Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Three.

One week.

One week to do the unthinkable. To do something Irene had never done in her life before, because … Irene wasn’t weak. She wasn’t incompetent. She wasn’t helpless.

She was something else, she realized, as she watched Joy taking a leap from one end of their gym to the other, devoid of all gravity and other laws of time and space and dunked the basketball, not even breaking a sweat.

She watched as Joy pulled out her pink cellphone, laughed at whatever the screen showed her, texted something back, only to pocket it again and do another slam dunk.

She did something Irene found highly disconcerting.

She jumped and then noticed Irene’s eyes on her, stopped midair, mid jump, the ball on the palm of her hand and looked at her. “You okay?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“I’m …” Irene caught herself, almost saying fine. But instead she said: “Almost.”

It was enough for Joy to discard her jump and just land to stalk over. “What did you say?”

Irene eyed her younger sister, all long limbs and invincibility and took a deep breath. She smoothed down her shirt and then her pants and then said: “I’m going to say this once, don’t get used to it, don’t brag to others, to Yeri about it, got it?”

Joy eyed her like aliens had snatched her body and were about to declare world domination. “Okay?”

“I … I …” She swallowed. “I need help.”

Joy blinked. Once, twice. “You … need help.”

“Yes.”

“Did you bump your head?” Joy asked, even more suspicious. “You never need help.”

“I know.”

“Like that one time when you were hijacked somewhere on the pacific ocean in a plane with a bomb on board and thirty-three chickens …”

“I know . Joy,” Irene said somewhat sharper.

“Or that one time when like that professor of chemistry transformed into that big green thing,” Joy continued.

“I know.”

“Or that one time …”

“ Joy !” Irene said sharply and Joy closed her mouth with a sound. “Yes. I need help.”

“Okay. Okay.” She took the seat next to her. “What kind of help?”

Irene knew that this was the worst day of her life. “The bad kind of help. The kind of help I really, really try to avoid.”

Joy paused again, eying her like she wore clothing from her least favorite designer, Dior. “Like, seriously, is this an episode of Bodysnatchers from Outer Space ? You want to ask the flying girl for help? Unnie -”

“Joy,” Irene said. It broke her heart to say what she was going to say, but her body ached from past injuries, from bullets, from things she could have avoided, but didn’t, because she so desperately wanted to fix things and really … couldn’t. “I have realized … I am not … you. ”

Joy stared at her, really looked at her, then slowly floated down.

God. She was so tall. She had seen people sob at Joy when she had descended from above and pulled them out of the rubble. For some reason, Irene understood why this was the case.

Irene went in for the kill. “Sooyoung,” she said. She saw how Joy flinched, as if someone had shot her. “I need help.”

“Is this a Doctor Kang thing?” Sooyoung asked.

Irene wiped her forehead with her hand, shrugged, squirmed, and shrugged again helplessly. “I don’t know. Maybe? No idea. Maybe not. I - make a suggestion about this that I’m going to hate.”

Joy thought about it for a long moment. “Okay. Okay.” She hesitated, then: “I have good news for you and bad news. What do you want to hear first?”

“Bad news.” She said it quickly, because bad news should always come first.

“Okaaaay,” Joy said, drawing out the word. “I can help you. Or - rather. Someone can help you. But it will involve you spending time with people that will like you a lot and you will probably loathe them.”

“This is, indeed, unfortunate news,” Irene said. She pondered on it. “What’s the good news?”

Joy smirked. “Eventually, you will like them back.”

“How is this supposed to be good news?”

“Unnie,” Joy said, leaned forward, and placed a hand on Irene’s thigh. “You need people around you. It’s good for you and your … your sharp edges.”

“What sharp edges?”

“And for your difficult personality.”

“What difficult personality?”

“And your tendency to feel superior to everyone,” Joy concluded.

“I am superior to everyone!” Irene huffed.

“The snowman from Frozen is taller than you and peanuts can kill you,” Joy said. “You should spend your time in an armchair, do crossfit and have lots and lots of sex with Doctor Kang.”

“I am your sister !” Irene said, outraged, scandalized and horrified.

“I know,” Joy said, very sweetly. “This is why I’m looking out for you. Tomorrow, we are going to meet some kids.”

“I hate kids.”

“Liar,” Joy deadpanned. “God, unnie. Try to be human. It’s so infuriating.” Then she got up, patted Irene’s shoulder and left.

Irene was left behind, watching how she left. Then she did what she did best: She went to her room and picked out clothing, black and sleek, made for her by many designers. She laid it out on the bed the other day. She felt like she was preparing for battle.

Then she changed into sports clothing and did a short round of running and went to bed early.

The next day when she arrived at breakfast, much to her surprise, Joy was already there. Usually the girl slept way into the late morning, but not this morning. She wore what Irene considered “unacceptable clothing”.

There were scratches in her jeans, her t-shirt was oversized and the jacket was an old baseball college jacket. There was a baseball cap on the kitchen counter.

Irene, on the other hand, wore a black suit by Alexander Wang, the only highlight of color a red pin on her lapel.

“You look very … casual,” Irene commented.

“You look very scary. I told you you were going to meet kids and this is what you are going to wear?” Joy said, a crooked eyebrow, her eyes peeking over the rim of the coffee cup. “I’ve ordered the driver to pick us up at seven. Do you think you can manage?”

“I can manage,” Irene said.

She finished her coffee (black with soy-milk and the faintest dash of sugar), then she and Joy were picked up by the driver.

The car crossed the city into the outskirts. Irene knew the area only vaguely, but remembered supporting several neighborhood projects way back, but otherwise the area was foreign to her. Smaller houses with yards, quaint, but she could see that some bordered on poverty. Broken roofs and unruly gardens.

The car stopped in front of a large, black metal gate. It was broken and covered with ivy all over, ajar. Grass grew thigh-high behind it and led into a large garden area that hadn’t seen a landscaper in what seemed like ages.

There was a sign by the gate, but Irene couldn’t read it; moss and rust had covered it.

“What is this place?” Irene asked.

“A place for a magical childhood?” Joy suggested, then she got out.

Irene followed her out and the car drove off to find a place to park. Joy opened the gate a bit further and the rusty hinges gave a sound that was barely of this world.

