Hello readers!

I know I took forever to finally add Hwayoung's backstory but alas, here it is.  WARNING: If ual assault situations are a trigger for you, there is mention of them in this chapter.  This chapter feels a bit different from the rest in my opinion, but I hope you all like it.  

 

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 1894 AD, China

 

 

“This is not good news Jian. I didn't leave Gwangju for Beijing only to have it end up being taken over by the Japanese. This is not good for my business!” The man ran a hand down his face and sighed.

 

“Calm down Namil. I know it is not good news for anyone. We have to wait and see what the empress does. They can't get away with defeating our forces.” Jian replied and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder to calm him down.

 

Ryu Namil had moved to Beijing to expand his trade business at the beginning of the year with his wife and twin daughters who were only over a year old. It had been hard adjusting to a new country and standing out among the Chinese, but luckily his trading business had boomed. The recent attack by the Japanese worried him because if they took over the country, he would most likely lose his business and only source of income.

 

“Let's just take this day by day okay?” Jian stood up from the bench the two of them were sitting on and adjusted the long braid that all Chinese men had to have around his shoulder. “Xiuying would like to have you and Hyerin over for dinner along with the girls.”

 

“You're right Jian. I will try to remain calm and positive about the situation.” Namil sighed again and stood up to offer a respectful bow to his friend.

 

The walk from Jian's house to his wasn't long, but it gave Namil enough time to convince himself to remain positive. He had met Jian a few years ago when he first started coming to China to trade goods from Joseon and the two had hit it off fairly quickly. It had been Jian's idea for Namil to move to Beijing and after convincing his beautiful wife, here he was.

 

Namil entered his house and looked around the living room noticing no one was around. He continued walking through the house until he got to the back door and opened it to see his wife and the nanny he had hired to help Hyerin bathing his baby girls. Hyoyoung and Hwayoung, his twin daughters, were the light of his world. Namil smiled at the sight and stood by the back door for a minute before going back inside. Later on that evening, Namil, Hyerin and the twins joined the Li family for dinner. Jian and his wife could not have children of their own so having the twins over was a delight for Xiuying who loved playing with the girls.

 

As Jian had told Namil, the business man started taking everything day by day and luckily for him, the stability of the Qing Empire remained despite the defeat of their naval forces. The days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years.

 

 

 

 

1903 AD, China

 

 

Ten years had passed since Namil and his family had moved to Beijing and in those ten years he had amassed a small fortune with his business. Trade was good and he was constantly moving merchandise from China to Joseon, or the Korean Empire as it was now being called. His daughters, Hyoyoung and Hwayoung had grown up just as quickly as time had passed. They were beautiful ten year old girls now who attended one of the best private schools and spoke both Mandarin and Hangeul fluently.

 

In all these years, despite his constant travels, Namil had never taken the twins back home to Gwangju where they were born; so now he found himself along with his wife and daughters visiting the Li Family. Jian and Xiuying's home had become a second home for the girls and they looked up to the couple as their own family. They were there to say their goodbyes for a while since Namil was finally taking them back to Gwangju.

 

After their visit with the Li's, the Ryu family headed back home to get some rest for the night since they would be leaving the next morning. Not far from the Li's house, the family was approached by a group of men. The thugs quickly took out their knives and pointed them at the Ryu family demanding money.

 

“We know who you are and we know you're loaded. Take us to where you keep your money and your family gets to live.” The leader of the thugs told Namil while pointing his knife at the business man.

 

Two of the men behind the thug moved to grab the twins before Namil or his wife could react. They each held onto one of the girls and placed their knives on the little girls' throats. Namil quickly tried to grab them back but the leader pushed him back. Another man then grabbed Hyerin and held his knife to her neck.

 

“Please! Don't hurt them! I'll give you everything I have.” Namil pleaded.

 

“Then get moving!” The man shouted at Namil.

 

Namil led the men back to his house and when they entered it, the leader of the thugs followed the business man into his bedroom where he kept some of his money in a box. The rest of the men continued to hold Hyerin and twins hostage with the knives at their necks in the living room. The woman and both girls were terrified. Tears rolled down their faces and their lips quivered with fear.

 

The man holding Hyerin began to fondle her and her right ear as he held onto her. He was enjoying the fear and discomfort he was bringing to the woman and as attractive as she was, he didn't mind getting a little more out of this than just money. Hyerin felt scared and disgusted about what this man was doing, but the worst thing happening was not that he was fondling her, it was that the man holding Hyoyoung was doing the same to her daughter.

 

Hyoyoung was squirming in the man's arms trying to get out of his hold and push him away. She was already scared and the things he was doing terrified her even more. Hwayoung's eyes were wide as she looked at what those two men were doing to her mother and sister. Luckily for her, the man holding her was not as erted like the other two, but she wanted to do something. Her father was still in his bedroom so he could not see what was happening before her.

 

Hwayoung began to struggle to get away too but the man just held onto her tighter. Finally her father appeared from his bedroom with a box in his hands and the thug following behind him. When Namil saw what the two men were doing to his wife and daughter, he dropped the box and tried to run towards them to defend them but another one of the thugs punched him. Namil landed on his side and when he tried to get up, the leader kicked him back down.

 

“Don't worry about them and open this box!” The thug shoved the box back into Namil's arms and kicked him again.

 

Namil doubled over in pain for a few seconds. He opened the box with the key he kept in his pocket and handed it over to the leader of the thugs. The man grinned with happiness at the sight of the money inside the box. He took it out and looked at it for a few seconds until he realized that it was a lot less than what he was expecting.

 

“This isn't even half of what you probably really have! WHERE IS THE REST OF IT?” He demanded.

 

“This is all I keep in the house. The rest I keep it at the bank. Please, just let my family go.” Namil pleaded.

 

By this time, the thug holding his wife had already undressed her for the most part and the man holding Hyoyoung was trying to undress the little girl as well. Hwayoung had begun struggling again and when she got the chance, she bit the hand of the man that was holding her as hard as she could. The man screamed in pain and finally let go of Hwayoung.

