There was a wave of unmistakable disappointment from the spectators, along with no small measure of disbelief. At the highest level of competition, anything less than perfection was sub-par and the pride of an entire country was on the line. 

Park Byung-ho watched his daughter bow her head slightly as she ambled dejectedly away from the field. Distantly her coach had his head in his hands, along with a few others from the South Korean side who realized anything short of a miraculous bullseye on her next and final shot would earn a silver medal. The first time in over a century South Korea did not win gold in the event for women’s individual target archery. 

Regardless, Byung-ho clapped proudly. 

He was the only one in the audience in the stadium who did so amidst the melancholy of his disappointed countrymen, but Byung-ho didn’t care. His daughter had done her best and worked tirelessly to make it this far. Even if the entire nation expressed shame for her performance, he would proudly display a silver medal in their home. 

From the field, Tae-yeon glanced at the crowd and scanned over the audience until she located her father in a seat very close to the arena. Once they made eye-contact he smiled broadly and waved proudly at his oldest daughter, even if she could only look away from him in despair at her supposed failure. 

No matter what you should know I’m so proud of you. Byung-ho thought and leaned back in his wheelchair. As a disabled person and a family member of a competing athlete he had very good seats close to the field, close enough to discern the facial expressions of every competitor. 

He removed his glasses and shined them with the hem of his shirt. It would be a few minutes before her final shot while the other competitors marched up to the mound. Currently it really was just a fierce shootout to determine whether or not South Korea or France took home gold.

The Frenchwoman who was currently a smidgen ahead and needed only for Tae-yeon to get anything less than a perfect score on her final shot, appeared quite pleased and breathed a sigh of relief. Already her coach and team appeared to be celebrating. 

“Hey. You guys are in the wrong seat.” Byung-ho turned around, and looked up the aisle in the otherwise quiet stadium when he heard the commotion, spoken in English.

There was a light murmur from the people near him as they did the same. “Umm, I don’t think so. This is column sixty-two in the eighth row, right?” 

“Are you calling me a liar?” 

“Well no I’m just saying you might be confused is all.” The speck audience member replied nervously. He was a younger man, in his mid-thirties and perched next to some other specks that were all sharing a seat together. 

From his angle a bit lower in the rows, Byung-ho could not see the entire family but surmised that the speck likely had his wife and children with him. They were under the shadow of a much bigger, tall fellow with strong features. 

Byung-ho set his jaw and began to wheel himself up the ramp closer to the scene.

The man leaned against the seat where the specks were, quite menacingly staring down the whole family. “It’s not fair that you can just pay for a single seat and have your entire family sit here.”

“Well we can’t really control that. We paid for these seats.” 

“No. I paid for these seats with my tax money. The money you little shits~!” Before the man could continue his tirade, a styrofoam cup full of soda flew across several heads in the audience before it slammed into his jacket.

Soda and ice splashed from the beverage and soaked through his clothes, and the unexpected impact almost knocked the jerk off his feet. As an unintended consequence several people nearby that had simply been watching got a little wet as well, but it was nothing compared to the person who had been trying to intimidate the specks. 

Byung-ho watched as a very large, heavyset man with a bushy beard and black coiled hair in twists marched purposefully towards the original attacker. He was considerably bigger than the man who had first confronted the specks, with many thick layers of fat and muscle and nearly a full head taller. “Yo man, get the fuck outta here.” He demanded in a deep voice that left little room for argument. “You feel like a tough guy trying to impress your girl by bullying some specks? Man, I'll show you a tough guy.”

“H-Hey man take it easy…!” The attacker quivered before he was promptly pushed back several feet in the stands to the point he was nearly out in the aisle again. “I was just messing around!”

“Both of you back away.” At this point security had noticed the commotion from higher up in the stands. A woman and a man both clad in uniforms who approached the two before a fight could break out.

The woman inspected the attacker who was covered in a spilled soda. “What happened?” She asked. Before she could reply, another woman from higher up in the crowd with an empty seat next to her raised her hand.

“That asshole just threw a drink at my boyfriend for no reason!” She shouted angrily and pointed at the larger individual who had stepped in to defend the specks. 

Suddenly someone else chimed in. “Actually officer, that’s not true at all. This guy was trying to intimidate that family of specks when he stepped in to protect them.” A different man nearby explained truthfully. “The guy with the soda on him was just being a douchebag.”

“Yeah I got it all on video if you guys don’t believe me!” Another person revealed and held up her smartphone.

