“I’m not afraid of flying, no. Are you?” His attention flickered towards the window before returning back to Jinwoo. “I just think of flying as freedom and how good it must feel to go anywhere with no boundaries, you know?”
his senses on high alert, he speared a glance towards the window, seeing the people scatter around on the ground as they moved away, plane starting to head away from the airport to take off. the belt loosely tied around his waist, jinwoo half-heartedly watched the hostess go over the security procedure, fastening the faux belt, motioning the oxygen masks and how they should be put on, the life-jackets that are in the compartment under their seats. if the fake smile on her face was anything to go by, it was obvious how useless those tasks would be if the plane were to crash. it seemed like the procedure succeeded in calming some people's minds though, so jinwoo didn't complain. plus considering how unlikely it was to die in a plane crash, he could easily say that he led a much more dangerous life. plus, even if it did crash, who knew what would happen to him —considering his abilities, would he actually die ? or just freeze under the sea, akin to captain america's story ? now, that would be an awful turn of events.
bearing in mind that nor his partner beside him nor the other passengers were super soldiers, whatever they did had to be precise and careful — with the dangerous targets and an expensive artefact on the plane. he shook his head at haneul's question easily, shrugging. "nah, i'm not. i didn't used to fly much — or at all — before this, still, it's undeniable how fast it is." comparing his life before the meteor shower and his life now, it was shocking how it split into two parts, before and after the ar collective, and how resolute it felt, no matter that it had been mere two years.
"without boundaries ?" he questioned, tilting his head, the fingers on his notebook stilling. "i suppose one could say that. it'd be much freeing to fly without a plane though, wouldn't it ? like hanjun." jinwoo couldn't help but think about how that would be— then again, he wouldn't change his abilities for anything.
after a few more minutes, the plane started to pick up the speed, the overhead lights indicating them to fasten their belts and remain sitting. "alright, we'll have around ten more minutes until we can move around." his tone this time was much more silent, not wanting to raise any suspicions. “so, did you used travel much ?” he asked, once again, opting for the small talk.
tapping his fingers idly on a notebook, jinwoo read his own notes once again as they waited at the gate to board, a pair of glasses perched on his nose as he went through the details once again. the picture of the bodhisattva stolen was printed on a few newspapers ( albeit on the 5th page ) — and a cut out of the page was also sticked on one of the pages of his notebook, alongside a few facts about the artifact. he doubted that they’d need it, considering how huge the actual piece was, yet he’d taken a bit time to study it anyways — it was better to be thorough than sorry afterwards.
situated near one of the smaller gates at the back of the airport, they were lucky that the plane was smaller than usual planes, only a couple of dozen passengers on board rather than hundreds. it meant that they’d have less trouble locating the targets, not so many faces around that they’d have to go through. the actual package was probably in the luggage compartment, so they’d have to sneak in there as well, during or after the flight, depending on how the events were going to unfold. jinwoo was undeniably glad about those facts, yet it also meant that their cover needed to be air-tight, so that they wouldn’t attract unnecessary attention towards them. taking a glance at his partner then back to himself, he decided that the cover was good enough — a pair of college students looking forward to backpack through japan.
to their knowledge, their targets were unaware that they had a tail, which would make jinwoo & haneul’s jobs much easier. they still didn’t know who exactly said targets were ( or much about them for that matter ), yet it was easier to track down a person who didn’t know they were targeted. fighting in the plane wasn’t a proper option as well, it would lead to casualties and a red mark on their name ( at best ) — so they had to take care of everything silently, well, as silent as they could.
half an hour later, they’d already stuffed their backpacks in the compartments overhead, sitting in seats with little leg-space between. he stopped himself from tapping his fingers on surfaces any longer, hoping to relax a bit. as per usual with any mission, he was slightly tense, his attention on anything and everything, not wanting to botch their mission. it was his first mission with haneul as well, and besides the glances and a few they had exchanged back at the compound, jinwoo didn’t know much about the other, at least not personally. since they couldn’t talk about the plan openly with people around, jinwoo opted for small talk, hoping to ease the tension a little. “it’s a four hour flight — luckily, not too long —” it was luck for a pair of students, although it might not be the best for undercover agents who had to go through a plane of passengers. “you aren’t afraid of flying, are you?”
