“How long has it been? 9 minutes? 9 hours? 9 days?” Mina thought to herself as her and Chaeyoung continued to walk along the endless path of light. She was getting exhausted, which doesn’t help her absolutely confused state right now.

But finally, something was about to change.

 

“We’re finally here! ...uh…I just realized I still haven’t asked for your name. BUT WE’RE FINALLY HERE” Chaeyoung excitedly yells.

“The name’s Mina, and where exactly is…’here’?” Mina asked as she followed Chaeyoung through the last set of trees in the woods.

“This is the city of Sixteen, named in honor of the 16 legendary goddesses who founded the nation. Although only 9 of them are still worshipped in our country nowadays,” Chaeyoung replied.

In front of them was breathtaking scenery, they were atop a path leading down the mountain to the city, where everything was viewable in one snapshot like a photograph. The houses were all different colors, and everything seemed vibrant even from afar.

 

“…And that is also where I live! So, do you wanna come stay at my place until we find out more about what’s going on with you? Or do you have other plans in mind?” Chaeyoung inquired.

“…I…don’t really know what’s going on anymore, but at least the city seemed more like home than this dark forest behind us. I’ll save my questions for when we are safe and rested.” Mina suggests.

“Wow…you are actually more considerate than I thought. Sounds good to me, let’s keep moving then.” Chaeyoung replied.

“WHAT is that supposed to mean?! Do I seem like an inconsiderate person???” A shocked Mina exclaimed.

Chaeyoung does not reply to Mina for a minute and just laughs. Then out of nowhere she says,

“Hey, you know I’m just messing with ya”

They finally made it into town, and the first thing Mina notices is the gatekeeper wearing heavy armor, like those knights you watched in history films. She wants to ask Chaeyoung about everything, but she did say she’ll save it for later, so she waits.

As they walked through the town, there were several things that became clear to Mina. This is not her home world. Not the planet Earth that she knows, at least. Chaeyoung being a “hemopriest” or whatever already made it confusing enough, but she just witnessed a lady breathe out fire to roast some kebab on the street food cart. Watching that meat slowly roast from the flames didn’t help her hungry belly either.

Chaeyoung notices Mina closely staring at the fire breathing lady and her food cart, so she asks:

“Hey, you hungry? If you know how to cook I got some ingredients at home, or we can get some food beforehand.”

“…I’m not hungry! I was just…in awe of the flames coming out that lady’s mouth” Mina tried to make up an excuse.

“Yeah yeah yeah, so can you cook?” Chaeyoung was unconvinced.

“…Yes. But why? If you have ingredients at home surely you must cook as well?”

“That’s what you would think. But everything has its reasons, you’ll find out eventually. Oh, hey look, we’re home already!” Chaeyoung exclaimed.

“Oh…wow, so this is your house?” Mina asked, observing the building.

It was a small, cozy house painted in red and black, which somehow reminds Mina of some strawberries.

“Yes madam. Welcome to the Chaeyoung’s hideout!” Chaeyoung bowed as if she was a doorman.

“It’s quite cute!...Wait, why would you call it a hideout?”

“…’Cause it’s cool?” Chaeyoung said innocently.

“I really can’t with you…Should we head inside?”

“Hehe, I can tell you’re starving, Mina”

“Hey that’s the first time you actually said my name, Chaeyoung” Mina said, still trying to deny her hunger by distracting Chaeyoung with another topic.

“Same to you.” Chaeyoung cheekily replied.

The girls both burst into laughter as they went through the front door. Mina could feel a spark lighting up somewhere inside her, but she chooses to ignore it.

The inside of Chaeyoung’s house was quite minimalistic, it had everything necessary for a functioning home, but not much more. Everything was either in black or red except for the dark brown floors, but somehow the colors seemed to unexpectedly blend well together. The only notable decorations were some red bottles atop the fireplace, and a black candle in the middle of the dining table.

“You can go take a shower upstairs first if you want, I’ll go get you a change of clothes and start bringing out ingredients for dinner in the meantime.”

“I’ll gladly take up that offer, thank you very much”

__________________________________________________

Mina was drying her wet hair with a towel as she slowly walked down the stairs back into the kitchen, she spots Chaeyoung cutting up some strawberries.

“Wow those look fresh, what are they for?” Mina snuck behind Chaeyoung and asked, but at the same time picked one of the strawberries up and put it between her lips.

“For a smoothie, and maybe some salad, but seems like we have a thief ‘cause I’m losing my strawberries out of nowhere” Chaeyoung reacted, trying to hide the fact that seeing Mina fresh out the shower with a strawberry between her lips made Chaeyoung’s heart beat way faster than it should.

“Hey, it was just one! And wow these strawberries are good” Mina said as she took another.

“STOP EATING THEM!!!! Haiz, anyways, I put the ingredients I have left on that table over there, cook up anything you want. I’m probably just gonna have this smoothie and some salad”

“Okay, strawberry princess.” Mina said in jest.

“W-what did you just call me?” Chaeyoung was embarrassed.

“STRAWBERRY PRINCESS, since you seem to like them so much. And the fact that this whole place is filled with red.” Mina continued.

“That’s because I’m a hemopriest! It’s supposed to represent blood!” Chaeyoung pouted.

“Yeah yeah sure it is, strawberry princess” Mina said as she smirked.

“STOP CALLING ME A PRINCESS” Chaeyoung frustratingly yelled.

__________________________________________

Mina made some soup with the carrots and potatoes, and a simple hamburg steak with the meat Chaeyoung had left.

“Food’s ready Chaeyoung, come eat”

“What? I thought I told you I’m good. You enjoy the food”

“Eh??? No way, this is your ingredients and your house, now come eat or…” Mina insisted.

“Or what? You’re gonna kick me out?” Chaeyoung laughs.

“Or I’m going to call you strawberry princess forever”

“…. okay fine.” Chaeyoung gave in to the sweet voice of Mina, even though that threat was barely a threat.

“That’s a good girl, heheh” Mina was pleased, Chaeyoung could almost see a gummy smile coming from her.

They sat down on the table, immediately Mina remembered something she wanted to ask ever since coming in. “What is that black candle in the middle for?”

“Oh…it’s…a gift from a dear friend.”

“Oh I see, are you guys still close? It seems important to you”

“…No, I haven’t seen her in 3 years. We were living together before this, but one day, she got summoned for her ‘Class Determination Ritual’, and she never came back.”

“…I’m sorry to hear that. But what is this ritual you’re talking about?”

“Well, as you can see in town earlier, everyone has some kind of special ability they can do, like the flame breather you saw. Oh, we should start eating” Chaeyoung picks up her utensils and tries the steak.

“And your hemo…something, that blood magic thing?” Mina asked while enjoying her soup.

“Yeah, that’s my Class, a Hemopriest. The kebab lady you saw was probably a fire mage.”

“Wow, I thought someone with the ability to control fire would be doing much bigger things than selling kebab” Mina joked.

“The world is not fair like that, you know. Some people are born with privilege and talent, some are just not destined to. But I’d like to believe that every single person has their worth. Imagine how many people would be missing out on delicious kebab if that lady wasn’t here.” Chaeyoung sounded serious, much to Mina’s surprise.

“…That’s a good point. So, what was your friend like?” Mina was curious.

“It’s a long story, we go way back. Well, let me just begin with the basics” Chaeyoung puts down her fork and grabs her smoothie.

“It’s alright, I’m not in any hurry.” Mina reassures Chaeyoung.