had to kill her terminally ill daughter and went nuts afterwards. I mean, she did not have to cut her body into chunks and keep the parts in boxes.

What a crazy world though—Wendy would like to think maybe she was not so different from her old cellmate who mourned for her sins every single night and wished death upon those who leeched off from that unjust system.

Anyway, Wendy does not like how Irene is looking at her as if she did not just kill a man just now, and many years ago. She does not like how Irene’s eyes glimmer in the cold, lifeless lighting of the lab, asking if she is okay from the other side of the room when she needs not to say a word. Wendy is not okay. She never will be.

“Ehm.” Hyunjung gently calls, noticing the strangely intense eye contact between the two women. “Well, we must talk about, hm, things. So, you got a minute?”

“Sure,” Wendy has to force herself to look away since Irene is not, and then she follows Hyunjung to a deserted corner of the lab where the light does not shine—​​​​​​​only Hyunjung’s eyes do. “I need some answers too.”

Hyunjung makes a mental note of how Wendy seems to be able to keep her power in control now. She has heard from Yerim about the patient’s episode in the ward earlier. It is more than certain that Wendy and they are not really the same kind of test subjects—​​​​​​​and that, maybe, she can crush them like a human hand to an ant if she ever wants to. For that, she is glad that they are on the same side.

“So that goes Enoch.”

She quietly addresses the elephant – more like the body bag – in the room that remains. Juyeon takes it as a signal and hurriedly gets Dayoung to carry that out of the others’ sight.

“What do you know about him?” Wendy just realizes that she knows nothing about these girls. But there is something about the gentility of Hyunjung’s complexion that is too reassuring for Wendy that she just lets her guard down.

“Wendy,” Hyunjung turns around and smiles, making the said woman flutter for a bit—​​​​​​​do not get her wrong but Hyunjung is a gorgeous woman. “We know things well enough to know about your existence. While Enoch was just a pawn to them.”

“Then you should also be aware of how this is only the beginning of the many troubles to come.” Wendy reasons, trying not to be intimated by Hyunjung’s overwhelming aura, which she hopes that it is not some sort of artificial enhancement as her other friends do not seem to possess the same feature.

“Of course. And we found out that Enoch had backup.” Hyunjung nods as she gestures Meiqi to come over. “They have a ship not far off the coast nearby. Southwest of here. The Judge was there.”

“The Judge?!” Wendy exclaims before greeting Meiqi with an apologetic smile who is startled by the sudden raise of voice. “Sorry. Haven’t heard of the name in so long.”

“It’s okay.” Meiqi shakes her head and projects a set of coordinates, along with some images, on a wall next to them with her eyes. “He is not our concern anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Wendy silently marvels at the robotics at play. If Enoch was the Guardian, the Discipline of the Order, Dedan would the Judge – the one who truly commands the national guards to execute the Order, deciding who gets to live and who does not. Simply saying, they are, were, both jerks. And she would not be surprised if Hyunjung’s group did manage to take care of Dedan.

“We kil- neutralized him.” If not mistaken, there is a sense of relief in Hyunjung’s calm voice. “The ship is now at our disposal.”

“Oh, okay. Wonderful.” Wendy can’t help but shiver while looking at the security footages and images that Meiqi is showing her.

“Wendy,” Hyunjung calls out to her again, not minding the fuss on the other side of the room. “How much do you remember about Cain?”

She just frowns, “Huh? Come again?”

Pausing the projections, Meiqi chimes in and explains, “Cain was his new codename after the Rupture you caused. He used to be called ‘Galahad 2b’ while you were ‘2a’? Ring any bells?”

“I remember him.” Wendy’s faint voice is just enough for the other two to hear.

“He did not last.” Hyujung knows from the test reports that they were once quite close as friends when they were chosen for the Test. And that was why Wendy refused to kill him in that stimulation test even when she was ordered to. “The corruption came much faster than they had expected. You are the only one who made it alive. You are the Holy Grail they are after. Wendy, you are the only successful test subject from the Test. The Order must be stopped. And we need you.”

“I don’t understand,” Wendy tries to recall his face but in vain. “Then doesn’t it mean that I am part of the Order? They made me. They wanted the Rupture.”

