Archive of Our Own

Hi. My name is Yujin Park.

Pulling down her mask to the base of her neck, she took a breath deep enough to fill her lungs out before diving headfirst into the city below.

You don’t remember me, but … we used to know each other.

Wind in her face, suit clinging to her skin, as soon as the hustle and bustle of Seoul filled her ears with a sharp whistling, she curled midair and flicked her wrists outwards, spraying webs against the buildings, using the torque to change her momentum upwards.

Something bad was gonna happen, and … the only way to stop it was to make everyone forget about me.

Even you.

Spiraling towards the skyline once more, she found her rhythm swinging from glass panes to street lamps in hot pursuit of her target.

Because I’m not just … Yujin Park.

I’m—.

“Spidergirl!”

Sticking the three-point landing atop the runaway van, Spidergirl crawled across the roof and stuck her head over the edge of the windshield. “Hey there! Missed me?”

“Oh shit—not you again!” the robber in the driver’s seat shouts, nearly losing control of the wheel. Thankfully, Spidergirl’s grip on the glass was firm. She knocked twice and waved at the other armed thieves deeper into the van, who were all struggling to keep the gold bars and paper bills from flying off the shelves. “What are you idiots standing around there for—do something about her!”

Shrugging, Spidergirl disappeared.

“H-Huh? Chief, where did she—!”

Thwip. The man in the passenger’s seat got yanked through the side window.

“Ch-Ch-Chief, where is she? How do we … deal with her?” one of the armed men in the back whimpered, pointing his rifle all around him. “She’s supposed to be one of the nicer ones, right? Sh-She won’t hurt us … will she?”

“Well, not too much. Not unless that’s your thing, at least.”

The men all screamed in unison, not registering that she already smashed through the small window in the back, poking her head and one arm through. As they scrambled for their guns, Spidergirl chuckled and dragged her hand across her face. “Really? Is that all you know how to do? Suit yourselves.”

A storm of bullets rained down on her, but by then, she had already vanished once more.

“Hey, hey! Watch where you aim those things, goddamnit!” the driver beckoned, taking sharp turns here and there to try and shake the webbed crusader off the vehicle. “We just need to stall long enough until the big boss shows up. Until then, we can—.”

Thwip thwip.

The entire stretch of the windshield got webbed, obscuring the view of the road ahead completely.

“Oh you have got to be kidding—BRACE YOURSELVES!”

As the van jerked and jolted down the street, Spidergirl was right next to it, clearing the way. She pulled a hotdog stand further into the sidewalk, shot around the spaces near stray pets to scare them off, and even swung down low to sweep a child off her feet and place her down somewhere safer to the side.

Coming to a screeching stop, the back of the van burste open with a spray of cash and gold.

Descending on one arm, Spidergirl jogged up to the vehicle with both hands held up. “Talk about breaking and entering. All you did was break things really—yeesh.”

Someone open fired on her, but her spider senses were faster, dodging out of the way and going upside down beneath a nearby awning to avoid them all. “Ah ah ah, that’s foul play. Time to take those toys of yours away.”

Before they could spray her again, Spidergirl aimed for the snouts of their guns to fill them with her webbing. Once they’ve had their weapons neutralized, she dropped down to the street and knocked them out cold one at a time.

Sacking the last one in the face, the heroine dusted her hands off and sighed. “And here I thought you knew me better, man. Did you really think I wouldn’t sense you?”

The driver of the van was hurriedly scurrying away now, slithering across the street to escape, but all Spidergirl had to do was shoot his ankles and pin them down onto the asphalt.

“P-P-Please … we-we—I was just following orders!” he begged, clawing at the thick webbing like he still might have a chance to break free from its iron grip.

“You’re all goons? Who’s the real ringleader here then?”

The man smirked and lifted a finger. “Her.”

Ker-chunk.

Eluding her proclaimed spider senses, a large grappling hook coated in a veil of shadows punctured through the side of the coffered van and clung onto it, slowly dragging it towards the direction it came from.

Huh. That’s weird.

Kicking the last goon in the face, Spidergirl swung for the van and landed on top it to see where it was headed.

A tank. A freaking tank.

“Oh, for crying out loud, Seoul. A whole tank? This is way too much work for a Thursday morning,” Spidergirl grunted, cracking her knuckles. “Well, whoever this is—.”

BOOM.

The mouthy heroine got blasted right above her head, and had she not ducked, the gatling gun would have decapitated her cleanly. Laying low against the towed van, she rolled onto her back and pushed off it to get some higher ground.

The bullets came chasing after her, shattering windows, chewing through concrete, scattering crowds. This whole sidequest of hers suddenly became urgent the moment the tank started spraying willy-nilly. Spidergirl had to end this fast.

Drawing the gunner’s attention, she ran at an angle against a series of buildings, her thighs and calves burning from the exertion just to avoid getting pelted with bullets. But the moment they had to reload, she leapt off and aimed for the other end of the street.

Zigzagging across the skyline, she built a network of webs ahead of the tank, aiming to slow it down with each pass through. But no matter how fast she spun her silk, the military-grade vehicle could easily just plow through them.

“Ssi-bal,” she grunted against the side of a neon sign. “What’s a spider to do in times like these—.”

Pew.

She strafed to the side, narrowly avoiding the ricocheted projectile.

In between the towed van and the tank was another vehicle—an all-too-familiar truck with a hastily spray-painted on skull against its side.

The Punisher.

“Oh no,” were the last things she uttered before bounding off once again. “No, no, no—not in my city.”

Instead of aiming for the tank, Spidergirl dove for the newly arrived truck, which proved to be difficult given the exchange of bullets between the both of them. Swinging around the rampaging truck from behind, she flattened her feet against the side of the driver’s window and slammed her fist into it. “You—I told you last time: no bullets!”

The unmasked woman inside chuckled and reloaded her gun. “That was last time.”

Spidergirl blocked her vision by the windshield and shook her head. “Nuh uh, not again, unnie. You’re in my city, so you’re going to follow my rules.”

“Your city? Seems like you’re doing a helluva job then.”

Spidergirl shuddered. Her spider senses.

The hatch of the tank popped open, and out came a masked figure in full kevlar with a bazooka aimed at them. 

“Aw, come on, give me a break!”

Upside down, Spidergirl fired at the turret basket and pulled herself towards the tank. The armed figure fired a rocket at the trailing truck, who managed to steer out of the way at the last second. The explosion in the back hardly rattled it. Its driver retaliated just as quickly, spraying the tank non-stop for a good minute through the windshield door.

“AHHH! SPIDERGIRL—HELP!”

“Huh?”

All around the heroine, the civilians along the streets were struggling to run for cover. As the tank careened into a larger street, Spidergirl watched as the back-and-forth exchange between the Punisher and their shared target started to draw more and more collateral damage. The people of Seoul flocked into the nearby buildings whenever they could, but the less fortunate ones were left trapped in vehicles or stranded all exposed on the streets.

But in this moment, her senses wouldn’t stop tingling over something—someone—very … familiar.

Her focus narrowed in on a single woman. A woman clutching her college textbooks close to her chest like they might shield her from the wrath of raining bullets. 

“Won … young?”

She saw her, and suddenly, Spidergirl lost her balance.

Cracking her shoulder against the asphalt and tumbling several times over, as soon as the Punisher’s truck sped past her, Spidergirl threw her wrist forward and webbed it, letting it drag her like a kite. When her momentum reached its peak, she severed the connection and cannonballed forwards past the tank.

Twisting midflight, she clenched her teeth and with all her might, catapulted herself backwards into the Punisher’s truck.

“Kid, what are you—!”

SMASH.

Both Spidergirl and the Punisher got ejected out the back of the latter’s truck, nearly getting run over by the towed van in the back. Once they stopped skidding across the street, Spidergirl wheezed and glanced up, watching as the firing finally stopped, getting a final glimpse of the now disappearing tank in the distance.

She felt the barrel of a gun beat the back of her head in before she got yanked up by her hair.

“You happy now? They got away, asshole,” the Punisher growled, angling like she might punch her, but instead let go, letting the battered heroine crash back onto the street. “You fucking crashed my ride too. What the hell was that all about?”

“J-Jihyo-unnie … I … sorry,” Spidergirl muttered, coughing, trying to catch her breath. “The damage … god, I couldn’t let you hit anyone.”

Anyone.

Wonyoung.

Quickly getting on all fours, Spidergirl scanned her surroundings, hoping to get a hint of her safety. But as the crowds began filing out of their hiding spots now and started to merge with one another, swallowing up the sidewalks and streets once more, even the faintest of outlines of Wonyoung were lost to Spidergirl now.

Shaking her head, she converted into a sit and buried her face in one hand.

