Someone asked for part 2, so I wrote it!

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“Dr Im, ms Minatozaki, welcome to the trader’s guild.”

 

“Riiight…” Sana squints at the woman.

 

“Please follow me and we can talk inside.”

 

“Is this how we die? I feel like this is how we die.” Nayeon rambles on.

 

“If we wanted you both dead, we’d have done that much more efficiently and certainly not in our base .” The woman smiles, but doesn’t sound playful at all.

 

About how we got here, I should probably bring you guys back a bit. Two months after Jihyo was ambushed by Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung in Singapore, at this very same guild stronghold both women are entering now, Nayeon decided she had enough of watching Sana mope around and herself waiting for the elusive trader to return. The doctor decided to call in a few favors and try to track down the woman that wouldn’t leave their thoughts. The problem was, Jihyo was a professional at disappearing, the last trace of her had been a restaurant in Singapore and that was only because Jeongyeon was messy enough to leave a trail. 

 

The couple didn’t have much of a plan when they boarded, just a restaurant and a historical building where the bat lovers were last seen with a woman that vaguely fit Jihyo’s description. The stronghold keepers had been keeping an eye on anything coming from Gotham after the last time their former friend had stopped by, and dr Im’s contacts weren’t subtle at all, it seemed like they wanted to be noticed and for the couple to be talked to. And who were Lalisa and Chaeyoung to deny such a pitiful plea. And that’s how we have Nayeon and Sana being conducted to a monitored room so they could talk and also be surveilled while at it.

 

“Would you girls want something to drink?” Their guide asked.

 

“Some tea, if you have it.” Nayeon says reflexively.

 

“I’ll have tea too, please.” Sana adds as she sits down.

 

“Well, it’s coming soon, please make yourselves comfortable.” 

 

They wait a few minutes and another pretty woman comes in with their tea and some snacks. She places the trey on the middle of the table and sits down beside the other woman, both looking very close.

 

“Now that we are all here, I’m Lalisa and this is my wife, Chaeyoung.”

 

“I believe you already know us, but I’m Sana, this is Nayeon.”

 

“Pleased to finally meet you.” Chaeyoung nods respectfully.

 

“I’ll take a wild guess and say that you had us looked into after Jeongyeon and Chae came over looking for Jihyo.” 

 

“You are very quick, doctor. We did check what made her waste so much time in a little town like Gotham. The deals were too small and the only real challenges she got were the first one from mr Savage and the last one from ms Yoo.” Lisa smiles. “It’s not like Jihyo to stick to the same place for so long, especially when the deals don’t bring that much money.”

 

“What do you mean ‘not that much money’!” Nayeon is scandalized. “She charged me half a mil for a chest with my trinkets!”

 

“Yes, and that was her doing you a huge favor.” Chaeyoung chuckled. “You see, you could have gone after your things yourself, they were about to go out for auction and you could either ask ms Myoui to snatch them from the warehouse of from their new owner, but Jihyo was nice enough to waste her time going to the auctioneer and making the right offer, then getting everything legalized for you.”

 

“Jihyo has always been a softie. We are just happy that her big heart is still there.” Lisa added.

 

“How much do her deals go for, then?!”

 

“It depends, doc. Mostly she’ll trade in the tens of millions, the things she can trade are very rare and very hard to change owners. Take your friend, ms Yoo, for example. She wants a Mayan sculpture from around 100 A.D. It was last seen in a museum in Burges, but someone had bought it a few years ago and nobody from the general public seems to know anything about it.”

 

“Mayan sculpture?” Nayeon looks very confused.

 

“Camazotz was a bat god for the ancient Mayans.” Lisa explains gently. “People say it was their version of vampires, the name translates to something akin to snatch bat.”

 

“That weirdly makes sense.” The doctor concedes.

 

“We know, right! Anyhow, that sculpture is going to cost your friend something around fifty million, give it or take. That is one of Jihyo’s low deals, she’s doing it mostly because of the thrill of the hunt. She gets off on how hard it is to obtain an item.”

 

“Chae, behave. These two don’t need any of that about our Jihyo.”

 

“‘Our’ Jihyo?” Sana is sharper than she looks.

 

“I guess we should talk, no?!” Chaeyoung huffs.

 

“You could start by telling us how this ‘our Jihyo’ thing began.” The botanist helps.

 

“We met Jihyo when she was just fresh out of college. All bright eyed and bushy tailed.” Chaeyoung begins. “We were a small group of traders back then, the four of us were trying to make our way up in the guild and be granted better deals. So we tried to get an archeologist to help out with a few historical items we were after.”

 

“Archeologist?” Sana is curious.

 

“Yeah, Jihyo is an archeologist. She has a PhD in egyptian history and another in ancient vikings. I don’t know the proper names for those.” 