“Wendy, I know who you are.” Hyunjung looks into her eyes, her orbs shining like a sapphire on a moonlit bay. “The Noah’s Ark made you. And us. But we are not part of the Order. We are created to defy them.”

“I killed men,” Wendy painfully professes into the cold air. “And women.”

She tries to remember how it felt. The Rupture, the Test, the murders of those people which later put her in jail. Who was she before all of those things? Didn’t she live a normal life? Didn’t she have a family? Didn’t she have someone she loved? Where did they all go? Where shall she go now?

“You killed child molesters, Wendy.” Hyunjung speaks again when Wendy is deep in her own thoughts. “We aren’t perfect, and we all made mistakes. But don’t let it confine you. We are now given a second chance. Let’s make a good use of it.”

-

Meanwhile, things are not all calm on the other side of the room as well.

Sojung who has full access to the Police's confidential files with the help of Xuanyi first presents Seulgi her findings that confirms the officer’s suspicion.

But it does not seem to affect Seulgi much as she just shrugs, “I knew it.”

Sooyoung, on the other hand, can’t help but stealing glances at Wendy who remains oblivious to her horrified eyes. Whilst Yerim is still having a hard time understanding what is going on with Wendy and the Witkin’s subjects.

“She won’t hurt us.” Sojung is not as good at verbalizing her feelings as Hyunjung does, but she always tries her best. “Wendy has her past, and so do we. And now, we need her help.”

“Okay,” Sooyoung tries her best too, to shake off some scary thoughts and summarizes what has just been said by the chic-looking woman. “So, the national guards are the bad guys obviously. The man who just assaulted us was one of their leaders – and he, you guys, and Wendy are not human but some kind of ‘enhanced lifeforms’. While Wendy is a very important test subject, so the other bad guys want to capture her so they can kill us all eventually to build a new world?”

“That’s pretty much accurate.” Dawon replies as she watches Jiyeon awkwardly stand behind her. “Enoch was meant to be something more, like how Wendy is now. And there are more of them. We have taken care of one of them before we came, but it is just buying us time. We can’t do this alone.”

“The Order is like Thanos’ plan.” Sojung makes a reference to a popular film a few years back so that it would be easier to get everyone on the same page. “The rulers think they can play god—​​​​​​​to decide who suits to live in the world they created, to initiate the evolution of humankind on their own, to manipulate the populace like a flock of sheep. The Spectres know about this long before everyone did and they warned us, though we did not listen. The Noah’s Ark helped with conducting the experiments, but they also made a backup plan in secret – they made us. And they trusted Wendy enough to choose her for the Test.”

As a well-trained officer who is used to having blood on her hands, Seulgi is the first one who recovers from the reality shock and ponders over their next tactical move, “So, the university isn’t safe anymore. What should we do now? Do you guys have a base or something?”

Luda, who has been eyeing Jiyeon as the latter has been fidgeting with the presence of a certain woman, finally joins the conversation, “It’s complicated. We do have a ship now.”

Jiyeon exchanges a look with Luda, “Yeah. We don’t have a base here. But we did snatch a ship from the national guards before we dropped by for Wendy. It’s no cruise ship, it’s military class. So, I hope you all don’t mind. We’re gonna spend the next couple days there.”

Seulgi gives an approving nod while Sojung decides to wrap things up and give the two nervous women some space, “Okay then. We should get a move on now. Sooyoung and Yerim, can you help us to get the students and the profs? We need to get everyone evacuated quick. Let’s all meet in front of the gym in an hour. We’ll go get us some vehicles.”

Once everyone goes on to do their own thing, Irene has no choice but to face Jiyeon—​​​​​​​the only living being left in the room with her—​​​​​​​who is also her sister, her best friend at birth. Even Hyunjung and Wendy are gone now.

“Hmm,” The older one takes the first step as she slowly makes her way to her beloved sibling. “How’s mom and dad?”

Jiyeon gathers all of her courage to take a good look of her dear big ol’ sister and suddenly realizes she is never mad at her at all, “They….. are fine.”

