Per Jihyo’s information, the song Sana sang the day of the festival came from the goddess of the Underworld, Dahyun. Therefore, trying to get a glimpse of the underground goddess, Sana ventured near the Underworld gates, hiding behind the bushes and the trees to avoid being spotted by anyone that came through.

The last time they interacted, Dahyun confronted her with a series of accusations pertaining to their supposed feelings for each other, and Sana didn’t understand why. It was as if there was a piece of memory they shared that the spring goddess lacked. There were pieces of information she remembered that she couldn’t, for the life for her, figure out where they came from. For example, she had a memory of being in a vast field surrounded by the beauty of nature— waterfalls, green mountains, and the deep blue sky beyond— however she didn’t know what that place was or how she even got there. Another memory that kept coming back to her was her planting a single narcissus on a barren land. It was as if Sana was replaying a film in her mind and she was looking at herself do the things she didn’t have the recollection of doing.

The young goddess confided in Jihyo about these incidents and the goddess of  the skies suggested she pay a visit to the Underworld. At first, Sana decided against the idea, however Jihyo reassured her that no tragedy would befall her as the queen of gods had given her permission. Curiosity got the better of her and there she was, peeking into a world of darkness and grim.

The closer Sana got, the more familiar it all seemed. As she tiptoed forward, the guard dog started barking and within seconds, she was greeted by its warm welcome as it jumped on her and her all over her face. The goddess giggled as she tried to cover her face. “Hey, stop it. Aren’t you supposed to be protecting the gates?”

Cerberus finally took a step back to let the goddess free. The commotion had gotten Dahyun’s attention and was standing right over them.

Sana scrambled to get up and quickly became tensed. “S-s-sorry,” she stammered. “I’ll leave right away.”

“Why?” Dahyun chuckled. “Since you’re here already, might as well stay for a bit. Want to come in?”

The spring goddess was a bit surprised by her hospitality, but she had a feeling that this wasn’t entirely new. Sana slowly followed her inside, all the while receiving bright smiles and welcomes from the workers of the Underworld.

“You should have visited earlier,” Dahyun said. “They kept asking me about you.”

“Really? Huh...” As she walked inside, Sana felt strangely at peace. The stories she’s heard about the fear of the Underworld became implemented in many, and she expected that fear to come at her like a surging wave, but that wasn’t the case. The place gave her a sense of calmness.

They entered the House and the queen sat down on her chair. Before Dahyun could even offer the seat next to her, Sana walked towards the seat and took it as if it was the most natural thing to do.

“So, what brings you here?” Dahyun asked.

“I was just taking a walk, is all.”

“You always did love taking walks, even without regards to where you were going. I’m glad this is where you ended up though. At least I got to see you.” The queen smiled, such a heartwarming smile that moved Sana.

“Why aren’t you angry with me?”

Dahyun cocked her head to one side in confusion, implying that she needed further elaboration although she knew exactly what Sana was talking about.

“When you confronted me that day, I know I did something to upset you. So, why are you being so kind? As the goddess of the Underworld, you have a reputation for inflicting fear into people, but I don’t detect a hint of that at all.”

Dubu could only smile at her, especially since the girl she loved said such kind things to her. Even though Dahyun thought her kindness was merely a facade, the goddess could not bring herself to be angry at her. “I guess you could say I’m tired of being viewed that way,” she said. “A special woman once taught me kindness, not just to beings but all living things alike. She taught me the value of companionship and the beauty beholden by nature. Before, I always saw the world as an unfair place, for how I ended up where I am while everyone else enjoyed the life they had above. But she made me realize that there was happiness even in the Underworld. I just chose to not see it.

The Underworld is a place of death, and nobody in their right mind would want to live in a place like that. I think it’s a shame that I’m bounded here, but I received wonderful memories of the place. So I think it’s okay.”

Sana listened to her and pondered on her own all the while. There was something about this goddess’ voice that soothed her, as if it was the voice she often heard in her dreams, the owner of the melody that invaded her thoughts. To put an end to her curiousness, Sana asked, “Do you recall singing a song... about angels?”