“Was that … even her? Must have been … must have been the wind …”

The Punisher stood by her side and nudged her with one of her guns. “If you want to play hero, then go play hero elsewhere. If you want to be a hero, then you better start fucking acting like one, kid. You’re losing it.”

Glancing up, the last thing Spidergirl saw was the Punisher scaring off a couple curious teens before yanking the door to her ride open and dumping her weapons back inside. She looked over her shoulder at the sprawled Spidergirl and rolled her eyes.

“So much for being the friendly neighborhood gal, huh …?”

“Ok, let’s … try this again.”

Dear Wonyoung, how have you been?

Surprised that I know your name? Well, there’s … a funny story to that. A long one. A … serious one. Involving me, and you, and this whole multiverse sort of thing.

God, I wish I could find the time to tell you all about it—well, more like … remind you all about it—but what you need to know is that … your memories … they’re gone.

They, along with everyone else’s memories of me, were stripped from you because of a spell. A spell that needed to be casted to make anyone who even remotely knew me … well, forget about me.

It’s my fault, really. Had I not been so … hasty, or … optimistic, or just … naive, then … then maybe this wouldn’t have had to happen.

Maybe we could still be together—.

“Triple espresso macchiato dry for, um, a Park Yujin?”

Yujin crumpled the letter she was writing and dumped it into her sling bag before pushing out from her seat. “Here! And it’s just Yujin please.”

The barista smiled at her and slid her drink across the counter. “Company policy to use full names, Yujin. Hope you’re doing fine.”

“Trying to … do better, Chaewon-unnie,” she greeted in reply, lifting up her drink in toast. “I hope you don’t mind me crashing here all day again. I just … need to get my mind off things.”

“Ya, don’t mention it. You’re always welcomed here at our cafe. Just stop leaving all that paper behind and you’re good.”

Yujin was about to shrink away in embarrassment when the cafe doors opened with a soft jingle to it.

“Welcome to—oh, if it isn’t another regular. What can I get you this time?”

“Just an iced americano like always. Please, and thank you.”

Yujin froze.

Denim jacket. White skirt. Pink headband. Matte lipstick. Yves Saint Lauren eau de parfum. A smile that could make an entire orchard bloom. A stride that was equal parts confident and sensible. A charm that could turn heads coupled with a wit that could breed envy. Only one person could enter a cafe donning all of that.

“W-Won—.”

“Wonyoung ah, it’s always nice to see you. Let me go get your drink for you real quick. You just go get settled in now,” Chaewon beamed, sauntering over to the assembly area to prepare Wonyoung’s order. Meanwhile, Yuijn was left alone by the counter with someone who was supposed to be a stranger to her.

Someone who used to be someone to her.

Wonyoung bowed her head politely. “Hello. Coffee for the afternoon grind?”

It took every last ounce of Yujin’s willpower to stop herself from staring at her girlfriend—well, ex-girlfriend. “I … Yeah. Tend to work better at night, but … I’ve got things on my mind, so I’m getting a headstart.”

How exactly could she tell Wonyoung that all that was on her mind was her?

“Ooh, sounds like you’re a busy girl. So am I.”

“What … exactly are you up to these days?”

“Hm?” Wonyoung uttered, glancing up from her phone. Yujin quickly corrected herself, “I-I mean, what do you do? What’s … what’s up with you? Not to intrude or anything, just … just haven’t really seen you around before.”

Smiling, Wonyoung crinkled her nose. “Midterms. Mostly that. It’s being a bigger bitch than I am honestly.”

Yujin snorted, but she stopped herself from laughing too endearingly. “I … Yeah, I can see that. Where do you study? What are you taking?”

Sure. Like Yujin didn’t already know that.

“Nearby actually. Yonsei. Taking my undergrad in economics.”

“Yonsei too. Engineering. M-Materials science.”

“You must be a smart one then. My best friend’s in social policy and administration. We … were all supposed to go to the same school as … someone. But—never mind.”

Seeing the confusion creeping across Wonyoung’s face was enough to shatter Yujin’s heart. Three inches—her hand was three inches away from Wonyoung’s. And while her entire being wanted her hand to reclaim its home atop Wonyoung’s once more, all she could muster was a twitch of her pinky.

“A-Anyway, we have this one professor right now—Yabuki-seonsaengnim. She’s really well-informed, but her exams are nigh impossible to ace.”

Yujin winced. She remembered fighting alongside her Nako-unnie several times. If only Wonyoung knew the green giant sleeping within her professor. “Yeah, she can be quite the … handful.”

“Right? I’m trying to maintain a high GPA too for the future. It sort of cascades into one another, you know? Good grades into good internships into good job opportunities.”

“Yeah?” Yujin muttered with a soft grin. “Tell me more.”

It almost felt like it again. Yujin could almost feel it.

The days they spent together on the rooftop of their high school just watching the clouds drift by. The nights they tried sneaking into her house so they could watch a movie or two in her room. The times when they messed around with Yujin’s powers at the landfill just outside the city, and all the near-misses she had crashing into heaps of junk. The moments when their faces were close to each other during the bus rides home after a long day.

Yujin could listen to Wonyoung yap about her entire life all over again—it was no different from rereading her favorite book or putting her favorite song on repeat.

But Yujin just wished they could do more than that. Be more than strangers. Be more than friends. Again.

Again.

And so she wanted to curse Chaewon for bringing Wonyoung her drink so damn soon. 

“Well, I guess this is me. I’m meeting up with my friend at a park too, so yeah,” Wonyoung explained tipping her drink in Yujin’s direction. “It was nice meeting you, um …?”

Before Yujin could speak, a loud thundering roared overhead.

Yujin glanced at her arm. Every strand of hair across it stood up. Sharp.

She stopped Wonyoung by the waist as she was about to leave, only to let go when she realized that was too comfortable a touch to lay on her. “Ah, s-sorry. Instinct. But … let me check what’s happening outside real quick.”

“Yujin? What’s going on?” Chaewon asked from the counter.

Treading towards the entrance of the cafe, Yujin pushed on the glass until the door creaked open outwards. Peeking into the street, she almost immediately had to retreat back inside when a shower of soot and ash came spraying from above.

Fanning the air in front of her as she stepped back into the cafe, she hacked and wheezed. “Pyroclast? What’s she doing here?”

She felt a hand on her shoulder and nearly whipped back in surprise. “Are you ok? Is there a commotion?”

“Y-Yeah, there’s … another metahuman out there causing a bit of chaos—.”

“Another?”

Yujin bit her lip. “I … Look, just stay here. Stay inside. Chaewon-unnie will keep you safe. And when all this is done, you can come out again to go meet your friend.”

“Where are you going?”

Clenching her fist, Yujin forced a chuckle. “I’m just going to call the cops real quick and make sure their on the case. Someone has to do it. And um, whatever you do, don’t leave. I’ll come back for you—I promise.”

“Yujin—?”

There was no time to waste. Yujin shoved through the cafe door once more and found a nearby alleyway. Dressing out of her civilian clothes, she donned the mask one more and did a few stretches before jogging back out.

The air was thick with debris and fumes. Dragging her hand across it, Yujin managed to nick up some of its particles.

“Sand?”

KA-THOOM. Another explosion overhead.

“Where’s the damn core, Pham? No use playing coy now—I know you know where it is!”

As the woman being assaulted by a barrage of volcanic ash held an arm up, her form rippled and slowly began to dissipate into sand from the strong wind. “I said … I don’t know … a damn … thing!”

From underneath the girl in black-and-red latex, a fist of coarse sand burst forth and uppercutted her straight to the chin, sending her flying.

Stabilizing in the air with jets of smoke from her feet, she hovered, crossing her arms, glowering down at her opponent. “I didn’t come here to play. You’ll either hand that information over or I’ll have to beat it out of you myself.”

Craning her neck, the girl in navy green long-sleeves clicked her teeth and started to grow to the size of a building, her body composed entirely of sand now. “Suit yourself, Choi Jiwoo.”

“Girls, girls, girls!”

Spidergirl swung into the scene and positioned herself high up by one of the nearby fire escapes. Flinging her arms overhead, she cried, “I’m all for a catfight in public as much as the next guy is, but can we maybe move this somewhere less crowded?’

The girl made of sand turned to her. “Spidergirl? Stay out of this. This is between Pyroclast and myself.”

“Yeah, scram, will you? This is a villain-on-villain fistfight. Ain’t that right, Sandy?”

“I told you not to call me that!” Sandwoman bellowed, and along with it came her sedimented fists swinging towards Pyroclast. The volcanic villain zipped through the sky, narrowly avoiding each of Sandwoman’s heavy strikes. But in its wake, buildings rattled, the skies dimmed, and the civilians feared for their lives below.