but for the moment he’s distracted away from his own conspiracy theories, attention centering back to jinwoo when everyone loads off the plane and they make it back to the compound. moonsoo trains a bored looking stare on jinwoo as he stands in front of him, looks like he’s caught between angry and affronted. moonsoo lets a laugh slip free at the expression. he probably shouldn’t, but that’s also probably the entire reason he does it. “oh no, why the long face? we finished the shit, didn’t we? are you just pissy everything went fine without using your stupid fucking plan?” moonsoo asks him, but then, his own definition of fine is rather loose, and when he says it he mostly just refers to the fact that he himself is fine. of course, moonsoo has a tendency to only care about himself, so maybe it’s not too surprising.
always on high alert when on the field, jinwoo did his best to be as careful as possible, going through each and every detail, trying to calculate the potential mishaps before they could occur. after the first few not-so-successful missions, he had learned his lesson and due to the importance of the mission at hand, he was simply tense ( to put it lightly ). one other reason was that it wasn’t only the emperor and the empress duo as the team one, nope, there had been a handful of other arcana involved, adding many other possibilities to the board. he really was more than glad to have others on board, since each one of their abilities were needed to finish the mission, and he was glad that many accepted his plans and guiding — but alas, when moonsoo came with yet another made up excuse just in spite of him, jinwoo did his best not to get anymore distracted, he really should have been expecting it from the other. and even if someone noticed that he was slightly redder than usual, no one dared to mention.
when the devil denied to follow through with his plan, the rest of his plan started to break down, leading to more and more problems as they went on. they had been noticed much earlier than he calculated, and losing time wasn’t something they could afford easily. so he’d have to be the distraction and as yet another bullet hit his skin, he let out a string of obscenities under his breath, all directed at moonsoo. normally he wasn’t the one to blame only one person, but there was so much he could do since it was the plain truth. things would have gone better if he’d just fucking cooperated.
thanks to his abilities, bullet wounds hardly fazed him as they would have with any other person, only sign that they left in their wake being a simple stung — it was as if someone flicked him. however, when the opposing party had a machine gun, it was less fun than he would have preferred. still, no matter that he’d gotten through the whole ordeal without a scar ( which was to be expected ) and the mission was technically a success, jinwoo was royally pissed, fuming as he waited for them to land back at the compound. his usually cold and nonchalant demeanour was gone as he had hit another dead end when he tried to talk — so he’d settled back to wait, shooting glares at his impossible ‘teammate’. he simply didn’t want to make a scene in front of the others or possibly damage the plane to the whole team’s demise.
after a couple of hours, they landed at the compound and while jinwoo wasn’t seething with anger as he was before, he was still filled with many negative emotions, most of them being anger and frustration. once the plane emptied out and they set foot on familiar ground, jinwoo had a simple task in his mind — to figure out and fix what the hell was wrong. he tracked moonsoo a handful of minutes later, his previous anger returning at the expression on the other’s face. jinwoo tightened his fist at his sides at moonsoo’s words, doing his best not to punch him right then and there. “don’t you fucking think about anything else besides yourself? or wait — do you think at all?” he let out, gritting his teeth, anger seeping out with every word. “i know you don’t like me — fine, i don’t care, but don’t you realize it could have been so much worse?” other possibilities run through his mind, all horrible and graphic — and they are not just simply failing a mission as a consequence. “it’s not just about some file we might have failed to take today, it’s about the arc as a whole — i might be fucking bullet-proof but not everyone in this team is, don’t you fucking get it?”