There goes a weight off from Irene’s shoulders, who is just Joohyun now, after hearing Jiyeon’s voice. God, would be too laughable to tell her that she feels like crying right now? Would she sly wiggle away or tell her off if she hugs her right now?

“I……” Joohyun finds it too overwhelming to be standing in front of her sister who had refused to send her off to the train station when she decided to leave their hometown to make a better living for their family. While Joohyun never had the chance to look back, she had never expected Jiyeon to leave like she did. “I didn’t know…… I mean, it’s good to see you.”

Luda’s words ring in Jiyeon’s head when she recognizes the hesitant look on Joohyun’s face – which she has seen many times when they were much younger, when Joohyun wanted more tokbokki from her plate, when Joohyun welcomed her home after buying the latest manga book of her favorite series as a birthday surprise, when Joohyun told her about her first crush who her best friend also had a crush on.

“I’m sorry,” Jiyeon knows just what to say and Joohyun’s head snaps up immediately. “I know it must have hurt you back then. I was still too young to understand how you are doing this for us. I didn’t know it also hurt you to leave us and live alone in the big city with no one you can trust. Mom and dad are at somewhere safe thanks to you, but I know I must go find you too. One way or another. You weren’t there with us, unnie.”

Hearing Jiyeon calling for her like that, Joohyun’s eyes just well up like water brims over a bucket too small, “I……. I’m sorry too. Jiyeon-ah, I didn’t mean to leave you alone like that. I’ve always wanted to come back one day and bring you to the dessert place you always wanted to go. But I di- couldn’t. You’ve grown up so much, but I wasn’t there. I-”

“Stop apologizing,” The younger sister just scoots closer to pull her into her arms, “I’m glad that the offer is still up, unnie. Only if there’s still dessert around.”

There is a familiar scent on Jiyeon’s clothes that reassures Joohyun so much. Jiyeon is still Jiyeon even when her body is different now – it does not change who she is – she is still her baby sister. But maybe Joohyun will be needing her protection right now. She might have a sharp tongue but Jiyeon’s enhanced, superhuman physique might work better at times like this.

Jiyeon has been the feisty one. Though it does not mean she does not have a soft heart. With Joohyun now in her arms, she is glad that her big ol’ sister cannot see her cry.

“Maybe we should get ready and leave now.”

“Unnie, do you need help packing? I can lend you a hand.”

“Sure. Anyway, who is the girl who kept looking your way just now? What’s her name again? Lu……. Hehe, what is it, Jiyeon-ah?”

“Unnie, please stop. Also, her name is Luda.”

-

Ignoring Sooyung’s call, Seulgi rushes to the bridge when Juyeon whispered to her that there was actually nothing to help her with and it was just an excuse for Sojung who had asked to see her in secret.

The drug task force officer knocks the cabin’s door after wiping her clammy palms on her tactical jeans. It takes just a second for Sojung to swing the door open and usher her in.

“We need to talk.” Sojung, the straightforward one, wastes no time and gestures the other woman to join her in front of the computer. “Make yourself comfortable, Seulgi. There’s something I need to show you.”

“Okay,” Seulgi quickly complies. “I saw Hyunjung talking to Wendy earlier. And now your friends are all nowhere to be seen. Be honest with me here, Sojung. Is there something I need to worry about?”

“Not really.” Sojung flashes the officer a timid smile. “You see. This is a military ship used by Dedan aka the commander of the national guards. If Enoch really managed to get his hands on Wendy, there was no doubt that she would be taken here and shipped to another base. We were really lucky that we got to intercept them when they moored to a dock. And there is a mini-lab in this ship too. The girls are there getting ready. Taeyeon, Amber, and Yerim are with them too. Tons of gadgets to play with.”

Seulgi patiently listens in on Sojung’s explanation but still does not get the answer she wants, “So how’s this about me? What’s the thing that you want to show me?”

“Oh, right.” Sojung gasps, finally realizing that she got sidetracked again. She then plugs in a device and a new window pops up on the computer screen, with dozens of profiles on display under the name of Code Lancelot. “Do you remember this woman?”

