A/N: Happy (late TT-TT) birthday to matchasn0w/BlueKimchi!! They have my all of my uwus. Read their fics and send them love.

As always, thank you K.Morpho for betta (hehe) reading this chapter. A huge thank you to my other beta readers as well.

Vivi's name has been changed to Ara. I really apologize for the confusion, but I personally no longer feel comfortable using Kahei. 
EDIT: After several comments regarding Kahei -> Ara name change, it was mentioned on twitter how she might be uncomfortable with fans using the name 'Kahei' to refer to her. The Loona girl's have officially given her the name Ara, and I figure it is best to use it.

This is hands down, absolutely my favorite chapter of the bunch. This chapter makes me ridiculously happy. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

(PS: Be sure to read the Author Notes at the bottom after this chapter. >:3)

Arpeggiated synths accompanied by a simple 80’s kick drum plays in a constant low volume from above. The diner is lined with triangular patterns along the walls, bright colors seemingly more muted and pastel. And the world buzzes around the edges with a grainy film static.

Haseul adjusts the bandana around her hair, attempting to make do without a mirror. Despite the low, hushed ambience of people around her, a single glance would reveal no one seated in the nearby tables.

Ara sips from her glass of water. The strap of her overalls falling loosely off her shoulders. Haseul tracks the movement as she speaks.

“That’s essentially how my winter break went,” she says, “just spent some time at a science facility in Iceland. The auroras were so beautiful that it made me forget I was cold. I’d love to go back given the chance.”

Ara hums, mulling over the woman’s words.

“And you? Did you do anything exciting?”

“Not really. I spent it working,” Ara admits, stirring her drink. “I took an online class over the winter to get my final math credits out of the way. But I’m planning on visiting Hong Kong soon.”

Haseul frowns. “Is something going on? Is everything okay?”

“Oh, it’s fine; it’s supposed to be a secret. I’m flying back to give my mom a surprise birthday present.”

“What is it?”

Ara absentmindedly pulls the strap of her overalls back up, pushing herself on the table. “Me!”

Haseul’s fingers reach up to fix her bandana again. “Ahh, she would love it, I’m sure,” she says carefully, “you should tell me how it goes if you want to keep in touch?”

Haseul wonders if the offer was a bad idea, too forward for classmates meeting by whim. She catalogues the minute part of Ara’s lips, her eyes widening a fraction in surprise.

Then she’s smiling, a teasing quirk to her lips. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer. Hand me your phone.”

Haseul slides the device across the table after unlocking it.

“But enough about me.” Ara quickly taps and slides the phone back across the table. Haseul looks at the green and pink heart besides Ara’s name and flushes, repocketing her phone. “What have you been working on?”

Haseul’s insides squirm, faint pre-presentation anxieties.

“Ah, well. It’s― I’ve just finished a sixth prototype, but I’m still in the process of fine-tuning some of the safety implementations.”

Ara’s brow raises. “Intriguing. Do spill.”

“It was more simplistic than I thought it would be. The hardest part was― “ Haseul’s attention snaps away from Ara to outside the diner. Someone’s pounding on the window.

“That sounds complex to me.” Ara continues, like Haseul had finished the sentence anyways.

“It was a handful of trial and errors,” Haseul says, not missing a beat in conversation. “But it was all worthwhile otherwise, once I got inspired by―”

The knocking turns more volatile against the glass. No one is on the other side.

"―all of the pieces started coming together.”

Ara’s gaze burns right through her.

“You don’t have to hide it.”

Haseul stiffens.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” she says, hands reaching for the bandana for the nth time. She finally exhales quietly, tugging the bandana out of her hair entirely.

Haseul pulls the cloth over her eyes.

In between one blink and the next, the world is dressed to the nines in monochrome, muted colors wiped from the diner entirely. Ara’s overalls are replaced by a flowing white dress. Haseul’s sweater for a fine suit as black as night.

Ara’s concerned look doesn’t change, even as her eyes roll. An ivory cat unspools itself from her dress, forming out of the waves of rich garment, curling up on the table to the side. It falls asleep to the smooth jazz floating above.

“You really don’t have to sell yourself short, Haseul,” she says, determined. “Everything you’ve built, everything you’ve accomplished has always been impressive. Anyone could see the amount of work and passion you dedicate to your projects; it’s okay to show that off, to talk about it, and be prideful about them. Don’t just brush off your achievements.”

She leans forward, “Tell people, or at least tell me, that you sweat blood, time, and effort into your work,” and smirks.

“Then lowkey flaunt it.”

There’s a new lump trapped in . The door of the diner bursts open but Haseul can’t take her eyes off of the other woman.

Ara softens, blissfully unaware of the young girl in the tadpole onesie marching towards them. Her hand reaches towards Haseul. She brushes back Haseul’s blonde, short hair and tucks a white feather behind her ears.

“Let me in.”

The usual boyish waiter materializes beside the girls’ table, placing a plate with two red apples colored by an eerie glow before shyly vanishing into the back.

“After you?”

Haseul shakes her head firmly with a practiced smile. “I don’t like apples.”

Ara considers this and bites into her fruit.

Then she disappears.

 

“UNNIE, IF YOU DON’T. WAKE. UP!!”

 

Haseul stares at the spot where Ara was, then back to the girl looping through the motions of bursting through the diner and screaming at her. The glass of water that Ara leaves behind gains a crack from the sheer volume alone.

Haseul stares at the cup in bemusement as the diner gains the same crystal-shaped fractures.