 

“We were two couples back then.” Lisa starts quickly, wanting to skip over this part fast. “Chae and I were in an open relationship, it really wasn’t a problem for us, but the rule was to always be clear about our feelings and make sure that all parts involved were understanding of everything that was happening.”

 

“I fell for Jihyo. It was easy to love her, and Lisa was fine, we were fine as a couple. But I didn’t tell Jihyo I was in a relationship, she found out the worst way she could.”
 

“The thing is, Jihyo had fallen for Chae as well. And she fell deep, Chae was dealing with things on her side, but Jihyo was just lead to believe they would amount to things they never would. Then there was a tricky deal we needed a translator for.”

 

“Jihyo speaks arabic and egyptian, she was perfect for the role. The trick was, I would have to tell her the truth about Lisa and I, and then about her and I.” Chaeyoung takes a moment to herself before continuing. “I did, I told her we wouldn’t have anything deeper than a few hookups and the little dates we went on. I told her I was engaged to Lalisa and that we had an open relationship, but I didn’t think she would quite fit in the relationship at all.”

 

“Again, she was a twenty something fresh out of college. Back then she wasn’t as qualified as she is today, we were just lucky she had chosen Egypt and knew the languages we needed.” Lisa added.

 

“But how did you telling her all that, make her whatever she is today?” Nayeon knows there is more.

 

“Because I did that while we were waiting for the seller. Literally inside the waiting room of a shady middle eastern prince, I won’t give more information on that.” Chaeyoung offers. “The girls and I knew something was off about the whole thing, Jihyo obviously didn’t. I told her she meant nothing and not even ten minutes after that Jisoo said some stupid that pissed off the prince. He got enraged, his guards escorted him out and we tried to leave.”

 

“We were locked in the room and Jihyo looked completely terrified. She was just a lovestruck nobody who was dragged into that because she thought she was in a relationship she wasn’t. A gas started leaking into the room, nobody noticed at first, but the four of us were used to things going south fast.”

 

“Jihyo took a direct blow, she inhaled it and couldn’t move properly. She was looking at us, at me, and begging to be helped. I knew there was nothing more we could do for her without complicating ourselves.” The next part was heavy, so Chaeyoung took a deep breath. “I looked into her eyes, turned around and grabbed Lisa, we fled through a window Jennie had managed to break and left her there.”

 

“The guys understood fast that she wasn’t part of our group and just caught in the crossfire, so they helped her out. We fled as fast as we could and laid low until things calmed down. But what was done, was done.”

 

“Jihyo woke up in a hospital three weeks later, the last thing she remembered was me looking at her and walking away after I told her everything we lived meant nothing, that she was a mere tool to our negotiation and I never meant for things to go anywhere because I was already with someone else.”

 

“Now I get it.” Nayeon brightens up, despite the subject being so heavy. “You two were complete , not gonna lie. But now it all makes sense.”

 

“Well, doctor, you do have the best qualifications to understand all this.” Lisa shrugged. “I’d also like to add that Jihyo was damaged beyond repair, that day. Not just emotionally. The gas altered her, we suffered a bit of the effects too, but she got stuck in time.”
 

“What do you mean?” Sana demands.

 

“The gas wasn’t exactly legal. It was an experiment and the prince only knew it would paralyze people, but with how much Jihyo took, her body was frozen.” Chaeyoung sounded a little desperate. “She doesn’t age, her body doesn’t change at all from the point it was on that day. You can see that Lisa and I are older, and we age much slower thanks to that day too, but Jihyo is just one year younger than us. She looks exactly the same as the day we just left her for dead.”

 

“So she isn’t as young as we think she is?” The botanist is trying to grasp the situation.

 

“Oh, not at all. And she also isn’t as ‘tan’ as she looks. That gas bleached her skin and turned her hair an awful shade of yellowish green. She dyes it periodically and uses tanning products to mask it, but she isn’t what she looks like.”

 

“She mentioned she was french before, how did she look back then, before the whole thing?” Nayeon wants more information.

 

“She is. Born in Nice, raised there until she was thirteen, when her father said they should go back to Korea so she could go to college there. Turns out, Jihyo didn’t adapt well to life in the peninsula and decided to go to college in England. She’s an Imperial College graduate.” Lisa can’t help the little proud smile at that. “Well, now we don’t really know who she is anymore, to be very honest.”

 

“We understand.” Nayeon nods gently. “Well, we found out more than we hoped for. And all this gave me a lot to think about.”

 

“Well, if there is nothing else we can help-”

 

“How come you two run this joint and Jihyo is just a trader?” Sana cuts in.

 

“Well, it all depends on what you want to do within the guild, really.” Chaeyoung offers. “After the incident, the four of us were obviously heavily punished. The guild doesn’t restrain their members much, but when one of us involves innocent people and leaves them like we did Jihyo, they don’t see it with kind eyes.”

