Chapter 38

Memory of Malevolence

Yongsun knows, immediately, that everything had gone all the wrong way possible the moment she opened the door to a tearful Mina. Dahyun said nothing, only slumping into her hug, and Yongsun said nothing back, despite the damp clothes Dahyun wore that dampened her own clothes as well. The absence of their red-haired 'sister' doesn't surprise Yongsun as much as it should, yet still her heart is filled with nothing but worry and fear of the well-being of her Phoenix sister.

"They took her to their region," Dahyun says when Yongsun helps her clean up. The youngest of the three is subtly shaking following her explanation. "We don't know what will happen to her. We also can't come to their region to see her because their defense don't allow us to. We...we can only...wait."

Mina adds nothing, only staring at Dahyun and Yongsun with a hollow look in her face.

"Then, we wait. There's nothing we can do for now. You had gone through a lot, so for now it's best for you to rest. Let's hope for the best, and wait."

Yongsun doesn't know where did her strong facade come from. Her firm tone surprises herself more than it bothers Dahyun and Mina. The two only nod, laying on their own bed before bidding Yongsun good night. She waits for a while in front of their bedroom until they fall asleep. Mina's the first to snore, while Dahyun takes her time to caress the empty space at her side before she also closes her eyes.

That night, Yongsun doesn't cry, but she knows that her heart has shattered to pieces as her breath gradually becomes shorter.

###

A cat visits her in her dream.

A peculiar blue-eyed cat with twilight coat, bitten between its teeth a scarlet tanager. The cat stares at her for a long while, then puts the bird right in front of Yongsun's feet. Yongsun watches the bird, unmoving, bathed in liquid that darkens its already bright red feather. But somehow, Yongsun knows the songbird is not the only one who got broken.

"Seungwan... was it?"

The cat doesn't budge, doesn't flinch, doesn't speak. It simply keeps its gaze straight to Yongsun's own.

"You're the one who hurt her?"

The cat bows. Then, Yongsun sees them. The red lines crisscrossing its blue fur, the glazed look in its eye, the way it supports its weight on its left side, the gaping hole at the center of its chest. The cat bows to Yongsun once again before turning back.

"No, it's—"

The cat looks back. Yongsun shuts , wondering what are the things she should say to the cat.

After a few seconds of pondering, Yongsun says, "It's not you, isn't it? It... it was never you. You're just trying to protect her."

Only a blink answers her.

"..I trust you."

She's not sure why she said that, but the cat seems stunned by her words. After that, it looks as if it's smiling at her, and nods once as it disappears.

I won't disappoint, keeper. Not anymore.

#

#

#

It feels as if she's floating.

Maybe it's the Soul Plane, maybe it's not. All Jihyo could sense from her surroundings is pitch darkness. Also a soft, furry bed she's laying at, much like a beast's hide. A puff of breath on her face prompts Jihyo to open her eyes. It's not as heavy as she thought it would be, and the moment she's able to see she finds a pair of silver eyes staring back at her.

Fear immediately constricts her heart, but she keeps her silence while looking straight at the foreign beast. Her body feels weird, her entire existence feels weird, that she wonders whether this experience of hers is a mere dream or a reality. She thought that, if this is a dream, then she wouldn't have to fear Wendy, for the Kirin had never hurt her in dreams. Jihyo's silence apparently doesn't bother the beast. It moves its head back once it confirms that Jihyo is awake.

Jihyo blinks when she realizes that the beast isn't the one she's afraid of. Instead, it's a kitsune, one looking so much alike to Momo, just with dark brown fur and silver eyes. The giant fox stares at her with its brilliant eyes, full of kindness and care. Its look is somehow enough to give Jihyo the strength to open and ask, "Who are you?"

The kitsune chuffs. "I was asked to keep you company."

Sounds like a girl. Clearing her dry throat, Jihyo asks again, "By who?"

