Love's a Curse

Sins of Sprouting Love

Another boring morning in Ancestral History. Bora tunes out the professor, just as she's done since the first day of school. She wasn't thinking about her fate, the idea as a whole was dumb to her. She was only attending this school to keep her father out of her ear. She didn't plan on following in his footsteps or anyone else's, and no one could make her.

In the dining hall that afternoon, Bora finds Yubin at a table sitting across from Gahyeon and joins them. Over the course of their meal, Gahyeon ends up talking to another goddess beside her instead, and Yubin gives all her attention to Bora.

Though they had two very different food preferences, they still managed to share their food with each other. Or more so, Bora kept stealing Yubin's food off her tray and Yubin would give her more when the demon would eye her food again

Yubin eventually scooted closer to the demon and rested her chin on Bora's shoulder. Bora puts her arm around Yubin's waist and they become lost in conversation about nothing in particular— catching up on all the things they didn't say to each other in the beginning.

Bora finds that Yubin talks more than she would have imagined. She had a lot to say, and Bora loved how Yubin felt comfortable enough to tell her things. She could listen to her talk forever. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so happy to be around someone— or anyone at all. Has she ever been this happy before?

Later that day, Yubin watches Bora's Evolution in awe. As expected, Bora was nothing short of a true warrior. Yubin enjoyed watching her and all the other students battle each other, but she couldn't help but feel envious of all the goddesses who got to participate alongside the demons.

She wishes she was out there too. All she can ever do is watch from the sidelines, but when she becomes an active goddess she wouldn't even be able to do that. She'll be in the garden, alone.. until the day she dies.

When Evolution is over, Yubin meets Bora in the locker room, deep in thought.

"I wish I was more like you and the others; strong.." Yubin commented, eyes watching the floor as she leaned against the lockers while she waited for Bora to finish putting her things away.

"You are strong." Bora says, hidden behind her locker door.

"No, I'm not.." Yubin mumbles. She's already accepted it, though she wishes things were different. Maybe it was because people already saw her that way; weak, and now she does too.

"Battle isn't where you need to be." Bora tells her.

"But It's where I want to be." Yubin says sadly.

"When I die, I want it to be for a good cause. I don't want to be another dead saint protecting purity. I'm not even really protecting anything.." she trails off.

Bora pulled her locker door back, and looked over at Yubin in concern. "When, you die?" She was a little worried by Yubin's choice of words, "when" instead of "if." Yubin won't be dying on Bora's watch, that's for sure.

Yubin looks over at Bora now, hands tucked behind her back. "Yeah, we're all going to at some point. But if I'm going to die for something I want it to be for justice or someone I love." She starts.

"I'm protecting "purity" because I have no choice. I'm nothing but a living symbol to the Gods.. and man.." She mumbled the last part. The more she thought about it, the more she was upset with life, man, and the Gods.

Bora smiles at Yubin sympathetically. "No. You're much more than that. You're strong willed, and brave. I don't know any Goddess willing to die for love." Bora says, lifting her shirt over her head and tossing it into her locker.