The shrill tones of Seulgi’s phone ripped her from her slumber. She bolted upright, sweat rolling down her forehead, taking the quick breaths of a woman who had just sprinted for several miles. Mad xylophone notes - a song her brother had composed when he was ten - indicated who was trying to contact her. With a shaky hand, she picked up the phone.

    “Hey, Bogum,” Seulgi said, taking effortful steps to sound calm.

    “Hey?” Bogum asked accusingly, and she could almost see the sarcastic look on his face, “You were supposed to call me Friday night!”

    Was I?

    “, I forgot,” Seulgi said, giving an apologetic smile to the empty room before her. Come to think of it, there was something mildly important she was also forgetting, but it escaped her. Her mind was scrambled, cluttered by innumerable thoughts.

    “Of course you did,” Bogum said, not unkindly. “I figure I’d call to remind you about your flight next Friday night.”

    “That’s right!” Seulgi gasped. Spring break was indeed next week; she was supposed to be flying home.

    “It is,” Bogum said with a sigh. And then, sunnily, “Mom’s really excited to see you. Is Sooyoung gonna be coming this time, too?”

    “I don’t think so,” Seulgi said, trying to recall. Last spring break, Sooyoung had come to California with her, as the younger girl hadn’t wanted to stay on campus alone for the duration of their break. “I’ll ask her though.”

    “Okay. How’s everything else going besides that?”

    “Uhh…” Seulgi hesitated. “You know, same old school stuff. Calculus, biology, lots of papers and exams…”

    And a little bit of extra-dimensional travel to top it all off.

    “What about you? How’s the album coming along?”

    “It’s going great,” Bogum said with sincere excitement. “Did you listen to the first single?”

    “Yeah,” Seulgi lied, wincing. “It was really great. I loved the synth, and the beat was very unique.”

    “I knew you’d like it! The lyrics are a little sad, so they’re definitely up your alley,” Bogum said. “Did you see that the video already has five-hundred thousand views? I think this one will finally help me break into the mainstream.”

Though she’d never seen it, Seulgi could conjure what she thought was a good depiction of her brother’s music video. Lots of cuts, glamor shots of Bogum at cringey angles, glitzy overlays tinting each image.

“I sure hope so.” Seulgi said, checking the time on her phone. It was two-twenty one in the morning. “Hey, I hate to cut the call short, but I’ve got some assignments to finish before the night’s over. I’ll talk to you when I get back. Oh, and I’ll text you about the whole Sooyoung thing. Tell everyone I said hi, okay?”

“Uh, sure, Seul,” Bogum said, clearly caught off guard by his sister’s abruptness. Seulgi felt horrible for being so dismissive, but she had good reason to do so. If only Bogum knew what she was dealing with. “Talk to you later.”

Seulgi hung up her phone, tossed it on her bed, and began digging through her closet. She threw together a bare minimum outfit for herself (Sooyoung would have been livid), brushed her teeth, grabbed an umbrella, and sprinted out the door. The residual dregs of shameful envy for her brother’s success continued to plague her even as she turned her attention to the present issues she faced.

When Seulgi stepped on the bus, she was surprised to see a familiar, diminutive figure hanging at the back like the child of a shadow. Evanie showed no sign of recognizing her, so Seulgi hesitated for a moment before deciding to take the unoccupied seat at her side.

“Hey,” Seulgi said. Evanie turned away from the window. Having never gotten a really good look at the girl before, Seulgi was slightly taken aback by her appearance. Her makeupless skin was a stretch of ghostly, almost sickly white. Below her eyes were raccoon’s marks of exhaustion. Despite what should have been an unsettling (even scary) appearance, Seulgi considered Evanie quite comely. Hair done up in twin, neat black pigtails, small mouth with delicate lips, button-like nose, pupils that reflected wisdom despite the youthful frame they were set in. It was easy to see why Summer was fond of her.

“Seulgi Kang,” Evanie said in her accented, barely-audible voice.

“Uh, yep,” Seulgi replied, trying to recall whether she’d ever told Evanie her surname before. “How have you and Summer been since last week? Sooyoung said you haven’t been showing up to classes.”

“We choose to study from home. Creative writing doesn’t require much in-person teaching,” Evanie said bluntly.

If Seulgi was speaking to anyone else, she may have taken offense at the trivialization of one of her favorite subjects. In Evanie’s case, however, it seemed so… honest. 

