Freyja
Our team has been training hard for the last few weeks before we travel to the past. Inhaling the steam coming off my cup of tea, a familiar set of footsteps headed towards the break room. By the time Matilda opened the door, I had her favourite cup of coffee ready. Her whole body relaxed as she breathed in the scent. No words were needed between us, as we knew how important this mission was.
We knew Lady Roseia’s past self was still cursed, so protection from the threat was required. My team would be passing along vital information for Matilda and upper management in 1923. I knew sending my second-in-command with most of the team would leave me short-handed for the remaining jobs in 2024.
Anytime my team needed to split into two smaller groups for a job was risky. We had prepared as best as we could. Both of our drinks had gone cold, so with one last look at each other we headed back out into the office.
Two days later my team was loaded up with their rucksacks, carrying everything from 2024 they would require in 1923. The branch in the past would provide everything else. After going through the checklist, the portal was set to the travel date. They went through one at a time, with my second in charge going last. Matilda pulled me into a hug, letting me know it would work out.
Iris (past Rose)
1st June 1923
I was slowly finishing after breakfast, to my surprise Lydia dashed out of the kitchen. All I heard was “mmhmm, mmhmm, mmhmm” and footsteps back into the apartment. Her serious expression told me it was important. “Matilda needs to see us”, she knew it was our day off so I hoped this was important. Looking through my wardrobe, the dark blue long sleeved dress with the grey trim at the collar, drop waist and cuffs seemed right for today.
My short red fringed bob was behaving itself, which helped on a low energy day. Lydia was waiting at the door with my deep purple wool coat, black cloche hat and gloves. One last check of our outfits and we were ready for the day. We lived in one of the buildings owned by our branch, it had hidden protections on it which kept all the demons safe from any enemies. It was a quick commute to the office, which on a day where I should be resting was welcome. Waiting for us at our office was Matilda.
“We have received a threat to your life and this comes to us from an advanced guard, who arrived this morning.” The three women dressed in black day dresses, stood up when I walked into the room. “Lady Roseia, it’s an honour to protect you. I’m second in command of our special operations reaper unit.” Matilda kept glancing towards me during the meeting. My body was aching from our last job, which involved a lot of running.
I tried my best to stop any yawns from getting out, but failed towards the end. Lydia tapped my left shoulder with our exit signal. These days it was common for us to leave early when my energy levels were low. Melting into my bed and having the covers pulled up were the last thing I remembered before I drifted off to sleep.
Shin-ju
It had been a week and half since the heatwave had hit Seoul. As we approached the remainder of our group, a wall of familiar scents was mixed in with new and unknown ones. My mouth started to water and to my left Soo-oh’s stomach growled.
A single side glance at Yu-ri and both of us broke out into giggles, giving him a confused look on his face. She squeezed his hand. A high pitched “Oppa”; he was guided to his seat by Yun.
We took our places to the left of Soo-oh and my heart felt light seeing everyone, especially Rose. “who’s idea was the picnic?” Yu-ri answered “after all the recent events, I thought this was a light activity, which wouldn’t be overstimulating for you.”
Andrew added “it’s a good opportunity to try each other’s common picnic foods.” It was quite a spread with Kimbap, Kimchi-jeon, Gamja-jeon, Mandu, Fried Chicken and Gimmari. “I recognise six out of twelve dishes. Please introduce the Australian ones”
Rose and Andrew played rock, paper, scissors to figure out who would answer my question. A winning wide grin appeared on her face, while he playfully glared at her.
“We have Sausage rolls, beef and chicken pies, sandwiches, potato and pasta salads. The dips are beetroot & tzatziki and accompanying them are rice & savoy crackers with small cubes of bread.”
He explained how each dish was typically eaten along with where the drinks were located. As I dug into the potato salad, I saw Rose helping Yun decide which food to try. It was hard to keep the smile off my face, observing Hong-ju and Moo-young lost in their own world.
Around two pm a subtle switch from the savoury dishes over to the sweet ones started to happen. A small giggle left my mouth, it was clear Yeon had passed his sweet tooth down to his daughter.
While the dishes were being introduced, Ji-ah kept them in line with a single glance. The large circular pavlova was covered in whipped cream and local seasonal fruit. Along with the cheesecake, there were Tim Tams and spongy chocolate bricks called Lamingtons.
Rose assisted Yun with her choices, while Yeon had one of all the desserts on his plate. Looking up from my own plate of a Lamington, slice of cheesecake and pavlova, I spied Hong-ju feeding Moo-young a piece of fruit. It took me back to when I was courting Yu-ri.
This afternoon’s picnic was a nice way to enjoy each other’s company and take a break from the chaos of almost a year. Although I could see Rose’s mask failing, with her zoning out and almost falling asleep.
Fetching a light blanket and pillow from Yeon’s car, I came back to find her on the ground fast asleep. We moved her to a more comfortable position, placing the pillow under her head and covering her. She did pretty well to be present for most of the afternoon.
It wasn’t long before Yun joined her for a nap; all of this had happened while Hong-ju and Moo-young were lost in each other’s worlds. At four pm without waking up the bonded pair, we packed up everything. Rose and Yun were gently carried by Hong-ju and Yeon to the car. Overall this afternoon was exactly what the doctor ordered.
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Chapter 21: Between Fever and Familiarity
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Chapter 23: Jeju Island
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