Bi Ryeom, god of wind and storms, citizen of Sky Country in the Realm of the Gods, sat on his plush couch in his penthhouse suite, idly amusing himself by scrolling through posts on his phone. Mura was out at a shoot, this time for a commercial for some new beauty products. She'd complained to him that it didn't make sense, because her beauty was divine and couldn't possibly be improved by cosmetics, and humans were just deluding themselves thinking they could replicate it. He'd pointed out she didn't have to do it, but she'd just scowled at him and left for work without another word.
A knock on the door startled him, and he stilled, looking at the door in surprise. Mura would never knock; besides the fact that she had a key (and that he never bothered to lock up anyway), she would just barge in loudly with no concern for him. Which was fine by him really. But then who else would it be? He hadn't ordered room service or anything...maybe it was a mail delivery, or a fan trying to find where Mura lived. Or Manager Kim?
The knock came again, and Bi Ryeom grinned, intrigued. "Only one way to find out," he said out loud, and got up off the couch, placing his phone on the coffee table beside him. He reached the door and pulled it open, leaning against it with one hand in his pocket, an amused smirk on his face. When it registered who was in front of him, however, the smirk faltered.
A woman stood at the door, long, thick black hair done in a braid. She was small, about 5'3", and her eyes were a golden brown color. She wore a simple blue dress with a black belt and black flats. Looking at the wind god with a piercing stare, she said, "Hello, Bi Ryeom." Her lips turned up at the corner, but it wasn't a smile. "It's been a long time."
"Ch-Chun Hoo," Bi Ryeom stuttered, shocked at her appearance. Like him, she was also a citizen of Sky Country, and the personal attendant of the Sky King. An uncomfortable feeling settled in his gut as he remembered the last time they had spoken to each other. "Um, yeah. It...has been a while. What are you doing here?"
"May I come in?" she replied, gesturing to his suite. Bi Ryeom blinked, and then nodded, moving aside so she could enter. He shook his head to clear it, and, recovering, said,
"Ah, of course. My home is open to any gods in need, especially Sky Country ones."
Chun Hoo didn't reply at first, simply looking, taking in everything. "You've done well for yourself," she noted, before turning to face him. "Of course, you are literally a god among humans, so it shouldn't be a surprise."
"What are you doing here, Chun Hoo?" Bi Ryeom repeated. He resisted the urge to check his phone for the time - Mura should be wrapping up and be back soon.
"Well, I'm not in need," she answered. Her lips twitched again, and this time she did smile. "Is it so hard to believe that I just wanted to see you? You've been away from home for many years."
Bi Ryeom scowled, losing any semblance of friendliness. He headed away from the door, brushing by her to go to his counter. He needed a drink to deal with this.
"Liar," he said, once he'd opened his fridge and poured himself a glass of whiskey. "We both know you never do or say anything that the king hasn't ordered you to."
The hesitant smile disappeared, and she scowled back at him. "What about when we were together? Do you think I was your lover because His Majesty ordered me to?" She said the last part with a sneer. "You think too much of yourself, Bi Ryeom. Or, too little, perhaps."
He set the glass down with a heavy clunk. "As I recall, that is exactly what happened. You said so yourself."
"Oh, you remember that? I guess you don't remember what else I said that day, though, do you?" She gestured with her arm, indicating the blanket on the couch that had Mura's face on it, and the coffee table, with pamphlets of her latest movie coming out in 2019. "You're still chasing after that witch, I see."
Bi Ryeom was suddenly in front of Chun Hoo, like a speedy wind. "Lady Mura is a goddess, and a citizen of Water Country," he told her, in a tight voice. His hands were clenched at his side. "You will show her the proper respect."
Chun Hoo looked at him, deeply unimpressed. "Still obsessed with Water Country, too, it seems." She shook her head, and then sighed. "Oh, Bi Ryeom. No wonder the king wanted me to come. His concerns about you were right." She raised a hand, as if to touch him, but then brought it back down.
Bi Ryeom pulled back, surprised by her words. He knew Chun Hoo must have come at the Sky King's request, but it had to do with him personally? How?
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Chun Hoo pursed her lips, then said, "His Majesty the Sky King requests that you return home, Lord Bi Ryeom."
Bi Ryeom swallowed. As much as he disliked Habaek, especially whenever he tried to be kingly and commanding, and as much as he loved his own country, the wind god had spent so much time in Water Country and the human world because he could not stand his own king. It could only mean trouble if he was asking Bi Ryeom to come back.