“i know - i’m sorry, i’m really trying.” she promises, and she is. but even something so new is already hardwired into her, dug into her bones and flickering through her skin, rendering her a little less human than she once had been. “i have always wanted to deck moonsoo in his smug, stupid face.” she admits, sighs wistfully at the thought, before she levels him a grin. she nods as he raises his hands, shifts her weight to center herself properly - at least she knows that much. “am i aiming for your hands or your face? cause i’d hate to bash up such a handsome man.” she drawls playfully, before she takes a breath and does as instructed, unfurls her arm in a quick snap of a blow.
like any other arcana searching for answers, jinwoo has spent a considerable amount of time pondering about their powers, ‘ abilities ‘ — why is it only the few of them? ( for there must have been others who had witnessed the meteor rain ) why do their powers differ so greatly? will the abilities continue to expand? the last question is on the edge of trying to predict the future, so he does his best to cut his chain of thoughts then, not liking the thought of not knowing what lies ahead of them. for all he knows, merely two years ago, his abilities started to manifest and there’s a huge difference between what he was capable of then and what he is capable of now. he isn’t sure if there’s a limit to them, whether they’ll start to weaken one day just as they appeared, or whether they will be a part of him forever —the latter feels the truest, no matter that they haven’t been around for most of his life.
one of the things that he finds fascinating the most is that their abilities seem to be unique — yet he doesn’t know if it has to do with their past and who they are or not. most of his teammates are a closed box, which is why he can usually only speak for himself. and once he spends hours stuck in his own mind, it does start to make sense, even if it’s only for a short moment. all those years, the time he spent running, hiding in his apartment, his knuckles bruised and bloody, knowing not to be optimistic, yet a small part of him wishing for something to change, wanting to stand up for himself — couldn’t such great strength be an answer to what he used to wish for? perhaps to be strong was what he craved the most, so that’s what he got from the meteor shower. when he starts thinking on a greater scale though, it makes much less sense than what he has started with.
as nora disappears in front of him, it’s where his thoughts wander to — it’s obvious that what she can do is extraordinary, yet could there be a reason indeed? while he can’t say that he knows much about her ( or at all ), the two have spent time together both on and off missions. jinwoo appreciates that they’re both target-oriented, keen on succeeding on the field; and going from their night-outs to getting drunk together, he sees her as a friend of sorts, taken a liking to spending his off-time with the girl. due to the time spent together, he’s gotten used to ( still aware, yet not as perturbed as before ) to the aura that surrounds her, and when he thinks about that part of her abilities, he isn’t sure if she’s as fond of them as he is of his own skill set.
the uneasiness that settles into his bones heightens as she goes through him, and he tries to minimize his reaction, trying to ignore the goosebumps across his skin. shaking his head a minuscule amount to focus himself to the task at hand, the comment about moonsoo comes as a surprise and he lets out a loud laugh before mimicking her sigh. “i know, we’re on the same page about that one.” he decides to complain about that later, for it’s probably a conversation topic itself — it can wait until she can throw a punch up to his standards. he’s known to be finicky when it comes to these things, adamant about what he has set to his mind. it’s for her own good this time, so he hopes they’ll start making some progress, better sooner than later.
“it’s hard to mess up this mug—“ yet he smiles anyway, this one just a bit more open than his usual ones before he takes position again. “surprise me, darling.” he tempts, just as playful before she hits. jinwoo lets the blow come near the target before he blocks it easily and quickly, a hand around her wrist preventing it from coming any nearer. jinwoo does his best to be as gentle as possible, not wanting her to leave with bruises. a moment later, he starts again. “come on, you can do it — just, imagine i’m moonsoo instead. continue with the blows, don’t tire yourself but don’t give up. it’s usually just as much about the target as it is with the technique. try to hit where i seem to be the weakest at this position. think.”
Reticent: not revealing one’s thoughts or feelings readily.
Strict: demanding that rules concerning behaviour are obeyed and observed.
Adroit: clever or skilful.
Cynic: a person who believes the worst about people or the outcome of events.
