I really should quit this stupid job...

Kim Dahyun thought to herself as she drove down the highway, the wet pavement beneath her spinning tires creating a rhythmic whoosh ing, that combined with the metronomic swipe of her windshield wipers was creating a sort of lullaby.

A lullaby was arguably not in her best interest at the moment, so she the radio, fidgeting with the dial to find a clear signal. Once she settled on a station, her eyes were back on the road, the wet asphalt shimmering underneath the streetlights. 

 

I really really should quit this job.

 

A bitter yawn snuck from her lips and she inwardly lamented the eighteen hour double shift she had pulled at the diner. She'd been working at the same coffee shop since high school, waiting tables—waiting for a better opportunity—but now she was in her sophomore year of college, twenty years old and in the same exact place. She felt stuck . 

 

She didn't truly want to leave her job. It was the last remaining tie she had to…

 

She shook her head, not willing to unpack those painful memories at—she glanced down at the light blue glow of the dashboard clock—three o'clock in the morning. 

 

The roads were usually bare at this time of night, so light traffic was to be expected, but this was different. Dahyun was the only car on the road. The rumbling thunder only creating more of an eerie atmosphere as the radio began to crackle and fuzz, the lightning seemingly interrupting the frequency. 

 

"Come on," Dahyun sighed, looking down at the radio dial again, smacking the dashboard in an effort to fix the issue by show of force. 

 

Crash

 

A sudden clap of thunder brought Dahyun into fight or flight as she overcorrected the steering wheel, hydroplaning on the slick concrete, flying off the road, over the shoulder and onto the grassy landscape beside. 

 

Lightning flashed again, briefly illuminating a figure in the darkness for a split second before the sudden impact. 

 

Dahyun shut off the engine, quickly getting out of the vehicle and into the rain to inspect the damage and see what she had hit. 

 

The front bumper of her car was now warped and dented, perfectly formed in the shape of...something. She wasn’t quite sure, and honestly, she was just relieved that she had been able to stop the car before colliding with the large pine tree not six feet in front of her. 

 

She had for sure hit something , she just wasn’t quite sure where that something was at this point. 

 

Was it a deer? Or maybe it was a dog? 

 

God, she hoped it wasn't a dog. 

 

Mina had been the one who had helped her overcome her fear of the four-legged creatures, so the thought of hurting one—even by accident—stung.

 

"Hello?" She called out into the darkness, not really expecting an answer. 

 

That's when she saw it. 

 

Her. 

 

Laying a few feet from the front bumper of her car was a girl, curled up on herself, groaning in pain. 

 

"Oh my god, are you okay?!" Dahyun walked forward, slowly, cautious. 

 

Suddenly, the girl's head snapped upward, as she shook her head vigorously, getting the wet hair out from her line of vision. Dahyun couldn't help but notice she was dressed in a traditional—though very dirty—Korean robe and perhaps even more peculiarly, she looked as if she had...dog ears? 

 

I must have hit my head , Dahyun mused, stepping one foot closer. 

 

A shrill scream exited the mouth of the girl on the ground, causing Dahyun to scream as well. 

 

“ Please don’t hurt me, ” The girl whimpered, her words a stark contrast to the very traditional Korean outfit she wore. 

 

Dahyun was thankful for the Japanese that she knew, and though her own pronunciation was garbage, at least she understood. " I won't hurt you ," She replied, her tongue stumbling over the rusty consonants she pulled from her vocabulary. " Are you okay? "

 

" It's just...my leg, " the girl said, her demeanor slowly becoming more relaxed.

 

"I am so sorry," Dahyun sighed, rubbing her temples as she switched back into her native tongue. "I'll go flag down someone to help, just don’t move." 

 

Dahyun turned around to walk back up to the highway, only to be greeted by a thick line of trees. Turning around, she tried to gain her bearings, to no avail. 

 

The road was gone . 

 

Not empty. 

 

Gone . 

 

No buildings, no lights, no cars in sight—apart from her own. 

 

When she turned around to check on the girl, she was startled by the sight in front of her. The dogeared girl—and she definitely had dog ears, Dahyun was sure of it—was now cautiously inspecting the vehicle, carefully touching the metal and plastic, sniffing the rubber tires. 

 

" Kemono," the girl breathed, a holy fear in her eyes. 

 

"It's just a car," Dahyun rubbed her head again, wondering why she couldn't feel any sign of a head injury. 

 

Maybe I'm dead. 

