A/N: This is mainly a transition chapter, so please bear with me if it's a bit confusing.

Kyulkyung let a small smile make its way to her face as she watched the two women trying to find comfort in each other. It wasn’t a happy smile, though, the girl never wanted to make anyone unhappy with her plans. She didn’t need to watch any more, therefore she left with light footsteps that they wouldn’t be able to hear. Her mission there was done and had been easier than she thought.

Her boss, the ever somnolent Nayoung, made a pretty big mistake and now Kyulkyung was trying her best to fix it – and also to make sure her loved ones had their deserved happy ending, but not anyone’s expenses hopefully. The Chinese expected Nayoung fall asleep to sneak out for a bit. The older woman was too slow and unaware of how humans really worked to understand how time could make all the difference. Kyulkyung didn’t want to see Yaebin going through a hard time, therefore she took matters at her own hands.

That woman, Minkyung, needed to go and Yaebin as soon as possible, the Chinese girl had come to make sure she would do it. The original plan was to whisperer onto Kim’s ear until the idea of visiting the book store was firmly planted on her mind. Although, she didn’t need to do much. Kyungwon pretty much took care of it all on her own and Ju only had to give her some light incentive to allow her say what was already in her mind – she felt bad for the brown haired woman, Kang was in a very uncomfortable position, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.

The black haired assistant decide to head to a new place, one that she had never stepped into as a human.  Don’t be mistaken, Kyulkyung didn’t enjoy sneaking in unnoticed, she was never the nosy type. But when you can’t be seen by most people it’s hard to ask them if you can come over, so she could only hope people didn’t mind her little visits. This person in special, she was almost sure wouldn’t mind her company.

The living room was well tidied up, everything in its rightful place. The sight made the girl sigh. Eunwoo was a messy person by nature, this new organization habit of hers, that was probably her new coping mechanism, still didn’t seem normal to Kyulkyung. Not that much seem normal to her anyway. Things changed great with time and she would never get used to it completely.

The young dark haired woman had ‘comeback’ recently to earth. Instead of a new life, she received the duty of helping Nayoung on her work managing the books and making sure no more mistakes were made. For the first year she wasn’t allowed to step out of Im’s Manuscripts, it was her trainee period and she wasn’t allowed to contact humans yet, for what she felt so incredibly bitter at first but eventually was grateful for. Back then her memories were a mess, making it hard to accept her new condition and how it affect her (after) life. It was a long process, albeit she eventually understood the reason for being placed where she was now. Being with Nayoung and her annoying old books, she had a chance of actually helping out her friends and this was more than most people ever had.

One of Im’s slips had lead to this complicated situation, a little mistake that became bigger as Fate acted upon it. Kyulkyung couldn’t really blame the goddess, after all her job was incredibly complicated since she had to work in sync with Destiny and they often had divergent plans. Nevertheless, this mistake in particular wasn’t something they could solve easily – well, technically they could simply ignore it, but Ju wouldn’t let Nayoung live if the woman didn’t allow her to give it a try. Her boss, although a bit stiff, had a warm heart and was kind enough to allow the girl to do so.

Making sure Minkyung went out to see Yaebin was only part of her plan, she was keeping her fingers crossed for the rest of it to work out as well.

Leaving aside her ponderations, she looked around the place in the search of a certain blond haired woman. Her visit her wasn’t a busyness one, she just missed seeing Eunwoo sometimes – Nayoung was good at pretending to not know about it.

As usual, she found the woman in front of her laptop, seating on the couch. Her fingers were actively smashing the keyboard keys, typing away thoughts much faster than Kyulkyung remembered. Nunu was a journalist, a professional snooper like she liked to call. She was probably up to something, maybe a new scoop that could make her win some extra bucks.

This time the smile that appeared on her face was genuine, her quick steps reaching the taller woman as she throw her arms around Jung in a tight back hug. “Eunwoo!” Kyulkyung snuggled her face against the woman’s shoulder, sighing happily. “What are you doing this time? I hope you are not following celebrities again.” Of course there was no reply, it never was. Eunwoo couldn’t see, nor hear her. Still, Ju always insisted on talking to her in the hopes at least a little bit of her feelings could reach her.

Looking over Eunwoo’s shoulder she could see a document filled with words, a boring text about economics or whatever thing Jung had to cover for the newspaper this week. The Chinese girl clicked her tongue, she knew how much the blonde hated this kind of stuff. “Sorry about it. Better luck next time, honey!” Kyulkyung said using her sweet and encouraging tone before kissing Jung’s soft cheek – in what Nayoung would call a level three infraction, but the goddess didn’t need to know about it.

