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Everyone at Seoul Tower was full of gossip, saying that Ms. Bae's first love had come back.
In just one morning, Jang Kyujin was asked this question by almost everyone in her class. Even during the afternoon Sentinel-Guide training session, Kim Jiwoo came up to her to ask about it.
Of course, Kyujin couldn’t ignore her Guide like she could with her classmates so she had to answer Jiwoo.
"Why is everyone asking that? How do people know Jinsol used to have a girlfriend?"
Jiwoo was stretching and tilted her head, thinking, "I just heard people talking about it, but isn't it pretty clear? Without Guide, Sentinels can’t move from level A to S, otherwise they could lose their minds or even die. A top S-level Sentinel like Ms. Jinsol being alive is proof that she must have had a girlfriend."
Kyujin thought about it and realized it made sense. She remembered how Bae Jinsol had looked in the days right after Seol Yoona left without saying anything and she really didn’t know how to answer Jiwoo.
Luckily at that moment, teacher called everyone to come together so Jiwoo didn’t ask any more questions.
Seol Yoona had been told to move to Seoul Tower. She didn’t want to but she had to follow her boss’s orders. Seoul Tower had just come out of the front lines and had only been calm for a few years. The tower was full of soldiers who had been in battles and there were almost no teachers. It was even harder to find instructors for teaching theory. But teaching theory was very important. There had been many arguments in the tower because students didn’t know enough theory and they had asked the higher-ups for theory teachers many, many times.
Yoona was the only Guide chosen from Daejeon Tower to sent to Seoul one. The tower leader gave Yoona a pat on her shoulder and said she was the best choice since she had worked at Seoul Tower before. Even though Yoona didn’t want to, she felt it was her duty to follow orders, so she packed her things and went back to Seoul Tower where she had lived before.
For Yoona, Seoul Tower felt even more familiar than Daejeon Tower. She still remembered way to academy perfectly. After finishing her paperwork, the staff helping Yoona kept staring at her made Yoona uncomfortable.
"Um is there something wrong?" She asked.
The person said no but their tone and look seemed to make fun of Yoona.
On the way back to her office, Yoona noticed some gossip about her spreading around the academy. While walking down the hallway, Yoona saw people staring at her and whispering, which made her feel uneasy. Annoyed, Yoona muttered to herself, closed the window blinds and shut the door. Right after closing the door, Yoona was surprised by something that quickly ran past her feet.
Yoona thought it might be a mouse. She leaned down toward the table where that small creature had just run under. As it started to move and come out, Yoona realized what it was. Even after four years, it felt just as familiar as before.
It was Eddie.
As if they had a special connection, as soon as Yoona opened her arms, the little red fox obediently jumped into her embrace.
Yoona was surprised for a moment then asked the furry friend.
"Why are you here?"
Eddie couldn’t talk. Instead, she tilted her head, looked at Yoona and gently nudged her cheek with Yoona's nose. Eddie used to do this often and it seemed like she had really missed Yoona during their time apart. Yoona could sense Eddie’s sadness so she softly stroked her head, using her spiritual energy to calm Eddie.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the office door. Yoona got nervous, thinking it must be Eddie's owner—Bae Jinsol. Yoona knew Jinsol would come looking for Eddie but she didn’t think she’d arrive so fast. Before Yoona could say anything, the door was pushed open without waiting for a reply.
Bae Jinsol had noticed Eddie acting strangely. She called out to her a few times but Eddie didn’t come back. Worried something might be wrong, Jinsol hurried over. When Jinsol opened the door, she was surprised to see Yoona, someone she hadn’t seen in a long time and who had left her without a word.
"I’m sorry, Eddie seemed a little upset earlier, I couldn’t calm her down. I hope I didn’t cause any trouble for you." Yoona felt awkward.
Jinsol held the doorknob tightly, her eyes fixed on Yoona without blinking. Yoona looked back at Jinsol, feeling the unstable emotions coming from the Sentinel in front of her. Yoona tried to reach out with her calming thoughts to soothe Jinsol, but Jinsol's strong mental walls pushed her back, almost making Yoona lose her balance.
Seeing Yoona looking tired, Jinsol slowly calmed down and called Eddie in a cold voice, asking her to come back. However, Eddie didn’t listen and instead snuggled into Yoona’s arms.
Yoona understood how Eddie felt and knelt down to gently pat her head.
"Eddie must be misses Travis, right? Travis misses you too, but she’s resting now and can’t play with you. I’m sorry."