 

“UNNIE, IF YOU DON’T WAKE UP, I’M GOING TO SHOOT YOU!!”

 

And the facade s h a t te rs l ik e the glass.

 

Haseul rises from her grave of feathery, pillowy down and nest of blankets, her mind lagging to sort out which parts of the dream actually happened and which parts didn’t.

She doesn’t know what she looks like, but she can hazard a guess from the way Yeojin’s standing in a T-pose, eyebrows furrowed up in fear.

“You… you actually got up.” Haseul’s eye twitches at the accusatory finger Yeojin points at her. “Who― Who are you? Are you a mirror doppleganger? My real sister would never wake up this early― OOF!” Haseul nails her in the face with a pillow.

“Get out of my room. I need to get ready for my guests.”

Haseul’s phone buzzes face-down where her pillow used to be. Yeojin blinks owlishly.

“Who?”

 

---

 

“Ok but what’s the project that Haseul’s so hyped about?” Hyunjin asks, tailing after the woman who has her eyes glued to the phone. Ara stops abruptly, squinting at her screen before replying.

“I’ll let you see it for yourself.”

She takes a sharp left and forges on, Hyunjin right at her heels. It’s a good day; bright, sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Sunshine beams down all over Seoul, just bordering on the edge of too warm.

Hyunjin adjusts the rim of her black sunhat. “You don’t even have a hint for me? Not one clue?”

Ara pauses.

“Whooooooosh,” she says solemnly, fingers wiggling in Hyunjin's direction.

Hyunjin’s caught between startled laughter and making a face at Ara’s back.

“Thank you, Ara, for being as unhelpful as always.”

“It’s something I’ve perfected through repeated encounters with you.”

The quip is the final nail in the coffin. Hyunjin’s pace falters momentarily, the grin on her face already in full bloom. Ara, the perfect definition of subtle, increases her strides to avoid whatever Hyunjin’s about to spout out.

“You have it so bad. I mean, waking up early? Being adorably and suspiciously more ambiguous than usual? Matching with me again?” Hyunjin nudges the rim of Ara’s own black cap. “Unprecedented.”

Hyunjin thinks Ara rolls her eyes; she feels the force of it more than anything. “Astute observations; I’m genuinely impressed.”

“Seriously, though. You really like her a lot.”

“Says you, Ms. ‘I Write Love Letters Every Day In My Free Time’.”

Hyunjin splutters. “Those are not what those are and you know it.”

Ara pockets her phone. A wayward, backward glance must have revealed something of worth in the other woman’s puppy eyes. Hyunjin sees the gears turning inside her head as she mulls over what to say.

“I think Haseul is charming,” she admits slowly, allowing Hyunjin to hook an arm around hers. “For all of her intelligence she’s actually quite humble. She just can’t help it when she’s excited about something. Honestly, it’s cute when she catches herself and tries to apologize for it. I try to tell her to drop the filter every time.”

Hyunjin hums in thought, reaching down to join their hands.

“It’s nice being on the same page for once; I won’t deny that we both mutually find each other attractive.” Ara’s smile is honestly infectious. “All that’s left is seeing where it takes us.”

They slow to a stop in front of a pair of grandiose gates. Hyunjin stares at the fountain just behind the gate, then at the hou― mansion that made all the other, basic, identical houses in the vicinity pale in comparison. Hyunjin closes with an audible clack of teeth.

“This is the place?”

“Yep.”

“Did she tell you she was, uh,” Hyunjin gestures with their joined hands to the fountain flocked with disturbingly Disney-esque doves, “rich, maybe?”

“Nope.” Ara stares in interest at the camera angled towards them on the brick wall of the gate, and at the big, fat orange frog sticker right underneath it saying, “Smile for the camera! >:3”

Hyunjin flashes a winning smile at the lens, tugging self-consciously at the drawstrings of her hoodie. “Are we underdressed? Maybe I should have brought a tie.”

Ara shakes her head. “Haseul’s never been one to care much for societal dress code. I doubt she’s going to start now.”

Hyunjin looks up at the sky, thinking back to the tiny, grass stained, hiding-in-bushes upperclassman.

“You’re probably right,” Hyunjin reluctantly admits. “So do we just… stand here, wave, and hope she sees us?”

Ara blinks slowly. “You can certainly try. Stand out here as long as you want. I did the easier thing and just texted her, though.”

Hyunjin makes another scrunched up expression even as Ara laughs, tugging her through the gates that just opened. Ara uses her free hand to ring the doorbell on the grand entrance of the mansion once they arrive at the double doors.

“You really like her, don’t you?” Hyunjin echoes the previous question, glancing at the woman who she usually tugs along for a ride.

Ara genuinely grins, a rare and handsome thing, squeezing Hyunjin’s hand. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

The doors burst open, a disheveled Haseul revealed from inside. She’s still in her pajamas, basic sweatpants with their university’s t-shirt thrown over top. Her glasses are askew, and some kind of oil stains her eyebrow. Hyunjin stares, pursing her lips.

She’s a (really cute) mess. No wonder Ara is so taken by her.

Haseul smiles sheepishly, pushing up her glasses with the base of her palm and combing through her messy strands of hair.

“Hello! I like your hats. Come in, come in! Oh, you can hang your hats here. Did you have to wait for long? Are you hungry? Do you want water?”

The house is just as grandiose as its outside appearances. Hyunjin slips her shoes off, eyes roaming over every inch of the mansion. Endearingly enough, Ara thumbs at the stain on Haseul’s brow before she steps fully inside; Haseul looks good when her cheeks are dusted with rose pink.

