The first time Karina met Minjeong was at only ten years of age-- and she went by a different name.

 

Minjeong is a curious child with wide and innocent eyes, desperate to see the world beyond her small town. She had often heard stories of a time before the war, where people used to travel by airships to visit other countries and explore- but no one could afford those luxuries now. It seems like that time has long passed. Those planes are only used for destruction now, cascading black rain over anything it touches.

 

Minjeong sneaks over to a playground that she used to visit often, before the border of the town shrunk due to invasions from the enemy.

 

The forest behind marked the entrance into enemy territory. Children and adults alike used to go for peaceful walks there, but the forest seems to have grown as a result of being left unkept for so long, much like the playground. Despite visiting many times to play, Minjeong had never stepped foot in the forest. It was blocked off by a chain-link fence and barbed wire.

 

The play area wasn’t very large, but Minjeong couldn’t complain. It has the common features which make it attractive to young children. An elevated platform suspended on hollow metal support beams, a wooden rope bridge and even a slide and swing set.

 

The area has become quite worn down without any maintenance. Some of the wooden rungs of the bridge had eroded or fallen off. In the places where the green paint no longer clung to metal, an orange rust eats away at the beam. The corners of the red square rubber tiles that used to break the falls of so many children now peeling at the corners.

 

Because the area was still technically contested, children no longer came in droves to play on the jungle gym, leaving Minjeong in surprise when she saw another girl playing happily.

 

She happily climbed up to the top of the play area and slid down the metal slide. Her dark black hair awkwardly stood up in some places, charged with static.

 

Once she reaches the bottom of the slide, the girl catches sight of Minjeong. She seems to be surprised too, but happily extends a hand and introduces herself.

 

“Hello, I’m Jimin.” She says with a smile. Her body is emanating with an air of confidence.

 

Minjeong doesn’t return a smile but accepts the handshake. At that moment a small shock pierces through her arm, causing her to jump.

 

Jimin’s hair uncharges, falling down to her sides and returning back to normal. “Oh, I’m sorry.” She pulls back.

 

“It’s okay.” Minjeong answers.

 

“What's your name?”

 

“My name is Minjeong.” In comparison, her voice is a lot softer, but the other girl has no problem hearing it still.

 

“Minjeong, do you want to play with me?”

 

Minjeong nods shyly.

 

The girls spend a moment playing pretend, turning the area into an imaginary airship, boat and later, a house. After a moment of playing tag, the girls are left all sweaty and giddy, with thin strands of hair that clung to moist foreheads and pink rosy cheeks. Minjeong and Jimin lay on rubber, splayed out like snow angels on Christmas mornings.

 

“That was so fun, but I wish we could play in the forest,” Minjeong says sadly, staring up at the sky that was overcast with big white clouds.

 

“We can if you want,” Jimin answers. Minjeong turns to her, shocked.

 

Jimin gets up and repositions Minjeong into a sitting position. She hooks her arms under Minjeong like a backpack strap, and before the little girl knows it, they're floating in the air.

 

Minjeong screams for a moment, but Jimin calms her down. “I got you, try to relax if you can.”

 

It’s a slow ascent up to the sky and Jimin gently glides over tall trees. As they move, Minjeong takes steps with her legs as if she’s walking on air, amazed at the sight below her. After a moment, Jimin begins descending at the centre of the forest.

 

“That was amazing Jimin!” Minjeong exclaims. She’s so excited to be somewhere she’s never been before.

 

Jimin smiles, entertained by the absolute look of glee present on the young girl’s face. “If you think that’s cool, just watch this!”

 

Jimin flexes her neck and rolls her shoulder back, eyes becoming shut tight under a strong wince. Two wings erupt from her back, fully extending before folding back down, covered in shiny black feathers.

 

Jimin looks to her side, disappointed. She takes a deep breath, pinches her nose and closes her eyes before deeply exhaling against the closed nose cavity. The build-up of pressure trying to escape her causes her feathers to quickly shake and become a pristine white colour, like that of a dove. After the successful transformation, she takes a deep breath again, with a proud smile resting on her lips.

 

“Wow! So you’re like an angel?” Minjeong exclaims innocently, moving closer to inspect the wings.

 

Jimin laughs, “No silly, you know that angels aren’t real. I’m going to be a wizard! Mighty sorceress Karina, the most powerful of them all!”

 

Minjeong doesn’t respond, eyes still glued to the white feathers right in front of her eyes.

