The mortals, humans - they have always been fascinating for the god of love. Observing and seeing how they are all intertwined, threads over threads weaved together - some interconnecting, some overlapping, while others do not have any connection at all. But when Ning looks at the world from the outside, all these threads weave across their world making the mere mortal world like a ball of yarn.

She has always looked at them with fondness, seeing how their connections start with just a simple tug on their thread out of Ning's courtesy. Out of all the gods, Ning could say that she's the closest one to the mortals - she appreciates their existence and the way they live their short lives.

And for her to have the ability to pull their threads and connections?

Minjeong, the god of death, said it was manipulative.

But of course, she doesn't know the extent of Ning's vision. One look at the mortal, and she could see visions of their connections with the right person - in every aspect they could have connection with. Which includes suffering as well.

And in all years that Ning has connected and pulled their strings, never did her vision fail her - it all happened accordingly.

Until that one cold night.

Ning was just walking around when she noticed a thread floating - glowing bright white that she couldn't help but to follow where it would lead her. Only to see a bookstore with an indoor cafe along with it, the thread connecting to the lone girl inside. It only took one look from Ning to see flashes of the girl's fated connections with people - quite a small number but beautiful nonetheless.

One moment the girl was serving a customer, then in a flash everything happened - and Ning watches from a distance. Simply sitting on a ledge of a random rooftop, waiting for the right moment to pull her string.

A call.

Pause.

Loud shattering of the cup.

The lone customer leaves the girl alone.

That was the moment Ning was waiting for, as she sees a figure of a man approaching the store - and she smiles to herself. Another connection made, or so she thinks.

Because as she was about to tug the string, it got dimmer for a second and when Ning looked at the store - specifically at the sobbing girl, the visions got blurry. Millennias have passed and this is the first time that this happened to her, and because of what?

Or rather who?

A curious eyebrow raised, as she watched her fellow god walking out of the store and vanishing into darkness.

The sign was flipped to Closed, and the man turned around to look for another store around the area.

/

Ning thought it would be the only time, the first and last time for the god of death to interfere with her own job. Because the moment she saw the familiar thread glowing once more, she immediately went to it but was only left surprised as she saw Minjeong in the same place - following the direction of her stare, the very same mortal that Ning was supposed to have connected that night.

"Fancy seeing you here, Min."

Of course, her presence was already known because she was close enough that Minjeong felt her, "You are rather the one out of place here, Ning."

Ning lets out a smile, there was irony in her statement - being in a cemetery is not really the scene for the god of love, but she just followed the bright thread. A conversation then started between them, a short and yet quite debatable conversation - after all, they have very different views of mortals. And so, Ning wanted to question Minjeong's act that night - and to the reason why she was there in the cemetery.

But she decided against it.

Perhaps it was just a one time thing.

A lapse of judgment from the god of death - which is something that Ning doubts. For the long time that she has known Minjeong, the latter never does something without thinking - out of all the gods, Minjeong has the most control of her own desires and actions.

All calculated and filtered.

Taunting.

The years where she has made her title known and felt to the gods, until now - where she brings out fear even with her mere presence.

With a glance, the ceremony was about to end with the group of all walking away from the once open ground of soil.

"I thought you have a job to do?"

"Just tell me if you don't want me here anymore, you know?" Ning jokes for a moment.

"As if you'd listen to that."

And suddenly, Ning felt the second thread coming closer - two glowing bright threads coming together, and Ning already knew who it was. "Got to go now." She said and vanished, leaving Minjeong all alone - far away to conceal her presence even for the god of death, but near enough to see the two threads.

Droplets of water could already be seen and soon enough, it got stronger until it was already pouring. The threads glowing brighter as ever, and Ning looks at the man opening his own umbrella. Ning smiles to herself, this is enough and the right time - a glance and she saw the girl walking towards the exit.

20 feet away from the exit.

The threads floating and almost touching - colors binding together like smoke.

10 feet.

Ning's smile grew wider.

5 feet.

And as she was about to pull it all together, the glow from the girl's thread grew faint - just like before.

"What..." She mumbles and quickly looks at the girl, reading a small note that made her smile and opening an umbrella which magically appeared.

Ning tried to compose her breathing, she looked around only to see an empty space on where Minjeong was once standing. But she could still feel the latter's powers, and that moment of the threads stopped - the man and woman fated to be connected and walked passed right by each other.

"What are you doing, Minjeong?" Ning whispered to herself before clicking her tongue and turning around - she needed a drink.

Ning doesn't know if it was a fault in the system - an error, but the power of a god should never be questioned. Because Ning wasn't supposed to see it but she was curious, she needed to know - and it was a coincidence for her to witness it - the moment Minjeong revealed herself to Jimin. Ning wanted to stop Minjeong right there but she couldn't move - in disbelief? Surprised? Confusion?