They both politely decline the long wait, food, and drink invitation, opting instead to drink in the wealth of the scene.

There’s a chandelier hanging directly above the main entrance. Intricate oil paintings of still life studies decorate the walls, one depicting breathtaking greenery and borderless skies, and another of an archaic inspired architectural design. (Hyunjin squints closely. She sees a small Lee H. at the bottom right hand corner.) There are expensive looking vases with real plants everywhere. The wooden floors are waxed and polished to the point that Hyunjin can see her own reflection with astonishing clarity.

Two staircases lead upstairs; Hyunjin thinks she spies movement out of her peripheral near the railings, but when she turns toward the source she finds nothing.

“You guys can follow me downstairs.”

She takes them further into the house. Hyunjin glances over the every odd family picture, nudging Ara when she sees chubby-faced, younger Haseul.

Ara reaches for her phone again.

Haseul sweeps a glance back at both of them when she hears the tell-tale sound of a picture being taken. Hyunjin raises her hands in innocence. Ara grins.

“Do you mind?” Ara asks, even as she takes a picture of present-day Haseul for kicks. Haseul rolls her eyes good-naturedly, making a check-mark under her chin to pose.

Cuuute?????

“So what’s the project you’re working on?” Hyunjin asks, amused. Haseul’s expression shifts to mild surprise.

“Ara, you didn’t tell her?”

“I figured you would explain it best.”

That’s probably true, regardless of the fact that Hyunjin would only catch about three-fourths of it. At least she’s fluent in motor-mouth, after spending time with both Heejin for a few days and… well, herself for about 18 years.

Embarrassment worms its way onto Haseul’s face; she looks like she’s prepared to say something but Ara’s raised brow must have shut her down.

“Well, ah. I spent winter break studying abroad in Iceland, interning in the research facilities located there.” She flicks on a light switch, the staircase leading downwards suddenly illuminated.

“Before the break, I was dissatisfied with all of my project ideas; a creator’s block, if you will. I had hoped the change of scenery would inspire something, and maybe strike some creative nerve.”

Everything feels a little Alice in Wonderland-esque, Haseul’s soft, smooth voice leading them further down the rabbit hole.

“As it turned out, I wasn’t all that far from the truth.”

Hyunjin definitely feels like she enters a new plane entirely as soon as they reach the final step.

The first thing Hyunjin sees is a large schematic attached to the wall, blueprints for a… backpack? Of sorts. The room itself is a startling sharp contrast to the cleanliness of the floor above: oil slick stains areas of the floor black, crumpled pieces of paper strewn about, tools and various scrap metal decorate the ground in random heap piles. The wall is adorned with disfigured, lopsided backpacks. All of them have bizarre, metallic attachments to the side, though they’re all too badly damaged or dented to properly examine what they are.

Hyunjin feels goosebumps raise along her arms, unsure if it’s from the chill of the room or from the thrill of curiosity. Haseul tosses on a lab coat off the wall, looking thoughtful.

“Welcome to the Nerd Nest,” a somewhat husky voice calls from behind the Build-A-Bear pair.

Hyunjin has to tilt her head up to see a young girl standing on the stairs, consequently towering over everyone else in the room. Decked out in a frog onesie and two space buns, she sips from a drinking yogurt brand Hyunjin hasn’t had since she was in elementary school.

“Ignore her, she’s my sister,” Haseul calls out, rummaging through a large container lying besides her workbench. Her desk has several stacks of paper airplanes and origami cranes, along with miscellaneous sizes of metal tubes. One of them hits the ground with a harsh and reverberating clang. “I promised her she can see this first test.”

“Im Yeojin, step-sibling.” Yeojin offers a quick but true bow, handing the duo two identical yogurt bottles pulled from her pockets. “Have a drink, Ara-unnie, Hyunjin-unnie.”

Hyunjin doesn’t remember introducing herself or ever becoming so familiar with the younger girl, but accepts the drink that’s shoved into her hands, anyways.

“Why do you call it the Nerd Nest?” Ara asks, bemused.

Yeojin throws her head back and cackles. “Ohohohoho! Cause she hates birds.”

Hyunjin nearly chokes on her drink.

“Where’s my drink?” Haseul whines.

“Get it yourself,” Yeojin says bluntly. Then takes an obnoxiously large swig from the beverage in her hand.

Incredible.

“While in Iceland,” Haseul clears loudly, “We found the remains of an airplane crash site― you guys can come in, just watch your step― (Hyunjin just barely pulls Ara before she slipped and died from an oil slick) but after climbing aboard, I got an idea.”

The trio crowd huddle carefully around Haseul like baby ducks, peering over her shoulder to look at her handiwork. Haseul looms over a 3D replica of the schematic against the wall, pouring a liquid much colder than ice into the invention.

“I examined the remaining parts left from the crash site, and admittedly, a rather childish dream returned to me.” A nervous, bubbling chuckle. “The jet engines on the plane were damaged beyond repair, but there was still some fuel remaining that I siphoned off from it.”

Hyunjin’s brows shoot towards her hairline and never come back down.

“Wait, you stole jet engine fuel?” Hyunjin asks.

“I― well. I don’t think anyone was going to use it otherwise.”

“She has a history of stealing our parents’ stuff too,” Yeojin whispers, “Our treehouse outside is permanently charred. It’s never going to grow leaves again.”