 

A single morbid chuckle escaped Dahyun’s throat.

 

Guess I won't have to worry about quitting my job after all. 

 

"Car?" The girl spoke up, bringing Dahyun back to the current moment. 

 

"Yeah. The thing that I totally just ran you down with. Now why don't you sit down so I can take a look at your leg, um, what's your name?" 

 

"Minatozaki Sana." The dogeared girl nodded dutifully, oddly chipper for someone who had just been hit by a car. 

 

"Why don't you sit down so I can take a look at your leg, Sana ?"

 

"It's okay, really. I'm a fast healer. It should be better by sunrise."

 

Dahyun's monolid eyes widened in shock, a single eyebrow pulling up in curiosity. 

 

Sunrise? 

 

Before she had a chance to question the girls’ odd claim, a sudden clap of thunder interrupted. 

 

Sana immediately changed posture, her tail figuratively—and literally for all Dahyun knew—between her legs. 

 

"It's okay, come on," Dahyun opened the car door, urging the girl to get in the car. "Get in."

 

Confused and cautious, Sana weighed her options. Another boom of thunder made up her mind for her, and she climbed awkwardly into the car. 

 

Dahyun slid in beside her, shutting the door as she settled. She couldn't help but notice the confused and curious looks of the strange girl in her car as she examined the lights and buttons along the dashboard.

 

Sana ran her finger along the buttons on the console before startling herself by hitting the button that made the car's engine roar to life.

 

" Daebak ," she breathed, her hand shaking. 

 

"So you do speak Korean," Dahyun mused, comfortably back in her native tongue. 

 

"My master taught me when we still lived with the emperor." 

 

Master ? Emperor ? 

 

Trying to piece together everything that made absolutely no sense, Dahyun spoke up. 

 

"God, where am I?" She asked, to no one in particular.

 

" Hanseong ." The dogeared girl replied. 

 

Hanseong.  

 

Seoul . 

 

Joseon Dynasty, Seoul to be exact.

 

"Does your car breath fire?" Sana asked, sniffing the air curiously. 

 

"No," Dahyun answered slowly. "Why?"

 

It took a few more seconds before the smell hit Dahyun's nose. 

 

Smoke . 

 

"Come on," Dahyun quickly opened the door, making her way out of the car as fast as she could, Sana following behind her. 

 

When the explosion happened, Dahyun didn't have time to react, feeling the rush of wind as she flew through the air.

 

It was almost as if she'd been carried . 

 

Suddenly she was acutely aware of the pair of arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly as the two girls landed safely on one of the branches on the nearest tree. 

 

"What are you?" Dahyun breathed, locking eyes with Sana, noticing the strange golden glint in her eyes as they glowed in the light of the flaming car. 

 

"A thank you would have sufficed, you know?" she giggled, pointy canine teeth showing as she smiled, her ears twitching slightly. 

 

"Sorry," Dahyun said, an embarrassed half-grin on her face. "Thank you. Really." 

 

"See now that wasn't so hard, was it?" The dogeared girl smiled, "We need to get somewhere safe. The guards surely heard that explosion."

 

Dahyun nodded, before questioning the logic. "Wait, why are you hiding from the guards? Are you a criminal ?"

 

Dahyun questioned if she should be trusting this strange girl so blindly, but at this point—in Joseon era Seoul, up in a tree, during a thunderstorm, carried in the arms of a strange girl with dog ears—she wasn't really sure she had much of a choice.

 

"Criminal? No." Sana replied. "Fugitive. Yes. Now come on." Sana jumped down from her perch, Dahyun still safely cradled in her arms. 

 

The duo headed back, past the flaming remains of Dahyun's car and into the thick treeline. 

 

"Where are we going?" Dahyun asked, watching as the inferno that had at one point been her vehicle slowly turned to a faint glow in the distance as they moved further into the woods. 

 

"There's an old shrine up here," Sana stated. "It should give us somewhere to stay until the rain passes. Plus the guards will have a harder time tracking us through the trees." 

 

They headed a few miles further into the thick forest until they finally came upon the ruins of the shrine. Sana put Dahyun down, leaving to patrol a quick circle around the derelict structure, making sure it was safe. 

 

Dahyun walked carefully towards the structure, noticing the remains of what must have at one point been an ornate monument. 

 

SHRINE IN HONOR OF THE PRIESTESS M—

 

The rest of the inscription had been worn off. 