 

“HWAYOUNG RUN!” Namil shouted at his daughter and he stood up and jumped on the man who had just been bitten by Hwayoung.

 

Hwayoung eyed everyone for a second and took off as fast as she could. The only person she knew that could help her family was uncle Jian, who was a master martial artist. His house wasn't far and she knew that if she kept running, he would save her family.

 

One of the men took after Hwayoung while the rest jumped on her father. The two men, along with their leader, started stabbing Namil repeatedly. Hyerin, who was now lying on the ground with the man on top of her continuing his fondling, watched in horror as her husband was killed before her eyes. Hyoyoung screamed and cried out her father's name. Annoyed by the little girl finally, the man threw her on the ground and struck her with his knife repeatedly as well. The leader of the thugs walked over the man assaulting Hyerin and pushed him off of the woman. He turned to the woman and slit open.

 

“Grab the money and let's get out of here. I hope Guo catches that other little brat.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Uncle Jian! Uncle Jian!” Hwayoung shouted as she banged on the door to the Li's house.

 

The man, Guo, grabbed Hwayoung's arm and pulled the little girl away from the door and threw her on the ground. “Shut it little brat!”

 

He took a step forward but turned around when he heard the door open behind him. A fist flew right at his face and it connected on his nose. Guo could feel the bone breaking and the blood rushing out down his face as he took several steps back. Jian kicked the side of the man's leg and then roundhouse kicked Guo's head finally sending the thug to the ground. Xiuying ran over to Hwayoung and pulled the girl back inside the house as her husband fought with the thug outside their front door.

 

The thug had gotten back up and swung his knife at Jian several times but it only took Jian one move to knock the knife out of Guo's hand and another strike to knock the thug out for good. Jian ran back inside his house and checked on Hwayoung who quickly jumped into the man's arms.

 

“Hwayoung are you okay? Where is the rest of your family?”

 

“Please help them uncle Jian! They want to kill them!” Hwayoung cried out.

 

“Xiuying, please go get the police and send them to get the guy outside and to go to Namil's house. Hwayoung come with me.” Jian grabbed Hwayoung's hand and led the little girl back to her house to find her parents and sister.

 

Jian was hoping he would get there in time but when both of them walked into the Ryu's house, Jian quickly covered Hwayoung's eyes so that she could not see the horrible sight inside the house. Hwayoung struggled against him and finally managed to move Jian's hand out of the way. The sight of her dead parents and sister caused Hwayoung to scream and then faint.

 

Jian held the unconscious Hwayoung in his arms as tears rolled down his own face. The sight of his best friend and his family murdered broke him down just like it had done to Hwayoung. The police arrived at the scene a few minutes later and closed off the scene so they could investigate. Xiuying finally arrived after the man that had followed Hwayoung had been arrested at her house. She was horrified at the news of the Ryu family being murdered.

 

The days and weeks that followed the murder of her family had Hwayoung mourning and in a state of depression. It was already hard enough for Jian and Xiuying to deal with what happened, but for a ten year old girl like Hwayoung it was even worse. Her whole world had been destroyed by a group of men that wanted to rob her father. She was grateful to have the Li's in her life, but they were not her real parents and her sister was gone.

 

The only man that had been arrested and put in prison in connection with the murder had given up the names of his accomplices, but when the police went to go find them in the location Guo had specified, they did not find the thugs. The police promised to find the men but as time went by it was as if the men had vanished into thin air.

 

Time was what eventually helped Hwayoung heal from the horrific events. The Li family had legally adopted her as their daughter, and they took care of her like she was their own. Xiuying loved her dearly just like her own mother and Jian had become a strong father figure for her. Jian wanted Hwayoung to always be able to defend herself, so he convinced her to join his school and learn Kung Fu. His convincing didn't take much, and before both of them knew it, Hwayoung had become his best student.

 

 

 

 

1910 AD, China

 

 

As the years went by, teenage Hwayoung was growing up more beautiful and tall. Her martial arts training had advanced greatly and Jian had made her his disciple. Hwayoung had even stopped calling Jian uncle and Xiuying aunt. At home they were mom and dad and at the school, Jian was her master.

 

By the age of 17, Hwayoung had perfected everything Jian had taught her. She was ready to take over the school when the time came for Jian to retire and he couldn't have been prouder. One particular morning, Jian had decided to have a few exhibition matches with Hwayoung in front of the other students. The matches were a way to encourage all of the students to continue with their training and to inspire them as well.

 

The exhibition matches would be done using not only Kung Fu but also real weapons instead of wooden ones. They had several matches and both had lost and won the same amount of matches. To break the tie, their last exhibition match would include the use of spears. Jian had gifted Hwayoung with a beautiful spear that he had made himself. A golden dragon wrapped its body around the green wooden handle and the blade at the top of the spear was made of the best quality metal money could buy.

 

Their match started with several swings and jabs of their spears but neither could connect with the other. As the fight progressed, Jian realized that his skill with the spear was no longer a match for Hwayoung. The teenage girl had progressed far beyond what he had thought her and soon enough he would be losing the match. Hwayoung swung the spear low to sweep Jian off his feet, but he jumped to avoid the long weapon.

 

As his feet touched the ground, the spear in his hand was struck by Hwayoung's and it was sent flying across the room. Hwayoung was spinning her spear so fast and taking steps forward that she did not realize how close her weapon actually was now to her master. Jian was not quick enough to back away and the blade of the spear caught his midsection and cut diagonally upwards catching the jugular vein in his neck.

 

He gasped in shock at the strike and moved his hand to cover his neck before falling back onto the floor. The resounding sound of “master” being shouted by the students stopped Hwayoung's attack and she gasped in shock. Hwayoung dropped her spear and ran over to Jian.

 

“Dad! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!” Hwayoung tried to press down on the man's neck while yelling at the students to pick him up so they could rush him to doctor.

