The morning was spent getting some potions delivered, buying food, and picking off a few bounties for them to follow after. Sooyoung was in charge of most of those and until Jinsoul had found a sword she’d use instead of Eclipse, she wouldn’t be hunting a monster any time soon. She didn't really like it in the first place. Jiwoo and Hyunjin tended to do that. 

She took off the bags from her motorcycle and headed to the door. Her arms still ached from shifting all the rock. Maybe she should’ve asked Hyunjin to do the morning run. 

She muttered a small spell and the door swung open. 

She went inside and immediately set the bags on the floor, wringing out her arms. Heejin looked up. She snorted once. 

“What?” 

“The offer to work out with us still stands.” Her hair was up in a ponytail, topped with a cap. Jinsoul still didn’t understand that second part. They were indoors. 

“No thank you,” Jinsoul brought one bag into the kitchen, “your idea of a work out would kill me.”

“Go upstairs.” She gave her a knowing look that immediately made her nervous. 

Jinsoul frowned at her, before going up to her room. She heard nothing. Was Jungeun asleep? With everything happening, she could barely blame her for being tired. 

She opened the door. Jungeun wasn’t there, but Eclipse was on the floor. 

Jinsoul was immediately, already starting to panic. Would Jungeun even turn back? 

She rushed over and grabbed the hilt of the sword. 

She could feel the frustration emanating from the sword. It hummed. Then there was the violent crashing of metal and gold light. 

Jungeun appeared. She pulled her hand from Jinsoul’s soon after. Her brow was furrowed. 

“Apparently distance makes a difference,” she said sharply. “I think I had ten minutes until I turned into a sword.” 

“Sorry.” 

“Not your fault.” Jungeun still sounded irritated. “It just means that wherever’s left of the curse also involves how close you are to me.” She grit her teeth. She almost looked humiliated, even though it wasn't her fault. 

“Did it hurt?” 

Jungeun shook her head. “But I know what’s happening, even when I'm a blade. I don’t have to be held for that.” She grimaced. “Heejin came and tried to turn me back, but,” she glanced at her once, “I think you’re the only one who can.” Something in her expression faltered. She looked crushed by thought. 

Jinsoul felt guilty. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say to help. She’d put out some messages to whoever she knew, but most said they’d either need time or just that it wasn’t anything they knew enough about. 

Then Jungeun sighed. “I’m sorry,” she said, “it’s just—I feel like an animal on a leash.” She shook her head. “My master can’t go too far away, or else I’m trapped until they come back.” She met her eyes. “And that’s not your fault. You didn’t know any of this.” 

“But the people you’re angry about died a long time ago,” Jinsoul said. Then it hit her. “Unless they tried to extend their lives?” 

Jungeun’s brow rose. “You think that’s possible?” 

She thought of what they'd talked about yesterday. “Maybe,” she said. “Do you remember any names? What they looked like? Even where they could’ve been from?” 

“I know their faces, but I don’t know.” She sighed. “I remember that moment, but not enough.” 

“Just what it felt like?”

Jungeun nodded. 

“What's it like?” Jinsoul asked. “Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt,” she said quietly. “It just happens.“ She was staring at the ground. “I can see now.”

It took her a few seconds to get what that meant. “Without being held?”

Another nod. 

Jinsoul grimaced. “And that’s worse, isn’t it?” 

Jungeun glanced up, before looking away. “I should be glad I’m even awake,” she said, getting to her feet. “A few hours is nothing.” She tried for a smile, but faking something like that clearly wasn’t what she was good at. 

Jinsoul appreciated that. She almost felt bad for even making a note of it. Still, it was comforting to know that Jungeun wasn't all that good at pretending. 

“I’m making more deliveries,” Jinsoul said. “Come with me.” 

Jungeun frowned. “What?” 

“You don’t have to be in there if you don’t want to, but you’ll be close enough that you don’t become a sword.” She shrugged. “Or you can come with me.” 

“Are you sure they’ll be willing to have a complete stranger around?” 

“Officially, you could be our new smith. I took almost everyone here along to introduce them. People usually trusted us more when they knew who was in the team.” 

“And what happens if—“ Jungeun grit her teeth. “What happens when I’m suddenly not a part of it anymore?” 

“I tell them you got apprenticed somewhere else,” Jinsoul said. “It’ll all work out. Somehow.” She wished she could say something a little more reassuring, but she couldn’t. Hyunjin and Jiwoo would be able to, hopefully the rest when they arrived too. 

Jungeun’s eyes were on the shelf with the armour models. Jinsoul could watch the wheels turn in her head, from the moment when she was about to say no, to the second she considered saying yes. It reminded her of Sooyoung, who she could almost always read. 

“You’re sure?” Jungeun asked. “I can stay a sword. I just don’t want to be surprised by it.” 

Jinsoul shook her head. “It you’re up for it, I’ll be showing you a little more of the twenty-first century along the way.” She headed for the door. “But first, you should actually see what we’re delivering.” 

When her eyes lit up, Jinsoul felt relieved that she’d finally said the right thing.

“Come on.” She opened the door. When Jungeun walked by, she led her down the stairs to the workshop. 

“You’re back!” Heejin grinned. “Sorry I couldn’t do anything.” 

“I blame the magic,” Jungeun shook her head, “thank you for coming to check.” 

“Couldn’t really ignore it,” Heejin replied. “A sword falling to the ground is a little loud.” 

Jungeun laughed softly. 

“She’ll come with for the delivery,” Jinsoul told her. 

Heejin's eyes filled with surprise and Jinsoul wondered if Jungeun would take note of that. “Did you tell her what a car is yet?” 

“Sort of?” Jinsoul looked to Jungeun. 

“It’s a carriage, but improved?” Jungeun shrugged. “You showed me them when we got here.”

“I’ll make sure you’ve got fuel.” Heejin disappeared down the stairs.

“Fuel,” Jungeun repeated. 

“What powers it,” Jinsoul said. “Plus electricity.” 

“Ah.” She still looked confused. 

“It’s not that important.” She went down the hall. Then she stopped, grabbing Jungeun’s arm when she kept walking. 

Jungeun frowned. 

“This one,” Jinsoul nodded at the door, “we go straight ahead, you’ll see how little money we’ve got.” She decided then and there it wouldn't be a good idea to tell her about bank accounts. It wasn't as if they had too much more there. 

Jungeun snorted. “I don’t judge.”

“You would here,” she replied. Then she opened the door. “This’s the workshop, and where I store my deliveries.” 

Jungeun peeked around the door. Jinsoul watched as her eyes widened. Just seeing it made her smile. 

