Meeza Palace, Ukioia

Thursday, October 30th, 2025

“Unnie, can’t you just wait until Yerim wakes up? Yerim will look for you when she wakes up.” Hyejoo grabbed (Park) Chaewon’s wrist, keeping her from going out and leaving Yerim in the bedroom.

Chaewon looked at Hyejoo’s hand that was tightly gripping her hand. She sighed with tight lips. With her free hand, she tugged Hyejoo’s wrist to free it.

“Her condition is getting better, she will be fine with you. Besides, Heejin and Hyunjin are still here. You can look for them if–”

“Unnie,” the soft voice stopped Chaewon’s words. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath realizing who was calling her. “Chaewon Unnie.”

“Please…” Hyejoo pleaded softly, “Talk to her before you go.”

Chaewon gave in and stepped closer to the bed. She smiled as she saw Yerim reach out to her, asking her to come closer. Chaewon grabbed Yerim’s hand in hers and looked down to kiss Yerim’s forehead.

“Feeling better?” She asked gently.

Yerim nodded with tired eyes. Even so, her lips were smiling when Chaewon’s hand moved to straighten her messy hair. “I just feel weak. Other than that, it’s all good, Unnie.”

“I’ve asked Court Lady to prepare ginseng soup for you. You will feel better after having breakfast.” Chaewon sat on the edge of the bed while caressing Yerim’s cheek with her thumb.

Yerim nodded without taking her gaze off Chaewon. She forced to say something, but caught. She could feel her eyes heating up as she looked at Chaewon’s features. Even though she knew nothing was wrong in their relationship, somehow Yerim could never ignore the guilt that kept haunting her whenever she looked at Chaewon. The older girl had given in too much and sacrificed her life in the name of fate.

“Unnie, sorry… I–” Yerim’s words were muffled by the kiss Chaewon gave on her lips.

“I don’t want to hear an apology or whatever.” Chaewon wiped the tears that running down on Yerim’s cheeks. “If you feel guilty for making me worry about you, you should recover soon and be noisy as usual.” Chaewon chuckled when she saw Yerim’s face twitch at her words.

“Are you okay? What did the Unnies say when they found out about our bond? Did Unnies scold you for hiding it? Are you–”

“Hey,” Chaewon smiled at every question Yerim asked. The younger girl looks adorable with an oversized hoodie and disheveled hair. Her eyes were big and look curious, asking for the answer. “Can you stop worrying and focus on your recovery?” Chaewon couldn’t ignore the feeling of relief and fullness in her chest to see Yerim chatter as usual again, a sign that she’s well.

Yerim sighed and grabbed Chaewon’s hand with both hands. “I’m worried.” Yerim pouted.

“Nothing to worry about. They love us.” Chaewon patted the back of Yerim’s hand before freeing her hand from Yerim’s grip.

Yerim sighed at her now empty hands. She wanted to sulk, but she felt she had no right to ask for more considering Chaewon had given her so much. Besides, Yerim knew that Chaewon didn’t like skinship. She didn’t want to make Chaewon feel uncomfortable when she was with her.

“I’ll go back to Gaia to prepare for our event. Heejin and Hyunjin will still be here until this afternoon. Hyejoo will also accompany you.” Yerim frowned at Chaewon’s words. “Don’t force yourself to come if you’re still not feeling well. Make sure you’re strong enough to attend the Sapphire Tier event, right?”

Yerim nodded in response to Chaewon’s request.

“Good girl. See you tomorrow, Yerim-ah.” Chaewon smiled and patted Yerim’s head gently before walking out of the bedroom.

Chaewon just left her, and Yerim should have gotten used to it. Even so, Yerim could not hide her disappointment seeing the older girl leave without a hug or a kiss.

Yerim’s smile returned when she saw Hyejoo walking over to her. She stretched out her hands enthusiastically asking for a hug.

Hyejoo snorted trying to hide her smile before placing her hands on Yerim’s body. Yerim snuggled comfortably in Hyejoo’s arms, her face buried in the crook of the girl’s neck.

“You know what,” Hyejoo can hear Yerim muttering without letting go of her hug, “you could yell at her to stay if you want.” Hyejoo Yerim’s back. Three tough days for them finally over, Hyejoo could feel Yerim’s body shrinking in her arms.