Someone needs to fix a lot of things here, Irene thought, as she followed Joy down a well-traveled path through the grass, she looked around.

It was the garden of what seemed to have been a mansion in olden times. But the place had fallen into despair and she wondered who took care of it now. Whoever lived here - they had children. She noticed at least one tree house and a couple of soccer balls and someone had trapped an old bike to a tree.

Generally, there were many trees: Apples trees and one with cherries and another with plums. The place seemed a bit like an orchard.

A house came into sight - made from red bricks and a creaky formerly white now rusted bird made from metal crowned its roof. Several rows of stairs lead up to a large, green double door. A girl in a white dress stood there and looked down at Joy and Irene approaching the house.

She had blonde hair and looked like a doll.

When she noticed them come closer, she turned on her heel and ran inside.

An eerie quietness hung in the air.

Joy looked around and then said: “I know she looks scary, but she’s really nice!”

The silence rose for a moment, almost deafening, then with a start, nature’s voices returned: Birds’ voices and sounds of insects and the wind in the branches of the trees and the grass around them whispering.

Irene looked around and suddenly the face of a kid peeked from behind the tree trunk of a cherry tree. Then more children appeared: From behind the trees, peeking out of the grass and out of the door of the house and the windows.

Various amounts of dirt smudged their faces. One of them had painted red, bright stripes with lipstick from a Yves Saint Laurent knock off. The color was well-chosen; the kid indeed looked a bit unsettling.

Joy took a seat on the stairs in front of the house. “We bring donuts,” she announced.

The girl, who looked like a doll, said shyly: “We are not supposed to have more than one sweet a day.”

“You are such a bore, Chaewon,” another voice said.

“Just because I want to eat healthily,” the girl, Chaewon, replied, but she made her way shyly down the stairs.

“Leave her alone, Ryujin,” the girl with the lipstick-made warpaint on her face. She emerged from the grass and Irene could have sworn that her eyes gleamed yellow for a moment.

“Chaewon and Hyeju, sitting in a tree!” Ryujin called out, but two kids immediately tackled her.

They looked like twins at first glance, but when Irene saw them closeup, taking donuts from Joy’s bag, they looked completely different. One wore a t-shirt with a bunny on it, the other wore one with an orange tabby cat.

“ Aeong! ” the tabby cat girl said.

The girl with the bunny elbowed her. “You have to say thank you!”

“ Aeong! ” the tabby girl cat said happily to Irene.

Irene was about to say something admonishing but off Joy’s strict glance, she said, very slowly: “You are welcome.”

Much to her surprise (and delight), the Aeong girl smiled happily and brightly and plopped down next to her on the staircase, no regard for personal space. Her not-really-a-twin sat down next to her.

Aeong had sharp eyes, just like a cat, while her friend’s eyes were softer, rounder. They were both impossibly cute.

Aeong’s friend, the girl with the bunny shirt, regarded Irene for a long critical moment, then said: “Her name is Hyunjin. She likes bunnies.”

Irene, not sure what to do with that information, nodded. “I … see.”

“My name is Heejin,” the bunny girl said. “What’s yours?”

“Ire - Joohyun. My name is Joohyun,” Irene said. “Is this a school?”

“Not quite,” the girl named Ryujin said. There was a considerably larger amount of dirt now on her face. “It’s a school and an orphanage.”

“An … orphanage,” Irene echoed. Her gaze flicked over all the young, innocent faces of different ages. Then she looked at Joy. Joy had Chaewon on her lap. Chaewon had donuts filling all over her face. “I see. Where are your teachers?”

Another girl, next to Ryujin, shrugged. “Miss Vivi is inside,” she said. “Miss Haseul is at the doctors with Yuna and Yeojin.”

“We found out yesterday that Yeojin is allergic to bees,” Heejin said.

The girl with the previously yellow eyes, snorted. “I told her to wear shoes.”

“It’s good that we found out now,” one girl said. Irene had never seen such sharp eyes on a human being. She reminded her of Seulgi. “Stop bullying her, Hyeju.”

“I’m not bullying her, Yeji,” Hyeju said. “She’s just a dumbass at times.”

“Hey, no bad words!” Yeji said.

“Whatcha going to do?”

“Tell on you, duh!” Yeji said.

“Traitor,” Hyeju replied.

Yeji stood. “Come say that to my face!”

“With pleasure!” Hyeju said, scrambling to her feet.

And Irene watched with some surprise, as Yeji disappeared and reappeared in the distance by a cherry tree. Hyeju immediately complained: “Hey! No powers!” Then chased after her, halfway transforming into a mid-sized wolf.

Irene’s eyes flicked around to meet Joy’s. They all have powers! she silently communicated.

Joy just smiled.

Irene’s eyes returned to Heejin and Hyunjin, their faces both covered with the remnants of a donut. They both looked up at Irene with questioning eyes. “Hyunjin can transform into any kind of cat,” she explained. “Like any cat. Even those that are extinct.” She lowered her voice. “Even the cool big ones!”

Irene’s eyes traveled to Hyunjin. The girl smiled and licked her fingers clean, each finger tip producing a plop sound when she removed the finger from her mouth. Her eyes flickered yellow for a moment, the pupils mere slits.

“What are your powers?” Irene asked.

Heejin shrugged. “I can create stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

Heejin shrugged again.

“I see.” Irene looked at Joy, but she was busy with Chaewon and Ryujin.

“What’s your power?” Heejin asked Irene.

“She’s super clever,” Joy said from her seat next to her, without looking up.

Heejin narrowed her pretty eyes. “Like - how clever?”

Irene shrugged. “Find out.”

Both her and Hyunjin stared at her, then exchanged a glance and a huge amount of information along with it.

“What are two things you can never eat for breakfast?” Heejin asked.

Irene stared at her. “Lunch and dinner.”

“What was the highest mountain in the world before Mount Everest was discovered?” Heejin asked.

“Mount Everest still. It just wasn’t discovered yet,” Irene said.

Hyunjin looked at her, and then tilted her head. “How do you find out if there’s an elephant in your fridge?”

Irene narrowed her eyes at the strange little girl. “You open the fridge and check.” And like the kids did, she added, dryly, enunciating properly: “Duh.”

Hyunjin looked at her for another long moment, then turned to Joy. “She’s good. ”

Joy, for the first time that day, smiled. She winked at Hyunjin and lowered her voice, as if she was sharing a secret. “I know.”