A shiver shook Eunwoo out of her concentration, making her jump off on the couch to look behind her. There was nothing there, as expected, it was just her scared cat instinct in action. Jung was good with horror as long as it was only on the TV screen, in real life she would rather to cross the road than walk past a creepy figure during night.

Kyulkyung giggled at the cute sight. At first to see Eunwoo acting like this to her affection would make her upset, but now she was used to it to the point of pranking the girl once in a while.

Eunwoo shook her head, her eyes still wandering through the room. She could swear she felt some sort of touch on her face, almost like a light kiss. Even before it, she felt her shoulders heavy with extra weight on them… “Jung Eunwoo, you need a break.” She spoke to herself, going back to focus on her computer. She saved her work and closed the tab, switching to her browser to try distract herself looking through her facebook feed.

“Well, Yaebin never said I couldn’t do it on my own…” She muttered, remembering she was still to check on Yaebin’s mystery girl. She quickly typed into the search box for the girl’s name, taking only a few filters to redirect her to a list of people that fit the profile her friend had described. She knew Yaebin was being careful to not get hurt or hurting anyone, however, Eunwoo knew all too well time was precious and shouldn’t be wasted. Therefore, she would try her best to help the Kang.

Kyulkyung watched as the blonde went through various profiles, her little hands never stopping moving as she searched. Jung had this dork personality and always talked too much, what often made people overlook how smart and determinate she really was, she only needed to focus onto something.

“Damn time!” She complained to herself, taking a look at the hours at the corner of Eunwoo’s laptop screen. She had to get going, someone important was meeting her soon at the park and she had to be there – it was her other boss, one that Nayoung hopefully wasn’t aware of or she would definitely get grounded again.

It was too bad, Eunwoo was closer of finding the right Kim Minkyung and she would love to hear her little comments regarding the girl. “Good luck, honey. I’ll be back some other time. Don’t forget to eat!” She said, laying one last kiss on the girl’s cheek before disappearing.

Another shiver run down the blonde’s body due to the electric contact she felt on her cheek. She covered the area with one of her small hands, once again looking behind, trying to spot anything just to not see anything. She scrunched her nose, annoyed. “I swear to God, if it is you Ju Kyulkyung…” She sighed. “I miss you. I’m glad you still have fun visiting me.” She spoke in a small voice, one that only herself would be able to hear. Sometimes she really thought Kyul was there, and no matter how dumb and unrealistic it was, she still held onto these little moments as if it was something special and not just a signal of her going mad. Eunwoo was trying her best to move on with her life, but it didn’t mean it was an easy task.

“Now no more jokes! I need to find this girl and give her a piece of my mind.”

What she didn’t know, neither did Kyul, was that someone else was also keeping tabs on them both, making sure they wouldn’t do anything to harm her own plan. Things were about to take a very big turn, and Destiny herself couldn’t allow anyone messing it up. So she made sure to not show up for her meeting with that old annoying library keeper – like she used to call Nayoung -- , nor allow Eunwoo’s path to cross with Yaebin’s for the next couple of days.

A gentle breezy was blowing, bringing a pleasant feeling to the end of the afternoon. Minkyung closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax for a moment. It was comfortable, almost too comfortable, just like finally having a day off after long days of work. She was afraid of clinging onto this feeling, albeit she didn’t want to let go either. After weeks of self-battle, frustration and denial, it was weird that she only found peace in little moments like this.

She opened her fox like eyes, slightly turning her head so she could look at the direction she knew Yaebin was coming from.  She was started to understand at least one of the mechanisms that connect through the soulmate mark. Not only the brief, subtle warm feeling it would give out whenever the small Kang was around, but also her own inner capacity of telling when they were close.

It would be their third meeting ever since she had accepted Kyungwon’s suggestion and met Yaebin. It was awkward at first, but it was really easy for her to be around the girl and it seems like the same was true for the other girl – she wasn’t sure how much of it had to do with their soul marks, nor if she could considerer it solely a good thing. Meeting with Yaebin should only be a way to find out how she could avoid this whole soulmate stigma and move on with her life afterwards, however, she couldn’t completely shake off her fear that it would soon grow into something more that she couldn’t control.

In these moments she had to try her best to keep any thoughts of her girlfriend at the bay, or else guilt would fill her up and she wouldn’t be able to think about anything else.

Minkyung took a deep breath, trying to enjoy the smell of the flowers and use it to calm herself. It was fine. She wasn’t going on dates, she wasn’t being disloyal, she was just meeting a friend with whom she had more in common than usual. That’s all.

At least it was what she hoped for, she thought as the dark haired woman came into sight bringing an spontaneous smile to her face.

“Hey you.” She greeted, straightening herself, moving a bit on her seat at the bench to make space for the shorter girl.