She's not sure.

And she thinks back again on the fault in their system, and Minjeong's lapse of judgment.

Because Ning could clearly see the slight glimmer of chain forming, and it followed Minjeong as she walked out of the store. The other end of the chain connects to the girl inside - a smile on her face without any idea on what's going on.

And the same chain faint but could be seen in certain angles, following Minjeong as she disappeared along with the shadows. After that instance, Ning did everything to make that chain connection disappear - pulling the man's thread more so than she could think of.

 Minjeong bumped into him as she visited Jimin for the first time.

Ning then tugged the man's thread to the animal shelter to adopt only for Minjeong to assist him, when it was supposed to be Jimin.

And on and on, all of her attempts were blocked by Minjeong - by a god.

/

"What?" Ryujin asked, thinking that she had misheard Ning.

"Just a small favor, Ryu," Ning sighed and finished her drink, "Go and look for Min, I just need your opinion."

Ning felt the stare that the god of time was giving her, and she didn't bother staring back. It has been rattling her, the chain was faint but it is starting to materialize - and Ning doesn't know what to do. Perhaps she has her own agenda as she could see Minjeong changing, softening whenever she's with Jimin - but then again, it is a mortal's fate and for a god to interfere with it?

May it be unconsciously or not.

It's still a problem for Ning, something unheard of - an outlier.

"Where would I even find her?" Ryujin asked.

Ning looked at Ryujin, "We could feel the god of death's power even from a distance, Ryu. You'll know where."

"Why do I feel like you know where she is?"

"Just go."

"Is there something more about this than you looking for her?"

Ning paused and glanced at Ryu, "Just go."

And that was probably a miscalculation on Ning's part - to have the god of time look for Minjeong, and eventually see a mortal. A mortal that has obviously made an impression to the god of death, because the moment Ryujin came back, the latter did not waste any second to pull Ning from her seat- going out of the bar and vanishing as they went to a rooftop.

"Ning, tell me honestly, what was that?!" Ryujin demanded her eyes flickering white for a moment as she tried to control herself.

"It's nothing," Ning exasperatedly said, "Minjeong is just, she's been spending time with that mortal and I couldn't do my job!"

"Obviously," Ryujin said and looked at Ning from head to toe, "for how long?"

"Months." Ning answered, "what can you say? I just really need your opinion."

It took Ryujin a moment before shaking her head, "Minjeong doesn't even realize it herself, and I could only think that you're supposed to pull that mortal's thread to their fated connection but it seems like..."

"Exactly." Ning didn't even let her finish, she didn't want to hear the problem coming from another god. "I'm happy for her to appreciate mortals now but it's just quite - "

"There's more to this, right?" Ryujin asked and took a step closer, scrutinizing and almost towering over Ning. Her power could be felt as Ning takes a deep breath, "there's more to the fact that you are simply pulling the thread of that mortal and with Minjeong spending time with her?"

Avoid.

Ning looks away, "I'm not sure."

"But you know," Ryujin frowns and looks away, "I'm not entertained with whatever you are thinking of, Ning." She reminds the god of love.

"I'm not even planning anything else," Ning raised her voice, "it was out of my control!"

Ryujin clicks her tongue and shakes her head, "I don't want to know, but one more thing." She said and turned around. "That mortal, she'll meet Minjeong soon."

Ning frowns out of confusion, "What? She already met - "

"Not as Winter," Ryujin cuts her off, saying the foreign name of the god of death out loud, "but as a god."

Ning froze. "What..." she couldn't comprehend anything.

"So whatever you're thinking with her fate, think wisely and faster," Ryujin glanced back before walking away, "because her time is ticking and we both know that Minjeong would know it the moment her name appears on her list." She warns before disappearing with a loud pop.

//

"You should have told her the moment you had the chance." Ryujin said and sighed, pouring herself a drink with everything that had happened.

"I was planning to but then you told me about Jimin," Ning said and rubbed her forehead, "that was something I never thought of."

"And it's not like we expected Minjeong to care for a mortal and yet here we are," Ryujin muttered under her breath before taking a sip from her whiskey.

"I only saw vision of Jimin and Jaewoon together but never thought it would be because of that."

Ryujin sighed and shook her head, putting down her glass. "I only see their time, Ning."

"And? It takes a blind man to know that's why they're fated to be together." Ning points out, "and now Minjeong knows about it as well."

"She's bound to know it, Ning," Ryujin said and looked up at the plain ceiling of the bar, "we just didn't expect for it to be this early."

Silence.

The only thing that they could hear were the chatterings of the other gods in the bar, the dim light of the bar seems to be much darker than before. The two of them in their own thoughts, the image of Minjeong transforming clouding their mind and the two of them felt cold with that certain image.

"What now?"

"I do my job." The god of love stated the obvious.

Ryujin looks at her, "Min Jeong's in the picture."