She pulled her into the room. She felt both excited and nervous for Jungeun to finally see this. She really wanted her to like it. 

“You can make multiple at the same time?” Jungeun asked, nodding at the frames holding suits of armour in the making. “And you’re still lacking money?” 

Jinsoul grimaced. It made sense when you knew, but they wouldn’t be explaining that any time soon. “There’s a lot of things to focus on,” she tugged her over to a workbench, “the materials are getting more expensive and I’m not selling fast enough.” That was true, just not all of it. 

Jungeun’s fingers carefully traced the helmet. “Can I?” 

Jinsoul squeezed her arm before letting go. “You don’t have to ask.” 

She picked up the helmet, looking into the inside. “What’d you make this out of?” She pushed on the padding on the neck. “Is it that stuff, the pla—“ she frowned, “plaster—plast—“

“Plastic,” Jinsoul nodded, “this’s one type. It’s called foam.” 

“Foam,” she repeated. “For protection?” 

“The wrong blow to head could’ve made this impale itself in your neck,” Jinsoul said. “Or just make sure it hurt bad for a couple days.” 

Jungeun lifted it over her head, sending Jinsoul a silent question. 

Jinsoul smiled and just nodded. 

She put it on, before laughing. “I can see through the visor?” Her hand slid it up. “How’s that possible?” 

“About twenty years ago, someone figure out how to make stone transparent only on one side. Other materials work too, but there had to be different mods—I mean, modifications.” Jinsoul reached up and put the visor down again. “And you can breathe fine, right?” 

Jungeun nodded. “It’s light to wear too. What’d you do for that?” 

“I enchanted the metal,” she said. “No change to how durable it is, but the heavier the material, the harder it is to keep the ventilation effective. Seeing through it also takes more magic that way.” 

“Is the visor still a huge weak point?” Jungeun asked. “I started making daggers specifically to get past them.” She slowly put the visor up and then down again, eyes narrowed as she was watching it. 

“I curved it so you usually can’t,” Jinsoul said. “And the slits are so much smaller, because you don’t need to see out through them.” 

Jungeun nodded again. “But you still need it, because you only have to enchant this piece of metal.” She pinched it between her fingers. Then she went to the chin and pushed. The faceplate went up. “And you kept this?” 

Jinsoul smiled at the sight. Jungeun looked surprisingly endearing framed by the helmet. 

“You’d be surprised how many still want it,” Jinsoul replied. “It’s old fashioned, but they like that.” 

“Old fashioned,” Jungeun repeated, shaking her head. She took the helmet off, before looking at the papers. “Are these layered?” she asked, gingerly picking one up. Her eyes widened. “How do they even make paper this thin?” 

“No idea,” Jinsoul admitted. “But I know someone and got a lifelong discount.” 

“What’d you do for them?” 

“You don’t think they would’ve just given me one?” 

Jungeun looked up. “You’re charming, but not enough to get better prices for life.” 

Jinsoul pouted. “I could be.” 

She smiled. “From experience, that only ever works with food vendors.” 

“Fine,” Jinsoul sighed, “I made sure his machines would never rust. And all of us supply him with invisible ink.” 

Jungeun’s brow rose. “What is there that you can’t do?” 

She laughed slightly. “Heejin was the one who brought that invisibility charm in. We’ve just managed to buy a good kind cheap and then sell it on.” 

“Do you get anything else in return?” Jungeun frowned. “You’re doing a lot for paper.” 

“He pays us for the ink.” 

She nodded. “Good.” She put the first sheet back down, before sliding the papers a bit to see the different layers. 

Jinsoul was hit again with a sense of surrealism. Not even the other girls really looked at her work like this. The entire product was what they looked for, and it made sense, because only Jinsoul needed to care about that. 

Except now Jungeun was looking at the first layer of the under-armour, lips pursed and brow furrowed. 

“Something wrong with it?” Jinsoul asked. 

“Not at all,” Jungeun muttered. “I just wonder why you don’t get even more profit from what you make.” She looked up. “All of this would’ve gone straight to the nobles, met with wonderful prices. With what you build and sell off, you should be swimming in gold.” 

She forced a laugh. “I wish.” That part was a lie. More or less. 

“Are you sure you’re not getting cheated?” Jungeun asked. There was a growing amount of worry in her eyes. Jinsoul was a bit taken aback by it. 

“Very,” Jinsoul said. “Sooyoung or Heejin usually do the sales, because I’m horrible at it. I used to sell them for half what they should’ve been worth.” 

She just looked at her. “I think they might still be undervalued.” 

They are, she wanted to say. “It’s been getting better,” she said instead. “Brand rep is pretty important. The longer we’ve been doing this, the better the selling prices get.” She then nodded at the far end. The garage would be on the other side. “Everything’s been loaded in. We can go.” 

Jungeun was looking back at the plans, putting it all together again. 

“But first breakfast,” Jinsoul said, going in the other direction. “I’m starving.” 

Jungeun followed. Her mind was still working. 

“Please don’t tell me you’re thinking about money,” Jinsoul frowned, “this house has three floors. We’re doing fine. We just could be doing better.” After a few seconds, she added, “and we will.” 

“I can help with that.” Jungeun stopped at the foot of the stairs. “I meant what I said when I’d help you learn to smith weapons. Arrowheads too, if you’d want them. They sell well too, and I know how to minimise the material use on them.” 

“I haven’t exactly been known to make good weapons,” she leaned against the banister, “we might be working with a loss at first.” 

“That’s why I brought the metal,” Jungeun replied. “You could either sell it for a good price, or I can make things from it and it’d go for even more.” 

“What exactly is it?” Jinsoul asked. It wasn’t silver, but it didn’t seem like steel either. 

“We called it Aster,” she said. “My father always ordered it, trading in some of the weapons we made for new raw materials.” Her eyes were completely convinced. Genuine. 

But Jinsoul couldn’t help the weird feeling she got with what she heard. She pushed it down. 

“Do you know where he got it from?” Jinsoul asked. 

“You haven’t seen it since?” Jungeun frowned. “Someone else would’ve gotten it, right?”

She couldn’t help but slap a hand to her head. “I have no idea.” 

Jungeun reached up and peeled her hand away. “But did you have to do that?”

“I did.” Jinsoul nodded.

She smiled, but she looked confused. Then she lifted her head, eyes flashing like she’d just figured something out. “Do you know anyone who could find the source by scrying with the Aster?” 

“At least one of the people I already talked to about helping. When they come here they can.” Jinsoul nodded. 

“Then you’ll see if there’s a source you can still tap into, or see if you can trace where the rest went.” Jungeun frowned. “My father never said who he got it from.” A pause. “I never asked.” She let out a long breath. 