 

“We were placed back to the lowest ranking, and we’d have to work three times as hard to rise again.” Lisa adds. “The other option was to become internal staff. We would be put to work to pay for anything and everything Jihyo would need for her recovery. Yes, we still pay for her therapists and medication. And we’d work for the guild for the rest of our lives, under strict supervision at all times.”

 

“So this supposed high position of yours is just a fancy prison.” Nayeon concluded.

 

“Pretty much. We are resumed to our respective locations and the exciting life of trading is something we can only live vicariously through the members who pass by.” Lisa smiles sadly. “Jihyo was contacted by the guild shortly after she woke up. She was told her entire treatment would be paid for and, if she wanted, she could come to them for a nice job after she was cleared to do so.”

 

“We don’t know who was her contact nor her mentor, but she was given a folder with documents she would need for her hospitalization, an introduction letter to the guild and an address to a headquarter near her and a name to mention when she arrived.” Chaeyoung sighed tiredly. “We don’t even know where she was for all that, just that she was transferred from the hospital she had been taken to after the prince noticed she wasn’t really with us.”

 

“Well, you guys really did your fair share of dumb .” Sana says bluntly. “And now we can’t even approach her about anything more than booty calls because you thought it was a great idea to play with people, dismiss their feelings at the worst moment possible and then leave them for dead to save your .”
 

“Pretty much, yes.” Chaeyoung chokes a little.

 

“I guess that’s as much as we need.” Nayeon says and stands up. “I’m sure your people had enough time to run a check on both of us. Now we might as well head back to our hotel and think over everything you’ve told us.”

 

“No need to look like that, we know of you guys.” Sana giggles, also standing up. “I confess it’s pretty hard to find much, but there’s still some info out there for those who know where to look.”

 

“Since you both already know, then let me walk you girls out.” Lisa smiles humoredly.

 

While all that was happening, the new commissioner was convinced Jihyo was just another criminal in her city. Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung tried to explain it wasn’t the case at all, and the trader was completely clean, but commissioner Hirai didn’t want to hear it. The one responsible for the warehouse had been tipped off to the commissioner’s movements and decided to warn their boss right away. The big problem was, Jihyo was waiting for a meeting with one of her biggest clients, one of the 1% that nobody even knows exists, so she honestly couldn’t just leave right away.

 

With her restraints, Jihyo thought of the next best move, she called the Traders Guild and asked for their legal department. The lawyer who answered assured her they would handle it and they could give her a week or two before the commissioner lost her patience and decided to ask for forgiveness instead of permission. It was enough time for her to finish this meeting and head back before police stormed her warehouse and destroyed very important and unique pieces. The trader also knew the annoying couple had made their way to Singapore and had talked to the ty couple. She had eyes everywhere and had also gotten the video of said conversation.

 

Three days after Jihyo got word of her warehouse potentially being stormed by law enforcement, she was boarding her first flight to make her way back to Gotham. Sure, she was with a client, but making sure her moves are as untraceable as possible was part of her M.O. and the clients paid her very well for the anonymity. It would take her another two days before she would take the boat that would drop her right in front of her warehouse and, hopefully, before the commissioner made a grave mistake. It was something she really didn’t want to do, but she got Jeongyeon’s damned Camazotz sculpture and Sana’s apples, might as well get everything over with already. Plus, there was the renaissance collection for Savage, which consisted of many very fragile items and police rushing through those would cause historical damages that could be irreversible.

 

Seeing the warehouse again was something that felt too soon, but Jihyo had been sending Savage’s items in for weeks and had already completed the order. She couldn’t really stall much longer, not with this nosy policewoman trying to be up in her business. She didn’t bother with the luxury apartment she used to rent here, the little room at the back would be more than enough, not to mention she planned to retire this location after these last deals were over. First step, tell mr Savage he could come and get his items. The transaction went over very smoothly, as all the previous ones, and Vandal Savage was a bit bummed to know the trader was closing this point in her route for now, but thanked the woman heartily.

 

Another three days was the time Jihyo had before police was surrounding her warehouse. She had two deliveries to make, Jeongyeon’s and Sana’s, but with everything completely legalized and properly filed, she kept the sculpture and the apples in her office for more security. Jihyo was ready and waiting when the officers finished deploying, she got tipped that they were on the move and decided to take a shower and get dressed properly to welcome them. Once commissioner Hirai stepped out of her vehicle in front of the main door, it was time for the trader to welcome them. 

 

A lawyer from the Guild had arrived two days before and was also accompanying Jihyo for this. They knew a search warrant hadn’t been issued because a full dossier with all the legal paperwork for all the transactions Jihyo had made in Gotham was willingly offered. The judge just decided to dismiss any other requests about her after that. Commissioner Hirai didn’t know about any of this, she just felt there had to be something wrong with this mysterious trader and refused to see anything else. That and the Guild lawyers went over the commissioner and put an end to this ridiculousness altogether.

