ANNOYANCE

The next day, Sponge woke up alone in the shed. Vvh was nowhere to be found, and there was no note indicating her whereabouts. Sponge checked outside and discovered that Cecil was also missing. "Of course," Sponge grumbled, glaring at the spot where Cecil should have been. She scratched her head, sighed, shook it, and then walked back inside the shed to roll up her coat and tidy up the place.

Opening the pot, Sponge let out a small sigh when she saw that it was completely untouched since last night—only a little had been eaten by Vvh upon her return. "Does she not like it?" Sponge mumbled to herself, feeling a flush of embarrassment. She may not have been able to replicate how her mother had prepared it. After all, Sponge had never been that interested in cooking.

Staring at the pot, she glared before grabbing it, walking out of the shed, and throwing it at the back, covering it with snow to hide her actions. She decided she could simply get food from the town; there were plenty of food stalls there, and it was warm. Their cooking might be better than hers.

"Spongey! You did come back," Ji-Ho said, a warm smile on her face as Sponge froze, surprised. "Oh... well, I suppose I did," Sponge mumbled, rubbing the back of her head. "So what are you doing here?" Ji-Ho asked, grinning, walking up to Sponge and grabbing her arm. "Just checking if there is something to eat here," Sponge replied, shrugging slightly as Ji-Ho led her to the food stalls again.

"You're right, I wasn't able to show much of the food here last night because of that stupid idiot," the other sighed, shaking her head as Sponge snickered. "So, there isn't much information about the north," Sponge started as she looked around, watching as Ji-Ho pointed at a stall selling food on a stick. Sponge pulled out a gold coin and flicked it towards the seller, who easily caught it and handed two sticks to Ji-Ho, who let out a happy giggle. "Neat trick," Ji-Ho said as she handed a stick to Sponge, who smiled, "Sure."

"But yeah, no one can really get into the north, so I'm not sure how you managed to do that," Ji-Ho eyed Sponge, who chuckled. "There are some things that you don't need to know and some things that you need to know—something like that," Sponge said, her stomach rumbling as she took a bite of her food and chewed slowly. Beside her, Ji-Ho chuckled lightly.

"Philosophy, huh?" Ji-Ho murmured, throwing her empty stick to the side as Sponge hummed, watching her. "The north—is... it's nice here, I suppose," Ji-Ho said, rubbing the fabric of her pants with her fingers as Sponge hummed. "The snow is nice to look at if it's not actively trying to kill you," Sponge added as Ji-Ho turned to her with a laugh.

"Was it trying to kill you last night?"

"Almost, yeah,"

Ji-Ho gasped, a hand on her face. "I told you! You should have stayed over for the night," she huffed, crossing her arms as the other woman only laughed. "I possibly couldn't. There was someone who was waiting for me, and of course I had to go home," Sponge replied, chuckling slightly as Ji-Ho pouted. "Was it your girlfriend—oh, looks like you haven't given them your uh... gift there," Ji-Ho pointed at the clip that Sponge had attached to her hoodie. Sponge looked down at it and sighed. "Yeah—felt slightly pissed at her, so I forgot to give it to her in the process" she shrugged.

"Problem at paradise?" Ji-Ho teased. "Not my girlfriend. I promise you that. If she were, I would have left a long time ago," Sponge retorted, rolling her eyes as Ji-Ho laughed. "Who is she then to you? A wife?" Ji-Ho asked as Sponge glowered. "Worse."

"Sponge," a familiar voice called her, and Sponge quickly turned towards the sound, seeing Vvh with her arms crossed and her head tilted. "Is that her?" Ji-Ho whispered, hiding behind Sponge as she grabbed onto the other woman's arm. "Yeah…" Sponge mumbled, resisting the urge to groan as Vvh walked up to them. "You never told me about your friend," Vvh nodded at Ji-Ho, who timidly gave a wave back.

"She looks scary," Ji-Ho whispered as Sponge stood up. "You never even told me you were going out, and you took Cecil without my permission as well," Sponge retorted, a frown on her face as Vvh hummed. "Cecil is in good hands," Vvh replied, tilting her head down as Sponge groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose, her head throbbing.

"Look—is it normal in your hometown to ask first? I know we have this thing going on," Sponge motioned to her bracelet. "But that does not mean you can just take Cecil away!" Sponge exclaimed, hearing Ji-Ho gasp behind her, while Vvh only tilted her head. "Rule number one: you must never talk back to your teacher," she said before walking away, leaving Sponge.

Sponge let out a choked cough as she watched Vvh walk away. "Son of a bitch—," she mumbled to herself before turning back towards Ji-Ho, who looked worried. "Are you okay?" Ji-Ho asked as Sponge sat down heavily, placing a hand over her face, feeling slightly lightheaded. "I'm fine, god—I didn't mean to shout at her like that—that was stupid of me," Sponge mumbled, scratching her cheek. "Yeah, I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but maybe you guys can talk?" Ji-Ho tilted her head as Sponge barked a laugh.

