“The most recent submissions, however, have been ruled by experts to be fakes – ” said the news anchor on the TV. Jinyu tilted her chin up to stare at the very large screen that was fixed on a high wall over the heads of everyone at the mall. Pictures of fabricated bodies and ridiculous hoaxes flashed on the screen, but she continued to wring her wrists in anxiety.

“They’re just fakes,” Yixing said, reassuring her with a tap on the shoulder. “People are either really desperate for the money or the Institute is just really cheap.”

Jinyu let out a slow breath and then lifted up the black cell phone to her face. 0-3-9 flashed on the screen, and no matter how Yixing tried to dissuade her anxiety, she still felt nervous. Yixing looked at the numbers on the screen and frowned. It only dawned on him now just how little time she had… how little time he had. 

“Hey! Slow pokes!” Mei yelled from across the food court, and Yixing and Jinyu turned to face her. Victoria stood next to Mei, tapping her foot. Yixing let out a nervous laugh and switched the shopping bags to his other hand.

“We’d better go,” he said to Jinyu. “You don’t want to keep those two waiting.”

Jinyu nodded and let Yixing take her by the hand to lead her over to where Victoria and Mei stood. As soon as she was in vicinity, Mei and Victoria reached over and s their arms around either side of Jinyu, leaving Yixing to follow them from behind. It was a bit awkward at first, but Yixing was suddenly thankful that the three girls had somehow gotten along quite well. Mei was never the type of girl who made friends with other girls, but she liked Jinyu a lot. And he was thankful for that.

“What are we here for?” Jinyu asked Victoria, and the older girl beamed.

“The Lu Family’s annual Benefit Gala is in just a couple of nights,” she answered. “And you, little missy, got personally invited by Luhan, which makes you one of the honored guests and you can’t show up wearing one of my things.”

“And it’s a Black Tie event,” Mei added. “You need a gown, not just another cocktail dress.”

“Oh,” Jinyu said. She wanted to feel excited for the Gala, but the three flashing numbers on the screen of her cell phone just wouldn’t let her. Thirty-nine days was just too small a time frame and she hadn’t won Luhan’s heart, yet. She’d spoken to him over the phone some days ago, and that got her hopes back up, but she was beginning to doubt herself. 

She was looking at the possibility of death and endangerment; how could she think of pretty dresses at a time like this? Still, Jinyu smiled for the sake of her companions. They led her over to a store with racks upon racks of dresses and gowns. Victoria and Mei began scanning the lines of clothing for something that would suit themselves, and they instructed Jinyu to do the same.

Yixing stood by the entrance for a while, deciding whether or not he was going to enter the store. He made up his mind when he noticed Mei heading toward the rack of more expensive dresses and he felt his wallet throbbing. 

He kept an eye on Jinyu from afar as well. She was using the money Kyungsoo had given her for training the dolphins, so Yixing didn’t have to worry about maxing out his credit card for her, too. But he still felt somewhat responsible for her and her money. 

Yixing frowned a bit seeing how obviously perturbed she was. Jinyu’s brows were knit, her eyes full of distress as she looked at the gowns one by one. He began formulating questions in his head, questions that he wanted to ask her, like whether or not she really had thirty-nine days left and… and what it was that Luhan had said to her over the phone and what her plan was and if there was anything he could do.

“What are you doing?” asked a voice, and when Yixing turned, he was facing Victoria, who stared at him quizzically. Yixing looked startled at first, but he cleared his throat and grabbed a random dress on the rack.

“I was just…” he began. “Helping my sister look for a dress… and making sure she doesn’t go over budget.”

Victoria scoffed at first and then told him to put the dress down. She began to browse through the same rack and Yixing pressed his lips together. Did she notice him staring?

“So,” Victoria said to him without lifting her focus from the dresses. “How do you feel about this situation with Luhan and Jinyu?”