"By the one who brought you here." She answers calmly, resting her head on her crossed paws. "She doesn't want you, so you're going to return, soon. The little one is trying her hardest."

Before Jihyo could question further, the kitsune suddenly stands up, almost throwing Jihyo off. She sniffs the stagnant air, then smiles to the confused girl. "Go on. Go home, Phoenix. Perhaps, you'd become the answer she's been looking for so long."

The kitsune's gaze falls just as a bright light shines from somewhere in the deep dark, illuminating them both that Jihyo has to cover her eyes. She hears the kitsune whispering, "An answer I myself had failed to become," before her vision blurs and the darkness shifts into something kinda blue.

Blinking repeatedly, Jihyo slowly feels her senses coming back to her as felt by the different sensation under her touch. Silk, unlike the beast's fur from before, and she recognizes the bluish thing she first sees when she opened her eyes is that of a hanging glass lamp. Jihyo groans. Her entire body feels numb, but she can't deny that there's a certain sensation that refreshes her aching muscles.

"Jihyo-sshi?"

Jihyo blinks when she hears her name being called. She turns her head, just in time with a small furry face entering her field of vision. Yeri's dark yellow eyes meet hers and the caracal's face melts into relief. The feline Anihuman nuzzles her nose to Jihyo's cheeks before jumping down.

Yeri disappears from Jihyo's sight for a while. When she returns, she wears her human skin and she brings a glass of water complete with a straw, offering it to Jihyo who eagerly accepts. Yeri waits until Jihyo's finished drinking, then puts the empty glass on the bedside cabinet.

"How are you feeling?" asks her as her hand hovers on Jihyo's chest, her gentle purple aura giving warmth to Jihyo.

Jihyo pauses, contemplating all the feelings contained within her body. "Good, kinda. A bit sore. Feels like I just woke up from a long nap."

Yeri laughs at that. "Technically, you did. It's been three days since... you remember what happened, right?"

Of course Jihyo remembers. Despite the warmth Yeri gives and the serenity of this foreign bedroom she's sleeping in, the terror and the memories of the silver-eyed Kirin she fought days ago are still fresh in her mind. Jihyo shudders, feeling her senses alight with fear as if Wendy's here with her. She still remembers the damp air Wendy breathed down her neck. Remembers the crushing weight on her back and the claws digging into the ground beside her head. The feeling of helplessness as Wendy tore her soul apart.

A tingling sensation on her left arm wakes Jihyo back from her gruesome memory. She looks down at her arm, seeing a glowing blue band wrapped around her wrist. A small line connects the band with a medium-sized metal tank at the corner of the room. The base of the metal tank seems to be made of glass filled with liquid that glows the same shade as the band circling Jihyo's wrist. Before she could ask, Yeri answers.

"That's the device that supported your life for the past three days," she says. "A device Seungwan-unnie herself designed. She told us long ago that if anyone has a chance of surviving after being devoured, we should bring them here to refill their power. No one knows what's inside that reservoir aside from her, but it works nonetheless, and so here we are."

Jihyo nods in understanding. She looks around to find that the room she's staying is an actual bedroom; most probably Seungwan's. Aside from the device, only normal furnitures fill the room. There's a wooden closet at the north side of the room, laying beside it a pile of sword prototypes. There's also a huge window on the opposite side of the bed. Jihyo could see the orange sky of the Red Velvet region and the setting sun from the open window.

"It's almost time for dinner." Yeri's voice catches Jihyo's attention. The caracal is smiling warmly as she sits on the bed. "Outside of Seungwan-unnie's device's help, I think I've healed you nicely. If you're feeling strong enough, I'll help you bathe and we can join the others to eat. You don't have to worry about Wendy. We locked her up in a special cellar for the time being."

Jihyo exhales and she moves her arm. After that, she rouses up, thanking Yeri who helps her in sitting down. She hums for a while as she stretches her limbs, testing her strength.