Hyunjin grinned back, then eyed Irene. “You don’t seem like someone who hates people.”

Irene refrained from glowering at Joy. “I don’t hate people.”

Joy coughed.

“Not all people.”

“What do you do as a job?” Chaewon asked curiously.

“Many things. Difficult things.”

“Do you think we won’t understand?” Hyeju asked, her raspy voice sounding slightly affronted. She had returned from the orchard, Yeji trudging behind her. They looked like they had rolled in the mud.

“No. That’s. No.” Irene took a deep breath. “I … take care of bad people.”

“Like Jeongyeon unnie?” Ryujin asked innocently.

Irene stared at them. The question was like thunder in the distance, breaking through a silence that Irene had not even known was there. A round of large, innocent kids’ eyes looked back at her. They were kids.

They were just kids.

She imagined how Jeongyeon ran around the orchard with super speed, and played catch and seek.

Irene looked at Joy, then back and the children, and thought of Jeongyeon in her blue and red suit, blonde, beloved by anyone - and realized something. It sometimes was the most unfortunate thing to be the most brilliant person on the planet.

She remembered the question.

Slowly she said: “Yes. Like Jeongyeon unnie.”

“Do you have powers besides being really clever?” Yeji asked. Another girl with soft eyes had moved to sit in her lap.

“No,” Irene said.

“Isn’t it then really stupid to go out and fight bad guys?” Yeji asked curiously. “If someone can just punch you?”

Irene tried to keep the icicles out of her voice. “I am very good at it.”

“Getting punched?” Yeji asked, confused.

“Fighting bad guys,” Irene said, deliberately slowly.

“But Joy unnie and Jeongyeon unnie can fly ,” Hyunjin said. “And you can only think really hard.”

Irene, almost to complain, looked at Joy, who was having the time of her life. At her older sister’s glance, she merely lifted her eyebrows. “What?”

“Nothing,” Irene said pointedly.

“Really?” Joy asked innocently.

Irene glowered at her. She was about to say something very sharp, but then someone interrupted them.

“Sooyoungie!”

Joy looked up and smiled brightly.

A young woman with bright pink hair had emerged from the insides of the house. She was pretty enough to be a model. The kids immediately reacted to her, Chaewon scrambling up from Joy’s lap and attaching herself to the woman’s side. Ryujin hugged her other side. The woman smiled happily at them, then eyed Irene curiously.

“Oh. Hello. I didn’t know we had a guest.”

Irene got to her feet as well and bowed. “Hello. My name is Bae Joohyun.”

“Ah. Sooyoungie’s older sister. Welcome!” Vivi nodded over her shoulder. “Would you like a coffee?”

Do you have an Italian coffee machine? Can you do espresso? Is it possible to get lactose-free milk? “I would love to,” Irene finally said.

They followed Vivi inside the house that was old … and mostly broken down. And way too narrow. By Irene’s estimation, many of the kids shared rooms. It was old and broken, but well-loved. The realization did something to her insides.

The kitchen was tiny, given how many people it had to accommodate. A teenager was standing by the coffee machine and already prepared their order. When she turned around, Irene was positive that she had never seen someone smile so brightly.

“I’m Jiwoo! You are Irene!” she declared and bowed. “Nice having you over. No sugar, I take it?”

“Black,” Irene said.

“Alrighty!” Jiwoo took care of the order and smiled when she saw Joy. “Unnie! How are you?”

“I’m well, thanks, Jiwoo.” Joy smiled. “This is my sister, by the way.”

Chuu waved her hand. “Oh, I already know. You guys are kinda broadcasting it. When I’m done with the coffee, I’ll leave, I don’t want to intrude on your privacy.”

“My privacy?”

“Jiwoo is a mindreader,” Joy said.

Irene’s head whipped over at the happy girl. “You - you are?”

“Yeah.” Chuu shrugged. “I am. But don’t worry, I only get stuff that you are really, really thinking right now, pushing it to the forefront.”

“So you can’t read deeper thoughts?”

“I can, but I don’t. Everyone’s entitled to their privacy!” Jiwoo declared. For some reason, she spoke a bit too loudly and everything she said sounded a bit too happy. The world around her seemed so … so … bright . Irene wasn’t sure if she would be able to handle it.

Irene felt all her defenses go up, but it made Jiwoo only smile brighter. “Don’t worry, Irene-sshi.” She sat down a cup of coffee on the table, near Irene. “I’ll be off.”

Irene looked at Vivi, who had observed the situation with some amusement. “You let a mind reader walk around here?”

Vivi blinked. “What should we do? Let her not walk?”

“She can read everyone’s thoughts!”

“I am well aware,” Vivi said. “But we trust her.”

“You trust her?!” Irene said with quite some disbelief. “How can you trust her ?”

Vivi motioned for Irene to sit, taking a seat at the kitchen table herself. “We trust you not to talk to someone who could take our children away, despite most of them being able to blow up cities,” Vivi said. “Because we trust Joy and Joy trusts you. Same thing with Jiwoo. We trust her not to do anything stupid. And once you know her, you’ll see that she is one of the most wonderful people you will ever meet.”

“But -”

“Are you going to send us someone to take the children away? You could, no?” Vivi asked.

Irene kept quiet. Of course she knew people, fought people, who tried to trade supers for their powers. Who caught kids with powers and sold them to God knows who. “I won’t take anyone away.”

Vivi smiled up at her. “Great! So we’ll trust you with that. And you will trust Jiwoo.” She motioned towards the cup. “It’s getting cold.”

Irene looked at Vivi, at her dark eyes, then at Joy who looked at her with the kind of annoyed expression that willed her not to say something inappropriate. Then, slowly, she sat down and took a sip. She tried not to cringe.

It was - really bad, bad coffee.

“Thank you,” Irene said.

Vivi almost laughed at her expression. “You are welcome.”

Later on, back in the car, Irene turned to her sister and eyed her. She usually tried to look calm and not angry around her, tried to hold back a bit, tried to protect Joy’s feelings, but not this time. It came out all at once.

“I have never heard of this orphanage. But you were there and so was Jeongyeon. All these children, they are like an assortment of the most deadly weapons, living all in one place, taken care of by whoever Haseul is and this woman called Vivi, who is so kind, she can’t be human,” Irene said calmly.