“What?” Yixing blurted out not 0.1 seconds after the words left Victoria’s mouth. He couldn’t have avoided the question more if he had a . Victoria raised an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t be an idiot,” Victoria said to him. 

Yixing laughed nervously. “I don’t think I’m entirely sure what we’re talking about.” Victoria placed the dress back on the rack and looked at Yixing’ directly.

“I’m talking about Jinyu!” she said, trying to whisper and somehow yell at the same time without Jinyu actually hearing them. 

“Well,” Yixing said, swallowing. “What about her?”

“Everyone knows that you’ve got a thing for her,” Victoria said. “Which is why this whole ploy involving Luhan seems so weird, especially since you’re the one behind it. Your emotions are about as subtle as a gun, Yixing. It’s just a matter of time before it comes to light.”

Yixing looked away from Victoria’s searching gaze, and he blushed. He had tried hard to hide it and he thought that if he didn’t pay attention to his feelings they’d eventually choke out and go away. According to Victoria, they’d only been growing, becoming more and more apparent to everyone except Jinyu herself. He let out a short sigh.

“You should tell her how you feel,” Victoria said. Yixing widened his eyes at the suggestion, but Victoria just looked at him with a hopeful glint in her eyes. She reached out and touched the back of his neck the way his mother would. Victoria gave him a thumbs-up before moving on to look for more gowns. But Yixing still gave no answer.

He turned her suggestion in his mind, feeling terrified by it. Tell her how he felt? Yixing looked over at Jinyu again. She was looking at a purple dress that Mei had picked out, and he smiled a bit at rosy pink of her lips. He certainly could tell her he loved her, but what would be the point? He knew already where and with whom her heart lay, and it wasn’t with him. And Luhan was his friend, his friend who also admired Jinyu and had the power to save her life. 

Saying it out loud would be just another way of laying himself out on the train tracks, ready for another round of heartbreak. And he definitely was not feeling quite up to that.

The night of the Lu Family Benefit Gala was always a magical night, full of lights and luxury all concentrated in a palatial estate on a cliff overlooking the sea. It was also the night of a blue moon. The night was still young, but already Luhan could sense the tension in the air. The second or third subpoena from the courts had already arrived, and while his father’s lawyers were busying handling it, he knew how much of his family’s future rode on the success of this particular Benefit Gala. 

Luhan leaned against the banister at the second floor, and he looked down at the arriving guests. He’d been born into this world of stiff tuxedos, marble floors, and glittering jewels, and for a while, it did thrill him. But now he was beginning to wonder if he wanted any of this at all. 

He recognized some of the people walking through the doors: businessmen, politicians, capitalists, celebrities. His mother’s servants were busy taking coats and hats and, occasionally, leading small children to a designated room where a hired nanny watched over them. But there was really only one person that he was interested in seeing that night, and she walked in just minutes later. 

Luhan had been fixing one of the cufflinks on his left wrist when he noticed her coming in, and he straightened up. 

Jinyu walked in feeling uneasy and unsure of what to expect. She’d been to human parties before, but this was unlike any event she’d attended. She felt small and intimidated next to all this finery. She felt that if she touched anything, she’d smear her dirt on it. She felt out of place, and she longed to find Yixing or Luhan. A nudge on her elbow caught her attention.

“Hey,” whispered a voice, and Yixing appeared beside her with a dimpled smile. Jinyu grinned in return. She’d never seen Yixing in anything more than a pair of jeans, a shirt, and a jacket, and his sleeping clothes that one night she spent in his bedroom. But tonight he wore a tuxedo, tailored perfectly to his fit, accentuating the natural attractiveness that too often went unnoticed in his regular attire. His black hair was combed and his eyes were bright. Jinyu almost blushed… he looked good.

“H-Hi,” she whispered, and Yixing pointed to a corner of the room. 

“Look,” he said, and Jinyu followed to where he pointed. Her eyes widened and she gasped aloud, coming face-to-face with a tall and incredibly wide, beautiful aquarium. Yixing laughed a little and then lightly pushed her forward so she could take a closer look.