“Are you going to the Galactic Lounge?” Evanie asked before Seulgi could respond.

“Yeah,” Seulgi said, narrowing her eyes. “How did you-”

“I’m going to go buy alcohol for Tyler.”

    With the remainder of her question overridden by this random, unnerving fact, a five-second gap in the conversation rolled by. Both girls stared at one another, Evanie unblinking, Seulgi wearing a mask of utmost confusion.

    Finally, Seulgi regained her ability to speak. “Why?”

    “He’s still recovering from the other night,” Evanie said simply. “We do not want him to withdraw while he’s doing so.”

    “Wait, still recovering from last w-”

    “I must be going now,” Evanie said as the bus lurched to a stop before Caldwell Square. “I’m happy that you found the Galactic Lounge to your liking. Keep your wits about you, though. There are many times when all is not as it seems.”

There was no liquor store on this campus, and at this time of night, the only thing open was the twenty-four hour drug store. As far as Seulgi knew, they didn’t sell alcohol (aside from isopropyl, of course), but that didn’t stop Evanie from hurrying down the aisle and into the misty darkness.

Seulgi was still in shock when the bus took off again.

“What the  is my life right now?” she muttered to herself, allowing her head to fall back on the cushion of the seat.

Main Ave was more populated than Seulgi expected it to be for three in the morning. Drunk students roamed the streets in clumps, laughing and shouting and making a general ruckus. Seulgi half-expected to find Sooyoung inside one of those groups, wrapped around a gorgeous blonde or a strong-profiled man. Seulgi’s stomach moaned as she passed a food truck, the scents of greasy food meeting her nostrils, tantalizing her brain. The Adderall had prevented her from eating anything substantial throughout the day, and her receding high hadn’t been sated by junk food.

But there wasn’t any time for that. Joohyun was in danger.

As Seulgi half-jogged, half-power walked toward the Lounge, a small voice at the back of her mind slipped into her awareness.

Why do you care so much? You barely know this woman. You just want her for everything that comes with her.

That couldn’t be true, right? Joohyun was kind, easy to talk to, and showed a genuine interest in Seulgi. The other traits (it was difficult to call them perks, because not all of the baggage that Joohyun brought with her was positive, clearly) were just interesting additions. Little add-ons to an already wonderful woman.

Seulgi rounded the corner onto Harp Street. The Galactic Lounge shone like a beacon in the distance, overshadowing the dive bars nearby.

Without those ‘little’ add-ons, would you still be running to her right now? Dropping everything at three in the morning for her? 

That same nagging voice prodded at Seulgi again. She thought her tendency to lose herself in conjured fantasy lands had vanished with the passing of high school. Sitting in class, imagining herself being stolen from the banalities of middle-class suburbia and into her own version of Hogwarts or Narnia. With the shadow of her brother’s near-stardom over her, she had always felt a need to do something meaningful. For reasons unknown, his choice of career had turned her off to following the same route, instead propelling her down the path of becoming a doctor. Her parents had been thrilled, but it had never really fit her. Healthcare workers were supposed to be caring, quick-witted, and tough. Seulgi didn’t like people, reacted to most emergencies with slaw-jawed shock, and had trouble making eye contact with strangers in an elevator. Who was she kidding?

With Joohyun in the picture, everything could change. Joohyun was Seulgi’s key to stardom. Defending humanity from an ultimate evil using powers of shadows and light? The notion of it alone sent a thrill running through her already adrenaline-saturated body. With those powers on her side, Seulgi could become so much more. A heroine. Confident, strong, ethereally beautiful…

Self-hatred threatened to overwhelm her. How dare she feel anything short of urgency and fear at the thought of Joohyun being in danger? She was better than that. She knew she was. She had to be.

Seulgi flashed her license to the bouncer, though he only gave it a cursory glance. It was the same man as the other two times she’d been there, and he seemed to recognize her. She barrelled through the doors and was bathed in the flickering glow of the club.

The bar was packed, as was the dancefloor. Seulgi had never appreciated just how many people came here. There had to be at least one-hundred of them. Joohyun always managed to capture her attention; the dazzling woman was like a ray of sparkling sunlight breaking through cloud-greys. If she was here, Seulgi would have located her immediately.

Or are you just telling yourself that because you want it to be true?

Seulgi shook her head to clear it - a few ladies nearby gave her concerned looks - then marched over to the bar.