“Missed me. Missed me again! Haha, you should have retired like the rest of the six. It’s time for the new age of villainy to take place. Let me show you.”

Before Pyroclast could release the energy building up in her palms, a wire of web wrapped around her wrists several times, pinching her hands together. “What—?”

Ka-BOOM. She erupted onto herself.

Arching downwards and tumbling back onto the asphalt, Pyroclast groaned as she reached for her aching back with bound wrists. Spidergirl took this opportunity to swing towards the highest building in sight and called out to Sandwoman from there. “Hey, Hanni—Hanni! Over here!”

“Huh? Spidergirl?” the sand giant grumbled, lowering its head. “Look, if you want to go toe-to-toe too, it will have to wait after this. This new villain’s been on my ass about some kind of core that I don’t even know of. She started all of this by the way—not me.”

“I believe you—I do. But we need to either put her down or make her take this fight elsewhere. I … There’s just too many civs here for a battle like this. Think we can team up? Just this once?”

Sandwoman’s chuckle sounded like grinding gravel. “You and me? Never thought I’d see this day. I’ll keep her distracted. Do what you have to.”

“Love you too, Hanni. I’ll follow your lead.”

“Gah, this isn’t even fair! A one-on-two?” Pyroclast whined as she broke free of her restraints and shifted back into a stand. “No matter. The boss is going to take me in if I bring that core back anyway. Just you wait and see!”

Streaking into the air, Pyroclast zipped between rapidly closing palms, bursting higher from the force of the clapping sand. She weaved and dodged through the multiple other arms that Sandwoman formed from her body to try and pin the slippery villain down. “Those old bones need a minute? I can do this all day, unnie—.”

Ka-BLAM.

When Pyroclast wasn’t looking, Spidergirl launched towards her and landed a tornado kick right to her nape, sending her spiraling. But the villain was prepared this time, slowing her fall with jets of smoke.

“All this talk about this ‘core’ is starting to get boring. Got anything else going for you? A new monologue? A new backstory? Ooh, how about a new power? All this spraying and stuff’s getting pretty old, Pyroclast.”

“Why … you … You want something new? Then how about this?”

WHACK.

It was too fast. Pyroclast propelled herself in a heartbeat and punched Spidergirl in the gut. Spewing past her, she turned rapidly midair, and with the energy from the pivot, delivered a crescent kick to her back sending the spider crashing to the ground.

“What—?”

SMASH.

The full weight of the villain slammed down against Spidergirl’s back as Pyroclast crushed her spine under her feet.

Spidergirl howled.

“Your pain is music to my ears, Spidey. I knew you’d eventually show up if I tore through the streets with Sandwoman over here, but I didn’t think fighting you like this would be oh-so-satisfying,” she mocked, leaping away and creating some distance before curling her fingers, preparing for another attack. “It could have been anyone else, but Seoul had to send its weakest hero, huh?”

Wincing and trembling from the pain, Spidergirl glanced to the side. There, pressed against the cafe windows, was Wonyoung, watching the battle outside unfold before her.

They locked eyes, and all Spidergirl could see in hers was fear.

“SPIDERGIRL!”

Heat bashed into the side of her face, singing and burning her right ear and some of neck, burning parts of her mask and outfit clean off, exposing her tender skin.

Had Sandwoman not formed a wall in front of Spidergirl right then and there, she would have turned into spider steak by now. “H-Hanni … you’re—.”

“Nghh, just get rid of her already! I can’t hold her lava for longer!” Sandwoman bellowed, her form shrinking by the second as she was running out of particles to funnel into Spidergirl’s barrier. Spidergirl watched as her form began to sparkle as her sand turned into particles of glass.

I have to finish this.

Nodding, Spidergirl crawled to the side, and when Pyroclast spotted her, aiming for her with her other hand, she leapt up and swung towards the lamppost behind the villain.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Pyroclast yelled, firing at the string of silk pulled taut from Spidergirl’s wrist. But the heroine already saw this coming and immediately fired another web just behind Pyroclast, aiming for the road behind her.

I have to get back to her.

Up then down. Left then right. Spinning around in circles. Spidergirl danced around Pyroclast, orbiting her to successfully dodge her pyroclastic surges and molten effusions.

“Will you sit still! You’re making this difficult for the both of us!”

Bounding off the side of one building before Pyroclast could burn through it, Spidergirl somersaulted in an arc above the villain before reversing her movement and landing a clean butterfly kick to her chest.

SLAM.

As the heat and smoke subsided, revealing the limp and unconscious Pyroclast leaning against a large crack in the wall behind her, Spidergirl wiped the sweat and soot from her exposed cheek and sighed in relief. “If you’re that proud of being a villain, then I hope you’ll enjoy Seoul Penitentiary. Send my regards to the Goblin while you’re at it.”

Groaning and babbling, all Pyroclast could say before passing out was, “She … she’ll get you back for this … Get you all …”

“She? Who’s she? “

Spidergirl wasn’t sure, but it struck her as odd how something such as this has already been referenced twice over the past two weeks. 

Shrinking down to her normal size and donning her usual attire again, Hanni tucked her hands underneath her shoulders and nodded. “Not bad. We make a pretty good team all things considered.”

“For sure. I would have been toast if you didn’t intervene.”

“Well, don’t go counting on it happening too often, Spidey. You’re the best of us. If anyone can handle us, it’s you.”

“Aw shucks, you really know what to say to make me blush, you,” Spidergirl teased, swatting a hand at her. “But what’s this about a core?”

“Beats me,” Hanni sighed, playing with the crumbling sand at her fingertips. “Haven’t heard of any dealings like hers from my side of the underworld. You’re better off asking someone more in the loop if you have the time.”

Time. Wonyoung.

Wonyoung.

“Spidey?”

Already swinging from building to building, Spidergirl hollered in reply, “Sorry, girl! I-I forgot I had to attend to something. I’ll follow that lead later. It was nice seeing you again, Hanni!”

And with that, she left the crusted villain behind to get dressed again.

Bursting into the cafe shocked Chaewon and nearly made her spill the drinks in her hands. “Jesus, Yujin, are you alright? Where’ve you been? And what’s that on your face?”

Hiding her burn marks with one hand, Yujin limped into the cafe and glanced around.

“Yujin?”

But Wonyoung was no longer there.

Pinching her tender cheek and immediately wincing in searing pain right after, Yujin cursed through her tears. “Damn it …”

“God fucking damn it …”

Where was I …? Right …

Hey Wonyoung, I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. Sometimes … I feel like you’re all I think about.

“Had enough yet, Spidey?”

As Shocker pressed her fists into either side of Spidergirl’s head, the vibro-shock units on her wrists sent out the highest level pulses straight into her brain, frying it from the inside out.

“GRAHHHHHHHNGHHHH”

“Haha, that’s it, webslinger. The new boss is going to give me a pretty penny for delivering you to her: dead or alive.”

She kept the pulsating going as Spidergirl writhed and convulsed in much pain and terror.

But only one thought permeated Spidergirl’s mind.

“It must have been so hard, Jinjin … fighting all those battles alone. And … wow, and you had no one to turn to for support. No one to … tell any of these things to …”

“That’s in the past now, princess. I … I have you now. That’s all I need.”

“You’re all I need.”

“What the—?”

Gripping the devices Shocker had on, with a feral roar, Spidergirl flooded every last bit of its circuitries with webbing as her eyes turned white in one final gambit against her opponent.

“Are you insane? You’ll fry us both! You—AGHHHHHH!”

CLANK.

Her weapons shattered from the duress, and the now electrically charged webbings scattered all across Shocker’s body, penetrating even her insulated uniform.

Burnt flesh wafting into her nostrils, Spidergirl wiped the blood from her half-undone mask and coughed out some dollops of red before pushing up into a stand.

Limping all the way back home. Alone.

What are you up to? What’s changed since we last met? What … what do you like now? Who … do you like now?

When we last saw each other, I felt my whole world come back to me, but at the same time … I felt my whole world come undone once again.

“Let me go you pesky little brat!”

Whipping back and forth, dangling by a web around the Vulture’s ankle, Spidergirl could barely stop herself from puking over being at such a high altitude. But the winged villain continued soaring higher and higher into the deep blue sky.

“You stole something—guh—and I’m just here to take it back!”

“Oh please, Spidey, we’ve all done more than steal something. What’s this handbag to you anyway?”

It’s Wonyoung’s. It’s Wonyoung’s favorite Prada bonnie bag. The black one that she always brought with her to important events. Like their prom. Or Yujin’s birthday.

And the Vulture was just gripping it between her teeth like it’s a cheap knockoff.

Grumbling, Spidergirl hung back before crunching her abdominals to lunge forward and try to snatch it back from her, but the avian villain was insistent.

