CHAPTER FOUR: SEULGI KIM

[Seulgi.]

Oh, how scary it was.

To be cast out of the family at age seven; to be thrown away as a child because no matter what I did, it would never be enough.

Because I was born that way; because I am of fire.

Because they said that I didn’t belong with the power that I had—that I wasn’t rightful to be a Kim because I couldn’t have the power of ice, and that Act of Segregation hurt me more than I could fathom, hurt me more than I could remember because after that I spent twenty years of my life needlessly getting strong, wanting to be strong and striving to be the best just so I could prove to myself that I wasn’t a failure, that I wasn’t thrown away for no reason at all—

But no matter what it took, no matter how much I had proved to be the best in my craft, I was fire.

Not ice; the ever so playful fire, the fire that courses through my system and not ice, the one that I was supposed to have, the one that I was so effortlessly thrown away for not having.

But through the years I had grown not to care—except from when I learned that I actually had a sister, born after I had been exiled from home, prohibited to step inside their dear mansion and see her, and that I know they’ve erased any trace of me like they did the others, my other relatives now taking refuge in the Kang Family as I have already changed my surname as well, finally removing any trace that I was a Kim—that I was an heiress, and now I still am an heiress, but now in a different family, the one that cared for me and the ones that had been there for me when I needed them.

But Minjeong Kim—oh, how beautiful she was.

A sister that they had put their hope in, hoping that she would not produce the same result as mine, hoping that she would have the power of ice or no power at all as it would preserve the Kim Family Gene as it was called—how can they put that burden in a little girl’s shoulders? How can they put all the pressure that I had forcefully abandoned upon the shoulders of a little girl that they expect to be the heiress of this family that had clearly done questionable things?

I wanted to see her.

Even for a short time, to let her know me even if I would only be Seulgi Kang, perhaps a friend and not the lost sister that she had never gotten to know, but I never got the chance in my pursuit of being the best in the power that I had, in the life that I had chosen to have together with her, my beloved Joohyun, and I couldn’t even visit her because I was prohibited to.

That was the reason why I had grabbed the chance to take care of her, to volunteer to take her in when Ate Taeyeon had called me so desperately after the ceremony that I heard she had at the age twenty-one had failed and that she had been exactly like me—inheriting our father’s gene, the gene of fire that had been given to us instead of the ice from our Mother.

I saw a chance to have myself be recognized by the only family that I consider to have aside from the Kangs, to be considered as her sister—even if I haven’t spent time with her since she was born, and she was born because of the failure that I am.

Then in a technical sense, Joohyun had once been put in Katarina Yoo’s shoes.

Taking care of an heiress and becoming her companion, although that had been interrupted because I had awakened at a young age of seven and had been thrown away—and I had not seen her until she had sought refuge with the Kang Family after running away from her family, and we had taken her in, even though she had only changed her surname when I volunteered to marry her when I turned the legal age of twenty, and she had been Joohyun Kang ever since.

But upon learning the truth as to why my younger sister, Minjeong is so powerful now een when she had only awakened, I don’t even feel the slightest anger to the repercussions that it could give to the Kim Family, but the repercussions it could have given to Minjeong if she had been awakened with the power of ice.

And it takes all of me not to blast her with the strongest fire techinique that I know right now while she can’t even look at my sister who is only staring at her without any words uttered after Joohyun had revealed to her about what had happened, about how this woman had taught my sister fire principles without anyone else knowing for years.

Was she the reason why my sister had awakened to be a fire user and not ice?

Was my sister destined to be an ice user from the very beginning but could not do so due to this girl’s interference and intervention?

“Seulgi, my love, calm down.” Joohyun says, at doon ko lang napansin na mas malakas ang presensya ko at the moment and that I had gradually let go of my control slowly after getting lost in my emotions, and it takes some minutes before I could regain control and slow my heart beating because of the anger that is boiling in my heart at the moment—and I notice that Minjeong’s fire is also affected by mine, raging even with the limiter I set for her.

