“You think Yena’s going to be okay?” Yujin asked Chaewon. The short-haired girl hummed to herself a bit at the question. She’d known Yena for a while, but the recent incident at the cafeteria was something she couldn’t explain. She could’ve sworn her friend had been holding a taser just like everyone was saying, but the next second, it was gone, as if it had vanished.

“I’m… not sure,” Chaewon replied. “She always seems to get herself into more trouble than us though.”

Yujin chuckled. “Heh, you could say that again. This time did feel different though. I just hope it isn’t too serious.”

The two girls chatted with one another for a couple minutes about school and plans. Back when they first met, the atmosphere was a bit awkward. For Chaewon, it was rare for her to be comfortable around others, so Yujin’s puppy-like energy initially put her off. She did have the Yena stamp of approval though, which was what made her decide to give the younger girl a chance. Now, the two shared laughs often and even had their own inside jokes for when Yena wasn’t around.

“Hey, is it just me or is it a bit windier than usual?” Yujin suddenly asked, and now that Chaewon was out of her thoughts, she could also see the fallen leaves being picked up around them. About thirty seconds later, a blinding light illuminated the whole courtyard followed by the sound of a thunder strike. The two girls looked at each other and as if a silent understanding passed between them, both started sprinting back to the college grounds yelling Yena’s name.

~~~~

It didn’t take long for the duo to find the blonde-haired duck. She was standing motionless in the center of a blast zone, all the plants in her vicinity burnt to a crisp. What Chaewon found odd though was the golden ballpen Yena was gripping tightly

Yujin rushed to Yena’s side first to check on her. “Unnie, are you okay? What happened?”

This question finally managed to snap Yena out of her daze.

“That’s… a question I’ve been asking myself a lot today,” she replied, gingerly holding up her pen to look at.

“What in the world is going on here?” A new voice demanded. When the three girls turned, they saw the dean flanked by two security guards.

“It was Sunwoo. He t-tried to attack me…” Yena mumbled, still not appearing to be all there mentally.

“Sunwoo? There is no student in this department with that name. You must be mistaken,” The dean replied confusedly. Yena, Chaewon, and Yujin looked at each other, equally puzzled.

“Kim Sunwoo, sir. He’s in a lot of our classes,” Chaewon tried to remind, but the dean waved her off.

“I have no idea who that person is. What I do need to know is who caused this mess. Is this some kind of retaliation for your expulsion, miss Choi? I’ll have you know we can sue you for the damage,” the pudgy man chided. This catches Yujin and Chaewon off guard. Expulsion? That couldn’t be right.

“It wasn’t me,” Yena tried to explain, but at this point, it looked like she was more so trying to convince herself.

The dean definitely didn’t look like he was buying it either. “Well, somebody has to take responsibility for this!”

“Uhuh, I hope you find them then!” Yujin said quickly before grabbing Yena and Chaewon’s hands and running off. The guards tried to follow, but they were already too far ahead.

~~~~

“I think we lost them…” Chaewon heaved after the trio stopped a few blocks away from school.

“Yeah, thanks girls,” is all Yena could manage. Yujin though wasn’t letting her off the hook that easily.

“You still got some explaining to do, unnie. What do you mean you got expelled?”

Yena let out a small laugh. “Ah, about that…”

The blonde girl then proceeded to explain the situation and how it was all orchestrated by Minseo. When Yena got to the part about Sunwoo though, it sounded like she truly didn’t understand what happened.

“Oh, when I get my hands on Minseo,” Yujin said angrily, focusing on the first part.

“Save it, Yuj. I don’t want to get in trouble either,” Yena replied.

“That’s not your call, unnie. She deserves what’s coming to her," The younger girl argued.

“And if she does deserve it, karma will come,” Chaewon interjected before changing the topic. “There’s more important things we should be asking. What do you mean by Sunwoo being a wind ghost? Also, what’s up with you and thunder recently?”

Yena shrugged. “I told you, I don’t know. Maybe things will get clearer after a drink though.”

Chaewon wanted to prod further, but Yena did look out of it. She did just get expelled after all. That was definitely a topic they should be discussing. It just so happened to be the third most-surprising thing to happen today.