“Yeojin-ah,” the elder’s voice forebodingly flat. Her sister scrunches up her nose and sticks her tongue out from behind Ara, using her as a human Haseul deflector.

Whatever this verbal Tom and Jerry sibling dynamic is, Hyunjin is kind of living for it.

“Go on,” Ara says.

Haseul straps on her blue backpack with a grunt, fastening a harness that goes across her chest. It dwarfs her frame, making her look even tinier than she already is when she gestures to the side of the wall adorned with the backpack models. “It took more than a couple of prototypes to arrive to the latest version.”

“She made me play guinea pig every time,” Yeojin mutters under her breath.

“You were more than eager to be one,” Haseul counters easily. “I believe I finally have a rendition that works.”

“What is it?” The question poised at the tip of Hyunjin’s tongue since they entered the Nest finally finds its way out.

Haseul glances at Ara, and if Hyunjin had blinked she would have missed the way Ara nods almost imperceptibly.

“It’s always been a personal aspiration of mine to design a compact device, neither too bulky or cumbersome, that would allow for air and space travel by means of jet propulsion.”

Hyunjin takes a slow and tentative sip of her yogurt.

“So you… modified a backpack into a jetpack?” Hyunjin asks.

The blinding grin that Haseul dons is all the answer she needs.

“Basing the folds off of principles of origami, I was able to form a pattern of tiled parallelograms that would allow the contraption to collapse and unfurl with ease inside the backpack itself. Perfect for compacted storage! It was only a matter of finding materials whose durable, yet flexible properties could be toggled on the fly.”

Hyunjin’s mind feels like it’s folding in on itself just trying to understand the older woman.

Winter break was just barely over a month ago. Haseul completed five, no― six prototypes in the span of a month.

“...Oh my God. That’s― Haseul, that’s absolutely friggin’ incredible.” Hyunjin has never been so floored by another person before, air caught up somewhere in her chest and throat from sheer and utter disbelief. Haseul rocks back on her heels, pushes up her glasses with the bottom of her palms, suddenly bashful but still grinning from the praise.

“Thank you, Hyunjin. I worked hard on it.”

“You know, I said the exact same thing,” Ara muses aloud.

Yeojin snorts, but there’s a new, cocky smirk that complements the unbridled satisfaction in her eyes. “More like jump-jet. Haseul-unnie’s too scared to jump maybe two feet off the ground.“

“Is it your job to be annoying?” The sheer force of Haseul’s fluttering excitement dilutes the insult entirely.

“No. Just a special talent I cultivate for these moments.”

“But, how― So how does it work?” Hyunjin trips over her own excitement, performing bunny hops in childlike glee.

“It's simple if you break it down actually,” Haseul admits, listing off items on her hands. “You just need a set of perfect-sized turbine engines to generate enough downward to lift a human being, mm― a fuel tank, a battery, a steering and throttle mechanism for control, a custom-fit harness to keep yourself attached, and of course, the emergency safety components. I was going to test-run this today. Would you two… like to see?”

“Yes,” Ara says quickly, next to Hyunjin’s rapid fire nodding. Haseul laughs.

“The hardest part is containing it all effectively and ensuring it still functions. That includes a delicate balancing game between weight and power necessary for long-extended periods of flight, while keeping the engines from overheating. Let’s head outside!”

Suddenly the trio are tailing after Haseul in her homey, mint slippers back upstairs. How they don’t get stained with oil is a wonder in of itself. Hyunjin doubles back to grab their hats, faithfully plopping Ara’s back onto her head and donning hers.

“I’m still working out that last bit, although the liquid nitrogen coolant system should perform adequately. Oh, and this all comes tailored with a wireless helmet to monitor everything.”

Haseul picks up a modified motorcycle helmet off of the dinner table they pass. Yeojin takes the empty bottles of yogurt drinks before tossing them into the trash. “I did tailor this in mind to suit my own body dimensions but I think it’ll still work with you guys if you want to give it a shot. How much do you weigh?”

“I’m not sure, but we should be around the same weight?” Hyunjin offshoots.

Haseul hums, leading them through her mansion once again, but this time exiting through the back door.

She leads them into the backyard that’s a touch more modest than the house itself. With some bemusement, Hyunjin notes that the treehouse does look incredibly battered, marks etched along the bark and sometimes chunks missing out of it entirely. A zipline stretches from the treehouse to the roof of the house. She tilts her head up further, brows furrowing when she notices the rolling storm clouds above.

“So―“

They all jump when a booming crack of thunder interrupts Haseul. A water droplet falls on the rim of Hyunjin’s hat, slides down and hits her palm.

Strange. The weather was fine earlier.

“Unnie, you really have the worst of luck,” Yeojin says plainly.

“Surprise showers,” Ara mutters, scrolling through the weather app on her phone. “That is so weird. Oh! And there’s an eclipse happening next week.”

The other three make various levels of semi-interested noises.

Haseul squirms her way into her helmet with a stern resolve. “This amount of rain shouldn’t be a deterrent. Uhm, you guys can move over there.” She points to a picnic table with an umbrella outside. “I don’t really want you guys getting sick from the rain. Test flights can always come another day, if you ever want to return.”

They all set off in their own directions, Haseul in a jog towards the treehouse. Ara looks between her and the lightning arcing through the clouds.

“Aw, my hair’s gonna fizz up,” Hyunjin groans, placing her hands on her head.

“You look like the grudge when that happens,” Ara agrees.