 

“Don't move me!” Jian gasped out. The students put him back down and backed away from him while Hwayoung continued to hold his neck.

 

“Hwayoung...” Jian started coughing blood now. “It was an accident... I shouldn't...have let... my guard down...”

 

“Dad! I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry. Please...” Hwayoung cried out.

 

“All...of it...it's yours now. I...love...you...” And with that, Jian let out his last breath and closed his eyes; blood finally stopped rushing out of his wound and life left him.

 

“Dad! Dad!” Hwayoung cried out. The students all cried out for their master as well. For the second time in her life, Hwayoung had lost her father, and this time it had been by her hands.

 

After the death of Jian, Hwayoung had spent a few days in jail until the authorities had a clear story about the events that happened. Thanks to the students at the school, the death of Jian had been declared an accident and Hwayoung was free to go and mourn the death of her adoptive father. Her adoptive mother, Xiuying, was absolutely devastated with the death of her husband; even more after learning it had been Hwayoung who had slain him. She understood why his death was labeled an accident but it didn't change the fact that the way he died hurt.

 

The cause of Jian's death strained the once loving relationship Xiuying had with Hwayoung. They hardly spoke and Xiuying couldn't even look at the young girl in the eyes anymore. Hwayoung started spending more time at the school to avoid her adoptive mother because every time she looked at the older woman, she felt guilty. As the months passed, Hwayoung had taken over the school and become the new master for all of the students. Meanwhile, Xiuying's health had taken a course for the worst.

 

Doctors had begun treating the older woman but her health only seemed to worsen as time went by. Hwayoung had wanted to spend more time with Xiuying, taking care of her and such, after her health had worsened but the woman had refused and basically sent Hwayoung away. The strained relationship between the two women would eventually cause not only the death of Xiuying, from her illness, but also the disillusion for Hwayoung to continue operating the martial arts school.

 

After Xiuying's death and burial, Hwayoung decided to end her teachings at the school. She needed a new start and a change of scenery, and as the heir to everything Jian owned, the young girl decided to auction off both the school and the house. She could have sold both of them separately but she figured auctioning both to the highest bidder would bring her more money.

 

The auction house was busy and filled with all kinds of people the day she went to auction off everything she owned. As Hwayoung sat in the auction room entertained by the bitter bidding fights of several people, her eyes traveled around the room observing everyone there. Finally her eyes landed on a woman who seemed to be looking back at her instead of paying attention to the auction. The middle aged woman was very attractive and her eyes had a way of seducing anyone who looked straight at them.

 

Hwayoung offered the woman a smile and the woman offered Hwayoung a devious smirk. Suddenly the young girl felt go dry and she swallowed some saliva to quench . Hwayoung felt heat rise up to her cheeks as the woman continued to seduce her with the predatory look she was giving her as the woman approached Hwayoung.

 

“I couldn't help but notice you from across the room...” The woman took a seat next to Hwayoung. The thick accent she had let the younger girl know that the woman was not Chinese.

 

“You're very beautiful.” Hwayoung blurted out and her cheeks were definitely red now.

 

The woman chuckled and placed a hand on top of Hwayoung's thigh. “Thank you and you're quite beautiful yourself. But tell me, what is such a young girl as yourself doing here?”

 

Hwayoung got even redder after the woman's compliment. She couldn't deny that this woman intrigued her. “I'm just trying to sell some things. Hopefully the pay off is nice.”

 

The woman smirked. “And what would a girl as young as you do with all that money?”

 

“I want to return back to the place my father called home.”

 

“Oh? And where is this place?”

 

“Gwangju.”

 

“Joseon? You're not Chinese?”

 

“No, I'm not. I was raised here but I was born in Gwangju where my parents were born as well.”

 

The woman smirked again and finally spoke in Hangeul. “I'm from Joseon as well. They call it the Korean Empire now, but everyone is still adjusting to that. I'm a trader from Seoul, and I plan on buying some things here to take back home.”

 

Hwayoung smiled. It had been so long since she had heard her first language being spoken that she was excited to speak it once again. “My father was a trader too.”

 

“Well, it seems we have something in common beside where we come from. I'm Park Hyojin.”

 

“Ryu Hwayoung.”

 

Both women offered slight bows to each other. Their conversation continued on during the entire auction. Hwayoung managed to successfully sell her house and the school for a good amount and Hyojin managed to buy several things she was interested in. The one thing, or person, she was more interested in was Hwayoung though.

 

It did not take her long to charm and convince Hwayoung to go to Seoul with her. Hwayoung did not need much convincing anyways; she was ready to leave Beijing and China behind for good. Tragedy was the only thing she had lived through in this country and going back to Korea would be a fresh start. Once she was in Seoul, she could eventually make her way down to Gwangju.

 

 

 

 

The trip to Seoul had given Hwayoung and Hyojin time to learn more about each other and become closer. Hwayoung had told Hyojin everything that had happened in her life and the woman seemed to sympathize with her. Hyojin had explained to Hwayoung that she had inherited the trade business from her husband after he had passed away. She had made herself a wealthy woman taking over the business but it had made her rather lonely so having Hwayoung at her side now was a good thing for Hyojin.

 

While trading was a great business, Hyojin had been planning to start a new kind of business; and the moment her eyes had landed on Hwayoung in that auction house, Hyojin knew she had found the perfect person to start with. Hwayoung was tall and beautiful, but with the right clothing and look, she knew she could make Hwayoung look handsome as well. The girl was also young and naive and that would make it so much easier.

 

Hyojin knew she looked great for her age. She knew how to seduce anyone she wanted and seducing Hwayoung would not be hard at all. The young girl had taken great liking to the older woman and she felt attracted by her, so the day when they finally arrived in Seoul, and Hyojin took Hwayoung to her house, she wasted no time in seducing the younger girl.