Kang waved, returning the greeting.

“Am I late? I had some customers that just wouldn’t go away until they made me look for a bunch of books I didn’t even knew we had.” Yaebin sat down after greeting the older woman with an apologetic smile.

Their previous meetings were at the book store, but she felt like they would talk more freely outside the place.

“Don’t worry. I just got here and it’s pretty nice anyway.” Minkyung replied with her usual musical tone, that one that always seem so calm and composed.

Yaebin nodded, her own smile growing a bit wider. She was starting to get used being around the taller woman. Kim was quite an intriguing figure. Minky had the looks to make a strong first impression, her eyes often looking more cold than they actually were, however, as soon as she spoke it was easy to tell how charming and nice she was.

Now that Yaebin was having the opportunity of knowing her better, it was rather easy to understand why they had each other’s marks. She had joked about how much she would have fawned over the other girl if they met back then, but even now sometimes she caught herself a bit dazzled by the other woman’s simple presence. That day was definitely one of these occasions.

Minkyung wasn’t looking at her, her gaze focused on the flowers that adorned the park and shine with the last rays of sun reaching them. The book store owner took her time watching Kim’s elegant profile and relaxed posture, glad the other woman was slowly become more used to her presence and it didn’t look that much like she was only obligating herself to do so. Although Yaebin didn’t miss how distract she looked, as if her thoughts were far way of here.

She didn’t say anything, she wouldn’t. Whatever relationship they had, it wasn’t as simple as her other friendships and both of them knew it. Sometimes she wondered where it all would lead them, and she’d always brush the thought aside, insisting in keeping her mind in the present and not in some ambiguous predictions that might never come true.

“It indeed is. Spring is my favorite time of the year.” She beamed, averting her gaze from the girl to the cherry blossom tree that stand tall right beside the bench, showering them with its flowers. She loved the light pink of the flowers, the way it would always make everything look a bit more like the animated movies she used to watch and less like the grey streets of Seoul. Taking one  of the flower petals between her fingers, she smiled remembering where they had stopped last time.

“What is your favorite color?” It was always like this. Simple questions, bit of information exchanged as they tried to get to know each other without intruding too much. It was almost childish, but this approach was enough for now. If they were really soulmates – even if only as friends –, they had a whole life ahead of them, so there was no need to rush.

Yaebin’s voice took Minkyung out of her wandering thoughts, forcing her to pay attention. She followed the younger girl’s gaze, watching as the petals would float away as the wind hit the branches gently. It was beautiful. “I like it, even if it’s a bit colder than usual this year.” Or perhaps she only perceived it like that due to her emotional state. “I like black and white. But Kyung…I heard that white doesn’t count since it is only a mix of all colors.” She bit the interior of her cheek, hoping her little slip wouldn’t be noticed. She had told Yaebin about Kyungwon, but she never gave her any details. She felt like talk about her girlfriend would throw them back to the awkwardness of their first conversation that week, even if Yaebin didn’t mind, she wouldn’t be able to ignore the thoughts that would fill her mind.

Maybe Yaebin didn’t heard it, or she simply was kind enough to overlook it.  “Well, aren’t most colors just the result of other colors? In the end it’s all the same.” She left out a small chuckle, breaking the tension. “I like black as well. I have plenty of clothes in this color. My grandmother says I’ll be in a lot of trouble once I get a pet and the fur gets everywhere.”

“I had a dog when I was younger. He was white, so I can understand what your grandma means.” She laughed, more relieved than anything else. Minkyung thanked mentally for Yaebin be such an easy person to talk to. “So, why don’t you have any yet? Your place doesn’t allow animals or you just don’t have time?”

“I just never took the time to go to the shelter and find one. Not now, but things were very erratic before and I was a bit overwhelmed…” She still was, sometimes, when her mother would act before thinking and leave it up to her to fix everything. “I think I’ll try to go soon. I was thinking about a cat, maybe an orange one. My friend used to have one and he was the cutest.”

The conversation went pretty well after that, mainly focused on funny stories Yaebin had to tell about Lulu, her friend’s cat, and Minkyung’s dog. Eventually the conversation derivate to a topic Yaebin wasn’t so fond of, but it was impossible to simply ignore it forever: family. Minkyung, on the other hand, looked very comfortable talking about her family, clearly she had a good relationship with all of them.

“…And this one is Yewon, she is my little sister. She is kind of shy at first, but she is very friendly and the most gentle person I know. When we were small, she was always the one kid that would end up without any candy on Halloween because she would give hers to anyone who asked. I always had to look after her.” Minky giggled, showing a picture of herself and Yewon as kids, their parents were with them at the beach and they all had large smiles on their faces. The affection in her voice while talking about her sister was endearing, they seem really close and suddenly Yaebin wished she could meet the girl as well. “I guess she is a little less naïve now, besides she has Arin who takes good care of her. They work as musicians for the local orchestra…” She stopped midway scrolling through her phone, where she was supposed to find pictures of the adult Yewon.

