Son Yejin was a woman with a solid standard of rules she set specifically to— quote and unquote— protect Wendy from danger. Only now did Wendy actually grasp the logic behind every specific statute.

1. No galavanting in crowded places especially downtown.

Just stay in school, honey, her mother would usually say. Which wasn’t much of a problem for her anyway. It wasn’t that she hated people per se... it’s just that crowds would always make her feel on edge somehow. Like someone or something always had their eyes on her, watching every move.

So, like the good daughter she was, she stayed away.

2. Strictly, no use of cellphones anywhere.

Apparently, Wendy was very sensitive to radiation according to her dearest mother. Even when her curiosity for the certain device struck her young mind, her own fear of not getting sick always won over. On the brighter side, she learned the ancient art of Postal Service at an early age. Then made her first friend via an entertaining sandy-haired delivery man who went by the nickname Dash McSpeedy which was a handful to say every time, but was a welcome sight nevertheless.

Truth be told, it would probably take a whole scroll to list down all of her mother’s rules. But the last and apparently most important one was this:

21. Do not fear the dark.

Weird, she knows. Parents usually tell their kids to stay inside after dark, right? But not Son Yejin. Wendy swears that this was the one Yejin Mandate she could actually get behind the most.

For as long as Wendy could remember, the darkness has always been a safeplace. Like right now, the sole reason she wasn’t freaking out as black shadows enveloped her vision and everything else around her.

Darkness is a friend, she found herself chanting over and over. Because in all honesty, she did not know what the hell was going on.

It didn’t take more than five minutes before the shadows trickled away, revealing the light of day once more. Wendy had to blink repeatedly, unaccustomed to the sudden brightness. Sight finally adjusting, she squinted around and realized where they were, the campus parking lot.

Okay, so they somehow teleported from the cafeteria to the parking lot which was like a whole two buildings apart. Alright, not weird or impossible at all. Nope. Oh, who was she trying to fool.

“Taeyeon, car!” Jessica barked the order from behind.

Wendy jumped up in surprise, only then realizing the presence of the two older girls.

“On it!” Her raven-haired senior perkily replied.

The smaller girl scurried away, dutifully obeying the blonde's order. Taeyeon seemed to be looking for a certain one as she jumped from one vehicle to another until she finally stopped in front of a sleek Porsche sedan. Wendy still dazed and confused, simply followed behind.

“Really, Tae? Not everything has to be blue!” Jessica exclaimed with her hands akimbo at the blue sedan.

“It does for me!” Taeyeon argued back, Jessica just rolled her eyes once more.

Taeyeon then stepped back and unfolded her spear, which by the way, how does she keep doing that?

Now, Wendy has heard all about the notorious stories of this certain duo but she did not expect to witness their rebellion to this extent. Which was Taeyeon using the dull end of her spear to break through the glass window of the expensive-looking car like it was a plastic sheet instead. After clearing the shards, she reached inside to unlock the doors, whooping triumphantly afterwards.

“It’s open, can you get it started?” Taeyeon directed the question at Jessica who just wordlessly entered the driver’s seat.

“Can I?" A scoff. "Who do you think I am, Taengoo-ah?” Jessica quipped then proceeded to wreck the ignition and took out a bunch of wires just to prove her point.

This was a specific scene Wendy only ever saw in movies. The thirteen year-old stood there, slack-jawed, and unable to do anything else aside from watch her senior attempt to hotwire a car. Until a chorus of shouts boomed from the other end of the parking space. One look at the buildings and Wendy instantly saw the red, angry faces of almost every single faculty member who all easily spotted their small group.

“Uhm, Sunbaenim? I think the teachers found us.”

“Your assumption is correct, Wendy-ssi.” Taeyeon then turned back to the carjacker. “Please tell me you can get that thing started like right now.”

“Will you stop pressuring me,” Jessica replied without looking back up, her brows knotted in concentration.

“I would if our middle school masters weren’t just a few feet away from us right this moment!”

“Wendy Son! Jessica Jung! Taeyeon Kim!" The voices were quite distinct and definitely closing in.

“Sica! Twenty meters!”

Wendy had to admit, she was starting to feel nervous too. She looked inside the car and saw Jessica twiddling with two wires, trying to get them to spark. Seriously, does that technique even work or was it just a movie myth?

She wasn’t given a chance to ponder further as Taeyeon shouted in warning once more, “Ten meters!”