“The song I sang to you? Of course. The day I taught you how to play the lyre.” Dahyun chuckled, “Despite how you look, you’re a fast learner.”

Sana pouted. “What does that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just saying. With all my spouting about the Underworld process of the judgement of the dead, you still couldn't manage to engrave it in your head. But with the lyre, you were a natural, like planting seeds in the soil.”

“I chose not to learn those,” Sana rolled her eyes, which caused Dahyun to giggle. “I should probably get going. I don’t want my mother to wonder where I am.”

As Sana walked out, Dahyun followed her outside. Upon exiting the gates, her gaze wandered to a single flower on the ground, and the vivid image of herself crouched down next to Dahyun observing the same flower appeared in her head. The narcissus stood up proud amidst the lack of accompaniment of other living plants. The young goddess approached it slowly and bent down to get a better look at it. “How long has this been alive?” Sana asked.

“Don’t you remember? You planted it the last time you were here, sometime last spring.”

So this was the flower she kept remembering, Sana thought. She smiled as she looked at the narcissus. For some reason, she felt proud of this particular flower, for withstanding the hardships and blooming with its might in such a desolated place. She turned around and found Dahyun standing over a bed of soil. The young goddess stood next to her, looked at Dahyun, then looked down at the empty bed.

“I planted some a while ago,” the Underworld goddess said. “But it doesn’t seem as if they’re going to grow further past the soil this time.” Dahyun went over and grabbed her water-filled bucket. Carefully, she sprinkled water lightly on the soil, making sure each seed was well-fed and the soil was damp enough.

The spring goddess looked at Dahyun with great admiration, for here was someone trying to preserve life in a place where supposedly life does not exist. Frankly, what she was doing was futile and other people would find it quite ridiculous that Dahyun was doing such things knowing full well what the outcome would be. Furthermore, there was no hint of this dark goddess ever having a history of gardening. However, despite the reputation she had, Sana could see that she really cared with all her heart and she loved what she was doing. Sana smiled at the sight.

Ahh, Sana thought. So, this is the person my heart couldn’t seem to forget. My… guardian angel.

~

Jeongyeon stood there, arms crossed as she listened to Nayeon’s sudden request. “You want me… to persuade Momo’s mother to make an arrow that undoes the effect of Momo’s love arrow? That’s what you’re saying right? You marched here so boldly to make such an audacious request from me, your ex whom you‘ve been trying to avoid all these years?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Nayeon nodded.

“Wow, you’re amazing.” The sea goddess chuckled as she snapped, “Yah! Are you crazy?! Do you think I would ever ask for a favor from that woman? She scares the crap outta me.”

“But you two have history.”

“There’s a reason why it became history. Her and I, we don’t get along. We’ve established that along the road, hence why we ended our relationship.”

Nayeon started whining and pulling on Jeongyeon’s sleeve, like a child throwing a tantrum for not getting what she wanted. As the younger one shook her head multiple times, Nayeon continued to pout. What Jeongyeon found the most frustrating about their relationship was the fact that she couldn’t resist the older one’s requests, no matter how difficult or absurd it may be. It was as if the years of sulking on her own didn’t matter because Jeongyeon could still see the chemistry they had for each other. If not of romance, she definitely loved her as a friend.  

Jeongyeon sighed. “Fine, fine. You’re still as needy as ever. But if I come back as anything other than my glorious self, I will make you eat raw fish.”

“Your threats are terrible. Thank you, Jeongyeon-ah,” Nayeon smiled brightly.

~

Randomly, at no particular routine, Sana would stop by the Underworld to be of company to Dahyun. And during those passing days, as the Underworld goddess did not know when she would show up, Dahyun had grown to anticipate her everyday. The older goddess would go about her day as usual, however her heart pounded as she expected Sana to show up at any moment.

Dahyun wasn’t sure if this was what she should be feeling. Everyday she would try to persuade her heart not to get too hopeful, however the sight of Sana would send those thoughts away. All she knew is that she was happy to be able to spend time with her once again.

As Dahyun released Cerberus from