Parts: 4
Ships: SuA and Siyeon, JiU and Yoohyeon
Members Are: In a Fantasy AU
Categories: Angst, Fluff
Summary: Bora's curious best friend Yoohyeon is always getting them into trouble, but it's never before led them to meet anyone like Minji, Siyeon, Handong, Yubin, or Gahyeon, and Bora quickly begins to regret their adventure.
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Part I
"Bboya!" Kim Yoohyeon called, her loosely wound silver curls bouncing on her shoulders as she ran on the narrow and overgrown path spread ahead of her, hardly caring any longer about the picnic basket slung over her forearm as she pushed through the brush of the woods. "Hurry up! You have to see this!"
Kim Bora brushed aside a vine that threatened to sink its thorny claw-like growth into her slender, pale arms, ignoring the fact that a different branch had already seemed to lodge itself into her flowing jet-black hair. "I'm coming, Yooh," she sighed, already feeling as though her best friend's ever-present and overflowing curiosity was going to send them spiraling into another round of trouble as it had so many times before.
It was only because Bora – better known to Yoohyeon as Bboya – loved and trusted Yoohyeon so much that she went along with the gorgeous (yet often scarred and bandaged as a result of one of her adventures) porcelain-skinned beauty's antics, as she had since they were children right up until the present moment, where they had now matured into young women fresh out of college and living together as roommates.
Any time that the girls had a shared day off, Yoohyeon insisted on doing something she determined would be fun. For Bora, that usually meant that she would be keeping a watchful eye on her puppy-like best friend while they climbed over fences, walked down unmarked roads, and peeked inside abandoned buildings. Usually, they would only do one of those things. But on this occasion, it appeared that Yoohyeon had half a mind to do all three.
It had started with what seemed to Bora like a wonderful – and most importantly, safe – idea: a relaxing, fun picnic in the sunshine at a hiking place not far from where they lived. Of course, she should have known that with Yoohyeon, such a simple suggestion would not be the end of it. No, Yoohyeon had ulterior motives, as she nearly always did. After their meal, she had immediately stood up and announced her plan: to explore the boarded-up castle accessible through the path in the woods just hidden from view next to the trailhead.
Bora cursed herself as she followed Yoohyeon through the thicket. Mostly, she cursed herself for going along with Yoohyeon's latest adventure idea, but she also cursed herself for everything from allowing Yoohyeon to have a phone with Internet access that allowed her to find such places to the cold noodles she had eaten at the picnic that did no good to warm her slender frame as the girls walked through the woods.
Perhaps luckily for her, however, they were now entering a clearing, and Bora raised her gaze as Yoohyeon stopped, standing stock still with a gaped mouth in awe as she looked straight ahead at the castle in front of them. No sunlight filtered onto the grounds, however, and Bora rubbed her half-bare arms as a shiver ran down her spine. A cloud had passed over the sun while they had been walking, and it looked like it wasn't going away any time soon.
Yoohyeon reached for her phone in her back pocket. "It looks just like the photos. I want to see..." she let her sentence trail off as she frowned at her phone screen, and Bora peeked over the taller girl's arm to see what the matter was.
"There's no cell service here," Bora pointed out factually.
"Yeah, thank you for mentioning that, Captain Obvious," Yoohyeon said, rolling her eyes at Bora. The girls had earned the nicknames Tom and Jerry from their mutual friends due to their sarcastic nature of speaking to one another, even though it was all out of love.
"Well, just saying," Bora replied defensively. "Okay, you saw it, take your photos, let's get out of here. I'm freezing." As per usual, she expected Yoohyeon to snap a few shots of the building she found interesting and turn around, but Yoohyeon pouted.
"I want to go inside."
"What?" Bora burst out, nearly laughing at the thought in surprise. "No. No, we are not going inside. You're crazy."
"Well, maybe you aren't, scaredy-cat, but I'm going inside," Yoohyeon said decidedly, punctuating her sentence with a haughty sniff as she stuck her nose in the air.
Bora knew that once Yoohyeon made up her mind, there was no going back, so with a sigh of resignation, she folded her arms across her chest. "Go ahead. I'll wait right here. And don't take forever."
"See you!" With permission granted, Yoohyeon gleefully bounded away from Bora, making the black-haired girl crack a smile as she shook her head and rolled her eyes. She watched carefully as Yoohyeon trotted up the stairs and tried the door, which she was able to open with a push of her hip. Bora sighed once more, a bit shakily this time, as Yoohyeon disappeared from her sight, the door currently only open a crack from which no light or noise filtered through.
Bora looked around at her surroundings. The trees and their many leaves that created a thick circle around the castle were all still, and though Bora still felt chilly, she suddenly wished for a whisper of wind with the way that the somberness of the area was beginning to scare her. She paced slowly at the head of the path, changing from looking from her feet to looking at the castle doors every few seconds, and occasionally glancing around her as well.
Five, ten, then fifteen minutes went by – Bora kept track quite easily with the way she checked the time anxiously at least once per minute – and there was still no sign of Yoohyeon returning. Bora reminded herself, however, that every second that passed brought her closer to leaving to go home and crawl in her warm, safe bed, preferably to never again go anywhere on another one of Yoohyeon's adventures.
In the stillness of the clearing, for the entire time she had been there, the only sounds Bora could hear were the crunching of the rocks, branches, fallen leaves, and dirt that made up the forest floor under her feet as she paced; but a sudden new addition to the noises made her freeze and look up in pure terror. She hadn't realized just how on edge she was until that moment, when she glanced around, her eyes frenzied and wild. Bora continued to stand still, straining to hear the noise again. The castle doors remained untouched, and she knew in her gut that it wasn't Yoohyeon that had made the sound she had heard. It came from behind her.
Slowly, Bora turned around, half-expecting at that point to meet her death, but no one and nothing was there. As she glanced around once more, she heard it again – the same sound. A whine. But this time, it was accompanied by a sharp, playful bark.
Bora's eyes lit up. She loved animals, especially dogs. She knew that stray dogs roamed the hiking trails – it was something that attracted people to the area, who often fed the sweet animals or even rescued some when they could. It didn't surprise Bora that some of the dogs would venture through the woods to the castle, seeking the shelter of its walls. The companionship of a furry friend, she realized, was just what she needed.
"Puppy?" Bora called sweetly, making kissing noises with her mouth. She heard a scuffling from behind her, and the movement in the woods that had been making its way towards her suddenly stopped. Figuring she had accidentally scared off the animal, Bora hummed to herself and glanced at the castle doors again. A few minutes then passed, but Bora felt more relaxed than she had been before. Knowing she wasn't alone seemed to help her.