 

“You can touch them if you want,” Jimin says, knowing the girl was eager to feel the soft feathers against her skin.

 

Minjeong gently the feathers, giddy with excitement as she ran her hand up and down. “How did you do that?” She asks, still in a daze at the sight in front of her.

 

“It’s just a gift that I was born with-” Jimin replies, though Minjeong noticed a slight sadness in her eyes. ”But sometimes gifts can be a burden.”

 

The two girls spend the rest of the afternoon together in the forest. Minjeong was eager to explore every corner and Jimin kept a close watch.

 

The sun has finally set and the girls watch as lighting bugs make their appearance with their soft glow.

 

“What are these?” Minjeong asks, slightly frightened.

 

“It’s nothing to be afraid of. They're just fireflies.”

 

Jimin gently cups her hand over a hovering bug and presents it to Minjeong, who looks at it with awe.

 

Suddenly, there’s a bright light in the distance, significantly larger than that of a small bug. There are actually a few lights, as if surveying the era.

 

“Oh! Is that a bigger firefly?” She questions innocently as she moves towards the moving lights.

 

Jimin immediately tenses and spreads her wings out to their full span, creating an audible sound of a sword slicing through the air. “We got to go.”

 

She grabs the girl in her arms like before and quickly shoots herself up and high into the sky.

 

Minjeong isn’t scared this time and looks down below, even though the speed was so much faster than before. Jimin is wordless for the most part, but asks Minjeong to direct her home. She complies with the help of a chubby finger as a guide.

 

Making their descent, feet come into contact with solid ground. Jimin retracts her wings and they seemingly disappear.

 

“Thank you for playing with me, Minjeong. Let’s be friends for a long time.”

 

Minjeong closes the distance between them, pulling her in for a tight hug. The action catches Jimin off guard, but she smiles and hugs her back happily.

 

“Thank you for showing me all those beautiful things.”

 

 

✦•··✦··•✦

 

 

As the years went by, despite the war only increasing in intensity, the bond between Jimin and Minjeong remained strong. As Jimin endured tough and rigorous training, she could always confide in Minjeong for unconditional support and affirmation.

 

Minjeong always looked up to Jimin’s drive and determination to become the best. Honing her abilities like a sharp blade in the name of protecting the town- protecting her.

 

Along the way, they found love. A love that was unwavering and pure in the face of unpredictable adversity. They gave each other hope in a time sorely lacking it, becoming each other’s comfort amongst the chaos and conflict.

 

At fifteen years of age, Jimin spends more and more time at prep school, learning powerful spells and wild magic in the hopes that she could become strong enough to fight for her country and end the war.

 

Jimin has always excelled in comparison to her peers, but something has changed. She noticed that many of her comrades have developed a sudden increase in power, and she didn’t understand why.

 

She trains with another sorcerer. He’s familiar, but they haven’t exchanged names. There was no point as they were to abandon them soon in favour of a new one of their choosing. It was bad luck to share their second name without earning it first. There was still a long way to go.

 

Jimin transfigures one of her arms into a white wing and uses the feathers as throwing knives. With one swift swiping motion, hundreds of feathers shoot towards a single point, deeply embedding the target. Bullseye.

 

“You know Yoo, things would be a lot easier without that pesky heart getting in the way. It’s limiting your power.”

 

Jimin turns to her partner. “What do you mean?”

 

The boy points a finger at the target, and with the mere flick of his wrist, light materialises into small blobs. After a split second, the beads collected together, condensing at a single point that fires straight at the center of the target. It explodes, the target completely obliterated.

 

He then turns back to Jimin, who looks on in shock. “Your heart, It’s a weakness. If you give it up, who knows how much more powerful you will be?”

 

“What, so you just throw it away?”

 

“Of course not! It’s important and you need it to stay alive. Most people sell their hearts to the rich and powerful. It seems to strengthen their powers.”

 

The thought stays on Jimin’s mind for weeks as more and more of their fellow trainees make the same choice to obtain dramatic increases in power. Jimin is falling behind. She doesn’t like that. She has to find someone to sell her heart to if she wants to achieve her dream.

 

It didn’t seem too difficult- Many people were looking for wizard hearts as it made them indebted to them. That's why teachers at the school always recommended selling it to a King or world leader- as they could keep it safe and would not use it for ‘nefarious reasons’– their exact wording.

 

Jimin has another idea however, and decides to give it to the person she trusts the most.

 

Jimin reaches Minjeong’s door and lightly knocks against it. Minjeong expects the sound at this time and Jimin can hear her scramble towards the door, feet dancing across the squeaky floorboards.

