Present Time

Chorong

Gray clouds enveloped the sky when Chorong left home to attend her university classes. Today was the last first day of school for her because she was finally a senior. The tough years of breaking down over requirements, deadlines, and other school related stuff were finally coming to an end. To add it all up, graduating with distinction was something Chorong always aimed for and with the way things were looking, she has a huge chance of achieving that goal. She will finally graduate and be useful to the world. But not necessarily since she made a promise with Eunji that after she graduated, she would be living in Equilibrium with the god.

As soon as the stoplight turned green, Chorong made her way across. People were minding their own business, as always. Someone was drinking coffee while another was busy with his phone while an individual beside him was just looking around as if he was lost. Looking back, when Chorong first met Eunji, the god taught her many different things. One of which was that in one lifetime, a soul meets thousands of others everyday. An example would be her dad, he crosses paths everyday with a lot of people because of his line of work. From the moment he would leave the house until he comes back at the end of the day, a human, regardless of who he was, wouldn’t know if he had met his other half or not. Their other half could be the one holding the door for them in a cafe, the one who left a note in a meeting, they could be anywhere. 

Another thing that Chorong was curious about was Joohyun’s friendship with Seungwan (or Life but the god insisted on having a human name as well). Eunji was still suspicious of their friendship but Seungwan insists that they’re just friends and that has been the cause of the constant argument between Life and Death. Whenever Chorong would visit Equilibrium, Joohyun would be there or in a few minutes, she’d arrive. Eventually, she got used to seeing Joohyun there as well. They would teach the gods more about the human world and they would listen intently, like they liked what they were hearing.

So far, Chorong hasn’t really gotten herself into any trouble but maybe that was because Eunji was always with her. It helped that the god would teleport her to places instead of traveling. 

Chorong reached her classroom five minutes just before it began. As always, she took a seat in the middle part of the room, just beside the corridor window. As if Eunji didn’t know, a message went through her phone.

From: 🖤

School already? 💓

A smile appeared on her face when she saw the message. Yes, Chorong and Joohyun taught the gods of life and death how to use a handphone. It was the funniest day for the both of them because the first time Eunji opened used the camera to take a selfie, she used profanities of different languages and threw the phone across the throne room. To top it all, Eunji even yelled ‘an imposter copied the way I looked!’. The mere thought made Chorong chuckle. She never laughed so hard in her life before. And now, Eunji was taking selfies, videos, and texting like a pro. These days, she was getting more and more addicted to tap-tap games that sometimes, they would barely talk because she kept on playing. A few days ago, Eunji got into this game called CODM and she has been constantly bugging Chorong to play with her that it was actually starting to annoy the hell out of the human.

The door opened and a woman with silver hair with purple ends entered. Her presence demanded attention. She was wearing a suit and her hair was tied into a high ponytail. The woman wasn’t carrying anything or what but Chorong knew right away that she was their professor. Everyone kept quiet, all of their attention on the professor. Most of them, Chorong included, were amazed by her presence. The woman turned to them and smiled. Her beauty was almost comparable to Death’s. She didn’t look human, especially now that Chorong knew the presence of gods on earth. The woman’s eyes reminded her of emeralds for they were green.

"Good morning, young humans," she started. "Welcome to your last philosophy class. So, instead of introducing yourselves to me. Tell me if you're single or not instead," their professor continued as she sat on the teacher’s desk. She pointed at the first chair on the first row, starting the class.

When it was Chorong’s turn, her professor stopped her, “Why?”

“You’re taken,” the woman said and walked until she was standing in front of Chorong’s desk. “Handphone on top of your desk. High waist pants and cropped top but covered with a hoodie that is too big to be yours? You make it too obvious, dear.”

Chorong was surprised by the professor’s observation. The jacket she was wearing was definitely not hers, it was Eunji’s, “How did you..”

The professor leaned in until their face was inches away, “You also smell like you’re taken.”

What?

The woman gave her a wink before turning around to return to her desk. She continued with class and the first thing she wrote on the board was the sentence ‘Gods are among us’. Immediately intrigued by the topic, Chorong sat properly and gave her full attention. A class debate started between those who believe that gods walk among humans while the other team are those who don’t. The professor listened intently to every single argument made by Chorong’s classmates. Every once in a while, she would in to stop the class from fighting. And for the first time since Chorong started college, she actually enjoyed philosophy.

When the bell rang, everybody bid goodbye to the professor and started to exit the room. While Chorong was busy, the professor said, “Park Chorong, stay for a while.”

Confused, she looked at the professor. Her eyes met the professor’s emerald colored ones before the latter smiled. She approached the professor and asked, “How did you know my name?”

“Class list, dear. All professors are given a list before class officially starts,” she explained with a piece of paper raised. Chorong blushed in embarrassment. 

“Why did you want me to stay, Ma’am…” she forgot that the professor didn’t introduce herself so she just went the most generic way of calling their professors. Chorong noticed that the older woman was looking at her with questioning eyes.

“You never really told the class your answer about our first class activity. I need it to give you a grade or you will fall behind.”

“Oh, right. I agree with the statement. I believe that gods walk among us,” Chorong answered proudly. She knew for a fact that it was true because Eunji and Seungwan were always on earth, either shopping or eating in different restaurants with them. “May I go now, Ma’am?”

The professor nodded at her so Chorong smiled at the woman before she walked towards the door. “Oh, be careful on your way home, Chorong. Do stop by a convenience store to avoid some bad people,” she looked back but the professor was busy writing something, maybe her grade. There was a knowing smile on her face before she turned to the student, “You can call me Ann.”

Chorong continued to walk out of the campus since Philosophy was her only class for the day. It was one of the perks of being a senior and taking pre-college courses, there were less units to take for her in the end. Chorong thought that there was no harm in heeding what her professor told her so she decided to drop by the convenience store to buy ramyeon (also because her mom told her so). The air conditioner made her feel too comfortable which made Chorong order a drink and stay there a little while longer. While she was busy on her phone, she heard a gunshot just about two blocks away. The sound came from the direction of her usual route home. She felt a chill down her spine. Did that mean Ma’am Ann had six sense? Was that it? Was her philosophy professor a psychic?

On her way home, she got a message from Joohyun, inviting her for some grilled pork. Of course, since she misses hanging out with her best friend, Chorong agreed. Joohyun was busy with her internship for some fashion company and while they lived near each other, both of them were always too exhausted to visit. They would meet during the weekends or sometimes when they were in Equilibrium but they haven’t talked much. 

As soon as Chorong handed the ramyeon her mom told her to buy, she skipped her way out of the house once more. As soon as she opened the door, Death was there, smiling at her, “Where are you off to, agapi mou?”

Chorong smiled back and hugged the god, which was welcomed by a giggle by the latter. The familiar perfume Eunji started to use wrapped her senses, calming her down. Instinctively, Chorong snuggled closer, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Eunji whispered. “I spent the whole day collecting souls and this is the best rest I have had in years,” she chuckled. Chorong broke the hug and looked at the god’s outfit. Her fashion sense rose to the heavens over the years that they have been spending together. Although Eunji still preferred to wear black, those jeans and shirt fit her perfectly. Her eyes still