Joy didn’t answer. She just tilted her head and chose to be infuriating.

Irene leaned in and continued. “I have never heard of this place,” she emphasized. “You protected them from me. Because you thought I could do things to them - would do things to them, because I’d consider them to be dangerous.”

A beat. Then Joy said: “They are very, very strong and capable. You haven’t even talked to all of them. However, you are also very, very clever, so I did not want to risk matching your intelligence against their abilities.”

“What changed? Why … why did you bring me here?”

Joy smiled. “You became human, my dear sister.”

Irene hated the observation more than anything else. She merely sat back, crossed her arms on her and stared ahead.

“Seulgi,” Joy said.

Irene ignored that part. “We would have to renovate the entire mansion. Make rooms for kids. Make class rooms. Hire teachers! It would - it would - Joy! This is …” She wanted to punch something, preferably her sister. Which she probably could and Joy would not even blink. “I hate you so much for this!”

“Really?” Joy didn’t even look at her. “Why?”

Irene pointed angrily at the house behind them and the garden that quickly went out of view. “That house is way too small for so many kids. And the kitchen is too. And by God, this must be the most terrible coffee machine in the history of coffee machines.”

Joy smiled. It was the smile of a predator that had succeeded in catching its prey. It was a smile worthy of a supervillain. “You are thinking about it.”

“I'm not thinking about anything!”

Joy laughed. “Unnie! You are the loudest thinker in the history of thinkers!”

“Did Jiwoo tell you that?” Irene said, suddenly even angrier.

It made Joy laugh louder. “It doesn’t take a mindreader to see. You should see your face!”

Irene rolled her jaw. “They can’t continue living there. And they need someone to protect them.”

Sooyoung nodded, thoroughly happy with herself and with Irene’s anger. “I know.”

There was a long period of silence until they arrived back at the mansion. Irene got out the moment the car stopped. She threatened Joy with her index finger. “I hate you.”

Joy smiled at her and then went over and did something that threw Irene off for the rest of the day: She hugged her. “It’s time you live in the world you try to protect.”

Irene kept rooted to the spot, long after Joy had gone after they had parked at their home. Then she went to the gym and angrily did Yoga, then angrily did pilates and then angrily went for a run.

Then she called Seulgi.

*

Seulgi came down the stairs from the entrance of her hospital. She didn’t wear her doctor’s coat but instead had opted for a suit and a loose tie. Irene hated how much she liked the look.

When Seulgi noticed Irene, her steps slowed down a bit as she took her in. “You look so …” Seulgi started. “So …”

“Weird,” Yeri said by her side immediately.

Seulgi smiled. “No, not weird. I would call it …”

Irene lifted an eyebrow at the doctor. “Yes?”

“Weird,” Yeri said again. “It doesn’t look like you can hide knives in that thing.”

“Funny,” Irene said. “I don’t need knives.”

“Colorful,” Seulgi finally said. “I think I’ve only seen you in black and white these days.”

She wore a light red top and jeans. Casual but yet she knew it looked good on her. Joy had helped to pick it and to avoid another instance of wearing black with black on black.

Irene coughed and elbowed Joy next to her, who laughed, and then phased the laughter into a cough, before reaching out with one hand to Yeri. “Come on, you. Let’s have movie night.” She lifted an eyebrow at her sister, then patted her bottom. “You’ll have fun.”

Irene’s glare incinerated her, but Joy wasn’t impressed at all. Instead, she and Yeri disappeared inside the car and drove off.

“So,” Seulgi said. “What are we going to do? It’s an afternoon, hardly the time for dinner.”

Irene braced herself. “Maybe, by any chance, you want ice cream? There’s a really good vendor for it close by. I mean.” She hesitated. “Google said they are a good ice cream shop. I wouldn’t know, but one comment called them ‘full of ice creamy goodness worthy of the Gods’. I’m sure it’s an exaggeration but …”

“No, I would love to go there!” Seulgi said, a bit too loud.

Irene looked at her. There was a flush on her cheeks and on her own possibly too. They were both fools, she realized, competing for the fool cup. It was absolutely undignified. Irene liked it.

“Then,” Irene motioned. “Let’s go?”

“Are we going by car or by helicopter?” Seulgi asked.

“I … thought we could walk,” Irene said slowly. “You know. Since it’s a warm, breezy evening … with lots of … people out here, since people … are … good.” She tried hard not to stumble over her own words.

Seulgi eyed her, confused and amused. “Alright. Let’s walk. Do you want to take the subway?”

“Let’s just walk.” Irene looked at her, her expression blank. “And … for the future: How about we try cabs first, then buses, and safe subways that have not been disinfected since the 60s last.”

Seulgi laughed. “Then let’s try a cab next time. And be brave about it and not disinfect it.”

Irene mock-gasp, aware that the doctor probably just made fun of her. “I see you like living dangerously.”

Seulgi shrugged as they started to walk. “As do you. How is playing chess going?”

Irene shot her a quick, surprised gaze. “I - it’s a complicated topic.”

“I’m sure it is,” Seulgi said. She eyed Irene for a long moment, pensieve. “Amongst many other things, no?” Her smile was kind, her eyes crescent.

Irene looked at her and wondered how much she knew, how much she assumed, but then just continued walking.

It was a gentle, summer late afternoon with families, lovers and friends strolling outside happily. In the distance, someone played piano, a honey sweet melody and children laughed in the distance. Joohyun looked around and shook her head. Usually, she saw the city by night, from above and from its most terrible side.

The human abyss stared at her, gaping hungrily, eying her like a particularly delicious snack. It surprised her that the world could look like this, its sky blue and hopeful, the people actually looking like people - and not dark shadows in the night, off to nothing good.

Seulgi directed her attention at an ice cream vendor closeby. “Want some?”

Irene stared at her. “I beg your pardon?”

“If you want some,” Seulgi said, her expression enthusiastic. She pointed. “They have chocolate chip ice cream.”

It has mostly sugar in it and probably only cocoa butter, a part of Irene wanted to say immediately. Then she remembered when he had had icecream the last time - or something sugary really.

A memory returned. Her mother leaned down to her and offered her a cone of vanilla.