 “You saw her already, at the concert a week or so ago, right? I was there, too. I saw you, but I don’t think you saw me.” Kim gave the shorter girl a stiff, awkward smile. Her tone was apologetic, making it clear to Yaebin that she had purposely avoided her – she wondered the reason why and it wasn’t hard to tell. Perhaps she should feel annoyed or even upset about it, but she find it hard to have any negative emotion regarding Minkyung. If she was in her shoes, maybe she wouldn’t even be here now.

Kim finally handed her the cellphone, allowing her to see a couple that smiled brightly to the camera. It was easy to spot who Minky’s sister was, she hadn’t changed much with time. “I try to always go and see them perform. Arin is also like a sister to me, so I feel very proud every time I got to see them both.”

Yaebin shook her head slightly, enjoying the little smile that was once more on Minkyung’s face – it wasn’t like any other smile she had seen before, it was genuine and so full of fondness…She wondered if that smile would ever be directed to her or if she had another one, a special one that was reserved only for her loved partner.

“I conclude that all the Kims are pretty with cute eye smiles then.” Giving back the phone to its legit owner, she decided was time to open up a bit as well. “My brother is in the army. He wants to have a military career, but my mom doesn’t really agree with it…” Yaebin grimaced. She couldn’t blame her mother for acting like that, although most countries were at peace now, being part of the army would always be a dangerous job and her mother couldn’t ignore it. The dark haired girl herself already had one or two heated discussions with her brother regarding it, after all he knew how hard things were without adding this to the equation – however, they couldn’t stop him and the family was having a hard time adjusting to his absences. “I should’ve suggested him to audition to the marching band.”

Minkyung nodded, seeming to understand the situation without needing to question. She gave her a reassuring smile, before standing up.

“Let’s grab something to eat. I don’t need to be home early today and I think it’s my time to pay since you always give me that delicious coffee.”

She looked down at the city, sitting on her comfortable chair by the balcony. A half cup of tea on hand, still steaming hot to the point that the metal slightly burnt her palm – she didn’t pay any attention to it, somehow it was good. Drinking the excessively hot liquid was one of her ways of feeling more alive, if this word was even appropriate to someone like her.

What makes one a god? What separates them from your average human? The answer was simple, yet underwhelming. Gods were nothing more than answers to humans prayers, they would come and go as needed, without a life of their own truly. Most of the times, they didn’t even had that much power – at least she didn’t.

Some called her Destiny, others Fate, the more skeptical called her Coincidence. The truth was, she was none of those. She was only a silent guard of the paths people choose to follow. She didn’t control them, she didn’t create them, her job was to only keep track of every single one and make sure time would follow its course and not stop for anyone.

It was a futile work, a heart breaking and frustrating task that never got easy. To watch it all happening and still be unable to do anything was slowly killing her – not her body, this human form that was nothing but a facade, but her true self, her will to keep going. Therefore, who could blame her for meddling sometimes? She was able to see every single possibility, all the paths that lead to happiness or pain, to success or suffering. How could she still stands and not try anything to help people pick the right way? She refused to believe that she was created only to act as a bystander.

It was impossible to just watch from faraway and she caught herself visiting more and more the human plan, for what was more a way of making her due existence a little more colorful than anything else. And the closer she got from their world, the more she wished to act and help, which inevitably  happened.

So she started her work, her real one. Through small things, a simple word or an object placed at the right time and place, could be enough to make people change their mind.  Nevertheless, there was only so much she could do. Her help was limited by many factors, one in particular. She couldn’t guide people through every choice of their lives, it wasn’t a simple task because every life was intertwined with so many others and every choice didn’t only affect one person, but many.

However, there were times where she couldn’t turn on a blind eye and pretend to not know what was coming next and how badly it could affect someone.

 Especially if it was one of the people she grew fond of while watching them. Now, one person in particular had her, almost, undivided attention most of the time. One of the funny things about her powers was that she could see all timelines that could happen, but rarely she would see herself involved in any. With this person, however, she was always present on her path. Not like a force of time, but like a close friend. Fate didn’t have many friends, even when she would walk on earth it was hard to relate to humans and create bonds. Although, it didn’t seem like the case here. No wonder she grew more and more attached to that child even before they actually interacted. The result, as expected, was disastrous.

That human didn’t have a typical timeline, her path was strongly attached to one single choice – one that she wasn’t even responsible for. Therefore, when Nayoung didn’t act as she was supposed – at least like Destiny thought was the right way – everything became chaotic and that’s when Fate decided to step in.

