KANG-DAE: one who is mighty and strong

Jung Wheein’s dæmon settled when they were eleven. Much, much, earlier than the average age of settling for other kids. It had been a hard year, her father, a dark presence in their life, tormenting her mother with financial problems. The last few months, Kang-Dae had taken to favoring larger, cuddlier animals that Wheein could lean against during the night after her grandmother had bid them goodnight.

Wheein had always known, since she was young, that her family situation was different from the other kids her age. The other kids had fathers and mothers that lived together in the same house. Siblings that they could tease or who could pick them up after school and walk with them back home. For as long as she could remember Wheein only ever had her mother, her grandmother, and Kang-Dae.

Then, one evening Wheein came downstairs and caught sight of her mother in tears at the dinner table, her grandmother a silent but comforting presence. 

She ran back to her bedroom on padded footsteps, Kang-Dae at her heels as a small, grey, scottish fold. 

“Are you alright, Wheein?”

Wheein picked up Kang-Dae and hugged him to her, letting her tears fall into the soft down of his fur. Against the skin of her neck she felt him purr in silent consolation. 

“I wish,” she hiccupped through her sobs, “our life was different. I wish we had a different father who loved mom and who could care for us. I wish we lived in a big house with them instead of here at grandma’s house. I wish we had lots of siblings so we wouldn’t have to be lonely.”

Kang-Dae nuzzled against her. “Me too.”

After a while, she set him down, sniffling as she stared out into the empty space of her bedroom. She stayed quiet for a long time, until her shaky breaths turned even and steady. In the dark of their room, Kang-Dae padded over to her, smoothly shifting from small cat to a large, shaggy dog. With a soft whine, he rested his giant head on her lap. Wheein absentmindedly began scratching behind his ears, still deep in thought. 

At long last, “Wheein? What are you thinking?”

Wheein straightened up from her slump, absently wiping away the remaining tears that clung to her eyelashes and had dried on her cheeks. She fixed Kang-Dae with a determined look. 

“We’ll take care of them, Kangie. When we’re older we’re going to become a famous artist and earn so much money, and we’ll be the ones to take care of Mom and Grandma. Just you wait.”

Suddenly, she felt a strong shift in her chest, jolting her as the force of it pushed her on her back. Across from her, Kang-Dae yelped, eyes wide as he stared wildly about, his tail wagging almost out of his control.

“Kangie?!”

Wheein felt her heart hammering against her ribcage, there was a warmth spreading across her chest and as she locked eyes on Kang-Dae. By then, a part of her already knew.

“Wheein,” Kang-Dae trotted back toward her, eyes wide. He leaned forward just enough so their foreheads could touch. “I think, this is us.”

Wheein felt her eyes sting with tears again. Dropping down to her knees, she made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a full-blown sob. She hugged her dæmon to her, the warmth of their settled bond filling her with confidence and just a little bit of fear. 

“We’ll be okay, right?”

She felt Kang-Dae nod, his fur tickling her ear. “You and me.”

Pulling away, Wheein wiped at her tears and snot with the back of her hand, eyes roving around her dæmon’s settled form. As if for the first time, she let her hands trail across his face, tracing his snout and his ears, all the way down his long, long, spine and down to his bony legs. “No fair.” She said, voice still cracked from crying.

Kang-Dae whined in concern, “You don’t like it?”

“No,” Wheein smiled fully at him this time, eyes crinkling and her dimple in full display. 

“You’re taller than me now.”

Both of them burst out laughing. When Wheein’s grandmother came to wake them up the next day, it was to the sight of a tiny eleven year-old and a large, gray, irish wolfhound, crowded and cuddled together on a small, single bed. 

----

KORAIN: one who is Luminous

When Wheein and Hyejin decided to go to Seoul to become artists together, Hyejin’s dæmon still hadn’t settled.

It was a point of light teasing between the two of them, Wheein never missed the chance to ruffle her friend’s hair and pinch her cheeks about it, but she would stop before things got out of hand. She knew her best friend still had insecurities about her unsettled dæmon.