“How can I calm down when I learn about this?” I say, letting my anger go unchecked while Katarina Yoo backs away and her eyes turn lighter, probably channeling her Powerborne State as she senses my fire raging inside my system, and it only takes Joohyun’s hand holding mine to stop me from activating my own state and possibly set my car in fire immediately with just my presence.

“I did it because of my anger for your family, because we were practically forced to serve your family for the rest of our lives; but I don’t think me teaching her those fire principles was the reason why her powers turned out to be fire.” Sagot ni Karina, but somehow that doesn’t satiate the anger in me—not even one bit.

“That… that is not my family anymore. I am Seulgi Kang, heiress of the Kang Family, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t just let what you did go.” Sagot ko, and I immediately let go of Joohyun’s hand and soon after my hair lightens up, my eyes blazing and I immediately blast her with a fireball of mine, drawing her away from my car and the house and from her sister, making sure she lands on one of the empty fields nearby.

“Come on, try to beat me. Baka magdalawang isip akong ipadakip ka dahil sa ginawa mo.” Pangiinis ko habang patuloy ko siyang pinapatamaan ng iba’t ibang atakeng natutunan ko throughout the years, not even letting her rest as even just my presence already melts every wall she puts through as a defense, making sure that she would be overwhelmed and not be able to attack back.

But something soon clicks inside me as I drive through those attacks, ruthlessly putting out everything while she even gets hit once or twice while putting out ice walls to stop my attacks—she’s learning, even trying out the intensity of my attacks while she’s probably thinking of some plan to beat me, but of course I won’t let her.

I’m the best fire user in this country, after all.

With a loud shout I send out these sharpened manifestations of fire that would sear through skin and definitely melt ice faster than before (kind of devised it while sparring with Joohyun, but our fights always ends in draws.), directing it towards all directions while she desperately tries putting up ice walls all around her, and I could even see her heaving and breathing heavily—signifying that she’s slowly getting fatigued.

“You’ll regret crossing me and my family—”

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang biglang mawala ang apoy sa loob ko and when I look down, that boy Na Jaemin had strapped one of his bracelets that I gave him upon my ankle, using his power of the Earth to get close to me and put that upon me without me even noticing, at agad naman akong napaluhod dahil sa pagod na mayroon ako at dahil hindi ako makarecover because my fire’s gone.

And then I realize it; an icicle, the sharpest that kid could probably conjure, hurtling my way faster than I could dodge it, at sigurado akong tatama iyon sakin and could even stab through me effortlessly without my powers, and I don’t even have time to remove this bracelet and have my powers come back to me so I only close my eyes, anticipating the pain that would soon come—

But nothing came. Not even a slight pain upon every part of my body except the fatigue that slightly makes it harder to breathe, at nang buksan ko ang mga mata ko ay nandun siya.

The love of my life, grasping the icicle that her sister had sent to me with a wall made of the earth in front of her—Jaemin’s efforts to shield me from the icicle, albeit already too late, but Joohyun made it just in time—but her hand was bleeding from how sharp it was.

Inches away from my neck, and I could even feel the pointy tip now, resting upon my skin and even a millisecond later it would have drawn blood, and another second later I would have been lying down upon the ground, blood uncontrollably flowing out of me, too fast for me to even use my fire to try to heal myself.

Ibinaba na ni Jaemin yung wall na ginawa niya at nagdissolve na rin yung icicle na hawak ni Joohyun and there I noticed my sister, Minjeong, in front of Karina, but the difference was that her clothes were more torn than ever—and I could see that the bracelet from her wrist, the one that I put there to possibly limit the full extent of her powers, is gone.

Hawak niya si Karina sa leeg—as if to strangle her, putting her up into the air, the woman struggling to be freed but no matter what attack she made, no matter what ice she forms to get Winter away from her, it only melts with just Minjeong’s presence.

Blonde na ang buhok niya—unlike earlier nung sparring namin na highlights lang na madaling matanggal—at ramdam ko ang intense na apoy na nagmumula sa kanya, without the bracelet, and it’s enough to heal me from my fatigue even with the bracelet still fitted upon my ankle and my foot submerged upon the Earth as Jaemin’s way of not letting me move momentarily, at inalis naman niya agad ito nang mapansin niyang tumayo na ako.