“Hey,” she said to Thomas. Perhaps her voice was gruffer than she meant for it to sound, for the bartender jumped slightly, corners of his mouth pulling downward into a frown. “Has Joohyun been here tonight?”

Thomas shook his head. “Haven’t seen her since last night, actually.”

Seulgi cursed under her breath. “Have you seen any of her sisters?”

“Yeri was here earlier, not sure about Seungwan. She might be lurking around here somewhere.”

Seulgi nodded, thanked him, then dashed off toward the small seating area where she’d seen Seungwan the previous night. She barely knew the woman, but Seungwan was currently her best bet to finding Joohyun. Or, at the very least, finding out if she was alright.

There were two ladies sitting together on the cushion Seungwan had occupied the night prior, but no sign of the chubby-cheeked woman herself. Seulgi sighed involuntarily, turned to the dance floor. There were many dancers there, but as usual Seulgi couldn’t make any of them out. She touched the ring on her left hand, felt the thrum of the power that resided there. Could she light up the area using the ring? Perhaps that would drive away the darkness that had tried to overcome her while she was there, and allow her to see properly.

“Looking for someone?” a husky voice inquired. Seulgi’s head darted up.

It was one of the women sitting on the couch. They sat with their bare legs shamelessly folded over one another’s, looking up at her with vague curiosity. The woman who had spoken (The one on top, Seulgi thought, feeling herself blush), had a slender face with a small mouth and large, expressive eyes. A curtain of purple hair splayed out around her, threads of lavender that seemed to bleed into and twine themselves around the shockingly orange hair of her partner.

“Yeah, actually,” Seulgi said uncertainly. “Do you guys know Joohyun? I don’t know her last name, but she’s-”

The purple-haired woman waved a hand. “Oh, we know her and her sisters. Haven’t seen them tonight. They could always be in the Astral Plane, though.”

Seulgi followed the woman’s gaze to the dance floor, ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “Alright, thanks. I’ll check-”

“You seem stressed,” the orange-haired woman with the overbite said, lifting her head from the couch. “You should get a drink and relax.”

“No time, sorry,” Seulgi said, taking a step toward the dance floor. She could feel her patience wearing thin. The whole situation was frustrating. It wasn’t even like she had a phone number to contact Joohyun with.

    “Wait,” Lady Orange  said, sitting up straight, inspecting Seulgi. “What type of Representation are you?”

    “Uh… Korean-American?” Seulgi replied, lost.

    The women exchanged a glance.

    “You’re a mortal, then.” Lady Purple said with an accusatory lilt.

    “Yeah, as far as I know,” Seulgi said, taking another step away. She was eager to be off. “Listen, I’m sorry I have to cut you off, but Joohyun could be in trouble and-”

    “You’ll be in bigger trouble if you go into the Astral Plane without a Representation accompanying you.” Lady Orange said, words punctuated by a fervent nod from Lady Purple. “Best case scenario, one of Geulim Ja’s minions finds you and then kills or enslaves you. Worst case scenario, you wander for what amounts to an eternity to you, falling farther into the depths of insanity until the former happens.”

    “Uhhh…” Seulgi said slowly, turning so she was facing the two women. “Who are you, exactly?”

    Lady Purple gave a throaty, kind chuckle. “My name is Moonbyul, and this is Solar.”

    It clicked in Seulgi’s head immediately. “Like the sun and the moon?”

    “Your detective skills are unmatched, friend,” Solar said, lips widening into a fetching , dimpled smile. “We’re Representations of the sun and the moon of this solar system.”

    Seulgi looked back and forth between the two, momentarily frozen by the weight of existential revelation.

    “Take a seat, take a deep breath,” Moonbyul said, pushing her glass over to Seulgi. “And take a drink. Then, tell us what’s wrong.”

    Seulgi obeyed, taking a sip of clear, bubbling liquor and sitting on the single-person couch across from the two women.

    “Joohyun and I met on the Astral Plane about an hour and a half ago,” Seulgi said, choosing her words carefully. “While we were talking, her husband showed up, and-”

    “Wait,” Moonbyul said, passive expression transforming into one of rapt, solemn attention. “You saw Geulim Ja? You? A mortal?”