Yerim shook her head, “thank God, I still have you, Son Hyejoo.”

“You will always have me. I got your back.” Hyejoo let go of their hugs and cupped Yerim’s face, looking her right in the eye. “It’s okay for being selfish, Yerim-ah.”

“I’m already selfish. I make you have to share our bond and indirectly force Chaewon Unnie to take responsibility for whatever happens to me.” Yerim let out a deep breath and lowered her head. “I don’t deserve to ask for more when I already have you and Chaewon Unnie.”

“Hey, look at me.” Hyejoo lifted Yerim’s chin to look at her. “You don’t need to be sorry, okay?” Hyejoo looked down and gave a peck on Yerim’s lips. “I was the one who asked her to be bonded to you because I can’t lose you, Yerim. You almost died, and Chaewon Unnie was the only one who can save your life. I thought I was selfish for that, but I realized, Park Chaewon would still be tied to you even if the accident didn’t happen. Because of Pillar’s destiny, we were bound in the Eternal Line.”

“But Hyejoo-ya... I know you did all that for me. I’m grateful for that. But please don’t force her to give the attention to me if Chaewon Unnie doesn’t want it. It hurts every time I saw you arguing with her because of me.” Yerim gripped Hyejoo’s hand tightly. “You know what would happened if I weren’t around anymore, right?”

Hyejoo shook her head quickly. Her face looked tense and uncomfortable with Yerim’s words.

“If something happens to me, you and Chaewon Unnie will be bonded and–”

“We love you. We will do anything to keep you alive.” Hyejoo hugged Yerim, this time she buried her face on Yerim’s shoulder. “Please, stop reminding me of things I don’t want. Don’t say things like that because we won’t let that happen to you. We’ll protect you with our lives, Yerim-ah. I promise you.”

***

Sapphire, Seoul

Thursday, October 30th, 2025

“Can I get a list of the guests who will be coming to the opening of the Sapphire Tier?”

(Kim) Chaewon frowned at (Lee) Chaeyeon’s request.

“You came to see us here only to ask that?” Hyewon, who was staring at the beverages on the refrigerator, turned to look at the younger girl.

“Of course not.” Chaeyeon smirked. “I came because Sunny Lee asked me to take this,” Chaeyeon raised the brown envelope in her hand. “And then I remembered that you guys work here, so I decided to visit you.”

“Then why do you ask for the list of guests?” Hyewon sat opposite Chaeyeon and held out a canned soda.

“I heard Wonyoung will come so–” Chaeyeon didn’t finish her sentence because Yena already handed her the tablet.

“Tell me who we should watch out for.” Yena sat next to Chaeyeon with an impatient gesture.

Chaeyeon laughed at Yena’s behavior. She shook her head before staring at the tablet screen, checking every name on it. Soon she returned the tablet to Yena and opened the canned soda Hyewon gave.

“Good luck for tomorrow. I think you’ll meet all my squad. Since last week, they seem excited to be talking about Sapphire Tier.” Chaeyeon leaned back, looking relaxed when talking about her friends. “Is this place always so quiet? I thought Sapphire was much livelier than Chrysalis. My colleagues always scream at almost every encounter, but your place here is so quiet.”

“It’s rare for our squad to be in Sapphire before lunch if there is no meeting scheduled.” Chaewon put her tablet on the table and directed her gaze on Chaeyeon. “So?”

“I hope you can act normally like you used to towards Yujin and Wonyoung, don’t do something that will attract attention.” Chaeyeon said seriously to the Pillars around her. “It’s been years since Wonyoung and Yujin bonded, everything is well.”

“Does that mean Wonyoung has no idea about her bond with Yujin?” Chaewon leaned towards Chaeyeon.

“Only God and The Odd-Eyes know that.” Chaeyeon replied with a faint smile on her face, “That, if you believe in our existence.”

“How could Wonyoung not realize your identity?” All night Hyewon tried to find an answer, but she did not find a valid answer.

“Because she lost her memory.” Chaeyeon answered.

The three Pillars sighed, irritated at the short answer. They already knew that, they need more explanation.