Right now, over ten years after she interfered on that human’s path, ignoring all the rules and overstepping Im’s domain, finally the stronger forces of the cosmos were working to bring everything to the places it was supposed to be in.

This time she couldn’t do anything, she had to stay put and watch as the treads of destiny created a new path that she couldn’t really predict. It was painful. Made her feel weird and nothing like herself. It made her feel vulnerable.

She also had to deal with Nayoung opposition and the weight of guilt for having affected not only one, but three lives.

The council would find out about what she had done sooner than later and they wouldn’t be merciful with her. What could they even do? She never really payed much attention to the council, but she was sure they wouldn’t overlook her actions.

With a deep sigh, the guardian of destiny entered the elevator that would take her to meet her favorite, and only, friend.

As soon as the doors opened she was welcome by Kyungwon’s tired smile as the girl waved to her in a greeting. She smiled back.

She couldn’t possibly regret saving that kid’s life.

“Kyungwon!” Rarely she and Kyungwon would come home at the same time, their schedules were too different for it, now more than ever. But that day, like an irony of destiny, here they were both at door as Kyungwon dialed the password that would allow them to come inside. The shorter girl, however, didn’t seem really surprised to see her only giving her a short nod as she opened the door and gestured to Minky go in first.

Turning on the lights, the older woman got rid of her shoes and left her purse on the couch, watching as Kang followed suit.

“You are home earlier today.” She chirped in, glad it wouldn’t be one of the days where she only got to see a glimpse of the other girl because she was too busy locked in her office or working somewhere else. Minkyung just couldn’t shake off the feeling that the brown haired woman was avoiding her. “You are working so hard lately. Is everything okay? Will you guys make it on time?”

“It’s not really early though.” Kyungwon shrugged after checking the watch on the wall.  “Don’t worry, we are almost done. Siyeon is faster than she looks and Sungyeon is helping out as well.” It wasn’t the most lively answer, but it was better than the silence that seem to fill the house all the time.

Minky nodded, raising the paper bag still in her hand so the girl could see it properly. “I bought you something to eat. You never eat properly when you are in your drawing marathons.”

“Oh, you had dinner already?” Kyungwon fixed her gaze at the restaurant’s name in the bag and nodded with a tight lipped smile. “Thank you.”

She hadn’t told that, but Kyungwon was far smarter than some may think and it was no wonder that she connected the dots and came to such conclusion with only a glance. “Oh, yes. I actually ate with…”

“I worked all day and my head is killing me.” The slightly shorter girl massaged her right temple, shutting her eyes like the pain was unbearable. Minkyung felt that it was more than just an act to change the subject. “Do you know if we still have any aspirin?”

“On the bathroom’s cabinet. Do you want me to get it for you?” She asked, ready to put down the food at the coffee table and go look for the medicine.

With a short, yet firm nod, Kyungwon declined. “That’s okay, I got it. Thank you.” With a small, overly polite smile she went away.

There was a strong, bitter sweet taste on the brunette’s mouth as she watched her girlfriend acting in such uncharacteristic way. Had they always been like this? Exchanging polite words that sounded way too formal and out of place, like strangers bumping into each other on the streets? Definitely not.

Minkyung set down the paper bag at the kitchen table, wondering if she should go on and prepare Kyungwon’s plate or go in and check on her. Ultimately she didn’t do anything, rooming around the room with a nervous energy she couldn’t get rid of.

The younger woman took a lot more time than needed, but once she came back, she seemed a little more approachable.

Minkyung asked her if she had find the medicine and taken it, receiving a short nod as confirmation. She decided that being more direct would be the best thing to break down the tension – or worsen it, if it was possible. “You know, you don’t have to find excuses. It was inconsiderate of me to talk about it anyway.”

“What are you saying? Of course I want to hear about your day.” There was it again, that smile that looking nothing like Kyungwon. “My head was just…Twitching from all the work.” She made a face, letting out a weak chuckle. “It will be fine soon. Why don’t you tell me what you did today while I eat?”

“Kyungwon. Are you sure?” The question was for both of them. Kim didn’t feel like she was sure of anything since it all began and it was unsetting. “You know, I can just…”

“It’s fine, Minkyungie.” The nickname, said with such ease, sounded weird to Minkyung’s ears. The last time she heard it was over an week ago and only now she realized how much she missed hearing it. “It’s only normal that I take interest on your life, it’s what couples do. Besides, I was the one that suggested you to befriend her, wasn’t I?”

“Yes, but…You don’t have to force yourself if it upsets you.”

