twice ; michaeng | goblin ✦

01 | the immortal

; 900 years later — present day

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chaeyoung was sipping on a coffee, her lips brimming on the mug's edge with a faint frown as she waited for jihyo to arrive.

behind her, the likes of men in suits and women in heels rushed through cashiers with smug faces at this busy hour, their presence causing stress upon the atmosphere in the cosy café.

outside the window, winds were lightly tripping  through leaves that were soon to fall off in their rich colours of death. and it reminded the short girl that everything, and everyone, lived through a cycle of life that would eventually end one day.

but son chaeyoung was an exception.

with a sigh that belonged to her little figure, she let her thoughts dominate over the fact that she was immortal, a goblin (a goddess of some sort) left to roam the earth alone.

at first, she assured herself it was a blessing. but as centuries moved onwards and behind, chaeyoung remained the same — trapped within a curse.

she was forever stuck in a small body with short hair and a heart that felt too much pain.

what changed her course of thinking was the sudden appearance of park jihyo, who — along with a familiar scowling face, hurried to sit in front of chaeyoung with a contagious smile on her lips.

beside jihyo, tzuyu fumbled down on the seat with her back so straight it hurt and her eyes scanning sharply all around. the young girl was always like that, showing her distaste in being dragged around by her older cousin who was always by the shorter girl's side.

but neither jihyo nor chaeyoung seemed to mind as they engaged in a greeting conversation that was present in laughs and smiles which neither were faking.

looking at the relationship between the two girls, it was difficult to interpret that jihyo was a young ceo of her family's company, who promised her loyalty to chaeyoung from her first walking life.

without explanations or deepening details, a human gets to live four times. what happens after dying in your last life? nothing. you disappear. do note, that each time you start a new life — you do not have any memories of your previous ones.

and while chaeyoung was still living her first life for more than nine-hundred years; jihyo was just over twenty years into her final fourth life.

because through the decades and centuries, jihyo was destined to death, and then reincarnation. with each life — she continued the tradition of serving the goblin, which has been a way of living for generations in her family. jihyo in fact, was the original pin point of this oath, for she was chaeyoung's closest friend in both their first lives.

now jihyo's cousin; a distant relative by the name of chou tzuyu, was the newly appointed heiress of the park's business. from rumours that circled through family gatherings, tzuyu (although at such a young age) was strictly grown to the world of modern business around her.

chaeyoung met tzuyu a good while ago, but the two were often an awkward mix of savage remarks (on tzuyu's behalf) and comments to respect the elders (that would be chaeyoung).

ordering an espresso for the young heiress, jihyo got herself an afternoon lunch as she told the goddess in front of her about the technicalities of employment that seemed to be doing well.

chaeyoung smiled, listening to jihyo's soothing voice that in some other life was used as an instrument of singing on stage.

by their table, tzuyu just skimmed through her surroundings as she eyed the passing figures with more interest than listening to the olders' conversation about the upcoming change of season.

it always seemed to be like that, tzuyu just sitting there and zoning out. because as she recalled, from early childhood she was only taught two things.

one — how to present herself as a potencial heiress of a powerful corporation that was owned by a family branch closest to her.

and two — to always serve, or be of use, to a figure by the name of son chaeyoung, otherwise known as goblin.

tzuyu had no arguments against these moralities as long as she had her personal life and a good amount of savings on her credit cards, and that's just how things worked. after all, the girl didn't have much worries — it was just her first life on earth.

"i think i'll be leaving for quebec tonight," chaeyoung muttered with sadness lacing through her tone as they shared the conversation. jihyo nodded silently with a tinge of grief in her eyes.

in contrast, tzuyu brightened momentarily, "you're leaving? for how long? when are you back?"

the short girl looked at the heiress with a questioning look, "i'm not sure yet, why'd you ask?"

"oh— just wondering," tzuyu shrugged off, an idea popping into her head.

with another meaningless nod, the three turned to their right as rain made its way through the humming clouds behind the glass panes. jihyo frowned, "it was a good day."

drops plastered themselves on the glass panes. "i'm going to head back now," chaeyoung murmured, getting up as a guilty feeling tugged at her chest.

turning towards her, jihyo exclaimed, "oh, do you want tzuyu to help you with anything?"

tzuyu of course wanted, prayed, for the short girl to say no. even though it was technically her job, well her responsibility to supply chaeyoung with the most possible comfort (while jihyo worked with finances) — she still wished to be going off on dates and fancy gatherings with her friends instead of spending time with the short figure.

"i'm okay," chaeyoung smiled, pulling a long coat of charcoal colour over her shoulders as she pulled out an umbrella of similar shade to accompany her in this weather.

"you sure are depressing," tzuyu muttered at the girl's choice of dark presence, "make sure to tell me when you're back from quebec so i can have your house ready for your arrival," she informed her louder as she faked her overly-enthusiastic tone.

chaeyoung smiled, her dimple clear as she hugged jihyo (and eyed tzuyu funnily) before leaving the now-crowded café. behind the entrance threshold, rain poured not heavily but still mightily, and as she stepped outside - she pulled open her umbrella over her head and with that trudged downtown without a hurry.

the smell of warm rain lingered in the air as it neared the time when students were folding out from their classes and rushing home through the drizzle as chaeyoung continued to walk without a care.

just another typical afternoon of her nine-hundred years.

just another day when she wished she was dead.

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written: august 24, 2017
published: october 15, 2017