By now several people nearby had joined in, and told the two security officers what really happened. The officers appeared slightly conflicted, but eventually reached for the man with soda still dripping from his shirt. Swiftly they had him in cuffs, and pulled his girlfriend out of her chair to escort them out of the stadium. 

At this point it seemed as if even the announcers and cameras had taken notice of what was going on. On the large screen, Byung-ho could see the camera following the pair along with the security guards as they were taken away through the aisle.

There was a mixed reaction from the American crowd in Los Angeles as it happened. Quite a few seemed upset about the decision, but there was a non-negligible amount of people who cheered when the pair was removed from the premises. A few even joined in on throwing things at the offending couple.

Something like that could never have happened a year ago in this country. Byung-ho thought, and returned to where he had been seated before to watch the rest of the event.

Specks could have never even purchased seats to sit in a stadium anywhere in the United States, or found accommodations to help them get where they needed to be like that family had. Things were so bad in the States that specks from other more progressive countries were usually strongly advised against ever traveling here, because the risk of death was so high.

Now someone had openly opposed an act of discrimination that would have been perfectly acceptable a mere year ago. Baochai Fang’s massive campaign to repair the way specks in the world had definitely borne fruit, at the very least the authorities took crimes against specks seriously nowadays.

Byung-ho sighed and noticed that a brief delay had been requested by some of the coaches on the field. The commotion had started right as a competitor was about to take her final shot as well, and the incident had caused a significant distraction. Perhaps out of concern some other specks in the audience might have retaliatory violence, the request was accepted and the games scheduled to resume in half an hour.

From her position as the next archer on deck, Tae-yeon’s face went ghost white. It would be a very stressful and agonizing wait as she solemnly returned to her coach to receive an earful for her performance thus far. 

Byung-ho took the opportunity to take the afternoon dose for his medicine and went up the ramp to a private alcove in a less cramped part of the stadium, reserved for family members of the athletes. He placed the hefty pill on his tongue and swallowed it with some lukewarm water.

These new formulas from KannonKo went down much smoother and did not cause as much stomach irritation as the old ones. Suddenly, the door behind him opened and another figure walked into the room as Byung-ho was putting the painkillers away in his bag. 

The woman hesitated to say anything when they first made eye contact in the mirror. Byung-ho looked deep into the desperate dark pools speckled with gold for several moments, until he slowly turned his gaze away from her and said nothing.

“H-Hey dad.” His youngest daughter greeted after an agonizingly long pause of dreadful silence. Jisoo’s hands were shaking as she gingerly closed the door behind her and left the pair alone for the first time in three years.

Byung-ho still said nothing.

…I’m finally ready to face you again. Jisoo thought as she recomposed herself and ambled towards her father who still had his back turned. Her limbs felt heavy and clumsy, yet somehow numb and weightless at the same time. 

Jisoo placed her purse down near the door, then got on her knees when she was arm’s length away from her father. She bowed, prostrating herself pitifully until her forehead just barely touched the ground. “Dad…I…I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me.” Jisoo surmised quietly in a cracked voice. 

Tears welled up in her eyes but she continued, even as her father remained silent upon seeing her again. This is long overdue.

“But I want you to know that I am sorry. I am so, so sorry for what I did...” Jisoo said, crying freely now as she choked out the words. “...I know that there is nothing I can do to ever rebuild the faith you once had in me… but~!” Before Jisoo could continue, Byung-ho turned around and grabbed her by the collar. 

Her father yanked her off the floor and pulled Jisoo into a tight hug where her chin rested just over his shoulder as Byung-ho embraced her in a tight hug. Jisoo was stunned for several moments until she realized he was trembling and had been crying as well. “D-Dad?” Had he truly been able to forgive her so easily? “I thought you would be furious with me!”

“I was never angry with you, Jisoo… I was sad that you had gone down a dark path, and I could not stop you from losing sight of yourself.” Byung-ho revealed as he held onto her tightly. 

Jisoo buried her face into his shoulder and sobbed. “...I’ve done horrible things.” She admitted remorsefully. “Things I wish I could undo...”

“You returned home, repentant. That’s all that matters to me.” 

The scolding she received from her coach was bad. The looks from her countrymen amongst the spectators was worse. From the moment she had earned her position to represent the country at the highest possible stage, Park Tae-yeon had felt the doubt cling to her like an anchor. 

For years she had been the greatest ‘what would happen’ in Olympic sports; a prodigy that never had her golden opportunity. Instead of attending practice or domestic tournaments Tae-yeon remained at home to care for her disabled father, and had to work long hours just to make ends meet. 