But Yoohyeon's adventures – even if the silver-haired girl had temporarily left her side – always kept Bora on her toes. "I'm telling you, Yubin, I swear I heard it," a deep yet melodic and almost hypnotic voice said – or, rather, seemed to growl – from behind Bora, who froze once more, her eyes wide. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. Yoohyeon had mentioned that it took quite some digging to find the existence of the castle on the internet, and the way she had put it, it seemed to Bora like no one else really visited the abandoned building, so why she suddenly had human company, she was unsure – and she was terrified.
Slowly, unable to speak and now shaking like a leaf, Bora turned around, and this time, she made out two figures approaching through the thicket. All eyes met at the same time. Bora's swept slowly over the dark-clothed women, taking in the left girl's black and blue bangs, her oversized black shirt, and her oversized charcoal jeans. The shorter woman on the right had lighter, turquoise hair, her slender frame revealed by the way her black jeans hugged her figure and she crossed her arms over her camouflage jacket.
"What did I say?" the taller woman snarled under her breath to the shorter one before she looked back at Bora and asked sharply, "What's a pretty girl like you doing here all alone?"
The latter question earned her a firm elbow in the side from the younger girl, and Bora was immediately reminded of herself and Yoohyeon with the interactions between the two. "Really, Sing," the shorter girl snorted, but the taller girl silenced her with a quick but icy glare.
Deciding on the spot that it would be best to tell the truth, seeing as she was too panicked to create a good lie, Bora replied shakily, "I-I'm waiting for my friend. She wanted to go inside the castle and take pictures."
By the time she was halfway through her sentence, even though there was a considerable amount of distance between the three of them, she could see the taller girl's eyes harden, and as soon as she finished her last word, the black- and blue-haired woman spoke. "You shouldn't go in there. It's not safe."
"I-I know. I couldn't talk her out of it," Bora fibbed. Admittedly, she actually hadn't tried to talk Yoohyeon out of stepping foot into the abandoned building, but that was only because she knew it would be a fruitless attempt if she did.
The taller woman looked at the shorter one, who was already gazing at her intently. They seemed to have a very brief unspoken conversation with the way their eyes met, and the taller woman nodded before turning once more to Bora. "Yubin is going to go get your friend out of there so you can leave. You really shouldn't be here."
"Oh, no, I can go get her," Bora said quickly, and the taller woman opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything, Bora continued talking. "But why are you here, then?"
The woman paused, exchanging another look – this one very slight and subtle – with Yubin before she replied. "We live near here."
Perhaps it was the adrenaline that was still very much coursing through Bora's body, but she suddenly felt a disappointed pang in her heart. The tall woman was quite attractive, so it would make sense that she and Yubin were a couple. Maybe the woman noticed the sudden sadness that flashed across Bora's face, however, because she added, "We're...roommates."
"Oh, I see," Bora said slowly.
"I'll go with you," the woman said.
"Huh?" Bora asked, blinking. She had already forgotten about going to retrieve Yoohyeon. The silver-haired girl was one of the farthest things from her mind at the moment, she realized as she suddenly remembered what they had been talking about. "Oh! No, really, it's okay."
"Yeah, no, really, I'm coming with you," the woman smirked, pushing her way through the remainder of the thicket and placing her arm around Bora's shoulder firmly as she led them to the castle.
Bora was taken aback by the gesture, but she certainly wasn't about to complain. She felt less cold with the woman's strong arm around her and her body by her side, and she also felt more at ease. Even though the woman had given her quite a fright when she and Yubin had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and although she was incredibly intimidating, Bora appreciated her commanding presence in this situation, as it brought her some peace of mind.
"What's your name?" the woman asked rather quietly as they neared the castle entrance. Bora looked up at her, a bit surprised that the woman appeared to be trying her hand at being friendly. As she gazed up, the woman looked down to meet her eyes, and a small smirk crossed her lips. "Yubin won't let me flirt when she's in earshot, but I think I'm safe now."
"Oh," Bora mumbled, looking down as a shy smile and a blush both spread over her face. "I'm Bora."
"Cool. I'm Siyeon."
"Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." Siyeon stopped as they reached the steps to the door. "I'll wait here. Don't go in, just yell from the doorway."
Bora was a bit confused as to why Siyeon insisted on waiting farther away, but she didn't question it. She wanted to get out of there just as badly as Siyeon and Yubin wanted them to leave, so with that in mind, she threw open the door – leaving it open a crack had apparently helped it not become stuck – and called loudly, "Yoohyeon! Let's go already!"
Bora waited, listening carefully for a response. She glanced around and noticed that the building was still sparingly yet elegantly furnished, and for a moment, she forgot about how nervous she was, entranced by the sight. Just as she was admiring the setup, she heard Yoohyeon's voice, followed by a second, higher voice and then laughter. Wondering if Siyeon heard it as well, Bora turned to look at the woman behind her, whose gaze hardened once more before she quickly hopped down the side of the steps and flattened her back against the concrete surface.
Bora knew better than to give away Siyeon's presence to whomever might be with Yoohyeon. She didn't know any details of the situation in the slightest, but she wasn't stupid. Bora turned back just in time to see her best friend appear from down the hallway, her arm wrapped around the thin waist of a woman who looked strikingly similar to her, but with honey-colored locks and swept-aside bangs instead of Yoohyeon's silver curls.
"Bboya!" Yoohyeon called happily. "Look, I made a friend! This is Minji!"
"Yeah, cool, now let's get the hell out of here," Bora hissed heatedly, grabbing Yoohyeon's free hand and jerking her towards the stairs as soon as the girl was within her reach.
"Bora, what the hell are you doing?" Yoohyeon said, sounding almost more confused than she did angry as she yanked free from Bora's grip and gave her a look that reminded Bora of Siyeon's icy glare. The dynamic really was similar, as she had thought.
"We have to go. Sorry," Bora said in a rush, faking an apologetic tone and flashing a smile at the woman next to Yoohyeon, who was dressed in a calico corset-style gown that exposed just enough cleavage to tease whoever glanced at her chest. It was suddenly apparent to Bora why Yoohyeon had taken a liking to the blonde woman, who didn't look surprised that the girls had to leave.
