II: a 's determination

05:27

Jungin can feel herself going mad waiting. She knows that now, more than ever, she must act. Yeri had informed her of where Byun Baekhee would be and when, but had also advised to the older woman that she be patient before initiating their plan. When Jungin had inquired as to why, Yeri answered simply:

“The Council constantly looks after the Snow.”

Jungin digs her fingers into her palms. Thinking about that now, she couldn’t lie and deny her fear. But on the other hand, would there ever be a time when those pigs weren’t guarding the Snow? Jungin knows what her decision is before she even needs to answer that thought.

With a dramatic stripping of her warm duvet covers, Jungin springs out of her memory-foam bed and to her wardrobe to pick out something very nice to wear.

09:09

Jungin looks at herself in the mirror as she tries to smooth her ashen grey hair out at the ends. Her peachy sweater dress that skims at the middle of her thighs pairs nicely with the white, open-toed wedges that make her legs look so much longer. On her shoulder rests a cute pink purse with a gold clasp, in which is her phone and keys to her dull apartment. After taking a couple deep breaths and deciding that she couldn’t be bothered with her hair, Jungin grabs a wide-brimmed sunhat and makes her way out the door.

Her skin is buzzing and she can only hope that she isn’t rushing into anything.

10:34

Yeri told her the neighborhood was called Blossom Circle, as Jungin recalls. Finding out where this woman lives was hard, understandably, but because the public is so oblivious to the fact, Jungin is able to walk the streets relatively freely, with no guards or cameras watching her. She clacks down the street, studying the neighborhood curiously. In it sits a quaint little café, a convenience store, and a dusty old bookshop. Jungin encounters literally nobody on the streets and walks in silence. The occasional car and bike can be heard, but they race and woosh down the streets surrounding Blossom Circle, not in it. Jungin reaches the first curve of the road, and as she rounds it, she spots a man standing at the other end of the road. He pays her no mind, not even looking in her direction, as he receives a phone call and enters into the home he was standing before. Jungin continues on, the silence giving her space to lose herself in thought.

Byun Baekhee, huh? Come out come out, wherever you are, little Snow…God, what if she’s not even here right now? She could be anywhere else—a meeting, out to eat, though it’s late to be grabbing breakfast, maybe she’s having brunch. Ugh, now I’m hungry. Maybe on my way back, I can grab some crepes and coff—

Jungin runs face first into the back of someone with a squeak. She moves back and gathers herself, before looking up at the person she ran into.