"Talk? Impossible!" Sponge shook her head.

"Why? Isn't there a saying about communication being the key?"

"There was no lock in the first place, so where would I put the key?" Sponge grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"That's—well... I just have to ask, Cecil is uh—not a person, right?" Ji-Ho blushed as Sponge turned to her. "She's a horse."

Ji-Ho let out a sigh of relief, "Oh! Phew, I really thought you guys were fighting over a person, because that would mean something different," she laughs as Sponge shakes her head, though amused as well.

"You're right, that would mean something different. I guess we weren't too clear on that," Sponge mumbled, running a hand over her forehead before coughing slightly again. Ji-Ho turns to her, "What do you plan to do now? Sometimes, being able to talk about it is much better than just—you know, fighting," Ji-Ho says.

Sponge hums, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," Sponge mumbles.

Ji-Ho laughs in response, patting the other woman's back gently. "Don't we all?" Ji-Ho says.

Sponge only rolls her eyes before turning serious, eyeing Ji-Ho's pale complexion and the dark circles under her eyes. "And how about you? You said you were slightly sick last night," Sponge asks, leaning back to study Ji-Ho's face.

Ji-Ho blushed, lowering her gaze and rubbing the back of her neck before laughing. "I've always been a sickly child; this is nothing new," she shrugs as Sponge nodded, not wanting to push her for more.

"You should go back home, get warmer. You look like you're about to keel over, even after eating," Sponge says, placing a hand on Ji-Ho's shoulder.

Ji-Ho sighs, rubbing her cheek, trying to warm herself. "Even after all these years I've lived here, I never seem to get used to the cold," she says, her tone somewhat unreadable as Sponge watches her, a sense of unease gnawing at her gut, but somehow she couldn't place it.

"How about we check out that festival tomorrow," Ji-Ho suggests as Sponge perks up. "Festival?"

"Uh-huh, well, they will be lighting up lanterns and letting them fly in the sky… It's not an official festival in the north, but just in our town—since out of all places in the north, our town has the most deaths from the cold… and well," Ji-Ho paused. "It's for the dead; maybe it can help them move on? I guess it's something that we just like to hope for."

Sponge hummed, nodding slightly. "Of course, I'd love to join you."

Ji-Ho raised her eyes and grinned brightly. "Really?"

"Yeah, why the hell not?" Sponge grinned as Ji-Ho whooped loudly, catching the attention of some people passing by.

—

Walking back to the shed was a trek—a journey that Sponge found exhausting. Her breath came in pants, and she was slightly sure she was sick from coming home wet last night and not changing out of her clothes. Not that she had other clothes in the first place, but the fact that she had let them dry on her skin was probably the reason why she felt so awful right now.

It could make sense why she had blown up on Vvh like that—she was usually level-headed, even when Vvh was acting extra prissy for no reason at all. Vvh had taken Cecil around multiple times without asking, and Sponge had never really gotten that angry to the point of screaming at the other.

But now she had done it—not only did she feel sick like a dog, but there was a possibility that Vvh might not let her in. And god—it was freezing outside, the snow biting her neck, and her hands feeling almost numb from the cold.

Slowly, she opened the door, peering inside, shivering.

She could almost hear her teeth chattering as she leaned back outside the shed, spotting Cecil on the side, which meant Vvh was here—unless she had left again on foot.

Sponge pushed in, shutting the door as she rushed towards the fireplace, trying to warm her body again. Her pants and feet were soaked to the bone, as she tried to dry herself. At least she could be warmer when Vvh returned and possibly gave her another ridiculous punishment, like standing outside in the snow until morning.

Not until a thick blanket was dropped onto her, "You didn't tell me you were sick," Vvh said, standing above her, arms crossed as Sponge turned to her, surprised.

"You didn't ask—and… I just recently noticed," Sponge grumbled, lowering her head as she huddled, wrapping the blanket around her tightly, focusing on warming her legs which still felt slightly numb from the cold.

Vvh only hummed, walking past her and towards the kitchen once again. "You threw out the porridge," Vvh said as Sponge lowered her head in shame, throwing the blanket over her head and staring at the fire—there was something in her that wanted to move away, but if she did, she would feel colder.

"Yeah—it's not that good so… yeah," Sponge murmured, drawing the blanket around her tighter as she heard Vvh move, the flutter of her clothes and her breath as she sat beside Sponge in a smooth motion, her hands clasped together and her legs crossed.

Sponge turned to her, clearing her throat awkwardly. She wasn't too used to Vvh being closer than usual, unless of course—the other was threatening a sword at her throat.

