Yongsun watched from the mouth of the alleyway as the figure crouched on their hands and knees, loudly wolfing down hunks of meat with trembling fingers.  She glanced behind her, relieved at the lack of video cameras.  It felt like every few meters there was a CCTV that could document her every move but here, in between an old gopchang shop and a crumbling apartment building, was a gap.  She quietly pulled up the mask resting against her collarbones, transforming her face into the appearance of the whimsical maiden in traditional mask dances.  The wood was painted white as chalk with two bright red dots on her cheeks and a third dot in between her eyebrows, the face of a spritely young girl.

 

She smelled the blood as she stepped deeper into the darkness, seeing the feet of the corpse on its back while the rest of the body was hidden by the figure desperately gulping down wet flesh.  The sound made Yongsun’s mouth water and her teeth felt sharp in as she reached for the short sword sheathed at her leg. 

 

“What are you doing?” she asked quietly, watching the way the words made the figure tense.  The tautness between the shoulder blades made Yongsun begin to pull her sword out of its scabbard. 

 

“So… hungry.”  The voice was feminine and young, maybe no older than a college girl.  On closer inspection, Yongsun saw that she was wearing stylish light-wash jeans and a tan spring coat that was splattered with crimson, ruining the fantasy of normalcy.

 

“Hunger does not mean you should murder a human,” Yongsun muttered. She ignored how her own stomach turned at the sight of the ribcage cracked open and bloody with a soup of intestines and bones.  The monstrous part of her wanted to get down on her knees with the girl and feast alongside her.

 

“What else are we supposed to do? I just wanted a taste!”

 

“And you have that with the meals we receive from the Clan.”

 

“But I want more!”  The girl whipped her head over her shoulder and Yongsun saw the glowing red eyes and a bloody mouth with sharpened canines.  A monster cloaked in human skin.  A gumiho. 

 

“You know the punishment for this kind of greed.  You put us all at risk with this behavior.”

 

The girl smiled at the words, eyes flicking to the sword gleaming in the faint lights from the street behind them.

 

“I was just so tired of stopping myself.  Have you ever tasted it fresh like this?”

 

Yongsun grit her teeth, grateful for the mask that kept her expression forever twisted into the painted red smile of the naive maiden.

 

“I have not and I will never.  My duty to the Clan is to make sure that we protect ourselves from the outside world.  You are a threat to the safety of our kind and I will have to end your life.”

 

The girl dropped her head, bloody mouth flicking into a smile.

 

“I can die happy though.  I got to taste it just once.  Don’t you think, White Fox, that we’re meant to be like this?  Maybe we should be the ones in the light of the day instead of hiding in darkness.”

 

Yongsun glanced down once at the body at the girl’s feet.  It was a homeless man, his face twisted into an expression of pure terror with tears still beading at the corner of his eyes. 

 

“Monsters belong in the darkness, girl.  We don’t deserve to see the light.”

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

Yongsun limped along the tree line, finally getting to the edge of the familiar trail.  It had been more of a fight than she had intended with the other girl.  She winced as she glanced at her leg, still raw from the harsh bite she’d been given right before her sword sliced clean through the rabid gumiho. 

 

Gasping a little as she shifted to her good leg, she leaned against the bristly bark of a tree to stay standing.  Yongsun shook her head as she let the mask drop from her face to rest at her neck with just the top obscuring .  Her forehead was slick with sweat and her hair was matted to her head from the exertion of not only killing the girl but disposing of her body.  Her clothes still smelled like gasoline and blood.  It disgusted her at how some part of her reveled in the scent.

 

“You get her?”

 

Acting on pure instinct, Yongsun’s sword was at the intruder’s throat in an instant.  She couldn’t help twisting into an animalistic snarl as the mask fell away to expose sharp teeth ready to rip into flesh.

 

“Unnie, it’s just me!”

 

Yongsun squinted at the girl at the tip of her sword.  Hyejin was dressed like it was a day at the beach with a tank top covered lazily by a half on sweatshirt and shorts.  Probably the strangest thing a hiker would see on a chilly day in early March.

 

“Hyejin-ah, what are you doing out here?”

 

“Madame Kim wanted me to wait for you since she had to send you out so late.”

 

“It’s too late for you to be out here.  It’s dangerous at night.”

 

“More dangerous than us?”

 

Yongsun’s mouth twitched, and she sheathed her sword in a quick movement as Hyejin stepped back.

