Author's Greetings: Hey there! Didn't have to wait long for Chapter 2, did we? HAHAHA at this point of uploading the chapter, Chapter 3 stands at 0% written (but the outline's all there, I JUST NEED TO WRITE THE THING). Not many new terminologies for this one (that's a good thing, right?) but I'm gonna include all the existing ones down plus new ones below so you can familiarise yourselves with them. Honestly, some of them are gonna be single-use terms but I thought it'd just be helpful to include them anyway.

Mago: Shortened form for “Magohalmi”, or Grandmother Mago. A goddess who created nature and the geographical formations, according to Korean folklore.

Dal: Roughly translates to “moon”.

Jeonsa: Roughly translates to partner, comrade or champion.

Gakgung: A Korean traditional bow, known for its incredible power and range.

Hwal: Bow (like, the weapon)

Haenyeo: Skilled divers from Jeju who harvest a variety of molluscs, seaweed and sea life from the ocean. The trade's majority are comprised of women. They can hold their breath for up to 3 minutes in a single dive.

This chapter's mini-playlist is:

1. Start by Gaho (Itaewon Class OST)

3. My Eyes by 10cm (Goblin OST)

3. Introduce me a good person by Joy (Hospital Playlist OST)

4. In Your Time by Lee Suhyun (It's Okay Not To Be Okay OST)

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Kingdom Division Office, Seoul. 21 February 2020. At approximately 1745hrs.

Wendy has always prided herself in being one of the division’s most fearless inspectors. In the entire span of her six-year career, she’s stared down the barrels of guns pointed in her face countless times, and she hadn’t even blinked. So, it’s a tad disconcerting to hear her own heartbeat thunder loudly in her ears with an arrow aimed at her for a killing blow. Or the way the back of her neck starts to prickle from how the archer-warrior’s hawk-like gaze is trained on her.

Forget the arrow. She’s gonna kill me with eyes like that.

“And how are you going to kill me with that little toy of yours?” The warrior raises a brow, “With laughter?”

The inspector tightens her grip on her toy bow, “I…could.”

Her Jeonsa frowns, assessing her answer carefully. Before she can get another word out however, their stand-off is promptly interrupted by a certain chief’s voice coming from above.

“What is going on here?” Kangta scans the office, trying to make sense of the ruckus.

“I— She—” Wendy stumbles over her words, gesturing to the warrior, “She suddenly drew her arrow on me—”

“You were being impolite to a commander of great Goryeo, of course I would—”

“Put your bow down, commander. No one here is your enemy.”

The warrior finally tears her eyes away from the spooked inspector in front of her, looking up to regard the man speaking to her. Her eyes widen slightly and she quickly does as he asks. Wendy stares at her, befuddled by her response.

Wow, even “a commander of great Goryeo” like her is scared less by Chief. So she’s either lying about her position or he’s really that scary.

Kangta is pleasantly surprised by the warrior’s unquestioning obedience. Well, at least we finally have someone with some sense in this goddamn insane division for once.

“What’s your name, commander?”

The warrior dips her head, “I am Hyu— I mean, Hwal, sir.”

Wendy narrows her eyes at the warrior upon catching her slip-up. Her Jeonsa pays her no mind.

“Okay, Hwal,” Kangta clears his throat, folding his arms, “Welcome to Kingdom Division. It will take time to get used to living in a world hundreds of years after your time, so as your partner, Inspector Son will be helping you adjust to our customs. Therefore, I beseech you, do not kill her, even though your temptation is valid.”

“Chief!” Wendy whines.

He shoots her a warning glare, hushing her immediately, “You will stop antagonising your Jeonsa, Inspector Son. That’s not what she’s here for. And while you’re at it, help her wash up and get changed. I can’t have our office turn into a hazardous working space with all that water on the floor. Inspector Kang, please get the janitor.”

“On it, Chief!”

“I wasn’t the one who started it…” Wendy mutters under her breath in annoyance, putting her toy bow back down on her desk.

She comes around her desk and approaches the warrior. She cautiously reaches out. The warrior shies away from her touch, eyeing her warily.

Wendy’s hand falls to her side as she lets out a resigned sigh, “Leave your weapons on my desk and come with me…Hwal.”

Her Jeonsa narrows her eyes.

The inspector puffs out her chest instinctively, “This is a high security facility and we’re all law enforcers here. No one’s going to steal them.”

The warrior looks like she has a thing or two to say about law enforcers, but under Kangta’s watchful gaze, she quietly complies, detaching her sword and its sheath from her back. She lays both her bow and blade on the table, following the inspector down the hallway towards the back.

Wendy pulls a fresh set of clothes from her locker and holds it out to the warrior, “Here. Get showered and then change into these.”

The older woman stares at the stack in the inspector’s hands, “What is that?”

“Oh my god, do I have to teach you everything from scratch?” Wendy groans in frustration, “Geez, what did you do to even end up like that?!”

Beat.

“I came from the sea.”

“What are you, a mermaid?”

“That is an important profession that requires exceptional diving and swimming skills. I only know the ways of the bow and the sword.”

“…Are you serious right now?”

“I am serious about both.”

“Mermaids? Really?”