Jinsol leaned against the wall by the door, watching the girl and the fox then scoffed.
"Stupid fox, why are you clinging to her when she doesn’t want pay attention to you?"
Yoona shot a sharp glance at Jinsol, worried that Eddie might hear, she quickly reassured her, "Travis likes Eddie the most, but Travis isn’t feeling well now and still sleeping. You might have to wait until tonight to see Travis."
Eddie held onto Yoona tightly as if saying she wouldn’t go unless she could see Travis. Jinsol, who had hurried over and left her students waiting in class, finally gave in. She reluctantly let Eddie stay with Yoona but not without scolding that fox a few times before leaving.
"Damn it..."
Jiwoo rushed over to Kyujin, hiding behind a big rock. She had to shout over the noise of gunfire while also dodging bullets.
"Did someone make Ms. Jinsol mad today? She seems really on edge."
Kyujin felt Jinsol's spiritual energy pressing down on her, making it nearly impossible to breathe. Even the shield Jiwoo had made couldn’t ease the heavy pressure from the high-level Sentinel. Kyujin had been in the Tower since she was a kid so she’d been around Jinsol for years. The last time she felt this kind of intense pressure was when Jinsol was going through her really tough phase.
Today's practical combat simulation had ended very late. A group of Guides came out of the barrier, completely worn out. Oh Haewon and Jinsol, who were training the students, also looked pretty drained from the whole thing.
"What’s wrong with you today? You’re acting like you’ve gone crazy. Aren’t you worried about our students getting hurt?" Haewon asked.
"..."
"And where's Eddie?"
"She went to find Seol Yoona." Jinsol huffed in frustration.
"Who????" Haewon exclaimed, her words coming out in a rush, "Who did you just say?"
"You heard me right, it’s Seol Yoona. Eddie ran off to her. I called for her during the simulation but she totally ignored me."
Haewon bit her lip trying not to laugh as she tried to calm Jinsol down.
"Don’t be mad. Eddie has liked Yoona since she was little so that’s not going to change. But why did Yoona suddenly come back here?"
"To be a teacher. I saw her sorting materials in the office."
"Teacher? Is she not going to fight anymore? Did you ask her why she left all those years ago?"
Jinsol stayed quiet for a while before softly answering Haewon.
"Why she left back then has nothing to do with me."
"It's good if you really feel that way."
Jinsol said goodbye to Haewon, put on her jacket and headed out to find Eddie, reminding herself that she had to teach Eddie a lesson.
When Jinsol got back to Yoona's office, she peeked through the blinds and saw Yoona sitting at her desk, writing something. Eddie was curled up at Yoona's feet, cozy and comfortable next to the deer, Travis, Yoona's animal soul.
"Yah silly fox."
Jinsol cursed Eddie out loud but she didn’t even realize that the corners of her mouth had curled up into a smile. In fact, Jinsol had dreamed of scenes like this many times—Travis resting against Eddie, while Yoona leaned on Jinsol. The only thing missing in the picture was Jinsol herself and she knew Yoona would never let her be part of it.
Not thinking any further, Jinsol knocked on the door before opening it without waiting for a response. As soon as Jinsol opened the door, before she could call for Eddie, Travis jumped right into her arms. Jinsol hugged the small deer, softly petting her head as she snuggled close to her.
Seeing her spiritual companion being so loving in front of her ex-girlfriend made Yoona feel a bit shy. She tried calling Travis back, but just like Eddie, Travis stayed glued to Jinsol and refused to leave. While Yoona was still feeling a little awkward, Jinsol casually sat down in the chair opposite her desk.
"Why are you still working so late?"
"I have to write lesson plans, so I’m using this free time to finish them. I’ll head back once you take Eddie."
"Lesson plans? Are you here to teach theory?"
"Yes."
Yoona started organizing things on her desk, "My teaching schedule is full so I need to get ready for it. So, why don’t you take Eddie home? I should go back too, it’s late. I saw on schedule that you have to lead morning exercises tomorrow, you should rest."
Jinsol felt like her heart was sinking into the ocean, every part of her soaking up the salty, bitter taste of the sea. What was happening? Travis still holding onto her showed that Yoona... at least didn’t hate her. But why had Yoona been so cold, leaving her without saying anything all those years ago?
After Yoona finished cleaning up, she looked up and saw Jinsol still sitting there, not planning to leave. Yoona was about to ask what Jinsol wanted to do when she suddenly noticed Jinsol looking into her eyes.