Jinsoul knew that feeling. It wasn’t something to start dwelling on, not now, and not when she was still grieving. 

“Any requests for what to eat?” Jinsoul started to go up the stairs. 

Jungeun looked up at her, the doubt in her eyes fading. “Hyunjin mentioned them yesterday.” Her brow furrowed. “Cake in a pan?” She followed her up. 

Jinsoul smiled. “Pancakes.”

Jungeun nodded. “Are they difficult to make?”

“Really easy,” Heejin was already getting to her feet from her desk, “you can watch if you want.” 

Jungeun went over, a small upward tug of her lips. It wasn’t a smile, but it was almost there. 

______

“This’s going to help.” Jinsoul handed her the bottle. 

Jungeun eyed it. “How?” 

“It'll make you look a little more human.” 

She narrowed her eyes. “I am human.” 

Jinsoul cringed her mistake. “Sorry, I just meant—“

“It’s fine,” Jungeun said blankly. “Silver skin and slightly red eyes isn’t all that normal, I know.” 

“I—" she stammered. She was prepared to keep apologising. "Were you messing with me?” 

She shrugged. “I’ve been out of touch with time. Doesn’t mean I’m not the person I used to be.” She gave her a small smile. 

“That’s good.”

Jungeun took a small sip. Her face pinched together and she made a small ‘eck’ sound. 

Jinsoul smiled. “You’ll need a little more than that.” 

She glared at her, but it wasn’t like the other ones. It wasn’t angry. Then she drank more, her face pinching together. 

“How long?” 

Jinsoul shrugged. 

Then Jungeun frowned and put a hand to her arm, rubbing the skin there. She looked down and gasped. 

The two of them watched as the silver faded from her skin, while her hair and eyes both turned brown. There was a golden and red streak in her hair, but it looked like she was just outgrowing her rebellious phase. 

Suddenly, the person in front of her seemed a lot more real. Not someone who’d been turned into a sword a few hundred years ago, but someone her age. 

Which was exactly what she was, only both things were true. 

It made this whole thing seem more real too. They were helping someone get this back. 

“It worked?” Jungeun stared at her hands. She held a few strands of her hair to her eyes. 

“You’re surprised?” Jinsoul asked. “This’s Heejin’s work. It’s a lot more reliable than any potion I’d be able to make.”

“How long will I look like this?” Jungeun went over to a mirror. Her eyes widened. 

“Long enough for a day trip.” She went over to the door. “Ready?”

She turned and Jinsoul felt tongue-tied. 

“I think so,” Jungeun walked over, “and this won’t be a problem?” She pointed at the red and gold in her hair. 

“No,” she got out. “You look good.” She could’ve kicked herself. “I mean—normal.” 

Jungeun smiled lightly. “Good.” She reached past her and opened the door. 

______

Jungeun was staring at the van as if it were a monster. 

“That’s bigger than the cars,” she said. 

Jinsoul opened the door to the passenger’s seat. “But it works the same,” she said. “Maybe even a bit slower, which might be better.” 

“Those are thick doors.” Jungeun glared at them. “And it’s all closed off.”

“I’ll keep the windows open.”

“They move fast. Faster than any horse.” Her jaw was tight. “I rode a horse once and nearly broke my neck.”

“It’s safe in here,” Jinsoul said. She didn’t even want to know what Jungeun would think of a motorcycle. She was glad she hadn’t gone to her village with one, or else the introduction to society would’ve been a lot more difficult. “And I’m a good driver.” Most of the time. She also regretted telling Jungeun she didn’t really use cars a lot of the time. 

“I’m not doubting that.” Jungeun inched a bit closer to the van. “I just,” she trailed off. 

Jinsoul took her arm and squeezed it lightly, before letting go. “It won’t be long and you can just close your eyes on the way. I won’t judge.” 

“I’m scared of something that isn’t even alive,” she muttered. “You can judge.” Then she grit her teeth and climbed into the van. 

Jinsoul closed the door after her and got in on the other side. “Seatbelts,” she said, showing her how it worked. “These make it a whole lot safer.” There were explanations on the physics of it, but Jinsoul didn’t really know them, nor did she think she could explain it properly. It also wasn’t something to talk about before she the engine. 

Jungeun carefully put on her seatbelt, looking at the console, before her eyes fell on the steering wheel. “So that’s the reins now,” she said. “And the engine is the horse.” Her hand went to the handle of the door, holding it tightly. 

“You can hold this too,” Jinsoul pointed at the handle on the roof of the van, “if that makes you feel any better.” A part of her wanted to, but if she held Jungeun’s hand, while using a stick-shift, it probably wouldn’t be the best for making Jungeun feel safe. 

“Okay.” Jungeun’s hand latched onto it. She was tensed, as if ready for battle. 

“I’m starting the engine.” She turned the key. The van rumbled as the engine came to life. 

Jungeun closed her eyes immediately, somehow even more rigid in her seat. 

“Moving now,” Jinsoul said, hoping Jungeun’s heart was strong enough not to have a heart attack. 

“So we’re,” Jungeun’s voice sounded beyond strained, “going out of the car cupboard thing?”

She chuckled. “The garage.” She opened it and drove out. “We’re on the street now.” She glanced over. 

Jungeun had opened one eye, her hands still grasping some part of the van to ground herself. Then she slowly opened the other. “The roads are nice.” 

Jinsoul laughed. “They are. All paved and most of them good quality.” 

She was watching the opposite road, then looking out the window. “So many have some sort of transportation.” She pointed at something. “What’s the thing with two wheels?” 

Jinsoul looked once. “A bicycle.”

“And there’s a modern version of that as well?” 

“A motorcycle.” Jinsoul took the first turn and heard Jungeun gasp. She hadn’t realised that the sideways force would be strange. She’d grown up with it. Jungeun hadn’t. 

“That sounds more dangerous than a car.” Jungeun’s eyes were squeezed shut, but she was speaking as if she wasn’t holding on to the car for dear life. 

Jinsoul wondered if that was the pride in Jungeun steadying her voice. She hadn’t wanted to admit she couldn’t read. Now she didn’t really want to admit she was scared, even if she knew full well that she wasn’t hiding it. 

“It probably is,” Jinsoul said. “But I love it.” 

Jungeun whipped her head to her. “You’d rather use that than a car? Two wheels instead of four?”

“We have two legs.”

“Need I remind you that you were incapable of using them on the way back?” 

Jinsoul gave her a look. “It was a forest with massive roots everywhere. I’m a city girl.” She could feel Jungeun’s eyes on her and she just smiled. 