"I guess, dinner sounds nice."

###

The three older Red Velvet rulers near jump out of their skins when Yeri enters their dining room with Jihyo in her embrace. Seulgi is the calmest, only raising her head and smiles in relief. Joohyun stands up from her seat but she refrains from leaving as she sees her younger comrade running off her seat. Joy is the one who immediately scramble to the two, almost tripping on her own feet, but she manages to approach them and wraps her own arms around Jihyo's trembling figure.

"Jihyo! You're awake!" The Panther cries out, elated. "Why are you out here already?" Then she narrows her eyes to their youngest who shrugs.

"She needs to eat. And I suppose that moving around will help her regain her footing instead of laying down all day." Yeri explains as they guide Jihyo to the empty seat beside Seulgi's.

Jihyo nods to the bear as she drapes the blanket Yeri had wrapped her with to the backrest. Taking another look to Seulgi, she notices how the bear looks a tad bit paler than usual, with a pair of heavy eyebags and sagging shoulders. Even compared to herself, who had spent the past three days unconscious, Seulgi looks far worse.

Tapping Seulgi's arm once, Jihyo asks, "Are you okay, Seulgi-sshi?"

Seulgi chuckles. "The usual. I always got sick after sealing Wendy. Don't worry, I'll be okay in a few days."

"Sealing?"

"For someone as strong and dangerous as Wendy, we need so many extra precautions on handling her." Joohyun chimes in while distributing the plates. "Even when she's dormant, we already have multiple seals on her. Moreover when she's awake."

Jihyo nods in gratitude when Joy puts a chunk of meat on Jihyo's plate. She then turns to Joohyun with a smile. "Thank you for saving me."

Joohyun swats her hand. "Don't mention it. Instead, we're grateful we can finally save anyone from Wendy's jaw. Your friends helped a lot."

"My friends?"

"Yep. Momo especially. You should really thank her because if she wasn't there, you wouldn't be here now," says Joy while patting Jihyo's back. "Now, now. We should eat first. Once you've regained enough strength, we can talk about it later."

The five young Anihumans eat their dinner in silence, only the sounds of their silver utensils echoing in the wide dining room. Half-way through the dinner, Seulgi falters, almost falling face first to her plate had Joohyun not fast enough to catch her. The bear apologizes for her sudden declining condition and decides to retreat to her room. Joy follows, taking some cakes with her in case Seulgi is still hungry.

With only three of them left, Joohyun slides closer to Jihyo. The younger girl's empty plate puts a frown on the Tigress' face. "Please eat more, Jihyo. You need to replenish your strength," says her as she pushes a glass of fresh milk to Jihyo.

"Thank you, Joohyun-sshi, but I think I'm good." Jihyo giggles. "Honestly, I'm feeling so much better. It just feels like I overslept."

Joohyun nods. "That's great, then."

Her sentence sounds incomplete, but for Joohyun to pause and looks like she's mulling over her words, maybe Jihyo isn't too keen to know what the Tigress was about to say. Clearing , Joohyun picks up their used plates and pile them up at the corner of the table.

"Don't worry about it, Yerim will take care of it later." Joohyun says when Jihyo stares in concern at her junk, in turns making Yeri glare at her. The eldest in the room takes Jihyo's hand in hers, then smiles. "Say, would you like to take a walk with me?"

###

Joohyun takes Jihyo to a flower garden just behind their headquarter. Instead of the massive castle as owned by the Soshi team, Red Velvet's is more of a mansion with forests surrounding it. Joohyun told her that there's also a fort-like structure protecting the establishment, though it won't be seen from the mansion.

The flower garden is lit with gentle orange light from the surrounding lamps. There are also some flowers glowing within the dark and fireflies illuminating the otherwise dark field. Joohyun brings Jihyo to sit on a bench just under a lamp in front of a rose bush.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" asks Joohyun and Jihyo nods.

