There was a weird atmosphere but without any direct threat. Chaeyoung could sense the girl had power, something buried deep within herself but in some ways, it wasn’t awake. Sana laughed, breaking the small silence. The two women seemed to be close enough to avoid fighting about silly words.

"Can you close the door, please ?" The girl’s voice rang into the youngest ears and Chaeyoung closed the door without a sound. The room smelled like incense, she must have lighten up some sticks earlier because the faint perfume was wandering around the room. It made Chaeyoung think about those Chinese shops held by grandmas, selling incense sticks. Mabye this place had something in common with the mystic aura of those shops. In her far memory, she remembered stepping inside a small store, held by an old woman and the pressure was so intense that she couldn’t stay more than a minute inside. It felt like drowning into a world she absolutely wanted to avoid.

"This is Momo, and this is Chaeyoung. She’s the one you saw at the window yesterday I guess", Sana smiled and walked around the room, looking for something to add. It felt like they both had some history going on, but what ? The two girl’s shared a look and Chaeyoung felt once again, rejected.

"Is she the ninth member ?" Momo looked right into Chaeyoung’s eyes to pierce all of her secrets but it wasn’t an easy task. Chaeyoung looked average, wearing large clothes and had some sort of timidity. Momo scoffed and closed her book. She stood up to put it back in place while Sana finally got out of her thoughts. It felt like a private reunion, in the middle of nowhere and no matter what would be the income, Chaeyoung knew she had to approve any of their decision. She wasn’t home yet inside this mansion. Being a newbie was the worst feeling ever.

"She is. You probably saw Jihyo coming this morning ? Now we must reunite as a team, as we used to do, we-"

"We did it once, remember ? It didn’t work, it broke us", Momo wasn’t mad but it was bitter. She turned around, her lips quivering, her face full of hurt and Sana felt sorry. Something happened, but what ? Chaeyoung thought.

"I remember, but we have to make it, we have to do it, you know the world won’t be the same if we don’t act right now", Sana’s voice was serious and it reminded Chaeyoung about Jihyo. Maybe those two had leader vibes, a strong aura and for sure, if she was Momo she would agree with anything she said.

"But at what price ? It’s cute you’re trying to save the world, really, but I gave enough of myself", Momo sighed and looked once again through the window. The sun kept shining over their faces and they both looked ephemeral. This felt like a dream, some past conversation happening right under Chaeyoung’s eyes and she wondered, how could this be ? How did she really felt about it ? But something was preventing her from feeling anything and that when the day will come, reality will slap her on the face so hard that she’d break. She feared that moment, she felt helpless.

"We all left part of ourselves in this war, you’re not the only one", Sana’s voice was low now, almost fragile but there was a hint of courage on her tone.

"Trust me, you’re quite lucky", Momo whispered and the room went cold. It wasn’t natural. The sun probably got shaded by clouds but the temperature dropped and Chaeyoung started to freeze. It was scary, the room went almost dark, the silhouettes of Sana and Momo became blurry and Chaeyoung was about to scream.

"We must end this", Sana muttered. Chaeyoung closed her eyes, mouth open when a strong wind blew and warmth came back inside the room.

"What was that ?!" She asked - panicked, eyes wide open, hands in the midair. Sana sighed, looking right into Momo’s eyes before giving in, for the moment.

WNothing you have to worry about, Momo is just a bit.." But Sana didn’t finished her sentence because whatever she was going to say, it wasn’t a good idea. The blond looked at the ground, lost in thoughts while Momo sat back in front of the window, looking away. It felt like she used to flee from anything, from herself, from life, and looking away helped a bit, maybe. Chaeyoung felt sorry for the girl but she bet she had some crazy powers and deep scars.

"I’ll come back later, tonight come downstairs and eat with us, it’d be nice." It was soft and without a word, Sana walked out of the room with Chaeyoung on her heels, but right before she closed the door, Momo whispered some words, only for her ears to hear.