In the here and now, the two of them were waiting in line for auditions and Kang-Dae was watching a fluttering Korain switch from nightingale to a thrush to a robin and all other manner of sweet singing song birds.

“Aish,” Wheein pinched her best friend in the side, “Tell Korain to settle down, the other auditioners are staring at us.” 

Hyejin unclasped her hands and motioned for Korain to rest on her arm. The dæmon took the form of a canary and hung his head in embarrassment. “Sorry, I guess I’m a bit nervous too.”

Wheein regretted the comment instantly and smiled at him instead, “Don’t be sorry Korain, everyone here is a bit nervous today, just maybe don’t change forms so much. The other auditioners might not take it so well.”

Korain nodded once before alighting unto Hyejin’s shoulder, hiding in the tufts of her hair. 

Wheein met her friend’s eye and was about to say something else when--

“Ahn Hyejin please enter the audition area!”

Instinctively, Wheein hugged herself to her friend and gripped her shoulders tight. “Good luck, Hyegi! Fighting!”

She felt her best friend squeeze her back before pulling away and entering the audition room, Korain flying swiftly behind. As soon as they were gone, Kang-Dae twirled around once and whined at the space Hyejin and Korain left behind. 

“Don’t tell me you’re nervous too!”

Kang-Dae placed his front paws on her knees and rested his head atop them, staring up at her with large brown eyes. Wheein always marveled at moments like this, moments when she could gaze at her own soul and learn something new about herself.

“You think they’ll be okay?” Kang-Dae’s voice was soft so that only Wheein could hear. 

“I don’t know.” Wheein said, crouching low so she could press their foreheads together. “But Hyegi is strong. No matter what happens, she’ll be okay, and so will we.”

A little less than fifteen minutes later, the audition door opened and Hyejin walked out, this time Korain was trailing behind as a cute, little, pot-bellied pig. Wheein could barely hear the talent coordinator call out the next name, she was too focused on her friend, and the familiar hard set to her jaw.

“Hey, how’d it go?” 

“Fine!”

“Hyejin.”

Her best friend stared at her, a few errant tears already streaming down her face. “I’ll be okay Wheein-ah. You should stay for your audition. Tell me about it tonight okay?”

Before she could stop her, Hyejin was already jogging away. Korain gave Kang-Dae a sad look before he also began trotting after. Wheein sat back down and tried to quell the surge of anxiety threatening to pull her under. Hyejin was the strongest person she knew, and if she couldn’t make it…

“Hey, Wheein.” Kang-Dae had propped himself up on the vacant seat Hyejin left behind, “Don’t worry about it! You said it yourself, she’ll be okay right? And so will we.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. 

The next time they saw Hyejin was a week later; they had agreed to meet for coffee so they could compare notes and figure out what other companies to audition for. The moment her friend entered the cafe, Wheein almost spat out the strawberry frappuccino she was half-heartedly nursing.

Any fool could tell that Hyejin’s dæmon had fully settled, what Wheein couldn’t wrap her mind around was Korain’s settled form.

“Oh my god.” she said when they were within earshot. Beside her, she could see Kang-Dae approach Korain slowly, sniffing at his friend before bowing his head in what could only be respect.

Hyejin’s dæmon had settled as a lion. 

All the other cafe patrons were staring at them with interest now, low murmurs buzzing around them like flies. Wheein simply smirked at her best friend. There was definitely a new energy about her, one that was more self-assured and confident. 

“You seem different today. Did you cut your bangs yourself again?”

Hyejin rolled her eyes, but a fond smile curled up the corners of her lips. “Shut up.”

At their feet, Korain and Kang-Dae were resting against each other, the gray scruff of the wolfhound mixing into the golden mane of the lion.

----

BON-HWA: one who is glorious

They’d just had a long day of endless dance practices, voice lessons, and topped off with a daily weigh in that left their CEO disappointed and the rest of them thoroughly depressed. 

“This is unacceptable!” He repeated, his voice echoing around the empty rehearsal room. Beside him was a digital scale that Wheein couldn’t even bear to look at. Beside her Kang-Dae had his head bowed, tail firmly between his legs. Hyejin was glaring at a spot on the floor with Korain at her feet, staring off to the side. Byul was also staring at the floor, and Wheein couldn’t even see Haneul who was probably hiding in the older girl’s hair.