Although it was not the physical exertion or exhaustion that was so taxing and detracted from Tae-yeon’s performance.

Everytime she nocked an arrow, Tae-yeon was reminded of her little sister. From the time they were still children, Jisoo would always be there as her number one cheerleader. She attended every practice while they were in school to support her big sister, rain or shine. Even years later when she attained riches and unimaginable power, she had always found the time to watch her performances. 

So it came as a massive surprise when Tae-yeon walked out to the field and looked into the dwindling crowd. They knew she needed a bullseye to earn a gold medal, and thus far she hadn’t landed a single one that entire day. Now with all the pressure to score well, fans in the crowd could not bear to watch her limp across the finish line for second place.

Her eyes locked with her father who had returned to his seat after the unexpected delay. Byung-ho smiled warmly and cheered her on, accompanied by a person Tae-yeon never expected to see again.

…I don’t believe it… 

Tae-yeon’s hands went numb and she nearly dropped her bow. If not for the angry whistle of her coach watching from the sidelines she might have forgotten where she was. The entire time she approached the mound from where she would loose her final arrow, Tae-yeon gazed upon her little sister in disbelief. 

Jisoo…? How… When did…? 

She wanted nothing more in that moment to freeze time and give the pair an eternity to reunite. Her eyes felt watery, and Tae-yeon felt her knees wobble when Jisoo smiled at her also and clapped in anticipation while Tae-yeon nocked the arrow.

Before the commentators could explain to the audience that unless Park Tae-yeon landed a bullseye, she would receive a silver medal and break South Korea’s dominance in the archery event that had existed for a century, she had already sent the missile across the field. There was almost no time spent aiming, it was an effortless, smooth motion indescribably different from her form all day up until that point. 

Her arrow slammed into the dead center of the bullseye. It could not have been a better shot even if someone walked right up to the target and placed the arrow there. Tae-yeon stood amidst a crowd of stunned spectators too astonished by the miracle to react at first. The only sound in the entire shocked arena was the joyous cheering from her father and little sister, moments before the audience erupted to shower her in affection and praise.

“...That was an incredible shot! Come on, we need to talk to the reporters and celebrate…?” Tae-yeon’s coach was a bit confused when the star of the night removed her equipment and promptly exited the locker room before anybody could arrive to congratulate her on the big win. 

She jogged down the corridor past the other athletes until she finally reached a lounge reserved for families. Where are you? Tae-yeon frantically looked around, dodging security who asked if she was lost.

Eventually she rounded a corner that led to a sparsely populated hallway just below the stands where she had seen them. “Yeodongsaeng?!” She exclaimed loudly. “Appa?” 

Surely she had not imagined her little sister in the audience. Tae-yeon continued until finally she heard a heart-achingly familiar voice which brought tears to her eyes. She picked up speed until she finally made one more turn and almost ran right into them. 

Her father spotted Tae-yeon first and laughed proudly. “That was amazing!” Byung-ho said breathlessly and took control of his wheelchair to hurry towards Tae-yeon, who accepted his hug. “Ahhh I’m so proud of you!” He exclaimed, and embraced her tightly. Byung-ho gestured towards the woman standing sheepishly behind him. “And look who’s back! I told you she would be watching!”

The two siblings locked eyes for the first time in years. Jisoo managed to smile faintly and bowed respectfully to her eonni. “Congratulations!” She remarked as Tae-yeon walked slowly towards her, entranced. “That really was like something out of a movie, I knew you could~!”

Tae-yeon embraced her sister in a bear hug before the taller woman could say anything else. She didn’t care if some strangers nearby were giving them funny looks as the reunion happened in public right below the stands instead of in a lounge. At any moment she worried her eyes would open and discover this was all some fantastical dream. 

Evidently her little sister had been crying earlier as well, if the slightly smudged make-up was any indicator. “...I’m sorry, Tae-yeon.” Jisoo eventually said into her ear as the two sisters reunited. “For everything.”

“Don’t apologize dammit! Just… Just tell me where you’ve been! How did you even get here?! Are you alright?” Tae-yeon blathered as she held on tightly. “Is it safe for you to be here? With everything that happened to the Amrita Corporation last year…?”

“It’s a really long story…” Jisoo said with a relieved sigh. She suddenly seemed a bit uncomfortable and pulled away just a tad, but Tae-yeon refused to let go. 

I don’t care what happens, I’m never letting go of you! Tae-yeon promised and enjoyed the feeling of being with her yeodongsaeng again. “Well let’s hear it! I… I’m sorry for what I said to you the last time we were together.” Tae-yeon said profusely. “I know it was an accident, and neither me or appa ever blamed you.”

