Hwang was generally not an optimistic girl-war and famine had taken all her family members away from her at a young age and at the ripe age of 12, she was forced to flee Suiko and change her entire way of life. She wasn't the best hunter, but she could catch a rabbit or two when she needed to. Rather than growing frail, her travels made her body stronger than a girl of her age would normally have.

To avoid being recognized by the nobility of other tribes, Hwang was quick to chop off all her signature strawberry blonde hair. With shorter hair, she was able to hide it more easily, and blend in a bit better. Hwang had never been one to fawn over the dresses that noble women so often liked to drape themselves in, but she decided it would be best to stick to her hakama. Of course wearing the hakama brought on a whole new host of problems that had nothing to do with her lineage.

Right after Hwang turned 13 years old, she was exploring the markets of the Wind Tribe and happened upon two young men seeming to be playing tag around the vendor stalls. Before she turned to slip into the crowd, the blonde boy was in front of her and blocking her from escaping. Hwang saw her whole life flash before her eyes, thinking she was to be sold into slavery and forced to be the mistress of some old geezer.

As she was thinking these things, the blonde boy painted a goofy smile onto his face and tilted his head a bit. "My my, we haven't had a cute girl like this show up at the marketplace in a while, eh Taewoo?"

From the shadows behind another vendor cart, a black haired boy wearing a maroon headband adorned with tassels and blue beads emerged. He flashed a cheeky smirk to the blonde boy and stood on her left side, to box her in. Immediately, Hwang slightly squared her shoulders a bit, ready to pull out the dagger she kept in a hip satchel hidden from sight.

The man named Taewoo must've seen the slight change in her posture and pushed the blonde boy out of the way. "Allow me to diffuse the situation. This imbecile doesn't understand the dangers of being a woman." He chuckled a bit when he saw the way Hwang quirked a brow, clearly not letting her guard down. "My name is Taewoo. I'm one of the guards standing at the entrance of Fuuga. This is my partner Handae. He's known to be the fastest man in the entire Wind Tribe, which is probably why he startled you."

Hwang still kept a stern gaze on Taewoo, sensing that he was the more dangerous of the two. "The only thing that startled me was the fact that two young men were playing tag like a bunch of children."

Handae let out a low whistle. "She's got a mouth on her Taewoo…"

Hwang whipped her head towards him and clenched her fists. "I've got a few other things too, and right now it's looking like you're going to get a good taste of a scorned woman."

Handae only met her glare with a soft smile. But Hwang wasn't stupid-she could see the hint of superiority in his eyes.

Taewoo immediately stepped between the two. "Handae. Step down. Now."

Handae looked mildly surprised to hear his partner say such a thing, but he didn't question it and went off to go explore some other part of the market.

Hwang took this as her cue to also leave and nodded her head, but Taewoo stayed in front of her. Hwang's growing suspicions of this man were only increasing when he said, "I'd like you to meet the general of our tribe."

All of Hwang's red flags went off at that moment. "Absolutely not. In what world would you let some random stranger just meet the general? In any case Wind Tribe affairs are none of my business."

Taewoo took a strand of her hair and twisted it around his index finger. "I think we both know that you aren't just a random stranger...Lady Hwang."

Hwang's eyes widened in fear as her worst nightmares came to pass. Even with all the caution she'd taken to blend in and hide her features, she'd been spotted. "W-what do you want?"

Taewoo chuckled a little under his breath. She just realized how close his face was to hers but in the moment it didn't matter in the slightest. Someone knew her greatest secret and he had all the power to completely crush her. "I just told you what I want. Come meet our general."

Hwang huffed a reluctant sigh, realizing she had no choice. She pulled her face away from Taewoo's and slowly followed him to the tent that was very obviously for the general. Hwang had been too young to remember the general, she just knew that he was an older man who commanded the room.

When Hwang looked up to see the general, she was surprised to see a younger man sitting directly on the general's left. The general immediately looked to Taewoo when they walked in the tent. At that moment, Hwang realized Handae had returned and was standing on her right side.

"General Mundok, I think you'll want to sit down for this one. Don't want you to break your hip." Taewoo smirked. Everyone in the tent erupted into laughter and Mundok bonked the young man on the head.

"On with it Taewoo. Who is this that you've brought?"
Taewoo slightly turned his head to look at Hwang and in the dimmer light of the tent, she realized his eyes were positively shining at her. For a second, she could hear her blood rushing in her ears, but when he looked away, she snapped out of it. "This girl, her name is Eun Hwang and she comes seeking refuge."

Hwang bit back her rage and added, "According to Sir Taewoo, I'm some damsel in distress that needs refuge so he decided to blackmail me into being here."

The younger man who had been sitting next to Mundok hopped out of his seat and stood in front of Hwang. "Blackmail? This guy?"

"Is that not what I just said? Anyway, who are you?"

The young man seemed ruffled by that question and was about to give her a reply, but instead the general jumped into the conversation. "Hak, come here. You weren't addressed so don't act like a big shot."