“Minjeong.” I called out, and when she looked back… it was enough for my fire to wake up from within me, trying to break out like the fire that is in her right now—uncontrollable, ruthless and mischievous, na alam kong kapag tinanggal ko ang bracelet na isinuot sa akin ni Jaemin ay mahihirapan din akong icontrol ang kapangyarihan ko.

Minjeong’s eyes were blazing—like literal fire dancing in replacement of her eyes, and the fire upon her eyes seem to call deep upon my being, tempting my fire to go out of control, and it takes a lot of me not to—dahil hawak pa niya si Karina sa leeg, and I hold my hand to try to control my wife who is looking at the two of them with such a strict gaze.

“Minjeong, stop.” I say, at iniwas na niya ang tingin sa akin at hawak pa rin si Karina, although her grip had loosened and I sigh as I see Karina barely breathing while still meters up in the air, still struggling to be freed against my sister’s clutches, at ramdam ko ang galit na nanggagaling sa kapatid ko ngayon, possibly the reason why she seems like a different person.

“She tried to kill you when you were powerless, when she was given the chance. Sa tingin mo ba, hindi ko siya gagantihan?” she says, and I see her grip getting tighter while I immediately disconnect the bracelet from me at agad namang umaksyon si Jaemin at tinry na alisin si Karina mula sa hawak ni Minjeong, but I only widen my eyes in shock as a burst of fire suddenly flies towards Jaemin, knocking him away from us if not for Joohyun catching her with a wall of ice.

“Minjeong!” sigaw ko habang naramdaman kong dumadaloy na uli ang kapangyarihan sa katawan ko, and I run towards her, putting a hand upon her shoulder and try to pull her away from Karina who is slowly getting weakend because of her position, at alam kong magagalit sa akin si Joohyun pag may nangyaring masama sa kapatid niya so I blast Minjeong away with my fire, sending her knocked over a few meters away, and catch Karina who is now slowly getting unconscious.

“Don’t interfere.” Sagot ni Minjeong habang papalapit na siya at nakalahad ang kamay na parang sasaktan ang kung sino mang pipigil sa kung ano mang gusto kong gawin, at iniharang ko nalang ang sarili ko para ako ang tamaan instead of Karina who is now unconscious but breathing because of her fatigue and Minjeong almost strangling her.

“I warned you.” Isa pang sabi niya, at parang hindi na siya ang Minjeong na kausap ko kanina—it’s like she’s a different person driven by her anger, and so she strikes—

But once again, no attack came, at pagtingin ko nalang ay wala nang bigla ang kakaibang presensya niya, standing so confused in front of all of us, at pagtingin ko sa direksyon ni Joohyun at ni Jaemin ay kita kong nakalahad ang kamay ni Jaemin while he’s clutching his head that is dripping with blood, and I see the bracelet fitted upon Minjeong’s ankle.

“What… Yooji…” she utters, at napabuntong hininga na lamang ako nang masalo siya ni Joohyun bago siya bumagsak sa sahig, glaring at me as I smile sheepishly at her, knowing that I did something wrong.

“Mag-uusap tayo mamaya, Seul. Jaemin, I’ll take care of that wound of yours inside, alright?” sagot ni Joohyun habang nagconjure muna siya ng isang maliit na block ng yelo at ibinalot ito sa tela galing sa nasira nang jacket ni Minjeong na binigay ko sa kanya kanina, the boy nodding gratefully and putting the block of ice upon his forehead, hopefully alleviating the pain he has at the moment since he collided with Joohyun’s ice wall pretty badly kanina.

“But most importantly, it looks like you have to get a lot of those bracelets.” Sagot ni Joohyun habang nginitian pa rin niya ako habang naglalakad kami pabalik sa bahay, and I smile at her.

Oh, Joohyun. I don’t really know what I’ll do without you.