 

“Was the White Fox successful?”

 

“You know I hate when they call me that,” Yongsun muttered with an eye roll as she walked in stride with Hyejin down the dirt path.  It was pitch black but they could see as if it was a brightly lit spring day, easily weaving around rocks and trees in their way. 

 

“Well what else did you expect to be called when you wear that scary white mask? Anyway,  isn’t it bad to take artifacts from the museum you work for?”

 

“I got the mask in Insadong, Hyejin-ah. Also I work for the Museum of Natural History not the Museum of History. Thank goodness you didn’t actually listen to my advice to go into curating work.”

 

“We both know I’m better at singing, Unnie.  You’re the one who likes to sit with boxes of dead animals and sort them into different exhibits for bored middle schoolers and creepy men.”

 

Yongsun rolled her eyes at the joking remark as they reached stone stairs cut into the side of the mountain. 

 

“After I put my things away, I’ll drive you home.  Were you planning on just sleeping at the temple?”

 

Hyejin shrugged a shoulder as she easily walked up the stairs.  Yongsun on the other hand took each step one at the time, wincing at how the bite burned with each small movement.  Bites from other gumiho were slow to heal. 

 

“Madame Kim wouldn’t let me.  Even though I’m studying to be a priestess, too, I still have to finish my stupid degree.”

 

“You can’t just make a living from singing during the Clan ceremonies at the temple, Hyejin-ah.”

 

“It’s our heritage, Unnie.  What’s so wrong with living in celebration of the Fox Goddess?”

 

Yongsun paused as Hyejin looked down at her curiously.  Sometimes she forgot that she wasn’t like Hyejin.  She’d grown up for twelve years blissfully unaware of her true nature.  Hyejin on the other hand was the niece of the Clan’s high priestess and had been steeped in the traditions of the gumiho even before she could speak.  She couldn’t help the tinge of envy at how nice it must feel to be able to eat human liver and think of it as nothing more than a necessary means of survival. 

 

“T-there’s nothing wrong with that.  I’m just saying it’s important to be able to do human things, too.  Like learn how to drive a car.  Or pretend to be affected by the change in the seasons.”

 

Hyejin pointedly rolled her bare shoulder with a grin.

 

“I can’t wait until I finish college and then I can be a priestess full-time.  No more classes!”

 

“Do you really hate acting like a human so much?”

 

They had finally reached the top of the stairs, walking toward the front gates of the temple.  To many it would seem like a run of the mill Buddhist temple, one of the many that riddled the mountains of South Korea from Busan to Seoul.  However, the statues and relics were distinctly foxes.  Yongsun’s eyes flitted over the mural of bipedal foxes dancing in hanbok with jeweled swords. 

 

“I’m not human so why should I like pretending to be something I’m not?”

 

Yongsun opened to reply when she saw a head peeking around the corner of the front gate.

 

“Hey! Madame Kim says she wants to speak to Yongsun-unnie before she gets changed!”

 

“Wheein-ah! Why aren’t you sleeping?” Yongsun asked with an exasperated eye roll.  The other girl was training to be an enforcer for the Clan like Yongsun was.  Hopefully with a less cringeworthy nickname.  Unlike Hyejin, Yongsun hadn’t been able to get a promise from the other girl to attend and finish a college but she seemed to heed her scolding well.

 

“Oh I was, Unnie! Madame Kim woke me up because she knew you were returning and she wanted to speak with you.”

 

Yongsun tugged off the mask that had been hanging from her neck and the sword strapped to her leg, gingerly handing them off to Wheein’s waiting hands.

 

“Can you put these away from me, Wheein-ah?  You know where my shelf of things is, right?”

 

“Sure, Unnie. Do you want me to wait for you to finish talking so that I can put away your clothes, too?”

 

Yongsun’s mouth curled a little fondly as she glanced at the other girl.  Wheein was an orphan like Yongsun, briefly growing up human before being taken into the Clan.  Although she tended to err on the quiet side, she had a familiarity that made Yongsun feel comfortable.  Like a little sister. 

 

“That’s okay.  Just make sure to bring Hyejin out when I’m done.  I have to drive her back to the dorm.”

 

“Can’t I sleep here, Unnie? Wheein has trouble sleeping alone.”

