I knelt down, grabbing the daily paper and letters that had been tossed in front of my door. I stood back up, fetching out my keys and opening up the door to my dorm.

I exited the hallway and entered the comfort of my home. “Wheeinie, we have mail!” I shouted, throwing the paper in the trash and looking at the two letters; one was addressed to me, the other to my roommate Wheein. I set hers on the coffee table, looking over the envelope of mine. “S. Moon Byul Yi” was the name it was addressed to. If the S wasn’t enough of a sign of importance, as well as the fact it was addressed to my full name instead of my code name, it was from the International Council Of Earth Defense, or ICED. Had it been from RK NCED (Republic of Korea’s National Council Of Earth Defense), perhaps I wouldn’t have been so alarmed. But I was.

My roommate emerged from the bathroom, wearing pink pajamas, her orange hair all over the place. “Who’s it from?” She was brushing her teeth, and I was barely able to understand her.

I scrunched my face up at her. “Spit your toothpaste out first, geez.”

She rolled her eyes at me. She turned around and dragged herself back to the bathroom for a couple of seconds before returning. “Better?”

“Yup. It’s from ICED, I doubt you want toothpaste stains on it.” Upon hearing my words, Wheein rushed over, grabbing her letter.

“Oh my God!” She looked from the envelope back to me. “Do you think we’ve been assigned partners?!”

I shrugged, grinning. “I hope. Let’s find out!” I began to carefully open the envelope, breaking the ornate, gold seal and assumed Wheein was doing the same. I pulled out the letter, heart racing.

“Unnie, we should read them one at a time! I’ll go first,” The younger cleared and attempted her best “narrator” voice. “Dear Sorceress Jung Wheein,” (she made a face saying “fancy”) “We are pleased to inform you that upon reviewing your credentials and blah blah blah, we, the International Council of Earth Defense, have determined that you are ready and worthy of being assigned a partner!” Her eyes lit up as she continued to read in silence. I grinned. Wheein had been labeled as one of the best sorceress trainees as of currently, and she deserved to finally be assigned. However, there was a sense of dread creeping up on me. I was leagues below Wheein, I’d been told that by many of our trainers.

“Ooh, more interesting stuff!” I looked back to my roommate. “Your partner is a well-trained Warrior named Hwasa. She graduated top of her class and is about your age. We sincerely hope the two of you will get along well.”

Wheein squealed, finally unable to contain her excitement. “Byul! You gotta read yours.”

I nodded and directed my attention toward my own letter. I examined the envelope for a couple more seconds before opening it.

“Dear Sorceress Moon Byul Yi,

We are pleased to inform you that upon reviewing your grades, as well as meeting you on multiple occasions, we have come to the conclusion that it would best suit the interests of both you and the council to assign you a partner.” YES. HELL YES. “Wheeinie, oh my star!”

She clapped her hands at me. “Unnie! Keep reading!” She requested excitedly.

I looked back at the letter. I skimmed over a bit more before it got interesting again. “Your partner is a warrior codename: Solar. It was in the hopes of the council that the two of you would be able to be able to be teamed together. We sincerely hope the two of you will be able to work together.”

“Oh my star…” Warrior/Sorceror teams were rarely chosen prematurely. I looked up at Wheein, whose hands had clasped over . We stared at each other for a few seconds, both surprised. I sat on the couch, feeling a grin spread across my face. Wheein came around the coffee table. I felt the couch shift as she sat next to me.

“Hwasa and I are set to meet in two months. You?”

I finished reading the letter, the small feeling of ecstasy slowly subsiding as I calmed down. “Yeah, on the first Friday of that month.”

I glanced at Wheein, who nodded. “First Wednesday for us. Oh my star, I’m so excited!”

“Hey, let’s go celebrate,” I stood up, grabbing a denim jacket.

Wheein jumped up, running down the hall. I was used to that habit, of her running off to do something without explaining. I stood by the door, leaning on it, still grinning.

My roommate returned a couple of minutes later, now donning a fluffy orange jacket and red converse. Her makeup was fixed, and she looked amazing as usual. “You ready?” I asked. She nodded. I opened the door, motioning for her to go first. “Then shall we?” She giggled, walking through the door. “You dork.”

I shut the door after us, locking it swiftly. I grinned as we naturally linked arms and headed out.