Ryujin's sure something's changed.
It's been only a day since she'd last seen her wife--a day after she and Jisu finally crossed the line.
But for whatever reason, her wife feels like a different person now.
Is it Ryujin, or is it Yuri?
Or is it the spirits work because she has finally embodied her duties to her soulmate?
It's strange, Ryujin thinks. How come her wife's touch on her arm, which she's been familiar with for years, feels foreign to her now?
And when her wife kissed her cheek, she felt... nothing.
"Boo, you look different today," Yuri comments as they walk out of the airport.
"Huh?"
"You seem glowing. What have you been up to yesterday?"
Ryujin looks straight ahead.
Sex.
It was pure sex the entire day. Sex with her soulmate.
"Uh... just... sleep..." She says. "I slept for sixteen hours."
Yuri chuckles. "Yeah. You looked like you did. You look so fresh. I should sleep too once we get back home."
Ryujin thinks home seems to be a different place to her now.
---
She is a horrible person.
It comes as a passing thought when the asleep Yuri unconsciously moves to nuzzle on Ryujin's neck.
Ryujin runs her palm along her wife's back, thinking, feeling the guilt creeping up her body.
It was wrong for her to sleep with another woman. Her wife doesn't deserve infidelity.
But is it wrong for someone to sleep with their soulmate? Didn't the spirits themselves will it?
And why does it felt so right to do it with Jisu?
Ryujin remembers everything vividly; how she held her soulmate, kissed her, touched her, tasted her--everything felt like they were meant to happen.
Ryujin doesn't have much experience with relationships as it's been only Yuri since then. But now that she met Jisu, she finally sees the huge differences even in the simplest gestures.
Like with the way they sleep. Why is it that Jisu's head seems to fit better in the crook of Ryujin's neck?
How come her hands seem to be molded just to fit Jisu's face?
Whenever she holds Jisu's hands, how did it happen that their fingers perfectly lock like it's their innate function?
It was like they were meant to hold each other, meant to love each other.
Love.
Is it already love or is it just the works of the spirits?
How is it different from the affection she's feeling for her wife?
And what is Ryujin supposed to do? It would be unfair to leave her wife--her lover of ten years, her best friend--just because she found her soulmate. But it would be unfair to Jisu too if Ryujin would keep their relationship in the dark.
They can't be forever like that, seeing each other once or thrice a week to sleep together.
Which she still plans to do, by the way.
And is actually looking forward to it.
"This can't be happening." Ryujin groans, smacking a fist on her forehead.
She is a horrible person.
---
"Wow." Chaeyoung shakes her head as she reclines back on her chair. "For how long now?"
Ryujin couldn't look her friend straight in the eye after confining what's happening between her and Jisu lately.
She wants to keep it to herself, but she couldn't bottle it alone anymore. She needs an outlet.
However, she didn't expect that telling Chaeyoung the truth would make her feel like she cheated on her friend too.
"For three weeks now..." she admits.
"Wow. Three weeks." Chaeyoung claps. "You must be enjoying sex with her, huh?"
Ryujin can only shrug, standing there, looking down with a guilty face.
"Any plans?" Chaeyoung asks.
"I don't know, man. It's hard. I know it's wrong. I know we shouldn't do it. But it feels right whenever we are together."
"Yeah. That's what all the cheaters say, buddy."
"You know it's not just cheating between me and Jisu." Ryujin frowns. "Having her by my side gives me this feeling--this contentment. It's like everything's going to be okay no matter where we are or what we do. I've never felt like that before."
Chaeyoung hums, placing her chin on her clasped hands. "Question: do you still love your wife?"
"I care for Yuri with all my heart."
"But it's different with Jisu, isn't it?"
Ryujin nods, looking hopeless.
"And what's her standing on this, your soulmate? Is she demanding anything from you like divorcing your wife or something else?" Chaeyoung asks.
"No. It's the opposite. She's avoiding the topic like it's a plague. She doesn't want to force me into taking any action. What's important to her is for me to stay."