 

“H-hey, it’s not so bad!” Wheein weakly protested, face flushing in embarrassment.  Hyejin just gave the other girl a fond smile and Yongsun’s mouth twitched a little as she walked past the two girls toward the main compound.  She could hear their giggles echo in the empty courtyard as she walked up the polished stone steps leading to the center structure holding the main statue of the Goddess.  Yongsun carefully toed off her shoes and pulled open the side door, instantly hit by the cloying scent of musky incense.

 

The room was dimly lit by candles at the base of a fox carved from an ancient slab of granite.  A lone figure was kneeling in a swirl of thick incense as she stared up at the relic in regal white robes.  The scarlet trim at her collar and sleeves glittered in the flickering candles as she adjusted herself to turn and stare at Yongsun.

 

“You’re injured.”

 

“It’ll heal.”  She ignored the throb in her thigh as she knelt on the wooden floor at Madame Kim’s side. 

 

“Were you able to stop her?”

 

Yongsun shook her head silently, gazing up at the granite slab.

 

“And you disposed of both bodies?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Madame Kim hummed quietly as she reached forward and plucked a stick of incense from its metal holder.  She delicately waved her wrist and let the thin trail of smoke swirl lazily around her.

 

“You’ve noticed it too.  The rise in murders committed by members of our Clan.”

 

“This is the second person I’ve had to deal with this month.  But the bloodlust isn’t exactly unusual for our kind.”

 

“You always have that tone in your voice, Yongsun.”

 

Yongsun could feel Madame Kim’s hard stare as she continued to look up at the granite slab of the Fox Goddess.  Being in here made her skin prickle, like the thing she kept trapped deep within herself could rise to the surface at any moment. 

 

“Tone, Madame Kim?”

 

“Like you aren’t one of us.”

 

“Ever since my parents passed away, I have dedicated my life to serving the Clan as an enforcer.”

 

“And in return I let you finish your string of degrees in higher education.  So that you could work in some museum touching dead things and dust.  You cannot have both forever, Yongsun.”

 

Yongsun grit her teeth but said nothing as she stared straight ahead.  She remembered the smell of blood and smoke as a small hand covered as Yongsun had stared at bare pale feet step onto broken glass, a long bloody sword dragging against the carpet.  She had wanted to scream at the thing that had left her parents motionless on the other side of the room but she had remained silent in the closet, viewing everything through the spaces between wooden slats in the door.

 

“I found you in blood and fire, Yongsun.  You were a phoenix in rebirth.  You can never go back.  Only forward.”

 

“I understand, Madame Kim.”

 

“Do you?” 

 

Yongsun turned and met eyes that glowed a little more golden than possible even with candlelight.

 

“Do you doubt my loyalty?”

 

Madame Kim tilted her head a little and Yongsun remained steady even though her skin itched and her leg burned.  The woman had practically raised her since she was twelve years old, giving her a new name and life after her old one had burned to the ground in that house with-

 

“You still wear the necklace.”

 

“What?”

 

Madame Kim pointed her stick of incense at a slight protrusion underneath Yongsun’s shapeless black hoodie.

 

“You’ve had it ever since I first met you.  What exactly is its significance, I wonder.”

 

Yongsun dropped her gaze as she fought the way her teeth sharpened at the needling remark.  The other woman could always subtly get under her skin like she was perpetually studying her under a microscope. 

 

“It was given to me by a friend.”

 

“A memory from the past?”

 

“An indulgence in my vanity. The stone… pairs well with my eyes.”

 

“Unnie is the prettiest girl in the world!”

 

“Vanity?”

 

“When I grow up I want to marry Unnie!”

 

“Nothing more.”

 

Madame Kim hummed as she turned to gaze back at the Goddess’ visage, her face stilling into serenity.

 

“You haven’t fed recently, have you?”

 

Yongsun felt fill with saliva at the thought of feeding, her mind unintentionally going back to the body from earlier.

 

“No. Not in a few weeks.”

 

“You always did work yourself too hard.  Starving yourself can’t kill the fox within you, Yongsun.”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind, Madame Kim.”

 

Yongsun began to rise to her feet when a stick of incense gently prodded her shin.

 

“I have something for you.  It’s in the back room in the refrigerator.”

 

“I’m not that hungry-”

 

“I can tell when you lie.”

 

Yongsun sighed as she fully stood to her feet and bowed.

 

“I’ll go eat and then return Hyejin back to the dorm.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

With a dip of her head, Yongsun swiftly walked behind Madame Kim to the small spare room.  It was a run of the mill space that felt like it had been a strange dash of modern among the ancient relics and architecture of the sprawling temple estate.  It even had a microwave and refrigerator.