"It is, Joohyun-sshi." Jihyo brushes her hand over a blooming rose. "I could see the love poured in taking care of this garden. You must have worked hard. I have always wished to have my own garden when I become a ruler, too."

Joohyun's soft smile holds secrets, though she opts to shift her gaze to somewhere faraway. "In a scale of one to ten, how surprised would you be to know that this garden belongs to Seungwan?"

Jihyo pauses.

Pulling her hand back, Jihyo turns to look at the ruler. Joohyun doesn't bother to look back at her so Jihyo casts her gaze to the garden. "Yerim had.. told me about the gist of Seungwan-sshi's situation before. I'm not surprised this belongs to her. She is.. kind. Compassionate. To me, and to Momoring, too."

Joohyun hums.

"Seungwan was a kind kid. She still is." The Tigress takes a photograph out of her pocket. She gives it to Jihyo who immediately checks the photograph. There are three girls there. The leftmost girl hugs an orange cat and a turtle. The rightmost girl has a white rabbit in her embrace and a small black chick standing between her light brown hair. In the middle is a black-haired girl, standing on her shoulder a squirrel who hugs her cheek with its small arms.

"When we were juveniles, no one thought any of us would become a Special. Let alone a Legend." Joohyun starts her story while Jihyo's still examining the image. "Our animal forms were so small and damn were we useless. Seulgi was our biggest, and even then, she was a house cat—one of the smallest kind. I wasn't any much different from her being a rabbit myself. Yerim was.. big, kinda. Tanky, but she's also the slowest out of everyone. I won't even explain any further about Joy. I accidentally fell on her once when we were both in our animal forms and she had a broken leg after that."

Jihyo has to stifle a laughter. By Joohyun's explanation, she guesses Joy was the black chick in the photograph.

"Seungwan was also so small. Second after Joy. Though, a tad bit more useful in combat because she was swift in climbing."

The squirrel, then.

"Five eras ago," Joohyun picks up a fallen orchid laying on her feet, playing with its almost dry petals, "we somehow passed the academy test and got sent into the human world. We had three keepers. Me and Joy with Eugene-unnie, Seul and Yerim with Shoo-unnie, Seungwan with Bada-unnie. It wasn't long until this region's previous rulers, a team called BEAST, summoned us here and held the tests for us."

"What were your tests?" Jihyo can't stop herself from asking.

The Tigress shrugs. "Mostly the same with you. Teamwork test, ascension to our adult forms, and the last one... well, you'll know later from Taeyeon-unnie. I'm not going to spoil it for you."

Jihyo puffs her cheeks in a pout when Joohyun sends a playful wink in her direction. But Joohyun waves it off and quickly continues. "An incident already happened on the first test. We had our test when it was storming, and Shoo-unnie was being kept on top of the highest tree in the region. Seungwan managed to save her, but she herself got struck by a lightning. She was wearing her animal form. The injury was too much for her to handle. We had to rest for about a month before she was able to continue."

Jihyo sees the light in Joohyun's calm eyes turn gloom, as if sadness had just washed over her. The older Anihuman sighs a bit and swallows. "Before the second test.. she already told me a few times that she felt unstable. That her power shifted differently than before and she didn't like it. She was afraid that something bad might happen to her. She heard voices, like a faint crack of thunder, most of the time when she's asleep."

Sighing heavily, Joohyun leans back as she closes her eyes, arms crossed over her chest. Jihyo presses her lips into a thin line when Joohyun takes deeper breath. Knowing that she's composing herself. Still with her eyes closed, the Tigress resumes her story.

"But we ignored it. It was... it was partly my fault.. for telling her to ignore. I told her maybe it was because of the lightning strike that it injured her somehow, in someplace we didn't understand. Our previous rulers also told her that it wasn't something to be worried about because the second exam will guide us to our adulthood, and it will undo the damage done."