“So what are the people like? The ones you sell to?” 

“Usually mercenaries,” Jinsoul said. “These first ones deal with dragons, so their armour keeps breaking.” She rolled her eyes. “Mostly because they think the fire protection spell will also guarantee them some protection from the claws.” 

“So they still buy from you?” Jungeun asked. “Even if those orders aren’t protecting them from everything?” 

She nodded. “My enchantments against the fire also help turn some of it back into magic to use. Usually just to keep more fire away.” She took another turn. “And I take back their old armour for a little bonus.” 

“A bonus,” Jungeun repeated. “For ruining your armour.” 

Jinsoul shrugged. “It keeps us in business with them and it’s nothing huge.” She took one more turn, before turning into a parking lot. “We have to walk from here. It’s not far.” She got out of the car. She heard Jungeun following. 

When she opened the door, Jungeun in a breath. 

“Wow,” she said. “And you're going to carry this?” She sent Jinsoul a small smile. 

Jinsoul elbowed her. “Magic and a trolley.” She climbed in and made the ramp slide out of the base. 

Jungeun watched it, eyes wide. “And that’s all through electro—electricity?” 

Jinsoul started putting the boxes marked with a red flame onto one of the trolleys. She struggled with the first one, bracing herself to just shove it and hope it didn’t crash into something. 

And then Jungeun was climbing in, grabbing the other side and lifting it. Her brow furrowed. 

“So there is something too heavy for you.” She tried to ignore how she could very clearly see Jungeun’s muscles now. It was easy when she remembered that Jungeun was helping her, and here only because she turned into a sword if Jinsoul was too far away. 

Jungeun laughed as she picked up the next box with fire on it. It was a simple system, but Jinsoul was still mildly surprised that Jungeun hadn’t asked just to check. When Heejin has first started working for her, she’d been full of questions, asking if she was doing it right, from the enchantments to labelling the boxes. 

Then again, in Jungeun’s world, she’d been working for years already now. Maybe this was something she didn’t have to question. 

Jinsoul carefully manoeuvred the trolley down the ramp. 

“You don’t have to worry about thieves?” Jungeun asked, looking around. “We never left our carriage anywhere.” She narrowed her eyes at those watching them as they passed. “It was the only time I ever had to use a weapon of mine.” 

“You won't need that!” Jinsoul said quickly. “There’s thieves, yeah, but one, Hyunjin put a decent curse on here that works against that kind of thing, and most people don’t because it’s really illegal.” She closed the doors.

“It was illegal before too.” Jungeun took hold of the trolley. “What direction?” 

She looked at her for a long moment. “You don’t have to push it.” She reached for the trolley, but Jungeun took a few steps back, trolley in hand. 

“I’d hate to see you struggle.” A smile was playing on her lips again. 

“You’re basing me being weak on the fact that I couldn’t hold you up by your feet,” Jinsoul glared at her, “do you have any idea how hard that is?” She started walking out of the parking lot, locking the truck before they left completely. 

“I’m also basing it on the fact that you struggled to hold Eclipse, or technically me, for quite some time.” She lifted a brow. “Can you swing an axe?” 

Jinsoul frowned. “I don’t have to. Ever.” 

“Right,” Jungeun nodded, “no one cuts wood anymore here, do they?” 

“Some do.” Jinsoul fought a smile. “I could show you pictures. Maybe you’ll follow in their footsteps.” Even if she’d never actually seen a lumberjack unless it was in a movie. 

“That’s a chore I’d rather leave a few centuries behind,” Jungeun chuckled, “my arms always ached, and I got plenty of splinters.” She waggled the fingers of one hand. 

Jinsoul remembered the callouses that decorated her hands. She hadn’t dwelled on them before, because she’d held Jungeun’s hand out of necessity. 

“Good, because we don’t have a chimney,” Jinsoul said. “Just a heater.”

“Just a heater,” she repeated, shaking her head. “It makes heat from almost nothing.” She sent a look her way. “That’s still a concept of fantasy for me.”

“Good for us that we’re in a world with magic.” The moment the words left , she wanted to drag them back. Jungeun was trapped because of magic, she’d been—

“You’re right,” Jungeun said, looking at the tall houses around them, then the streets. “Modernity has its own magic.” The corners of her lips tilted up. 

Jinsoul knew she was staring, but a part of her marvelled at how Jungeun was still smiling, even with everything so overwhelming. Had Jinsoul's outlook been tainted even more without her knowing it? 

Jungeun was already walking ahead before she could figure that out. 

______

The delivery went smoothly. Jungeun didn’t ask any questions, except give a short explanation for who she was: someone working for Jinsoul to start making weapons. 

“Well,” Irene grinned, “when you make the first round, let us know.” She sent a pointed look Jinsoul’s way. “There’s decent weapon makers, but no one's making them like Jinsoul makes armour.” 

Jinsoul waved her off. “Don’t put pressure on her. We still need to find the right metals.” 

“Get in contact with Nayeon,” Joy said. “She might get a decent set of bent crap sent your way to melt down.”  

Jungeun looked as if she thought that wouldn’t be a good idea. Jinsoul made a note to tell her about the other people they worked with, or could work with. 

“We’ll see,” Jinsoul said. “Did you salvage any of the armour or is it gone?”

“We might’ve gotten a few things from the stomach of the last one?” Yeri came over. “I rinsed it, but no guarantees that you won’t find a chunk of something.” She waved her hands and a large sack floated their way. Jungeun stepped forward and pulled it from the air, gently lowering it down. 

“What’s your workout routine?” Joy eyed her. 

Jungeun looked confused. “My job?”

“Already making her work,” she looked to Jinsoul, “you got a keeper, didn’t you?” She smiled warmly. I'm happy for you, that said. 

Jinsoul almost explained that Jungeun had already been working before, but she realised that would just get more questions than they needed right now. 

“Where’s your sword?” Yeri frowned at Jinsoul’s waist. “Did you finally sell it?” 

“I’d be pissed if you did,” Irene scowled, “I’ve been wanting that sword for years.”

“She didn’t sell it,” Jungeun said. “It was just in need of maintenance.” She met Jinsoul’s eyes. 

“I’m impressed she let you take it off her,” Joy snickered, “she missed plenty of offers for a little training.”

The suggestions there seemed to go over Jungeun’s head, because she just shrugged. 

“Before you go, here,” Irene tossed a coin purse her way, “to get you started on the new weapons line.”

Jinsoul stared at it. “I can’t take—”

“Yes you can,” she cut her off. “And you will.” She looked to Jungeun. “Make sure she doesn’t sneak this back in here. She’ll complain she’s poor and then not take the money handed to her.” 