Chaeyeon chuckled at the expressions of her peers. She tugged at the sleeve of the shirt and showed her wrist that has no any symbol on it. Her hand slipped under her shirt and pulled out a necklace with a familiar pendulum — the alloy chip. She took off the necklace and put it on the table before showing her wrist again which now showed the same mark as that of Hyewon, Yena, and Chaewon.

“I used that to disguise my existence.”

“How do you know that?” Yena turned her body towards Chaeyeon who was now checking her phone. Yena weighed the alloy chip in her palm with a look of amazement.

“The Odd-Eyes’ privileged. Only the Odd-Eyes have them.” Chaeyeon shrugged. She took the necklace and put it back on her neck.

“Then why are you hiding your identity, Unnie?” Chaewon leaned on the edge of the table without taking her gaze off Chaeyeon.

“If they find out that I am a Pillar and an Odd-Eye, they will realize Yujin’s true identity. It will be dangerous for Wonyoung and Yujin. The birthstone of a Ruler who already has a Scepter is much more valuable than a Lone Ruler.” Chaeyeon bit her lower lip before continuing her sentence. “I know what I’m doing doesn’t help much because, in the end, we can’t avoid our destiny ahead. But at least, we can buy some time and collect the heirlooms and the birthstones while we can. The current situation is the best.”

“So Yujin doesn’t even know that she’s not a Pillar but a Scepter?”

Chaeyeon nodded in answer to Hyewon’s question. “Yujin doesn’t know my true identity. What I have now is what Yujin had before. Wonyoung changed our destiny that night.”

“Yujin used to be an Odd-Eye?”

Chaeyeon nodded. “The different eye color can only be seen when we turn 18. At that age, The Odd Eye began to be able to enter all realms. Yujin was supposed to be the Odd Eye, but she lost her destiny even before she became one.”

“If you can go through space and time, you are able to find out the people who responsible for that night, right?” Hyewon frowned when she saw Chaeyeon nodded. “Then, why don’t you do anything?”

“It’s complicated, Hye. Even though Odd Eye has that ability, we are powerless. We can predict, but we can’t control and decide what will happen in the future. We can’t control the human conscience, and sometimes, the conscience rules us.” Chaeyeon sighed. “What was supposed to happen that night was Astreaia to be destroyed and all The Earth Line died, without the other Rulers to intervene. The big plan that night was to kill all of you, the Earth Line. But at the last moment, all the Rulers, including Wonyoung changed their minds. Because of that, we are still alive. A young Ruler’s birthstone like Wonyoung’s means nothing. If they killed Wonyoung that night, they would need to wait for the new Ruler to born, and they can’t wait for long years. So, they chose to wait for Wonyoung to grow up, and to have a new battle begins. Wonyoung’s return to your life is a new beginning.”

“Then why did you hide Wonyoung from us?! Isn’t that dangerous for her?”

“It’s the least I can do to keep her alive so that Wonyoung is well prepared to face her destiny ahead. I bet you will act recklessly and do something that will only hasten Wonyoung’s death.”

“Yah! Lee Chaeyeon!! Who are you to say that when you keep acting like you are God with all the power you have?! You don’t even believe us!” Yena bit her lower lip in annoyance. “And you lied by pretending to have amnesia about that incident?”

“No, I just remembered everything when I became a Pillar and an Odd Eye. It was about three months after that incident.”

“Wait!” Yena’s face was serious. “The Black Record!! The book wrote them all!! About the Last Odd Eye of Astreaia and full moon. It must be talking about Yujin. Ahhh I didn’t have time to read what happened in 2020.”

“You shouldn’t read The Chronicle Tales, Yena, you are not allowed to.” Chaeyeon shook her head. She stood up and grabbed her belongings. “I visited you just to tell you that. Don’t do anything without telling me because it will only harm Wonyoung.”

Without prolonging the conversation, Chaeyeon going out of Hyewon’s office. She walked towards the elevator that would take her to the basement where she parked her car. She got into the elevator, stared at the watch on her wrist before lingering her gaze at the screen that showed the floor she was on.

Chaeyeon couldn’t hide her smile when the elevator door opened and found a petite girl standing with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her attention was focused on her phone in her hand. Realizing that the occupant did not get out of the elevator, the girl lifted her face and met Chaeyeon’s eyes. She took a deep breath as she found the grin on Chaeyeon’s face widened, looks satisfied seeing her reaction.