Seulgi watches Sojung’s eyes light up in a strange blue hue as the latter easily bypasses the device’s security codes by seemingly just a touch, “Let me see. Wait, wasn’t she the drug lord’s wife that my team had to neutralize in a raid a few months ago? We had to. She had some deadly firearms and she surely wasn’t afraid to use it.”

“What if I told you that things aren’t what they seemed to be?” Sojung turns and faces Seulgi who remains clueless. “The drug lord was real. But she wasn’t just some gangster’s lady. She was a mole. She was with the Order. Her code name was Terah. She was one of the physically weakest test subjects. But she was a real charmer though. A seductress, I would say.”

“Wait. So,” Seulgi almost jumps from her chair in disbelief. “I-I killed someone from the Order without even knowing? No way! We had the intel-”

“Your team, the drug task force,” Sojung reaches out to place a hand on Seulgi’s shoulder to calm her down. “Have moles too. The Judge ordered the eradication of Terah when she got a little bit invested in the drug business, forgetting who her real boss was.”

Seulgi defeatedly sinks into her chair, hands covering her face, not willing to face all the familiar faces on the screen, “I-I……. No.”

“They have used you a couple times to eliminate their unwanted test subjects and accomplices.” Sojung clicks to minimalize the profiles on the computer to give Seulgi a break. “I’m sorry, Seulgi. We found these files when we took out Dedan and did a thorough search on the ship. I thought you have the right to know.”

“Then what makes me now?” Seulgi forces herself to recall their faces one by one. “Lancelot? One of the crooks?”

“You aren’t, Seulgi.” Sojung grabs the shaken officer by the shoulder and turns her body to her. “Listen to me. There was no way you could know about that if the Order didn’t want you to. Dedan was the one who planned this. And he is freaking dead now. This is not the time to look back. We got more people to deal with. Like the Prophet, who should be already waiting for us somewhere.”

The officer stays silent for a while before she wipes the sweat on her brow and fixes her ponytail, “Can you……. Tell me about Dedan?”

Sojung soon smiles, knowing she has set Seulgi on the right track, “My pleasure.”

In the blink of an eye, Sojung – one of the Witkin’s, the second greatest creation of the Noah’s Ark – works her magic once again and switches the computer screen to some encoded security footages that was taken two days ago.

Dedan, was a man of ego. He was the Judge, who pronounced and delivered his judgements with pride. Trusted by the Order, he commanded men and women to rebuild the world the way they envisioned for humankind—​​​​​​​a better, enhanced, evolved humankind.

Tall, lanky, grim, horrid, imperious – Dedan was feared by many. He ruled with terror. To him, there was nothing in the world likable and worthy enough for his utopia, which would be purgatory to others.

He was not really friends with Enoch. He despised his blind rage and foolish loyalty. But Enoch served as a good tool to Dedan. For that, the Judge was pleased.

And different form Enoch, Dedan did not envy Wendy at all. The Judge was proud of his newfound strength and wisdom. High up in his throne made of bones and carcasses, he waited for Galahad, the perfect subject, to join forces with him. He was sure that he needed not to fight her, but he would not hesitate to get rid of anyone, anything that got in his way.

It was not even hard for the Witkin’s to locate Dedan and his ship. Yeonjung had to roll her eyes when she spotted him on the deck surrounded by his platoon of armed soldiers, who were more like his servants.

And Dedan was wrong—​​​​​​​he was not all-knowing. The Witkin’s was a well-kept secret of the Noah’s Ark from the world. At dawn, Chengxiao cut off their communication with Enoch’s group, creating a window for the Witkin’s to make a strike.

The girls took their time and advanced slowly, keeping the ruckus unnoticeable by the other parts of the ship as possible.

Losing the surveillance cameras and having the monitor room fallen into the hands of Meiqi and Yeorum, Dedan’s army was like losing a limb and having an eye blinded. They were just shooting targets for the Witkin’s, who are technically cyborgs with enhanced sensory and physical agility as well as the ability to hack into any electronic device at ease.

Jiyeon and Juyeon soon had Dedan cornered at the passageway to the helicopter deck. Singled out and outflanked by two women, the Judge was not exactly pleased.