“Alright,” Irene said and followed the other girl around. A couple passed them, the boy having hooked his arm under the smaller girl’s elbow. She eyed Seulgi who was walking half a step in front of her and she thought that with all her bravery, she never …

Seulgi looked back at her, ever excited. “They even have banana split!”

When Irene tried to reach out for her, to hold her arm, Seulgi had stepped out of her reach, happily approaching the vendor. Irene let her arm drop mechanically and imagined Joy cackling at her.

They bought two big portions and it took Seulgi two licks from her ice cream to have chocolate all over her lips - and happiness along with it. She grinned at Irene and offered her a taste.

Irene shook her head. “It’s fine. I’m not the biggest fan of chocolate.”

Seulgi pointed at her ice with the small plastic spoon they had given her. “But there’s banana too and vanilla. Do you want to try one of those?”

Joohyun eyed her, then almost casually stepped closer (when it wasn’t casual at all). “If I may take this?” she asked, as calmly and quietly as she could manage, and hooked her arm under Seulgi’s.

The other girl stiffened like a robot. “I … ah …”

Irene frowned and was about to step away. “If you don’t want me to …”

“No! No, no. No. It’s … no. It’s fine! It’s fine,” Seulgi said, the grasp around her cone so tight that Irene worried. Her cheeks gained a lovely flush. Irene stepped closer and then lifted her ice cream cone to offer it to Seulgi. “Want to try?”

The girl hesitated, then leaned in and took a lick. For some reason, half of it already covered her lips, but she smiled. “It’s good, unnie!”

It was.

Irene watched her smile and returned the smile as they continued to walk down the road.

*

The restaurant that finally won their patronage was a quaint café that offered small, uncomplicated dishes and a wide range of coffee specialities.

Seulgi had a pumpkin spice latte without sugar, but with additional cream and sprinkles, lactose-free milk and a dash of spices.

Irene had coffee. Black. With ice.

Seulgi stretched out in her comfortable armchair under a fake plastic tree that looked suspiciously convincing. Behind them, a group of grandparents discussed the latest sport events and there were some students in the back, studying with their laptops.

Seulgi had gotten rid of her ice cream beard to make way for a coffee beard. She seemed happy and relaxed - and Irene wondered how often, with her kind of job, and with Yeri atop of it, she got to relax.

“I hear you’ve adopted children,” Seulgi said after a while.

Irene felt her gaze sharpen. “Did Joy tell Yeri and Yeri told you?”

Seulgi smiled. “The chain of communication is very short between the two of them.” She hesitated. “I’m surprised. I didn’t know you liked children.”

“I like Yeri. Sorta. And Joy.”

Seulgi shrugged. “But Joy is your sister. You have to love her, even though you don’t have to like her,” she said. “And Yeri is … well, she is …” She weighted her head from one side to the other. “She’s very …”

“Special?” Irene said.

“Relentless,” Seulgi said. “She … doesn’t exactly take prisoners when interacting with people.”

Irene nodded. “She and Joy are similar. Just that Joy is grumpier than her.”

Seulgi’s expression became somber as she regarded Irene and didn’t say anything.

Irene tried to change the topic. “So yes. I … adopted children. Sorta. It’s … I’m supporting an orphanage, so there’s that.”

“They are special kids, I assume?” Seulgi asked with half a smile.

“Yeah … special kids. They are … yeah.”

“Where will they live?” Seulgi asked.

“Bae Manor,” Irene answered immediately. “I … it’s a big place and terribly empty since mom and dad died and … I figured all the rooms that are now empty could as well be used for something … for someone else. By someone else.”

“Who lived there before, before your parents died?”

“Mom and dad practiced something called ‘open house’. We had a constant stream of artists and musicians and writers and intellectuals visiting us,” Irene said. She put down her coffee cup as if it was something very delicate. “I personally didn’t care so much for so many people, but mom, dad and Joy loved it. Mom and dad would brag that they housed thirteen Pulitzer Prize Winners and six Nobel Prize winners before they won their prizes. Dad supported the arts and sciences a lot. When they died …” Irene shrugged. “I couldn’t take it.”

“The - the absence of your parents?”

“Of - of everything,” Irene said. “Mom and dad, in a way, they were my connection to the world. I’m not the easiest person and they were very patient with me.”

“And Joy?”

“Well. Joy became angry,” Irene said with a weak smile. She took a deep breath. “She knows that I can’t live there with these people. I don’t like them the way she does or mom and dad do. But kids - it’s different.”

“Hm.”

“Hm,” Irene said. She shrugged. “Yes. Kids.”

Seulgi absentmindedly stirred her colorful coffee. She hesitated, then looked up, something unreadable . “Will those kids be playing chess?”

Irene looked at her, sharply. A moment passed between them. Then she said: “If they want to, they can play chess, yes. Or whatever else they wish to do.”

Seulgi looked at her, her face completely unreadable. Like this, Irene almost didn’t recognize her as the person she had met in the office, who had treated her arm. The expression was wistful and … curious? Irene couldn’t be sure.

Seulgi hesitated. “There’s a museum closeby. For photographs. Do you want to check it out? I want to show you something.”

Irene looked at her, surprised. “I … sure? Sure thing.”

Seulgi’s expression was still blank, as she went up and paid wordlessly, before Irene could do anything about it.

When they left the café, it was Seulgi who took Irene’s arm with quite some conviction and steered them down the streets, knowing exactly where they went. There was an expression of solid determination on her face, different from anything Irene had seen before on her.

“Is something wrong?” Irene asked.

Seulgi shook her head, vehemently. “No. No, it’s just.” A fleeting, short smile, a l then. “You’ll see.”

The Museum for Photography was a modern, cubic kind of building with large flyers attached to it that advertised the current collection. Irene recognized the name - Vivian Maier - but it didn’t seem that they were there for her.

There was a permanent exhibition there as well and Irene assumed Seulgi wanted to show her that one. When they entered and offered up their jackets at the entrance, the elderly lady at the counter smiled happily at them.

“Miss Kang, it’s good to see you again. And no Yeri today?” she asked.

Seulgi smiled back. “Yeri is with a friend. This is … Irene. Bae. Irene Bae.”

The lady smiled brightly. “Ah. Irene Bae. Of course. Also a friend?”