Hyunjin snorts, then puts out an arm and jerks her head in her best grudge impression.

Ara laughs, shoving her forward towards the picnic table. Yeojin stares at the duo unabashedly, procuring yet another yogurt from the depths of her pockets.

“So,” she says, sliding into a chair and kicking her feet onto the table. “Haseul-unnie already kind of likes you both. I don’t have any advice to share that wouldn’t be redundant.” She tries so hard to look casual that it rounds right back to glaringly obvious who she’s talking about the most.

Guess Hyunjin’s not the only one privy to the undercurrent of tension between Haseul and Ara.

“That’s good,” Ara says mildly, watching Haseul disappear inside.

“It is. No amount of advice would help you understand unnie’s blabbermouth, anyway; if you don’t get it by the first few times then you’re a lost cause.”

The patter of rain starts to hit the umbrella more frequently. Yeojin sips her drink thoughtfully.

“It’s good that you two met her. She’s been stressed over people lately.”

“Hansol and Heejin looked pretty stressful,” Hyunjin agrees.

Yeojin’s face fluctuates through a multitude of complicated emotions. She downs her drink and doesn’t respond.

The next time they see Haseul, she’s strapped onto the zipline. She tugs at the zipline several times when her feet are firmly planted on the ground, testing the slack of the rope. The rain is already starting to pour down harder; her helmet drips from the wetness and her clothes are already soaked.

She fiddles with the strap of the backpack.

Then―

The backpack unfurls from itself; paper thin slices of geometric shapes swelling from her back. Sleek, glistening metallic triangles unfold in the rain, wings of alloy expanding and angling downwards. Lightning seizes throughout the sky, alive and unrelenting. It reflects in fractures off her wings and all they see is blazing platinum.

Haseul pulls at a black extendable cord from the sides of the backpack, wrapping her hands around the handles.

She throws a jaunty thumbs up in their general direction. Hyunjin and Ara forget to respond entirely, and Yeojin only smugly waves. She settles herself into a crouch: Haseul, the immovable object holding up the unrelenting weight of the heavens.

Nothing could prepare Hyunjin for the loud, high pitched keening of the jet engines starting up. Pure propulsional energy emitting from the jetpack slams into the other three. They recoil from the brutal force, Hyunjin and Ara both trying to keep their hat accessories. Air visibly whooshes out in a mushroom cloud from behind Haseul, sending water droplets flying into a fine mist off the grass in waves.

Hyunjin pushes against the howling winds to move in closer when Haseul straightens her form, lab coat billowing wildly from behind her―

―And she lifts straight up off the ground.

Yeojin’s roars of victory are barely audible over the combined chorus of noise from thunder and jet engines.

Hyunjin, even Ara, joins in on the hollering when Haseul ascends: five feet, ten feet, rain hammering against her, flooding torrents nonetheless unable to keep her down.

Haseul is stunning, dark gray clouds draped like a cloak around her body, and blinding lightning streaks jumping in halos around her head, looking like the picture of a demigod in the sky.

Ara seems to want to say she’s never seen anything more beautiful as the heavens claim Haseul for their own. The rain looks so, so cold, Hyunjin’s unable to stop shivering. But Haseul… Haseul looks thriving.

It’s no wonder they watch her fly until the clouds break for evening.

 

---

 

For once, Hyunjin is left alone to close up shop.

Her coworker was out the door as soon as it was closing time, the ‘open’ sign still spinning to ‘closed’ before she left. Ara, who she’s barely had any shifts with, has been too busy preparing for her trip to take frequent shifts.

That’s the excuse at least. Haseul unsurprisingly got sick after her flight, going into a sneezing fit the second she got inside. Knowing Ara’s fussiness, she’s most likely just camping out in Haseul’s front yard. Truth be told, Hyunjin’s all for her playing hooky if it helps her get closer with Haseul.

But it’s a different atmosphere being on her own, kind of like roaming the school hallways when no one’s around. A feeling like she’s not supposed to be here; a small, niggling doubt that something is missing, or wrong.

Spooky.

She dumps swept-up fluff into a garbage disposal before turning up the volume on her phone, letting Heejin’s chorus “Oh my god, yes!” blare through the Build-A-Bear until the whisper of doubt is hushed.

Luckily, there’s not a lot to clean up, just some minor sweeping and a bit of reorganization. She appraises the rest of the shop.

Yeah. Everything else could probably be left to the morning crew…?

Several lights flicker overhead.

Everything can definitely be left to the morning crew, Hyunjin decides, stuffing in her earphones as she picks up her belongings and strolls out the door.

The mall isn’t as vacant as it could be, which quells some of the liminal space vibes from the shop. She blends into the last, retiring night crowd, before splitting off back towards the campus.

The moon is gorgeous. Bright and huge and illuminating the entire city; if Hyunjin jumps a little higher she could graze the very bottom with her fingers.

(Echoes of pages turning. Rough biros across leaves of paper. The porcelain grinds against itself until it shatters, quiet whispering panic, URGENT in her ears.)

Hyunjin startles, hairs along her neck standing on end, yanking an earbud out to listen for the noise―

A garbage disposal rustles and bangs nearby. An ebony cat slinks out from behind it, moonlight painting white onto her silhouette. Bright yellow eyes blink slowly at Hyunjin in the dark. Her tail flicks towards her in a lazy invitation, before sliding into the shadows of an alleyway.

She follows the cat. As she’s done before. It reminds her of the time Haseul led them down a winding path, but without the warmth of her presence. Familiar buildings are unrecognizable and much more towering when cloaked in darkness and lit by moon.