A moment of silence, Kyungwon’s gaze wandering aimlessly through the kitchen as if she I was considering whether or not she should say something. In the end she didn’t, instead the younger woman focused on taking her food out of the bag and into the microwave. For the minute it took the meal to heat up, Minkyung could only watch as her girlfriend paced back and forth in a way that was almost childlike.

Kim didn’t say anything, she felt like she was always talking too much lately and it lead them nowhere.

“And here we are!” Kang pronounced, her tone filled with an excitation that didn’t match her eyes – nothing seem to be reflected in Kyungwon’s expressive eyes lately. They were always so dark, only mirroring the lights like they were made of glass. Minkyung hated it, moreover, she hated not knowing what to do to fix it. “I’m all ready! So, what were you saying?”

The taller woman sighed, sitting at the table, opposite to the other girl. Telling Kyungwon about her activities with her soulmate didn’t sound anything other than torture, however omitting things from her didn’t sound any better. It seem like she was always hurting her favorite person, no matter what she did.

“Work was fine, my boss is out for a couple of days, so I could actually leave on time for once…Then I headed to meet Yaebin at the park, you know the one that has all those cherry blossoms…” She slowly narrated it all, trying to tell every detail she could remember, inserting at the end her half hearted optimistic theories about how it all could help them to understand better the situation and how soon they would be able to move forward.

Kyungwon didn’t interrupted her not even once, keeping her eyes on her while she munched on the food without much enthusiasm – it was her favorite, still her expression didn’t light up not even once as she chewed.

“That’s good. I’m glad you are actually working things out.” She gave her an approval nod,  standing up to go and wash the things she just used. “And how it all made you feel?” Her tone was still the same, slightly curious but almost indifferent. She didn’t look at Minkyung, keeping her attention on her current task.

Minky pressed her hands against one another, trying to relieve the tension she felt ever since the beginning of the conversation.

“I…I guess it’s fine. It’s like talking to a friend.” She shrugged, wondering how honest see even sounded when she herself could barely wrap her mind around her own feelings.

Kyungwon turned off the water, drying her hands with calm motions, and only then she her heels to face the brunette. “Then that’s really good.” Another small smile, her chocolate brown eyes filled with a fondness Minkyung hadn’t seen in a while. “Remember that American show you like? Siyeonnie borrowed me some DVD’s, we can watch it a bit today. What do you think?” She changed subjects with ease, like the tension wasn’t there only a minute ago.

Kim was a bit taken aback by the sudden change of topic, and even more for how ease going her girlfriend seem to be about it. Although she could never refuse such invitation, not when she was clinging onto every – now rare – moment they spent together.

“We can binge watch it all if you want. I have a couple of sick leaves to use still.” Ditch work to act like a reckless teenager was so unlike her, however, the last month taught her to keep her priorities straight and make things between her and Kyungwon go back to normal was her number one priority in the moment.

“Now that’s what I always tell you!” The Kang smiled, the first real smile she gave her that night, and for a moment, it seemed like everything was okay.

But it wasn’t, it couldn’t be.

Kyulkyung anxiously paced back and forth, her eyes fixed on the taller girl’s back that remained completely unware of her presence. It was her last chance of helping an d she didn’t want to screw up – if she could possibly do so. Now she understood why Nayoung and her other ‘friend’ were so stressed always, playing with people’s lives and the consequences of it wasn’t something pleasant.

However, she didn’t have much of a choice. The little thing she was about to do was harmless, therefore it wasn’t the real reason for her state of nerves – it was the outcome it could have that scared her. Even Destiny herself couldn’t understand fully predict what was going to happen now, and Kyul couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Her plans depended more on Minkyung’s action than her own.

She approached one of the huge shelfs filled with only the newest books, and carefully selected one. The book was light enough to allow her to move it without much effort, drawing it back only enough for her to confirm the cover was red. The dark haired girl looked over her shoulder, checking if Minkyung noticed anything, but the older woman was still focused on her tasks and didn’t even spare her a glance.

The Chinese girl took a deep breath – more out of habit than need, since technically she didn’t even need to breath anymore – getting ready to grab the book and throw it out of the shelf as far as she could. The books at the Im’s Manuscripts would move at her will, but those books weren’t human artifacts that she wasn’t supposed to be able to touch any longer. To do such small task she had to put all her mighty on it, concentrating in the feeling of touch, trying to remember how it used to feel and how she could mimic it now.

As usual, it took her two tries to be able to grab the book and pull it forward, making it come crashing into the floor with a loud thud. This time she didn’t even need  to look over her shoulder to know Kim had stood up to come and check on what was going on.