    “I didn’t really see him. More I… felt him,” Seulgi felt a chill coming over her, suppressed it. “Like this void absorbing everything in its path, even the fabric of the Astral Plane itself, approaching us. Joohyun pushed me out of the Astral Plane, told me she would be fine, but… I’m worried about her.”

    Seulgi’s final words came out with a wilting desperation that she hadn’t meant to betray. Solar and Moonbyul’s eyes met for a second time. It seemed to Seulgi that the pair could communicate volumes through shared glances alone.

    “Joohyun likely isn't wrong,” Moonbyul said, swirling the drink in her glass. “She and Geulim Ja have been married for centuries now. From what I hear, she draws his ire often enough.”

    Solar nodded. “If I were you, I would avoid Joohyun. If Geulim Ja doesn’t want you to contact her, it’s safer that you don’t.”

    Seulgi furrowed her brow, regarded the two women, took in the haunted eyes and pinched lips. Pure, hopeless, barely-concealed fear.

    “I… I can’t do that.” Seulgi said simply, standing. Saying anything more would betray her affair. “Will you help me navigate the Astral Plane?”

    Both women shook their heads in tandem. “We can’t. To defy Geulim Ja is a death sentence.”

    “But you… you’re the sun and the moon,” Seulgi said, throwing her hands out in exasperation. “Can you even be killed?”

    Solar sniffed, looked Seulgi up and down with the air of a teacher examining an unruly student. “As a mortal, you wouldn’t understand Geulim Ja’s power. I won’t hold that against you. Understand that all of the Representations here, including those few who are stronger than us, would be devoured by Geulim Ja in an instant. Almost as quickly as you would. He is the embodiment of darkness, of wanton destruction, of utter nothingness. Some call him the Star-Eater, or the World Crusher. Representations as insignificant as ourselves would be slaughtered in the space between two of your mortal heartbeats. And with our death would come the death of this planet. The only ones who have even the slightest hope of challenging him are those he keeps so close that they can be afforded no opportunity to do so, even if they wanted to. ”

    Seulgi balked, swallowed, backed away. In her stunned silence, a fragment of a thought came to her.

    Are Joohyun and her sisters the only ones who can stand up to Geulim Ja?

    “But that is just rumor, of course,” Solar added, eyeing Seulgi.

    Moonbyul placed a hand on her partner’s chest as if holding her back. She then leaned in, regarding Seulgi’s left hand with scrutiny. “That ring on your finger. Where is it from?”

    “Oh,” Seulgi said, instinctually hiding the ring behind her opposite hand, Solar’s reprimand forgotten. “It’s something Joohyun gave me.”

    Another conspicuous, visual conference between the women, protracted this time.

    “It’s rare to see a Representation giving a piece of themselves to a mortal.” Moonbyul finally said, a look of consternation upon her face. A similar mien was reflected on Solar’s countenance, though she was clearly more taken aback than her partner was.

    Seulgi felt her jaw slacken in ugly bewilderment, but paid no heed. She stared at the ring. Even with its palpable, otherworldly energy, it somehow felt heavier now. An emotional burden layered atop its already commanding significance.

    “This is a piece of Joohyun?”

    “A piece of her Cosmic being, yes,” Moonbyul said seriously. “She must really trust you to give you that. Only powerful, ancient Representations can create them.”

    “Joohyun is the Representation of a comet, right?” Seulgi asked, still holding the ring in its palm, watching the way it emanated its own pure light from within, the way that its gem never smudged despite her fingers having sullied its surface countless times. A sliver of Joohyun’s Cosmic being.

    It took a few seconds for Solar and Moonbyul’s silence to catch Seulgi’s attention. She looked up.

    “Well, there are many theories going around as to what she and her sisters are,” Solar said, rubbing her neck. She looked around as if checking for eavesdroppers, then continued in a whisper. “But the prevailing one is that, since they are rumored to be able to rival the power of Geulim Ja himself, they may be the Cosmic Representations of his opposite.”

    “And… that would be?” Seulgi asked, shifting closer in order to hear.

    Solar beckoned her closer still, so close that she could smell the strawberry perfume that both girls seemed to be wearing. Moonbyul peered to the left and right with a suspicious air.

    “Geulim Ja is said to be the Cosmic Representation of Black Holes. Joohyun and her sisters,” Solar paused for dramatic emphasis, “Are the opposite.”

    Solar and Moonbyul stared at Seulgi as though they expected a visceral, fanatical response from her. She didn’t have one to give.

