“You told her about Eodum?” Seungwan demanded, tearing the headphones from her ears.

    Yerim didn’t answer at first. She was too busy watching Joohyun storm into the Astral Plane. Light and dark surrounded her, and she vanished in an upwelling of stars.

Yerim didn’t need to see her eldest sister’s face to know that she was in a rage.

“I didn’t mean to,” Yerim said, recalling the way she and Sooyoung had danced. The human girl had been so kind, their conversation coming with ease. They’d talked about so many things while they observed the Astral Plane. It had felt natural, smooth. Things had just spilled from her like water from a fountain. She should have known better. Perhaps Seungwan and Joohyun were right to keep her away from mortals.

“Hey, don’t cry,” Seungwan said, offering a tissue, using it to dab away the moisture that blurred the corners of Yerim’s eyes.

“S-sorry,” Yerim said, turning away. She still couldn’t control her emotions like Joohyun and Seungwan could, probably wouldn’t be able to for another decade. That in itself was enough to keep her tears flowing. “I just… got caught up in the stuff we were talking about. Sooyoung was sweet and warm. She made me feel comfortable.”

    “That’s why you can’t trust humans, Yerim,” Seungwan said. If she was annoyed by Yerim’s blabbering, she didn’t show it. Joohyun and Seungwan rarely yelled, or even spoke curtly, to Yerim. But she knew when their patience with her was running thin. “They can’t keep secrets.”

    Yerim shook her head, but didn’t argue. Sooyoung hadn’t been prying for information, or trying to find ways to use her. They’d just been having fun and getting to know each other.

    “Do you think Joohyun will tell Geulim Ja about this?” Yerim asked. She was the only one of her three sisters who referred to him by his formal name. Yerim feared him too much to call him anything else.

    Seungwan brushed away some of Yerim’s hair from her face, continued to wipe her tears. “No. I doubt she’s running to him, anyway. Knowing Joohyun, she’ll drift around for a bit, clearing her head.”

    With her new friend’s safety secured, Yerim allowed herself to relax.

    “What else did you tell Sooyoung?” Seungwan asked. There was no drink in her hand, but by the red tint of her eyes, Yerim could tell that she’d been smoking that awful again. Joohyun disapproved of the stinky herb - for different reasons than Yerim - but that didn’t stop Seungwan from using it. Yerim wished she could make her choices with equal freedom. Not that she would choose to use , anyway.

    “I told her lots of things,” Yerim admitted. Seungwan’s lips drew into a tight line, but Yerim pressed on, determined to plead her case. “She seemed so interested. And it’s not like she was just interrogating me. She told me lots about herself too. Like the things she studies in school, and the parties she goes to on weekends, and her sisters, who-”

    “Shh,” Seungwan said gently. “It’s just more of the same with humans. Did you know there’s seven billion of them here on this planet? And they’re all so similar.”

    That wasn’t true, and Yerim knew it. The mortals she had met on the few short solo excursions had all been as unique as any Representation she’d met. Sometimes they were even more unique, like in Sooyoung’s case. But Yerim didn’t bother trying to argue with Seungwan. It would only make things worse.

    “You have to be careful with what you say to them,” Seungwan said sagely. “Humans don’t understand the universe the way we do. Letting them view the world from our perspective can be very dangerous. You shouldn’t have let her see the Astral Plane at all to begin with.”

Oh, the fun they’d had in the Astral Plane! Yerim had never gotten such joy from bathing in dark matter before. Despite her mortality, Sooyoung had known exactly how to handle herself, didn’t even seem to notice that they were at the point where two dimensions met.

“I’m sorry, Seungwan,” Yerim said earnestly.

“It’s okay, Yeri. But I don’t want you seeing Sooyoung again. It could be dangerous for all of us.”

Yerim’s heart plummeted. “What? But-”

Seungwan held up her hand, commanding silence from her younger sister. “She already knows too much. Joohyun would agree.”

Sadness twisted in Yerim’s stomach like a snake. It wasn’t fair. Why could Joohyun be friends with Seulgi, give away the secrets that she wanted to?

“It isn’t her fault,” Yerim tried to protest, tried to sound commanding like Joohyun or Seungwan could, but her voice came out the same as always. Small, squeaky, afraid. “And I promise I won’t give away anything else.”

Seungwan was already shaking her head. “There’s too much risk. I’m sorry, Yerim.”

A lump formed in Yerim’s throat, and she stood, hating herself for the way her sentiments dominated her. Seungwan tried to make her sit back down, but Yerim was already dashing off toward the bathroom, staring at the floor to hide her sobbing.

Yerim locked herself in a stall, wrapped her arms around her torso, and sniffled. Why couldn’t she just stand up for herself? Yes, she shared an orbit with her sisters, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t make her own decisions. She was supposed to be going on a date with Sooyoung two nights from now, had been looking forward to it from the moment the plans were made. What would she do now?

It took Yerim about ten minutes to compose herself completely. She left the stall, washed her face in the sink, tried to hide the streaks in her mascara. She was glad that Seungwan hadn’t followed her into the bathroom. As much as it pained her to admit, being near either of her sisters right then would have only made her feel worse.

As she dried her hands, an idea came to Yerim. A terrible idea, one that made her stomach turn at the dishonesty of it. Her date with Sooyoung was set for Sunday, dinner at a restaurant that served Mexican food (Yerim wasn’t sure exactly what that was, but from Sooyoung’s descriptions it sounded tasty). Seungwan and Joohyun never left the Galactic Lounge, regardless of which planet they landed on, so the chances of them finding out were slim.

Yerim stared at her reflection, turning her gaze to the thin necklace that lay across . It contained a tiny black gemstone, indiscernible at a glance, but unmistakable to any of the other Representations. The mark of Geulim Ja. Like her sisters she was forced to wear it, hated every second that the terrible thing touched her flesh, but she knew that he didn’t watch her the way he watched Seungwan and Joohyun. It was part of the reason she was able to leave the Lounge on occasion.

Biting her lip, Yerim removed the necklace, twisted it about in her hand. With Joohyun and Seungwan’s connections to the gem, they could see what she was doing as well. Not with the same omnescience as Geulim Ja, but enough. They rarely utilized the power, but if they happened to peer into it on Sunday, see that Yerim was with Sooyoung…

It was a risk, probably the biggest risk she’d taken in her short life. She would tell her sisters that she was going out to explore the city and that she would be back in a reasonable amount of time. An hour, two hours at the most. Would they be suspicious? She would walk out of this bathroom, tell Seugwan that she was still sad, but that she understood why she couldn’t see Sooyoung again.

Yerim found a rush of excitement and trepidation rising within her. Is this how Sooyoung felt when she did forbidden things? Like the drugs she took, the liquor she drank, the classes she skipped?

After setting a soft smile on her face and formulating exactly what she’d say to Seungwan, Yerim took a breath and marched from the bathroom.

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Nobody guessed that this would a Yerim chapter, huh? More questions, I assume, but they'll be answered in time.

Also, as a minor spoiler, this isn't a slow burn; I'm not gonna drag out the mystery of Joohyun's marriage. You'll find out enough about it next chapter, along with Seulrene's first kiss.

Chapter 5 will be up around Tuesday, 7pm EST.

Remember to upvote if you like the story!

Thanks for reading<3