The young man huffed and resumed his seat next to the general. The general continued, "So I finally have the honor of meeting the young daughter of the Euns. They always told me you had a sharp tongue for such a young girl."

Hwang sighed, removing her worn straw hat from her head. "So you did know my parents. Did they tell you anything else about me?"

"No, they were quite private about you actually. They said you weren't allowed to go outside much as well."

"Mother and Father had their reasons."

General Mundok paused and asked, "Young lady, may I ask why you're wearing a hakama?"

Hwang took a small step back and replied, "Well, that depends on why you're asking me."

Mundok tilted his head. "I think it's odd that you're wearing something like that...as if it was made for you…"

At those words, Hwang took off, throwing her hat at Handae and bursting from the general's tent. She had been close to slipping away before the two men stopped her so she headed that way as fast as she could. She didn't care who was looking but she had to make sure that those Wind Tribe folks didn't learn more about her past.

Before she could even leave her thoughts, strong arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground. She screamed at the suddenness of the movement and looked down to see that Handae was holding her up.

"Didn't Taewoo tell you I'm known to be the fastest? Of course I was going to-"

Hwang didn't hear the rest of his sentence. A sudden, splitting pain erupted in her forehead and her palms instantly got sweaty. Her heart rate was increasing and she was losing sight in her left eye.

"Oh no no no...Not now!"

But it didn't matter. Before she could wiggle away from Handae, her body slowly started to go numb and limp and the little slivers of sight she had in her right eye were starting to fade. All of a sudden, she was plunged into darkness.

After what felt like an eternity, Hwang took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the oxygen they craved. Hwang blinked, expecting to be on the ground in some alley covered in dirt. Instead, she sat in a room with a light linen blanket draped over her. Her hair was put into a small ponytail and the clothes she'd been wearing hung on a clothesline, seemingly freshly washed. She looked down to see she was wearing something like a light kimono, with a simple blue sash tied loosely around her waist.

Immediately, Hwang sat up and her head started to spin from the recent pain. Hwang couldn't even bother herself with the sound of the door opening, as she tried to fight back the incoming nausea. When she had finally righted herself, she saw that a young girl, probably around her age, was setting down a glass of water and dipping a towel into a small bowl of water.

"No need to worry Miss Hwang. I'm here on orders from Taewoo to make sure you're staying stable. My name is Ayame. I'm another member of the Wind Tribe."

Hwang smiled a bit. It was nice to be around another young girl. "No need for formalities. You may call me Hwang. I'm sure we're the same age anyway."

Ayame looked a bit surprised at what she'd said. "Hm, the boys said you had a sharp tongue, but you seem like an absolute darling to me. Must be because they understand women." she joked while giggling to herself.

Hwang gulped down the water Ayame had left for her and removed the blanket from around her body. Ayame looked shocked that she was trying to get up but instead of stopping her, the other girl immediately went to her side. "A little cabin fever, hm? Let me help you up and I can show you our tribe!"

As the two girls walked around the tribe, Hwang couldn't help letting her guard down. Everyone she encountered was extremely hospitable and she saw nothing but smiles painted on everyone's faces. Hwang slowly began to feel a bit envious of the lives these people led, bitterly aware of how different her life had played out. Ayame kept walking with her and showing her different details of the capital city until she abruptly stopped in front of a specific house.

Standing in front of the door to this house was Taewoo, Handae and the boy named Hak. But with them was a small boy, who clung to Hak like a magnet. Ayame seemed to have subconsciously stopped to watch the boys play with the child. Hwang considered herself an observant person, and she very quickly noticed how gentle and careful the three boys were around the child. It made something like envy flare up in her chest once more, and she decided then that it would probably be best for them to leave.

Just as Hwang was going to ask Ayame to hurry along, Taewoo spotted the two girls and called them over. Hwang didn't want to tell Ayame not to go, but she would look quite cold if she just stood away from everyone, so she decided it would be best to go along with Ayame.

"Gentleman." she greeted briefly.

Handae snorted. "Still as cold as ever. Even though-"

"Stop Handae. Your teasing is annoying." Hak butted in. "Besides, it's clear that you're the one she dislikes."

Hwang let a bit a chuckle out and that seemed to surprise even Ayame. "I have every right to be standoffish. After all, I am a runaway noble girl, as you all now know."

Taewoo stood up and handed her a small wooden box. "This is my way of apologizing for forcing you into this corner. I saw you in the markets and thought you'd want to find refuge, even if you were a little standoffish."

Hwang carefully took the box and opened it. Inside, there was a small navy blue string, with two dark brown feathers and one white bead at the end of a short tassel.

"This is a true headband of the Wind Tribe-forged right within these gates!" he said excitedly. "Mundok said to give this to you as an offer for your refuge. It's your decision to keep it or not."

Hwang looked at the box and then up at Taewoo. He very clearly wanted her to accept this offering, and while she knew he was just trying to help her it felt like she was suffocating. Suddenly, she found herself blurting, "Why would you want to give someone like me this offering?"

The gang all blinked at her, and Taewoo tilted his head. "Someone...like you? What do you mean?"