Diligent: having or showing care and conscientiousness in one's work or duties.
Fastidious: very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail.
Loyal: giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person/institution.
Bold: showing a willingness to take risks; confident and courageous.
Demanding: making others work hard or meet high standards; not easily satisfied.
JUNG’S THEORY:
ENTJ: THE CHIEF
ENTJs are strategic, organized and possess natural leadership qualities. They are master coordinators that can effectively give direction to groups. They are able to understand complicated organizational situations and quick to develop intelligent solutions. ENTJs are outspoken and will not hesitate to speak of their plans for improvement. They are decisive and value knowledge, efficiency and competence.
STRENGTHS
Genuinely interested in people’s ideas and thoughts.
Take their commitments very seriously.
Very good with money.
Extremely direct and straightforward.
Verbally fluent.
Able to turn conflict situations into positive lessons.
Extremely high standards and expectations.
Able to dole out discipline.
WEAKNESSES
Not naturally in tune with others feelings; may be insensitive at times. Even if they know they are being insensitive, it wouldn’t matter, unless they value your presence.
Usually respond to conflict with logic and reason, rather than the desired emotional support.
Not naturally good at expressing feelings and affections.
Usually believe that they’re always right.
Tendency to be unwilling or unable to accept blame.
Their constant quest to improve everything may be taxing on relationships.
Tend to hold back part of themselves.
MORAL ALINGMENT
CHAOTIC GOOD
Chaotic Good is known as the “Beatific,” “Rebel,” or “Cynic” alignment. A Chaotic Good character favors change for a greater good, disdains bureaucratic organizations that get in the way of social improvement, and places a high value on personal freedom, not only for oneself, but for others as well. They always intend to do the right thing, but their methods are generally disorganized and often out of alignment with the rest of society. While they do not have evil intentions, they may do bad things (even though they will not enjoy doing these things) to people who are, in their opinion, bad people, if it benefits the greater good. Chaotic good is the best alignment you can be because it combines a good heart with a free spirit. Chaotic good can be a dangerous alignment because it disrupts the order of society and punishes those who do well for themselves.
ENNEAGRAM:
TYPE EIGHT: THE LEADER ➜ WINGED BY NINE ➜ SOCIAL (SO)
QUICK OVERVIEW
BASIC FEAR: of submitting to another.
BASIC DESIRE: to be self-reliant.
THE GUT CENTRE: moves against others - over does anger.
ORIGINAL LOSS: "i was too weak.“
DECISION: being strong and in control allows you to survive and be loved.
SELF-IMAGE: "i am invincible.”
COMPULSION: to always be powerful and in charge.
VICE: lust.
VIRTUE: magnanimity.
HIDDEN COMPLAINT: i am fighting for my own survival, and others would take advantage of me if i let them.
KEY MOTIVATIONS
Want to be self-reliant, to prove their strength and resist weakness, to be important in their world, to dominate the environment, and to stay in control of their situation.
➜ WINGED BY SEVEN: THE BEAR
Healthy Eights with a Nine wing often have an aura of preternatural calm, like they haven’t had a self-doubt in decades. Take their authority for granted - queen or king of all they survey. May be gentle, kind-hearted, quieter. Often nurturing, protective parents; steady, supportive friends. Informal and unpretentious, patient, laconic, generally somewhat introverted. Sometimes a dry or ironic sense of humour. May have an aura of implicit, simmering anger rather like a sleeping volcano. Slow to erupt but when they do it’s sudden and explosive. When entranced, the Nine wing brings an Eight a kind of callous numbness. They can be oblivious to the force of their anger until after they’ve hurt someone. Calmly dominating, colder; may have an indifference to softer emotions. If very unhealthy, they can be mean without remorse or aggressive in the service of stupid ends. Paranoid plotting, muddled thinking, moral laziness. Can be vengeful in ill-conceived ways, abuse those they love, don’t know when to quit.