"Sorry for shouting at you earlier," Sponge said, her voice filled with shame as Vvh turned to her—perhaps slightly surprised. Sponge flushed at the sudden attention.

"I was just—ehm very emotional… that was just—stupid of me, I guess," Sponge murmured, rubbing the back of her neck as Vvh let out a muffled breath. "You have nothing to apologize for, your point was right. It's me who should be apologizing," she said as Sponge blinked at her.

"Are you—," Sponge started before giggling slightly.

Vvh tilted her head, unsure how Sponge was finding this funny.

"I—no, I'm not laughing at you. It's just… that's probably the first time you've said sorry for something so trivial," Sponge giggled, wiping a tear from her eye.

"I don't think this is stupid; Cecil clearly means something to you," Vvh replied as Sponge's giggles slowly died down. "Hmm, yeah, you're right, but I trust you with her. I see how you always feed her—I was just extra emotional because I'm a bit sick," Sponge laughed lightly as Vvh tilted her head down before focusing towards the fire.

"Where did you go earlier? I didn't expect to see you in town," Sponge asked.

"There was a bounty," Vvh started.

"I thought we had enough money," Sponge raised a brow, not until Vvh gave her a look that meant 'let me talk first'. Sponge grinned slightly.

"I was considering leaving bounty hunting. I was about to hand in my license for that, but then someone gave me an offer," Vvh started.

Sponge narrowed her eyes. "Is it worth it?"

Vvh didn't respond, turning to Sponge before sighing slightly. "Not really. They want me to kill an innocent girl," Vvh said, almost murmuring, her voice low as Sponge frowned.

While she had killed a few people in her life after leaving her homeland, she didn't exactly kill innocent ones. Rapists, conmen—those were the ones she killed, brutally she might add.

"Then don't take it then?" Sponge scratched her head. Vvh didn't reply, humming slightly. "The one who tried to hire me was the same person who wants to die," Vvh said.

Sponge turned to her, surprised. "That's… sad. For what reason?" Sponge asked.

"She's sick. She says her father refuses to let her go. She wishes for no more burden for her father, therefore hired me for twenty bronze to kill her," Vvh said as Sponge rubbed her hands together. So, it was one of the people in town who had tried to hire Vvh. Sponge thought.

"Will you accept it?" Sponge murmured.

Vvh paused for a moment, then shook her head, "No."

Sponge let out a sigh of relief.

—

January 2 of XXXX, Korean Territory (The North)

I'm writing this while feeling under the weather, which might not be the best idea, but I feel the need to jot down today's events. I found myself raising my voice at Vvh because she took Cecil without asking me first. It was a bit of a rough moment for both of us, but lately, it seems like everyone's a bit on edge. I've forgiven her, and I hope she has done the same for me.

Last night, after my writing session, I met Ji-Ho. She was a kind and cheerful girl, a bit silly in a delightful way. We've made plans to watch lanterns being lit up and released into the night sky tomorrow, and I'm genuinely looking forward to it.

There have been many more events today, but my mind is a jumble, my head is pounding, and I'm still feeling quite unwell, so I'm unable to organize my thoughts as coherently as I would have liked.

Signing out,

S.

—

"Perhaps what you need is to sleep and not to write," Vvh drawled, watching as Sponge hid her journal inside her hoodie and smiled at her. "I need to start a good schedule with writing my everyday life; this is important so when I want to read back, I'd remember every single one of it," Sponge murmured, trailing her finger towards her chest where she placed the journal inside.

Vvh hummed, placing a bowl of soup on the table in front of Sponge, who murmured a small thank you as she took the spoon in her hand. "So a diary," Vvh said.

Sponge flushed, turning towards Vvh, who was grabbing herself her own bowl of soup. "Not a diary, a journal," Sponge retorted.

"Is it not the same?" Vvh asked, tilting her head as she took a seat in front of Sponge, who pouted. "It's not."

Vvh only hummed, the tone seemingly saying 'yeah, I don't believe you' as Sponge let out a small groan, "Fine— I guess it is…" she said as Vvh chuckled—softly, but Sponge heard it.

"Did you just chuckle? Was that a chuckle? I think I heard you chuckling!" Sponge beamed, giggling as Vvh grew quiet, stirring her soup without responding.

"I heard that! You can't deny it!" Sponge huffed, crossing her arms. "Your fever must be making you crazy, making you hear things," Vvh replied as Sponge let out a choked laugh. "No way, you're just denying that you actually chuckled. I swear, and here I thought you don't even know how to laugh—turns out you do, huh?" Sponge smiled as Vvh didn't reply, still stirring the soup, the steam almost blocking Sponge's view of staring at Vvh's mask.

"So will I ever get to see your—"

"Sponge,"

"Yeah?"

"Eat, or I'll throw you out of the shed."

Sponge paused.

"Yes, Ma'am."