“No, I lost control and for that I’m sorry. You two don’t have anything to apologize to me for.” Jisoo remarked and continued to squirm anxiously to get away from her sister’s tight grasp. “H-Hey eonni? Can you give me just a bit of room?”

“I’m just so happy to see you I…!” Tae-yeon suddenly trailed off when she felt something. She frowned and slowly pulled away from her sister, although they still held hands. 

At first she thought it was a trick of the imagination, or perhaps Jisoo had slacked off a little on her intense fitness routine to stay in shape. She looked down and her eyes went wide, an action that was not missed by Byung-ho who also looked on curiously. Jisoo’s cheeks blushed a deep scarlet as Tae-yeon carefully placed her hand on her younger sister’s clearly protruding tummy.  

Tae-yeon looked up into her sister’s eyes in disbelief. “Jisoo… You’re…?” 

“Why don’t you go get your gold medal? We’ll talk over dinner and I’ll tell you everything.” Jisoo suggested and allowed Tae-yeon to feel her belly. “And yes, of course I’ll introduce you to him.”

After a tearful reunion mixed with a flurry of questions, Byung-ho was finally able to convince her older sister that Jisoo had no intentions to go anywhere. Tae-yeon made her promise to have dinner with them later the very second the event was over and she received her medal, before she begrudgingly returned to the field to accept her award.

And not a second too soon, since Jisoo desperately needed to sit down. With a groan she stumbled towards a nearby bench close to the restrooms and flopped into it unceremoniously. She reached into her pocket and noticed that she had missed quite a few concerned text messages.

Just spoke with my family again and it went really well! They invited us to dinner later, I’ll talk to you soon! Her message to Eren went. 

Ever since she had started to worry for two, Eren had been very concerned about every little problem she had. A minor headache meant a frantic web search to see if that was normal followed by a call to their obstetrician. An offhand comment she had a craving meant he would practically fly into the kitchen to fetch the choco pies and drag the entire box back to the bed for her.

It was quite endearing, and nerve-wracking at the same time. 

“So I guess it went well then?” A voice asked from down the hall. Jisoo chuckled and turned to face her ‘other’ sister who had taken a break from her time spent in the luxury suite at the topmost part of the stadium. Suji took a seat next to her and placed her hand on Jisoo’s tummy. “How much longer until I’m an aunty?” 

“Not long…” Jisoo replied through grit teeth as she felt a flare of growing pains. At least, I really hope it isn’t much longer.

Pain wasn’t something Jisoo normally dealt with. She could snap her fingers and make practically anything happen. If she wanted to destroy a solar system or even a galaxy it could happen with a thought. Needless to say, things like pain and fear weren’t concepts she had felt in a long time. 

Unfortunately, pregnancy was uncharted territory and came with unavoidable pains even her strongest magic could not deal with. According to their mother it was completely natural, but Keqing did have experience since she had carried fraternal twins. 

Thankfully their mother had volunteered to serve as a midwife when she was due to ensure everything happened smoothly. And more importantly ‘ensure Jisoo doesn’t destroy the world when it happens’. 

Jisoo sighed and rubbed her stomach as well. “You’ll be there, right?” She asked. “I want you to be there when she’s born.”

“Of course I will. I’m not that choked up with work that I would miss something so important.” Suji promised. “I’m happy for you sis, really.”

“T-Thanks.” Jisoo winced gratefully. The pains came and went, but the worst part was how unpredictable they were. It had worsened in the past few weeks as her due date grew nearer. 

Suji giggled. “Although, I wouldn’t say I’m envious of you.” She quipped and crossed one leg over the other. “Mind if I ask you something?”

“So long as it’s not a snarky comment about protection…”

“Why didn’t you shrink everybody ?” Suji inquired directly, in a hushed tone to make sure nobody nearby could hear. Even though the hallway was still abandoned as the award ceremony was going on and  everybody was still in the stands, it didn’t hurt to be careful. 

Jisoo frowned and gave her younger sister a sideways glance. “What do you mean?” She asked, confused. “Shrink everybody?”

“You said that if a year passed and life for specks had not improved drastically, you would shrink the rest of humanity.” Suji reminded her. “That was over a year ago. And…”

“...and the world is still a dangerous place for specks. I know.” Jisoo murmured wearily. She contemplated her decision for a few moments before she finally replied. “But things have gotten better. Some schools are integrating specks into the classroom with bigger students, violence against specks is now being taken seriously in the legal system, communes are prosperous communities instead of desolate hellscapes.”