➜ SOCIAL (SO)
Social Eights are often loyal to a group and conceive of friendship as a pact of mutual protection. Want everyone to benefit; group’s cohesion and welfare is most important to them. Often oriented to family, honest, hold themselves accountable to others. May be the group’s protector or provider. Emphasis on cooperation. When healthy, they are aggressively blustery but will back down and apologize when they’ve been unfair. More able to say the Three Little Words - “I was wrong.” Stronger connection to Two, can emotionally switch places with others in their chosen group. As friends they want to protect what’s soft or young in you and appreciate the same in return. Hostility directed towards outside forces who threatens the group’s welfare.
FOUR TEMPERAMENTS
CHOLERIC
STRENGTHS
Takes the lead, hard worker, strong-willed, practical, passionate, a good repossession worker, determined, goal-oriented and thrives under criticism.
In common with sanguine: Confident, loves a challenge, hard to embarrass
In common with melancholic: Good planner, independent, honest without any compromisation, Excellent agent of change, pure hard worker
WEAKNESSES
Hot-tempered, rude, rebellious, can be cruel, stubborn, harsh, bossy, expects complete devotion, insensitive, often condescending, can become psychotic in overbearing situations, workaholic, without compassion or conscience, can be a warmonger, vindictive.
In common with sanguine: Arrogant, boisterous, often dramatic, unhinged, unfiltered in speech.
In common with melancholic: Inflexible, emotionally distant, strict, demanding and fastidious, not very cooperative, vengeful, self-righteous and dogmatic, harshly sarcastic, sees the worst in people
STAR SIGN
ARIES
Aries is always ready to take charge and conquer whatever challenge they meet. Courageous and competitive, this sign of the Ram is a powerful force, carving paths through new territory to find undiscovered treasures. This fearless sign lives life as a warrior, infusing everything it touches with fire, passion, and strength.
a couple of days in ulaanbaatar was spent mostly cooped up in their hotel room to go over the plans, to memorize the key figures alongside the satellite images of the compound. with the apparent political issues, and the sudden recession of the country, jinwoo couldn’t help but feel as if something was missing — they didn’t even have the blueprints, the enemy headquarters either smart enough at technology or too traditional to leave an electronic trail. they hoped it was the latter.
the capital was crowded enough not to pull attention to themselves, yet when they headed towards the southern borders in an old jeep, jinwoo felt himself get uneasier — unsure about the plan, regardless of how many times they’ve gone over the information they had. far away from home, as the endless desert steppe stretched out in front of them, his hands on the steering wheel tightened only a fraction while he willed himself to do up to his part as the emperor, to feel responsible and confident about what they were going to do.
they had to jog up the last few kilometers to approach the compound unnoticed and when they made it to the outer ring, the high temperatures had already taken their toll on jinwoo. the shirt clung to his skin, the guns strapped to his belt digging into his waist. on the other hand, the nagging feeling in his mind was pushed back to a corner, too focused on the task at hand to worry about what was going to happen.
as they’d planned before, most of the soldiers guarding the gates had lessened in number during the afternoon, some taking their breaks and some going to the nearby mines to patrol. thanks to their skill set, getting in through the last few didn’t pose much of a problem as they managed to get rid of the guards they’ve encountered. jinwoo let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding once they put the bodies so that they wouldn’t be found, stuffing them inside security cabins.
now, if they could just make it to the center and reach the weaponry ( grenades, rpgs, alongside other weapons that would certainly cause more trouble ), their task could be accomplished before the sunset. signing to his partner so that they could advance forward, jinwoo thought that maybe his previous doubts were unfound. maybe it was simply him being a cynic rather than some sort of instinct.
he found out soon after that it had been some foolish thinking. — just as they stepped inside the building, loud alarms started to blare throughout the whole compound, red lights flashing as the building started to close itself down.