"'Requests'?" he said at last. "That's all he said?"
Chun Hoo hesitated, then nodded, a bit reluctantly. "It is an invitation, Bi Ryeom, not an order. Not yet."
Bi Ryeom turned away from Chun Hoo, back to his drink. "Well," he said, in a more sarcastic tone, "then please tell His Majesty that I decline." He grabbed his drink, finished it in one swallow, and then spun around to face her again. "Respectfully, of course."
The goddess stared at him, and for a second, he thought she looked genuinely grieved. But then she pressed her lips together, nodded, and bowed politely. "Of course."
She turned on her heel and headed to the door, but then paused. She looked back at him, then glanced down at the pamphlets of Mura. Her lips twisted into another sneer, and as she left, she said, "Say hello to your wife for me, Bi Ryeom. It's been so long, you must have had the marriage ceremony by now, right?"
Bi Ryeom watched her go, able to hear her footsteps down the hall for a long time afterwards.
...
CEO Shin Hu-ye sat at his desk, looking through some files on the Block World Project in Chungcheong Province; it had been started a few months ago and thankfully was proceeding right on schedule.
A sound at the door had him looking up to see Secretary Min entering, more paperwork held safely in his grasp.
"Changes to the tenant contracts need your signature, sir," Min said, with no preamble. Hu-ye appreciated that about him, though; there was no slyness, no tricks, just business and the open truth. "And our guests from China will be arriving sometime this evening to discuss the expansion deal."
"Ah, yes, thank-you, Secretary Min," Hu-ye answered, taking the papers from the other man. Something smaller than the forms, an envelope, slipped between them and fell onto his desk, startling them both. It was cream-colored and embossed; elegant calligraphy adorned the front, spelling out Hu-ye's name and address, as well as the sender's.
Min recovered more quickly, seeming to recognize the envelope. "Oh, that was in with your mail as well, sir." He paused, then added in a curious tone, "It looks like a wedding invitation. Do you know someone getting married?"
"No, no one," Hu-ye replied, turning the envelope over in his hands. For a brief moment, an image of So-ah sprang to mind. He quickly pushed it aside, as well as the resigned sadness that came with it. The envelope didn't have her name or address on it - and even if it had, it was only right for him to feel happy for her, even if it was with that water god. She was his friend, after all.
Min was staring at him, glancing between him and envelope, obviously curious but polite enough not to say anything. Hu-ye held it a moment longer, then set it aside; business had to come first.
"Well, I'll look at it later," he said, with a polite smile. Min nodded in understanding.
"Of course, sir. I'll get back to my own duties." He bowed in farewell and left Hu-ye's office.
Some time later, after going through the tenant contracts and looking over once more the outline for the meeting with the Chinese today, Hu-ye heard a buzz from his phone. Picking it up, he saw it was a text from So-ah.
Are we still on for lunch today?
Hu-ye smiled, glad for the question; in truth, he had pretty much forgotten their lunch plans. Looking at the time, he was relieved to see he wasn't late yet. Quickly, he typed out a response,
Of course. I'll see you soon.
A moment later, and then, Great. See you then.
They met at a little cafe about halfway between their respective headquarters, a place they'd been before but not frequently. A little after Habaek had left, about a year ago, Hu-ye had insisted on having lunch or the occasional breakfast date, strictly platonic, of course. "We're friends, aren't we?" he'd asked So-ah when she expressed some reluctance. "Friends have meals together, don't they?"
She'd smiled and conceded that point, and since then it had become an almost weekly occurence. Hu-ye knew better than to impose on So-ah and Habaek's evenings - he'd asked once before, when he knew he was on speaker phone and the water god could hear him, but mostly just for fun to hear his indignant response and So-ah's laughter in the background.
So-ah was already there when he arrived, and they bowed to each other in greeting before sitting down. A waitress quickly came by to take their order.
"So," So-ah began while they were waiting, "how are resort affairs going? Is it surviving even without Hyera?"
"Somehow," Hu-ye answered. "My marketing team was very disappointed, but what can you do?" He took a sip of water. "And the clinic? Everything is going well?"
"Yes, very. To be honest, I was barely able to slip away today, I have so many appointments. I had to push back Sang-yoo to come."
Hu-ye frowned thoughtfully at the name. "Sang-yoo...oh. I think I got a letter from him today."
So-ah looked surprised. The waitress came then with their food, and they paused their conversation to thank her and accept their food. "Sang-yoo?" So-ah said, resuming. "Wh-why? What did he send you? if it's something embarrassing, please ignore it and forgive me for having such an idiotic assistant."