 

All the doors to the warehouse opened all of a sudden, Jihyo and her lawyer were standing in the middle of the empty warehouse, waiting for the officers to gather themselves. Commissioner Hirai also looked surprised, she knew this whole operation was illegal, but didn’t expect to have anyone waiting for her like this, especially not her suspect herself along with what looked like a lawyer. Jihyo just smiled cynically and spoke up.

 

“Welcome commissioner Hirai. You can tell your kids to calm down, come on in.”

 

The woman in question does signal for her team to lower their weapons but is still very weary about these two. Commissioner Hirai proceeds to get closer, not putting her weapon away and being followed by four officers flanking her. Jihyo finds this all ridiculous, but keeps her expression neutral . The lawyer, mr Johnson, was the one assigned to come over and handle things by the Guild. He came from the closest branch and had already processed all the paperwork required to make commissioner Hirai stand down and stay down.

 

“Commissioner Hirai, I’m mr Johnson, ms Park’s lawyer. I believe you don’t have the right to be here and invade as you intended to.”

 

“What would you know about this anyway?” 

 

“Oh, did you manage to get a search warrant, commissioner? As far as I’m aware, you have tried endlessly but no judge will issue you one.”

 

“It’s easier to just do it and handle the backlash later.” Hirai scoffs.

 

“You see, ms Hirai.” Mr Johnson continued. “My client here has done absolutely nothing to warrant this and you would have a lot of trouble in your hands.”

 

“Why don’t you dismiss your team and we’ll talk in my office.” Jihyo decided to intervene. “No, I do not consent to a search on my property, so you all will really have to leave now. Commissioner, if you could follow us to my office, we can talk properly.”

 

“I would advise you to really make your men leave, commissioner.” Mr Johnson adds. “This place has no blindspots and I’ll be sure to take proper measures if you insist on this search without permission.”

 

“Alright, Garcia and Sammuels with me, the rest, return to headquarters and wait for orders.” Commissioner Hirai orders.

 

Jihyo had already headed to her office and asked her assistant to make some tea for everyone. Mr Johnson didn’t move a muscle until everyone had cleared out, he was very serious when telling them he would destroy the entire force if they insisted. Commissioner Hirai was looking pissed, but there wasn’t much she could do by now. The commissioner and the two detectives she had ordered to stay followed the lawyer in silent anger and looked very surprised when they entered the office. The trader was waiting for them behind her table, tea already served on the coffee table. It was always a surprise to find a luxurious office in an old warehouse at Gotham’s harbor.

 

“Commissioner, detectives, please take a seat. There is some tea if you’d like.” Mr Johnson offers and takes his own seat.

 

“Alright, how did you know and why are you even here?” Commissioner Hirai asked a bit violently. “Last news I had, you were nowhere to be found and this warehouse was filled with old pieces.”

 

“You see, commissioner, your eyes aren’t as sharp as you’d like them to be.” Jihyo begins with a smirk. “I arrived when I was told your kids were snooping around. The collection that was in here belonged to mr Savage and it was worth quite a lot. if you did invade as you intended to do, many items could be destroyed and I couldn’t have that. So I informed mr Savage he could come and retrieve his purchases before you decided you would stop trying to get a warrant.”

 

“And how do you all know I don’t have a warrant?”

 

“When we did hear you were pushing to have this place investigated no matter what, ms Park called and we looked into it.” Mr Johnson sips his tea and continues. “It was fairly easy to stop your stubbornness, we merely presented proof of the authenticity of ms Park’s transactions in Gotham and how they were completely legal. After analyzing it all, no judge will ever issue a warrant for you to go on with this witch hunt.”

 

“This is absurd!” Detective Sammuels lost his temper.

 

“It really isn’t, detective.” Jihyo stops him. “I don’t have to, but mr Johnson has all the documents you should need to see that there is nothing you can, nor should do about my business in this town.”

 

Mr Johnson calmly puts his cup down and picks up his suitcase, taking his time to retrieve the documents the judge issued and handing them over to commissioner Hirai, who examines them thoroughly, looking more pissed as she reads them. Jihyo took the time to leisurely appreciate her bourbon, she managed to snag it on the way over and it was worth every cent. Mr Johnson was enjoying his tea, he had already gotten a brick as a gift from Jihyo, but would take every opportunity to taste it and not spend his own. 

 

Commissioner Hirai finally gave in after forty minutes. She read everything until there was no way she could say she didn’t understand it. This was real, the papers were very official, and she really couldn’t do anything about this trader. It was a huge hit to her pride, but she did deploy this operation without permission, so she’ll take a wounded ego over the entire force being sued for everything they had and a bit more. She was certain this trader would spare no effort to make sure they understood just who they had crossed. 

 

“Fine.” Commissioner Hirai finally relents. “I’ll stop.”

 

“I’m glad you understood, commissioner.” Mr Jhonson said, calmly putting the papers away. “Now, please go back to your station and tell your men the operation is called off.”