The cat stays several paces ahead of Hyunjin, but the way she turns her head around occasionally betrays her seeming disinterest.

Hyunjin wishes she had her letters on her.

Shadows from buildings and street poles stretch endlessly, serving as a road-map outline honing on the cat. It gets harder to keep up however, even with the inky silhouettes guiding her way. The cat starts hopping from shadow to shadow, quickening its pace and no longer stopping to check behind. Hyunjin has to jog slightly to keep up, backtracking into different paths when she realizes she’s gone the wrong way. Several paces of distance extend to seemingly miles. Hyunjin sees the cat braced at the last fork in the road, eyes unblinking, flicking her tail for a final time before she turns the corner.

Hyunjin barrels forward, following but a shadow and a glimpse of hope, skidding to a stop to search for her and―

The cat is gone.

Hyunjin’s slightly harsher breathing disrupts the silence when she heads further into the alleyway, glancing into every hidden corner for yellow eyes. She clings to a chain link fence with a hole in it, too small for her to fit through, and the fence too collossal to climb. She grimaces.

When she turns back around, she finds a bracelet resting perfectly at the center stage of a street lamp spotlight. Curious, she moves closer, holding it up to the light for closer inspection.

It’s made from multi-colored, floral patterned beads. A golden tag with a bright pink pom is attached to the bracelet. Although she finds it on the ground, it looks newly made and untouched.

She rubs the beads in between her hands absentmindedly as she reorients herself. The massive maze of towering buildings scale back down to normal size. Shadows no longer move to direct her or stretch on for infinity. And the moon is out of Hyunjin’s reach.

She resumes on her way back home, examining the bracelet in detail as she traces the engraved letters on the golden tag: HYUNJIN.

Hyunjin is too preoccupied to watch where she’s walking. Of course it leads to her nearly ramming into strangers on the street, just barely stopping in time before an embarrassing collision.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” She takes several steps back and bows without much thought.

In spite of that, when she tries to move past them, they stay blocking her path. She feels her lips settle into an instinctive, almost-frown, glancing up at the men towering over her.

They wear too casual grins, cheeks aflame, arms thrown over one another, and clothes reeking with the sour stench of alcohol. There’s nothing left to the imagination with how they reached such a state when a bar is just down the street.

Too tall. Drunk. And in her way.

“Excuse me,” she says. Tone kept carefully blank. Pretending not to hear them whisper to each other about her being the ‘prettiest girl in the year’ when a whole Heejin existed.

“You’re really pretty,” the one on the left steamrolls over her attempt at escape, “would you like to join us for a drink?“

“No. I have somewhere to be.” They perform an admittedly impressive feat of dexterity when they slide right to block her path, again. The street is only so big.

“We only want to be friends with you,” the right one on the cusp of slurring, “you should listen to upperclassmen when they invite you to places.”

“No, thank you. I really have to go.” Another dogged attempt to escape left is similarly blocked.

She exhales in frustration.

“Just one drink,” the left one practically begs. “One drink wouldn’t hurt― “

Hyunjin’s ears catch footsteps hitting the pavement behind her. A cool hand wraps loosely around her heated wrist. Hyunjin’s heart stills in her ribcage, glancing down at pink nails reflecting neon shop lights.

“Ahh, there you are!” Heejin’s eyes are flourished with white gold from moon and lamps. Everything about her shimmers in the dark. “We were supposed to meet up somewhere else, remember?”

Hyunjin couldn’t even respond or nod if she wanted to, struck immobile, like she’d been Medusa’d with too close eye contact with Heejin. She doesn’t have time to have even the smallest tinge of self-consciousness without a physical barrier (distance or mascot) between them.

Heejin slowly turns to stare at the men, who stiffen under her gaze. Hyunjin doesn’t know what the other woman’s face looks like; Heejin’s angled and positioned herself as a barrier in between the men and Hyunjin.

(“That’s Jeon Heejin. The most famous girl at our school,” they whisper, “We don’t touch her.”

Hyunjin feels the air drop a couple of degrees.)

But she does remember Hansol’s reaction at the diner. And she sees the way their grins and good-humor slide away from their faces like water on marble, slack postures straightening under her gaze.

“Leave us alone.” Her emotionless voice squeezes at the throat of a peaceful night.

The drunk men taste the choked, frigid air and sober up fast.

Hyunjin probably doesn’t want to know what Heejin looks like, she rationalizes, watching the men mutter out apologies, and stumble back down the street. She doesn’t know how tense Heejin is until the other girl’s shoulders relax, releasing the hold on Hyunjin’s hand to run through her hair.

“They really couldn’t take no for an answer.” Heejin scowls at their backs. “That was… gross. You need to be more careful.”

Truthfully the encounter is already leaving Hyunjin’s memory. Her breath catches again when Heejin turns to her.

“Oh,” now fully studying her face, Heejin shifts on her feet, “I’ve seen you on campus.” Heejin is finally, finally looking at her, past the mascot suit and not from a distance away. But there’s a noticeable, new tension in her body. Discomforted, Heejin steps away from Hyunjin and Hyunjin’s stomach drops.

“I’ve seen you around, too.” Hyunjin says hesitatingly. Understatement of the year, but she’s still scrambling through previous memories to find out why Heejin is suddenly so muted.

“Do you have a lot of classes at the arts building?”