 

That night, Hwayoung had her first kiss and ual encounter with a woman she barely knew, but felt she had known forever. Her innocence had been lost and soon she would lose more than that, but at this moment, Hwayoung did not care about anything, except the excitement she felt in the arms of Hyojin.

 

 

 

 

 

“Qri?” Soyeon's voice broke the mage out of her trance and she turned to look up at the priestess. Soyeon noticed the picture in Qri's hand but didn't mention it.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Eunjung has returned.”

 

A smile grew on Qri's face. “I'll be out there in a few.”

 

Soyeon nodded and turned to leave the mage's room. Qri looked down at the picture she was holding and brought it up to her lips and kissed it. The picture was in black and white and on it was the image of a woman the mage had met some decades ago. Her name was Jane Collins, and Qri had met her when she had accompanied Eunjung and Hyomin to England.

 

The woman was completely enamored with Qri and the mage felt the same way about her. They had met randomly on the streets of London and while the majority of women dressed in feminine clothing, Jane's choice of clothing was more masculine. Their fling lasted the entire time they had spent in London looking for the supposed Chosen One that actually died in a flood the year before.

 

It was thanks to Jane that Jihyun had changed her name to Qri because the woman found it hard to pronounce Jihyun so she would always call her “Cutie Pretty” and those words sounded like Qri to the mage. Nowadays, while she treasured the lovely memory of Jane with her new name, Qri found her affections growing more towards their leader, Eunjung.

 

Eunjung had left a few months ago in search for another Guardian that held the affinity to the Light the same way the Elite Five did, but her search had been in vain. Everyone had gathered in the living room of the house they were staying at to welcome Eunjung back home. Qri was happy to see their leader so when she got her chance, she jumped into the arms of Eunjung who simply hugged her back. Hyomin and Soyeon eyed each other and shook their heads.

 

“So if there is no Guardian out there, what should we do?” Boram's voice broke Qri away from Eunjung and she turned to face the shorter woman.

 

“Our numbers have dropped a lot as of late with some Guardians deciding to retire, so I think we should focus on finding people that we can train.” Eunjung responded.

 

“Then I think we should get out there and start scouting.” Hyomin mentioned. She was ready to go out there and find people she could train. There was nothing better than whipping newbies into shape in her opinion.

 

“I like that idea.” Eunjung replied and with that the Guardians knew what their new tasks would be from now on.

 

 

 

 

 

1912 AD, Korean Empire

 

 

Park Hyojin's trading business had gone in two different directions in the past two years. While her merchandise trading was steady, her trade of tricks had boomed and it was all thanks to the great reputation she gained by using Hwayoung. At first she had tricked the young girl into falling for her and eventually she had convinced Hwayoung to sleep with married and widowed women who wanted to explore their ual fantasies.

 

At first Hwayoung had been a bundle of nerves and fear because the woman she trusted was making her do things with so many different women that she didn't want to. As time went by, Hwayoung became immune to what she was doing. Pleasing the needs and fantasies of other women was simply a job and she made sure that the clients were satisfied. She lived well, Hyojin gave her money to spend, but it wasn't the life she wanted.

 

Hyojin had grown this side of her business by finding other girls and boys to add to her harem. The clients for the others were both men and women who wanted to relieve their ual fantasies. Hwayoung made sure to take care of the others as best as she could because compared to them, Hwayoung received the better treatment and better clients.

 

When she had free time, Hwayoung would take her spear and practice her martial arts at a park near Hyojin's home. She found peace practicing and also maintained her skill level. Hwayoung had been coming to this park for the past few months but she had failed to notice that for the past week someone had kept their eyes on her from afar.

 

Today was no different and that same person was there watching Hwayoung practice her skills with her spear. Hyomin was mesmerized by the skill level of this girl that would always come to the park at the same time every day. It was obvious that the girl with the spear had been trained by a great master. The Guardian could have approached Hwayoung easily, but it wasn't the young warrior's skills that stopped her from doing so, it was how attractive Hyomin found the girl.

 

“Why don't you just approach her? Ask for a simple match. Test her out.” Qri's voice startled Hyomin.

 

“When did you get here?”

 

Qri chuckled and kept the smirk on her face. “I've been here for a while. Like you, I've been coming here for the past week as well. The first time I was here I sensed a magical aura but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from or who it belonged to. Just like you watch her everyday at the same time, I've been sensing that aura at the same time every day.”

 

“Do you think it could be a possible Guardian?” Hyomin asked raising an eyebrow.

 

“Maybe or maybe it could be a Shadow. It doesn't feel dark but it's not of the light either. Anyways, I'm going to go look for it and you should totally go spar with that cutie and her spear.” Qri waved at Hyomin and walked away from the warrior.

 

Hyomin sighed and watched Qri walk away for a few moments before turning back to the girl with the spear. Hyomin sighed and decided to take the mage's advice and approach the girl she was so intrigued by. She moved away from the tree she had been using to hide and walked directly up to Hwayoung.

 

“Your moves with that spear are impressive. What do you say we have a sparring session?” Hyomin offered the girl a smile and when Hwayoung turned to look at Hyomin, she smiled too.

 

Hwayoung's eyes darted to the swords on Hyomin's back and her smile turned into a smirk. “Swords against a spear? I think you're at a disadvantage.”

 

The Guardian chuckled and grinned. “Don't judge a book by it's cover. So is that a yes?”

 

Hwayoung smiled again and took her defensive stance with the spear. “Let's see what you got.”

 

Hyomin withdrew her swords and launched herself at the younger girl. She swung the sword in her right hand first followed by the one in her left hand. The swords clinked as they struck the gold dragon that adorned Hwayoung's spear. The sound and sparks of Hyomin's katanas striking the upper part of her spear worried Hwayoung. She had never used the spear in anything other than practicing and having the decoration possibly ruined by this girl's swords annoyed her.