Jinsoul was so close to arguing against it, but Irene knew what’d happened. She was also giving her that all too knowing look. 

So Jinsoul shut and nodded. 

Irene smiled. 

______

The second delivery went smoothly too. Like always, that branch of the Kims didn’t offer much conversation beyond asking who Jungeun was.

They were on the third now. It started when they walked in. 

“You look familiar,” Hyewon frowned at Jungeun, “was it Jieun?” 

Jungeun’s brow shot up. “No?” She looked to Jinsoul then. 

Except she had no idea what that meant. “Who’s Jieun?” 

Yuri crossed her arms. “Someone we did a job for, once or twice, but a while ago.” She looked Hyewon’s way. “She’s too young," glancing back to Jungeun, "unless you're related to one?"

Jungeun shook her head, still looking confused. 

And with that, it looked like everything was fine again. 

“You know how many of these we’ve used by now?” Hyewon patted the box of armour. 

“Twenty?” 

“Twenty-four,” she replied. “And it’s never gone wrong, unless someone actually took an axe to us.” 

Jinsoul grimaced at the thought. She didn’t really want to ask if that person was still here.

“You’re constantly improving these.” Eunbi opened another crate, tracing her fingers along the top of the helmet. “I didn’t realise until someone tried to sell us an old model.” 

Jinsoul tried not to look too uncomfortable. 

“A Park was selling five sets of your old armour.” 

She felt Jungeun’s eyes on her then. This wasn’t how she’d wanted to today to go. 

“I told them to make it the actual price,” Eunji continued. “But were trying to convince me to accept a price when I think it was one of their own who—“

“I know,” Jinsoul said, keeping her voice level. “They were trying to break even.” 

“And that was twice what you take now?” Eunji asked, voice a bit sharper. “Jinsoul, if there was ever a time to challenge this, it’s now. They’re nothing like what they used to be.” 

She shook her head. “Nothing I’m solving today.” 

Yuri came over then, in her hands the payment. It looked like more. “This isn’t exactly double, but it’s what you should be selling these at.” 

Jinsoul was about to say no, when Jungeun’s hand went to her arm. 

And then she could hear her thoughts. 

I don’t know what any of this’s about, but you’re not turning this away. I don’t know if it’s pride, a lack of it, guilt, or something else, but they’re being kind enough to pay you more than you asked. Don’t insult their kindness. 

It’s pity, Jinsoul corrected, before pulling her arm away to take the money. Her mind felt a little off from hearing Jungeun’s voice in her head like that. 

She ignored the confused expressions from just about everyone in the room. There was only one person who’d get some sort of explanation and that wouldn’t be here. 

“Thanks,” Jinsoul forced out. “But the armour was never worth that much in the first place.” 

“You’re still keeping that,” Yuri said, almost sharply. “Otherwise I’ll curse you.”

“I’ve got a great curse breaker,” she replied. 

She rolled her eyes, but walked away. 

“We’ll call when we need you again,” Eunbi said. “Come back with better prices.” 

______

Jungeun didn’t ask her about it when they left the building. She didn’t ask in the van, or after the fourth, fifth, or even sixth delivery. Jinsoul felt nervous each time she closed the door, waiting for Jungeun to finally ask. 

And she never did. 

“Lunch?” Jinsoul asked as they got into the van. “We’re done for the day.” 

“Really?” Jungeun looked up. “That’s it?” 

“That’s it?” Jinsoul frowned at her. “This was a busy day.” 

“The van makes things go much faster,” she smiled, “eight deliveries like this would’ve taken me two days.” 

“Did you do them yourself?” Jinsoul asked. 

“I was starting to,” Jungeun said. The smile stayed, but it looked bittersweet. 

She fought the urge to apologise. It wouldn’t help just dancing around every topic. 

Still, constantly remembering it didn’t help much either, did it? 

Then Jungeun shook her head. “I don’t know how I should be grieving, but talking about my life—the past,” she shrugged, “we can—I should be able to talk about it."

“Not really,” Jinsoul said. “It’s barely been a few days.” 

“It’s been three hundred years.” The words were clipped. She was trying to sound as if she didn’t care. 

“Which you didn’t know had passed,” she countered. “Jungeun,” she turned to face her, “this isn’t something I get. At all.”

Jungeun snorted, shaking her head slightly. 

“But you don’t have to act like you should be leaving all that in the past, because it doesn’t feel like that, right?” 

Jungeun’s expression had softened. She was looking at her, a bit more hesitant. “It feels like I had everything a week ago,” she said quietly. She looked away, at the space in front of them. 

Jinsoul took that as her cue to start the engine. She still gave a brief warning, but Jungeun had gotten used to it. She still had to hold onto something with white knuckles, but other than that she was a lot better than the first time. 

“You said you didn’t get it—what's happening to me,” Jungeun’s eyes were still straight ahead, “but you do.” 

“I’ve never been through anything you have,” Jinsoul replied. She tightened her grip on the wheel then. She knew where she wanted to take her. “But I know that it’s better not to bottle everything up.” 

Things were quiet then. Definitely awkward, but silences almost always were for her.

And Jinsoul could’ve talked, but she didn’t really want to fill the drive with words Jungeun didn’t want to hear. 

Five minutes passed. Jinsoul felt nervous again, but she didn’t put the radio on. 

“I actually didn’t know I could talk to you if I held your arm,” Jungeun said then. “But the second I tried, I knew it would work.” A pause. “Strange, isn’t it?”

There it was. Jinsoul almost smiled as she caught the message Jungeun was trying to send. She wasn’t asking about it, but she was pretty close to it. It wasn’t a push, but a careful tug. 

Jinsoul let herself be pulled in. “The others would say you’d talked some sense into me.”

“You wouldn’t have taken the money?” 

“I would’ve taken some,” Jinsoul said. “Then left the rest.” She laughed slightly. “They would’ve probably bullied me into taking it though.” 

“With good reason.” Another pause. “I think.” 

Jinsoul smiled as she glanced over. Jungeun was already looking at her. “You can ask me, you know.” 

“I thought you didn’t want to talk about it.” 

“I don’t,” Jinsoul admitted. “It’s still a sore spot, but it’ll probably come up a few times. At home too.” She knew she wasn’t imagining how Jungeun’s eyes softened again. 

She focused on the road. Getting everything done today and making sure she drove properly had kept her from being too distracted, but Jungeun was still very much gorgeous and getting more likeable by the minute. From the way she didn’t have to ask when it came to the deliveries, to how she wasn’t pressing Jinsoul about this—

Jinsoul didn't want to finish that thought. 