It feels like fumbling through a conversational minefield. Hyunjin has no idea how to respond to the too casual non-sequitur, to avoid it blowing up in her face.

“Not really,” she settles on the truth. “I just loiter. I’m not in the art fields.”

“That’s a shame,” Heejin replies easily. “We have good architecture classes at our university. And great artists, too.”

Hyunjin knows there’s something deeper that she’s missing, buried underneath the seemingly innocuous statement. But in her bubbling panic looking for a lifeline out, she ignores the signs, jumps for the bait, and hopes there isn’t a hook attached.

“I agree!” Hyunjin says, bouncing in place, stumbling to escape this conversation. “We have one of the best architecture studies in the country, and it really shows. The schematics around campus are stunning, especially the new art mural. I know it was designed by one of our own students, after one of his paintings was showcased―”

Hyunjin snaps her jaw shut, horrified when the glimmer in Heejin dims.

The gears groan and grind against each other as they’re forced into place. The only way Heejin ever sees her, the only time she ever sees her is with…

Oh no.

Heejin keeps her voice unnervingly steady. Marigold eyes. “A friend of yours?”

Hyunjin can’t look directly at her, biting down hard on her bottom lip. “I―no. No, I don’t know him. Not like that.”

Heejin tries heartbreakingly hard to hide herself as she confronts the breadth of her accusations, the reason why she had them at all.

“We’re… just,” Hyunjin tries, tries to ease the burden. “We’re just acquainted.”

“Acquainted, right.” Heejin repeats the word, bitter on her tongue. She nods slowly, shoulders slumped. “Right.”

The glimmer in her eyes is missing. Her personality is all wrong. Heejin is never supposed to look this sad or down or defeated, and it’s kind of like, Hyunjin’s job to make sure Heejin’s smiling.

She feels helpless.

“I’m sorry that happened, earlier; they really shouldn’t have tried to keep on talking to you.” Heejin rocks up to her tiptoes and back to her heels. A mere ghost of her bunny hops. “I’ll, uhm. I’ll see you around. Stay safe,” she says. The window of opportunity slides shut.

Hyunjin’s heart hurdles back to life, thumping hard to make up for the beats it missed. Heejin starts to turn back towards the streets with a wave, shoulders pulled in.

This is the only opportunity she’s going to get to talk to Heejin, she realizes, heart lurching to . There’s nothing here to interrupt her. No birds, no boyfriend, no stupid stuffy costume in the way. This is the only chance she’s ever going to get.

Maybe being around you like this just isn’t enough.

Her feet start moving before she’s conscious of it, sneakers pounding hard against pavement to run after Heejin.

Everything she’s rehearsed, polished to a spit-shine perfection has always worked! In theory. It was simple stuff, really, not jetpack science. Things just sort of… got in the way, sometimes.

So, really, she should have accounted for Heejin being that last unknown factor.

“Uhm!” Hyunjin says, eloquently. Her brain short-circuiting from how close they were.

Heejin’s brow twitches up minutely, glancing down at Hyunjin’s limp hand just barely holding onto her wrist.

“Did you need something… else?”

Words? Words!?

In this situation!??!?!?

“How, uh. How― you, have you visited any Build-A-Bears recently?”

“Uhhhh,” Heejin says. Okay, she looks a little suspicious and freaked out but she isn’t sad anymore and Hyunjin can save this.

“Because you look prettier without my face on.”

Oh, oh my god. Oh my god.

Heejin’s suspicious face ratchets straight up to horrified, tugging herself quickly out of Hyunjin’s grip and shuffling down the alley. “Uhhhhhh??“

“WITHOUT MY HEAD ON,” Hyunjin rushes to correct, before she could make it farther down the street. She shuffles even faster. “WITHOUT― WITHOUT MY CAT HEAD ON."

Then she freezes, stock-still. And slowly turns back around.

Familiarity starts sparking in Heejin’s eyes, watching Hyunjin perform the embarrassing wave she does every time a kid passes by her. Hyunjin’s throat feels tight for a different reason entirely when hard tension haltingly eases out of Heejin’s shoulders, eyes dawning in slow recognition.

“...Whiskers?” Heejin asks, hushed.

Yes?

“I… ” Hyunjin swallows, “I actually go by Hyunjin when I’m not working.”

The air stills between them.

“You― you don’t,” Heejin clumsily grasps for words. “You’re not―”

“No,” Hyunjin supplies quickly, “it was never like that.” This time, there’s no sinking hurt in Heejin following the adamant denial.

And for once Hyunjin isn’t watching her leave, incapable of following after her. For once, Heejin starts walking back, closing the distance between them.

“We kept on running into each other,” Hyunjin rambles, “he found out about Whiskers looking for you. He’s― he’s nice. I think. He’s kind of okay.”

Heejin snorts around a disbelieving giggle, a sound that Hyunjin’s heard before many times. Suddenly it fills her with a bone-deep relief, knees going weak.

“You know,” Heejin says, right in front of Hyunjin. She carefully uncurls Hyunjin’s hand still in the pose and holds it in between her own, “I kind of thought you’d be just as awkward inside the costume and out.”

 

---

 

“―It was embarrassing when they asked me to sign their albums, but I was also really flattered. And excited. People are actually listening to my songs. Like I wanted to cry but I held it in.”

Heejin vibrates from her excitement. Whiskers starts vibrating at the same frequency from across the mall table.

“Bye, Whiskers!” A kid shouts at her after leaving the Build-A-Bear. Hyunjin curls her hand into a familiar wave. When she turns back to her partner, Heejin is performing the same wave with a smirk.