“How did it fall? Someone must have misplaced it.” Minky spoke, more like mumbling to herself, as she leaned in to grab the book and inspect it. Ju thanked the gods for the girl be the only one working at the moment or else she would have to deal with a bunch of people thinking it was some sort of paranormal activity show – what wasn’t so far way of the truth.

“Remember the other book. The one you found at the old store.” She said, getting as close as she could from the girl, carefully to not touch her.  “Im’s manuscript. Go and grab that book, you liked it, remember?” Kyulkyung couldn’t tell how much of her words was being caught by Minky’s subconscious, but it wasn’t much more she could do. The woman had a puzzled look on her face as she carefully placed the book back in the shelf.

Kyul sighed. So much for a goddess assistant.

She passed by Minkyung, proceeding to touch the screen of the girl’s computer and then her cellphone.

It would take a little while, but she would notice the signals – hopefully. Kyulkyung needed that girl to come to the store as soon as possible.

Minkyung checked if there was any other book out of place, giving the shelf a skeptical look before coming back to her desk. It was evening already and she still had some work to do before she could leave, the last thing she wanted now was having to deal with was a crumbling bookshelf.

She barely started on her review about another one of their possible acquisitions, when a small notification popped up on the corner of the screen. She clicked it absentminded, ready to read another one of her boss’ unending complains about things she didn’t have control over. But instead, she only found a simple and direct email.

It was one of the bookstores she visited nearly a month ago, and took her a moment to remember which one it was. However, as soon as she did, she felt a knot of nervousness in her stomach. It was the creepy place filled with blank books about soulmates, the last place she visited before meeting Yaebin and getting her own soul mark.

The message on the email was simple, just an invitation for her to stop by and check everything. It was signed by someone named Im Nayoung, whom she presumed was the owner of the place.

Kim gnawed on her bottom lip, feeling uneasiness washing over her. Visiting the book store was pointless by now, her boss long forgotten about this ‘research’. Although Minkyung was having a hard time ignoring the invitation.

She had been so inside her own head with everything happening that she forgot about that bizarre afternoon at that place. All those old books seem useless back then, but now she found herself wishing she had payed more attention to them.

Reaching for her cellphone, she unlocked it and looked for the picture she took at the time, finding it easily. Just like the book that fell of the shelf early, this one had a red cover, albeit it was much bigger and heavier. Maybe she should go back and check it again, even if only to give her a peace of mind…After all, she was running out of options.

Deciding on finishing work early, she tried to focus on her current task, hoping she could do it before it was too late to visit the mysterious bookstore. Minkyung needed to go there and see the place for herself once more, maybe Nayoung could provide her some answers.

Perhaps it was just another useless try to solve all the mess that soulmate mark put her into. But still, it was worth the shot.

“Why can’t you mind your own business for once?” Nayoung asked, her usually calm tone sounding slightly annoyed at the shorter woman’s behavior.

“I wouldn’t need to interfere if you didn’t happen to be so incompetent at your work. Besides, as you know, your business affects mine.” The other shrugged, her eyes still focused on the work she was currently typing into her cellphone – Nayoung had no idea why she submitted herself to such mundane tasks when she was supposed to be watching the threads of destiny and making sure everything turned out for the best.

Disturb the goddess of love wasn’t an easy task, but she wasn’t facing an easy opponent. “You just want to mess with me and spoil your pet human, what I don’t think is part of your obligations.” She complained, stepping closer, making her tall figure stand tall closer to the petite girl.

The smirk on the girl’s face grew into a grin, completely unbothered by her attempts of intimidation. “I’m only giving her a fair chance at having the life you took away of her.” The guardian of fate crossed her arms, looking up at the woman with a glimpse of bitterness in her light brown orbs. She wasn’t fond of Nayoung, it was quite the opposite, and it didn’t look like it would change anytime soon.

Nayoung glared at her, a rare annoyed expression in her stone like face. The taller brunette also had her reasons to be annoyed, indeed, she had much more considering how much that woman was acting up to ruin her mood. “You should know better than toy with humans, Sungyeon.”

“You should know better than keep on making mistakes.” The brown haired girl hissed right back.

Her divergences with Nayoung and the council weren’t anything new, what didn’t mean she would ever let it die out. The soulmates system was great, she had to admit, but still she couldn’t overlook when things like that happen. Nayoung was right after all, she indeed had a favorite human and she was doing her best to give her what she deserved to have. Sungyeon had already acted, this was only the aftermath and they both knew it.

“You still didn’t have the right to meddle into that kid’s life so much. You changed their timelines only to give your girl a chance.” Nayoung pressured once more, tired of playing the elder’s game. She tried to overlook it at first, but she couldn’t turn on a blind eye forever, especially when it could lead to such disastrous outcome. “Now, how is this fair?”