    If she remembered her high school astronomy class correctly, black holes were able to in all types of matter - even light - and trap them inside forever. What would the opposite of those be? White holes? What did white holes even do?

    “What does that mean?” Seulgi asked, scratching her head.

    Seulgi’s question was met with twin looks of incredulity.

    Before either woman could respond, however, there was a rising murmur from the dance floor. In unison, Seulgi, Moonbyul, and Solar turned to address it.

    Dancers parted, the murk of cosmic trickery rushing to either side like a parting sea. Purple stars gathered in the open space, coming together to form a tall, thin figure. It took a humanoid shape, stepping forward into the light of the Lounge. As its presence solidified, those nearest to it shied away, terror reflecting on their faces as they cowered. The purple non-light began to bend and carve itself into features: long-fingers adjusting a slate gray tie, a pointed jaw with working, writhing muscles, high cheekbones that pressed against cadaver-pale skin. The man’s sclera remained violet, with spherical, fathomless pits at the center to represent pupils. He turned his head, twin voids scanning the Lounge like spotlights of darkness.

    A shiver ran up from the base of Seulgi’s spine as his regard fell directly upon her. A mounting pressure began to rise within her . She wanted so badly to flee, to turn and bolt out the front door as quickly as her legs could take her, but she was paralyzed by terror. She was filled with a melting, liquid weakness that permeated through her viscera to her very spirit.

    Oh dear God.

    Geulim Ja lifted his foot, intending to move in her direction. Heads turned from him to her as the toe of his suede shoe clicked against tile.

    A voice came then, strident, distinctly feminine.

    Run, Seulgi!

    It was Joohyun. She spoke through the ring, an astral message that pumped words and emotions into the core of Seulgi’s being.

    I can’t, Joohyun. I can’t move. Where are you? Help me!

    Geulim Ja came forward, wisps of spirit trailing behind him like visible streams of death’s odor. His gait was slow and careful, each step calculated with perfection. The creeping approach of inevitability.

    I will do what I can.

    With that, Joohyun withdrew. For a moment, Seulgi’s panic reared. Had Joohyun abandoned her?

    The gemstone of Seulgi’s ring flashed a brilliant white. Geulim Ja paused midstep, flat affect creasing into a curious, detached frown. With that light came a surge of strength so great that Seulgi gasped. It worked through her veins, flushing her system of the poisonous aura of Eodum, replacing it with the passionate radiance of Joohyun.

    Moonbyul and Solar turned to Seulgi, squinting against the white light.

    “How are you doing that?” Solar demanded in a whisper, her voice sounding as if it came from far away, dulled by the thrum of energy that had bound itself to Seulgi’s cells.

    What are you waiting for? Joohyun demanded, her voice coming from within Seulgi’s head now.

    Seulgi hesitated. The power that Joohyun had lent her filled her with a euphoria and confidence that she’d never experienced before. Surely this had to be enough to stand up to Eodum, right? She knew that if she wanted to, she could manipulate this light and use it to drive him away. The knowledge that came with the light pressed against the surface of her brain, scenes and memories and bits of information, a projected film over her gray matter. This was the light of creation, of endless existence, of birth and rebirth and remedy. This was Eodum’s opposite. With this power, she could indeed fight this mere shade of Geulim Ja. For, with Joohyun’s knowledge imprinted on her, Seulgi understood that this version of the Representation was a lesser clone, a small fragment of Eodum’s true form. With Joohyun’s strength within her, Seulgi could crush that clone, chip away at him… 

    All around Eodum, a swarm of purple flecks began to zip about. Fat, hungry flies drawn to a corpse.

    GO, SEULGI!

    The bare desperation in that imploring scream was enough. With the thrum of Joohyun’s power giving her the ability to move again, Seulgi turned heel and ran.

--------------------

Next chapter will be from Sooyoung's persepective. It may take a bit longer due to work, and also because I'll probably edit it heavily. I want to get Sooyoung's narrative voice just right, and based on her personality in this story it won't be anything like Seulgi's.

Like my previous story, "After Forever", both Joyri and Seulrene's relationships will develop side-by-side. In that story, I kinda leaned toward favoritism for Joyri (just by nature, as they were in a healthy relationship while Seulrene wasn't) but in this story I'll try to avoid that.

Remember to upvote and comment if you enjoy the story!

Thanks for reading<3