 

Hwayoung pulled her spear back and connected the blade part with Hyomin's swords when she launched several attacks at the other warrior. Their sparring session with their weapons was a stalemate as neither one could connect to cause the other to drop their weapons. After a few more spins with her spear and pushing her opponent back, Hwayoung struck the spear on the ground and dropped into an unarmed stance.

 

Hyomin struck her own swords on the ground as well and stood still observing the stance Hwayoung had taken. She recognized it as being of Chinese origin. The Guardian smirked and ran towards Hwayoung. Hyomin jumped and extended her leg to kick Hwayoung with a flying kick, but the younger warrior blocked the kick with her forearms. Hwayoung then swung several punches and kicks at Hyomin, who blocked two but was struck by the rest.

 

Hyomin cursed herself for not practicing hand to hand combat as much as she did with her swords, and she knew the young warrior now had an advantage on her. The Guardian began trying to counter Hwayoung with a series of kicks, from low kicks to high kicks and spinning kicks in between, but Hwayoung was good at blocking and counter attacking the other girl's kicks. Before Hyomin realized it, Hwayoung had flipped her onto the ground and kneed her midsection while holding back a punch that would have struck her opponent in the face.

 

Hyomin raised her arms in defeat and Hwayoung pulled back. “Alright, you win this round. You're quite skilled.”

 

Hwayoung offered Hyomin a hand and the Guardian stood up and bowed at her opponent. “You're not so bad yourself, but you're way better with those swords.”

 

Hyomin turned to look at her swords which were behind her sticking out of the ground. “I prefer the swords to be honest. I'm Park Hyomin.”

 

Hwayoung returned Hyomin's bow and smiled when they were facing again. “Ryu Hwayoung.”

 

Both shared a smile for a few moments. Neither new what it was yet, but there was an attraction between the two that was more than just physical attraction. That match was the start of a friendship for both women, and for the next few months the park would become their sparring ground and hang out spot.

 

 

 

 

 

Several months had passed since the day Hyomin and Hwayoung had first met and sparred in the park. Hwayoung continued working for Hyojin despite her desire to stop and leave for good. She knew that if she tried to leave Hyojin would do all she could to stop Hwayoung, even though the young warrior could kill the madam if she wanted to. The one thing that bothered Hwayoung was that she could not figure out why she just could not leave no matter how much she thought about it. It was as if Hyojin had her under some kind of spell.

 

She had serviced two women that night before she arrived back at the house. Hyojin had been waiting on Hwayoung, surprisingly since in the past month Hyojin showed no signs of interest towards her, and asked to come sit at the dinner table and enjoy a good meal. That night Hyojin had seduced Hwayoung into her bed. It had been a rouse to prevent Hwayoung from finding out that one of the girls had been beaten by one of the clients.

 

The man had a for hurting his lovers and this young girl, one of the youngest in the group, had been a victim of his fantasies. The rage inside Hwayoung was boiling and she was about to burst. She needed to find the man who had done this and beat him into a pulp, but the moment she started storming out of the house, Hyojin appeared before her.

 

“Where do you think you're going? What happened to Gaeun is none of your business.” Hyojin placed her hands on Hwayoung's shoulders and tried to lead her back into the living room.

 

“No! It is my business! You put us, especially them, into dangerous situations and when something like this happens you do nothing!” Hwayoung shoved Hyojin away and turned back around to leave.

 

“Don't you dare question my judgment Hwayoung! COME BACK HERE!” Hyojin screamed at her favorite, but Hwayoung walked straight out the door. If Hwayoung could have seen the look Hyojin gave the door after she walked out, she would have not recognized the woman.

 

 

 

 

“Guys, I'm telling you there is an aura in that park that I just cannot figure out! I've been going there for months with Hyomin and neither of us know where it's coming from or who it belongs to.” Qri raised her arms in the air and sighed.

 

“Qri is right. I've sensed it too when I'm hanging out with Hwayoung. Perhaps if we all go, scatter around the park and cover more area, we can figure out something.” Hyomin explained and squeezed Qri's shoulder.

 

“You really like this Hwayoung girl don't you.” Boram asked and smiled at the warrior. She continued to pet the tiger that was sitting next to her.

 

Hyomin blushed and nodded her head which caused Qri to smirk and both Boram and Soyeon to smile at the warrior. Eunjung seemed lost in thought despite listening to the conversation. She stood up from the chair she was sitting on and drew everyone's attention to her.

 

“Let's go to this park and figure out what it is.”

 

 

 

 

 

Hwayoung landed another hard punch at the trunk of a tree and flinched when she felt her skin finally break open and begun bleeding. She held her right hand in her left and mentally cursed at the stinging feeling on her knuckles. The warrior looked around and noticed that the park was almost empty aside from a few people walking around. She turned and looked another way when suddenly a group of men dressed in military uniforms walked down one of the pathways in the park.

 

She had heard rumors of a possible invasion from the Japanese, but those men did not look like they belonged to the Japanese army and they definitely didn't belong to the Korean army. The direction they were walking in lead back to Hyojin's house, but Hwayoung didn't question the possibility of them going there since there were several other houses in that direction. It was possible the men just needed to walk that way to get to where they were going.

 

Hwayoung turned her attention back to her bleeding knuckles and wondered whether or not she should go to the pharmacy and get it treated by the doctor that worked there. She could go treat herself at home, but she didn't want to see Hyojin or deal with her for now. Deciding the pharmacy was the best option, Hwayoung started making her way towards it.

 

A few minutes into her walk towards the pharmacy, Hwayoung came to a halt when she saw a tiger walking straight towards her. The tiger stopped in front of Hwayoung and suddenly Hwayoung was unsure of what to do. She stood there frozen looking down at the tiger until said animal sniffed her hands and she screamed. The tiger jumped back and when it saw Boram running towards her, the tiger ran towards her master and stood behind her.

 

“Bora! I told you to stay by me. You're going to scare people!” Boram chided her pet and then turned to Hwayoung. “I'm so sorry if she scared you.”

