Banished Divinity: Learning to be Human

The spicy rice cakes had betrayed me! It was like my mouth had gone through the seven hells of fire. This was unacceptable, I thought.

"It wasn't so bad. And yes, before your eyes actually shoot laser beams of accusation. I can hear you because you are speaking loudly," Minjae said as he looked at me with a grin on his face.

"You are enjoying my torture, aren't you?"

"Immensely." Minjae laughed.

I sat on a bench near the edge of the night market, fanning my mouth with my hand, my eyes still watering. The purple dinosaur sat on my lap, its plastic eyes judging me.

"That was not food," I said. "That was a biological attack."

Minjae handed me a bottle of water. "It's just tteokbokki."

"It is pain shaped like a cylinder. It should be exorcised." I said between coughs and wheezing.

"It is not possessed. It's food, Sera. And most people enjoy it." Minjae laughed.

"Most people are wrong."

He laughed. I glared at him. He laughed harder.

---

After a few minutes, when my face had returned to its normal shade, pale, with a hint of celestial indignation. Minjae stood up and stretched.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get dinner before we head home."

I looked at the purple dinosaur. The purple dinosaur looked back at me.

"I suppose I could consume more mortal sustenance," I said. "For research purposes."

"Of course. And also, because you are hungry," Minjae said, grinning.

"No, I am not. I just consume tet-ti-bo-ki.” I said

“Its tteokbokki." Minjae corrected me, like I was some sort of child learning to speak for the first time.

“That’s what I said”

“Not even close” Minjae smirked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I am a celestial being.. I can” before I could finish my sentence. My stomach betrayed me.

GGRRrrrrr……eeei…

The sound echoed through the night market.

I stared downward. My stomach growled again.

Traitor.

Minjae immediately burst out laughing. “See. You are hungry. Your stomach could wake up whatever creature of the depths you keep threatening to destroy.”

I considered this. “That is possible”

Minjae laughed even harder. “Right. Come on, Warrior.” Still laughing and started walking.

I stood up, tucked the dinosaur under my arm, and followed him into the glowing chaos of the night market.

"We can go to this old ramen shop," he said. "It's run by an old couple. They've been there for forty years. Best broth in the city."

"That sounds acceptable."

"High praise."

---

We walked along the street, the evening air cool against my skin. The sun had started to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. City lights flickered on. The world felt... peaceful.

And then:

"Sera!"

I turned.

Jaehyun stood on the sidewalk, his face pale, his eyes wide. He looked devastated. Heartbroken. Like someone had taken everything he loved and thrown it into a volcano.

He walked toward me. Fast.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice cracking. "With Minjae?"

Before I could respond, he grabbed my arm. "Sera, answer me?!"

"Let her go." Minjae's voice was low. Deadly. He stepped between us, his hand on Jaehyun's wrist, his eyes hard.

"Bro, You have no idea who she is now," Minjae said.

Jaehyun looked at him sharply. "I treated you like a brother," Jaehyun said, his voice shaking. "We went on trips together. We hung out. I trusted you. And! This is how you repay me? By stealing the girl, I like? I told you, I like her."

"I know you do." Minjae didn't flinch. "But she's not the Sera you knew before. Things have changed since she hurt her head. I've been telling you. You just won't listen."

"Sera." Jaehyun turned to me, his eyes pleading. "Who do you want to be with? As your boyfriend?"

I stared at him.

Boyfriend? What a strange word. What a strange concept. Mortals and their labels, their boxes, their desperate need to categorize everything.

"Do we have to do this?" I asked. "I am a celestial being. I do not do whatever 'boyfriend' is. You are both boys. You are both my friends. So, what the hell is a boyfriend?!"

Jaehyun blinked. His grip on my arm loosened.

"See?" Minjae said. "She's different. And we're out as friends. Nothing more."

Jaehyun released my arm. He stepped back. He looked at me, really looked at me and something in his face shifted. Acceptance, maybe. Or defeat.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I... I shouldn't have..."

He turned and walked away.

I watched him go.

Something in my chest hurt. Not for me, but for Human Sera. For the ghost who loved him, who would never get to hold his hand or eat ice cream with him or tell him how she felt.

I can't let him leave like this, I thought. Not for her.

"Sera!" Minjae called after me. But I was already running.

I caught up with Jaehyun at the corner. I reached out and touched his arm gently, the way I had seen mortals do in movies.

He turned. His eyes were red. His face was wet. He had been crying.

"Jaehyun," I said softly. "What's happening?"

He looked at me. And then the words came out like a dam breaking. "Jack. Jack passed. This morning. We just... we just cremated him. And I... I..." He stood there, looking down at his feet, his shoulders shaking.

Minjae appeared beside us. He didn't say anything. He just wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Come on, brother," he said quietly. "Let's get some ramen. You can tell us everything."

Jaehyun nodded.

The three of us walked to the old shop "Hanako's" where the elderly couple greeted us with warm smiles and bowls of steaming broth.