Seulgi coughed. “Something - something like it,” she said and the woman smiled.

“Have fun, you two.” She gave them their tickets and small coins for their jackets and Irene and Seulgi were left to their devices.

 This place was so big, so light, that each picture gleamed on the white wall at any prospective audience. It was truly built to emphasize whatever was put on the walls.

“Have you ever been here?” Seulgi asked, as she led them down a long, spacious corridor.

Irene shook her head. She followed Seulgi quickly and the girl looked back at her and offered her an arm. Irene took it, way more happily than she would admit to herself. “No. But I know this place. I think my father sponsored it.”

Seulgi looked at her, her smile bright. “He did. Come on.”

They walked slowly, as did the few other visitors that came today. The place inspired reverence and solace. Irene liked it.

It was such an airy, bright place that one could feel the mind and soul expand and reach every corner and nook. Despite its vastness, it emitted a benevolence towards visitors, inviting them in, wanting them here, with the couches and benches and armchairs everywhere.

Sun filtered through high windows in the roofs - and the guards and attendants of the museum wandered the hallways in quiet and respectful distance.

Seulgi led them to the vast underground floor, where sunlight colored lights made up for the real thing. The permanent exhibition was housed there - and in a smaller room by the far end, a presentation of black and white photographs was displayed.

Seulgi’s hand grasped for her arm as they approached the small isolated area, past the large format, enormous pictures that covered entire walls to small, framed photographs, no larger than a mid size TV screen. They were by a male photographer - his picture hung by the entrance on the wall. It was small and she could see him smile.

Before Irene could catch the name, something else caught her attention.

There was a picture on the wall of a girl, black and white, playing in a puddle, her face painted with a smile, as droplets flew everywhere.

It was taken from a very low perspective, so the photographer must have crouched through the mud to take a picture of the girl who was no older than five years. It was the very image of happiness.

Irene stared at the girl - and her open face, her crescent eyes, her chubby cheeks. She looked around and noticed more. Another girl, younger, peeking over the shoulder of her mother, right at the camera as the mother walked away from the camera. Half her face hiding, her hair a mess, her expression one of petulance that Irene had seen so often.

“I like this one the best,” Seulgi said and pointed.

Irene turned around. She froze when she saw it - and tried hard not to swallow heavily or cry. It was such an unexpected happiness and also a memory that was fragile and feathery, close to her heart, but long forgotten.

The photograph was very … long. An unusual format, Irene found. Black and white, it was. On the far left was a car with an open door. Four people emerged from, in a line, with some distance between them, like the Beatles on Abbey Road.

Irene’s father, tall and handsome, first, then little Irene, marching after him, her hands fists by her sides, swinging by her sides, like a soldier. Little Joy after her, slouching, leaned over her cellphone or MP3-Player, enormous headphones on her small head, and Irene’s mother last, barely having left the car.

Irene stepped closer and she touched Joy, the only one alive. This picture had been taken shortly before she had shown her powers, while Irene had already beaten people thrice her age at chess.

Then she turned and looked around. Many pictures were of other people. People in the city, reflected by windows; a child chasing doves; a dog caught mid-jump, the cute face a grotesque and funny mask as he tried to catch a treat.

The pictures caught … personality, she found, and just as Irene was surrounded by her family, she was also surrounded by Seulgi’s.

Quickly, she wiped away a tear. It was - unexpected.

“Your father -,” Irene turned to face Seulgi, while pointing at the picture. “Your father! Was he - was he in our house, when mom and dad ...”

“I can only assume so,” Seulgi said.

The doctor frowned and bit her lip, holding something back. For a moment, Irene could not place Seulgi’s emotions at all, but then she realized that she was overwhelmed.

“It was before I was born, but I think my parents knew your parents. But … look.” She pointed at a picture at the far wall. It was of Irene, amidst all her classmates, right before her High School graduation. She was already serious in that picture, strict and with clear ideas how the world should be. With a fractured relationship with Joy. Her parents had long died until then.

“He took it around two weeks before he and mom … before they died.” Seulgi’s voice sounded forlorn. “It was a car accident.”

A car accident.

Irene turned around to Seulgi, who still hovered at the entrance of the room, while Irene was surrounded by what Irene could only assume was her entire past. She stared at her.

“When you came to my office, and when I met Joy,” Seulgi started hesitantly. “I - I immediately recognized you.”

Irene stepped closer. “Recognized me,” she echoed.

Seulgi started speaking, each word a sharp needle in Irene’s heart.

“I remember looking at the roof of the car, unable to move,” Seulgi said. “I was bleeding and I had already lost a lot. Then Joy rolled up the car like it was a sardine box and pulled Yeri out.”

Joy … opened their car. Joy was there when Seulgi’s parents had the car accident. Joy …

Irene blinked hard. If Joy was there, then …

Seulgi shrugged, unsure, but continued. Her face was so tense, ready to break. “You were wearing that mask of yours, but I could see your eyes, almost as panicked as I was. I … I recognized you immediately when you came into my office.”

Irene took in a sharp breath. “Seulgi …”

“You saved my life,” Seulgi said. She made a sharp movement with her arm, then just stood. Tears started to stream down her cheeks.

“No, no, no,” Irene said. She stepped closer and rummaged in her pocket to get a tissue, and then started to dab Seulgi’s cheek. It gave her something to do, someone to save, because if she thought too hard this moment, she would cry herself. “I -”

“I - I’m sorry I -,” Irene said, her voice broken.

But Seulgi, almost violently, shook her head. “No, no. Don’t say that. Joy saved Yeri and you saved me. I - just imagine if Joy hadn’t saved my sister. Just imagine, she would have -” The last word was drowned by a sob and this time, Irene hugged her.

Seulgi cried like a child, with sobs wracking through her body, her face pressed against Irene’s shoulder. Her grasp was so tight that Irene almost felt her bones crack.

She managed to drag the girl over to the small bench in the middle of the room and sat her down. They remained there, arms around each other, tightly, desperately. It was a strange feeling - the doctor knew who she was, what she was doing, and what Joy was doing, what they did when Irene said they were playing chess.

Seulgi knew everything.

“Why didn’t you say something …” Irene mumbled against Seulgi’s shoulder.