"No problem," Minji replied, turning to Yoohyeon, who slowly joined Bora on the steps. She tilted her head before flashing a smile that sent a sudden very intense chill down Bora's spine, as well as an immediate and rather sickening recognition. "You'll be back," she spoke sweetly, her words almost sounding as though they were saturated with honey, "won't you, puppet?"
"Of course I will," Yoohyeon grinned, and before she could say anything else, Bora tugged Yoohyeon down the stairs and began walking away at a steady pace, only pausing to turn around when she heard the castle doors close behind them.
"Well, I see that one of you has learned your lesson." Siyeon was already following them, and Bora noticed that Yubin had rejoined her side as well. Bora was unsurprised, but Yoohyeon nearly jumped several feet into the air.
"Who are you?" she immediately questioned.
"I made some friends, too," Bora interjected factually, continuing to tug Yoohyeon along, who looked at all three girls in utter confusion. No one spoke until they were halfway down the path again.
"Friends, huh?" Siyeon murmured. She had matched Bora's pace several yards back, and Bora nearly wished that she would put her arm around her shoulder again. She had decided she quite enjoyed the feeling.
"'Some hot girl and her friend who scared the living daylights out of me while I was waiting for you to leave that haunted mansion' takes a bit longer to say," Bora replied, a twinge of sarcasm in her words. She was fully aware that no matter how low she kept her voice, Yoohyeon would be able to hear her anyways, so she didn't bother with being very quiet.
"Is it stuck up to assume that I am the one you are referring to as 'hot?'" Siyeon asked, her usual smirk returning to her face.
"Well, your assumption is correct, so does it matter if it's stuck up or not?" Bora questioned in response.
"Good point." Siyeon's smirk deepened as they continued walking in silence, but they only took a few more steps before she slung her arm across Bora's shoulders, nearly making the raven-haired girl giggle giddily in happy surprise. "Wish I could see you around."
Bora let Siyeon's words sink in for a moment, the smile that had appeared on her face moments ago slowly fading as she realized their implications. "You can't?"
"I told you," Siyeon said quietly after a pause, her voice so soft that Bora had to strain to hear it, "you shouldn't be here."
Bora snorted, suddenly twisting away from Siyeon's grasp so that her arm fell at her own side, and Siyeon looked at Bora with a gaze that was both sad and longing yet sympathetic and resigned. It was as though she was disappointed, but knew the reaction was inevitable. "Then why flirt? Then why walk us down the path? Get lost." Bora scoffed again, taking a very confused Yoohyeon's arm and continuing straight ahead, angrily shoving thorny plants out of their way and no longer caring when they ripped her skin and clothing.
"Wait," Siyeon suddenly said, her voice sounding pained. Bora could hear Yubin telling the girl to let it go and to stop, but she also heard Siyeon's footsteps running towards her, and though she didn't want to swallow her pride, it was just what she had been hoping would happen, so when Siyeon put her hand on Bora's shoulder to stop her, she let her do so, making Yoohyeon come to a clumsy stop as she kept her grip tight around her wrist.
"I'm sorry," Siyeon said quietly. Bora kept her gaze trained straight ahead and didn't speak. The apology was welcome, and she was actually ready to accept it, but it didn't complete what she wanted to hear. "I want to see you again," Siyeon continued. She was speaking in a whisper, her voice softened and more vulnerable than Bora had heard it in all of the short time she had known the girl.
Bora swallowed hard. "Well, Siyeon, since you're the one who apparently calls the shots here, I suppose I have to wait for your suggestion on how we can make that happen," she spoke, her words coming off a bit harsher than she intended.
Her tone didn't seem to faze Siyeon, however, who simply replied, "Come back. But wait at the trail. Don't come down this path."
"But how can I see Minji again?" Yoohyeon interrupted, and both Bora and Siyeon sent her a look that made her wish she hadn't spoken before she regained her composure and defiant attitude and continued defensively, "I like her."
"You should not see her again, and that is final." Bora deeply appreciated the way that Siyeon spoke. It was a tone of voice that she never had the ability to take on with Yoohyeon, but it was one that the silver-haired girl needed to hear from someone besides her mother. As such, she smirked slightly, but quickly hid it from Yoohyeon.
"Why not?" Yoohyeon retorted. She was ready to take on the challenge of Siyeon's warnings, Bora could tell.
"Let me ask you a question," Siyeon said, finally removing her hand from Bora's shoulder to fold her arms over her chest, and Yoohyeon did the same, an angry pout that looked more cute than intimidating crossing her face. "Do you know why Minji lives in that castle?"
"Because it belonged to her parents. They built it. She told me," Yoohyeon replied readily, her voice confident, as though she was sure that she was giving all the right answers.
"Yeah. Her parents. They built it." Siyeon blinked, looking intensely at Yoohyeon, who returned her stare blankly. Siyeon looked from Bora to Yoohyeon incredulously. "You don't get it? They built it. When she was a little girl. But that building is now old and dilapidated." Thinking that the additional information would help Yoohyeon to connect the dots in her mind, Siyeon paused satisfactorily and waited. And waited. And waited, before Bora finally sighed deeply.
"Yoohyeon. M-Minji isn't...isn't...human."
"So?"
"What the hell do you mean, 'so?'" Bora yelled, but Siyeon simply looked at the ground, shuffling her feet. "Don't you think you would never want to get mixed up with a monster? Anything that isn't human is—"
"Maybe I won't see you around, then, Bora," Siyeon interrupted harshly, making the petite girl whip around in shock. The black- and blue-haired woman was glaring at her with the same icy stare she had given Yubin, but more intensely, and it sent the same shiver down Bora's spine that Minji's fangs had only minutes earlier. "I wouldn't want you to get mixed up with someone – or, should I say, something – you despise."
Part II
Bora sat up suddenly in her bed, her heart pounding. Telling herself that what she had just experienced was a dream did little to calm her unsteady breathing. Over the past two nights, nightmare after nightmare had taken over her sleeping state. In each one, she was trapped in a narrow place with scars covering her body, but she had no idea where she was or what the scars were from. The only people she ever saw were Siyeon, Yubin, Minji, and Yoohyeon, and she wasn't sure why, but Siyeon had begun to take on a wolf form. Her parting words from three days prior haunted Bora over and over in each dream: "I wouldn't want you to get mixed up with...something you despise."
It was always those words that seem to shake Bora awake, as they had done in the most recent occurrence. With a sigh, she brushed her hair out of her sticky face and reached for her phone to check the time. Upon seeing that it was seven in the morning, she decided that she might as well get up, since she figured that if she was able to get back to sleep at all, it wouldn't be restful.