“Someone else could tell me, if it’d be alright to ask them.” 

Jinsoul turned the corner. They’d be there soon. “I’ll tell you,” she said. “I want to.” 

“But you also don’t.” 

She grimaced. “Yep.” 

Jungeun let out a small huff of a laugh. “Then tell me first where we’re going. This isn’t the road we came from, is it?” 

“I thought I’d show you a restaurant,” Jinsoul said. “And we’d have lunch.” 

“A restaurant,” Jungeun sounded out the word. “You get food there?” 

Jinsoul wracked her brain. “It’s like an inn. It basically is one, but it’s different too.” She didn’t have to look over to know that Jungeun was confused. “You’ll see.” 

They reached the next parking lot. This one would have another longer walk, but the lot was cheap and not a garage. And Jungeun had said she was used to long walks. 

“There’s a lot of people,” Jungeun said, eyeing the windows. “Do I still look normal?” 

Jinsoul nodded, even though there was a high chance Jungeun would still get stares, but not for the reasons she was thinking. 

When she opened the door, she was suddenly conscious of how loud it was. Cars whizzed by, people walked across the street in groups and this lot had others just hanging out to enjoy the weather. There was also the strong scent of a flowery mist, joined by the sharp and sweet smells of potions. Jinsoul almost got back into the van to drive somewhere else, but Jungeun had already walked over to her side. 

She was looking at the people, her face adorned with confusion and that same shyness from when she’d met the others for the deliveries. 

“We can drive somewhere closer.” 

Jungeun shook her head. “If I still can’t handle lots of people, that’s not even a problem of the time, it’s just mine.” She sent her a smile, but it was strained. “Lead the way.” 

Jinsoul did. She was right too. People stared as they passed. Some recognised her, but thankfully didn’t come over to talk. Most were busy watching the little show of illusion magic, going from brief impersonations to conjuring images of various monsters. 

She glanced back at Jungeun only to see that her jaw was set and her eyes were fixed ahead. To the rest, she looked confident as she walked by, almost cold. 

Jinsoul could see the nerves. “Everything okay?” 

Jungeun’s eyes snapped to hers. “Can I—” Jungeun sighed then and shook her head. “Nevermind.” 

Jinsoul stopped walking. “We don’t have to go.”

“We do,” she chuckled, “but I was going to ask if,” she trailed off. Her ears were red. The potion had changed that too. “Can I hold on to you?” 

Jinsoul ignored the little flip of her stomach and held out a hand. 

Jungeun took it. Sorry, the thoughts came. It helps. 

No problem. Jinsoul walked with her along the sidewalk. Silently, she explained the traffic lights. It was strange to be able to just say all of this without opening . 

Jungeun had visibly relaxed. And now we walk? 

It’d turned green. 

Jinsoul nodded. They walked. 

Jungeun was craning her neck to take in the building they walked past. 

A hotel, Jinsoul thought. A massive inn. 

“How many people?” Jungeun asked in a hushed voice. “A hundred?” She made it sound like it was impossible. 

“At least,” Jinsoul tightened her grip before Jungeun walked onto the bicycle lane, “careful.”

Jungeun stumbled away, nearly colliding with her. “Sorry.” 

“It’s okay.” She watched as the bikes zoomed past them. “Biking in the city like that is dangerous anyway. No one wears a helmet anymore either.” 

“I’d only set foot on one if I was wearing genuine armour,” Jungeun muttered. “It seems worse than the car.” 

Jinsoul smiled. “We’re almost there.” 

She tried not to focus on how she could feel the way Jungeun was slowly getting overwhelmed by everything around them. 

“Two of the people working to help you own this,” Jinsoul pointed at the restaurant, “they’re technically witches.”

“I think I saw plenty today,” Jungeun replied. “And I knew some witches whose worst curse was making your hair fall out.” 

She shuddered. “Don’t joke about it here.” She pulled her along the street when the light turned green. “It’s Vivi’s favourite threat.” 

When they walked in, people looked up. Jinsoul almost wished she’d just called for takeout. 

But she also wanted to give Jungeun a nice first experience in a restaurant. She couldn’t think of anything better than Eat&Live. 

“Jinsoul!” Haseul was grinning as she walked over. “I wasn’t expecting to see you for a while.” She had a notepad at her waist, along with her wand. She was always more traditional when it came to both things, even if she didn’t technically need the wooden stick for her magic. “We’re still looking into it.”

“I know,” Jinsoul smiled at her, “but I’m here because I wanted to show her what it’s like here.” 

Haseul looked at Jungeun, then back to Jinsoul, realisation sparking in her eyes. “Oh,” she said. “I'm Haseul.” She held out a hand. 

Surprisingly, Jungeun didn’t let go of her then. She just took Haseul’s hand and shook it. "Jungeun."

Then Haseul gasped. 

Jungeun pulled away. “Is something wrong?”

She shook her head. “It’s just,” she looked almost in awe, “you’re full of magic.”

Jungeun chuckled. “It’s not mine.”

“Now it is,” Haseul said. “Does it feel foreign to you?”

Jungeun frowned slightly, but shook her head. 

“I’ll get you two a booth,” Haseul sent them both a small smile, “maybe show her the bar?” Then she was off. 

“Do you drink?” Jinsoul asked. It was late afternoon. Some would say that was too early. 

Jungeun smiled. “I’m guessing it’s alright in this time if I say I do?” 

“Is this where you tell you weren’t a sheltered town girl?”

She only shrugged. 

They went to the bar. Jungeun’s tight grip on her hand had loosened. 

We won’t be able to talk in silence, but it’s fine if I let go, right? Jinsoul asked.

Jungeun let go of her hand first. Jinsoul almost missed the feeling. 

Except she’d barely known her for a week and Jungeun looked to her for answers and a semblance of stability. That was it. 

“Is it too loud here?” Jinsoul asked as they sat down. 

“Borderline,” Jungeun admitted, “but it’s alright.” Then she looked at all the bottles. “I’m guessing simplicity doesn’t exist anymore?”

“It does,” she replied. “You can still order wine, beer, or soju.”

“What’re you having?”

“A gin tonic.” 

“Is that expensive?” 

“It’ll be a treat,” Jinsoul said. “For your first day of work.”

Jungeun gave her a look. 

When the bartender came over, Jungeun promptly ordered a water and a gin tonic for Jinsoul. As she spoke, all the shyness that had been there before fell away. Jinsoul wondered if this was how Jungeun had done her deliveries in the past. She also wondered why there were some moments where Jungeun could suddenly switch into confidence, while others she could barely hide her nerves. 

“Aren’t you insulting my kindness now?” she asked. 