 

“This isn’t over.” She said and stormed off.

 

“It really is.” Jihyo chuckled.

 

Once they saw the cars leaving, mr Johnson said his goodbyes and left. As a lawyer representing the Guild, he had much to do and the days he spent in Gotham waiting for the commissioner to show up already delayed his work for long enough. Jihyo decided to handle the last two deliveries so she could leave already, she opted for the easier one first after this whole ordeal, she needed a break. Jeongyeon was more than happy to say she would be over the next morning to pick it up, she had been growing ever so impatient in her wait. The trader could only laugh at the enthusiasm she heard.

 

“Ms Yoo, it’s nice to see you again.” Jihyo greeted.

 

“Where is it! Is it as beautiful as I think it is?” The vigilante wasn’t listening.

 

“It’s in my office.” Jihyo chuckled and shook her head. “Ms Son, good to see you as well.”

 

“Nice to see you too, Jih.” Chaeyoung was also finding it funny.

 

They followed behind a very excited Jeongyeon, it was cute, she looked like a little kid in a candy store. If she was being honest, Jihyo would say the thing was hideous, but Jeongyeon looked so mesmerized she didn’t have the heart to say it. They sit down and wait until the older woman is done with her fangirling over the horrendous statue. Then again, Jihyo has been dealing with the rich for long enough to understand that having money never meant having good taste. Oh the horrors Park Jihyo has seen the rich call decoration…

 

“Okay, I’m done now.” Jeongyeon clears and stands straight. “Where do I sign?”

 

“You are way too eager about this one.” Jihyo chuckled good humoredly.

 

“Well, I have been waiting for a while.” The taller one shrugs.

 

“And I told you many times this one would take quite some time. There are only a handful of these statues and very few are privately owned. Most of them are in museums, which I just count as unreachable.”

 

“But don’t museums exhibit privately owned pieces?” Chaeyoung gets curious.

 

“They do, but there’s this whole thing where those pieces are considered humankind property and they must remain at the museum for everyone to see.” The trader explains patiently. “In those cases, the buyer must be fine with never being allowed to actually have what they will own. If so, then they’ll just become the ‘maintainer’ of the item, so to speak. They’ll pay for that thing to be properly maintained and it will be kept at the museum that hosts it.”

 

“I’m sure some people will still want it.” The shortest one wonders.

 

“Oh, many do. Take the Monalisa, for example. I’ve managed to change its ownership a few times, and the point is mostly to say they own it. Of course, there are advantages to it, like they could ask for a private exhibition for their closest friends. Like, yeah, a lot of preparation goes into it, but they all can afford it. The status it brings to say they will be showing their collection and then people get there and see the Monalisa itself is something worth all the expenses.”

 

“Makes sense.” Jeongyeon joins the conversation. “Once money stops being a factor, exclusivity is what people want. If you own something that nobody else in the world could have, you put yourself above the others with ease, and then they’ll have to either go after something even more precious or just stew in their envy.”

 

“Precisely. And I must say, this piece of yours is quite the unique one. The previous owner didn’t know and didn’t bother to have it examined, but yours is the oldest one not in a museum.” Jihyo observes. “There’s only one other that is older, but that one is at the Museo Nacional de Antropologia and there is no way in this world it’ll ever get out of their grasp.”

 

“Ooooh!” Jeongyeon is even more starstruck.

 

“Yup. Also, and this is just the nerd in me speaking, yours also has remains of the original paint.” The trader smiled smugly. “Regardless, you got yourself quite the piece here, ms Yoo.”

 

“Great, now I’ll have to spend the next ten years hearing her go on about this thing!” Chaeyoung tries to sound frustrated, she is just really entertained by her partner.

 

“Once ms Yoo signs the papers and pays up, you can wrap it nicely and send it to Mexico to be with its sister.” Jihyo shrugged.

 

“Don’t give her ideas!” Jeongyeon chides, but grabs the papers to sign.

 

The other two laugh heartily. Jeongyeon makes the transfer and they spend the rest of the afternoon chatting. It was a nice afternoon and Jihyo would miss these two little freaks. Regardless, if they could find her once, they would be able to find her little villa in Nice if they really wanted to visit. And it’s not like her home was that hidden, she just never spoke about it, and it’s not like she actually took any steps to hide it. Sure, it was under an alias and she had bought it in cash back then, but still! Towards the end of their afternoon was when Jeogyeon, the tactless little , asked the big questions.

 

“So, what’s up with you and Nayeon and Sana?” The vigilante said curiously.

 

“Well, I do have Sana’s order. But there will be nothing between myself and those two, I’ve already told you that.”

 

“I can’t say anything about your reasons, but are you sure you aren’t even willing to try?” Chaeyoung asks calmly.

