Chapter Text
Ji-ho's fist smashed into the arch of the sanctuary, patterns searing with so much pain black spots danced in his eyes.
It didn't matter. Nothing mattered at this point except getting Rumi to Celine.
Whatever happened to him after wasn't important.
So he kept knocking against the barrier that kept him out, kept fighting to keep Gwi-Ma's voice at bay, kept forcing himself to stay conscious.
"Celine!" He shouted, gripping Rumi's shoulder with such force he was sure it had to be painful. "Celine I know you're in there! Please!"
The faint hum of air parting was the only warning her got before a blade slammed into the ground, millimeters away from his foot.
A blade of crystallized starlight.
It vanished, recalled to the person who had thrown it in the first place.
Celine.
And just the sight of her knocked the air our of Ji-ho's lungs. The sight of his friend he hadn't seen in a decade.
His friend pointing a blade at him.
"How dare you," Celine spat. "How dare you come here wearing those faces. How dare you taunt me with what I lost."
Lost?
Ji-ho staggered backward, shoving Rumi away from him as Celine lunged, missing his arm by a hair's breadth.
Wait.
"Celine it's me," Ji-ho pleaded, trying to think what to do.
His patterns rippled with pain, forcing him to one knee. He had to finish this quickly.
The curve of a sickle rested under his chin.
"August 16th."
Celine froze.
"August 16th was one of the happiest days of my life. It was the day I met Miyeong. I stopped her from falling in front of a train, not that she probably needed my help looking back. She invited me to grab lunch with her after." A tear ran down Ji-ho's face. From grief or pain he wasn't sure. "You and Sarang interrupted us because she was late-"
"To a dress rehearsal." Celine cut him off. "We were worried she'd gotten lost."
The blade left his neck.
And then Celine had lunged at him again, pulling him in for a hug to tight Ji-ho swore he heard his ribs creak.
A muffled sob sounded from her and oh, she was crying. They both were.
"You idiot. Why did you let me think you were dead?"
"I had someone I needed to protect. There's someone I want you to meet."
Rumi had scrambled away from the fight, looking at the two of them, terrified.
"Rumi," Ji-ho called, "this is your aunt Celine. Come say hi."