“fuck, we’ve been made —” jinwoo cursed under his breath as he took in their surroundings. one hand went to his pocket to his phone to notify the collective that they were going to need extraction. fast. bullets flying over their heads, he instinctively curled a hand around the other’s wrist, pulling him towards one of the crates. “take cover, now!” he yelled, phone going up to his ear to receive further directions about what the hell they were going to do.
now? now she was regretting it. hair up in a messy ponytail and her clothing stripped to minimal attire, she’s already critically aware of how small she is- frame, stature, muscle mass. jinwoo has the advantage in every sense, even when he is pointedly holding back, as he does now, and she finds it impossibly frustrating. for the hundredth time, she dodges a punch not with the movement of her head but with the disappearance of her body, flickering back into place and corporeality a second later. “okay, sorry, time out.” she complains, bends in half to catch her breath, hands grasping just above her knees. “its just an instinct, i can’t help it. i see your stupid little bitch hand racing at me and i poof.” she groans as she rights herself once more, pushes wispy strands of escaped hair back out of her eyes. “somehow that’s the hardest part - not just blinking out when you come at me. i’ve never been good on self control.” her smile lilts rueful, wry over reddened lips.
considering jinwoo’s past experiences with street fights and bar brawls, it would be an understatement to say that he was glad about how the meteor shower turned out for him. he might sometimes be wistful about the fact that they’d come a bit too late, because they would be a lot handier a couple of years back when he was running away from trouble — but well, you know what they say, beggars can’t be choosers.
which is why as much as he doesn’t have to, he has been putting in special effort to train during his time with the arc, to pick up as many skills as he can from trainers and movies alike. the collective has been more than accommodating and he’s proud to say that in the past two years, he mastered so many more tricks than he’d ever known existed. the fact that he can protect both himself and his team members strikes up a spark of pride and protectiveness in his chest whenever he thinks about it, along with another range of emotions — which he does his best not to dwell on.
so, naturally, when he and nora had been sitting side by side on one of the hallways with a bottle between them, their words making less sense as the time went by, he was quick to offer her a few lessons, not liking the thought of one of the arcana unguarded on the field. “you’ll learn from the best. leave it to me—” they didn’t speak much about it then, intoxicated mind finding it difficult to concentrate, yet jinwoo was glad that neither of them forgot.
before they meet that day, he even tests it out with the punching bags, so that he can measure his hits and the power behind them much more carefully. on the field, with a task in his mind, how hard he hits the dude doesn’t matter at all, hell, stronger he punches, the better — but it is obvious that teaching it wouldn’t be the same. bearing in mind that he can punch through a wall if he intends to, his touches needed to be feather-light in order not to harm the girl. luckily, jinwoo isn’t as lost with his capabilities as he was two years ago —still, a nagging voice at the back of his mind says that some extra caution wouldn’t hurt.
he is doing his best to start light, the basics of the essential martial arts, a few extra tricks to her training, just to help her in time of need — because he knows that her capabilities are more than enough. he witnesses just then when he aims a careful hit towards the side of her face, the force behind it infinitesimal, and she just disappears out of his sight for a moment. a small sigh leaves his lips as jinwoo lets his hands fall down on his sides, a small sign of his frustration bubbling during the past hour. “yeah, yeah — i know the feeling —” he grumbles, one hand going to grab the back of his neck as he pauses, more upset with the fact that he doesn’t know how to help with that problem. “if you can blink out, that’s good, you won’t need all of this. but i don’t know, if someone jumps at ya, you still gotta learn to kick their ass. even if they don’t, it’s still a really satisfying feeling —” offering her a grin, he raises his palms, open towards her. “come on, let’s try something different — why won’t you hit me. try to do what i was doing for the last couple’o minutes.”
you know what trope pisses me off the most? when the protag is pointing a gun at somebody and they’re like “you won’t do it. you’re too good” and the person holding the gun is like oh shit i am and they slowly lower the gun while the other person laughs. WHAT THE FUCK. if i were there, and somebody told me “you won’t do it” i would immediately shoot them dead without hesitating. who are you to tell me what i wont do. musty bitch