“If you keep wiggling about like that, then we’ll BOTH fall to our doom—.”

“JUST HAND OVER THE FUCKING BAG, SOYEON!”

Drop.

Spidergirl inched to the side to catch it in time, sighing in relief once she repossessed it. But as she glanced back up at the Vulture, the heroine was left speechless over how dumbfounded she looked.

“You … You alright, Spidey?”

Beating one fist into the Vulture’s heel, Spidergirl refused to answer that question and opted to instead pry herself loose, diving back down towards the girl waiting for her by the corner bakery.

You just … seemed so different and yet familiar at the same time, and … I just don’t know how that could be.

It felt like I wanted to get to know you all over again. That is … if only you’d let me …

But I’m afraid. Afraid you might not be the same Wonyoung I know. Afraid I might not be the same Yujin you know …

Because lately, I’ve been struggling … oh so much … with everything …

“Ya, Park Yujin! Didn’t I warn you about being late to our class? This is the seventh time this semester. Three more and you’ll—.”

Yujin threw her backpack over to her seat in the third row of the lecture hall and shattered the silence of the room with a loud thud.

If Professor Kwon still had her other arm, she would have likely threw an eraser at her disrespectful student. Luckily for Yujin, she was spared for today.

She dragged herself towards her spot and crashed into it, burying her cheek into the fabric of her bag with a groan.

“I don’t mind if you have other … commitments. Just make sure you’re on top of your other responsibilities. Especially your studies.”

Yujin flashed their teacher a thumbs up. “Yes, Ms. Kwon … Whatever you say …”

Just then, screaming filled the courtyard just outside the science complex.

“GIVE UP YOUR RESEARCH, YABUKI. THE BOSS NEEDS IT MORE THAN YOUR THEORETICAL-LOVING ASS.”

Yujin didn’t even need to see it to hear what was going on. From the sounds of gushing water alone, she already knew which villain was on the rampage this time. Judging from the name she just called out too, she was assured that her Nako-unnie had this perfectly under control.

“Ehh, isn’t Yabuki-seonsaengnim the Hulk? Why is she … you know, not ‘hulking out’?”

“I heard she’s reformed now. Not so much the green giant full of rage she used to be.”

“But then who’s going to stop Hydrowoman? She’s—oh god, is she turning the courtyard into a swimming pool?”

A piece of chalk flew through the classroom and shattered against the wall adjacent to the window where most of the students were perched at. “Ya, class is still in session. Sit down! We have much to discuss today, so leave the squabble of metahumans to the … well, metahumans.”

Yujin curled her fingers into her thigh. 

How lucky. How fortunate of them—her classmates, her professor—to not have to deal with the weight of responsibility.

She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to go out there again. She’s been in fights and skirmishes every day this week. She wanted to just catch a single break. She needed a break.

But when the screams started turning into gurgles of asphyxiation, Yujin couldn’t sit on the sidelines any longer.

Her hand fired up into the air. “Professor, may I … use the washroom?”

“Just got here and already want out? Make it quick.”

Slinging her bag over one shoulder again, she slowly made her way out of the lecture hall. The moment she was alone, she ditched her bag and hurriedly pulled off her sleeves, revealing the red and blue underneath.

The last thing the class heard was the sound of shattering glass in the next lecture hall and the stretching of webbings.

I should have been able to manage it. I should have been … fine. But when I think back to how I managed all of this before, it’s because I had you.

Because I still had YOU.

What am I to do now? Now that you’re gone … 

You’re still my Jang Wonyoung, but … but what’s An Yujin to you, yeah?

What am I—?

“Ah …”

The paper slipped from Yujin’s hands, floating off into the distance below. Biting her pen, she dropped from her upside-down position and swung her way back atop the steel beam to right herself into a sit.

It’s quiet up here. Very quiet.

There was once a time when Yujin would come up here to this construction site. It’s practically abandoned at this point—six years and counting, and still, it hasn’t seen any progress. She’d come here when the voices inside her head were too loud for the confines of her tiny room. Here, she could scream, and writhe, and weep, and breathe.

Here, she could just be.

She hasn’t come here once in the past three years because this place paled in comparison to her one true home.

Jang Wonyoung.

Laying down against the heated metal, she stared up into the sky, squinting from the afternoon sun bathing her face. It’s hotter up here, but she didn’t mind.

“Aren’t you afraid that you’re going to get caught? What happens when the world finds out that Spidergirl turned out to be a dorky little teenage girl who doesn’t know how to dress properly.”

“Well, at least the world would know she’s dating the most beautiful woman in the world. That’s a win for me.”

“Oh shut up. You don’t have a plan, do you? For when it happens?”

“I do. When the world knows about us, it will be the day I plan to propose to you, Wonyoung. Bet on it.”

“You … I’m not falling for any of your tricks, webhead.”

“That’s fine, princess. Leave all the falling—mwah—to me.”

Shaking her head, Yujin sighed. “And where did that get me?” 

“Where did that … get me …?”

Yujin moved to the edge of the beam and sat up to watch the city beneath her dangling feet.

She’d taken Wonyoung up here once or twice before. She was deathly afraid of heights. Yujin thought it suited her—how she preferred trusting her own two feet against solid ground. She was always the more grounded of the two of them, and to this day, Yujin still couldn’t figure out how someone as airy as her ended up with someone like Wonyoung.

Out of instinct, Yujin scrolled through her phone. On Instagram.

Ever since the Sorcerer Supreme wiped everyone’s memories of her, she was kicked out of Wonyoung’s private account. Rightfully so—Yujin must have just seemed like a random who stumbled her way into that account. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t browse through Wonyoung’s public account.

In fact, Yujin did this quite often.

It’s become a habit. She’d open it up, watch all the recent stories, and then scroll to the very bottom of the page. There, she could relive the past through Wonyoung’s eyes.

Like that time they went to the KBS headquarters in Yeongdeungpo for a field trip back in sophomore year, and they got a chance to visit the green room there. She and her took a bunch of goofy photos posing all around like they knew what they were doing. Yujin was surprised she put them on her main. The thought of it still made her smile.

Or that time they went to Paris for a three week exchange program back in junior year, where they got to live close to the Eiffel Tower, and Wonyoung insisted on visiting it every day. Except their itinerary was too full, and they only managed to check it out when Yujin insisted on sneaking out the night before their departure. Yujin still remembered how wide-eyed Wonyoung got upon getting to see the structure up close. It was cliche. Straight out of a movie honestly. But Yujin couldn’t pass on the chance to take a few candid pictures of her back then. And would you look at that—they passed her meticulous sensibilities and made it into one of her posts.

Even the time when they had to crash at Jiwon’s family’s place back on Jeju—the time when Yujin’s identity as Spidergirl was uncovered and released to the press. It was a tough time for her, and both Wonyoung and Jiwon got dragged into the mix, but she never forgot the simple-living days they spent there together. Helping out around the orchard, riding bikes down to the convenience store downtown, fooling around the strip of the beach where the sand met the sea. Wonyoung saved every little instance of their time there on her Instagram account, and Yujin felt nostalgic just flipping through them again.

Except there’s one problem: Yujin wasn’t in there anymore.

She never figured out how magic worked—hell, she still didn’t even believe in it fully to this day. But as she finished scrolling through the last of Wonyoung’s posts during the time they were still together, she didn’t find a single trace of her being in any of them. It’s like she’s been deleted from existence. A ghost filling in the empty space of what should have been.

And it made Yujin wonder. Wonder about … her.

She didn’t expect to meet Wonyoung again. In fact, she’s been avoiding her. But who was she kidding? If she had her way with things—if only she had the magic to do what she wanted to—she’d make them meet. Again and again and again. Even if it was just to see her everyday for coffee at Chaewon’s. Even if it’s through glimpses down the university corridors or exchanged glances at the bus rides home. Even if all she was afforded was to be able to live vicariously through her eyes, Yujin knew she would take it.

She didn’t need any more than that. 

As that thought formed in her head, she closed her phone and curled forward into a ball. “Who am I kidding …? Wonyoung ah … I need you.”

I need you.

So she did the unthinkable. She broke her own promise to herself and did something she likely should not have done.

She went to look for her.

It wasn’t hard, really. When you’ve dated someone for the better part of three years, and you love them to death above all else, it isn’t difficult to figure out how they are. Yujin might be gone from all of her memories, but Wonyoung was still very much present within hers. 

The spell couldn’t delete Yujin’s feelings for Wonyoung even if it tried.

So she went to the only park she knew Wonyoung would ever visit: Seoul Forest.

And sure enough, she was there.

“You’ve got the whole afternoon off, and you’re still buried in your books.”