Hu-ye grinned at that. "Oh, no, no, nothing like that. Your nurse can be...persistant at times, but he is good-hearted. He worries about you, I know." So-ah waved a hand dismissively, but ducked her head a bit, accepting the statement. "But...well, I didn't get a chance to look at it, but it looked like a wedding invitation."
She seemed even more surprised. "He send you an invitation? Really?"
"Oh, well, now that offends me," Hu-ye replied. "I'm a fun guy, aren't I? Why wouldn't anyone want me at a wedding?"
"Oh, that's not what I meant!" A faint blush appeared on the doctor's cheeks. "I just...I don't want Sang-yoo to be overstepping."
"I don't know. I might have to hold this against you. I get offended very easily, you know." Hu-ye smiled as So-ah, this time, rolled her eyes, exasperated. He took a bite of his noodles, but a buzzing sound had him finishing quickly and fishing his phone out of his pocket. It was Secretary Min, saying that there was a problem with a long-standing lawsuit against Beriwon Resort that he needed to review.
"Ah," Hu-ye said, apologetically. "I'm afraid I have to cut this short. I'm needed back at the office."
She gave him a small pout, but then nodded. "I understand. But please don't leave offended, alright? I know how you can hold a grudge. I take back my earlier tone, okay? Do you forgive me?"
His cheeky smile softened as he rose from his seat; she followed suit, setting her spoon down. "Of course," he told her. "We'll talk soon?"
"Yes, that sounds good."
They bowed to each other in farewell, then, and Hu-ye took some money from his pocket and left if on the table; it was more than enough for both their meals, and he hoped So-ah would let him take care of it. But, duty called, and so, with one more bow to her, he headed back to his office, typing out an answer while he walked.
...
Today's work was slightly better than usual. But let's still go home together tonight - Water Ghost.
So-ah smirked at the message on her phone. She wondered what job Habaek had found, but decided to ask him when he came later. It wouldn't be too long, after all; her last patient had just left. It had been fortunate, after all, that Hu-ye had had to leave early, since one of her new patients had come in early, quite bereaved over an accident his imaginary friend had gotten into, one that he blamed another imaginary friend for causing.
Okay. You know where I'll be.
A few seconds later, an answer appeared: You'd better be. I'll be there soon.
So-ah placed her phone down on her desk and rose from her chair, stretching her legs. She could hear Sang-yoo moving about upstairs, probably mopping the floor. It had rained the other night, and so a lot of mud had been tracked in that day.
All of a sudden she heard a clatter upstairs, and a muffled shout. So-ah frowned, heading towards the door up the stairs. "Sang-yoo?" she called.
The lights flickered twice, and then died. So-ah grabbed for the doorknob, but it wouldn't open, no matter how hard she turned. "Sang-yoo? Sang-yoo! Did you lock the door? Open up!" There was no response, even when she tried banging on the door. Something akin to fear settled in her stomach as Sang-yoo remained silent. "Sang-yoo!"
A cold breeze passed along her skin, causing goosebumps, even though she knew the windows were closed. She had only a moment to consider that odd, because in the next second something - the wind? - threw her against the wall. Her head banged against it painfully, and she half-slid, half-fell down the stairs, landing on her knees. There was a ringing in her ears, and she still hadn't adjusted to the darkness, causing her to panic even more.
"Wha-what's happening?" So-ah cried, reaching out blindly to pull herself up on the wall. "Is it - is it spirits? Ghosts?"
A howling wind tore through her office, scattering the papers on her desk, as well as whipping her hair and clothes about. A strong gust was powerful enough to lift So-ah up and move her across the room, causing her to crash into her desk. Pain exploded in her midsection and head, again, the darkness, which she'd finally gotten used to, began to look blacker.
Habaek, she thought desparately. She tried to find her phone, but her searching hands yielded nothing. Habaek, please!
The wind picked up again, and this time, when it threw her against he wall, the darkness covered her completely, and she blacked out.
A.N. - Uh, so, how was this one? Please let me know? I feel like I kinda rambled with Hu-ye's part, but I wanted to do a sort of "where are they now" with him, and show his and So-ah's friendship - I really liked their relationship on the show, even if I'm okay with them not being romantically involved.
Everything making sense so far? Probably in the next chapter the threads I've spinning here will connect more clearly, but I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I'd love to hear from you! Any constructive criticism or theories are welcome.