Yuju stared out the window of the airship, they had caught the latest flight to the neighboring country early in the morning, Soeun told them that she’d come get them when they came back, unable to go on the airship or enter the city. She was worried. Worried for how she would face Yerin, worried on how and why Soeun would be fine in the woods alone. After all, the kid hadn’t demonstrated any skill that would let her think of her as a powerful being besides her words.

Closing her eyes, Yuju leaned her head against the wall. Breathing evenly, Yuju tried to stay calm, ignore that you’d be landing in Yerin’s city, ignore the coldness of the arriving winter. A warm hand touched her cheek, she opened her eyes to see SinB with a caring look. She had a higher natural body temperature which really only benefitted her when the weather got colder, Yuju accepted SinB’s hand when she saw Umji asleep in SinB’s side, her hands clasped around SinB’s other.

“Thanks.”

“No problem, and I’m sorry.”

“For?”

“I should be nicer, I don’t always filter my words.”

“I think it’s brave of you to not filter your words though?”

“Eh? But it hurts people?”

“I think, that it hurts people for their sake, you forced me to think about how to talk to Yerin unnie. It might have stung me the night before, but in hindsight, you didn’t sugarcoat anything. I had no expectations to fail.”

SinB hummed, hiding in her scarf that Umji forced her to wear. Eunha stood nearby, refusing to stay still in her seat for seven hours. She paced incessantly, probably thinking of any and all the reasons why Sowon needed a month.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Our company goal is to help the people, let the people benefit together, all to the purpose of a safer country.”

The crowds cheered, roared even, as Yerin bowed. She stiffly walked off the stage, her eyes immediately returning to normal from her forced smile on the podium. Being a speaker was hard, having so many eyes on you made you feel smaller, the bright light and the flashing cameras all reminded her of the bad memories of her childhood.

Stepping into her room, Yerin burned away her dress to burn off some stress, her maids and butlers sighed silently as they had to go buy her another dress for her next presentation and to restock her closet.

“Can’t you guys just buy me a suit? I hate wearing a dress.”

They didn’t respond her, and she just grabbed them by their shoulders, forcing them out of her room. Locking the door and shoving a desk against it, Yerin sat down on her bed, staring at the stockings on her legs. Biting her lip, she fought back the tears in her eyes, wiping them away roughly before falling back on the bed, ignoring that her body was half bare.

“I hate this.”

 She balanced a ball of fire on her fingertips as she stared idly at the roof of her room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Do you think we could get away with renting one room and sharing the two beds?”

“I don’t know, maybe? Maybe if we hide two of us by the elevator.”

Umji tugged SinB off to the side, manipulating the leaves on the vines and trees that were there for decoration purposes to camouflage them. They had finally arrived and they needed a place to leave their stuff as well as rest. However, because they hadn’t gone on another quest, they were a little short on money, not wanting to call their families for help, they planned to rent a room and cram themselves into it.

Spotting Yuju’s hand gesture, Umji moved to press the elevator button. They got a room on the eighth floor, the floor with the pool. Getting their stuff into the elevator, SinB and Umji went ahead to wait on the eighth floor.

Once they were all settled and cleaned up, the girls sat around on the beds.

“How are we going to find Yerin unnie?”

“She didn’t send me an address, but I know she’s in this city.”

SinB started to search the internet, finding Yerin’s family company building easily.

“Do you think the office would tell us if we tell them we’re her teammates?”

“Maybe? It’s worth a shot.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Miss, you have a meeting with your father at the new building.”

“I’m not going.”

“Miss, you have no choice, we will break the door down.”

“Do it, I dare you.”

“We don’t have to fight.”

“But I want to, harm me and you get fired, I harm you, you get expelled and a silence fee, which do you want?”

The guard sighed and knocked one last time.

“While I’m asking nicely still, please open the door.”

“While I’m responding nicely, go away.”

“I have permission to bruise you, and that’s all I need.”

The door shattered and blew the desk back into the far wall as Yerin burned away any shrapnel flying in her direction. Now relaxing in a set of fluffy pants and yellow tank top, she was really not looking forward to meeting her father this late.

Igniting her hands, she growled as the guard advanced, his hands covered in water. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized her disadvantage. But that wasn’t going to stop her from putting up a fight. Running to a window, Yerin smashed it open and jumped out, using her fire to slow her fall, she sprinted around her house and jumped the fence, her feet stomping heavily through the snow, melting it as she passed by due to her fire magic coursing in her body. She was immune to the cold, but her guards weren’t. Where could she hide that they would never suspect? At the building they wanted her to be at.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yuju looked up at the imposing building, the tall windows and freshness of the building compared to the ones around it made it look even newer than it was.

“So, this is the Jung new headquarters.”

“Yes it is, a bucket of bolts and worth nothing.”

Yuju jumped at the familiar voice, looking up, she saw her, sat perched on the top of the stone wall, her legs crossed under her.

===================

how is Yerin walking? mwahaha