#epoques

WRITING PORTFOLIO

they face each other on the roof after half an hour’s worth of chase, weaving through cars and leaping across buildings. there’s a tear in doyeon’s suit, a deep and jagged gash still oozing blood and sending shocks of pain shooting up her spine with every move. meanwhile, minyoung is unharmed, a picture perfect vision of the city’s ideal superhero. as if to drive the point home, the billboard behind them has a blown up version of minyoung’s masked face advertising a skin cream. this is who spiderlily is: fighting crime while looking flawless. doyeon might’ve hated her for it were she not so sincere.

the wind whips minyoung’s hair into a frenzy, while doyeon’s locks are tied back into a tight bun. grimacing, she presses her palm over the wound and calculates the best escape route off this rooftop. it would be easier (and so, so tempting) to let minyoung take her in, but the greater game between them has been going on for years now, and doyeon refuses to give in now: softly, without feeling, without spectacle. she deserves a magnificent end.

“there is nowhere you can hide where i won’t find you, lamia,” minyoung announces. her hands are on her hips and she looks at doyeon with barely restrained fury. “i will bring you to justice,”

doyeon smiles. i wish i could let you, she thinks, but she takes a step back and shakes her head. the only way out is to go down, and she takes a deep breath before spreading her arms out. “not today, sweetie.”

before minyoung can speak, she falls backwards into the cold embrace of the sea.

-

the news is splashed all over the papers the next day: SUPERHERO SPIDERLILY FOILS YET ANOTHER ATTACK ON CITY HALL. LAMIA ESCAPES AT THE LAST MINUTE. the byline for the article belongs to her—kwon doyeon. the product of a frantically productive night and a lot of coffee, it’s not her best work, but it is an inside look into the city’s most celebrated superhero-supervillain rivalry. her editor loves her work purely for specificity of her narrative, for the details hidden within. “it’s almost like you were there,” he says, and doyeon flashes him a white smile, all teeth. i was.

youngjae grumbles about it. “nobody pays attention to my pictures,” he scowls over coffee, jabbing the grainy shot accompanying her article of spiderlily and lamia facing each other on the rooftop. “you’d think an image would matter more, but no. it’s all about—”

doyeon shrugs. “people recognize quality,” she deadpans, but when youngjae’s scowl deepens, she laughs and puts a comforting hand on his arm. “the public love your pictures, youngjae. they only read the article below them because i have an inside source.”

“you’re lucky you know minyoung—i mean, spiderlily.” youngjae does his best to cover the flub, but doyeon still glares at him and casts a glance around the coffee shop. mostly empty, which means no one heard. “sorry, sorry. just feels weird to call her by her hero name. i mean, we went to school together.”

“i don’t believe she puts that much care into hiding it these days.” does the secrecy matter when the world loves you? and what about when it doesn’t? spiderlily doesn’t need to hide the way lamia does. “but i don’t want to out her before she’s ready.”

“she doesn’t deserve that,” youngjae agrees, bringing the cup to his lips. he stops just short of taking a sip and narrows his over the rim at doyeon. “nice to see you have some morals.”

doyeon chucks a package of artificial sweetener at his face.

-

minyoung calls later in the day. doyeon answers the phone with one hand and pulls her heels off with the other, tossing them in the closet before heading to the kitchen for a drink. “i read your article,” minyoung says after exchanging hellos. “it was really good, doyeon! like always.”

“please.” it’s too early for wine, but doyeon doesn’t care. “it was sloppy and rushed and probably should not have been published, but my boss—”

“recognizes talent when he sees it,” minyoung says firmly. she’s always been doyeon’s biggest champion, her biggest supporter, and her best friend. for minyoung, there is nothing doyeon can’t do. that confidence is largely misplaced, and as always, guilt worms its way into doyeon’s stomach as minyoung continues. “but one day i hope you can write about me catching her.”

the ‘her’ is lamia, said with distaste doyeon didn’t think minyoung was capable of. it reminds her, once again, of the secret hanging between them (hers, hers), the burden doyeon chose to shoulder three years ago, when she first stepped out as the cunning and seductive lamia, the perfect foil to spiderlily’s purity and innocence.