"Can I invite you for a late-night snack? You just got to Seoul Tower so I think of it as a welcome." Jinsol asked.
Yoona sat in the passenger seat of Jinsol's car, feeling a bit lost. She had never been able to say no to Jinsol. Maybe it was something deep inside her, even though their spiritual connection was broken, some things stayed the same.
Like... love.
As they drove, Yoona started to notice something strange. They passed the dining hall and turned onto a road she knew well. In the past, whenever they took this route, Jinsol would often tease Yoona. Yoona still remembered the old pine tree where Jinsol had once pressed her against the trunk, kissing and holding her close in secret. Those memories were still clear in Yoona's mind and she knew exactly where this road led. It was the dormitory for Sentinels and Guides, where Yoona and Jinsol had lived together for a long time. It seemed Jinsol still lived there now.
Even though it was getting late, Yoona got out of the car with Jinsol, wondering if she should change her mind.
Jinsol seemed to guess what Yoona was thinking, "It’s just dinner. Lily and her friends will be there too."
Yoona let out a small, awkward laugh. She couldn’t tell Jinsol that she didn’t want to meet her new partner, that she didn’t want to see how happy they were together and feel jealous.
With no other choice, Yoona followed Jinsol into the elevator, watching as Jinsol pressed the button for the fifth floor.
Yoona was shocked. Jinsol was taking her new partner to the same apartment where they had once lived together? How could Jinsol be so careless, bringing her new partner to a place filled with their old memories? How much did Jinsol’s new partner love her to agree to live in a home that still held so much of Yoona’s presence? The more Yoona thought about it, the more her heart broke.
"Bae Jinsol, please show me a bit of respect." Yoona's voice trembled.
"What...?"
"I know it was my fault for leaving without saying anything back then. I messed up, I was wrong, but you don’t have to humiliate me like this..."
Jinsol looked lost, clearly not getting what was going on. She quickly reached out to hug Yoona but Yoona pushed her away.
"What are you even saying?" Bae Jinsol stumbled over her words, trying to explain, "I really just wanted to have dinner with you, I promise, I didn’t mean anything else!"
"I don’t want to. I’m leaving."
Yoona rushed out the moment the elevator doors opened, pulling open the emergency exit and disappearing behind the heavy metal door.
"So...what do you really mean by that?" Haewon asked seriously, looking at Jinsol, "Bringing a Guide home right after meeting her? It’s amazing Yoona hasn’t punched you in the face yet."
"I didn’t really think like that!!" Jinsol pouted, feeling upset. "I admit I had a plan but it wasn’t to have one-night stand with Yoona..."
Jiwoo, sitting nearby, looked over curiously but Haewon smacked her on the head.
"Kids shouldn’t know too much."
"Then what did you actually plan to do with Yoona?" Kyujin asked, curious.
"I just wanted to show Yoona my house, I mean, our house... I wanted Yoona to see that decorations and furniture haven’t changed and I still keep things she left. I wanted her to know how much I miss her, to tell her how hard it’s been since she left and ask if she ever felt bad about it."
Jinsol explained in one angry breath then buried her face in the table.
"I really didn’t mean anything else. Maybe now Yoona thinks I’m a creep."
"Surely it’s not that bad." Haewon comforted her.
Jiwoo finally put down her chopsticks and let out a small burp, "It’s not that Ms. Yoona thinks you have bad intentions; she knows you’re not that kind of person. It’s just that now that she has new Sentinel, she might feel awkward sharing a room with another Sentinel late at night..."
Seeing Jinsol’s expression change suddenly, Jiwoo quickly stopped talking. Kyujin immediately jumped in to save the situation.
"Maybe Yoona just feels unwell..."
"That’s not it." Haewon said, "Two days ago, member from the Academic Affairs Office told me soon there will be a group of teachers transferred here, including several Guides who have never been paired before. They even asked me to help set them up."
"If that's true." Jiwoo suddenly got excited, "Then there's only one explanation. Ms. Yoona thinks Ms. Jinsol has new Guide, but she still has feelings for Ms. Jinsol and believes Ms. Jinsol wants to take her home to meet her partner!!"
On her first day of teaching, Yoona arrived at the classroom very early. She stood by the podium, looking at the empty room, her head feeling heavy and painful. The number of theory classes had gone up a lot, after finishing their morning physical training, Sentinels and Guides were sent to their classrooms. Yoona watched as students hurried into the room, still wearing their training clothes. The students quietly filled the slanted classroom, curious about the good-looking teacher at the podium.