At first, he thought they were the Spectres but soon realized that he was more than wrong when Juyeon easily dodged his tackle and dislocated his right arm like she was merely cracking an egg; and, when Jiyeon just took a bullet in the abdomen from Dedan’s pistol, hidden under his coat, she remained completely unfazed and broke his jaw in return by throwing up her elbow when he overshot Juyeon.

“Man, Luda’s gonna be so pissed.” Juyeon casually commented when Dedan was pinned to the ground like a helpless child being put to a timeout.

“Well, I am pissed too.” Jiyeon gritted her teeth trying to subdue the man while she had a hole on her body.

“Who are you?” Dedan cried as he desperately struggled to free himself and reached for the pistol he dropped earlier.

“None of your business, dude.” Juyeon fished out a pair of weird-looking cuffs.

“Now talk.” Hyunjung emerged from the corner and stood behind Juyeon, looking over her shoulder and down on the man. “Are you after Galahad?”

“It’s Enoch’s business.” The Judge, who was just a pathetic crook, still blustered at the women who had him tied down like livestock waiting to be butchered. “I don’t care about the Test. We don’t need Galahad to accomplish what we have envisioned for the world. And, what did you women gain from this? Free me this instant or you will taste the wrath of my many allies.”

“Don’t worry.” Jiyeon leaned down to make sure he would hear her loud and clear. “Enoch doesn’t even know what’s happening here. And the Prophet, we will worry about her later. We just need to hear a few things from you.”

“Wait, you wanna know about Galahad?” Dedan, cunning as ever, smirked as he heard that there might be a chance for him to get out of this. “Free me. Then I’ll talk. We can make a deal.”

Hyunjung, however, sternly replied in a heartbeat, “No, Judge. We know more about Galahad than you do. I just want to make sure it’d stay that way.”

Already foreseeing the future demise of Enoch who was after the perfect specimen, Dedan saw no hope for him to see another day after Hyunjung gave him her verdict. If he could not even beat these unknown test subjects, how could Enoch ever overpower Galahad, who they also claimed to be on par with the Prophet in the precognition aspect?

Jiyeon was the first to notice his sudden silence and signaled Hyunjung that something might be off.

With a nod from the older woman, Juyeon swiftly picked up his gun and pulled the trigger. While Juyeon made sure that the man was and would stay dead, Jiyeon retrieved a pill from his mouth and disabled the self-destruction device tied to his back.

“Now,” Hyunjung casted a pitiful glance at his body. “We should pay Enoch a visit. Soobin told me they have his coordinates on this ship, so they’ve made things much easier for us.”

-

What was her name again? They were so in love, but now Wendy cannot even remember her name.

Maybe she had tried so hard to forget and she did end up forgetting about her.

What is love without a word for it? What is pain without a word for it?

They were so in love and they once thought of getting married. But obviously they did not. And Wendy would like to think that it must have been her fault.

She just does not know, for there is just no way for her to know. But how eager she is to know, to trace, to remember every step that has led her to this very moment. And she is seeing herself as a doll with its limbs torn off by a heartless child. Oh, is it someone did this to her? Or, is it just herself?

What if she died in that prison, or, did not survive the Test? Would she mourn for her?

What is she now? Is she still alive?

It was a typical Thursday morning when Wendy got arrested. She was just sitting at her home, which was once theirs, with her last cup of fresh-brewed coffee, waiting for the Police to come.

“I did something terrible.” Wendy told her the night before. She did not believe her—​​​​​​​thinking perhaps it was just a lame excuse to cover up a possible affair. And they got into a fight. She left before dinner and stayed over at her best friend’s place, just as Wendy wanted.

It might be better if Wendy just cheated on her girlfriend for 4 years. But no, not anything like that – to the journalists who just wanted eye-catching headlines and juicy details – she was a gay serial killer. They did not care if she killed for justice. Not until some other journalists with a heart covered the ic history of her victims.

And Wendy finally remembers that she was a doctor, just like her elder sister – but she was a vet while her sister treated human patients. That’s why murder was not too difficult to her.