 

Dahyun bowed slightly, a silent 'thank you' to the unnamed priestess as she entered the remains, glad to be out of the pouring rain. 

 

Sana made her way in as well, confident that the perimeter was secure for the moment. 

 

The two of them were mostly quiet, the chirping of crickets and Sana's gentle humming were the only noises apart from the storm around them. 

 

Every few minutes the dogeared girl would leave the safety of the ruin to run the perimeter again, and while it made absolutely no sense to her, Dahyun somehow felt safer because of it. 

 

Logically, Dahyun knew that the girl should terrify her. However, Dahyun couldn't help but chuckle slightly when Sana would return into the shrine, shaking off the droplets of water from her head, ears twitching.  

 

It reminded her of Ray. 

 

Ray reminded her of Mina.

 

God, Mitang, when you said to go on adventures I don't think you could have possibly had this in mind. 

 

A sad smile crossed Dahyun's lips as she imagined what the older girl might have said in response. 

 

A quiet lulled over the two girls—Sana finally content enough in their safety to sit down for more than five minutes. However, it doesn't take long for Sana to break the silence.

 

" Inugami ." 

 

"What?"

 

"You asked me what I was before, and I never answered." Sana replied. "Inugami, or half anyways," She amended. "Our mother quite liked the humans." She giggled, the pointed canines sticking out over the top of her rose colored lips. 

 

"Our?" 

 

"My sister and me." The girl smiled sadly, her ears falling slightly as sadness reached her golden brown eyes. "They sent her away when I was banished from the palace. Momo defended me, stood up for me. And then she was just gone . I suppose they sent her away like they did with me, but father doesn't think so. He says that they likely dealt with her more firmly because she was a senior member of the guard, but I can't believe that. I still feel her. Somewhere. She's out there." Sana's eyes, now filled with tears, drifted to the horizon, hoping to see at least one star manage to peek it's way through the clouds. 

 

Dahyun wanted to ask more questions—to understand the girl's origin, inquire as to why she had been banished, and a million other thoughts that crossed her mind as she tried to understand this strange situation—but those curiosities could wait, because Dahyun knew the only thing that mattered in this moment.

 

The dogeared girl was hurting, and she needed a friend.

 

Dahyun reached out, gently locking fingers with Sana. 

 

"I hope you can find her. I know what it's like to lose a sister." Dahyun said, trying to ignore the prickle of tears in her eyes and the lump in .

 

"Thanks," Sana cleared , trying her best not to cry. "You aren't from here are you?" She asked, hoping the change in topic would provide a welcome distraction from the painful wonderings of where her sister might be.

 

"Yes...and no I guess." Dahyun replied quietly. "In my time they call here , Seoul. It hasn't been called Hanseong in a very long time."

 

"You come from another time?" Sana breathed, agape, revealing the bright white fangs in the front of . " Daebak ." 

 

Dahyun looked towards the horizon, the eye of the storm presumably had passed, because the rains had picked back up with vengeance, the wind blowing cold rainwater into the ruined shrine, driving the girls further inward to avoid being soaked. 

 

The halls of the temple were adorned with faded tapestries, worn by time and decay. Dahyun couldn't help but imagine how beautiful this place must have been in it's glory. 

 

The two girls walked through the stone corridors. As they moved further, the flashes of lightning were no longer able to illuminate their steps, and they were left to rely on their other senses. 

 

Both of their attention was quickly diverted to a bright flash of light coming from inside the innermost room in the temple.

 

The light wasn't flickering like a fire, and it didn't flash like lightning. This light was different . It's gentle greenish glow somehow inviting them in. 

 

Dahyun knew they were either headed towards safety, or being drawn in like moths to a flame. 

 

Either way they would find out quickly because Sana began running down the hall, her bare feet padding hard against the cold floor.  

 

"Sana, wait!" Dahyun began running as well, "Stupid puppy."

 

Dahyun quickly caught up to Sana, the dogeared girl seemingly frozen at the threshold, transfixed by the minty green glow.

 

"Who are you?" Sana called out into the darkness, speaking her native language, and Dahyun felt a cold chill run down her spine. 

 

Dahyun didn't hear or see anyone answer, but that didn't seem to phase Sana, as she stepped through the doorway. 

 

Dahyun felt herself being pulled through the threshold, some unseen force beckoning her to follow. 

 

Without a second longer to contemplate logic or reason, she went through the glowing portal with no idea what she would see on the other side.