Jihyo hums, remembering Momo. She remembers how bad Momo's condition was before the second exam. But now, the kitsune is the strongest in their team; their protector. She wonders if Joohyun and her team only thought of the best possibility for Seungwan, too, back in their younger days.

"Seungwan was still worried. But, maybe, because we insisted that she'll be okay.. she kept everything to herself. And that was our mistake."

No response from Jihyo, as she keeps on staring at Joohyun. The older could see the frightened, yet also pitiful light in the Phoenix's eyes.

"The second exam was when everything went downhill. No, not just downhill. It went straight to hell. At first it was normal, like a usual ascension exam. I woke up first, I saw Seulgi, Joy and Yeri all had finished their transformation. Then... I saw Seungwan." Joohyun nibbles her lower lip once. "Seungwan was in terrible pain. Instead of thrashing just like everyone else did, she curled, gripping her head, biting her own arm that she drew blood. Her aura wasn't burning like our flame—rather, it formed a beast."

"A... beast?"

Joohyun nods. "A beast, yes. Her Kirin, though we didn't know back then. It engulfed her like a second skin. I remember the color blue, silver and golden aura shift within that beast as if fighting for dominance. Outside, black-colored flames surrounded her like a mantle. The existence of that black fire was what perceived as a red flag by our mentors. They called for help from Taeyeon-unnie, but it was too late."

"You're strong."

Jihyo gasps. A voice just graced her ears, a voice that had been so familiar to her in the past few weeks.

Wendy.

She's here. Somewhere very near.

"But you're not aggressive enough. Not ruthless enough. Too kind. Too.. forgiving."

Snapping her head to her left, Jihyo promptly freezes the moment her eyes meet Wendy's silver ones. The Kirin bares her fangs at her with her back hunched. A rush of scary memories comes to Jihyo's mind that she almost chooses to faint immediately, but another voice enters her ears and Jihyo jumps in surprise.

"At that time, Seungwan cracked."

Joohyun? But how—?

"Accept me, Seungwan." Wendy growls. "Accept me. I'll make you stronger. I will be your claws. Your sword. I'll protect your kin and destroy your enemies. Together, we'll conquer this land."

Jihyo stares at Wendy in disbelief. Wendy's not addressing her, but Seungwan? And it looks like Wendy is staring faraway, behind her, instead of locking eyes with her. Joohyun's voice drifting in the background slowly grounds her to reality. Jihyo struggles to listen to both, wanting to understand the situation she is in.

"We don't know why, how... but her soul split. And from her broken soul, Wendy, was born."

"How can I trust you?"

This time Jihyo hears Seungwan's voice. Faint, whispering from behind her. She thus realizes that this vision she's having is that of a memory.

Seungwan's memory.

"How?" Wendy smirks. "You don't have to. I am you, just so you are I. We are one and the same. We are destined to be together."

"Who are you?"

"Your sister by soul. But I'd like it if you call me Wendy."

The silver-eyed Kirin's voice gradually disperses as Joohyun's voice becomes stronger. Joohyun is still retelling the event, unaware of the memory Jihyo is looking at.

"I... I trust you, Wendy."

"It is my pleasure, Seungwan. Dearest sister."

Shaking her head, Jihyo erases the last traces of Wendy and Seungwan from her sight. She refocuses on Joohyun just in time when she's about to say something important.

"—...attacked our mentors. Attacked us, near swallowed Yerim in the process, and... and she killed our keepers."

Jihyo almost collapses. "She what?!"

Joohyun's face shows nothing but regret. She avoids Jihyo's searching eyes, rather looking to the bush of roses in front of them. "Maybe it was an accident, maybe it wasn't, but she did still. Her tail hit the platform that supported our keepers, crumbling the structure right on top of them."

