A.N. So, I've decided to write a fanfiction for Bride of the Water God, even though there are other fics I should pay attention to, and with school and an internship coming up, I'm not sure how much time I can devote to this, but I will certainly try! I recently finished binge-watching TVN's Bride of the Water God, a kdrama based (pretty loosely, I'd say) on Yun Mi-kyung's manhwa Bride of the Water God, and I just really wanted fanfiction for it, and, finding very little, I decided to write my own.

As a warning, this will be based mostly on the TV adaptation, but I will incorporate a lot of the manhwa characters, history, and relationships to the plot of the show, which will be obvious soon for readers of the manhwa.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think! Theories and constructive criticism welcome!

Seoul, Republic of Korea (South Korea)
2018

The beeping of an alarm clock filled the room, and grabbed Yoon So-ah from sleep. She blinked in confusion, adjusting to the light of day, and reached for the offending sound; it was her phone this time, not the actual clock her co-worker Yoo Sang-yoo had given her.

After making its way across the wooden surface of her bedside table, her hand finally latched onto her phone, and she pulled it to her, silencing the digital alarm. In the resulting quiet, So-ah could hear other morning sounds, such as the chatter of birds, a trash truck going about its morning route, other cars rushing by on the road...

...and the sound of breathing from the person lying next to her.

So-ah glanced over her shoulder to see Habaek, eyes closed, face turned towards her as he laid on his side; the sheet covered up to his chest, one muscular arm thrown over it. She tilted her head, smiling - she had fallen asleep on Habaek's lap last night as they watched TV, but she had a hazy memory of him placing her on her bed a little while later. Carefully, she slid the sheet off her own body and swung her legs out of bed, knowing she needed to get up now - the alarm had been set for a reason, after all.

Just as she placed her feet on the floor, an arm reached around and pulled her back; she let out a startled yip.

"And where," Habaek's deep voice began, muffled slightly by the pillow and lingering sleep, "do you think you're going?"

So-ah gave a slight smile, tilting her head backwards to look at him, "I have to get up," she told him, as if he didn't already know. "I have work, remember? Patients to see?"

He grunted, and tightened his hold on her. "Leave them. Stay here with me. I'm more important."

"You don't want my clinic to shut down again, do you?" So-ah reached up and placed her hand on Habaek's arm. She meant to push it off her - or try to, at least - but found herself stroking it instead. "You never took care of my money troubles, you know. I was really counting on that." He didn't respond, so she continued, teasingly, "Though, of course, I could ask Hu-ye for a little loan, if you don't want me to go -"

The arm slithered off her. "No," Habaek declared, rising halfway; So-ah fell further against him, balancing herself by placing her arms behind her. "No loans and no deals. You know I don't like that he can give you things I can't. I don't want to owe him."

"Which is why you need me to get up," So-ah pointed out, a teasing smile still on her face. "And you should pick up the pace on finding your own job. You don't have Namsuri to do that for you anymore."

It had been a little over a month since Habaek returned from the Realm of the Gods to grant her wish, to stay with her before he ascended the throne he was born to occupy. In that time, Habaek had tried some more modelling and hawking street wares, but he wanted something that earned more, and refused to do some of the jobs Namsuri had taken.

"Hmmph. Fine." Habaek pushed her up, and made shooing motions. "If you have such important things to do, then go and do them."

So-ah stood up, walking around the side of the bed and pulling at his arm. "C'mon, c'mon, you gotta get up, too! Aren't you going to see me off?" She pouted at him to drive her point home, and the god sighed.

"Get ready," he said, rising from the bed. Her eyes roamed his body - he worn pajama shorts and nothing else, and a small blush tinted her cheeks. He noticed, and, smirking, opened his drawer in her dresser and took out a shirt, pulling it over his head. His smirk grew wider at her pout.

"Not fair," she whined. He brushed by her, going down the stairs.

"Get ready," he repeated. She watched him until the top of his black hair disappeared, then sighed. He was far too much a tease for her to handle.

When she headed downstairs herself, dressed in a pink shirt and professional black pants - her doctor's coat was at the clinic - and her hair done in a bun, she found the water god setting the kitchen table. Two bowls of doenjang soup, a bowl of cooked rice in the middle, and a plate with a steamed egg next to each bowl sat ready and waiting on the table. Their master-servant cups were placed in front of the plates.

"My, looks good," So-ah said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. She placed a finger on her chin as if wondering, and asked, "Who made it?"

Habaek paused in sitting down in his own chair to glare at her. "Well," he said, "if it tastes good, we'll know you didn't make it."

"Oh! How rude!"

Some time later they finished breakfast - which So-ah thought was good, but she stubbornly refused to say it out loud - and So-ah was heading out the door to work. Once more, an arm pulled her back, and this time spun her around until she was facing Habaek, who had wrapped both arms around her.

"Habaek..."

He leaned down and kissed her, silencing her protest. She leaned into the kiss, savoring it, before they pulled apart. Habaek looked at her, roaming her face with his eyes.

