Fate of the Moon

Winter was always such a two sided season. On one hand, you had the privilege of seeing the ethereal scenery it's snow creates; dusting every corner of the streets with reflective mounds of white only to be ruined by passing children who stomp their heavy boots into it. On the other, you had the freezing breeze that bit at your skin and your face, crystallizing it with every whistle of the wind.

Maybe the scenery would've been captivating had it not been for the sharp winds that often passed by. 

And if there wasn't a certain somebody who had a knack for being such an attitude-filled jerk face.

(Maybe Yerim went a little too far with that one.)

"So, our new hero, how are the patrols?" Jungeun's cheery voice sent a blaze of irritation through Yerim. If she didn't know any better, Yerim would've thought that Jungeun was actually asking about her day - but she knew better. 

Yerim groaned, taking her hands out of her pockets - regretting it instantly as the warmth quickly faded - and dug her face into her palms, "Can you please be my partner?"

"You don't like Hyejoo?" Jungeun hummed, raising an eyebrow. But her eyes were knowing, as if she knows the reason why Yerim seemed so dejected and annoyed, even.

"She hates me." Yerim concluded, "And she barely even talks - it's like she only speaks when she wants to get up for a bit or if she sees something fishy. Which is barely."

Jungeun chuckled, placing her arms upon the balcony - only to flinch away. It was ice cold and the metal had sent shivers all over her body, making her curse out of instinct. She clears her throat, "Hyejoo's just like that. She's just - well - kind of closed off, I guess?"

Yerim shoots her an unimpressed glare, "You guess?" Jungeun offers her a shrug, barely any sympathy in her eyes, causing Yerim to groan and dig her nose into the palm of her nose. "I want to get to know her better but she's making it ridiculously difficult for me."

"Give her some time."

Yerim huffs at the advice but she knew Jungeun was somewhat right. After all, she's only been part of LOONA for what, about 5 days now? Hyejoo's still a stranger to her, most of the members are as well.

Sure, they work alongside each other, planning and discussing whatever it is their duty consists as heroes but that's all there is to it. All they do is gather at their makeshift headquarters - Haseul's small yet lovely basement - and give reports. Said reports are mostly things they've caught lurking in the streets - which is nothing.

Right. They have nothing.

Yerim turns to Jungeun, "You know when I said I wanted to be a hero, I wasn't expecting.." Yerim tries to find the proper word for their rather, bland and dull night outs, but she's left with an empty mind, "..this."

Jungeun snorts at the word choice - it was vague but she knew what Yerim was talking about. "Were you really expecting it to be some kind of action movie where we fight evil or somethi.." Jungeun catches the way Yerim's eyes fill with childish disappointment and before shutting her mouth, she let out a teasing laugh, "You're such a child!"

"Hey! We're called pro heroes, of course I would expect hero stuff!"

"We are doing hero stuff." Jungeun smiled, but it wasn't soft, more so mocking her naïve expectations of having a career as a hero. "Just not what you expect."

"It's boring." Yerim huffs.

Jungeun chuckles, lightheartedly, "That's a good thing."

~

When people claim that they're a pro hero, they're pretty much praised for taking on such a responsibility. Sure there are other occupations out there that handle justice just as much as pro heroes, but because of the quirk, pro heroes are usually recognized for their deeds more than others.

With that being said, often times, the job of pro heroes are full of risks, if not, contain only risks. Their everyday life would look like it was straight out of an action movie, always filled with kicking, screaming, long jumps in the midst of the cold air, their quirk surging through their bodies and much more. 

But for what price? Their life. Their lives are on the line almost every day with what they do. Saving innocent civilians left and right, running on dissipating energy and their will to do their duty just as they promised. Being a pro hero is hard.

Or at least, it should be.

Albeit Yerim always wanting to stray away from being a hero - she never wanted to focus on her quirk for the sole purpose to defeat bad guys - she still envisioned a pro hero life to be exhilarating, to be adrenaline inducing and to be much more. 

Not this.

"Aren't you hungry?"

"No." A quick response. Of course. Hyejoo was always quick to turn down an attempt at conversation it was honestly impressive.

Yerim inwardly groaned at the girls reluctance and instead focused on the street from across them. Majority of the stores were closed, lights turned off, left vacant of it's employees and customers.

It was mid winter and Yerim didn't mind, at least not right now. The breeze was barely noticeable, only tickling her skin from time to time rather than abusing it. It was soft, almost like it was a whisper that sung, treading along the streets with careful steps, afraid it would wake the residents. 

Yerim wished winter was always like this. She wished that rather than the vicious snowstorms that took place it would just be the flurries of light snowflakes that graced their noses and scattered the streets. Instead of the roaring wind that deafened your ears, it would be the soft singing that whistled across the city.

Like right now.

"Ah.." Yerim saw freckles of white dots slowly descend from above and she let a soft smile escape her lips. It was like a feather, gracefully gliding onto the surface of her jacket and the street. "It's snowing." She muttered to herself.

"Just great." 