“But there’s still suffering. Crimes against specks still occur, it’s difficult for them to get jobs with major firms, they are still discriminated against by a substantial amount of the population.”

“I guess the point is that in just a single year, there’s been significant progress. Much more than I possibly imagined. When me and Eren went to a grocery store a few weeks ago, a random lady came up to us and said we were a really cute couple. He’s ordered food at cafes and employees will treat him like just another customer.” Jisoo revealed. “Granted there’s been some shitty people as well, but it’s not like people are universally bad. In twenty years who knows how much progress will be made?”

“So… You won’t shrink everybody?”

“Some part of me deep down thinks humanity as a whole deserves some karmic retribution, but who am I of all people to dish it out? I don’t want to repeat the same mistake I made a lifetime ago. Especially not when I’m prone to rash, emotionally driven decisions.” Jisoo proclaimed. 

Suji breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I really appreciate you giving the world a chance to heal itself.” She said graciously. “Time will tell, if things can get better.”

“You’ve dumped billions of dollars into this public awareness project, give yourself some credit.” Jisoo chided. “KannonKo is a great company. It’s everything the Amrita Corporation should have been. Just remember that you’re still human, and need to make time for yourself every now and then.” She insisted. “Same goes for Maddie, make sure she doesn’t work herself to death.”

“I make her take mandatory vacations. She and Maeve are watching the games from a five-star hotel in the Bahamas right now.” Suji mentioned. “I wouldn’t want my chief technology officer to burn herself out just a year into her position.”

Suddenly Jisoo winced again, and bit her lip to keep from gasping in pain. Suji’s face flashed with concern as her older sister stood up and struggled to walk. “Are you sure you’re alright? Maybe you should go home…”

“It’s fine, it’s just cramping.” Jisoo remarked. “But would you mind walking me back to my seat? Just to be safe.” 

“Sure thing.”

It must have been a rather peculiar sight from any stragglers in the lower parts of the stadium, to see the richest woman on the planet practically carrying a pregnant woman in her arms through the corridors. Baochai Fang was normally only seen behind a screen or occasionally giving interviews to selected reporters.

Jisoo glanced onto the field and smiled as Tae-yeon was bestowed with her gold medal. She never had any doubts she would earn it, all she needed was the assurance her little sister was there for her. Somewhere in the crowd, their father was celebrating as well. 

They reached the private suite, and Suji led her older sister to the couch where her brother-in-law was anxiously awaiting their return. “Are you alright?” Eren asked in concern as Jisoo sat beside him. “Thanks for helping her out, Suji.”

“No worries. Both of you take care, I’ll be around if you need me for anything.” She said with a courteous bow before she departed and left the couple alone. Suji gave one last glance at the couple, for a moment she seemed to want to say something, decided against it, then returned to her personal suite on the level above. 

Once the door was closed, Jisoo exhaled deeply and took a few sips of water. She eyed the choco pies Eren had insisted they sneak into the stadium, but was too stubborn to munch on one. “You were right.” She murmured. “Neither of them were mad at me in the slightest…”

“They’re your family. Your real family, they could never harbor any hatred for you.”

“All those years I thought they both despised me… I wonder how much would have changed if I never left home in the first place.” Jisoo ruminated. She picked up her tiny husband and held him lovingly in her palm. “Thank you. I don’t know if I could have done this without you.”

“Our daughter should grow up knowing her grandparents, wouldn’t you agree?” Eren smiled and hugged her thumb. That was a beautiful thought, Jisoo considered. 

Her own lineage was complicated enough, and Eren had no relatives left. Jisoo’s ‘mother’ was both her maternal figure and also her ‘daughter’ since she was a reincarnation of Keqing’s mother. It was a complex relationship, although as otherworldly entities, spirits were once accustomed to this sort of thing.

Would their child be a spirit as well, or would she be human? Perhaps a hybrid of the two species? What powers would she inherit from her maternal side, would she share the same disposition for cruelty and violence Jisoo had struggled with for so long? How would she tell her child everything? Surely she would be curious to know why despite her ancestry, she was normal-sized rather than a speck?

If not for the wonderful people in her life, Jisoo knew she would have wound up far different than she was now. Without the two sisters in her life, the man she loved, the mother who guided her, the friends who stood at her side. 

She had never truly been alone, and her daughter would never be alone either. “Meeting you was the best thing to ever happen to me.” Jisoo professed as she pulled him away from her lips. 

“You set me free.”