Rising up from her laying position on one of the benches, Wonyoung fixed her hair behind her and widened her eyes upon seeing who had greeted her. The stray kitten by her side began hissing, and she had to calm it down with a few scritches to the head. “You scared him. Who’s a cute little bodyguard? Yes you are~.”

Yujin couldn’t even hide her smile. “All alone? Could have sworn you had a lot of friends.”

“What are you, my stalker? I don’t hang out with them all the time. I like to … spend some time alone too.”

“Mind if I disturb the peace then?” Yujin asked, firing a hail mary as she gestured to the empty space on the bench.

Wonyoung pursed her lips for a moment before scooting over, allowing Yujin to sit right next to her. “Don’t get too comfortable though. Maximillian might scratch you if you try anything funny.”

“He has a name?”

“They all do, but Maximillian’s my favorite. He always knows where to find me for some reason. It’s adorable.”

Kind like me?

“I can see why you might come here often,” Yujin feigned, pretending like she hadn’t gone on picnics or reading dates with Wonyoung here before. “There’s something so surreal about finding an oasis of nature right in the middle of a concrete jungle like Seoul.”

“No one disturbs me here. That’s the biggest blessing,” Wonyoung replied, hugging her knees. “Sometimes the libraries and cafes aren’t enough. This place … it’s my refuge.”

In the distance, a flock of birds swooped down into the trees and perched themselves across the many branches of its thick trunk.

“Are people out to get you or something? What gives?” Yujin pried.

“You … wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me,” she invited, smirking as she glanced at Wonyoung from the side, who was now fiddling with her hair.

“Just … growing up stuff, you know? Soon-to-be-adulting stuff. Deadlines and submissions. Socializing and networking. Career planning and all that. I just moved into a new apartment this semester too, which is crazy. I’ve never lived outside of home before, and now … I’ll be living like that for the next three years.”

“That … sounds like you’ve changed a lot. Been changing a lot. How does … that feel?”

Wonyoung sharpened her eyes but ultimately decided to just rest her cheek against her pressed thighs. “Huh. No one’s asked me that before. It doesn’t feel satisfying—the independence. Nor does it feel too heavy—the responsibility. It feels … incomplete.”

“Incomplete?”

Wonyoung nodded, hair brushing her knees as it fanned out downwards. “I don’t know. I have all these plans, all these goals, all these items on my bucket list. And I’ve been working on them—working on everything bit by bit, I swear. And yet … it feels like I’m missing something. Like I’m forgetting something. Do you know that feeling when you just … have this pit inside of you that feels like something should be there, but—.”

“It’s empty,” Yujin finished, clutching a hand to her chest. “It’s empty when … you know it shouldn’t be. And you can’t remember what it is, but it feels so … familiar?”

“Yeah … yeah, how did you … how did you know?”

“Wonyoung …”

Wonyoung was crying.

Sniffling, drying her eyes out of embarrassment, Wonyoung shook her head. “I-I’m sorry. Things have just been much for me lately, and I … I think it just came out. Just came through the usual defenses.”

“Wonyoung, I—.”

Yujin cut herself off.

Should she? Should she tell her?

From what she’s mentioned so far, it seemed like Wonyoung wasn’t in the best place to be told something so earth-shaking. She’s getting her new college life all sorted out. She’s having her new beginnings. Did Yujin really want to throw a wrench into all of that and ruin it for Wonyoung? What good would telling her about their shared past do?

Whose good would she be doing that for—Wonyoung’s or hers?

Yujin began to feel sick in her stomach.

Dabbing the last bits of dampness away, Wonyoung gave her small nods. “You should come. You should come to the housewarming. It’s in two weeks. I only just got the time to arrange everything now that the midterms are well and done. I’d love it if you could come.”

“I don’t—I mean sure, if you don’t mind. But Wonyoung … there’s … there’s something—.”

“Sorry, but do you smell that?”

Yujin raised a brow. “Smell what?”

“The grass. The … earth? It smells stronger. It … it feels like it’s—.”

Yujin felt a strong static tingle down her neck and spine.

When she stood up on the bench, Wonyoung placed a hand on her shin. “Yujin? What’s going on? What—?”

BLURGE.

At the line of trees dotting the river came thick and enlarged roots bursting out through the concrete and stone. Like they had minds of their own, they twisted and tangled outwards, slithering across the park surface like snakes.

Behind them, the trees did the same—uprooting themselves and scrambling about like sentient tendrils, ripping up the earth and structures built upon it around the park.

Yujin managed to grab Wonyoung’s hand in time before their bench could get toppled over, dragging her bag behind her as they ran towards safety.

As she saw a variety of flowers and fungi beginning to bloom around them as they ran, Yujin knew in an instant who was causing this.

“Asa … Overgrowth.”

A sinister cackle centered at the heart of the park resonated throughout the entire Soul Forest. There, Yujin could spot the faint outline of a woman in a dress made of vines and bark. “Run, fools, run! Did you really think you could keep Mother Nature confined like this? I am her avatar, and I shall bring glorious ruin to you all. Is what I’d like to say on any normal day, but I’m here for something else. So flee! And don’t waste my time.”

With a wave of her hand, she rose up into the sky, lifted up by a tower of bark and wood that grew from underneath her feet, placing herself on a floral pedestal. From her vantage point, she was able to spread her pollen, which upon making contact with any of the flora, caused them to burgeon and flourish at an exponential scale.

Yujin’s grip on Wonyoung was tight, dragging her away to safety. They were mere steps away from one of the park exits when she felt a rough tug against her.

“We can’t … we can’t just leave them. We have to do something!” Wonyoung exclaimed. Behind her, civilians who were unable to escape in time got trapped in the twisting roots and were writhing in place as they were about to get crushed by them.

“Wonyoung, I … we should get out of here. We’ll be safe. We could stop by the coffee shop on our way back home, a-and I’ll walk you back to your place until your head’s clear, and—.”

But Wonyoung shook her head, untangling herself from Yujin. “Someone has to help them. Someone has to try.”

Yujin couldn’t bare to witness this. Her girlfriend—her ex-girlfriend—was telling Yujin to abandon her to help the civilians in distress and to stop the supervillain that just appeared.

How ironic, Yujin thought.

How ironic it must be for her to be reunited with Wonyoung again like this, to have a chance to be together again—even for just a few more moments today—only to be pulled apart from her, and by her own volition too.

She didn’t want to do this. Anyone could just come to the rescue in moments: Lady Thor, Scarlet Witch, either of the Hawkeyes, maybe even Captain Korea. But when she glanced at the warped faces of the people begging for help as they slowly got swallowed by the overgrown plants, she caught a glimpse of a familiar cat paw reaching out into the sky as a final act of pleading.

Sighing, Yujin clutched Wonyoung’s shoulders and nodded. “Go … run away. I’ll … I’ll stall them until the superheroes arrive.”

Mwah.

“Be safe. I’ll need you alive for the housewarming after all.”

Yujin pressed her fingers against the side of her cheek—above the still-healing burns from Pyroclast. Wonyoung was already disappearing behind the fleeing crowd down the street, but Yujin could still feel the warmth of her lips against her skin.

Taking a deep breath, she placed her mask on and nodded. “No rest for the wicked.”

Later that day, the authorities reported struggling with the cleanup following the aftermath of the fight between Overgrowth and Spidergirl, citing that Seoul Forest turned into a spider’s den with all the web spun across it. It didn’t help that Overgrowth was found cocooned and dangling off of one tree afterwards either.

Wonyoung … when the world forgets you … how do you forget the weight of the world …?

It’s … getting heavier and heavier each day …

“Had enough yet, Little Spider? You’re acting more and more like prey every time we dance. This is unbecoming of you.”

Knee to the gut, Kraven the Huntress sent Spidergirl flying off the rooftop and crashing into the street below. Her back slammed against a nearby fire hydrant with enough force to pop it open, spewing water upwards and drenching her like added salt to the wound.

Leaping down to street level, the Huntress cracked her fists and sighed, watching the unresponsive collapsed form of the heroine struggle to even catch her breath. “You make this too easy. It’s pathetic. I expected more from you.”

“No … don’t …”

Spinning her spear, she slammed the butt of her weapon into the ground before darting off, escaping with the tech she had stolen. 

Whump.

Spidergirl fell on her side, arms flayed outwards, whole body keeling from the pain that warped around her every nerve. She could feel the tension closing in on her temples, the flare of fatigue raking down her back, the feverish chill inducing a cold sweat. 

She could just stop here. She could just faint and wake up in some hospital along the Eastern districts of Seoul. Kraven’s already gotten away—what’s the point?

But she can’t. She can’t. 

For if not her, then who?