Yerim almost snaps her head to Hyejoo, wondering if she had responded to her obvious statement, but she wasn't surprised when the raven haired girl was only talking to herself. Hyejoo had her hand out, her palm open, as snow flakes gathered upon it. 

"Do you like winter?" Yerim didn't intend to annoy Hyejoo but she was genuinely curious.

It takes a while for the girl to answer, but she still does, "Not really. But it's ok." She sighs, and she closes her palm. 

"Are you cold?"

"No." 

"You look like you are." Yerim hums.

"I'm not." Hyejoo yawns, looking away, "Just look around and make sure nothing happens stop-"

"You know-" Yerim ignores the way Hyejoo lets out a groan, "-out of everyone, I thought you'd be the most pushy one."

Hyejoo turns to her, raising an eyebrow at the slightest angle, "Pushy one? The hell do you mean by pushy one?"

Yerim averts her eyes from Hyejoo's, considerably because the way Hyejoo's eyes practically shoot at her made her want to look away, "You look like you want answers, more than anyone else here. I thought you wouldn't let me rest until we find that guy.. That's all."

Hyejoo opens her mouth, as if wanting to let out an insult or some form of it but doesn't. She registers Yerim's words and only sighs, not wanting to waste her energy arguing with the new hero, "I do. I just trust Haseul."

"I can tell." Yerim answers back, "You must really rely on her huh?"

Hyejoo hums, her eyes tracing the building from across them. "I don't rely on her, I trust her, a lot. She's our leader, you should do the same." 

Yerim's eyes widened, blinking as she felt as if she was being accused for doubting Haseul. She didn't want to assume but the way Hyejoo said it almost seemed as if she was accusing her of such a thing. "I trust her too." Yerim answers, her voice stern.

"I didn't say you didn't." Hyejoo lays her cheek on the palm of her hand, leaning against it with her eyes almost closed. "Even if I want to make a move, I trust her word. That's why I'm not desperate." She mutters.

Yerim stares at her a bit. You are. She wants to say, but figures she isn't in the place to say such a thing. She's new after all. She's still a stranger, Hyejoo's co-worker, and nothing more. Yerim doesn't want to step boundaries when their partnership had already been tipping away from shore. 

Hyejoo leans against the glass pane, shivering slightly as she feels a bit of the icy cold air caress her back and up to her arms. "You should do the same."

"What?"

"Don't be stupid." Hyejoo hums, "Don't act without thinking because that could only get you killed."

"You're obsessed with planning aren't you?"

"I'm not." Hyejoo muttered through gritted teeth, but relaxed her jaw as she felt exhaustion slowly creep in, "It's not worth taking risks when you aren't sure of the outcome. Surely you're not stupid enough to understand that, right?" 

Yerim rolls her eyes, "Yes, I'm not. Stop treating me like a newbie."

"You basically are." Hyejoo was fast to reiterate. 

"You seriously have no filter." Yerim mumbles back, though it seemed to have fallen on deaf ears - much to her disappointment. Yerim was hoping to get a reaction out of Hyejoo, but seemed she was too busy ignoring Yerim and focusing on the building across them.

The building was nothing intriguing, in Yerim's opinion. It was like every building that stood tall in the city; long rectangle frame, glass windows that reflected the silver moonlight, and an empty, lifeless establishment. 

There was really no reason for it to be so interesting.

Yerim brushes it off as Hyejoo drifting off into her own headspace only to jump back when the raven haired hero stood up. Her eyes narrowed at the building and Yerim was starting to think Hyejoo was seeing something she clearly wasn't seeing.

Yerim reluctantly pushed herself up, "What are we looking at?"

Hyejoo didn't answer.

"I doubt anyone would be there at this time so if you think someone is, it's probably just a raccoon or something." Yerim beckons, slowly lowering herself down to the makeshift seat - a stool she found laying around nearby.

She still didn't budge.

"Hyejo-"

"Shut up." 

Yerim shot a look at Hyejoo, jumping up from her make shift seat, "I get I'm the newbie - or whatever - but you can't treat me with no res-"

"Stop talking and use your eyes." Hyejoo gave out a desperate gesture as she pointed the building standing tall across them. The same one that held little to no movement last Yerim looked. 

Apparently, she didn't look closely enough.

There was a figure moving amongst the shadows, maneuvering from within the building. It was moving around the aisles erratically but their appearance was only a silhouette - much thanks to the dim lit streets and the completely dark interior of the building. 

"Looks like they're stealing something?" Yerim raises an eyebrow, stepping forward as she narrows her eyes. "We need to catch them-"

"Don't even take a step forward." Hyejoo growls through her gritted teeth.

Yerim holds in a groan, "If we don't make it in time-"

"Why are you in always such a rush? Whoever that is is obviously unaware of the blueprint of the building." Hyejoo grumbles. "Besides I don't want you setting anything on fire, again."

"Ok fine." Yerim sighs, "What do you want me to do then?"

Hyejoo eyes the building, as if making sure it doesn't leave her sight. "Just follow my lead."