For someone in a mascot costume, Hyunjin thinks she does a good impression of rolling her eyes.

“So…” Heejin takes her fork and cuts into her cake. “Are you going to take off your suit? You are on break, right?”

Oh.

Some habits die hard. Hyunjin takes off her helmet, setting it down onto the table. Then she fiddles with the uniform zipper on the back, pulling it down until her upper body is free.

“I forgot to mention last night,” Heejin drawls, twirling her fork. “But you have freakishly huge paws underneath the costume, too.”

Hyunjin looks down at her hands and makes a face at Heejin.

“Excuse you,” she says, swiping Heejin’s fork with her paws and taking a bite of the cake. “Maybe your paw― hands are just really tiny.” Heejin rolls her eyes and takes the fork back.

“Anyway,” Hyunjin, hums, swallowing the cake. “You were saying?”

Heejin muses. “It’s nice that people aren’t afraid to approach me, anymore. Sometimes knowing that people have expectations, but not what they are or what they’ve heard about me is taxing.”

She waves vaguely. Hyunjin gets it, nodding in agreement. “It makes talking to people a little harder.”

Heejin looks relieved that she doesn’t have to explain. “You too?”

“Kind of? A lot of people ask me to sign up for sports clubs, but as of right now I’m only interested in the basketball one.” Heejin nods, like she knew this. Hyunjin tries to hide her delight. “I think some people in the club had some dissonance, comparing what they think they know about me to how I act.”

Hyunjin genuinely has a lot of fun subverting strangers expectations. The basketball captain looked like she regretted asking Hyunjin to join at all the first time she barked. Heejin’s shoulders shake with restrained laughter when Hyunjin relays the story back, wide smile hidden behind a hand.

“You’re one of a kind,” Heejin says in between her chuckles.

“I don’t think I ever had it as bad as you do, though.”

“It was kind of lonely,” she admits. “I’m lucky to have a couple of friends who didn’t really care about gossip.”

Hyunjin’s heart twinges.

Heejin rolls her eyes, and shoves a piece of cake into Hyunjin’s mouth. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m totally okay now, and people are calming down about rumors and my music thing.”

Her ‘music thing’, she says. Completely blase. Like her EP isn’t rocketing up the Melon charts.

“I’m including you in the friend list, by the way,” Heejin says after a beat. Hyunjin’s heart hammers, though outwardly she scoffs. The cake’s sweet frosting lingers in .

“You better. Do you know how much effort I went through to even talk to you? You’re impossible.”

“Hmm, well. I have some ideas.” Heejin pretends to deliberate, hand coming under her chin. “Work a job at Build-A-Bear. Trip a full person into a fountain. Get caught in an alleyway. Am I missing anything?”

Hyunjin’s flashbacks run through her head like a movie montage.

“You have… no idea.” She shudders.

“Oooh, you have me all curious. Now you gotta tell me.” A pause. “You really could have just taken off the helmet, though. I legitimately thought you didn’t want me to know who you were, or that you didn’t want to take off the costume.”

(The first time they met Hyunjin was still on shift, and taking off her helmet would have been a major no-no. Every other time she could have shed the outfit since she was on break. Her manager didn’t really care where she went during her breaks with the costume on; more publicity for the shop if she is seen walking around the mall.)

“I, I dunno. I thought it would be awkward or something if I just.” Hyunjin makes a wide sweeping gesture that somehow Heejin just gets. “I wanted to talk to you outside of this setting, I guess. I thought― I thought I would ruin it, if I took off the mask.” Her voice gets small. “I really wanted to be your friend.”

Heejin looks impossibly fond, soft in the cherry blossom sunset. “You’re an idiot.” She links their fingers together. “It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing the costume or not. Haven’t you heard? It’s what’s on the inside that matters.” She nods sagely, her other hand over her heart.

Hyunjin’s bubbling laughter is a little wet, looking down at their joined hands. Everything about this situation is foreign. Heejin makes her feel like she’s stepped foot inside the mall for the first time in forever. Suddenly the colors of sunset sinking above the skylights, scattering light on the fountain water, are just as awe-inspiring as the first time she came here as a kid.

“Thank you, for your infinite wisdom, Heejin.”

A small, soft smirk. “I’ve been known to impress.”

Hyunjin clears , squeezing Heejin’s hand slightly.

“So. Remember the day you were mobbed by birds?”

 

A pause.

 

“...N-no?”


 

A/N: I've been waiting to add the fantasy tag to this work for years. My goodness. It's taken a little bit.

I don't usually ask for comments, but for this chapter it would be nice to gauge reader reaction and interaction, haha. As much as I knew this was the direction I wanted to go, I also knew I would lose readers once the mascot AU turned sideways. It's lowkey false advertising. Comments would be very encouraging!

Shameless self-plug: I have a twitter and curiouscat under the same alias, if you guys ever want to talk to me about this fic. (Like legit, we, K.Morpho and I, have so much stuff planned for this fic. Green dove is literally Foreshadowing The Chapter. Tell us theories, ask us your questions! We would be so delighted.) Or hmu for anything else! I don't bite :D

If you're not into my personal tweets, but you are interested in any weird, spoilery subtweeting I do in regards to this project + future fics, follow @k_morpho on twitter- my partner in crime and creation. They're documenting all of my works and retweeting the important stuff, or random related, miscellaneous tweets. Check them out!

As always, thank you so, so much for reading.