Seulgi sobbed, then leaned back so Irene could see her face. The doctor rubbed her eyes, the tears away like a child. When Irene handed her a tissue, she took it wordessly.

“I didn’t know … it was so important for you that nobody knew and Joy was mad at everyone and the world …”

Irene huffed. “Joy’s mostly mad at me.”

“I know that now ,” Seulgi said. Then she looked up and laughed through her tears. “Unnie, your makeup …”

And only then, Irene realized that she had cried as well. And that she looked way more horrendous than Seulgi, because she had not expected to cry today and thus has chosen the non-water resistant mascara and the result were some very ugly stains.

Seulgi reached over and dabbed her cheeks as well. No doubt it made things worse. “You look like a mess, unnie.”

“Look who's talking,” Irene argued back.

There was silence as they cleaned each other and themselves up, and Seulgi sat back and regarded her. She smiled again, weak and embarrassed, but also a bit happy.

“You saved my life,” Seulgi said.

You saved mine as well, Irene thought but she didn’t say it aloud. She just couldn't. Not yet. She took a deep breath. “I …” Then her voice broke and she tried to collect herself, tried to breathe and instead just frowned with a lot of concentration, as she tried to right the crack in that emotional armor of hers.

Seulgi eyed her, very carefully reached out and touched the frown between Irene’s eyes with the pad of her index finger. The warmth spread out like a flower.

“So you do go out, without any super powers,” Seulgi said. “In a costume with these small little cute ears on your head and you hunt evil guys?”

It didn’t sound clever or that heroic when Seulgi said it. “... yes.”

“Are they bunny ears?” Seulgi asked, her eyes earnest and questioning.

Irene reached up and took Seulgi’s hand. She could feel the other girl flinch, but she allowed it and then squeezed Irene’s hand back. “They are bat ears,” Irene said slowly with a kind of fake haughtiness that made Seulgi chuckle.

“Why not bunny ears?” Seulgi asked.

“Because bunny ears are not exactly scary,” Irene said.

Seulgi sniffled and wiped her eyes messily once more, letting go of Irene’s hand. She pulled out her cellphone and typed something in. The display showed a picture of a bat that looked with big, trustworthy eyes at the camera.

Irene’s gaze was icy as she regarded the animal. Seulgi was unimpressed.

“But unnie, bats aren’t exactly scary either.”

“They suck blood.”

“But they look like this.” Seulgi said and waved the cellphone at Irene’s nose.

Irene caught her hand and deliberately ignored how Seulgi stiffened and squeezed her hand back.

“They are scary,” she insisted in the face of the cute bat baby picture that nibbled at a banana. “And I want to point out that I am the night and those bat ears strike fear in the hearts of my enemies.”

“I’m sure your cast that says ‘scratch here to eject’ only adds to the fear part,” Seulgi mumbled under her breath, trying to wrestle down her shyness.

Irene looked at her, and tried not to show her surprise at the decently witty answer. She leaned in a bit closer and Seulgi, while not moving away, looked everywhere, except Irene’s face. She still looked like a mess, with puffy eyes and wet cheeks, but Irene couldn’t help but find her beautiful. “What did you say?”

Seulgi’s voice was nervous, but showed a certain kind of resolve. It was a strange look, her being sincere and at the same awkward like this. “You are too soft to be the night,” Seulgi said. Irene could tell that she was awkward and determined at the same time. Her eyes met Irene’s and gleamed. “Joohyun unnie.”

Irene felt herself unable to answer and felt her lips part slightly, along with her heart. The dear doctor was so nervous, she could tell, and was flushed and was sweating, had barely dried tears and still sniffled a bit. Yet she managed to hold her gaze. Irene leaned in and she could see Seulgi swallow heavily, then close the gap.

Softer than she had anticipated; more gentle than she had anticipated. Seulgi was so careful with her, her kisses so fragile, so caring, despite knowing what Irene was capable of.

It made Irene push forward, wanting more of that care, wanting more of what Seulgi tasted like, and the other women emitted a surprised sound and then - then Irene felt an arm around her midsection, a hand splayed out on the lower part of her back, as Seulgi pulled her closer, her other hand cradling her cheek.

Much to Irene’s surprise, it were Seulgi’s kisses that grew quickly to a steady, heated fire, nudging at her upper lip, and finally asking for entrance. When they finally tasted each other, Irene groaned softly at the thought that she wanted to push the good Doctor back onto a prospective bed and just have her way with her, but when a cold pad of a finger drew a long line down her thigh, the thought evaporated with a small popping sound.

She groaned and Seulgi took it as a cue to kiss her deeper.

She felt herself move forward and crane up, curving her back to meet her halfway and Seulgi’s hand drew slow circles on her thigh. The feeling made her go slowly mad. Her breathing grew heavy and harsh - and Seulgi moved away, concerned.

A sound of frustration escaped Irene’s lips.

“Are you well?” Seulgi asked, her hand gently carding through her hair.

“I want a second date,” Irene blurted out.

Seulgi blushed and smiled. “Alright.”

“Somewhere more private,” Irene added. Her hand had moved to Seulgi’s chin, the side of her index finger and her thumb stroking it, looking at her lips, her nose, her eyes.

She was incredibly beautiful and Irene wondered what it took so see her lips part and call out her name and …

Seulgi slowly squeezed her thigh deliciously. Irene bit her lip to suppress the moan.

“And a third date,” she demanded, almost petulantly.

Seulgi laughed. “It’s a deal.”

*

To carry an entire bag of freshly baked croissants through a boarding school with supernaturally gifted kids required some special preparations.

“Miss Bae, Miss Bae! Are those croissants?” Yeojin blipped into existence out of nowhere. She sat on the back of an enormous, yellow tiger that produced a strange kind of meowing sound:

“ Aeong! ”

Irene strode down the corridor. It was early in the morning, on a Sunday as well, so most students were still asleep, but Yeojin and Hyunjin, and that usually meant Heejin as well, and maybe Yeji and Lia, looked like the just came back from a night of adventures in the gardens of Bae Manor.

Irene gave a nod over her shoulder towards the student kitchen. “I brought you guys some as well, but!” she said immediately, when Hyunjin was about to dash away. “I counted them! Three per person, and that includes Miss Vivi and Miss Haseul!” She pointed at them with her free hand. “I’m warning you!” She pointed at the tiger’s nose.