“Luhan’s parents had this aquarium put in when he was thirteen,” Yixing explained. “His mom really wanted one in this room. My parents helped round up the fish to put in it.”

He pointed to a certain creature near the sandy floor of the aquarium. “Look at that one,” he said. “That one was caught in the inlet just on the other side of this mansion, actually.”

Jinyu looked to where Yixing pointed and was awed by the sight of a light, blue-spotted stingray. “It’s beautiful,” Jinyu said. “It’s like having the ocean and living on land at the same time.” She pressed her palm against the glass, and Yixing watched amusedly as the fish started to congregate around the spot where her hand was pushed against the tank. When Jinyu moved her hand to the left of the glass, the fish followed, too. 

“I guess they like you,” he said, and Jinyu smiled shyly. Suddenly, she reached out and took his hand, making him press his palm to the glass as well. Yixing’s breath caught a little when Jinyu kept her hand pressed against the back of his, which was in turned pressed against the glass. As with Jinyu’s hand, the fish started to congregate around his palm. But even when Jinyu took her hand away from his the fish stayed.

“Move your hand,” Jinyu instructed. Yixing scoffed a little, but he began to slide his hand across the glass to the right, slowly. Incredibly, the fish followed him as well, and a laugh escaped his throat. 

“They must like you, too,” Jinyu responded. Yixing looked at Jinyu and took this time to absorb what she actually looked like. Victoria had picked a pale pink gown for her, with cap-sleeves, a beaded bodice, and a silk skirt. He’d never seen her hair in a bun, but with her hair out of the way, her eyes were even more stunning. 

The sound of footsteps approaching took Yixing out of his stupor. He took his hand from the glass and the fish scattered. Luhan reached out and tapped Jinyu on the shoulder. When she turned around, Luhan smiled from ear to ear.

“Hi,” he said, feeling a little breathless. He wasn’t sure if it was from the shock of seeing her or from the quick trip he made down the flight of stairs. Jinyu smiled politely at him.

“There you are,” Yixing said, breaking the silence. “Your mom was running around earlier asking if we’d seen you.”

Luhan laughed. “She’d put a leash on me if she could,” he said. “Let her worry, I’ll show myself to her later. When did you get here?”

“Just about ten minutes ago, actually,” Yixing answered. “I was… just showing Jinyu your aquarium.”

“Oh,” Luhan said, nodding. “Of course.” He turned to Jinyu then, and she crossed her arms a little, feeling nervous.

“Your home is really big,” Jinyu said, looking around the place, and Luhan blushed a little.

“Yeah, I think I get lost in it about once a week or so,” he said. “Did you know that stingray there was caught in the inlet right outside?”

Jinyu looked back at the stingray and then at Luhan with a smile. “Yes, Yixing told me.”

“Oh,” Luhan said. “He did.”

Yixing watched the two of them interact before he caught both their eyes. He nodded a little before searching the crowd for Mei. Yixing finally spotted her talking to someone, a boy. From the looks of it, she was talking to Sehun, and Yixing smirked a little. 

“So,” Yixing said. Luhan and Jinyu looked at him. “I’ll just leave you two to talk. She is, after all, your date, Luhan. Excuse me, I’ll just go… rescue Sehun from my sister.” 

Jinyu watched Yixing’s back as he walked toward the thicker part of the crowd until he disappeared. Then, she faced Luhan again. He put his hands into his pockets.

“It’s a little awkward, isn’t it?” he said. “Since we haven’t spoken in a long time.”

“That’s right,” Jinyu said. “Um… how are your studies? You left to pursue them, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Luhan said. “School’s been fine. Stressful on occasion, but I guess no college experience is really complete unless you’ve fallen asleep in the library at least once.”

Jinyu laughed. 

“What about you?” he asked. “How’ve you been since I was gone? Sorry I couldn’t get into contact that often but it would appear that I never got your phone number. Anyway, anything to report?”