Yoona held the class list and walked to the center of the podium, introducing herself.
"Hi, I’m Seol Yoona, from today on, I'll be your theory teacher. I'll be covering a lot of subjects so we'll be spending a lot of time together."
At this point, some whispers started to spread through the class. Yoona knew that these teenagers liked practical training more; to them, theory classes were boring and uninteresting.
The theory class seemed to stretch on for the entire morning. Even though the classroom was filled with students, Yoona was able to recognize each one. When she reached the last page of the class list, she found out that besides Kyujin, there was another A-level Sentinel in the class. The only difference was that this student didn’t have a Guide yet and if judged solely on individual ability, Kyujin was slightly less capable than this one.
"Kim Sohye."
Yoona called out the name to answer a question, quickly noticing how much effort Sohye had put into her physical training. She was tall and strong, when she stood up, she did it smoothly and stared intently at Yoona. Yoona frowned, feeling a bit uncomfortable under such a direct stare. Before she could say anything, Sohye spoke up first.
"Excuse me teacher, can I ask something before we begin?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Are you a Guide?"
"Yes, I am. Why?"
Sohye, who had been calm just a moment ago, suddenly turned bright red and started stammering. After a while, she finally gathered her courage, closed her eyes tightly and almost shouted.
"Do you have Sentinel? If not, would you check compatibility with me?"
Yoona was shocked. Kids these days are so forward!
Before Yoona could reply, another student slammed the table and stood up.
"Teacher already has Sentinel."
"Who asked you Jang Kyujin!"
Kyujin stared angrily at Sohye, who glared back with defiance. Before Yoona could step in, Sohye suddenly flipped the table and in an instant, she lunged at Kyujin, throwing a strong punch. Kyujin was caught off guard but managed to avoid the hit. The rivalry between Sentinels exploded. Both were the top-level Sentinels in class and before the other students could even react, they had already exchanged several blows.
Yoona quickly ran in to stop them, grabbing one girl with her left hand and pulling the other with her right but she couldn’t separate the two. Yoona yelled for the other students to help but it didn’t work. The other Sentinels in the class were overwhelmed by the two and couldn’t move, fearing that it might trigger a violent outburst. The only person here wasn’t affected by the high-level Sentinels was Yoona.
Luckily, Yoona had been through this before. She quickly gathered her inner strength, trying to calm down these Sentinels. Clenching her teeth, Yoona created a mental shield around the whole classroom to stop the psychic waves from reaching the next class. After trying a few times, Yoona noticed that Kyujin's mind was really tough to get into. Even though she had helped Kyujin open up her mind in the past but now Kyujin had her own Guide, it was much harder for Yoona to do so. As for Sohye, Yoona had never interacted with her before so breaking into her mind was a challenge.
Seeing the two getting more and more aggressive, it looked like they were about to release their spiritual forms. Yoona muttered a curse and focused all her remaining energy into a sharp point, pushing it hard against the mental walls of Sentinels. Both of them had strong mental walls, Yoona found it hard to break through. She called Travis into the minds of the two Sentinels to help calm them down.
Finally, Yoona managed to take control of these two Sentinels, but her energy was almost completely drained. Everything around Yoona turned dark and she stumbled backward, not even realizing that Jinsol had rushed in and caught her just before she fell.
When Yoona woke up, it was completely dark outside. As she opened her eyes, she saw a familiar face sitting in a chair next to her bed.
Jinsol didn’t look happy; her face was serious as she stared at Yoona, holding a pile of medical records. The room felt big, but the tension made it seem small and uncomfortable. Jinsol kept staring at Yoona, making her feel uneasy. Yoona knew that look meant Jinsol was angry at her. Unable to take it anymore, she asked.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I should be asking you that. What’s wrong with you?”
"What are you talking about?"
Jinsol stayed quiet for a while, letting out a deep sigh as she handed the medical file to Yoona. Yoona opened it and noticed her mental energy level was labeled as "D-“, understanding the situation.
Yoona knew exactly what kind of person Jinsol was. If she discovered that Yoona's mental energy had been drained to help her during a tough time years ago, Jinsol would definitely insist on taking responsibility and would constantly feel guilty and blame herself. That's why Yoona had left back then, Jinsol had just reached S-level, she had a promising future ahead and a Guide like Yoona was no longer a good match for her.