Jungeun’s smile was sheepish, the confidence falling away again. It almost gave Jinsoul whiplash. “First, it’s a little early for a full drink. Second, I should probably just try the drink, because older drinks were probably a bit on the weak side.”

“If you drank soju a lot, then I think you’d be fine,” Jinsoul replied. 

When the drink came, Jinsoul handed it to her. 

Jungeun looked at it, then she took a careful sip. Her eyes widened slightly. “It doesn’t taste like alcohol.”

“That’s what makes it so easy to drink too much of it.” Jinsoul accepted the glass and drank on the other side. “You’re having the rest, just so you know.” 

Her brow rose. “I’m not.”

“You have to,” she smiled at her, “it’s never good to drive with alcohol in your system. You want me to be the best driver ever, don’t you?”

Jungeun narrowed her eyes. “Then why did you order something?”

“Something told me you would’ve ordered that.” Jinsoul pointed at the water. 

“Ready!” Haseul popped up behind her. 

Jinsoul almost punched her, but she pulled her hand back. “Don’t do that!”

“But you’re doing better.” Haseul slapped her back. “Now come on.” 

They followed her. Jinsoul felt how Jungeun stiffened slightly when more people looked their way. When she glanced over, she also saw how Jungeun took a few more sips of the drink. 

“It’s good,” she muttered. “Strange, but good.” 

“Good.” 

Jungeun raised a brow her way, but she relaxed. Jinsoul counted that as a win. 

“Here we are,” Haseul said. “ A little more private.” She patted the walls. “Literally, because these have wards against eavesdropping.” 

“Thanks,” Jinsoul said. “Is this where you tell me you need something?”

Haseul looked to Jungeun then. “If you don’t want to, that’s fine,” she started. 

“You want to see how it works?” Jungeun asked. She was already reaching out a hand for Jinsoul. 

Haseul looked around, before nodding. “Unless it hurts?”

“It doesn’t.” Jungeun grabbed her hand and then turned into a sword in the next moment. I like her. 

Haseul’s eyes were bugging out of her head as she looked at the sword. 

Jinsoul fought a smile. 

This makes for a good surprise, Jungeun said, the thought laced with a little bit of lightness, almost as if the thoughts were joined with a smile. 

Then she turned back. The potion was still working, but one of her eyes was silver again. She let go of Jinsoul’s hand. 

Then Haseul laughed softly. “Wow.” She stared at her. “Sorry,” she shook her head, “I know I’m looking at you like you’re some kind of miracle, but it was really horrible what happened to you, but—” She broke off. 

Jungeun only shook her head. “It’s alright.” 

“But you didn’t feel all that time, did you?” Haseul asked, looking a bit disturbed at the thought. 

“No. Just vaguely when I was held.” 

“Okay,” she breathed a sigh of relief, “but just seeing that.” Haseul looked between them. “They had to have put on a spell that’d bind you to whoever owned—I mean, had Eclipse.” 

“We already put that spell on it,” Jungeun said. “There had to be a purer intent of having it, either a gift, or if someone had stolen it, but lost it, and another found it, the magic of the blade would work.” Then she looked Jinsoul’s way. “I think the spell still works.”

“It got stronger too,” Haseul nodded, “a lot was probably enhanced by whatever spell they put on you.” Then she handed them the menus. 

Jinsoul watched as Jungeun eyed the menus, reluctance painted across her face. 

“How about we go with the usual,” Jinsoul said, giving them back. 

“Just as long as you’re not a vegetarian.” Haseul looked at Jungeun who wrinkled her nose. She chuckled. “That answers it. It’ll be done in about ten minutes, give or take.” Then she was walking away. 

“Thank you,” Jungeun muttered. She sighed, running a hand through her hair, before having another sip of the gin tonic. It didn't look like she was getting affected by it. Either the sword had given her an excellent metabolism, or she'd had it before. 

Even from where Jinsoul sat, she had a good idea of what Jungeun was thinking. 

“You do know it’s not a bad thing,” Jinsoul said. “You were never taught to read. It wasn’t expected either.”

Jungeun looked like she wanted to say something, but thought better of it. 

She figured it was better to move on. “About earlier,” Jinsoul started, “I used to work for the Parks.” Before Jungeun could ask who they were, she told her. “They’re one of the royal houses. My family were nobility—I think we still count as it, but,” she took a deep breath, “it’s complicated.”

“You said that already,” Jungeun said. “Is that how you knew what the armouries of palaces look like? You added to them?”

”Pretty much.” 

Haseul came to give them the food. She gave them both a small smile, but left soon after. She was good at reading the room. 

Jinsoul nodded at the food. “This’s the best thing on their menu. At least I think so.”

Jungeun dipped her spoon into the bowl, blew on it, before carefully sipping. Then she closed her eyes. “I love it,” she said quietly. 

There was a lot more to that sentence than Jungeun was letting on. Maybe it tasted like something she’d eaten three hundred years ago. Maybe it was the best thing she’d ever had in those three hundred years. Or something else. 

Jinsoul didn’t ask. It was enough that Jungeun was enjoying herself here.

“So you worked there?” Jungeun kept eating, savouring each bite, but her eyes were on Jinsoul. 

“I was there for a few years after I lost my parents,” Jinsoul explained. “I’d gotten the training for it before, but there I’d just kept making suits of armour for their knights.” 

“And you wanted to do more.” 

She chuckled slightly. “I did.”

“So they tried to stop you?” Jungeun asked, setting the spoon down, her attention entirely on Jinsoul. "Were they able to push your prices down?"

Jinsoul couldn’t help but look away. Jungeun was perceptive. “Something like that.”

There was the careful scraping of the spoon on the bowl, before Jungeun kept eating. Was she dropping the subject entirely? 

“Did you want to know anything else?” Jinsoul asked, almost hating how stiff she was speaking. 

Jungeun shook her head. “Not for right now.” She smiled softly. “I know enough to not like whoever the Parks are.” Then the smile faded, replaced by a restrained sadness, as if she was being careful with it. “I didn’t know you’d lost your parents,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“It was a few years ago.” She’d been through so many conversations like that before. She’d talked about some of these things, from the Parks to her parents, so many times as well. She could manage one more. “They were coming from a banquet. Assassins were waiting in the forest.” Something that looked close to outrage flashed across Jungeun’s eyes. The other turned silver in the next moment. “It wasn’t the Parks,” she added quickly. “I’ll never trust them again, but they wouldn’t have done that.”

“Did you ever find who did?” 

“No,” Jinsoul said. “And I stopped looking.” 

Her brow furrowed, but she didn’t ask. 