“Well,” Jinyu said, thinking. “Mei had a birthday. She’s sixteen now. Victoria is getting married to Nichkhun. Kyungsoo has a car. I… am not sure about Chanyeol, but I think he has a new girlfriend. Her name is Sally or Sully – ”

“Sulli?”

“Yes, Sulli,” Jinyu continued. “And Yixing…” Jinyu stopped a moment, realizing that she wasn’t sure how to answer about Yixing. He seemed different lately and yet she couldn’t quite put words to it. Luhan cleared his throat.

“Okay, so the whole gang seems to have something up their sleeves going on,” he said. “But what about you?”

Jinyu pressed her lips together, nearly confessing the terms of her spell to him. She remembered, at the very last minute, that her prince was not to know anything. The beginning of Luhan’s father’s speech cut their conversation a little short. Luhan apologized with a nervous laugh.

“Do you want to go to the ballroom now?” he asked just then, extending his arm to her. Jinyu blushed a little. The music started shortly after the speech, and she put her hand in the crook of his arm, and let Luhan lead her to the where the dancing took place.

The night was rightly under way when Luhan decided that it was time to show Jinyu the pièce de résistance of this mansion he called his home. So after making clear that he wasn’t trying to put the moves on her, he led Jinyu over to the stairs, up to the second level, and to his room. 

“And again,” Luhan said, before turning the knob to his room. “Please don’t feel weird, I promise I’m not trying to be, like… ual or anything. I just want to show you something.”

Luhan threw open the double doors to his room and let Jinyu walk in behind him. Once she was inside, Luhan rushed over to the next set of double doors. He smirked a little before pushing down on the knobs and letting the wind open the doors for him. The light from the second full moon of the month shined into the room and hit Jinyu’s face. 

She shielded her eyes from the light a moment before walking toward Luhan.

“Is this your  - ?” she said, but her voice caught into a gasp when she walked out past the second set of double doors and found herself looking upon the most breathtaking view of the ocean and the moonlight she’d ever seen, right there on Luhan’s balcony. 

“Not to sound like a spoiled, rich brat, or anything,” Luhan said, taking his place beside her. “But when this house was being built, I insisted on this view. I don’t regret it at all.”

Jinyu looked across the dark stretch of the night horizon and felt homesick and emotional once more, but in a good way. She didn’t often think of the ocean as majestic while she was in it. But from land, it was truly… magical. 

Luhan walked forward and leaned against the stone railing. He’d looked out on this view countless times before, but he felt that he saw something new every single time.

“This is the place where I do all of my big thinking,” he said. 

“I never knew it was this big,” Jinyu whispered, coming to stand by him. Luhan smiled.

“The ocean?” he said. “I both love it and am terrified by it. I almost died in it twice in just the last 10 years. But even when I think I’m almost at the point of death, I somehow make it out alive, someone always saves me.”

Jinyu looked at Luhan and smiled, remembering the day that she rescued him. No matter how complicated her situation became, she was always infinitely glad that she had saved his life. She watched his profile as he looked out over the ocean and was reminded of that one stormy night, when she had swam too far from her family. That was the night she’d first seen him, on this very balcony where they now stood. The night she’d fallen for him. The night his little black phone came to her. She could hardly believe how long ago that was and how fast things had happened. 

She looked at Luhan and wondered just how often he remembered that incident with the tsunami. She wanted to scream at him and tell him that she was the one who saved his life and that she was dying and she needed a rescue in return. But the spell continued to gag her, and she feared that a confession would land her in the Institute. And so all she could do was look with longing and a pit in her heart.

“What do you think about when you are up here?” Jinyu asked.

Luhan shrugged. “Anything, really,” he said. “Anything really pressing at the time, anything that could have a huge impact.”

“You have such a privileged life,” Jinyu said. “What could impact that?”