 

The door opens and Jimin stands at the entrance, arms outstretched.

 

Minjeong leaps into her arms. “Hey, you.” She murmurs against her shoulder. Jimin gives her a quick kiss on the cheek.

 

Minjeong leads Jimin into the house and does her usual routine, fixing her with warm tea and biscuits.

 

Jimin sits on the chair, groaning as she comes into contact with the soft plush. She takes thoughtful sips of her tea, occasionally dunking her cream-filled biscuit, finally able to unwind after a long day.

 

Minjeong soon takes a seat next to her, holding her free hand. “Everything go okay?” She asks hesitantly. She knows Jimin has been having a hard time recently.

 

Jimin gives a smile, “It’s still tough. But I think things will get better soon.” She brings their conjoined hands to her lips and gives them a quick kiss.

 

“Here. I want to show you something.” Jimin says, prompting her to stand up.

 

Using her finger, she traces a large square onto the wood of the living room. As her finger delicately brushes against the oak, the line she traced burned a bright red. Once the corners meet, it transforms into a trap door, complete with a hatch. Jimin pulls on it, revealing a dark abyss.

 

Jimin grabs onto Minjeong’s waist and jumps right in. Despite having no idea on what’s going on, Minjeong is calm. She knows she’ll be safe with Jimin by her side.

 

In the dark space, the two stumble upon another door.

 

“You ready?” Jimin asks, hands beginning to twist the doorknob.

 

Minjeong nods and Jimin pushes the door open.

 

The two are met with a picturesque scene, right out of the movies that Minjeong used to watch with her father. An expansive lush flatland of green grass stretched before them, spotted with a myriad of yellow, pink, white and blue flowers. The meadow seamlessly meets a beautiful body of water, extending beyond where the eye can see, deep into the orange horizon. On the calm and tranquil surface, the sky above was reflected in pristine quality, creating an enchanting mirage with the sunset that they were too fortunate to catch.

 

Minjeong simply looked into the distance. agape.

 

“Well? What are you waiting for?”

 

With those words, Minjeong sprinted deep into the meadows, feeling the soft grass under her feet for the first time. Without hesitation she dipped her hands into the cold and soothing water, watching as the drops that fell off of her fingers rippled as they dropped back down, making the tiniest of waves.

 

Minjeong is overwhelmed. She’s never seen anything quite like it. She’s never seen a space so empty and vast, holding so much natural beauty in its simplicity.

 

Jimin takes a moment to just watch. She loves seeing the childlike wonder and innocent side of Minjeong. It’s amazing that she’s still able to keep that despite the times they’re living in. Jimin wants to keep that part of her safe forever. After a moment she takes a seat next to Minjeong who has fallen back onto the meadows, staring blankly at the ambient water.

 

“Do you like your gift?”

 

Minjeong nods. “Of course.” She gives Jimin a kiss on the cheek. “You always show me such beautiful things.”

 

“Of course. Why would I want to show you something ugly? There is enough of that in the world.”

 

The two stare off into the distance, the sun finally setting with only the crescent moon looking down at them, high in the sky.

 

“Where are we, Jimin?”

 

“Somewhere far, far away. This place has never been reached by war. It’s a hidden safe haven, just for you and me.”

 

Minjeong is once again reminded that her partner is unmistakably powerful. A force of nature, capable of creating miracles like it was nothing. It’s a realisation that she experiences quite often, Jimin being a powerful mage and her just being- well…her. It makes her feel quite small in comparison.

 

“I’m sorry I could never give you a gift like this.” She says with a sigh.

 

“What are you apologising for, love? You’re the only thing I could ever ask for!” She turns to Minjeong to reassure her. She can only return a small smile, but it’s filled with insecurity.

 

“You’re always so sweet to me. You hold me when I’m lonely. You take care of me when I’m tired.” Jimin pauses and smiles as she thinks of the next thing to say. “You always keep those biscuits in your house just because I like them- even though you prefer the chocolate ones over the cream.”

 

The last one on the list elicits a gentle chuckle from Minjeong, who lightly hits Jimin’s shoulder. “I like the cream ones too. I like them more now than before anyway.”

 

“There’s no one else like you.” She holds Minjeong’s hand close. “But actually, there is something you could do to help me even more than you already do.”

 

“What is it?” Minjeong turns in Jimin’s direction, peeling her gaze from the calm water.