 

“I’m certain. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.” Jihyo dismisses in a huff. “It’s not like I’m completely certain they can’t be good girlfriends or whatever, but I’ll never involve myself with a couple again. If Sana had been honest from the start, maybe I could have talked to them about an arrangement, but she wasn’t. I don’t intend to indulge anything that only came to light because a coincidence made me be at her greenhouse the moment Nayeon returned.”

 

“So the lying was the deal breaker?” The smallest one tries to understand.

 

“It helped solidify my stance. I could have made a buddy arrangement with them if she had told me she was in an open relationship. But never will I involve myself with couples as anything beyond that.”

 

“I don’t understand why you are so against even entertaining the idea.” Jeongyeon sounds a bit frustrated.

 

Jihyo silently takes her wallet from her chest pocket, takes a polaroid from inside it and gently places the photo on the coffee table. She has an enigmatic smile as she waits for the two to see what was in the picture. The polaroid was from Jihyo’s police file about the incident. It showed her on a dingy hospital bed, arms and legs immobilized, as she had tried to harm herself the moment she woke up. It was very clear that Jihyo was a bit deranged at that moment, her skin completely white, hair a moldy shade of green, lips red as if the skin had been burned off (it was). The image was haunting, nothing like the calm, composed and very well groomed woman sitting in front of them.

 

“That was the result from the last time I got involved with a couple.” The trader explains, seeing her companions couldn’t speak. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you to keep this to yourselves. That is the real me, without all the cosmetics and treatments, that is what getting involved with an established couple did to me. They saved each other and left me for dead.”

 

“I am so very sorry.” Chaeyoung was the first to speak up. “Not only for questioning your motives, but also that this happened to you.”

 

“Well, now you know.” Jihyo shrugged, this didn’t bother her anymore, the picture was for her to never forget who she was now. That little, hopeful girl before the incident was long gone and she kept the picture as her own little memento mori.

 

Jeongyeon, the sentimental mess she was, just got up and hugged the trader. Despite everything, the three considered each other friends, and Jihyo appreciated the gesture, as unneeded as it was. After that, Jihyo told them a bit about her past and how the incident happened, never really going into much detail, some parts were hazy even for herself. The vigilante duo leaves not long after that. Since this was a tiring day, Jihyo decided to go to Chez Vous, maybe a reminder of home would help. What she didn’t remember, however, was that the restaurant was too close to the botanic garden. Jihyo was waiting for her order while trying to enjoy her wine when two others joined her, she didn’t need to look up to know who. 

 

“One moment to myself. That’s all I ask, yet, you are both here.” Jihyo huffs, looking at the new additions.

“Well, you never said anything about returning to town, and we’ve been trying to find you.” Nayeon whines.

 

“And Bert told me he saw you drive by, there was only one place you could be heading, so we took a chance.” Sana added.

 

“Well, you two went to the guild after me, might as well have some dinner and let you both talk.” Jihyo knew it would be worse trying to send them away. “But we’ll only talk while we have dinner, I’m not going anywhere with you both and hands to yourselves.”

 

Nayeon’s hands had been trying to wander, but Jihyo saw the movement and cut it out immediately. Sana was quick to agree, maybe the time they had spent together contributed for her to know when to not push her luck. The doctor looked about to protest, but the trader quickly called for the waiter and asked for two more glasses so her ‘guests’ could enjoy the wine too and menus for the women to choose, also asking for her own meal to be delayed a bit so it could be brought out with the other two. 

 

“Alright, now that those meddling idiots have already told you about my past, might as well speak up.” Jihyo tiredly gulps her wine down and serves a bit more.

 

“They care about y-” Nayeon tries andis cut off immediately.

 

“Come on, doc. Don’t try.” The trader intervenes. “You both found out they left me to die without ever looking back. Don’t invade my dinner and tell me they care when we all know they never did. What they feel is the weight the consequences of their actions has on them and the guilt about involving an innocent in their sloppy deals.”

 

“Fair enough, but Nayeonnie and I care for you, then!” Sana puffs her cheeks, it’s kind of cute. 

 

“I don’t think you do, no.” Jihyo denies, then quickly proceeds when she sees they are about to argue. “You didn’t care enough to tell me you were in a ing relationship and just let me find out like I did. And you, doc, are just because I could have killed you and you like that .”
 

“Do you really think we’d go through all the trouble of finding out those bat crazy idiots’ steps, follow it, let ourselves be taken into a facility where they could have made us disappear easily and even drink the tea they gave us that clearly contained truth serum if we didn’t care?”

 

“I don’t know, doc. You tell me.” Jihyo shrugs and stops herself because she sees the waiter coming over with their food, she asks the boy for another bottle and he leaves quickly. “Eat, might as well have a nice dinner while we are here. You two can come back to the warehouse with me and we’ll talk there.”