With her remaining strength, she clawed her way up onto shaking hands and knees, and with a flick of her wrist, she willed herself to swing up and away from here.

After Kraven.

How do you manage meaning nothing to anyone, but also … something to everyone …?

How can that even be?

“Spidey, Spidey, Spidey!”

Hunched over the final Hand Clan’s goon, Spidergirl fought the urge to vomit. It didn’t help that the clamoring crowd was closing in on her. It didn’t help that she wanted to just rip her bloody mask off and breathe some fresh air directly for once.

But she couldn’t. She had to raise her hand up in recognition as she soaked in the praise of the crowd.

As she drowned in their attention.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a woman in a white sweater and denim jeans crossing the street, glancing quickly to the side to see what the commotion was all about.

“Won- … young?”

Spidergirl pushed through the crowd. Everyone was trying to reach for her—pat her back, squeeze her shoulder, shake her hand, get her signature. But she didn’t want any of that. She didn’t need any of that. She just wanted to get to Wonyoung.

It took every ounce of her to not scream her name out loud, to not extend her hand and draw her towards the other girl, to not burst through the engulfing wave of people surrounding her on all ends.

And all she got from the girl in reply was a glance. Just a glance. Before she rejoined her group of friends.

Spidergirl’s comms buzzed. “Spidergirl. It’s Daredevil. Are you done with the Gangnam area? We could use your help across the Gangbuk region. Punisher’s cleaning up Yongsan and Seongdong. Could you come help me out at Dobong and Eunpyeong?”

She took one last look at Wonyoung’s fading back, at her boisterous laugh as she swatted at and grabbed her friend’s wrist. Then, she pressed a finger to her ear and nodded. “Copy … copy that. I’ll be on my way.”

She saluted the crowd before slinging over to the heart of Gangbuk.

I’m trying my best … I really am, Wonyoung …

For the people of Seoul … for everyone …

For you …

“I’m telling you, she stole my work! Give it back to me you little wretch!”

Mechanical tentacles came raining down one after the other against Mysteria as her victim gave chase between the narrow alleyways of Mapo-gu. But every time one of those sentient limbs thought it got to crush or bash or mangle Mysteria’s body, it turned out to be another mirror image each time.

“Doc, wait! You just went clean last month. If you go after Mysteria, this could affect your parole!” Spidergirl pleaded, swinging after the two of them and trying to slow down the professor amid her blind rage. “Let me go after her—it will be a normal criminal pursuit—.”

Four thick tendrils sank into Spidergirl’s sternum, caving it in a little bit, as Dr. Octopus caught her midair and brought her close to her goggled face like a morsel waiting to be devoured.

“You … don’t … understand!” she growled, the saliva of a madwoman spraying across the front of Spidergirl’s uniform as she flailed about. “The core I was developing … not only is it dangerous and unstable, but it’s unfinished! If that blustering fool ever hands that to another scientist, then that’s my life’s work completed for me. Down the drain, I tell you!”

Without a second’s worth of thought, the Doctor didn’t give her a chance to speak. She cast her aside like laboratory scrap before stomping towards the main streets ahead.

Breaking her fall by splattering web behind her, Spidergirl latched onto her own material and hung her head low.

“Ssi-bal … SSI-BAL!”

Ripping her arms loose, she curled towards the ground and landed squarely on her own two feet, turning her back onto the chaos unfolding behind her.

“If you want to ruin your life, then go … who am I to stop you …?”

But when she closed her eyes and thought back to all the time she spent trying to reform that scientist, trying to win her over to the good side, trying to integrate her into a normal life again in society, she bit her tongue until it bled a wash of iron inside her mouth, cursing underneath her mask.

Flinging her arms backwards, she spiraled in the air and chased after the two idiotic villains, ready to break them apart.

But I’m getting tired … I really am …

I don’t know what to do anymore …

Without even noticing, Yujin bumped into a pack of varsity bozos on her way to her next class.

“Hey, watch where you’re fucking going, Park,” one of them grunted, shoving her shoulder. “Don’t think you’re all that—.”

Whap.

Yujin didn’t know where it came from.

Whack.

It all just happened so fast—faster than her spider sense could even grasp.

WHAM!

One final kick to the back of his neck, panting and heaving, Yujin wiped the sweat from her forehead and stood up. Before her, five of those meatheads were sprawled across the floor—bleeding and unconscious.

The weight of her actions suddenly hit her when a voice called out to her. “Yujin …?”

Recoiling, she glanced behind her. There, wrought with fear, trembling hand over her gaping mouth, Wonyoung stared at Yujin’s bruised and beaten knuckles before looking her straight in the eyes. “What are you doing …? What did you do …?”

“I-I-I … I couldn’t … I didn’t …”

Biting her lip, before she could burst into tears, Yujin threw her hood on, and bowed past Wonyoung before running away.

Before leaving her behind.

I miss you … I really … fucking … do … Wonyoung …

I’m losing control … losing myself …

Losing you …

And with everything that’s been going on in my life … I don’t know if I can still pull you into mine …

I don’t even know if there’s still room for me in yours—.

“Ya—we’re about to finish our first year at Yonsei! How do you feel about it Nyeongnyeong?”

“Eh? I guess … I guess it’s nice.”

“Just nice? We worked so hard to get in here. Now we have to work even harder to get out, ahhh.”

“Jiwon ah, cut it out … haha.”

Leaning against the rumbling washing machine, Yujin just let the Instagram reel keep playing on her phone next to her.

Pinching her nose, when she opened her eyes again, it took her a few moments to adjust to the darkness. She’s trying to cut on electricity costs, but she really needed to get her clothes washed this week—especially her suit. God forbid she swung around Seoul with bloodstains all over them.

When she twisted to the right to try and stand up, her leg cramped up, and immediately she got knocked down onto the floor again.

Seething, she soothed her tense muscles and nerves, pressing downwards against the fiber, but it hurt all the more as she felt her bruises flare up.

There, dotted like an archipelago, was a collection of black and blue spots down her outer thigh and calf.

Once the pain subsided, she teetered into a proper stand before scooping up her phone again.

Ding. It was a notification.

From Wonyoung.

Jang Wonyoung: Hey.

Jang Wonyoung: Hey, you.

Jang Wonyoung: Housewarming’s already started.

Jang Wonyoung: Are you coming?

Jang Wonyoung: We could use some help getting rid of all this tteobokki here.

Jang Wonyoung: I heard from Chaewon it’s your favorite.

In between her messages was a picture of three large bowls of the yellow and orange rice treat Yujin loved so much. Even through her fatigue, she stifled a yawn and smiled.

But her heart couldn’t have been any more restless.

“What am I even going to do there?”

Leaning against the front of the washing machine, ignoring the fact that it had already finished, Yujin pondered on it. What good would it do her to attend Wonyoung’s housewarming party? See her mingle with her friends? Watch her chug alcohol out of peer pressure? Help her take candid pictures on Instagram again?

Those are things Yujin wanted to do with her—for her. But those weren’t things strangers did for each other now, were they?

Kicking her last crumpled letter away, Yujin paced around the room, bathing in what faint nightlight could slip through her raised window.

Stomach grumbling, she chuckled. “I guess there’s free food.”

Knock knock knock.

It took a few moments for the door to open, and sure enough, Wonyoung was the one to greet her. She was already red in the face—downed a drink too many by now. But Yujin just played it off and embraced her back when the taller girl leaned in for one.

“I’m so glad you made it! And oh, are these—?”

“For you,” Yujin offered, extending a hand out. “There weren’t many flower shops still open at this time, but … yeah. For the house. And all. Is all.”

Wonyoung crinkled her nose and whispered. “I think I know just the place for this. Come with?”

Without asking for her permission, Wonyoung took Yujin’s hand and guided her through the crowd.

And for a moment, Yujin forgot the rest of the world.

The bouncing crowd spilling alcohol and rubbing sweaty bodies together, the booming music that threatened to shake the four walls of this new apartment, the idle chatter and screamed jeers across tables and sofas—they all dissipated from her view.

No villains. No powers. No responsibilities.

For a moment, Yujin’s entire world was reduced to the image of a smiling young woman, pulling her through the chaos and noise, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Yujin was still there, leading the way forward.

Yujin had never wished to have learned magic any more than she did now. If she only knew how, she’d loop this moment in time and stretch it onto forever.

This was more than enough for her.

Preparing the vase and filling it with water, Wonyoung cleared her throat. “So, you seem pretty busy. What keeps you occupied on the daily?”

“You’re keeping tabs on me?” Yujin teased, leaning on the same counter as her. Their hips were a bump away from each other, but neither of them acknowledged it. “I’m honestly a bit flattered.”