The tiger squinted at the nose in her face.

“I’m talking to you especially, Hyunjin!”

“ Aeong, ” Hyunjin, the 310-kg-heavy, breadloving tiger exclaimed.

“Good,” Irene said.

Yeojin waved and then she and Hyunjin bounded down the corridor and were gone.

She crossed the mansion into the Western part. She passed remnants of games on the way: soccer balls, one baseball, an assortment of lacrosse sticks. There were small buckets of paint stacked under one window and next to it, new bookshelves had been set up, filled with classics, children’s literature, comics, manga and text books.

The mansion was not filled with artists and scientists and writers, like it had been when her parents were still alive, but then again …

Someone had continued the long row of oil paintings that depicted Irene’s family member and added a new picture. It had been painted by a new arrival who was busy setting it up.

Irene wasn’t very tall, but she was taller than the shy Chinese girl that had only arrived two weeks ago with three of her friends. They drew a lot of scary things, among them a large, looming snake, but this picture depicted her and her three friends: Happy, outside, with trees, and the sun and a rainbow.

“I’ll help you, Ningning,” Irene said, set the croissants aside and hung up the picture. The frame was crude wood and it was a bit uneven but neither Ningning nor Irene cared.

“Thank you, Miss Bae!” Ningning called out, bowed, then waved and hurried down the corridor.

Irene watched her and picked up her bag again. She smiled and then minutes later arrived in the part of the mansion that was occupied by her and Seulgi.

It had been used, in the past, by her parents. They had done renovations and now, Irene felt comfortable.

It had a kitchen and Irene hadn’t been in her kitchen since her parents had died. It was the perfect kitchen - spacey, with a row of sharp knives on one wall, a large fridge with an ice spender, a coffee machine from Italy, a kitchen island, an induction stove.

It was almost completely empty - the cook had a larger, more professional kitchen on the lower floor and Irene considered sustenance something necessary to survive or social glue. She had given up on cooking altogether.

But now that life had returned to the house, things slowly started to change.

She had found Yeri and Joy outside of the kitchen, both clad in running clothing and knowing smirks on her face.

Irene wanted to ignore them, but Joy said: “She’s in the kitchen. She made us breakfast.”

“But we thought it’s better to leave you lovebirds alone,” Yeri asked and then proceeded to make kissing movements.

Joy headlocked her and dragged her away, but her smile was, for once, not smirky. It was genuine and happy. Irene found it incredibly confusing.

It seemed to amuse Joy even more.

When she entered, Seulgi was nowhere to be seen. She just found two plates, freshly pressed orange juice and cutlery set out - so she opened the bag and started to take out the croissants.

Two arms moved around her midsection and a body pressed closer. Irene smiled, but continued what she was doing, even when Seulgi started to peck small kisses against the side of her neck and behind her ear.

“Thank you for bringing food,” Seulgi whispered in her ear. “For us and for the kids and for Haseul and Vivi.”

Irene’s smile brightened. It did that a lot most recently.

“I find … a certain kind of joy doing it these days,” she admitted, then turned to face her girlfriend.

Seulgi smiled back. “These days?”

“Mhm,” Irene said. “These days.” She craned up a bit and kissed her lips - and when Seulgi kissed her back, Irene could tell, almost immediately, that Seulgi would most likely not stop kissing her. She also knew the reason - Seulgi was happy to provide it.

“When I woke up,” she said, a small whine coloring her voice, as she continued to kiss her way down Irene’s throat. “You were gone so the only thing that I could do was set the table and entertain the kids.” She nibbled a bit at the skin, before licking it better.

“Seulgi …”

Memories from the last two months flashed before her inner eye. Seulgi hovered around her in public, closeby and always attentive, but rarely touched her, only if she perceived someone as a threat: Irene’s accountant Changmin, who was almost twice Seulgi’s size and whom she had stared down the first time they met or Sakura, her Japanese lawyer, who adored Irene a bit too much.

In private, however, like this, she was much more touchy than Irene would have anticipated. Irene remembered trying to please her, but Seulgi’s touches easily set her on fire, made her writhe and breath against parted lips and kind and intense eyes staring down at her.

Her touches were always gentle, always questioning, her smile full of affection, and sometimes she just stepped close, her expression unreadable, and kissed her. Sometimes she stepped close and kissed her and wouldn’t step back. Like now.

Seulgi was a carer - and she took care of Irene very well.

It was surprising and new and scary for Irene - she had never given up control or the upper hand voluntarily, ever. She usually had to be forced to do it and usually she wrestled it back.

But Seulgi, Seulgi laughed her typical laughter, - heu heu heu -, opened doors for her, brought her flowers just because, passed behind her, her hands a fleeting touch on her hips and had her way with her against most surfaces of their apartment.

Amongst the life blooming in her house, with quiet evenings and less playing Chess, Irene felt, indeed happy.

She tried to have more poetic thoughts about it, but with Seulgi behind her, with her pushing away the hair from her neck and setting kisses there, with her pressing her against the kitchen island, with her hand on her stomach, wandering downwards, that made her quiver and fold forward, it was difficult to have any kind of thought.

Still Irene tried as Seulgi worked hard to please her. She was a fan of hard workers.

“Let’s go for ice cream today,” Irene asked, the last word drowned in a moan.

She felt Seulgi’s smile against the curve of her throat and shoulder. “Alright,” the taller woman whispered.

Irene turned her head to look at her and touched her chin to make her look back. Like this, Seulgi had to look up, her head on her shoulder, and Irene had to look down, but they weren’t kidding anyone.

Irene breathed hard, busy to finish her marathon.

“Let’s go to the museum - hah - after,” Irene demanded, fully aware that her voice was high and airy.

Seulgi picked up the pace, and still eyed her, a soft smile there. She nosed her cheek, her chin, soft kisses against her  “Alright.”

Irene let her head fall back, against the side of Seulgi’s, the other girl relentless: close, arms around and inside her, making her pay for leaving her alone this morning.

Irene had already chosen the armchair on which she would pay her back.

It was a new game - not one you played against another person, but one you played with another person.

“I won’t play chess anymore, ever,” Irene whispered.

And Seulgi smiled and kissed her and held her when she finally fell into the perfection and a wholeness that was her life.

It was good.

end (3/3).