 

Yongsun flicked on a light and shut the door behind her.  On a simple fold out table was a clean plate.  Walking past it with trembling fingers, she squatted down to open the small refrigerator.  Her nose twitched as she saw a stack of Styrofoam boxes, each carefully labelled in Hyejin’s handwriting.  She hastily grabbed the one with her name and sat it on the card table.

 

The contents of the box sloshed thickly inside and Yongsun couldn’t control herself any longer. She popped open the lid and stared at the liver, freshly harvested by the smell of it.  The Clan had a few of their own working in hospitals scattered across the provinces to make it easier to covertly harvest livers for consumption.  Yongsun’s mouth watered as she leaned closer and sniffed, filling her nose with the thick scent of iron.  Her teeth were painfully sharp and she knew that her eyes must be golden.  The longer she waited the more she’d change in the pain of hunger. 

 

The irony of that was never lost on her.  The more she resisted her instincts, the more monstrous she would become.        

 

With a moan she opened to take the first bite.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

“Yongsun-ah, did you see that you got staffed on the career service day project later this week?”

 

Yongsun glanced over the monitor of her computer to see Chorong holding a stack of folders for the new Han River ecosystems exhibit to her chest.     

 

“Sorry?”

 

“You know, the thing we do every year with other government departments? You might get put next to the prosecutors this year.  Or maybe the National Assembly clerks.”

 

Yongsun wrinkled her nose at the thought.

 

“But I really need to get the preliminary research work done for the new exhibit.  How are we supposed to put everything together if we aren’t familiar with the fauna-”

 

“Hey, I didn’t staff you on it! I think Director Shim just picked a name randomly off a list.”

 

Yongsun sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

 

“Sorry, I’ve been a bit tense lately.”  It’d been nearly a week since she’d had to deal with the college girl and apparently she’d have to look into a potential new threat from a group of rogue gumiho. 

 

“It’s okay.  Have you been getting sleep lately?  You seem tired.”

 

“Ah, not really.  I should work on it.”  Yongsun smiled at Chorong who returned the look in kind.

 

“Well if you sneak off into the Environment Hall the couches in the Birth of Earth display are pretty comfy for a nap.”

 

Yongsun nodded as she shuffled some of her notes into a binder for some reading she could do after her lunch break.

 

“Where is the event thing even at?”

 

“Director Shim sent you an email apparently.  It has all the details in there.”

 

Yongsun toggled through her web browser to the schedule and seating arrangements.

 

“I’m next to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Department.”

 

Chorong nodded absently as she slid her glasses back on and reached for the folder at the top of her sizable stack.

 

“They have some cute guys apparently.  Kind of dumb though.”

 

Yongsun shrugged non-committally as she reached for her pendant, twirling the thin string of silver around her finger.  She had wanted to be a police officer.  If she had survived the fire maybe she would have been.

 

 “Yongsun?”

 

“Oh sorry! What is it?”

 

“I was just letting you know that it’s lunch now.  Want to eat together?”

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

Yongsun knelt behind a car in the nearly empty parking lot, peering curiously at the figures around a van.  There were two in the front seat and three talking to someone whose back was to Yongsun.  When she’d been told to take down the foxes who were going rogue she’d been expecting a sloppy gang.  Not a well-run organ harvesting business. 

 

She reached down and slid her mask into place, grip tightening on the sword at her thigh.

 

“So you signed off on all the paperwork?”

 

“Yes.  When will I be guaranteed that the money is wired into my account?”

 

“We can get someone to wire it immediately.  Open up your online bank account and you can watch the transfer in real time.”

 

Yongsun almost rolled her eyes at how stupid the woman was being.  Was it worth giving up a kidney just to get some money from such a shady practice?  They were planning on extracting an organ in the back of a van for goddess’ sake!

 

“Chul-su, call Our Lady to get permission for the transfer.”

 

One of the men pulled out his phone and tapped at his screen.  Yongsun squinted as she saw the woman began to reach into her back pocket and that’s when she noticed a slight bulge.  Her eyes widened as she saw the handle of a gun.  An undercover female cop?    

 

“As much as I’d love some extra cash with my salary, I’ll have to ask everyone to stop.”  The woman took a step back and raised her gun.  Yongsun swallowed as she caught the glint of gold in all the men’s startled eyes.  If she was a cop with a gun against regular thugs she may have had a chance.  But a cop with a gun against a pack of rogue gumiho?