“Come on! I know a new place we can check out!” Yena cheered, snapping back to her energetic personality, before running ahead. Yujin and Chaewon sighed and followed.

~~~~

A few hours and a lot of drinks later, the group decided to go home. Yujin volunteered to take Yena, who was way more drunk than either of them, home because she lived near the area anyway. This left Chaewon alone to reflect on the day’s events.

Yena had caused or been around two electrical incidents a couple hours apart, which wasn’t a lot, but it was weird it happened twice in such a short time span.

Your eyes are opening… An old woman’s voice suddenly whispered. Chaewon turned around, but no one was looking in her direction,

Strange, she thought. There was something vaguely familiar about it, as if she’d heard it before. Thinking it might’ve just been her imagination though, she decided to brush it off and continue her walk home.

A couple minutes later, the same voice spoke again. It is only a matter of time before you are exposed as well…

“Alright, whoever’s there, come out now!” Chaewon shouted to an audience of no one. It was already late in the night, and there wasn’t anyone around except for a jogger in the distance who gave her a funny look.

Chaewon was definitely on edge now. In fact, if she were being honest, she has had that feeling her whole life. Her mother was a famous actress, but she never wanted to flaunt it. The last thing she wanted was attention that would only hurt her mom’s image. Her being a single mother was enough of a label to carry. What more if they found out her one daughter was nothing like her and caused trouble everywhere she went? Chaewon would say the others started it, but that’s not what it ended up saying on her permanent record.

Like Yena, Chaewon had been kicked out of several schools, which caused her to be a year late in her education. It all started in preschool when she was accused by her classmates of poisoning the class’ pet rabbit. There was no evidence other than the fact that she was in the room when the furry creature keeled over inexplicably. This lack of synergy with animals followed her growing up. Every creature tried to avoid her from dogs, cats, birds, you name it. Even the tigers and crocodiles at the local zoos steered clear whenever she would approach their enclosures. This was disheartening for Chaewon because she actually liked animals. Her mother would say that they were just shy, but the older Chaewon got, the less she believed it.

When it came to people, her luck was no different. She didn’t try to come off cold on purpose; she was just naturally reserved. Every friend she’d make would never last long as they’d eventually leave for someone more interesting and fun. That all changed though when she met Yena in her junior year of high school. That girl was just a bundle of energy everywhere she went. This made her pretty popular, so it initially confused Chaewon when all of a sudden, she decided to speak with her.

Why are you eating all alone? She had asked to which Chaewon simply shrugged.

Yena had chuckled at that gesture, saying, I think you’re really interesting though. Mind if we hang out sometime?

The prospect of a new friend enticed Chaewon, and though she had thought that Yena would eventually get tired of her like everyone else, she wanted to see what Yena saw in her.

The chance encounter turned into five years of friendship. Their contrasting personalities just seemed to mesh super well. A few months after they initially met, Yena then introduced her to Yujin, who she met at her part-time job. The trio have been linked ever since.

These thoughts swirled through Chaewon’s head, pushing away the mysterious voice she’d heard, until she arrived at the front gate of her house.

“Hey, Chaewon. How was school?” Her mother, who was on the couch watching a movie, asked when she entered.

Chaewon sighed. “Yena got in trouble again.” At this, her mother immediately began to bombard her with questions. She’d always taken a liking to Yena as Chaewon’s first friend (her mom’s words, not hers).

“She’ll be fine, mom. Yena always finds a way,” Chaewon replied.

“Still! Being expelled is no joke. I need to inform her mother. Maybe I can offer help?”

“Mommmm, let Yena try to sort it out herself. It wouldn’t be nice for her mom to hear about this from someone that wasn’t her either,” Chaewon argued, which finally made her mother relent.

“Fine, but just keep me posted, alright?”

Chaewon laughed. “Why does it sound like you care more about her than me?”

“Sweetie, of course not. She just seems to get in trouble more than you these days.” Her mother replied.

“That’s fair. Today really was a weird day…” Chaewon said.

This causes her mother to raise an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Just some strange things. I don’t even know if I can explain them. Lightning bolts and tornadoes.” Chaewon replied.

“Wait, are you sure?” Her mother asked. As an actress, she was really good at facial expressions, and over the years, Chaewon learned how to identify what emotions her mother was feeling at a glance. The one she was giving now though was the first one in a while that she couldn’t read.

“No, I could barely process it as well,” is all Chaewon could say which was true. She didn’t completely understand what happened, and there was a part of her that thought that maybe she was just seeing things too.

Her mother quieted for a few seconds, appearing to choose her words carefully. “If anything else out of the ordinary happens, tell me immediately.”

It looked like she wanted to say more, but ultimately decided to stop there. “Alright, mom. I will.”

“Get some rest, dear. Make sure to check on Yena tomorrow too.” And with that, her mother turned off the television and headed up to her room. Chaewon followed soon after to her own, and as she laid in her bed, the events of the day replayed in her head.

Maybe this was all a bad dream. She thought as her eyes began to close.

~~~~

“They’re starting to awaken…” A voice whispered. It sounded like the one Chaewon had heard earlier. It was almost pitch black, so she couldn’t see anything. She could tell though that she was in a large cavern by the way the voices echoed. She could also hear the faint sound of a river running next to us.

“Is that so? The monsters will be after them soon then,” the voice of a man replied. This one sounded like someone of authority. His voice just seemed to carry over throughout the area.

“And do you think she is ready, my lord?”

“She has to be. If she is to be ready, she must survive the trial that awaits her.”

“How about the others?”

“They are someone else’s concern…” Something about the man’s tone there felt cautious, as if he didn’t want to mention anyone by name.

“Where am I…?” Chaewon muttered to herself, which ended up being a mistake as the voices seemed to notice her.

“You are growing more powerful, Chaewon,” the man said, still shrouded in darkness. “I wish you luck in what is to come.”

At those words, a wave of drowsiness flows over Chaewon, sending her back into a deep sleep.

 

A/N: Hi and welcome back to another chapter! Sorry for the delay, really busy weekend at work. Had to be in meetings all day on Sunday.

Anyways, I'm here, and in this chapter, as you can see, we're reading from Chaewon's perspective. If you know the Heroes of Olympus series, it'll be following that type of writing style. 

Thank you again for all the love and support you're giving this story! I appreciate all the likes and comments and will always be open to questions!

Have a nice day, and see y'all in the next one!