She knew just the dosage to kill, she was a respected kindhearted figure in the neighborhood who they never expected to hide a dark secret, her clinic had a backroom down the basement which no one knew about and was perfect to dismember a body and drain the blood, her house got just the backyard leading to the woods. Everything just made sense. She knew she had to do it.

It was a regular Saturday when Wendy made a trip around the block and gifted the kids her baked goodies. Then a boy with puffed eyes and long-sleeves jacket stood in a distance, watching her play hide-and-seek with other kids in a summer day. She remembers him though. One of the boys from the family who owned the pizza shop. They had been neighbors since he was 5. She knew something was wrong when he stopped in front of the hood of her car, as she was just about to drive to the park nearby.

He told her everything once she started driving—​​​​​​​that their school’s janitor promised him a tricycle if he let him touch him and it had been two years.

And then, there was a girl who just turned 13, coming to Wendy the next week.

Wendy soon stopped waiting for the kids to come to her. She began searching high and low in the city for those disgusting people who preyed on children.

She did not kill them right away. At first, it was a warning. Next, there came the evidences. But those bastards never took her seriously. They thought she wanted money.

Wendy waited, and waited. Then, one day she had enough.

The Police never gave them long sentences. Some of them were recidivists, some of them were part of the ruling elites who ran those big corporations, some of them were part of the governing system.

Wendy really had enough. Perhaps she would have done the same if she was ever given a second chance. To risk her life, job, future, love, everything just to make sure the kids would be safe.

Even when the prison was hell. The aversion therapy was inhumane, and Wendy wondered why she was the one who had to go through this instead of her victims.

And she endured.

Until she was officially chosen by the Noah’s Ark for the Test.

Wendy did not mind what these lab people would do to her. Her family had left her, her girlfriend had left her, the world had left her – when she was sentenced for 50 years for mutiple murders, kidnapping, illegal disposal of human corpses, dismembering bodies, menacing, stalking, and so on. The judge said it was because she showed no remorse.

It just did not make sense. She did the right thing. It was the system that was so broken and corrupted.

She also remembers how she smiled for a bit when she learned from the prison guards that her family was not going to see her. She was just a disgrace who brought nothing but headaches and heartbreaks to their prestigious family.

They thought letting Wendy to become a vet was enough, they thought accepting their daughter loving another woman was enough, they thought asking her to keep her head down and play along was enough.

But she, her ex-girlfriend, was there, with Wendy’s sister, when the judge read her sentence. , what was her name again? Wendy dared not to even look her in the eye.

It could be fear, or disappointment, or grief, or antipathy that she did not want to see from those eyes. Wendy would never blame her though. Who wouldn’t feel that way when you know those hands that used to hold yours and hug you are the same ones where people died in?

Her sister kept writing her letters, however. Before she was taken away by the Noah’s Ark.

She told her that the family was planning to move away to a faraway city while her ex-girlfriend was moving to another. Which was for the best, Wendy thought and then she asked her sister to take care of her parents.

“Is there anything you want to tell her?” Her sister came visit eventually. She turned around to look at Wendy, whose cheeks had sunken and hands gone bony, as she already had one foot out of the door. Maybe she did not want to face her as well.

“That I should’ve told her sooner.” Wendy was glad that she was given the special treatment after the Noah’s Ark had requested to take her in. At least there were no guards interrupting them like an eyesore in the room. “I should’ve ended things sooner without dragging her into this. It’s my fault. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Seunghee. I didn’t mean to hurt you like this too.”

Seunghee sighed, not sure if Seungwan was actually too selfish or too selfless to have done things like that. She had long forgiven her sister. But there was nothing she could do to help her. She pulled all her strings but still no decent lawyer in town was willing to take her case – well, probably because she had killed one of the mayor’s nephews. She could not just break her out of prison.

She wanted to tell Seungwan that she was sorry too – for not being there for her, for telling her parents that Seungwan’s diary said she had a crush on a girl when Seungwan was just 14, for looking down on her at first when Seungwan said she wanted to be a vet instead of a cardiothoracic surgeon, for reminding Seungwan to just mind her own business when she warned the family that there were kids gone missing or acting weird around town.

