That Dreaded Thing (Pt.2)

"So, is it true?"

Gyuri peered to her side and saw Pho's large, brown eyes boring hers. "What's true?"

"The Waekugin" she whispered as she glanced to either side of her. With her hand cupping the side of her mouth, she resumed, "I heard they have light-coloured hair and light-coloured eyes." She leaned back as they continued to make their way to the storage house. "You were there, weren't you? When they came? I've heard all sorts about them."

Gyuri's eyes shifted uncomfortably to the side.

A few weeks had passed since the Waekugin had first appeared in the capital. During that time, Gyuri had been going to the soup kitchen as well as the sanatorium to help Namjoon with the sick patients.

"Yeah..." Gyuri managed to answer. "They do have different coloured eyes."

"And their hair too?" Pho keenly queried. "I heard one of them has hair like straw!"

She must be talking about Vernon... Gyuri thought. "Y-yeah, that's right. One of them does."

Pho squealed.

Gyuri watched as the naïve lass started chattering in excitement, the basket in her arms jumping along to the rhythm of her step. "Aren't you afraid of them?"

The doe-eyed girl tilted her head to one side as she arched her brow. "Why would I be?"

"Well... because," Gyuri fumbled. "They're Waekugin. Everyone else seems to be afraid of them. Or at least wary of—"

"Well, I'm not" Pho abruptly stated. "I think they're interesting to look at."

Huh?

"I've never seen the Waekugin before" Pho explained. "I knew that some had settled near Isariyah, since that's the city closest to the sea, but the Waekugin seldom come to the capital."

"I see" Gyuri murmured. So, they have their own segregated settlement... She chewed on her lip as she pondered about what Pho had told her. "It's strange..." Gyuri said after a while. "If the Waekugin hardly come to the capital then why does Master Namjoon speak so ill of them? It's like he has something personal against them."

Pho carelessly answered, "Oh, that's probably because of what happened to that female physician. Physician Ha—" Pho stopped midway her sentence as she quickly covered her mouth. Realising she had revealed too much, she chuckled nervously. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."

"That female physician?" Gyuri repeated curiously. She eyed Pho, who grinned at her awkwardly. Master Namjoon has never mentioned a female physician before. "Physician who?"

"Erm..." Pho directed her attention towards the road ahead and started to quicken her pace. "Never mind. Just forget I ever mentioned it!"

"Pho—"

With a quickened step, the lass raced ahead to evade Gyuri's prying questions. Once she was a good distance away, she beckoned to her from the distance. "C'mon, Gyuri, we're almost at the storage house now!"

But before Gyuri could attempt to continue their conversation, Pho resumed skipping ahead leaving Gyuri dawdling behind.

That female physician... Gyuri mulled over her friend's words, her features morphing into a frown. Something about those words bothered Gyuri especially when they had something to do with Namjoon. What could she mean to him? She pondered. Was she a relative? Was she a friend? Was she someone special? Was she—?

Fervently, Gyuri shook her head to dismiss her train of thought.

It's none of my business... she reminded herself as she attempted to keep her worry at bay. Why am I bothered about her anyway? It's not like I—

Gyuri halted on her tracks as a wave of realisation hit her like a tonne of bricks.

She had been avoiding thinking about it for the longest time. After all, even when she was back in her own time as Subin, she had never been good at dealing with her feelings. Growing up with Yoongi and her dad, she had learned that being inarticulate with her emotions wasn't all that bad: that's just how her family was. Feelings, for the Mins, just never came naturally to them.

But unlike Yoongi and her dad, Subin was a teenage girl trapped in another teenage girl's body. A body that possessed a heart that was more susceptible to catching feelings unlike her own.

Gyuri raised a hand to her chest as she felt a tight squeezing around her heart. There was no doubt about it; the feeling was unmistakable. It was something she joked about but never wanted to fall victim to.

Gyuri bit her lip as she realised what that feeling was.

...It was no other than that dreaded thing called 'love'.