Yongsun, however, had elected to take the brunt of the scolding. She was a few steps ahead of them, staring at their CEO head on. Bon-Hwa was a firm presence on her shoulder, also looking forward even though his long ears were flat against his head. 

When the sermon had ended and their CEO had left, his owl dæmon flying loftily behind him, Wheein looked up to see Yongsun making a beeline for her bag, hastily packing away her dance shoes and other things. She was about to walk over but stopped when she felt Hyejin’s hand on her shoulder.

“It’s taken care of.” Her friend said quietly, turning around to pack her own bag. Wheein looked back to see that Byul had approached Yongsun, a handkerchief already extended and murmuring words of comfort too soft for Wheein to hear. 

Much later, when they were all huddled together at the bus stop near the agency, Yongsun suddenly clapped her hands, stunning everyone out of their silent brooding. Despite the puffiness still around her eyes there was a bright smile on her face and she was already pulling out her phone. 

“Everyone, this mood is bad for the team. So how about we get a bunch of our favorite foods for dinner and watch horror movies all night long?”

“Unnie,” Hyejin was leaning against Korain, the weariness seeping out of her in waves. “Didn’t you see our weigh-in results? If we pig out and stay up tonight we’re never going to meet the goal by the end of the week.”

“That’s true,” Bon-Hwa said from Yongsun’s shoulder, a mischievous twitch to his nose and a bright spark in his eyes. “But it’ll make everyone feel better.”

Later that night, with several bags of delivery food spread out for the four of them and Byul’s old laptop playing a Western horror movie, Wheein felt something warm and right slot into place in her chest. 

The next week, during the weigh-in, Wheein could feel the innate sense of dread permeating the room. Beside her, Kang-Dae gave out a soft whine and looked at her fearfully. She was sure she hadn’t lost the weight she was meant to, and judging from the looks of the other three, they were all in the same boat. 

Just as the door was opening, and a familiar owl came swooping in, Wheein saw Yongsun straighten up and whisper something urgently into Byul’s ear. In turn, the other girl’s eyes went wide and a mischievous smile crinkled her nose before she passed along the message to Hyejin. Before Hyejin could turn to her however, their CEO was already inside, his secretary placing a familiar scale beside him. 

“Wheein, you first.” He said brusquely, clicking a pen and holding it over his clipboard.

When she stood up, she was surprised to see the other three rising along with her. 

“What are you guys doing?” She whispered, as Hyejin took hold of her left hand and Byul gripped her right one. 

“Follow our lead.” Byul whispered back.

“What’s this then?” Their CEO asked as they approached. 

“Team solidarity.” Yongsun said calmly, a serene smile on her face, but when Wheein turned to look, she could see the familiar mischievous twitch to Bon-Hwa’s nose.

The moment she stepped on the scale, she felt Hyejin and Byul’s grip tighten, until they were carrying a portion of her weight. Sure enough, the number on the scale read just two kilos lighter than she was last week.

Their CEO raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips but wrote the number down anyway.

“Yongsun, you next.” 

When Wheein stepped down, she locked eyes with Yongsun and took her left hand, Byul was already on the right, gripping their leader’s hand tightly as she stepped on the scale.

Once again that warm feeling spread out from Wheein’s chest; a little behind her, Kang-Dae was balancing Bon-Hwa on his back while Haneul was peeking out from the tufts of Korain’s mane. She realized the unknown feeling something akin to sisterhood. 

----

HANEUL: one who is heavenly

Wheein had learned early on that when it came to drinking and nights out, Byul was the one to go to. Not that she didn’t enjoy going out drinking with Hyejin or Yongsun, but the former was more interested in eating and the latter couldn’t even manage a thimbleful of soju without turning red. 

So when Byul invited her out to a bar crawl a year and a half after they debuted, Wheein was more than willing to accept. 