Would it be the same if Seunghee had never done any of these things?

“I’ll see you later, Seungwan.”

In the end, she did not tell her. And it was the very last time they saw each other.

And then, Wendy had nothing. She just did what the lab people told her to, she just went whenever they went, she just became the ideal test subject they wanted her to be.

“I won’t say what you’ve done is right or wrong.” Seulgi joins her on the promenade deck, after helping Juyeon with some work. “But I see who you are, and I’m not scared.”

Wendy stares at the horizon in front of them, “I’m reborn as a new person but it doesn’t cleanse me. I’m my sin, forever and ever. But if you ask me, I would have done the same. I guess someone has to do it.”

“You were a good big sister to those kids. You were a kind doctor to those pet owners. What you did……. It didn’t change that.” Seulgi has read through Wendy’s files with Juyeon and Meiqi’s help. And, somehow, she trusts her. Not just because she had practically saved her life.

“Say, did you see that coming, Seulgi?” Wendy’s fingers tap on the metallic handles ever so softly, forming a weirdly lovely melody. “I know you had suspicions of me being a criminal.”

“Who would’ve?” The officer takes a glance at the group chatting in the room behind them. “Honestly, it wouldn’t be as complicated if you were a really, really bad person. Then we……. I can just hate you.”

“Haha, I was thinking about the same thing.” Wendy chuckles, following the other woman’s gaze. “Do you think they will…… Be scared of me?”

Seulgi gives her answer rather quickly, “Why would they? Of course, they need some time. But you weren’t just any murderer, Wendy. Also, we have people like Enoch and Dedan to worry about now. They are our enemies, not you.”

“Hm,” Wendy is so struck by someone’s smile and lets her words fade. “I hope so.”

“I’ll take to you later, Wendy. I think we’re about to set sail. I’ll go see if they need my help.” Seulgi pats her shoulder lightly and heads to the bridge again.

Wendy sees Joohyun smile.

Which is not Irene. When Joohyun is with Jiyeon, she is never happier.

Wendy can’t help but thinking of how gracious her smile is. Oh, she is just someone who does not deserve any grace, but her smile – it is a ray of sunlight that tastes like home. She can taste it even when she is on the other side of the glass door.

She thought she had forgotten how it felt like.

“Hi, Wendy. Do you wanna come inside?” Joohyun mouths to the woman when she sees her as lonesome as ever. And she gives her a smile, a welcoming smile.

-

Someone comes knocking on their door when their ship is just about to sail.

After hearing all the stories about the Order, Seulgi expects the newcomer to the party to be the Spectres who are said to have eyes everywhere.

But life is full of surprises.

Armed with her rifle, Seulgi stands at the now opened hatch when Dawon and Dayoung stand by on the deck as snipers, “Who is it?”

The girl, who looks rather harmless and seems to be a teenager, studies the officer curiously, eyeing the woman up and not taken aback by the guns on display.

“Hey, it’s dangerous out there.” Seulgi tries again, lowing her rifle this time after taking a good look of the girl’s face and noticing how she basically has nothing on her. The officer thinks perhaps she is one of the students in the university who came running when she heard the foghorn. “We just want to know who you are and if you mean any harm.”

“I’m just looking for someone,” The girl finally spares some attention for poor Seulgi but her eyes are still somewhere else – up on the promenade deck. “Are you Wendy? Wendy Son?”

Irene, startled by the sudden change of spotlight, turns to Wendy who is looking right back at the girl, her face unreadable, “How does she know you? Is she…… One of the kids you helped before?”

“Yes, I am Wendy Son. Do I know you?” The composed woman asks even though it seems like she already has an answer.

Looking up while she is on her tippy toes, the girl breaks into a huge smile once Wendy leans closer from the edge and affirms her question, “Of course you know me. Might be not yet. But, I’m Ryujin, your daughter.”

Hello, I'm back. 

This chapter should be up last week but I did not have time to finish by then. I'm sorry!

And Happy birthday, dear Irene! 

I hope you like this update since it gives us more information of what is really happening and about Wendy.

Anyway, yes, she has a daughter in this story.

Everyone stay safe and vigilant!

xo