“Yeah, I don’t offer this kind of lip service just for anyone, tiger. So take it in stride,” Wonyoung fired back with a smirk. “But really though. You sometimes seem … out of it. Like your mind’s elsewhere. You always look … tired too. Everything … ok?”

“Would you be mad at me if I second-guessed even coming here? Sometimes I feel like just wanting to crash in bed and sleep all weekend,” Yujin confessed, gliding her fingers across the polished marble. “I guess you could say life’s just been … pretty rough. But when is it never, yeah?”

“Sounds like you,” she paused, placing the flowers in the vase, and then plucking a bottle of beer from the nearby potluck. “Need a break. Drink up. Unless you’re not really a drinker.”

“Is that a challenge?” Yujin taunted, popping the cap open with just her thumb. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, princess.”

Wonyoung gasped.

“I-I … I shouldn’t have … I … that was …”

The other girl’s expression went from shocked, to confused, to melancholic. “No one’s ever called me that before, and yet … it feels … familiar.”

Drip.

Tears began rolling down her eyes. When Yujin motioned to help wipe them, Wonyoung didn’t refuse, allowing the older girl to dry her cheeks for her.

“S-Sorry … that’s been happening more and more these days,” she muttered, blinking rapidly with each dab of Yujin’s fingers against her soft cheeks. “When I watch the news … when I scroll online … when I … when I see you …”

Yujin froze, pulling away ever-so-slightly. “Wonyoung … I—.”

“Tell me, and I mean really tell me,” she emphasized, hands gripping the insides of her fitted jeans. “Have we … met before? Do I know you from … somewhere else? Because I can’t … I just can’t shake this feeling that I might … that I know you. That you’re … that you’re someone I should be close to. Be close with … I find myself drawn to you in a way that I can’t even explain, and it’s ridiculous, and I just can’t—.”

Yujin held her hand. She squeezed it in hers. “Wonyoung, there’s something I’m going to tell you … and it’s going to be a lot—like a lot lot—but trust me … and promise me … Promise me you won’t freak out.”

She took a deep breath and nodded, still rather calm about all this. “Ok. Just … make sure you don’t hold back.”

“Wonyoung, I’m your—.”

“There you are baby!”

Yujin’s heart dropped into the deepest recesses of her being.

Two figures emerged behind Wonyoung, making her let go of Yujin. The first was someone she recognized: Kim Jiwon. Wonyoung’s best friend. Well, Yujin’s best friend first and foremost. Ever since the memory-wiping incident, they must have believed they were each other’s best friend instead.

But the second was someone she didn’t recognize. At all. Long brown hair that could rival Wonyoung’s, a small-framed face that made her gentle eyes and thick lips stand out, and a smile that could melt even the best cryokinetics’ walls of ice.

The second girl walked over to Wonyoung’s side, and the latter was quick to wrap an arm around her. “Yujin, this … this is my girlfriend. Dani. Dani, this is Yujin. An Yujin.”

“Oh? I didn’t know you had more friends over. Now I’m starting to think you’ve brought more people in than me,” Dani teased, and Yujin had to watch how easily Wonyoung crumpled into her touch, melded into her being. It was sweet. It was adorable.

But please—anything but in front of Yujin.

Yujin wasn’t sure what to do.

Extend a hand? Say hello? Explain what the flowers were for? But Dani was quick to remedy the tension in the air. “Welcome to our new apartment, by the way. It’s lovely having you here, Yujin.”

“How … how long?”

RUMBLE.

The whole building shook from an unknown impact. But Yujin just stood there right next to the drooping flowers she brought over. “How long have you two been … dating?”

Dani motioned to Wonyoung to see what that was all about, but Wonyoung stayed put and forced a smile. “About half a year now, actually. Ever since, um, college began.”

“I … I see …”

GRUMBLE.

The entire apartment shook harder, knocking a few partygoers over, sending bottles rolling off tables and shattering on the floor. And yet, Wonyoung and Yujin were still locked into each other.

“Baby, I … I’m getting concerned. I’ll go check that out.”

Wonyoung let her leave. Yujin stayed behind too. The former bowed and clasped her fingers together. “So, you were saying? Before my girlfriend interrupted.”

Yujin felt the burgeoning of every last lump in her throat.

By the window, someone screamed and flung her drink across the room. “I-It’s the Rhino! She’s going on a rampage a-a-and just hitting things—.”

KATHOOM.

That one, Yujin was sure, struck the base of this apartment complex.

But she remained put, looking Wonyoung in the eye, neither of them moving an inch nor uttering a single thing.

Until Wonyoung was pulled away by her girlfriend.

“Wonyoung, baby, we need to leave. O-Or find cover. We need to help everyone get down safely.”

“Of course, of course … U-Uh, Yujin can help us. Yu- … jin?”

But the older girl was already long gone by the time Wonyoung had remembered her. In that lapse of time, Spidergirl had already bursted through one of the windows next door and was already confronting the mechanical beast.

“NOBODY MESSES WITH THE RHINO!” she growled through her microphone, punching mechanical geared fists together. “WHO DARES STOP ME?”

“Yo! Can we … make it quick today, big girl?” Spidergirl uttered, dropping down in front of the oversized exoskeleton. “It’s … it’s been a long day.”

A grating guffaw bellowed throughout the street. “LITTLE SPIDERGIRL CAME OUT TO PLAY? I STILL HAVE A SCORE TO SETTLE WITH YOU—SO I’LL INDULGE. LET’S MAKE IT QUICK THEN.”

Dragging one large foot backwards, Rhino charged forward without needing much provocation, goring through Spidergirl’s chest. At least, she would have, if she didn’t leap out of the way and landed at the exact same position as earlier.

“NIMBLE AS EVER. YOU—.”

Ting. She hurled a garbage can at her.

“I WAS SAYING, YOU—.”

Ker-blam. She tossed an uprooted bus bench this time.

“I SAID YOU—.”

Whap-pow. She bashed a car against the back of Rhino’s mechanical skull.

Once the villain was knocked prone onto the ground, Spidergirl turned around and dusted her hands off. “Are we done here? Good. Now, fuck off … I—.”

WHAP.

Whether it’s the alcohol or her tightened and knotted chest, something stopped Spidergirl from sensing that surprise attack, sending her crashing through the doors of another apartment complex.

Coughing up blood and wood dust, she scrambled onto her back, but not before Rhino could grip her by the ankle and slam her back outside, throwing her around like a ragdoll.

“GO LONG, SPIDERGIRL!”

Angling backwards, Rhino punted the heroine in her stomach like a football, and her limp body soon went tumbling into the skyline.

Spidergirl crashed into the edge of a penthouse suite, slipping off the poor grip of the glass before falling face-first into a parked sedan just outside, flattening it.

All she could do was groan, and tense her muscles, and hope to god that another heroine could come and help her out.

But the Rhino was relentless. Soon, she had her dangling upside-down by one ankle before herself like a pathetic little plaything.

“ITSY BITSY SPIDER. CAME OUT. THE WATER. SPOUT!”

With each pause in her nursery rhyme, Rhino pommeled into Spidergirl as if she were a punching bag.

“DOWN CAME. THE RHINO. AND KNOCKED. THE SPIDER. OUT!”

Spidergirl flopped, and twirled, before ultimately dangling by one ankle once more, swinging side to side like an erratic pendulum. Lifelessly.

“OUT. CAME. THE. SUN …?”

HACK.

Darkened crimson blood came spewing directly out of Spidergirl’s torn mask, splattering down her own forehead before spilling onto the street.

And the Rhino just stared at her.

“YOU … YOU OK, SPIDERGIRL? THIS … THIS ISN’T LIKE YOU.”

Spidergirl just chuckled hysterically, choking and coughing out more blood with a smile. “Just … just finish me off … HCK—will you …?”

But the Rhino did the unthinkable.

She cradled the beaten-up Spidergirl in her own mechanical arms, and using the jets in her footpieces, glided down the street and took her somewhere unknown.

Spidergirl couldn’t even refuse. She just felt the air dry her bloody face as she fought the darkness closing in around her vision.

By the time the Rhino had stopped, she found themselves in a small section under a bridge—the Hangang Bridge—where Rhino had decided to seek refuge for the meantime.

Setting her down on a a large stone that resisted the flowing waters, the villain’s suit bursted with steam and smoke as the front carapace and horn extended upwards, revealing the woman operating it underneath. “You … you good?”

Yujin didn’t even have to look at her. She just knew. “What … what do you want from me, Haewon?”

“Just … We have a pact. The Six? We can mess with you, fight back against you, or even get rid of you for all we care. But … but we promised to never kill you.”

Yujin scoffed. “Break that promise now … don’t need your pity …”

“Rough day?” Haewon raised, operating one limb to cushion Spidergirl’s back and stop her from falling into the river. “We … we all have those. Best not to do anything too … dangerous on one of those days, yeah?”