Truly just like a cliche film, the car’s engine roared to life and Jessica didn’t miss a beat to command the two other girls to get in quickly. Taeyeon in shotgun and Wendy at the back. Once strapped in, the blonde harshly stepped on the gas pedal, leaving the campus in a trail of dust.

Even from hundreds of meters away, Wendy could still hear their principal’s yells of expletives. She was pretty sure she also heard them shout out her official expulsion which she frankly expected anyway.

-

Taeyeon really should have just forcefully taken the wheel before they took off. Too late, now all she could do was securely strap herself in and practically mold with the car seat if she ever wanted to ensure a sense of safety.

Why, you ask? Because Jessica Jung liked to believe she was a cast member of a Fast & Furious film franchise. Which was a whole ton of bull because she was probably the worst driver in the history of human and demigod motorists.

“Sica, watch out!”

“Sica, fire hydrant!”

“Sica, it’s a red light! You’re supposed to stop in a red light!”

“Oh my god, Sica! You almost ran over that old lady!”

“Kim Taeyeon, will you shut up and let me drive!”

There was a slight crackle of thunder just as she uttered her full name once more.

Taeyeon refused to loosen her death grip on the grab handle. “You call this driving? This is what most people call getting us killed!”

“No, Taeyeon. This is me taking us to safety,” how she said that so calmly, Taeyeon will never understand.

Even without looking, Taeyeon felt the blonde rolling her eyes again. Now Taeyeon knew she could be dramatic at times, but this was far from an overreaction. That was just the level of bad Jessica was in driving. Who the heck thought it was a good idea to issue this girl a driver’s license? Now that she thought about it— wait a ing minute…

“Yah, Sica. Do you even have a license?!” Taeyeon shrieked, only realizing that important factor now.

“Oh,” was Jessica’s mild reaction. “That old thing? Do demigods even need one?”

A stretch of awkward and crickety silence befell the small space of the car, and was only broken as a loud wail came from the back seat.

“LET ME OUT!” Wendy cried and thrashed, forgetting she was still buckled down by the seat belt.

Like the sadist Jessica was, she simply clicked on the automatic control, essentially locking all four of the car doors. Taeyeon glanced warily to their driver from hell (literal in a sense) and immediately caught the satisfied smirk that practically translated into: There is no escape now.

Night incarnate, my . Jessica Jung was the devil incarnate.

The two Greek demigods had no other choice than endure the express trip to death. Of course, not without them making a show of banging on the car windows like they were being kidnapped instead. Needless to say, no one outside paid them attention with the tinted glass and muffled screams.

“Land!” Taeyeon immediately called out as she got out of the death machine, her legs uncontrollably wobbled. “Oh, how I’ve missed you so,” she said and started to bawl into the soil.

“For the love of Mother Night... why are you so dramatic?” snided Jessica.

Another set of hysterical crying came from the second broken girl who also curled up on the ground. “Eomma!” Wendy sobbed continuously.

The Roman’s eye uncontrollably twitched.

“Girls?” A fourth person interrupted, unknowingly saving everyone from unleashing HellSica.

At the voice, Taeyeon looked up and automatically beamed, then greeted: “Chiron!”

The girl detached herself from the ground, bits of soil still stuck to her forehead, and jumped into the Centaur’s open arms.

Chiron chuckled fondly. “I’ve missed you too, child.”

After Taeyeon, he went straight to Jessica, the blonde girl shyly greeting him. The Centaur smiled warmly before patting the blonde’s head gently. His gaze finally landed on the third and last person. The little girl Taeyeon and Jessica were tasked to to camp only stood still, mouth ajar and eyes full of fright, as if she was contemplating whether she had a chance to run away or not.

“Y-You… you’re,” Wendy stammered. “You’re half human… a-and half—”

“—Horse. Yes,” Chiron finished for her. “I’m a Centaur, dear girl.”

“A Centaur… right,” Wendy said, on the verge of fainting.

Taeyeon winced, wishing she did a better job in easing Wendy into all of… this. Thank the gods on Olympus for Chiron and his experience with orienting new demigods and preventing further meltdowns.

While Wendy shot a thousand questions and Chiron patiently answered, Jessica shakily reached out and held onto Taeyeon’s elbow. “Tae—”

“Sica?! Hey, you okay?” She was practically carrying half of the Roman’s weight now.

“Y-Yeah. Just a little tired,” Jessica weakly answered. “And really, really sleepy,” she ended with a yawn.

Taeyeon smiled softly at the girl resting in her arms. It wasn’t a surprise that the blonde would be as exhausted as she was. What with the battle and shadow travelling she did the entire day. It probably took a hard toll on her physique.

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