Bora pushed aside her covers and placed her feet onto the fluffy rug strewn across the hardwood floors of her bedroom, letting the feeling of the soft but cold fibers ground her a bit before she stood up. She made her way to the window and threw open her curtains. The sight of the cityscape helped further to regain her composure, and Bora headed into the kitchen already feeling better. There was only one thing left weighing on her mind, but it was big.
"I want to see where you found out about that castle." The statement that Bora uttered so factually was enough to make Yoohyeon nearly drop the full bowl of cereal she had just assembled for herself as she carried it to the table.
"You? Want to research the castle? Why? I thought we weren't going back." Yoohyeon's tone was undeniably harsh, but Bora could hardly blame her. Yoohyeon was still maddened that Bora wouldn't allow either of them to return.
"I'm having nightmares." It was the second statement Bora delivered that nearly caused an accident on Yoohyeon's end, this time because she nearly choked on the spoonful of cereal she had shoved angrily into her mouth only milliseconds prior.
After she swallowed the bite of food in her mouth, Yoohyeon asked slowly, her voice hardly above a whisper and her eyes not leaving her cereal bowl, "You too, huh?"
Bora sighed as she took a step forward and sat down in the chair opposite her best friend. "What are yours like?"
"Like I'm being chased by someone, each time, but I never know who it is. I see you, and Siyeon, and Yubin, and Minji. But I don't know who is chasing me." Yoohyeon was fully whispering now.
Bora, though most likely unintentionally, matched Yoohyeon's tone as she replied. "I'm trapped in a narrow place with scars all over me, but I don't know where I am or what the scars are from. I see you, too, and Siyeon and Yubin and Minji as well. I keep hearing Siyeon repeating the last thing she said to me."
"I keep hearing Minji ask if I'll be back."
"I think," Bora said, finally raising her own eyes from the table at the same time that Yoohyeon did as well, "we have to go back."
Yoohyeon nodded slowly, a resigned but very slight sigh escaping her lips. "Get my laptop from my room and I'll show you where I found the information. I think we should read more before we go."
Bora wasted no time, immediately pushing her chair aside and walking at a clipped pace to Yoohyeon's room, where she easily spotted the laptop on Yoohyeon's desk. It was the one item – save for her phone – that could always easily be found in the war zone Yoohyeon called a bedroom due to its frequent usage.
Once back in the kitchen, Bora handed the device over to Yoohyeon, who shoved aside her cereal bowl mid-bite and began tapping away at the keyboard. Bora chose not to sit down again, instead standing above Yoohyeon to peer over her shoulder. "Let's sit on the couch," Yoohyeon mumbled absentmindedly as she noticed Bora's presence after a few moments.
It was no secret between the two of them that Bora found Yoohyeon's dedicated research, quite frankly, useless; among a laundry list of other negative adjectives. Under any other circumstances, Bora knew she would be endlessly questioned for her sudden interest. It was only the nightmares that were bringing them together in this situation.
"There has to be some truth to this," Bora whispered under her breath. She was talking mainly to herself, but the hushed tone seemed appropriate enough to Yoohyeon to use as she responded.
"There is truth to it, Bora," Yoohyeon murmured. "You saw for yourself." The silver-haired girl was now searching through her history with words Bora suspected were hidden keywords or slang, and she was switching back and forth between that tab and another with a chat server, the black background of which looked rather ominous to Bora, though she knew it wasn't, as Yoohyeon had filled her in on many a conversation that had occurred there.
Bora knew that with Yoohyeon's last sentence, her best friend was referring to Minji's obvious vampire nature. It was something Yoohyeon had long believed in, and Bora had long dismissed, usually not only mentally but with a wave of her hand and a roll of her eyes in Yoohyeon's face as well. Swallowing her pride was something Bora wasn't used to or good at doing. It was going to take some mental adjusting for her to begin doing so more regularly, but she figured the sooner she started, the better.
"I know," Bora whispered. Yoohyeon was silent as she continued tapping away at her laptop, seemingly finding what she had been looking for. She opened tab after tab, and as she began to slow down, Bora added even more quietly, "I'm sorry for not believing you."
That statement made Yoohyeon's hands pause over her keyboard, if only for a very brief moment. But Bora knew her best friend had heard her and understood the implications behind her words, which brought her comfort. She wasn't expecting Yoohyeon to respond, but she did. "I wouldn't have believed me either, Bora," Yoohyeon admitted, matching Bora's still-hushed tone. "Your apology is accepted."
"Thanks," Bora smiled weakly, and Yoohyeon tossed her a glance just long enough to exchange the same look before she turned back to the laptop and began pulling up the tabs she had opened. One by one, she skimmed their contents and closed them, and Bora noticed that with each one – she estimated that there were around twenty – Yoohyeon appeared to be getting more and more frustrated, as well as panicked.
Yoohyeon was down to five tabs now, and a worried sigh escaped her lips. "I know I saw something," she explained to Bora as if she was reading her mind. "A story. I didn't read it before we went, so I don't know what it said. I just remember that it had a pict—" Yoohyeon stopped short as she opened the fourth tab, a seemingly random guess, and landed apparently on exactly what she had been looking for.
Bora leaned forward with interest. "The Dreamworld," she whispered. "Look, Yooh. There's the castle."
"That's the photo I saw," Yoohyeon whispered back. "I tried to pull it up when we got there, but there was no cell service, remember?"
Bora only hummed in response, her eyes skimming the words on the page.
Yoohyeon spoke under her breath as she read the webpage aloud. "One hundred years ago to date, werewolves dared to invade Dreamcatcher Castle in an attempt to drive out Princess Minji after her vampire parents were murdered." Just the first line made her suck in a deep breath, and she skimmed the rest of the article before reading the final line out loud as well: "Legend says that a few werewolves still live near the castle, waiting for the Princess's demise so they may finally take over her ramshackle realm, most commonly referred to post-attempted werewolf invasion as The Dreamworld."
Bora sat back on the couch, letting Yoohyeon's words sink in as much as possible. Yoohyeon was frozen in place over the laptop, but Bora could tell that she was doing the same. It was exactly the information they had been looking for, and everything clicked, but it was so much to take in. "So you know what that means, then, huh?" Yoohyeon said softly after a few moments, not looking at Bora even though the question was very much directed at her.