“I didn’t affect their lives negatively! Yaebin’s father was destined to die either way, and you know that even I can’t do anything about it…Most of the time. I only guaranteed her a chance of living in a nice place and in a better environment for a couple of years.” And she only had done it in exchange of delaying a bit the girl’s meeting with Minkyung, what she didn’t feel the need to voice out, although Im surely knew it.

“Ten years is a lot of time for them! You gave Kyungwon a decade with Minkyung already. Now can’t you just let them follow the right path? Breaking the protocol won’t bring any good for us both.”

The goddess of destiny rolled her eyes at Love’s statement. Spending her very long life trying to create the best timelines she could and giving humans all the chances of making the right choices, only to see the fools choosing the most arduous path was a pain. As Destiny, she could only give them choices, being restricted by her fellow colleagues and their own plans on what was going to happen. Nayoung was supposed to consult with her before assigning the soulmates, to watch over every potential future e pick the best matches, yet the other woman still had ideas of her own and kept ruining Sungyeon’s delicate plans.

It would have been just fine had Nayoung not forgotten about Kyungwon’s birth – honestly, she was the older twin, how come Love forgot to take note of her and only assigned a soulmate to her little sister? – and left her out of her picks, assigning someone else to Minkyung.

It wasn’t the first time something like this happened, and usually they would try to work out on fixing it by assigning her a soulmate between the widows or another unfortunate soul that hadn’t been assigned to anyone thanks to Nayoung bad sleeping habits.

However, this time it wasn’t so simple. For Kyungwon, having Minkyung in her life was essential to guarantee her future, or at least it was at some point. Nayoung by forgetting to designate her soulmate, had also singed a death sentence for that kid. And now this, was something that Fate could never allow to happen. Sungyeon had taken a very special liking of the brown haired girl. To the point where she would even go to the extents of interacting with the girl using her human form. So of course she wouldn’t let Nayoung handle it – although it might make her receive another century of workload as punishment.

“Minkyung and Kyungwon were a match in the original timeline, the one you erased by mistake. Therefore, I’m only doing them a favor.”

Nayoung sighed, hands massaging her aching temples. Sungyeon was making her already busy life even busier, and it didn’t help that her nosy assistant was nowhere to be seen – probably busy with her own not so secret plans.

“What if Minkyung chooses Yaebin still? Or better, what if your favorite child decides to act all noble and simply leave?” Crossing her arms, she looked down on the woman that still remained sat on her comfortable chair in that average office that was so incredibly clean and bright, despite being located at the back of the old cramped library. “You and Kyulkyung didn’t plan things so well, did you?”

Sungyeon pressed her lips in a tight line. What she hated the most about gods was the fact that she couldn’t possible predict what they would do next, therefore she had to only count on her own luck. Her friendship with the Chinese assistant was more like an alliance to reach a common interest, something that Nayoung was trying to ruin.

“Then you will have things your way and I won’t interfere any longer. I promise, and as you know, I keep my word.”

Nayoung let out a heavy sigh, a wave of hand making the sign by the change from “OPEN” to “CLOSED”, just in time to Minkyung find it. The tall brunette looked frustrated, starting at the closed door for way too long before turning around to go away.

The two goddesses just watched as she made her way back, exchanging sharp glances. Nayoung, the youngest of the two, straighten her back, her expressionless face turning into a grimace. She was sick and tired of Sungyeon’s games. “I’m not giving you any more advantages, Destiny. You are only a guardian of the lines, you don’t get to choose what happens.”

Of course the shorter didn’t even flinch, instead her brown orbs were filled rage as she glared at Nayoung. “Neither do you, Love. Don’t forget that.” She took a step closer, her petite figure looking surprisingly hostile all of sudden. “It’s better for you to have me as a friend than an enemy. Keep that in mind.” Sungyeon graced her with a sarcastic smile, turning on her heels to leave the place.

Nayoung massaged her temples, feeling crushed by the weight of her responsibilities.

Sungyeon cursed to herself, steps hitting the ground strongly.

They both had their own visions of what was wrong and right. However, there was only so much they could do about it now.

Kyla shook her head, watching the duo from afar. As the oldest of them, she was rather nonchalant regarding human matters. She took a look at her wristwatch, glancing at the sky as a fine rain started to pour. She smiled to herself, a little voice on her head informing her that everything was going according to planned.

A/N: Hey there! I know I said I would post it all at once, but I have being super busy with college, so I decided to post this chapter now since it was already done. I'll try my best to finish the story before Christmas, but no promises because I may, or may not, be writing both endings right now...

Anyway, how did you guys liked it? I hope it gave you some answers about how everything works in this universe and the roles the characters play.

I’m sorry about any mistakes. Thank you for all the comments and support, see you soon!