The Phoenix feels her body growing colder. The thought of losing Yongsun, Wheein, Hyejin, and Byulyi... it all seems so painful. Again, her own memories of her second exam resurface. Even when she wasn't the one who 'killed' the keepers, also the fact that they are still alive, but the hurt she felt is as real as it could get. She couldn't imagine hurting Yongsun, let alone killing her. Jihyo also remembers the photograph Joohyun gave her before. Seungwan must have hurt badly knowing she caused her keeper's death, considering how loving she was to her keeper, as seen in the photo.

"We couldn't stop her. No one could. She escaped the fort and destroyed a good portion of our region. Only after Taeyeon-unnie come did we able to subdue her."

Jihyo simply nods, letting Joohyun continue. "Up from that point, everything was chaos. Her actions defined her as a criminal, but at the same time Seungwan did it involuntarily. Wendy was guilty, Seungwan was not. The council almost dropped a death sentence on her. But we went against it. Even if Seungwan and Wendy are basically one and the same, we can't bear to lose another member of our family—especially not after our keepers' passing."

Joohyun heaves a breath. "The thing is.. Seungwan wanted that death. She thought it was the only thing she deserves for everything she did. She just... gave up."

"But she decided to live on.. right?" asks Jihyo carefully.

The Tigress chuckles. "Well, she did. With a long time of convincing, that is. Also with so many precautions surrounding Wendy and all the restrictions given to us."

"Is this about the seals?"

"It is, but it's getting late," says Joohyun while looking up. She watches the rising crescent moon for a while before turning to Jihyo, smiling sheepishly. "If it's okay with you, I want to bring you to her cellar. Seungwan might be physically asleep, but she'll feel better and recover faster if she knows that you're okay. I'll tell you more on our way there."

That sounds like it's none of her business. Jihyo knows she has no obligation whatsoever to assuage Seungwan. But then again, after listening to Joohyun's story beforehand, maybe she does feel a bit bad for the Kirin.

"Okay. Show me the way."

###

The basement cellar is freezing cold. Thankfully, the older of the two is kind enough to form fire using her power, illuminating and heating their way to the bottom of Red Velvet's fort.

There is only one room in here. Joohyun and Jihyo stop in front of thick metal bars that separate them from the girl kept inside. Call her a dramatic, but Jihyo feels as if her heart drops to her feet seeing the condition Seungwan is in. That beast assaulted her alright, but Jihyo also can't just forget all the nice things Seungwan had done to her when she was in her right mind.

Seungwan is kneeling on the floor, arms wide open with her wrists shackled by steel, chained to each side of the wide cellar. Her neck dons a similar restraint, the chains coming from the wall behind her back. Half her face is covered by another steel equipment; a muzzle which outlines bite into her cheeks. Something akin to a lance, just red in color and is definitely made of aura, penetrates her chest.

"Good evening, Wan." Joohyun greets. "I hope you're conscious enough to hear us. Jihyo's awake, now, and she's feeling better. We didn't lose her."

Seungwan's eyes are tightly shut.

"Thank you for your help, Seungwan-sshi. I know I survive because of your help, too." Jihyo adds. She waits for any response, but it seems that Joohyun's words about Seungwan being asleep is true.

It's not long until Joohyun decides that their visit is enough to soothe the sleeping beast. She leads Jihyo back to the surface while talking about the supportive reservoir she wore for the past three days, suggesting Jihyo to put it back on so she'll be more stable by the time she wakes up.

When Joohyun locks the door to the basement, she misses the brief chuckle ricocheting off the cold walls of the cellar.

To be continued...

A.N

Park Jihyo steals my summer TT_TT She's just so aughhdsuushd in Alcohol-free. Everyone looks like a goddess this comeback but Jihyo TT___TT

Taste of Love AOTY I love Scandal and Conversation so much ksksksk

ALSO RV IS COMING BACK IN AUGUST JSJDHSANDS HELP ME I'M BSHXGSJD I HAVEN'T MOVED ON FROM LIKE WATER YET HOW DO I DO THAT I’M NOT READY AT ALL