Bora looked at her spindly fingers, toying with her pale nail polish as she worked up the courage to swallow her pride and admit once again that she and her best friend had much more in common than she cared to realize. With a deep sigh, she finally spoke, albeit so quietly she wasn't sure if Yoohyeon could even hear her, a few moments later.
"Siyeon is a werewolf."
Part III
Bora drummed her fingers nervously on her thighs as Yoohyeon pulled into the gravel parking lot of the Road to Utopia Park, right next to the Eclipse trailhead. Knowing that whom they wanted to meet were more likely to be out and active at dusk made the girls choose to arrive at sunset, but the darkening sky was once again cloudy at the trailhead and it sent a shiver down Bora's spine. She wasn't looking forward to walking down the path in such conditions.
As such, once Yoohyeon had parked and Bora had reluctantly taken off her seatbelt and exited the car, Bora suggested nervously, "Siyeon said she would wait for me at the trailhead if we came back. Let's just stay here a minute and see if she comes."
It was most likely a fruitless attempt, Bora knew. But perhaps Yoohyeon was just as nervous as her, because surprisingly, she agreed. "Okay."
There were few hikers entering the area. Most were leaving, and there seemed to be less people than usual. Bora continuously glanced around, partially looking for the blue- and black-haired beauty she couldn't stop dreaming about, but mainly to observe how she and Yoohyeon were slowly becoming more and more alone. She rubbed her hands along her bare arms, suddenly wishing she had a jacket even though the weather wasn't abnormally cold.
"I think we should go," Yoohyeon mumbled after a few more minutes. She had her arms crossed tightly over her chest, looking chilly herself.
"Go?" Bora questioned, her head whipping towards her best friend. Tempting visions of her warm bed – not that it had been much of a safe place for her as of late than it had been in the past, however – appeared in her mind immediately.
"Down the path."
"Oh." Bora's shoulders sunk a bit, but she knew Yoohyeon was right. They had already come, and they needed to go through with their plan. It was better done sooner rather than later. With a slow nod, she shuffled behind Yoohyeon as they ducked between the two pine trees that sheltered the path from public view and began pushing aside thorns to clear the way.
Yoohyeon didn't run ahead this time. She stuck close to Bora, one arm still folded over her zip-up hoodie to hold its strings in place as she used the other arm to move aside branches. Bora did the same on her side. Inside the woods, it was even darker than the trailhead due to the shelter of the trees, and Bora knew that even if the timing of their plan worked perfectly, it would be pitch black by the time they walked the path again to return to the parking lot. She could only hope that their phones would hold enough battery power to be used as flashlights.
The walk to Dreamcatcher Castle seemed longer than it had the last time, but Bora reminded herself that the first time they had entered the path going in, they had been rushing and it had been light outside. The odds were against them on this trip in the case of time.
The farther into the woods they got, the colder it seemed to become. Bora never thought she would be so glad to see the dilapidated mansion once it was finally in sight, but she was looking forward to being out in the clearing.
"Ready?" Yoohyeon sighed slightly, her voice a little shaky.
"Yeah," Bora replied. She meant to sound more confident than she did, but the squeak in her reply gave away her anxiousness. She was sure that under any other circumstances, Yoohyeon would have laughed at her. "I'll be here. Good luck."
"Thanks." Yoohyeon rolled her shoulders back and straightened her spine, giving Bora a nod with a thin-lipped smile that Bora mirrored before heading determinedly up the castle steps and knocking on the front doors.
She waited patiently for a moment as Bora stood just out of sight, her side pressed against a tree at the head of the path as she poked her head out to observe. No one came to the door, however, and Yoohyeon shot back a glance at Bora that seemed to question what she should do. Bora shrugged, so Yoohyeon turned and, after taking a deep breath, cautiously turned the handle and opened the door before disappearing inside.
Bora sighed deeply. Now came the hard part: waiting without knowing. And without her best friend by her side, Bora felt more and more nervous by the second. She glanced up at the sky, seeking the comfort its nighttime velvet blanket brought her, but clouds still shrouded her vision. Even in the darkness of evening, she could tell that they looked threatening and ominous, a hint of rain tangible in the air.
Bora shifted her weight from foot to foot. The last time she had waited at the head of the path for Yoohyeon, she had looked around her to check her surroundings, but she now only kept her eyes trained on the door. No light shined from inside that Bora could see, but she knew that the building was sprawling and she couldn't see all of the windows to determine whether the whole castle was dark or not. It gave her chills to think of Yoohyeon venturing down the blackened hallways alone, so she tried to distract herself by fiddling anxiously with the bark of the tree she was practically clinging to.
If only Bora knew that the noise attracted the very opposite of what she wished to meet before it was too late.
"Puppet, that's my property you're destroying. I suggest that you remove your hands from it immediately, unless you would like me to do that for you."
"And I suggest that if you don't want to end your life the way the Queen did hers, you and your rusty sword stay far away from her."
Though both voices were chilling and harsh and shocked her to her core, Bora's wide and panicked eyes meeting the dark figures approaching her from both sides at once was what made her let out the most bloodcurdling scream she had ever heard, let alone released, in her entire life. It seemed to come from anywhere but her body with the way it rang in her ears.
"Hush, Bora." One of the voices was now soft and gentle as it addressed her, and the figure to whom it belonged stepped close enough that Bora could finally see that it was Siyeon. "I'm here."
"That's the problem." The other voice was still disquieting as it spoke. Though it didn't move from its place a few feet away as instructed, Bora could now recognize it as well, its high pitch giving away the owner's identity. It was hard to forget how Princess Minji's voice sounded. "You're both here."
"Should I see a vampire—" Siyeon practically spit out the word as though it pained her simply to say it— "approaching my friend, I daresay I have a right to be ready to jump in in case I need to protect her."
"You? Friends? With a human?" Minji scoffed. Siyeon's arm had slipped across Bora's shoulders as she spoke, and Bora felt her grip tighten unintentionally at the dig.
"And you? Flirting? With a human?" Siyeon bit back immediately. Bora was impressed with her quick wit.
"I was going to say," Minji replied, her voice taking on an offended tone, "that I don't believe you could merely be friends with one. It would be much more telling of you to have already seduced it."
Bora felt Siyeon's whole body stiffen at that, but her voice remained calm and steady yet clipped as usual as she responded. "I could say the same of you, but regardless, I would like you to know that the word 'friend' can encompass far more than it used to. I wouldn't expect you to keep up with that, however, seeing how much you seem to enjoy living in the past."