 

They end dinner quickly, Jihyo told them they’d meet at the warehouse, she wasn’t about to drive them there and give the couple the excuse to not leave. An exaggeration? Maybe, but she’s had enough at this point. By the time the trader arrives, the couple had already settled at her office, good thing Jihyo had placed the apples in the safe before leaving. Now, Jihyo’s secretary had already been dismissed, so had the warehouse crew, all with handsome recommendation letters that got them all great jobs after working with Jihyo for so long. The trader had kept a few drinks on a small fridge in her office, but that was all she still had in there, her files had also been moved to the guild’s archives, only Sana’s file remained and Jihyo would stop by the nearest headquarters to drop it before disappearing again.

 

“I have water, orange juice and sodas, if you’d like.” Jihyo offers once she closes the office doors.

 

“This place feels so eerie and empty.” Sana comments. 

 

“We’ll take the soda, thanks.” Nayeon answered, she had noticed the smaller woman didn’t like it when people didn’t give her a direct answer to a direct question. “But yeah, this place feels haunted, even.”

 

“Here you go.” Jihyo places two cans of soda on the table. “And this is Gotham’s harbor, what did you two think it would look like?”

 

To be fair, yes, this area was cold, haunting and gave the feeling of being watched. But Jihyo’s warehouse had been so full of life that the couple forgot how Gotham’s harbor was even supposed to feel like. There was just something about Jihyo and the way she worked that made this warehouse so homey and inviting. Was this how their life would go? Would they start feeling too empty once the trader is gone? They couldn’t have that.

 

“I apologize for the lack of glasses, but I’ve already dismissed all staff and emptied everything.”

 

“It’s not a problem.” The doctor dismisses. 

 

“You two wanted to talk, let’s talk. I know you both got my life story from those wretched hyenas, what else should there be to talk about?”

 

“You know, just because they did all that to you, doesn’t mean everyone else will.” Sana sounds a bit angered.

 

“It also doesn’t mean it would work out with other people.” Jihyo reasons.

 

“Perhaps, but how would you know. We are a good couple, our relationship has always been open and Sana has seriously dated other people that weren’t me.” Nayeon adds. “I have also had my fair share of relationships outside ours.”

 

“Yeah, and how many of those worked out, doc?” The trader’s smirk is cruel. “Because I only see you two here. How many of those relationships really lasted more than a couple of weeks?”

 

“Minnie lasted a year!” Sana says, very offended.

 

“Yeah, ms Myoui lasted with you both the time it took me to find your damn apples.” Jihyo chuckles with disdain. 

 

Nayeon forgot she wasn’t supposed to act on her anger with the trader and sprung to her feet, immediately jumping over Jihyo’s desk, trying to plant both feet on the shooter woman’s chest. It all happened so fast that Sana could only watch. Jihyo saw the movement, she knew perfectly well her last comment would trigger the doctor. It was all too fast for anyone except the shortest woman herself to see everything that went down, but Nayeon certainly felt all of it.

 

Jihyo merely slid her chair to the side, placing herself behind Nayeon when the older woman landed, she threw a precisely placed punch to the doctor’s lower back, making the little balance she had vanish. Nayeon dropped to the floor violently and trashed a little, trying to turn around, but Jihyo had already stepped where she had punched and put some pressure, trapping the doctor where she lay. The trader, then, grabbed Nayeon’s thumb, pulling it up the woman’s back and made the doctor stand up. Nayeon was in tatters, extremely pissed and feeling like an idiot. Sana wanted to help somehow, but when she was able to gather herself, it was all over.

 

“I thought we had talked about this, doc.” Jihyo says, not looking any different from thirty seconds before when she was just sitting on her desk.

 

“You piece of !” Nayeon spits angrily.

 

“I know you might have felt some kind of way with my remarks, but I really hoped you had learned to talk and not act like a brute.”

 

“Let me go and I’ll show you the brute!” The doctor insists.

 

Jihyo chuckles, it was cute she thought there was going to be another outcome. Nayeon makes the mistake of reaching her free arm up and trying to grab Jihyo with it, the trader pulls out handcuffs (she had grabbed them discreetly when she sat at her table) and binds both arms across the older woman’s back. It’s painful and Nayeon makes it very clear, Sana seems to be just lost on everything, she wanted to interfere but had no idea how. 

 

“Now, now, doc. Take a seat and breathe a little. I’m sure it will get less painful if you stop trying to fight it.” Jihyo sits the woman back down on her sofa.

 

“You little-”

 

“See, this lack of social skill is a huge turn off.” The trader cuts in, simply. “Look, I’ll say it again, in gentler terms, as it looks like you aren’t able to talk like an adult.”

 

“Can you untie Nayeonnie, first? It’s clearly hurting her.” Sana says shyly.

 

“I’m sure she will be able to free herself the moment she stops being a hothead. You both are great escape artists, she’s just too aggravated right now.”

 

“Fair enough.” The botanist huffs in acceptance. “Before you turn us down again, can I get my apples?”