 

Yongsun unsheathed her sword and rose to her feet. 

 

“I’m a part of a sting operation with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Department.  You’re all under arrest for operating an illegal organ selling business for the past four months.”

 

“Under arrest?  You’re just a girl with a gun.”

 

“Just?”  The woman’s shoulders squared at the jeer.   “I was top of my class at the Academy.  The rest of the team is on the way but we can keep each other busy until then, I’m sure.”

 

Yongsun tensed as a man let out an animalistic snarl and lunged forward, throwing a punch at the woman’s temple.  But she ducked quickly, slamming her fist hard into his kidney.  He buckled to his knees and then the rest of the men were on her.  Although the woman seemed to be holding her own as she fought the men, Yongsun thought she could get in and end things quickly.

 

With her mask hiding her face and her dark clothes hiding her body shape, she supposed she looked something like a ghost as she crept up behind the fight in the abandoned parking lot.  She observed the two men in the van shifting uneasily as they observed the rest of their crew fighting with the police officer, clearing debating whether they should interfere.  But then they saw Yongsun through the windshield and their faces twisted into pure horror.

 

“It’s an enforcer!” one of them yelled as the engine of the van revved.  The three men who had finally gotten the police officer to the ground, paused in their work.  Yongsun tightened her grip on her sword as she raised her head a little to meet their panicked eyes.

 

“The High Priestess is not pleased with your deeds and I have been asked to enforce our laws.”

 

Yongsun ignored the bloodied police officer on her back, tilting her head in clear confusion at the strange sight before her.

 

“It’s only one enforcer.  We can take her!”

 

“But she serves the Goddess… isn’t that a little…?”

 

“You believe in that bull?  Are you going to just sit back and let yourself be murdered for the good of the Clan? Remember what Our Lady said? It’s time for us to be the ones in the light instead of in the darkness.”

 

Yongsun tilted her head a little as she felt a vague recollection at the words.  Before she could think more about it, however, she’d have to get rid of all these men. She began walking forward, briefly meeting the police officer’s bewildered gaze.  The woman was smaller up close, with long dark hair and bangs that fell into her eyes.  Her lip was bloody but it was impressive that that seemed to be her only wound considering she had been up against three fully grown gumiho.

 

Moving past the cop, she stood in front of the three men, raising her sword with intent.

 

“You are all a threat to the safety of our kind and I will have to end your lives.” 

 

“W-wait!  You can’t just kill these guys! There’s due process.  The police have to deal with them first.  Plus we don’t really do the death penalty anymore.”

 

Yongsun almost rolled her eyes and with a swift motion one of the men was on his knees, his stomach cut clean open.  The other two gasped in shock as they watched him try to hold his body together as he bled out on the dirty concrete, gasping for breath.

 

“W-what the hell is this vigilante bull?”

 

“Justice,” Yongsun muttered as she glared at the remaining two gumiho.  They started to try to back away and run toward the van that was starting to drive away.  According to Madame Kim they all had to be eliminated.  But just as she began to give chase she felt the cold muzzle of a gun against the small of her back.

 

“Listen, I’m really grateful that you tried to help me here but you can’t just murder people.  I need to take you into the station for some serious questioning.”

 

Yongsun rolled her eyes and whipped around, sword pointing at the cop whose gun was also raised.  She couldn’t kill a human but she could probably get away with disarming her and giving her a decent concussion. 

 

“This isn’t your place to interfere.”

 

The cop tilted her head a little with a smile.

 

“Isn’t that my line? What are you, some Hong Gildong cosplayer?”

 

“I’m here to enforce justice.  They have murdered countless humans and harvested their organs.  It’s only right that their lives end here.”

 

“That’s for the law to decide.  You really must be from the Chosun dynasty if you think an eye for an eye is the way justice works.”

 

Yongsun’s mind flickered briefly to the barefooted woman with her bloody sword and glowing red eyes.

 

“Death deserves death.  It’s the way of our world.”

 

The police officer raised her free hand to her ear with a little shake of her head.

 

“Officer Moon, here.  I think I’m fine, track the van.  You have the plates right?”

 

Yongsun could hear the static of a male voice coming from an ear piece.

 

Yeah but what the hell is happening over there?  Did you kill somebody?

 

“No, but someone else did.  Listen I got this so just follow those guys.  They’re a little weird though so be careful.”

 

Right on, Byul.

