Horizon | Choi San

21

[Day 142 in the other dimension/142 hours and 17 minutes in Mirinae]:

It took a lot of planning, to put it simply. A lot of planning and arguments and bickering to finally agree that yes, they were going to open the portal to the dimension where the Panthers of Soca dwelled. It was a risk, but everyone was fully prepared to defend themselves, fight back or face worse consequences.

Despite playing it safe so far, everyone did admit they were a little tired of everything now and just wanted to solve this matter and get it over with. It was Neve who finally pushed their buttons and got them to admit it, and Gaeul was thoroughly impressed by that, reminded of Wooyoung who would have probably been even quicker than Neve.

It was actually Gaeul's big plan- she was the one who was tired of sitting and waiting. She was tired of seeing the others pretend that each passing day wasn't wearing them down- yes, the break must have been very much welcomed when they first came here, but it had been months. Everyone had a life they wished to resume. They missed their court, their people, and hell, even the boring meetings. They missed their friends. Yena missed her husband- it was plain as day.

And Gaeul missed San. She could not simply wait for some miracle to happen now that she had seen San in that state, looking just like she had when she came back from the dead. She would make that miracle take place.

And for that, she needed Neve- probably the only one who could perhaps understand her. And she had been right.

"That's easy enough," Neve said, glancing at the others who were looking zoned out- either playing with their surroundings or staring into the space. "I think they're going a little crazy anyway. They need some action."

"Right!" Gaeul instantly relaxed, making Neve stifle a grin. "I know they're doing it to make me comfortable and whatnot but if only they knew how uncomfortable all of this is making me... And they keep talking about training me. Haven't I trained enough?"

"You can never train enough, Gaeul dear," he pointed out and Gaeul groaned.

"I know, but..." Gaeul bit her lip in frustration. "I just want this to be over already. And I don't think just sitting and waiting for something to happen is the better choice."

"I understand," he nodded in approval. "I think the Panthers of Soca are intelligent enough to try holding a conversation with us instead of simply attacking us. And you know what? I have this strangest feeling that they're connected to this in more ways than we can imagine."

"Like?" Gaeul frowned.

"You'll see," he smiled knowingly. "I can see what's coming. If you use that pretty little head of yours, you might see it too. The others are far too done to even form sane thoughts."

Gaeul looked at the rest again, laughing a bit at the sight of Yunho arranging water drops in the air, Mingi sketching in the sand, Yena and Yeosang back to back pretending to read something but Yeosang's book was upside down and Yena's eyes weren't on the book at all.

"They're hopeless," Neve shook his head in amusement. "But they're an odd bunch. They'd do anything for the people they care about."

"Well," Gaeul rubbed her arms. "I hope they don't get too disappointed with what happens later."

So, after countless arguments and defence plans, Yena was finally ready to open a portal to their dimension, Gaeul next to her and Neve behind them to control the portal if something went wrong. Yena took a deep breath, glancing at the rest before meeting eyes with Gaeul. "Ready?"