If she wasn't currently fearing for her life, Bora would have laughed. She certainly wished she could have seen more clearly Minji's face at Siyeon's final sentence. What she saw instead, however, was not one, not two, but three more figures running towards her at full speed. Should the now-appearing moonlight have not shined on the first silhouette to reveal its familiar signature silver hair, Bora was sure that she would have let out the same scream that brought the woman to her in the first place.
"Bora!" Yoohyeon yelled. "What's going on? Are you okay?" She raced across the field in record time, and it was only because she nearly ran into her that she saw Minji in addition to Bora and Siyeon. "Oh! Minji! What's going on?" she reiterated, still out of breath.
"I heard a noise and found your friend here. I was hoping to see you as well."
"I stopped Minji from using that sword on Bora. You can thank me later."
Both Siyeon and Minji answered at the same time, and Bora could practically see invisible daggers pointing between the two pairs of eyes. Yoohyeon looked from one woman to the other, and it was clear to Bora how torn she was. She could see that Yoohyeon wanted to believe Minji, but Siyeon's warning was not one to be tossed aside. Bora figured that that was why Yoohyeon came to her next. "Bora...?" she spoke softly, taking a step towards her best friend.
Bora liked to think of herself as a person who responded well under pressure. And this part of her pride, she decided, was one she would not have to swallow. "Minji didn't know who I was when she threatened me," she replied diplomatically. She hoped that she was telling the truth, and with the way that Siyeon gave a resigned half-shrug to Yoohyeon in addition to the statement, she felt more sure that she was correct.
Yoohyeon looked satisfied with the answer, but she would have to be, because the other two figures that had been following her had finally approached, having slowed their pace cautiously when Yoohyeon began her questioning. "Who are you?" Bora asked.
She was, it appeared, the only one who did not know, because Siyeon, Minji, and Yoohyeon, as well as the two women themselves, all answered at once.
"My attendants."
"The Princess's attendants."
The former statement came from Minji, and the latter came from everyone else at the same exact time. Once more, Bora felt like laughing, and it now took a considerable amount of her self-control not to. "Got it."
"I'm Gahyeon," the shorter of the two women spoke. Her voice was high and sweet, and her red hair fell on her shoulders like crimson rain. She wore a short black skirt set that the top piece of which was accessorized with white lace, and a black headband completed the look. She hardly looked fit to be an attendant, Bora thought, with all her beauty and charm.
If there were one fit to be royalty, however, it was the second woman, who spoke next in a deeper, shyer voice. "I'm Handong." She was tall, and her black heeled boots only enhanced that feature. Her long legs were accented perfectly by the cream-colored tiered skirt that she wore with a white lacy button-up shirt.
"I'm Bora." As she spoke, Bora suddenly felt out of place. She wasn't sure of the mortal state of Handong and Gahyeon, but she was quickly realizing that she and Yoohyeon were the outsiders in this situation, and that they were more outnumbered than they anticipated. If it weren't for Siyeon's forgiveness and willingness to protect her, she felt quite sure that she would be dead by now.
Perhaps sensing how Bora felt, Siyeon rubbed her thumb on Bora's shoulder subtly yet comfortingly. The small gesture worked, and Bora found herself leaning into Siyeon's touch a bit farther. Yoohyeon cleared her throat as silence washed over the group again. Bora wasn't surprised that her best friend would be the first to speak in such a situation. "Well," Yoohyeon said, "I'm glad I found you, Minji. I came back to visit you."
"My sweet puppet," Minji cooed, turning more towards Yoohyeon with a look of adoration in her eyes. "I'm so glad to see you, too. Won't you come in?"
Bora swore in that moment that she could hear a growl come from Siyeon's throat, but the noise was low and quiet and she was quickly distracted by Yoohyeon's response.
"Of course! I would love to," Yoohyeon gushed. "Can Bora come, too?"
Though Bora had no intention of entering the castle, and though Minji looked as though she was receptive to the idea, Siyeon apparently had other plans.
"No. She can't. She's staying here with me."
Minji sniffed haughtily. "Here? You are a trespasser."
"No problem," Siyeon replied easily, her tone still even and undisturbed as she spoke. "We'll leave. The farther away she is from you, the better."
"I see you are trying to draw sides here. You're pulling these friends apart," Minji observed. The thought had crossed Bora's mind as well, but she knew that Siyeon was doing what she was doing out of concerns for her safety. She didn't know why Yoohyeon felt safer with Minji than with Siyeon. She simply couldn't fathom it.
"Some are meant to learn their lessons through experience, but some are made to be protected by those who can see the situation they are in more clearly than they can themselves. Good night, Princess Minji. Yoohyeon, I expect you at the trailhead in an hour's time." And with that, Siyeon led Bora back onto the path, her strong arms pushing aside the thorns for both of them as she carefully guided Bora through the woods.
"What are we doing now?" Bora asked once she was sure that they were out of earshot of the girls they had left behind. "And why did you let Yoohyeon go with Minji?"
"We're going on a walk on the trail. It's quite nice at night, there's lights along the path and there's a wonderful view of the stars at the landing at the top of the hill. And I let Yoohyeon go because she is smart enough to do so."
Bora didn't know whether or not to take offense. "And I am not?"
"You are smart, but she is more adventurous than you, and therefore I assume that she has more experience. I am not as worried about her ability to handle herself in situations such as these as I am about you."
"I see," Bora said after a moment.
With Siyeon by her side, the walk back to the trailhead seemed much shorter. Indeed, as Siyeon had said, decorative lampposts lined the gravel walking space elegantly, and everything was so bright and sparkly that it nearly made Bora forget about being scared out of her mind only a short time prior. Her heart was only still beating abnormally fast for other, much better reasons, like the fact that Siyeon's grip had left Bora's shoulder to take her hand gently instead.
"Siyeon?" Bora asked softly as they began slowly venturing onto the trail.
"Bora?" Siyeon responded, and though Bora wasn't looking at her face, she could tell that Siyeon was smiling gently as she spoke.
"Do you have any nicknames?"
"Sing. Or Singnie." The answer was simple and factual, just the way Bora liked it. "What about you?"
"Just Bboya."
"That's cute. I like that, Bboya."
"Singnie?"
"Bboya?"
"How far is it to the landing?" Bora asked.
"A quarter of a mile. Are you tired?"
It wasn't why she had asked, but upon pondering the question, Bora realized that her legs were indeed feeling a bit tired. Siyeon took Bora's silence for an affirmative answer and decided to take matters into her own hands. She let go of Bora's hand and stepped in front of her before bending down slightly. "Come on, I'll give you a piggyback ride."