Seeing Yoona stay silent, Jinsol finally spoke.
"When did this happen? Did you help your Sentinel level up?"
"Uh, um, yes, that’s right." Yoona quickly lied, "At Daejeon Tower, there was a Sentinel..."
Before Yoona could finish her lie, she saw Jinsol's eyes turning red, her eyelashes shaking, and a tear falling down her face. This made Yoona so surprised that she stuttered.
"W-Why are you crying?"
"Because you’re lying to me." Jinsol shook her head, holding back her emotions after only a few tears, "There’s no one else connected to you but me. It was for me, wasn’t it? To help me move from A to S, right?"
Yoona couldn’t say anything. All her words were stuck in her throat. She looked at Jinsol, her heart hurting badly. Yoona forced herself to turn away and look out the window.
"Yes, so what? I’m just back here to work, I don’t want to interfere with your love life."
"Seol Yoona! What do you really think of me?"
Jinsol stood up quickly, and the chair fell over with a loud noise because of her sudden movement.
"You’ve never been with another Sentinel, do you expect me to be with another Guide?!"
Yoona couldn’t believe what she was hearing but Jinsol’s serious expression made it clear she wasn’t joking. Yoona finally lost her cool and yelled.
"Are you crazy?! You’re an S-level Sentinel! Don’t you care about your duty to the Tower?!"
"What makes you think you can lecture me about responsibility?"
Jinsol couldn’t help but smile bitterly. She wanted to remind Yoona that when she had left without a word years ago, she hadn’t shown much responsibility either. But Jinsol knew Yoona was sensitive and understood Yoona had left for her own good so she decided not to push the issue.
Yoona stayed stubborn, "So after I left, you’ve been... alone all this time? Didn’t the Tower assign you a Guide?"
"Of course they tried, but I said no." Jinsol replied with a shrug.
Yoona knew Jinsol very well. If Jinsol didn’t want, no one could force her change her mind. Yoona should have realized this earlier. Jinsol was much more emotional and stubborn than Yoona had thought.
Yoona started to wonder if her decision to leave back then was the right one. Before meeting Jinsol again, she had felt like she did the right thing, but now she wasn’t sure. She questioned if her fear of holding Jinsol back was just an excuse. She was scared that the gap between them would only get bigger and she would never be able to close it. At that time, it seemed like the best choice was to walk away from Jinsol and maybe it would have been better if they never saw each other again.
Did she make a mistake? Yoona looked at Jinsol, who was also looking back at her, as if she could read the thoughts in Yoona’s eyes. Jinsol moved closer, sitting halfway and kneeling by Yoona’s bed.
"It’s not your fault." She said.
"..."
"I’m sorry Yoona ah. It’s my fault."
Yoona couldn’t hold back any longer. She pushed the blanket away, sat up and hugged Jinsol tightly. Jinsol stayed steady, letting Yoona hold her. Her smell and warmth were things Yoona hadn’t felt in a long time. Her mind hadn’t been this open in ages and being close to someone she hadn’t hugged for years felt both familiar and new, like it had just happened yesterday.
At that moment, as their thoughts connected, Jinsol suddenly felt like nothing had changed. Yoona was still her Guide but Jinsol quickly stopped herself from helping Yoona open her mind. She was afraid Yoona’s energy would run out again and hurt her.
"You idiot!"
Yoona almost kicked Jinsol off the bed in frustration.
Instead of getting upset, Jinsol smile happily, hugged Yoona tightly and teased her.
"Yoona, you’re so hard to figure out! You get mad when you think I have a Guide, and you still get mad when you know I don’t. What do you really want? Should I have another Guide or not?"
Yoona's face turned red with embarrassment when Jinsol revealed her feelings, leaving her unable to speak. Jinsol, who was being annoyingly playful, laughed and then kissed Yoona on the lips—a deep, passionate kiss that they had both been waiting for after so many days apart.
"I love you, you know." Jinsol said.
Yoona struggled to catch her breath after the kiss, looking at Jinsol's bright smile. Feeling shy, she lightly kicked Jinsol off the bed.
"Go away!"
"Yoona ah~ do you love me?"
"Shut up Bae Jinsol!"
Near the bed, the little deer, Travis, lay lazily, yawning and paying no attention to the noisy couple. The red fox, Eddie, didn’t react either, just snuggling closer to Travis, wanting the little deer to sleep peacefully with her.
Yoona didn’t say "I love you too" to Jinsol, but her Travis did it for her instead.