"I just wanted one more. Before you left," he told her. She smiled at him, and reached up to kiss him again.

"I'll be back tonight," she promised, reluctantly disentangling herself from his arms; just as reluctantly, he let her.

"Come back early," he said. "Listen to me this time, alright? You never do."

She just smiled at him again, brighter and more beautiful in his eyes than any sun. "Of course."

...

When So-ah reached her clinic, walking through the door to the reception area, she saw her nurse, Sang-yoo, talking with a man, about their age and a bit shorter than Sang-yoo; his hair had been bleached and cut very close to his head.

"Good morning," she called, interrupting the two. They both turned, and Sang-yoo snapped to attention.

"Oh, Doctor, good morning!" he exlaimed. He rushed over to his desk and shuffled through some papers. "Your first appointment is in twenty minutes, with Kim Soo Mi, a new patient, and then we have some regulars lined up - I'll put the list on your desk."

"Mmm, thank-you," So-ah acknowledged. She looked at the man, who did not seem happy to be here, curiously. "What about him? Who's this?"

"You mean you don't recognize me, Yoon So-ah?" the man asked, looking her right in the eyes. His face looked sharp, gaunt, almost, though he didn't seem undernourished. "Of course, I had hoped to never see your selfish, self-righteous face ever again, so I guess that's a win for me."

So-ah drew back, confused and offended as Sang-yoo hissed something at the man. His voice was slightly familiar...and now that she thought about it, she did recognize him.

"M-Min Chul..." she said. Something tightened in her chest. This was a friend of Sang-yoo, and, more importantly, another child that So-ah's father had taken in during their childhood. So-ah had refused to call any of them her foster siblings, and even now she felt uncomfortable with the idea, but there was no denying they had grown up together, well into their teenage years, but it had been a while.

So-ah swallowed and asked quietly, "Wha...what are you doing here?"

"He came to visit me," Sang-yoo said hurriedly, taking hold of his friend's arm and trying to usher him out. "Something came up about the wedding - he works at the rental hall we're having it in. But I'm sorry, Doctor, I didn't think he'd be so rude. He's leaving now."

Min Chul rolled his eyes, but allowed Sang-yoo to push him out the door. So-ah watched him go, slightly perturbed. Hyung Sik had been around a few more times, but still seemed uneasy around the doctor, and So-ah hadn't interacted with Sang-yoo's other friends. She'd felt justified in that before, wanting to distance herself from them and her painful past, and hadn't Sang-yoo said they hated her enough to kill her? But...well, she was a psychiatrist, after all; shouldn't she be trying to resolve traumatic incidents rather than ignore them? The past few months, with Habaek's support and the revelations about her father had made her reconsider her position on the children her father tried to help.

Sang-yoo was turning away from the door. "I'm sorry, Doctor," he was saying, repeating his apology. "I try to keep this a professional work space, I know you like that. I didn't think he would say something like that - and in your own office, too! I -"

"Sang-yoo," So-ah interrupted. He looked at her, glasses slighly askew. "I think...could you tell Min Chul, Hyung Sik, and the others, that I'd...like to meet them sometime? I'll pay for dinner, or something, or have them to my house...soon, maybe? I...need to talk to them."

Sang-yoo looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "D-doctor? Are you alright? You're not going through another personality change, are you?"

"Oh, never mind!" So-ah exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "Here I am trying to be nice to this punk, and I get questioned like a criminal! Fine, fine. I'll be in my office, let me know when Ms. Kim gets here."

She opened the door to her office, leaving it cracked slightly, and descended the steps, shaking her head a little. "Honestly, that punk..." she muttered to herself.

Still her lips quirked upwards a little, especially when she heard, just barely, Sang-yoo, calling someone and saying, "Hey, Hyun Ah, could you tell the others something for me..."

...
Sky Country, Realm of the Gods

In the throne room of the palace of Sky Country sat the ruler of Sky Country, one thin elbow on the arm of the throne, hand laid lightly on his cheek, supporting his head. He wore a robe of light blue silk, embrodiered with white cranes. A servant knelt on the floor before him, head bowed and one arm crossed over her chest; the tip of her black braid just barely touched the ground.

"You know what to do, Chun Hoo?" the king asked.

"Yes, my lord," the servant answered, not daring to look up. "I will not fail you."

"Good. Then go now."

The servant nodded, and then left, hurrying to carry out her master's order. The Sky King looked out one of the big, bright windows in the throne room, spying, in the distance, the spires of the Imperial Palace, where the Emperor of all Gods resided. His red lips twisted into a smile as he thought of the Emperor's throne. If all went as planned - and it would, he was sure of that - then it would soon be him ruling over the gods.

And if Habaek of the Water Country, or anyone else, got in his way...well, he had plans for that, too.

Just in case.

A.N. - I hope I got everyone in character so far. Obviously a lot of headcanons and theories playing out here, but what do you think? I'd love to know.