"Really?" Bora asked, but the word hardly left her mouth before she clambered onto Siyeon's back, making the blue- and black-haired girl laugh lightly.
"Really."
Bora hadn't previously realized how short a quarter of a mile seemed when she was being carried. She found herself relaxing under the gentle motion of Siyeon walking, leaning her head on Siyeon's shoulder and letting her eyes flutter closed for a few moments here and there as they continued on in a comfortable silence. Siyeon eventually began humming a bit as she walked, her heavenly voice more calming than ever as she did so.
Bora would nearly have fallen asleep if Siyeon didn't stop suddenly to announce, "We're here."
Bora opened her eyes and felt Siyeon carefully set her down so that her feet met the ground again, and she looked around in awe. "Oh, wow." The stars seemed more wondrous and bright than ever to Bora, and her face broke into a happy grin as she looked up to admire them. "This is beautiful."
"Almost as beautiful as you."
Siyeon's comment made Bora blush, and in response, she simply slipped her hand in Siyeon's once more.
After a moment, she asked, "Singnie?"
"Bboya?" came the expected response.
"I have something to tell you."
"What's that?"
Bora finally broke her gaze from the sky to look at Siyeon, but to her, looking into Siyeon's eyes was like looking at the stars anyways. They held so much mystery and beauty that the two were indeed very similar. "I think..." Bora began, suddenly feeling a little more nervous than she had been only moments prior. "I think I like you."
With delight, Bora watched as the corners of Siyeon's eyes turned upwards while a smile spread across her face. Slowly, carefully, Siyeon leaned down, gently cupping Bora's face between her soft fingers with their long nails before their lips met.
Siyeon's mouth moved against Bora's passionately and sweetly, making Bora's heart pound in her chest so hard she nearly got dizzy. It was like they were made for each other the way every part of them fit together: their lips, Siyeon's hands on Bora's jawline, Bora's arms now looped around Siyeon's neck.
"I'll give you that, Bora," Siyeon spoke softly as they pulled apart reluctantly after a few moments. A pained smile had replaced the soft one previously there, sending a pang through Bora's heart. "But...it's not easy liking me. I wouldn't want you to get into this without knowing that it would be very hard to be together. We live in different worlds."
"I don't care, Siyeon," Bora spoke honestly, and though she suspected that Siyeon would expect the defiant answer and rebuke it, the utter honesty that saturated her words must have been convincing enough. "Forbidden love is the best kind."
At that, Siyeon slipped her hand into Bora's once more as a hearty laugh restored her smile to normal. "Perhaps you are more like Yoohyeon than you realize."
Part IV
"Why isn't she here, Singnie?" Bora moaned nervously, pacing back and forth between the wooden trailhead markers of the Eclipse path. She and Siyeon had returned from their walk half an hour ago, and there was no sign of Yoohyeon where they had planned to meet her at the time of their arrival.
"I don't know, Bora," came Siyeon's quiet and rather unsettling response. Bora had been relying on Siyeon's knowledge to keep the both of them safe, and it brought her no comfort to discover that Siyeon was just as clueless as she was in this situation. What Siyeon said next, however, brought Bora even more anxiety. "But the odds aren't good."
Bora's worried eyes met Siyeon's defeated ones. She knew what that look meant. It was the same one she herself had before she spoke the same exact words to Yoohyeon that Siyeon did now to her: "I think we have to go back."
"What about Princess Minji?" Bora whispered, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she stood in place to focus on Siyeon.
"Just stay out of sight and don't make noise if something happens." And with that, Siyeon reached for Bora's hand, tightly interlocking their fingers together and pulling her gently but confidently towards the path. This time, the trip seemed longer than ever before.
Bora and Siyeon both stood like statues, their hands still loosely twined together by their fingers, as they came to a rather abrupt stop at the head of the path, watching with ease from across the field as Minji slowly climbed on top of a giggling Yoohyeon. The princess placed her hand on one side of Yoohyeon's body to support herself as she carefully leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Yoohyeon's mouth, one that Bora could quickly see Yoohyeon deepening as her hands slipped around Minji's neck.
Minji pulled away after a moment, and Bora could see her sporting a shy grin. It was the first time Bora saw her in such a light – the way, she thought, that Yoohyeon saw her. But as always, just as Bora began to see things Yoohyeon's way, she was quickly reminded of why she never trusted doing so.
Minji's eyes seemed to spot Siyeon like a hawk as she sat up. Her gaze was so trained on the blue- and black-haired girl that Bora seriously wondered if Minji even saw her as well at all. "Lee Siyeon." Her high, piercing voice made Yoohyeon suddenly sit up and notice the girls as well. "I thought that I made it clear that if you are here, you are considered a trespasser."
"And I thought that I made it clear that Yoohyeon was to be back at the trailhead an hour ago."
"You might be quick with your words, Siyeon," Minji hissed, having already stood to her feet and approached the girls, "but I'm about to test how swift you are at avoiding a sword."
Bora hardly had time to process Minji's words before Siyeon removed her hand from hers and shoved Bora as hard as she could to the side. The girl had plenty of strength, and Bora stumbled backwards quite a bit before she was able to regain her footing. The scene now unfolding in front of her, however, made her drop to her suddenly weakened knees in fear anyways.
The long nails that adorned Siyeon's hands were suddenly her only weapons as she ducked under Minji's sword. But use them to her advantage, she most certainly did. Siyeon wasted no time in wrestling the admittedly more fragile princess to the ground, but that didn't last long. Bora wanted nothing more than to tear her eyes away from the scene, but every last muscle in her body was frozen in place.
Bora watched in horror as Siyeon sunk her claws into Minji's neck while both girls rose to their feet again, giving the princess an unfortunate advantage as she used the milliseconds to get a better grip on her weapon. She was moments away, Bora knew, from pushing Siyeon to the ground, where she would be able to end the fight in a fatal manner with sickening ease.
But even with all that she felt for Siyeon, the last thing Bora wanted was to see someone else take her place. Before she even knew what she was doing, she was rebelling against every warning Siyeon had given her, running headfirst – quite literally – into danger. "Yoohyeon!" For the second time that night, the cry seemed to come from anywhere but her mouth, but the tearing feeling in her throat told Bora that it had indeed rushed through her lips in a panicked, breathless scream. "No!"