“It’s ok. It’s fine,” Yujin assured her, rubbing her tattered sleeve. “It’s … it’s all over anyway. It’s all … all fucking … over …”

The moment Yujin fell forward, Haewon plucked her back up, holding her by the sleeve of her suit. “Spidey … don’t be like this …”

“It’s none of your concern. Besides you … you don’t understand … what I’ve been through … None of you fucking do …”

Sighing, Haewon leaned back into her suit and rested her feet atop the console. “Girl problems?”

“What …?”

Haewon snickered. “Saw it all over your face. That’s the look of a woman who’s been crushed by love. I’ve been there before … Recently, even … But you know what I tell myself?”

“Do I even want to know the answer to that?”

“The Rhino always goes on. Lower the head a little maybe, charge a bit slower sometimes, but the Rhino always keeps moving forward. Not move on—move forward.”

Yujin kept quiet. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing right now.

A gentle pat on the back from a mechanical paw was enough to shake her, however. “You see, we try so hard sometimes. To move on. But maybe we don’t have to. These people, these memories, these feelings—we carry them with us into the next parts of our lives, Spidey.”

“But … how? How am I … supposed to move forward … without her …?”

Haewon chuckled and let out a deep sigh. “By getting back up again, ready to face each brand new day. And maybe … if you can do that, again and again, then maybe … maybe there’s hope for the rest of us too.”

Yujin really didn’t know what to say. She didn’t expect to be getting life advice from a villain—no less from one who just tried to end her life as well. “Thanks … Thanks, Haewon.”

“Don’t mention it. Oh, and before I forget, Spidey,” the woman recalled, tossing a vacuum-sealed vial of sorts at her, which she promptly caught thanks to her spider senses. “Word spreads fast in the underbelly. Heard some new power player’s suddenly showed up in Seoul. I didn’t decide to join her ranks yet, but she’s … powerful. Was tasked to retrieve this for her, but maybe you and your superheroine buddies can make better use of it. Could use small wins once in a while, yeah?”

Spidergirl clutched the vial in her hand, droplets of clear tears dripping onto it. “I … I’ll never forget this …”

“Take it easy out there, Spidey,” was the last thing Haewon said before suiting up once more. “ONE DAY AT A TIME.”

Yujin nodded. “One day at a time …”

“Thanks to the Rhino’s ‘donation’, we’ve identified the substance as liquified quanta. Along with the other bits and pieces of information we’ve gathered over the past few months, we have reason to believe it’s being used for a machine to access—believe it or not—the multiverse.”

Spidergirl recoiled from Daredevil’s explanation as they stepped out onto the street with the Punisher and Iron Fist, huddling together. Daredevil gave her a furtive glance but she held her breath, not wanting to say anything she might regret. “We’ve also traced down the movement of the Hand Clan to pinpoint who the mastermind behind all this recent criminal ruckus is.”

From his wristwatch shot a projection of a woman in a tight fitted suit, whose image seemed to flicker between its normal appearance and a black-and-white version of it.

“She goes by Ms. Negative,” Daredevil explained further, gesturing to the others. “An entity not from our world.”

“Not from our world? The fuck does that mean?” the Punisher grunted, polishing one of her heavier weapons.

“It means, she was displaced from her universe into ours. The multiverse is real. You do know that, right, unnie?” Iron Fist explained. “He must be trying to make it back home.”

“Or summon more of his people over from his universe to ours,” Daredevil proposed, turning off her watch. “And we can’t let that happen.”

Spidergirl raised her hand, and all three superheroines turned to face her. “Um, so why am I … a part of this?”

“What, got somewhere else to be? Get it together kid—you’re one of us now. And that means you’re here to defend this bloody fucking city alongside us too,” the Punisher raised, prodding the snout of her gun into the side of Spidergirl’s neck. “When duty calls, you—.”

At that moment, Daredevil’s wristwatch beeped thrice before the holophone turned on. “Seulgi, are you there?”

“I’m here, Captain,” Daredevil replied, glancing down at her wrist. “Is there a situation?”

“A big one. We found this Ms. Negative fellow, and boy, is she a handful. The Fantastic Four are down by her labs trying to take apart the machine she built, but we could use some help on the street level too. A bunch of villains have all surfaced, and they’re a bit much for us to handle all at once.”

“Street level, heh? Sounds perfect for us,” the Punisher sneered, already making her way to her truck. “What are you waiting for? Let’s get moving.”

Spidergirl was just about to join them when her own phone buzzed with notifications.

She knew who it was. She knew very well who it just might be. And against her better senses, she decided to open it anyway.

Jang Wonyoung: Hey. Yujin?

Jang Wonyoung: You left without saying a word last time.

Jang Wonyoung: I’m sorry if I ignored you towards the end there.

Jang Wonyoung: Seems like you have something to tell me still?

Jang Wonyoung: I’m free right now. I’m at Seoul Forest.

Jang Wonyoung: Same as last time.

Jang Wonyoung: Do you want to come over? I already bought you coffee too.

“Kid, are you coming or what?” the Punisher hollered, slamming his door shut and revving the engines. “I know you can swing like a devil, but it’s faster on wheels. Everyone knows that.”

Staring at her three superheroine unnies, Spidergirl clenched her phone in her palm and held her other hand out. “You … you three go on without me. I um …”

“What was that?”

Yujin closed her eyes behind her mask and took a deep breath. Really steadied herself. She took a moment to clear her head, and when prompted with the question once more, sighed and nodded. Putting her phone on mute. “You know what … screw your damn truck, Jihyo. I’ll race you there, old woman.”

“Why you little—.”

Hi. My name’s Yujin Park.

You don’t remember me, but that’s alright. Maybe we’ll have the opportunity to get to know each other again.

Properly. Some day.

Flinging herself off the roof of the Punisher’s truck, Spidergirl swung into the fray and joined the rest of the Avengers amidst the ongoing squabble. Shooting into the eyes of villains, rounding some up and bunching them together in her network of webs, dodging and weaving through the traffic of battle, Spidergirl felt an indescribable lightness within her chest as she helped out the other superheroines.

Stuff happened, and while I can spend this time writing about it to you in a letter I know I’ll never send, let me tell you something else instead.

Smashing Mysteria’s helmet onto Shocker’s ass, Spidergirl shoved her towards Sandwoman, who immediately pacified her weaponry by encasing her in a wall of sand.

Slinging closer and closer to the heart of the battle, Spidergirl had to zip through the air, narrowly avoiding Kraven’s barrage of spears all aimed towards her, finding the right time to grab one in the air and hurl it right back at the Huntress.

“Bullseye!” she exclaimed with a chuckle, before the actual villain got in her path to sling cards and knives at her. “Ssi-bal … ssibal—!”

Live your life out there, will you?

“Boss, they’re breaking through our systems. The security protocols won’t hold at this point!” one of the scientists pleaded, keying things continuously into his computer. “What should we do?”

Bashing the skulls of the two Hand Clan goons stationed outside the laboratory together, the heroine hopped over them and extended her arms sideways. “Giving up is an option. We got you and all your damn lackeys cornered now, Negative.”

The businesswoman in question simply smirked before turning negative herself. “Do you now?”

I’ll keep loving you for that.

Regardless of who and what you decide to become.

BOOM.

As she catapulted through two buildings from a single empowered punch, once the webbed warrior found her bearings again, she tied herself around an improved slingshot made of string, and at the height of her momentum, tugged and launched herself forwards and back into battle.

Because at the end of the day, you’ll keep being Jang Wonyoung.

“Up top. Down low. Side to side. Now we’re talking baby!” 

While the Thing narrated all of her attacks on Ms. Negative one by one, she slowly found her rhythm again, swinging in the air like an acrobat while the heavy hitters found openings in the opponent’s guard to deliver powerful blows back to back.

And I’ll keep being me.

With a deafening smash, the Hulk clapped her large green hands together and parted the incoming swarm of Hand Clan goons, allowing the Punisher’s truck to come crashing into Ms. Negative. The villain ascended to the air in time, but not before getting kicked in the chest and back by the leaping Iron Fist and Daredevil.

Why? Well, I’m more than just Yujin Park. I … understand that now.

Tumbling and leaping across the walls of buildings to avoid a homing hailstorm of darkened empowered blades, at the last moment, she nicked up one of Ms. Negative’s blades and swung it all the way back around.

Stabbing it into her shoulder.

I’m—.

“SPIDERGIRL!”

Spidergirl somersaulted out of the way, and landed on one of the nearby lampposts with a cocky smirk on her, taunting the villain with two fingers.

“Yeah, that’s me, alright. And you better not forget it!”