 

Yongsun stiffened as she squinted at the woman in front of her.  Moon… Byul?  And then her eyes fell upon the necklace that had fell out of her shirt.  The pendant was identical to the one resting against Yongsun’s heart. 

 

“Moon… Byulyi?” she choked out, hands quivering as she stared at the woman in front of her.

 

Byulyi frowned.

 

“How do you know my name?”

 

Yongsun her lips, not knowing what on earth she could say as an answer.

 

And then suddenly Byulyi crumpled to the floor, the sound of a gunshot ripping through the night air.  Yongsun hissed as she dropped her sword, clutching at her arm as she saw Wheein holding a large plank of wood between small fingers.  She glanced down at the incapacitated Officer Moon with a grin. 

 

“Unnie, hey! Looks like I showed up just in time.”

 

Yongsun made a noncommittal noise as she examined the blood spilling from her fingers.  The bullet had grazed her arm and would most likely heal in a few days.

 

“We’ll have to go after those men before the police get to them.  It’ll be hard to bring justice if they’re behind bars in a human prison.”

 

Wheein nodded resolutely as she stepped over the unconscious officer to pick up Yongsun’s sword.

 

“Let’s get going then.  I promised Hyejin I’d have a late night snack with her afterwards.  Her campus is nearby, right?”

 

Yongsun’s mouth twitched as she glanced once at Moon Byulyi, prone on her back with a gun gripped loosely in her hand.  If she just left her there, she’d be found eventually.  And yet…

 

“Wheein-ah, do you have your cellphone with you?  Could you call the police about a noise complaint in this area?”

 

“B-but then Unnie they’ll bring officers here to investigate!”

 

Yongsun spared one last look at the pendant on Moon Byulyi’s chest, before tearing her eyes away.

 

“Exactly.”

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

Yongsun stared up at the clouds from her spot on the swings, pumping her legs easily in rhythm with the languid movement.  Back and forth. Back and forth.  She closed her eyes and tipped her head back as she inhaled a little and smelled the freshness of a humid summer evening with damp grass and muggy air.

 

“Hey!” 

 

Suddenly Yongsun’s swing was pulled to a sudden stop as warm hands overlapped with her own.

 

“Moon Byulyi,” she muttered with an eye roll as she opened her eyes to see the younger girl staring down at her with a cheeky grin, one of her top teeth missing.

 

“Unnie!” she giggled as she wrapped her arms around Yongsun’s shoulders, nearly pushing her off the swing.

 

“Oh jeez, Byul-ah, take it easy.  Did you just finish your trip with your family? You must have run out here.”

 

“I did!”

 

Yongsun hid her smile as she glanced down at her sandaled feet, wiggling her toes.

 

“Why’d you run out here?”

 

“Because I missed, Unnie.”

 

“Stupid,” Yongsun said with a grin, leaning a little into the girl behind her.

 

“Do you want me to push you on the swing?”

 

“Okay.”

 

Byulyi pulled back and Yongsun’s insides twisted as she missed the warmth.

 

“You’re moving soon,” Byulyi observed as Yongsun pumped her legs.

 

“Next week.”

 

“I’ll write you every single day, Unnie.”

 

“I will, too.”

 

“But I got you something, too.  So that we can remember each other no matter where we go.”

 

Yongsun glanced behind her, meeting Byulyi’s proud grin.

 

“Did you get something from your trip?” she asked curiously. 

 

“Yep!  Matching necklaces.  That way no matter where we are, we’ll always be connected, Sunhae-unnie!”

 

“Hey, Yongsun?”

 

Yongsun startled awake, shuddering at the crick in her neck from where she’d been leaning against a chair during her sudden nap in the Birth of Earth exhibit.  It had been awhile since she’d had a dream about Byulyi.  Years in fact.  She reached for her necklace and tentatively gave it a squeeze before putting it back under her shirt.

 

“Um, yeah? Chorong, is everything okay?”

 

“Yeah, it’s just you need to leave to set up for our booth at the Career day thing.  One of the police officers next to you offered to help you set up since your arm still hurts from your accident.  Just give her all the boxes.”

 

Yongsun nodded with a yawn, stretching her arms over her head as she followed Chorong out of the dark room. 

 

Quickly heading to the lobby, Yongsun saw someone in a handsome dark blue uniform talking to a child pointing emphatically at the impressive dinosaur exhibit.  As the woman got on one knee, Yongsun felt herself lose her breath as she realized it was Moon Byulyi.