"Think about yourself first, that’s an advice…"

"How do you feel ?" Jihyo was sitting and sipping her cup of tea. She looked like an heiress, powerful, untamable, she could own the world if she wanted. Chaeyoung swallowed, not wanting to express about what was going on inside her head. It was a mess.

"I don’t really know. I prefer… being used to it, this life, those.. secrets to be unveiled ?" Chaeyoung was very unsure about her words but she tried her best to understand and to avoid making mistakes.

"But it’s important to understand how you feel. Don’t you miss your family ?" Chaeyoung shook her head, smiling sadly.

"It’s okay if you miss your life and it’s okay if you want to leave, but we really need you here", Jihyo’s voice had the same impact as Sana’s the first night they talked. They seemed to be like mothers, it was disturbing but maybe that’s what helped her to feel in security.

"I wanted to leave home, it was… a pretty good timing, yeah…" Chaeyoung smiled a bit more, thinking about her house, her mother, her father, her brother but none of them really made her feel sad. She was mostly sad about herself because wherever she stepped, she felt like a stranger.

"But, why do you need me ? What can I do for you ?" And finally she could see the tip of the iceberg. They were inside Jihyo’s private room. It wasn’t where she slept at night but where she worked. It looked modern, like an office inside a big building but the furniture was simple, just clean and practical.

"It’s difficult to explain, you know it’s something that’s been going for years, decades, centuries and we’re just a little grain on the shore…" Jihyo folded her arms, her back meeting the chair and she looked up. Chaeyoung did the same but found nothing but a ceiling.

"We know what you are capable of. I know we can complete each other. Do you believe me when I say so ?" When Chaeyoung looked back at Jihyo, the eldest was looking at her right in the eye. She could only nod, confused, but yes, Jihyo had no reason to lie to her.

"We are trying to balance this world with our abilities. I’ve been the first of my generation to carry the torch, and now we are nine and we must fight against darkness. It isn’t a movie, it isn’t as easy as it seems and our powers aren’t easy to control. It’s not like Hulk that has amazing strength, neither Superman nor Flash, our gifts are more special and the threat is real." Jihyo’s voice was soothing but the words made Chaeyoung anxious. She could feel the seriousness of the situation and she couldn’t believe, that in this world, people tried to kill the light, kill the good side, kill… everything she’s ever hoped for : peace.

"I heard we are nine, and what confuses me is that we’re all Asian and there is still five person missing..." Chaeyoung asked, feeling like a little girl talking with her mom. Jihyo was sitting on a comfortable sit while Chaeyoung only had a stool, making her look tinier than she was already.

"Because of an old story, but I will let Sana tell you this one. She’s very good at it…" At this, Jihyo smiled, almost laughed and Chaeyoung felt fondness.

"And about the five others, they are coming, soon."

Darkness, nine persons, war, those were the key words for Chaeyoung’s comprehension. But against who ? And why did this situation seemed messed up ? Of course Momo was against another war and it would be hard to have her on their side, but Jihyo was convinced this wasn’t a big deal. Chaeyoung took some time to explore the mansion, the living room, the corridors – never approaching Momo’s flour. The kitchen was also huge and for sure, Sana and Jihyo weren’t the one’s cooking. This was also a mystery and a bit frightening.

She stepped out of the manor, taking the back door. The sun was setting and paved with orange the land. She believed sea was somewhere, right in front of her eyes. But there was no tree, no flowers, just dead beige grass and the sky. This was a lonely place for lonely people and maybe, if she didn’t make an effort to get close from those girls she’d feel forever abandoned.

But there was a little breeze. Hope.

They all sounded like good people, from now. Sana was there the first day, she welcomed her with a warm heart. Jihyo took time for her questions and Momo had something within her, something very dark, horrifying and probably eating her up but she gave her an advice. A weird one, but an honest one.

It could be worse.

A/N I prefer taking my time for you to understand each personnality than to rush the story. I hope you're still enjoying it so far ! :)