Ning closed her eyes and shook her head, dismissing the topic as she stood up. "Jimin and Jaewoon are fated, and it's my job to connect them."

Ryujin frowns and looks at Ning, "And Minjeong?"

Ning bites the inside of her cheeks, she doesn't know. "It's out of my control." She said, her voice laced with disappointment as she looked away - ashamed?

"You should let her know." Ryujin said before standing up.

"I think she knows already." Ning answered quietly, smiling sadly. "And I hate it that I couldn't do anything for her."

"She'll understand."

Ning clenched her jaw and did not answer, turning around as she walked out of the bar. Leaving Ryujin with her half empty glass of whiskey, wondering what happened with the two gods. Especially with Minjeong - for her to react that way, and to her fate. 

After all, why would the god of death react in such a way on a mortal's death? When it is where her own existence revolves?

//

The mortal world has been a playground for the gods, roaming the world without any other mortal knowing - that within them, there are gods that are present. Mortals only see the world as something beautiful, a place that works in mysterious ways - a place where they would live in, and try to understand their life and everything in it. But it has been mysterious for mortals not because of the fact that they do not understand everything - but because it refuses to reveal all its rules to them.

Except for the gods.

The gods could foresee certain events in a mortal's life, with what their power would allow them to - hence, making them the higher being.

Mortals for them are possibly at the bottom of their food chain.

But then, what would happen when a god's fate starts to entangle with a mortal?

What could a god possibly do?

"Are you okay?"

Minjeong hums in response, looking back at Jimin who was looking at her concernedly. The latter held a tray of cookies, while tilting her head - and Minjeong could clearly see the way Jimin's finger twitched. As if she wanted to touch Minjeong to make sure that she's okay - well, is she?

"I'll help you with that." Minjeong said without waiting for a response, grabbing the tray for Jimin - consciously avoiding the girl's fingers. She has been helping Jimin with the shop for the past days, only leaving for a few hours to continue her duties - but never leaving for a day.

Minjeong has not missed a day without seeing Jimin.

And in those days, she tried to understand what was happening - why was she still there? Her actions, her own actions - it craves to act and be with the mortal. She wanted to understand, she needed to understand.

But she could not.

All she sees is blank - like a blank canvas, waiting to be painted with colors.

Minjeong feels out of control.

And she lets it be.

It's been days since she last saw Ning - since she last felt the god's presence near her. Days since she last visited Ryujin - the bar. Minjeong wanted to be alone - years of knowing the two gods, she has understood their reasons. After all, gods can be cunning but their actions always have reasons.

The only reason that Minjeong knows that Ning is around the area is the fact that she has seen glimpses of the familiar man - Jaewoon.

Why does she remember his face?

Minjeong felt pathetic - like a mortal.

She knows the answer to her question but she refuses to acknowledge it, for now.

Just enough.

Minjeong takes a deep breath, putting the last piece of cookie in the display before turning around - catching Jimin's eyes in the process. The latter did not look away, "You look bothered."

Minjeong simply shakes her head, "Just thinking about something."

It seems like Jimin has understood that Minjeong does not like sharing things, and surprisingly, she respects it without any questions. "Your job?" She simply asked like usual.

"Kind of." Minjeong answered shortly, and as expected, Jimin nodded and continued. Minjeong did not bother to continue the conversation and was about to go to the kitchen when she heard the bell ringing, followed by the heavy footsteps.

"Yu Jimin." A threatening voice said out loud.

Minjeong turned around, and saw the subtle surprise that was evident on Giselle's face. Of course, the latter saw Minjeong at the hospital - with the god suddenly running away. She saw the way Giselle's turned into confusion, questioning - and Minjeong simply shook her head.

"Giselle."Jimin said without the usual enthusiastic tone, "good morning." She said lowly, glancing at Minjeong cautiously.

"You're not answering my calls." Giselle replied as soon as she got over her surprise, "I've called you hundreds of times already!"

"Not here," Jimin said quietly, cautiously glancing at Minjeong - in which the latter looked away, walking towards the kitchen. The way Jimin glanced at her, carefully and consciously, Minjeong knew that Jimin didn't want her there.

Despite the fact that Minjeong already knows - probably, what the two were going to talk about based on the reaction of Giselle when she saw Minjeong with Jimin.

But Jimin doesn't know that.

And she doesn't want Minjeong to know anything about it.

That thought, it irks Minjeong - because she couldn't understand why the girl wouldn't want her to know?

And the fact that she has obviously been avoiding Giselle.

Just enough.

Minjeong has mastered control - but then she finds herself losing every ounce of it whenever a certain mortal is involved.

//

Giselle didn't waste any time when she was left with Minjeong - the former deciding to stay after her talk with Jimin, which seemed to have left an uncomfortable silence between the two that Minjeong never bothered to address. It was their own business