Bora's arms were outstretched towards her best friend, but they caught everything except the silver-haired girl. A string of curses slipped from Bora's mouth as Minji's sword snagged her skin, leaving scarlet teardrops rushing from her arm, only for Siyeon's claws to get entangled with her hair and push her down with an intense force as Bora stumbled and fell.
"Singnie..." Bora called as her eyes screwed shut, in too much pain for her voice to be very loud or to raise her head from the ground, but it mattered not, because Yoohyeon cried out at the same time.
"Minji! My leg, Minji, oh, it hurts!"
Though her eyes were still shut tight, Bora heard the sound of metal falling to the ground, and felt someone dropping to their knees and carefully touching her pounding head, a gentle graze brushing her hair aside. There were no sharp nails on the petite fingers that caressed her face and no scent of rose reached her nostrils, and Bora knew in a second that she was not being helped by the person she had called for.
Bora opened her eyes just in time to watch Minji scoop her into her arms with ease despite her own petite frame. The princess was looking at her with utter concern, carefully holding Bora's arm that was quite obviously dripping with blood where it wouldn't be as painful to touch. It made Bora swallow hard as she realized that she had just gotten herself into the worst possible situation she could have at the moment: in the arms of a vampire with open cuts.
Minji looked up at Siyeon, which made Bora's eyes slide slowly to the blue- and black-haired girl kneeling across from her with Yoohyeon in her arms. Siyeon carefully moved forward slightly, holding Yoohyeon away from her body to place her on Minji's lap and take Bora instead, but Yoohyeon's hand reached up and clung to her neck instead. "Please. Just help me," she whimpered. "It hurts."
Upon hearing Yoohyeon's pleads, Siyeon quickly placed the girl on the ground next to her and bent over her leg to inspect the wound, ignoring the damage that had been done to her own body to take care of the human in front of her. Bora wanted nothing more than to ask for help from the woman holding her as well, but as Minji began to do the same as Siyeon, Bora screwed her face up in fear. She dared not open her eyes to look at Minji while speaking shakily. "P-Please don't hurt me. I-I know I'm bleeding...just p-please don't h-hurt m-me..."
"I don't get thirsty like that, sweetheart," Minji said slowly, almost sounding confused, as her hands paused briefly over Bora's arm. "Do you really think that I need attendants to do anything for me if I no longer have royal duties? They are there for me so that I may feed from them evenly and cautiously without harming them. I'm no threat to anyone. I wouldn't have let myself near Yoohyeon if that were the case. I'm not an awful person, you know."
Everyone was silent. Bora's eyes flitted open again to see Yoohyeon, who looked as though she knew everything that Minji had said already. Even though the pain she was experiencing made Bora feel as though her mind wasn't working properly, it was slowly beginning to dawn on her that perhaps, indeed, Yoohyeon did know about everything that Minji had said already. It was only Bora and Siyeon that then stared at each other with a look of utter guilt in realization.
"Minji," Siyeon spoke softly after a moment, still carefully attending to Yoohyeon's wound as best as she could with limited resources, "why didn't you tell me that you lived this way?"
Minji snorted. "Why should I talk to you at all? What have you ever done to me besides try to steal my kingdom?"
Siyeon, for once, took her time with her replies; but they were no worse at making everyone speechless than usual when she finally responded. "Yubin and I roam these grounds to keep humans away so you don't get discovered and killed the way your parents were, but you only repaid us with violence because of your fear. I hoped someday our work would not be in vain. I would like to think that that day begins today, since you now know the truth."
Bora felt Minji's hands shaking only moments before she felt the princess's tears begin to drip onto her skin, barely missing her wounds. Wordlessly, Siyeon lifted Yoohyeon into her arms. "Yoohyeon needs to rest. I assume that I will find a suitable place for her in your castle."
"Wait," Minji whispered. She sniffled and wiped her nose and eyes on her arm quickly before gently scooping Bora up the same way Siyeon had picked up Yoohyeon and rising to her feet. "I'm sorry. I-I can't say it enough with my words, so please let me show you with my actions, however long it takes, Siyeon."
Siyeon's gaze, to Bora's surprise, didn't meet the princess's face. Instead, she looked directly at Bora with a soft smile as she spoke. "You have already shown me by the way you took care of my Bora. Now, hurry and tell me where the girls can lay down. They're going to narrowly avoid needing a hospital visit, and I'd like to keep it that way. I know it's been a while since you've ventured out into the world, but believe me, explaining a sword injury isn't as easy as it used to be anymore."
2 Months Later
"Honey, it was a full moon last night. Do you know how much raw meat I just ate?"
Bora clucked her tongue at the blue- and black-haired girl sitting at the head of the large wooden dining table in Dreamcatcher Castle's main hall. "I made pancakes, I am serving you pancakes, you are going to eat pancakes, and that is final."
With that, she left her girlfriend's side to refill Yoohyeon's plate, which Minji immediately leaned over and began covering with syrup as she laughed. "Siyeon, you're really beginning to rub off on Bora. It's coming back to bite you."
"Bit of an odd thing for a vampire to say," Siyeon retorted with a roll of her eyes as she shoved a forkful of pancake into her mouth.
Minji laughed again as she brought a piece of pancake she had carefully cut to Yoohyeon's lips for her, watching lovingly as the silver-haired girl took a bite. "Jealous that you have to hunt instead of having your meals available at any time, are you?" she teased.
"No," Siyeon replied simply. She reached out and grabbed Bora's hand as Bora walked past her to return to the kitchen. "Jealous that I don't have someone to hand-feed me." She looked up at Bora with pleading eyes as she ended her sentence.
"Unlike Minji," Bora said, looking back at Siyeon with raised eyebrows, "I have to feed myself food that is acceptable for humans, so please excuse me while I retrieve my own breakfast and eat it before I baby my girlfriend."
Siyeon let go of Bora's hand with a grumble, making a smirk cross Bora's lips as she returned to the kitchen. "Go ahead and eat, guys. Thanks for your help with serving everything," she announced.
"Thanks for making breakfast for us!" Gahyeon called as she dashed out of the kitchen, heading straight for her place next to Siyeon at the dining table.
"Yeah, thank you," Handong and Yubin repeated in unison before sharing a giggle between them and walking hand-in-hand out of the archway.
Bora shook her head at them with a smile, watching the girls walk – or, in Gahyeon's case, run – away before she grabbed her own plate of food, already looking forward to a new day that she knew was bound to be filled with adventure in the Dreamworld.