 

“Here.” She brings Minjeong’s hand over to her chest, right over her heart, beating at a steady rhythm.

 

“Could you… Could you take care of it for me?”

 

“What?” Minjeong doesn’t quite know how to respond and retracts her hand.

 

“I can’t keep it with me if I want to become a powerful sorcerer. Everyone is giving up their hearts to the kingdom. But I want to give it to you. Can you promise to take care of it?”

 

“I could try.” Minjeong answers, still a bit of apprehension present in her voice.

 

“That's not good enough. I need you to promise.”

 

Minjeong recognises the desperation in Jimin’s stare and decides to dedicate herself to the woman in front of her, forever.

 

“Okay, Jimin. I promise.”

 

With that, Jimin puts a hand over her own heart, she clutches and suddenly a blue light irrupts from her chest. She hands it to Minjeong, who accepts it with two hands.

 

As the blue light shines in the darkness of the night, Minjeong vows to keep Jimin’s heart safe. “I’ll protect this with everything I have.”

 

“Thank you.” Jimin answers, watching Minjeong as she holds her heart in her hands. “Ah, one more thing!”

 

She reaches into her pocket and fiddles for a moment. She pulls out a golden necklace with a beautiful blue gemstone in the center.

 

Minjeong holds her hair back, allowing Jimin to attach it around her neck. The metal feels cool against her skin. Minjeong holds the pendant in her hand, observing it closely.

 

“If we are ever apart. Just know I’m always with you.”

 

 

✦•··✦··•✦

 

 

Minjeong rests her arms on the balcony as she watches the parade from below. It was a celebration of the great country's military. Some propaganda to raise morale after suffering major losses. The government seemed desperate to show off its strength to quell the worries of people- but it would never quell Minjeong’s, who lived every day in fear.

 

Minjeong watches the celebration closely, knowing that her love would make an appearance soon. Karina is the poster child for the war effort. She has matured into an unmistakably beautiful being with an appearance so striking it was otherworldly. If that isn’t enough, she had the power and the status to match, being a sorcerer that can cast magical spells which turn the tides of battles. They call her the White Swan, sometimes Archangel, but only Minjeong could call her ‘mine’. She is the object of everyone’s affection, and yet she only truly belonged to one person.

 

The radio on top of the fireplace suddenly erupts to life.

 

“--Following the successful defence from our Town’s finest heroes, we celebrate our military efforts through today's parade! All eyes are on the beautiful Super Sorceress Yu Jimin, Graduating top of her class six years ago, we expected great things- But who could have anticipated her single-handedly fighting back three fighter jets all on her own!?”

 

Jimin catches sight of Minjeong on their balcony as her navy blue parade cart slowly moves down the street. She is dressed in a simple cotton dress shirt and a white velvet coat with a large collar, with complimenting gold accents in the golden chain which connected the collar and the fabric-knotted beads that were left ed. The white made the red shawl across her left shoulder stand out, making her easy to spot, even from a distance.

 

She sends her a flying kiss and Minjeong puts her hands over her heart showing that she has received the signal, returning a bright smile. Jimin continues looking around, greeting other civilians.

 

Jimin passes by and Minjeong continues to watch platoons of soldiers marching in a neat and synchronised manner, their blue uniform making them look like waves from the ocean, whisking over the street.

 

The parade continues for thirty or so odd minutes with the sounds of the radio fading into the background. Minjeong catches sight of a few other famous wizards that protected the city. Various performances and entertainers fill the streets, juxtaposed against tanks and other weapons of mass destruction, when suddenly Minjeong feels an uncomfortable sensation fall onto her skin. She looks up at the sky.

 

Black snow falls gently, cascading onto the balcony and the town below. It’s a common occurrence, likely meaning that the alarms would be ringing any time soon.

 

The alarm bells that signified another aerial assault. They were relatively common occurrences now that the war had reached a new level of severity

 

“--Please be advised, all civilians remain calm. Do not exit your homes. Please proceed with caution. Attack Imminent.”

 

All Minjeong has ever known was war. It had been waging on far before her birth and likely would still wage on when she has long expired.

 

The falling soot, black and ashy fill Minjeong with dread, and as if on cue, she sees a figure levitating in the distant sky, descending ever so closer until she’s on the balcony.

 

Wordlessly, Karina envelops Minjeong into a tight hug, wrapping her strong arms around the shorter girl. Minjeong closes her eyes and melts into the embrace, allowing her to feel their shared warmth. The sorceress takes the opportunity to move a hand to the back of Minjeong’s