 

“Hwayoung.” At the mention of her name by a familiar voice, Hwayoung looked up at Hyomin who walked up from behind Boram, the young warrior smiled.

 

“Hyomin!” Her voice perked up as she said her friend's name. Hwayoung's eyes then diverted to the other three people who came up behind Hyomin and the girl with the tiger.

 

“You're hurt. What happened?” Hyomin grabbed Hwayoung's hand and inspected it.

 

“I punched a tree a little too hard. I'll be okay Hyo...” Hwayoung explained but Hyomin shook her head.

 

“Soyeon, can you look at her wound.” Hyomin turned to look at the priestess who nodded at her. Soyeon walked up to Hwayoung and offered her a smile. The priestess reached in her satchel for her first aid kit.

 

“Everyone this is Hwayoung. Hwayoung, these are my friends. Boram, Qri, Soyeon and Eunjung.” Hyomin pointed at everyone respectfully as she said their names. They all offered Hwayoung a slight bow and she returned it.

 

“While Soyeon looks over her wound, we're all going to spread out and investigate what Qri has told us.” Eunjung said and nodded at the rest of the Guardians. They bowed at Hwayoung and took their leave in different directions.

 

Hwayoung took a seat on the ground while Soyeon cleaned her wound and wrapped it up with medicine so it wouldn't get dirty and heal quickly. The priestess could have used her powers to heal Hwayoung, but doing such a thing would probably scare the young girl. It was already bad enough Boram's pet had ran off on her own earlier.

 

“There, just keep it wrapped for now. I say give it about two days and you can take the bandage off. Anyways, I'm off to take care of business. It was nice meeting you Hwayoung. Hyomin has told us great things about you.” Soyeon winked at Hwayoung and smirked at Hyomin before standing up.

 

Hwayoung stood up and bowed at Soyeon. “Thank you. It was nice meeting you too Soyeon.”

 

Soyeon bowed once again and took her leave to go figure out what the aura was Qri kept sensing. Hyomin had a slight blush on her cheeks because of Soyeon's comment but Hwayoung seemed not to notice when she turned to look at her friend.

 

Knowing that Hyomin was still curious as to why Hwayoung would be punching a tree, the young warrior explained that she had gotten into an argument with Hyojin. She had explained to Hyomin who Hyojin was a while back, but she had purposely left out the whole ion business out of the conversation. Hwayoung couldn't hold that information back anymore as mentioning Hyojin brought out all the anger she had earlier.

 

“I can't take it anymore Hyomin! I just can't but I don't know why I can't leave. That woman...” The anger inside Hwayoung brought tears out and Hwayoung fell on her knees and started crying. Hyomin's worry about her friend grew and she knelt down to comfort Hwayoung.

 

“Let it out Hwayoung. Just let it out and tell me once you're ready.” Hyomin kissed her friend's forehead and held Hwayoung in her arms. After several minutes, Hwayoung regained her composure and began explaining everything to Hyomin.

 

“Hyojin is in the business of trading, but she's also in the business of ion. She started off with me. She charmed her way into getting to know me. She convinced me to come back to Korea with the hope that I would eventually go to Gwangju where I was born. Once here, she seduced me, took away my innocence and the money I had made selling the things I owned back in China, and then persuaded me to sleep with a friend of hers. Next thing I know, I'm satisfying the ual fantasies of many women. I'm her star Hyomin...” Hwayoung pulled herself away from Hyomin's arms.

 

Hyomin was shocked to learn this information about Hwayoung. How could someone do this to such a young girl. Hyomin herself was young when she had her first ual encounter but it was with someone she loved, but Hwayoung, her innocence was stolen even if it had been with this Hyojin woman. Rage started building inside the Guardian the more she thought about it.

 

“She has others who do the same thing. Boys and girls, all younger than me. Last night, one of the clients beat the youngest one of us to satisfy his fantasies. She's only 14!” Hwayoung slammed her fists on the ground and then flinched at the pain coming from her right hand.

 

“Hwayoung... you're a skilled warrior... why haven't you left? If she tried to stop you, you could easily hurt her or even...kill her...”

 

“I've thought of it so many times lately Hyo... but... when she's in front of me... that desire, that want, that need to do it... it just goes away. It's like she has some kind of spell on me that stops me from going against her. I just end up doing what she wants in the end. Today is the first time I actually managed to argue with her and leave.”

 

“A spell on you...” Hyomin thought of Hwayoung's words and started wondering if maybe Hyojin was the owner of the aura Qri and herself kept sensing. The Guardian reached for the small pouch she kept on her side and pulled out a small golden orb.

 

The orb began glowing in Hyomin's hands and she spoke to it. “Everyone, return to where we first found Hwayoung. I think I have a lead on the aura.”

 

The sight of the orb surprised Hwayoung. It was some kind of magic that she didn't even know actually existed. It seemed as though Hwayoung wasn't the only one keeping secrets. Hyomin placed the orb back in the pouch and turned to look at Hwayoung.

 

“When my friends arrive, I need you to take us to the house you live in.”

 

 

 

 

“The aura is very strong here.” Eunjung said and took a step closer to the gate of the house.

 

“I've passed in front of this house many times and it never felt this strong.” Qri mentioned and touched the gate with the tips of her fingers.

 

“Then Hwayoung feeling as though the woman she works for is casting some kind of spell on her must be real.” Hyomin said and turned to Hwayoung. “I have a plan and you need to be able to follow through on it even if Hyojin tries to stop you.”

 

Hwayoung listened carefully to Hyomin's plan. The Guardian explained to Hwayoung that she needed to get the boys and girls out of the house that night. Once she had led them out of the house, the Guardians would go inside the house and confront Hyojin to see if she knew some kind of magic. Hyomin also promised to explain everything about herself once the task was completed and Hwayoung agreed to follow her friend's plan.