The warrior blinks, “Do you not have mermaids? The ones who dive for deep-sea delicacies? Those cost a fortune in my time.”

The ones who dive for deep-sea delicacies… Is she talking about the Haenyeo? Good God, my patience is gonna...dive into the negatives at this rate.

“Forget it,” Wendy shakes her head, “I’ll just show you how to use the shower.”

Half an hour later finds Joohyun freshly showered, and struggling to figure out the last piece Wendy had dumped in her hands. Next to her, the inspector has her eyes squeezed shut as she tries to direct the warrior how to wear each piece with words.

“Are you done putting on your bra?”

The older woman glances down, “If you mean this strange contraption on my chest…yes, it is on.”

“Good, next is—”

“Is this…bra supposed to protect my heart? It does not seem sturdy enough to do so, although…it is more comfortable than the usual wrappings I wear.”

“Is it supposed to protect your heart—” Wendy snorts, “It’s supposed to support your boo— Never mind. Just. Put the shirt on.”

The warrior holds up the white piece, studying it curiously, “Such a light material… It will not protect me at all.”

“I assure you, Korea today is lot safer compared to your time,” Wendy rolls her eyes, “We adapted to be more civil towards each other and so our clothes have adapted too.”

“Out of everything you have said so far, that is the most confusing. Humans will always kill each other. It is our fate.”

“Just! Put your arms through those two tubes and make sure the opening is in the front. That’s literally all you have to do, Hwal.”

The warrior does as she is told, marvelling at how light and comfortable she feels, with the new piece sitting on her shoulders instead of her usual heavy robes. And it fascinates her more that the fabric has the scent of spring imbedded in it. She likes it more than she had thought.

However, her mind is quickly clouded with the haze of confusion yet again, “What are these little things in front?”

“Those little things are called buttons and God, I can’t take it anymore!” The inspector opens her eyes and whips around to face the warrior.

She gets an accidental peep of the older woman’s body through her ed shirt, revealing several scars running down her front. She has questions, but she reckons now is not the time to ask them. She’s not sure if she’s ready to deal with what must be heavy stories behind each of them yet. She barely knows the older woman after all.

She also definitely does not think about how toned the warrior’s body is.

She reasons it’s not for aesthetic reasons like in her time now, but a given, since the older woman must’ve gone through a lot of training and battles to become a commander in those days.

“I have been meaning to ask,” the warrior frowns, “What is that on your face?”

On my face? The inspector raises her hand to her face, her fingertips brushing against the cold metal frame of her glasses. She breaks into a smile. The warrior may be older than her, but like this, she’s no different from a curious child learning how the world works.

Wendy tucks a non-existing loose lock of hair behind her ear and bats her lashes at the warrior, “Beauty?”

The older woman stares at her for a second before returning to fiddling with her shirt buttons wordlessly.

“Fine! They’re my glasses! They help me see better because I have poor eyesight!” Wendy throws her arms up dramatically before reaching out to take hold of the warrior’s shirt, “Let me help yo—”

The older woman takes a step back from her.

The inspector looks mildly offended, “Do you hate being touched or what?”

The warrior blinks, “I—”

“Guys! There’s an emergency!”

The pair jump away from each other, turning to face the new arrival. Seulgi leans against the wall, panting heavily with her phone in hand.

“W-What’s wrong, Seul?” Wendy stammers.

Seulgi tries to ignore the way her best friend’s Jeonsa burns holes into her being with her unblinking stare.

“My Jeonsa nearly burned my apartment down so Sunny-unnie called.”

Beat.

“She called? It must be real bad, huh. So much for ‘chilling’ at home, Seul.”

“Shut up, Wen,” Seulgi retorts, “We need to go back asap. I don’t want to get on Sunny-unnie’s bad side.”

“It’s your Jeonsa that nearly set your house on fire because you left her alone at home, why do I have to meet our landlady with you?”

“Because we’re neighbours and crime-fighting partners and last but not least, best friends? Isn’t there a code for solidarity or something?”

“What?” Wendy scoffs, “There’s no such thing as—”

“There is,” the warrior behind her suddenly speaks up, “You must honour your friendships...Wen…dy.”

The younger woman turns to look at her, “Really now?”

Her Jeonsa nods solemnly.

“See, Wen? Even Hwal says so. So let’s go! Chief’s giving us the week off to help our Jeonsas settle in anyway.”

Wendy flounders, having not expected the two to gang up on her like that, “I— What— You…”

She jabs an accusing finger at the older woman, “How are we supposed to go with Seul if you won’t even let me help you with your shirt?!”

Wendy’s sure she’s good at reading minds, which has helped her in anticipating her targets’ movements, be it in the bigger picture of drug movements or when it comes to almost-mindless brawls. Safe to say, however, she totally does not anticipate the warrior to boldly seize her hands and place them on her chest, keeping them there.

“W-What are you doing?!” Wendy tries to tug her hands away, but the warrior’s grip is strong.

“Help me with the but…tons.”

The inspector feels heat crawl up the back of her neck, rushing into her cheeks. She pretends she doesn’t notice Seulgi watching them, looking partially scandalised at the scene unfolding in front of her.

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