“You’re lucky we don’t have any schedules tomorrow.” Wheein said, two bottles of beer deep into their third bar. Beside her, Kang-Dae was already chuckling a bit and swaying slightly every time he tried to sit or stand up. 

“I kind of wish we did, though.” Byul mused, downing her own shot before chasing it down with a bottle of beer. “Then I’d have something else to focus on.”

Wheein eyed her unnie warily, she traced a slim finger around the lip of her beer bottle a couple of times before asking, “Something to focus on other than what, Unnie?”

Byul pretended not to hear but Wheein’s eyes didn’t miss the way Haneul practically deflated from where he was sitting on top of Byul’s head. 

It was always fascinating to her how much dæmons were more honest than their human counterparts, even without saying a word. In the here and now though, she shared a look with Kang-Dae before taking another swig of her bottle. 

This time, Wheein hazarded a guess, “I heard that Yongsun-unnie’s WGM filming is going well. And next week is when the three of us are going to--”

Byul slammed her bottle down on the table hard, atop her head, Haneul buried deeper into her hair, a spot of white and silver amidst the light brown tresses. “Sorry,” the older girl mumbled. 

Wheein sighed and straightened up in her seat. “Unnie, you know it’s all fake right? It’s not like Yongsun-unnie will actually--”

“It still hurts though.” Wheein looked up at Haneul, who had poked his head up from Byul’s hair. Even with his small hamster eyes, Wheein could see the sadness in them. 

Byul plucked Haneul from her hair and cuddled him to her, letting him nuzzle against her cheek. 

“I think we should call it a night.” Wheein said standing up and walking over to Byul’s side of the table. “Come on Unnie, I’ll call for a car to drop you off at your place.”

Byul looked up at her then, looking broken and lonely and so lost that Wheein’s heart broke for her. “Actually, Wheein-ah, I was hoping you could do me a favor.”

That was how, the following morning, Wheein found herself taking two bags of take out food to Yongsun’s house at eight in the damn morning after their manager had woken her up with pleas to check on her two unnies since they weren’t answering their phones.

Wheein didn’t tell her manager the part about Byul pleading to have the car drop her off at Yongsun’s apartment without telling their manager or their CEO. 

When she knocked at the apartment door, it wasn’t Byul or Yongsun who answered but Yonghee-unnie, who was already dressed up and looked like she was about to head out.

“Oh Wheein!”

“Good Morning Unnie,” Wheein said shyly, holding up her take-out bags. “I brought breakfast!”

Yonghee smiled, “Oh, I already ate! I’m actually heading to work now but Byul and Yongsun are inside. Last I checked they were still asleep though so you might have to wake them up.” 

Wheein stepped aside to let Yonghee and her pangolin dæmon pass through before entering, toeing her shoes off, and padding quietly into the apartment. She turned a corner to where she knew Yongsun’s room would be and knocked once.

“Unnie, I brought you guys--”

The sight that greeted her was Yong and Byul, sleeping side by side, legs intertwined with Byul’s arm draped over Yongsun’s waist. Beside her she heard Kang-Dae’s own gasp. She was about to make a loud noise to wake them up when Kang-Dae nudged at her hip with his snout.

“Look Wheein.” he whispered

Wheein had to crane her neck to see what Kang-Dae was staring at. When she saw it, she shared a wide-eyed look with her own dæmon before quietly slipping out of the bedroom and closing the door behind her. 

She left the take-out bags on the kitchen table with a note for Byul and Yongsun, before letting herself out of the apartment entirely. She waited until she was back outside on the street before letting out a bright peal of laughter. 

Kang-Dae was laughing too. “Looks like we won the bet.”

Wheein gave him an affectionate scratch under his chin before grabbing her phone and texting to see if Hyejin was awake. “Korain’s going to be so mad, he was so sure they were right.”

“Do you think we should have taken a photo? Y’know, for proof?”

Wheein shook her head, replaying the image of seeing not just her unnies tangled in bed together, but of the sight of Bon-Hwa cuddled up against Byul’s chest, and Haneul snuggled inside Yongsun’s open palm.

“Nah. They’ll believe us.”

- Fin-