 

 

 

 

From a room in the second floor of the house, Hyojin watched as this group of unknown women talked to Hwayoung. Whatever they were planning would fall through because Hyojin was not going to let Hwayoung or any of the other es she owned get away and destroy her business. A smirk spread across her lips and she walked away from the window.

 

 

 

 

 

To Hwayoung's luck, every single one of the teens in the house were there when she went into their shared room that night. All five boys and four girls were surprised when Hwayoung told them they would finally be escaping Hyojin's grasp that night. The surprise lasted only a few moments because the emotion that followed after that was nothing but excitement. Freedom was just outside the doors and away from Madam Hyojin.

 

There was no movement from Hyojin tonight, so Hwayoung quickly led the teens out of their room and towards the front doors of the house. Once outside the gates, they would be completely free from Hyojin's hold. Hwayoung reached for the handle on one of the front doors when all of the sudden she froze and didn't turn the handle to open it.

 

The teens looked at Hwayoung wondering why she wasn't opening the door. The sound of steps coming down the stairs made everyone turn around to see Hyojin walking towards them. She was wearing the most elegant and beautiful black and dark purple robes. Her hair was done up and perfectly styled and Hyojin's make up and accessories made her look very beautiful. The smirk on her lips and confidence in her eyes had everyone enthralled with her for now.

 

“You cannot escape children. You all belong to me.” Hyojin's smirk grew into a devilish smile and all of the sudden her eyes started glowing purple and horns jutted out of her head pointing upwards on an inside curve. Almost like devil horns.

 

“YOU WILL WORK FOR ME UNTIL I DON'T NEED YOU!” She started moving her hands casting curses on everyone in the room. The spells would not kill the teens, but it could hurt them enough to weaken them.

 

She continued her trek down the stairs and looked straight at Hwayoung who was the only person she had not cast a spell on. “For you my dear, I don't need any spells. Your will is already mine. You cannot leave no matter how much you try. You can't even open that door.”

 

Hwayoung was gritting her teeth fighting with herself to open the door. Hyojin was unrecognizable now in whatever form or whatever she was now. The young warrior knew that on the other side of that door was Hyomin and her friends. If she didn't open the door, the people outside would do it by force.

 

“You're wrong Hyojin! I do have will! And I have a way!” Somehow Hwayoung found that will once again and she turned the handle on the door opening it completely.

 

The Guardians ran inside and stopped in their tracks when they saw the Shadow before them. They now knew why there was a constant aura in the park and the areas around it. Hwayoung's boss was a Shadow and now that she had revealed herself they could tell how powerful she was. The darkness that spread from her covered the entire house and had slowly seeped its way into everything else.

 

Hyojin turned her attention to the five women that had just entered her house. They needed no introduction since the light that spread from them let the older woman know exactly who they were. The human God's Guardians were well known among the Shadows. Hyojin never imagined meeting even one of them but suddenly five stood before her.

 

Hyomin turned her attention from Hyojin to Hwayoung. She placed a hand on the younger girl's shoulder and gave her a nod. Hwayoung smiled slightly knowing that Hyomin and her friends were going to aid her in the battle that would happen in a few moments. The interaction between the two didn't go unnoticed by Hyojin. This Guardian was the reason her spell on Hwayoung was breaking.

 

“The mighty Guardians. It's a pleasure to meet you all but unfortunately this meeting won't last long.” Hyojin started moving her hands in front of her casting a shadow bolt that she launched at the Guardians.

 

Soyeon cast Holy Nova as soon as the bolt started flying towards them. The dark bolt crashed into the dome of light and burned away. The healing properties of the light dome healed the teenagers that had been attacked by Hyojin. Feeling back to normal, they all stood up and ran out of the house when Hwayoung motioned for them to leave.

 

Hyojin smirked with great confidence and cast a spell to summon one of her demon pets. The Felguard materialized next to her, his broad shoulders and massive ax in his right hand was intimidating. Hwayoung readied her spear to defend herself from the being standing next to Hyojin. Out of the shadows of the house, the men that Hwayoung had spotted earlier suddenly appeared holding weapons. A scream from outside suddenly distracted the Guardians from the Shadows that had appeared, so the men took this opportunity to attack them first.

 

Even with the distraction, the Guardians' quick reflexes allowed them to either block the attack or dodge it. The battle before Hyojin made her smile. Hwayoung stood behind the Guardian wielding two swords who was engaged in battle with one of the Shadows.

 

“Hwayoung, go outside! Help them!” Hyomin shouted at Hwayoung who finally snapped out of her trance and turned to run outside.

 

Hyojin ordered her Felguard to chase after Hwayoung, so the demon started charging towards the door at full speed to catch Hwayoung. Hyomin turned towards the demon to try an stop him but the guy she was trading blows with was relentless. Before the Felguard could reach the door, Eunjung's massive buster sword struck the demon in his midsection. The sword cut cleanly through the demon's midsection effectively killing him.

 

Eunjung had quickly taken care of her opponent just moments prior and after taking out the demon, she turned to the Shadow that was fighting Hyomin. Hyomin did not need to thank Eunjung or think about what she needed to do next. If there were more Shadows outside, she was confident Hwayoung could take care of them. The warrior turned her sights on Hyojin and she rushed towards the woman ready to strike.

 

Hyojin grinned at Hyomin who barely managed to go up two steps before a whip wrapped around her neck and pulled her back. The succubus began whipping the Guardian and Hyojin started casting more spells. Demons to her served as a simple distraction to allow her to cast all of her destruction spells. She would burn the house down in order to kill the Guardians. The Shadows that had attacked the Guardians were all dead and the Guardians now had their eyes set on Hyojin.

 

Hyojin started casting her spells and curses at the Guardians in very rapid succession. They all had to try and dodge the shadow bolts and flames bursting out nowhere. Hyomin had managed to kill the succubus but the fire spreading around the entire house had her trapped along with the Guardians.