Luhan shrugged again. “The courts wanting to sue us for the oil spill, that’s one,” he said. “The damage to the platforms caused by the earthquake, that’s another. My parents’ marriage, my education, what the state of affairs will be after my father retires, whether or not I want to be the heir, the household accounts, relationships with people, my mom’s health, I…” Luhan paused and then looked at Jinyu for a second before looking back at the ocean.

“I think about you, sometimes,” he admitted and the let eyes wander over the water. “And sometimes I think about… someone else.”

“Someone else,” Jinyu said, but Luhan straightened up.

“That’s not important,” he said. “Anyway, I brought you here because I wanted to share this with you. You don’t talk much, but I feel like I have a kindred spirit in you. Like you have a lot to think about, too.”

Jinyu shrugged and gave a gentle smile. “A little,” she answered. “But, thank you for sharing your special place with me.”

Luhan smiled. “You’re welcome,” he said. “I like the silence the most. When I’m here by myself, it’s really relaxing. But having you here isn’t a bother at all. I kinda like that about you. It just feels like we’re both under some…” he paused a little and Jinyu swallowed.

“A spell?” she suggested, and Luhan caught her eye.

“Exactly,” he said. “Like we’re both under some kind of spell that’s binding us here, even though we’d both rather do something else or be something else. You understand that, don’t you?”

Jinyu laughed a little. “More than you can know,” she answered. Luhan smiled in her direction and suddenly took note of the proximity between them. Jinyu took notice as well, and her heart began to race seeing how close he was.

Was this it? She thought. Was this going to be the end of it? Luhan’s breath warmed her skin against the wind, and Jinyu forced herself to stand very still. Luhan lifted his hand and used it to tilt her chin upward slowly. Jinyu opened her eyes and found herself looking directly at him. Her heart was frantic now and there was a ringing in her ears. All sound stopped the moment Luhan closed his eyes and leaned down.

The double doors swung open suddenly. Luhan, still locked in that position, shot his eyes open again and looked toward the door. A woman in a green gown pulled a man into the room by his tie, but when the couple took notice of Jinyu and Luhan on the balcony they excused themselves.

“Sorry about that,” the man said. “We didn’t know this room was taken.”

The doors closed and Luhan blushed a deep shade of red and stepped back a little. He looked at Jinyu whose face was similarly flushed. He laughed nervously, but a booming voice penetrated the door once more.

“Luhan!” the voice said, and his father stepped in through the door. “There you are!”

“Yes, here I am,” Luhan said, rather bored. His father ran into the room and grabbed his son’s sleeve and began to haul him out the door.

“What are you doing cooped up in here?” he demanded. “The Executive Financial Officer of SM Steel is in the ballroom with his wife, and they want to meet you!”

“Now?” Luhan asked, but before he could even apologize to Jinyu, his father had already dragged him to the stairs. Jinyu was left alone on the balcony.

Jinyu turned back to the ocean and let out the breath she had been holding. She widened her eyes at first, but when she realized how close she had come to the end of all this misery, a smile landed on her face. It was almost a kiss, she thought. It was almost a real kiss, a kiss from Luhan. There was hope once in a blue moon after all. She hugged herself to keep warm, but the frigid night air did little to dampen her spirits tonight. She looked tenderly over the water and thought of her family.

She could protect them after all. She could save their lives and keep them hidden if she succeeded, and success, moments ago, had been only a breath and a kiss away. 

There was another knock on the door, and when she turned, Yixing stood in the doorway.

“Where’s Luhan?” he asked, and Jinyu shrugged. Yixing looked around the room and his eyes eventually rested on Jinyu’s light pink dress. She looked breathless and he wondered what had happened. He cleared his throat.

“Mei wants to go home now,” he said to Jinyu. “Are you ready to leave?

Jinyu took a deep breath and looked back at the inlet. The inlet where the blue-spotted stingray was caught, where she’d first seen Luhan. Then, she looked back at Yixing, and she walked slowly toward him.