Chaeyoung smiles. "Wow. Very understanding, huh?"
"But I can feel how she hates it whenever I go home, back to my life, to my wife." Ryujin sighs. "She may not admit it, but I can feel it hurts her. And I hate myself for that."
"Really tough." Chaeyoung shakes her head. "Look, man, I understand what you're going through. It's hard and confusing. I'm not going to scold you and tell you what you need to do. But at this stage, I hope you know there's no more working the relationship out between you and Yuri."
"What do you mean?"
"You need to understand that the moment you met Jisu, your relationship with Yuri is already doomed. You're just prolonging it, man, because you're too nice."
Ryujin furrowed her brows, realizing Chaeyoung has a point.
"You can't go against the spirits. They have this magical thread connecting you and Jisu," Chaeyoung adds. "Breaking up and trying to forget each other will be futile. The thread will always find a way to make sure your paths cross. And as days go by, you'll fall deeper and harder for her. It's inevitable."
"Then what am I supposed to do, Chaeyoung-ah?"
"Well, you can follow what Rowoon did in Red Rope. She told Ana the truth about Julia. And even if Ana got mad after the break-up, that's the best Rowoon can offer her, the truth."
"The truth." Ryujin looks at her ring finger, running a thumb over her wedding ring. "It's not as easy as it sounds."
"Well, another thing you can do is to lie and wait--pun intended." Chaeyoung laughs.
Ryujin chuckles. "Yeah."
"I'm serious tho! Sometimes the best approach is to wait for the spirits to intervene. They are the ones who started this in the first place. They control everything, man. One way or another, they will find a way to make sure everything will fall into the right places."
A light bulb pops in Ryujin's head. She points at Chaeyoung. "You know what, that's a much easier approach. Maybe I should leave it to their spiritual hands, don't you think?"
"It sounds lazy, but... yeah." Chaeyoung nods. "I just don't know when exactly they are going to help you. What if it will take them ten years?"
"What! Ten years?"
"I'm just saying. We don't know what's up in their heads." Chaeyoung taps a finger on her temple. "Maybe you should start praying in the temples now for guidance, you know."
"Maybe you're right." Ryujin drops on the couch and lies down. "Thanks for listening, man. Made me feel lighter."
"Anytime." Chaeyoung smiles. "Oh. And by the way, have you already read the email that was sent to Team Sonjinnie this morning?"
"I haven't. I was too occupied with problems."
"Wait. Lemme read it now." Chaeyoung browses through her laptop.
Her eyes widened. "Holy shit! Ryujin!"
"What?"
"Come here!"
Ryujin jumps next to her friend and squints her eyes to read the open email in Chaeyoung's laptop. "A producer?"
"Yeah. They are looking to meet up with Team Sonjinnie... For..." She continues reading the body of the email. "For a possible project for Red Rope? Animated series?"
Ryujin and Chaeyoung turn to look at each other, mouths open.
"Holy shit."
"Holy schnikes."
---
"Don't forget that tea I told you about, okay?"
"I know, boo. I know. I'll look for it right away once we land in New York."
Ryujin chuckles. "Thanks. So, how was the meeting?"
"Miss Jisu showed me the reports. I'm happy with the progress of my investments so far. You could have come a bit earlier, so you can see her."
"It's fine. Chaeyoung and I were on a conference call too."
"Ah. Yeah. Are you doing that meeting with the producer tomorrow?"
"Yes, we will. Chaeyoung and I already confirmed. We'll meet up tomorrow at nine."
"Then I wish you luck." Yuri fixes Ryujin's bangs. "Anyway, we'll have two days overlay, so you be a good monkey, okay? No junk food and don't play too many video games."
"Yes. Yes. Yes." Ryujin keeps nodding. "You take care. Call me tomorrow as soon as you land. I love you."
"Yup. Take care, boo. I love you too."
Once Yuri's out of sight, Ryujin pulls out her phone and calls the contact with the honey profile picture.
"Jisu," she says the moment the call got picked up. "Are you still around? I'm free to go now."