 

Qri tried to cast her ice spells but the air was entirely too hot to cool down. Their only salvation was the shields Soyeon cast on everyone. Bora, Boram's tiger, rushed at Hyojin despite the flames surrounding the area. The tiger reached the warlock and swung it's clawed paws at Hyojin, who managed to dodge the attacks. Turning her attention to the tiger, she cast several curses on the animal and sent her running off in a fit of terror.

 

“We can't fight her in here! Pull back! Run outside!” Eunjung ordered everyone. Boram was the first out of the house as she took off behind her pet. If that damn woman had injured or possibly killed Bora, Boram would shoot her with an arrow right between the eyes even if it was the last thing she did.

 

Outside of the house in the front yard, Hwayoung was fighting against more men who had emerged from the shadows earlier. She had killed two of them but the five fighting her now were starting to overwhelm her. The Guardians, except Boram, quickly ran to Hwayoung's aid and attacked the men themselves.

 

Inside the house, Hyojin walked through the fire that was burning away her home and entered her personal office. There she found a prized weapon she kept for occasions such as this one. Not that they had presented themselves before, but she liked to be ready. Once she had the weapon in her hands, she walked through the fire and stepped outside to see Hyomin kill the last of the men who worked for her.

 

“Congratulations. You've killed some fine Shadow warriors. But don't forget that I'm still here.” The grin on Hyojin's face was of pure enjoyment. She loved toying with people.

 

Hyojin was holding her sword in a way that the Guardians and Hwayoung could only see the handle, but when she raised up in front of her, the length of the sword was longer than Hyojin was tall. Behind the Shadow, her house was completely in flames and starting to fall apart. The cracking sound of the fire and wood made Hyojin smirk once again.

 

“A nodachi? It seems like you and I are destined to battle.” Hyomin broke the silence between the Guardians and Hyojin.

 

“Wielding two katanas? Very Miyamoto Mushashi like.” Hyojin commented.

 

“Kojiro wouldn't appreciate a being like yourself wielding that weapon.” Hyomin replied and Hyojin started laughing. Hyojin struck the sword into the ground and raised her arms up and then brought them down.

 

Fire engulfed the entire front yard of the house that led up to the gates. Her maniacal laughter followed. Hyomin asked everyone to leave and take the teenagers with them as they tried to avoid the fire that spread around them. Eunjung motioned for everyone else to follow her. Boram had managed to get Bora to recover in time to escape with everyone else.

 

Hwayoung had walked outside of the gates but stopped as soon as she walked out. She watched everyone else run away to safety before turning her body around to go back inside the gates. Hyomin was willing to sacrifice herself to stop Hyojin, but Hwayoung would not allow her to do that. She did not want to lose the one person she had developed real feelings for.

 

Inside the gates surrounded by flames, Hyomin traded blows with Hyojin who surprisingly was very skilled with the sword in her hands. Hyomin knew her master had once defeated an opponent who wielded a sword like Hyojin's, so she was confident she could beat the woman. The one thing Hyomin underestimated was Hyojin's ability to use spells that could hurt the Guardian. Without Soyeon to heal her, she was at the Shadow's mercy.

 

The more the fight went on, the weaker Hyomin felt. She couldn't block the curses Hyojin had cast on her and they weakened her every second that went by. Hwayoung could tell Hyomin was going to lose the fight. The woman she was falling in love with was going to die at the hands of the woman she hated so much. Hwayoung's hands tightened around her spear and her body began shaking. Whatever spell Hyojin had her under was beginning to break and finally she could feel enough courage to face the woman.

 

Hwayoung rushed at the Shadow and blocked an attack by Hyojin that would have most likely severely injured Hyomin. Hwayoung did not allow Hyojin to attack anymore and threw her back into defending herself from Hwayoung's movements with her spear. The young warrior managed to clip the Shadow a few times, but when Hyojin found an opening, she swung back at Hwayoung. The fire had burned the majority of the house down by now and the fire in the yard seemed to be controlled.

 

The fire surrounded the three women in a circle but it burned extremely hot. Hyomin's vision was blurred from the spells that had drained her energy, but she could tell Hwayoung was not losing by one bit. The anger and determination in Hwayoung to defeat Hyojin was at an all time high. Hyojin had tried using her spells and curses like she had done to Hyomin on Hwayoung, but for some reason they were not affecting Hwayoung.

 

“You don't own me anymore! I will not be your property ever again! Aaahhhhhh!” Hwayoung was screaming her rage out as she swung at Hyojin; and when Hwayoung started glowing, the warlock understood why her spells weren't working.

 

The Light spread from Hwayoung's body and sent Hyojin flying backwards. Hwayoung took off running towards Hyojin, jumped in the air, and struck the Shadow through the heart with the blade of her spear. Hyojin's death lifted an incredible weight off Hwayoung and she sighed in victory. She pulled her spear out of the woman's body and turned around to head towards Hyomin.

 

Hyomin smiled as she saw a blurry Hwayoung approach her and then fainted. Hwayoung gathered Hyomin's weapons and placed the swords back into their holsters on Hyomin's back. She picked up Hyomin and threw her over one shoulder and walked away from the place she had called home for two years.

 

 

 

 

 

Outside of the park, Soyeon had been treating the teenagers and Bora — healing them from all their injuries. The aura that once could be felt even out here had disappeared and this gave the Guardians hope that Hyomin had defeated the evil woman, but when Hwayoung appeared with Hyomin on her shoulder, they were surprised. Eunjung moved to help Hwayoung and both of them laid the warrior on the ground to allow Soyeon to treat her.

 

Eunjung turned to Hwayoung and placed a hand on the young warrior's shoulder. “The Light...it has chosen you as a Guardian.”

 

“So that's what that was...”

 

Eunjung nodded. “Welcome to our family.”

 

---

 

A/N 2: Park Hyojin is based on Brown Eyed Girls Narsha.  Sorry for making you evil Narsha, love you!  Also, I gave Qri's dad and Hwayoung's dad the same name... hey the actor I took that name from is one of my faves. ;P