 

“Of course.” Jihyo smiles and gets up from her seat, unlocking the safe and taking a very fancy looking box out. “I’ll have to say, these were easier than I thought they would be. It’s just hard to find who has the real ones.”

 

“Are they really golden?”

 

“Of course.” She opens the box and moves away. 

 

Sana is mesmerized, she knew the Golden Apples would be magnificent, but seeing them in person was just something else. They were golden, certainly, but not the violently bright kind, neither were they simply yellow, these apples were a soft gold that listened discreetly under the light. The Golden Apples were nothing but a myth for most, she made the request thinking it would help keep Jihyo around for longer. The trader was certainly talented, but Sana never thought she would really find these, they were just fiction, an old maid’s tale about an impossibility that seems to be very real.

 

Jihyo just observed quietly, she knew these fruits were pretty and most are stunned when they first saw them. Nayeon had also stopped struggling once the box was opened and that was a nice bonus. The box was also a very specific item that the trader learned was needed when the seller handed it over. It was a black lacquer box with runes all over it in gold, the inside was of pure white velvet and the apples slotted in their specific places. There were nine apples, a parting gift from Jihyo. The contract was for three, but the trader made her name through pure skill, she bartered something too valuable and the seller was so pleased that they gave her twelve, she took three for herself, the rest is being given to Sana.

 

“Marvelous, aren’t they?” The trader asks.

 

“I- They- Where do I sign?” Sana stammers.

 

“Right here.” Jihyo passes the contract and a pen. “If you could send the rest of the money, it would be great.”

 

“Yeah. Yes, sure.”

 

“A few things I have to warn you about before you can take them home. Please take a seat and listen carefully.” Jihyo asks and closes the box again.

 

Nayeon seems to have grasped how to handle the cuffs and was just silently watching now.

 

“Alright, transfer made.” The botanist says.

 

“I got it.” The trader checks her account and confirms. “First things first, the box is a very important part of preserving them, it’s specifically crafted to keep them intact eternally. As long as they are in the box, they will remain unchanged.”

 

“Okay, don’t take them out of the magic box if I’m not going to use them.” Sana nods.

 

“Second thing, try not to touch them with your bare hands, they will lose their properties and become a dull bronze if you do.”

 

“Right, don’t touch them or they’ll get ugly.”

 

“It’s also a great indicator to see if anyone has gotten to them behind your back. Finally, these are rare and hard to come by for a reason, be careful with those and make great use of them.”

 

“Right, these are it and no more.”

 

“Looks like you got it.” Jihyo chuckled.

 

“You can turn us down now.” Sana breathes deeply.

 

“You both already know I’m not interested and won’t come back to Gotham. At least, not if I can avoid it. Just enjoy your relationship and forget about me, it’s best for us all.”

 

“Best for you, you mean.” Nayeon seems to have controlled herself now.

 

“No, really best for all of us. Part of my job is traveling without leaving a trace, completely vanishing for months on end. I also have to entertain clients and sellers all the time, and I do make it my priority to be the best trader my clients could ever ask for. I will miss important dates and I won’t call if I’m not completely free to do so. Having a relationship with you both would require much more than I’m willing to give at all.”

 

“But what if we still want to try.” Sana almost begs.

 

“Well, if you really want this, I’ll be home all of September.” Is all Jihyo offers. “Now, you two should head home and rest.”

 

“This isn’t over.” Nayeon says, as always.

 

“We’ll see you around?” The botanist looks hopeful.

 

“Like I said, I’ll be home in September.” Jihyo repeats and guides them out.

 

The couple leaves in their car, Sana being extra gentle with the apple box. Both look between  pissed and sad, but Jihyo has no more to offer them. If they really wanted her, they should pull their weight for once and show her they are willing to actually work to get her. Jihyo will, indeed, be at her home during september. It will be her vacation time and she always loved to spend it at her childhood home in France, she loves going back there just to do nothing but tend to the menial tasks of her little country villa.

 

The next morning, Nayeon reads their copy of the contract they got last night and notices something intriguing. It clearly stated Sana asked for three apples, Jihyo gave them nine. This was a parting gift, she figured. Jihyo was saying goodbye to them for the last time and gifting them something unique, special like herself, to remember her by. The doctor quickly finds her girlfriend, but the moment they arrive at the warehouse, it’s already deserted. The couple doesn’t give up and enters the building to look around, only to find it completely empty.

 

Jihyo gets a notification that the cameras in her warehouse captured movement, but she just said to the security team to not bother, those two wouldn’t be there too long and were probably looking for her, not for anything to steal. Sana was the one who thought of checking the office, where they found one single note propped up, in the middle of Jihyo’s table. It was a little paper, folded in half and placed in a way that the text would be facing the door. In it, Jihyo’s beautiful calligraphy says two simple words that breaks their heart but strengthens their resolve.

 

Au revoir.