Jinsoul still answered. “My family wasn’t exactly the most loved, so there were a lot of options, a lot of people who didn’t really care that they were gone.” She fished out a piece of beef and tofu. “And I’m not sure if I’d even do anything if I knew who it was. One, I couldn’t. Two, I don’t think I’d want to do anything.” 

Jungeun eyes were on her, a soft, but definitely searching look on her face. “You don’t think revenge would be worth it.”

“I don’t know,” she shook her head, “but I can’t change what happened just as much as I can’t control what would happen if I did anything.” She ate what was on her spoon. Chewing on it gave her a little more time to think. “But I build my armour and I’ve got a family, a home too.” 

Jungeun nodded. “And doing something else might change that.” Her next smile was both sad and warm. It was bittersweet to watch grow. “I think you were right to leave it alone.” 

“Really?” Jinsoul’s brow rose. “We’ve had this talk at home and I can say we’re split on what the ‘right’ thing to do was.”

Sooyoung still wanted to go after both the Parks and whoever the assassin had been.The others were mixed, but everyone had left it to Yerim and Jinsoul. Yerim was like her and didn’t want to find out, having lost her parents, Jinsoul’s aunt and uncle, a few years before the assassination. That’d been to an accident. 

“You don’t seem haunted by it,” Jungeun replied. “I know—knew someone who’d gone after a thief when the robbery had turned bloody.” She shook her head. “They were haunted by it for years, and there was one less person in the world because of it.” She then tilted her head to Jinsoul’s food. “Don’t let it get too cold.”

“There’s spells to work against that.” 

The corner of Jungeun’s lip tilted up. “Weren’t you going to leave the magic to your smithing?”

Jinsoul started eating. Jungeun followed. 

Her appetite came back as she ate. Vivi’s cooking was something no one could compete with. She’d once asked her if there was some kind of flavour spell, but Vivi had looked so insulted at the thought that Jinsoul had quickly shut up. 

Haseul said goodbye to them, giving Jinsoul a quick hug and a warm smile to Jungeun. She’d told them they’d be in touch within the week to tell her what they’d found until then. Before they left, Jinsoul made sure to cast an illusion over Jungeun’s eyes to make them appear brown. The last thing they needed now was for anyone to ask questions. 

“What are they actually looking for?” Jungeun asked. “Do they need to know anything from me beforehand?” She looked back at the restaurant. 

“They’re looking into human transfiguration,” Jinsoul replied. “That’s a combination of asking around and looking into the books the covens don’t let the rest of us look at.” Even if they all used magic, witches both had more magic, and culturally, they just encouraged pushing the limits. That’d been both incredible and terrible. “They’ll call if they need to know something else.” 

“Call.” Her laugh was a bit dry. “It’s still strange to think that,” she trailed off, looking out at the city. It’d gotten busier. 

Jinsoul stepped a bit closer to her as they walked. Jungeun’s fingers grazed hers.

“That?” 

Jungeun looked back to her. “That things have changed.” Another empty laugh. “Speaking to you,” her hand loosely took hold of Jinsoul’s, “it doesn’t feel like the entire world is different.” 

“So I'm old fashioned?” Jinsoul wondered if Jungeun would let things go to humour. Sometimes she latched onto the edge of a joke just to escape the reality of being trapped in a different time. 

“No.” Jungeun sent her a small smile. “But it’s not as overwhelming.” Her eyes drifted to the skyline. “Everywhere I look, there’s something I—something else. There’ll be something that I know doesn’t belong, even if it’s right there.” She looked to a car then. “Or I just don’t understand it.” Her expression soured further. 

She followed her gaze. There was an advertisement pasted on a lamppost in big letters. It was for glasses with lenses practically soaked in illusions. Jinsoul couldn’t see the appeal of it. 

And then it sank in again. She kept forgetting that. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to learn?” Jinsoul asked. “You know the words, you just have to learn the letters, and then how they’re spelt.” 

“I’m not sure if I have the time,” she said softly. “There’s a lot of other things I want to do.”

“What about books before bed? There’s programs—things where they’ll sound out the words for you too.” Maybe she’d set it up on her computer and Jungeun could spend an hour on them or something. Anything to make the letters she saw legible. 

“It’s alright.” Jungeun squeezed her hand. “The only lessons I’m having any part in is teaching you how to make a sword. Properly.” Her lip tilted up a little bit more. “As long as you have time for it.”

She knew Jungeun didn’t mean it like that, but the words stung to hear. If there was really the risk that breaking the curse would mean Jungeun disappeared, then she should’ve been using all of that time to do more of what she wanted. Whatever that was. 

“You don’t have—” Jinsoul began. 

I want to, Jungeun’s voice was in her head again, and I’d really like it if you’d let me. 

How was she supposed to say no to that? 

You’re not. 

Jinsoul jumped. Did you hear that? Had she heard the rest?

“I did,” Jungeun said. “I couldn’t hear much more than that before, but maybe your thoughts slipped?” She frowned slightly. “I have no idea how that might work.”

“Me neither.” Jinsoul laughed. “But whenever you’re reading my mind, then tell me.”

“I will,” she nodded, “just as long as you do the same.” 

They kept walking, with Jungeun asking about certain things every now and then and Jinsoul explaining. 

The sombre edge of what they’d just talked about had passed. Jungeun was back to being wide-eyed and open to learning about what was around her. 

It almost felt like a contradiction to earlier, but there was a part of it that made sense. Jungeun wasn’t going to freeze, even when everything else was overwhelming. The world frustrated her, but she still found it in her to want to know more about it. 

“Is something wrong?” Jungeun asked. 

“You didn’t hear what I was thinking?” 

Her brow furrowed. “Should I have?”

Jinsoul shook her head. “I was just thinking about what we’ll do when we get back,” she said. “I was thinking that I’ll also show you how I make my armour.”

Jungeun’s smile was a lot brighter this time. Jinsoul felt a burst of pride for being the reason for it. 

“I’d like that.”

______

Author's Note

I thought it was high time we'd get a bit more of Jinsoul's own backstory. There won't be much more than this, though I have left something out for now. Jinsoul's character as a whole has been really interesting to write and I hope she's just as interesting to read about as Jungeun is! 

Also, when it comes to business stuff and how selling things like weapons or so, I don't really know anything about it. My field of study is within the natural sciences, so it's pretty far from business. What's good is it's not the focus of the story, nor is this the 'real' world, even if I put in a lot of pieces of it. 

I really hope you're all doing well! Soon I'll be having the Easter holidays. I've got a lot to study, but I'll also have more time to write. 

See you next chapter. 

Twt: hblake44

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