“I hate the fact that you always find me and appear in front of me out of nowhere, Lee Chaeyeon.”

“And I love the fact that you like going around alone. It made it easier for me to meet you, Park Chaewon.” Chaeyeon got out of the elevator and walked over to Chaewon.

“I hope I don’t see you among the guests at the Sapphire Tier event tomorrow night.” Chaewon walked past Chaeyeon to enter the elevator. Doesn’t seem interested in whatever reason Chaeyeon seemed to be waiting for her on purpose.

“Have you made up your mind? Who do you stand for? Your Ruler or–”

Chaewon stopped walking at Chaeyeon’s unfinished question. She turned around and found the older girl holding out the brown envelope in her hand to her.

“Don’t you think with I’m staying by Jinsol Unnie’s side a few days ago is enough of an answer?” Chaewon’s gaze was intense when she said that. “Two people I care about are dying even when this war hasn’t started yet. I don’t care what you guys want. Since the beginning, I’ve never changed my decision. But if I find wounds on their bodies once again, I’ll make sure all your plans will fall apart, Lee Chaeyeon. Now, I really want you to kill all the Eidolons around you.”

“Take this, you will need it.” Chaeyeon smiled apologetically as Chaewon grabbed the brown envelope. “Did you know that Sharon Kim is one of the guests for the Sapphire Tier?”

Chaewon nodded at the question.

“I know. She’ll be back with Jihyo Unnie this evening.” Chaewon replied calmly. “But Zhou Jieqiong is still in Shanghai, so I have nothing to worry about.”

“She’s already here.” Chaeyeon lifted her phone and looked at the clock printed on the screen. “The plane landed five minutes ago. Zhou Jieqiong came as the representative of Lyra Academy. I’m sure you already know that the Fairy Tale Ent will be represented by Wong Kahei, and Kim Jungeun will attend as Cherry Rose representative. Isn’t this interesting?”

“Does this mean I have to do something as a preventive act?” Chaewon could feel a new problem coming with just an additional piece of information that instantly gave her a headache. She hadn’t even had time to rest in peace when she returned from Vienna and dealing with Jinsol and Yerim’s condition. She’s not ready for another trouble.

“Nope.” Chaeyeon shook her head. “Kim Chungha is still in LA and Jo Haseul is still busy with her project in Reykjavik. Everything will be alright. But I hope you will call me if one of the Chrysalis Squad leaves before the event ends.”

“Why?” Chaewon looks confused.

“Because if one of them leaves this place early, that means we’ll have a big news in the morning. I don’t think we will appreciate that news.” Chaeyeon smiled and turned around to continue her steps.

“If you want something from me, at least tell me where is she?!” Chaewon yelled at the sight of Chaeyeon’s stepping away.

Chaeyeon waved her hand at Chaewon’s words. “Somewhere. She’s fine, and that’s all you need to know, Chaewon-ah.”

“This is the reason why I never like the Odd-Eyes. Always acting so arrogant and careless.” Chaewon hissed and opened the envelope given by Chaeyeon. She found a card and a necklace inside the envelope. As she read the card, her eyes were rounded in surprise:

Butterfly Effect

Let sleeping dogs lie.

Let the cat out of the bag.

The Gray Swan event will start tomorrow.

Fish or cut bait.

Chaewon sighed and snapped her fingers. In an instant, the card and the envelope in her hand disappeared, nothing left. She put on the necklace Chaeyeon gave her and stepped back into the parking lot towards her car. Without wasting any time, she left the Sapphire Building to the only place where she will have the answer to the message she had just received.

***

Unity Hospital, Seoul

Thursday, October 30th, 2025

“I hate her,” Sooyoung mumbled while sipping the chocolate. Her eyes were focused on Jinsol who was busy checking the case report on her laptop. Next to her, Kang Kyungwon were standing and assisting with the cases they are working on.

“I love her.” The tall girl next to Sooyoung responded with an annoying smile. “My Kyungwon just being a kind and supportive colleague to Jinsol but here you are, Ha Sooyoung, her fiancée who just being unnecessarily annoying and overprotective.”

“As her doctor and fiancée, my worries are understandable.” Sooyoung defended herself, looking offended when Kim Minkyung, Sooyoung’s fellow doctor, snorted at her defense.