"Did you not see what happened in the market? Is this just one long hallucination?"

Taewoo scratched his neck. "Your body started to spasm wildly and as much as we called your name, you didn't respond. We figured you got hurt in some way or you have some kind of...condition."

Hwang snorted. "I have a condition alright…" she paused and looked up at Taewoo. The urge to tell him this in private washed over her and before she knew it, she was grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the others. The moment she touched his hand, she felt a spark like electricity run through her body and suddenly she was pleasantly warm. "Taewoo, I'm going to tell you something. It's private though, so I must have you promise to not tell a soul."

Taewoo looked shocked that she was speaking so candidly. "S-sure. What is it, Hwang?"

She let go of his hand and sucked in a breath. "The reason I was so scared when you saw me isn't just because of my lineage. There's a reason my parents instructed me not to go outside too often, and why I own a hakama." She paused, feeling her heart beating wildly at the thought of actually telling someone. "I am a priestess. Specifically, I have the Sight. There were several families of nobility in Kouka who suspected this and threatened to use my power 'for the good of the country'. My parents then made sure that I was not to go outside or speak of my visions with anyone outside our trusted estate. When war broke out, some noble families took it upon themselves to get a hold of me no matter the cost. They ordered soldiers to murder my parents and burn our estate to the ground. I escaped, but I wasn't able to stay in Suiko for long. So I fled the Water Tribe altogether and have been roaming Kouka ever since."

Taewoo's eyes had widened in horror over the course of the story, and he immediately wrapped his arms around Hwang and pulled her into a hug. "Hwang, you are always welcome to stay here. The Wind Tribe will protect you, whether or not you choose to live within these walls."

Hwang stepped away from him and bowed a little. "Thank you for offering me refuge here. I will accept this offer and stay. I think some human interaction is just what I need." she said, smiling brightly while placing the headband neatly on herself. Taewoo smiled back at her and said, "The headband really suits you. Old Man Mundok still has a good eye."

Hwang laughed a little. "I guess I should thank him later then."

Taewoo cleared his throat a little. "Sorry for scaring you at the market. I just didn't know how to approach you."

Hwang shrugged. "I don't think you could've approached me in any way that would have made me less nervous. It's been quite some time since I had a real conversation. It's nice."

Taewoo twiddled his fingers a bit before saying, "Can I ask you something?"

Hwang nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

"So...in the market when your body was spasming...was that a vision?"

Hwang let out a soft sigh. "Yes...it was. They can be quite...overwhelming, to say the least."

Taewoo cleared his throat. "Well if you ever feel it coming on, don't hesitate to call okay?"

Hwang tilted her head. For some reason, she felt like Taewoo wanted to say more than what he was. "Taewoo, do you want to say anything else? It seems like you're dancing around something in particular."

Taewoo chuckled and let out a sigh. "Yes well, I supposed there is. I didn't want to seem invasive but...I was wondering what your vision was."

"Oh."

"Y-yeah, I'm sure I've crossed a line there. Forget I even said it-"

"N-no, I mean...I figured you would want to ask something else. I've never thought of my visions of something of particular interest. Especially since they tend to be a bit vague in meaning."

"Maybe if you tell someone about it, you'll have an idea of what it means."

Hwang nodded. "That's true. I've always been the only one to process these things. But two heads could be better than one in this situation."
"S-so you'll tell me?"

"Don't sound so excited. I'm telling you they aren't that interesting." Hwang smiled as she thought back to what she saw. "Hmm, I guess I remember it first starting off quite dark. Kinda like I was freefalling in the darkness. And then suddenly, I saw blue and around me were fluffy white clouds. I realized I was falling through the skies, but I couldn't see the ground. A strong burst of wind blew me into a cloud, removing my ability to see around me. When I could finally see around me again, wisps of wind swirled around me. I was granted the ability to see the ground underneath me, which was decimated and seemingly lifeless. The ground got closer and closer, and when I finally collided, I was still on a cloud. I got off the cloud and with every step I took, there appeared a small bud of a flower not yet bloomed. The last thing I remember was the cloud I had floated down on leading me down a broken brick road."

Taewoo nodded, trying to unravel the mystery of her vision. "I have a feeling that this is a vision of promise. It's trying to tell you that even though the road to happiness is fraught with obstacles, that eventually you'll light your own path."

Hwang smiled. "Hm that's a good way of interpreting that. I'd like to think these references to wind and clouds are a positive sign to me ending up here, in Fuuga."

Taewoo smiled back at her. "So you think our meeting wasn't by chance, but by fate?"

Hwang twisted the tassel on her headband. "Yes, I think that would be entirely correct."

Hello again! This chapter was kinda unplanned hehe I was originally going to continue the story where the first chapter left off, but I felt it was more important to establish a little bit of Hwang's backstory since it's extremely important for her character and also for her relationship with the other characters-namely Taewoo, Handae, Soowon, Hak, and Yona. Obviously, this is only the tip of the iceberg, but I want to space out her backstory. So for now, I hope yall enjoyed this snippet!

love, dere :3