Sowon had fallen asleep against Joonmyeon’s broad back. When her eyelids fluttered open, she could see light coming from a window of a house in front of her. But the view was strangely sideways. She suddenly noticed that she was being carried, bridal style. She turned frantically in her lying-down position and caught a glimpse of Joonmyeon’s surprised face. “Whoa! Calm down, I almost dropped you!” he cried out.

“I can walk,” Sowon said. The discomfort was evident in her tone.

Joonmyeon just shook his head. “It’s not smart to try walking now. You’re too sore. We’ll have to get Kris to check up on you.”

Kris? The unfamiliar name gave Sowon pause. Did Joonmyeon live with someone? Sowon remembered when she had escaped the orphanage with Joonmyeon nine years ago. Promising to come back soon, he had led Sowon to a run-down house and dropped the young Chaewon he had been carrying on his shoulders beside her. In the end, he said that it was too dangerous to live together, so he had only visited several times a year. These visits shortened drastically as the years went by, apparently because he was busy, but Sowon quickly matured enough to take care of both her sister and herself by then. She took on little odd jobs like gardening, and then got a job in a nearby daycare. When Chaewon grew older, she started working as a young dish-washer by lying about her age. They sometimes took school classes at night, but they were irregular due to their busy job schedules. Sowon had been thankful that the two sisters were able to live in the peace for so long. And at the end of the nine years was the kidnapping……

If this was Joonmyeon’s place, he must not live alone. Sowon could spot a shadow in the window. Someone was looking at both of them from inside the house.

When Joonmyeon reached the door, it swung open as if automatic. Sowon looked up with wide eyes to see a tall boy with dark hair looking down at her from behind the door. He looked startled, as though he was not expecting Sowon. Sowon looked equally surprised.

Joonmyeon ignored the boy and went inside. He gently lowered Sowon on a yellow couch nearby. As soon as Joonmyeon’s arms left her and she felt the soft cushions under her, Sowon could acutely feel the ache all over her body. She tried not to grimace from the pain. Its throbbing was increasing by the second.

A pale face entered her vision. A boy with chiseled features and blonde hair was staring down at her. Sowon was struck by his sharp, amber-colored eyes that seemed to pierce her soul. He spoke. “Is she the childhood friend?” His voice was quite low in tone.

“Yes,” Sowon heard Joonmyeon reply. Sowon tried to turn her face towards the direction of Joonmyeon’s voice, but it was too painful. “She’s Sowon. Her sister was taken by the Yin and one of them tried to take her also. An Elemental, in fact – Fire, just like me. I got there just in time.”

The Yin. Sowon closed her eyes. Finally, a name. So the men and the Masked Man were the Yin. The Masked Man was also an Elemental, though she had no clue what that meant. Also, she wanted to ask about the Fire part, but stayed silent for the time being.

The amber-eyed boy pressed his lips together, as if disturbed by Joonmyeon’s words. “You met an Elemental Yin? And probably fought it, too. You have a lot of explaining to do later. At least for now, you two are safe.”

He pressed a hand over Sowon’s ribs, startling her. From the sudden pressure, a cry escaped from Sowon’s lips. “They’re just bruised badly. It’s nothing critical,” the boy said. He examined her for a moment, narrowing his eyes as if trying to read her soul. “I’m Kris,” he stated, simply. Then he abruptly turned to face behind him. “Who exactly is this girl? She can’t be just a childhood friend if the Yin are tracking her down.”

There was a moment of silence. “She may be one of us. Only Wood is left, and I believe that the Wood Yin died shortly after we all were born. The Yin may be trying to capture and convert the Wood Yang to Yin, since I heard that they were trying to track down a certain Elemental.” Joonmyeon’s voice was steely. “I’ll have to go do some more research. Also, figure out what to do about her sister, Chaewon.” Joonmyeon paused. “Please take care of Sowon for me. She’s like a sister to me.”

“Wait!” Sowon’s trembling voice rang out. “Someone, please explain to me what exactly is going on. What do you mean by the Yin and the Yang?” She tried to get up in at least a sitting position. A pair of strong arms pushed her back down.

  Joonmyeon leaned over her. “Kris will tell you the basics and I’ll fill you in on the rest later. Right now, we need to rescue your sister. If she is the Wood Yang, she will be in an extremely dangerous situation.” Sowon stared into Joonmyeon’s brown eyes. They were hard and cold, which was different from the warm ones that had affectionately looked at Sowon and Chaewon when they were young.

As Joonmyeon was leaving, Sowon looked at his back. A sense of deja vu hit her. She suddenly felt so lonely.  “Joonmyeon,” Sowon whispered. “Don’t leave me.”

Joonmyeon turned his head. “Sowon, it’ll be alright. I’ll protect you no matter what happens. Even when I’m not there, my friends will protect you. Also, I’ll save your sister.” His voice was the same as the one from nine years ago, but there was something subtly different about it.

“Okay,” Sowon whispered. Did she know this Joonmyeon, who seemed steelier, more intimidating than the Joonmyeon she had last seen a year ago? But then, he had been so warm and comforting on the motorcycle. Sowon closed her eyes wearily, putting a lid on the tons of questions swarming in her mind for the time being.

“Sowon.” Sowon heard an unfamiliar voice say her name. She half-opened her eyes to see a pair of huge eyes stare into her own hazel eyes. The unusualness of the situation snapped her out of her hazy state. Now wide awake, she completely opened her eyes to see the dark-haired boy from yesterday night right in front of her, holding a ceramic mug. “Drink this; it’ll make you feel better.”

The girl blinked, and then the boy gently lifted her to a sitting position with an arm, leaning her against the back of the couch before her brain could register the movement. Being so close to him, Sowon noticed that he smelled a little like the ocean, a large body of salt water that she had been to a few years ago with her sister when Chaewon had whined that she wanted to see it once. The boy took her hand, and was about to wrapped it around the steaming mug, when he saw the numerous, bloody scratches on the palm of it. The boy furrowed his brows. “How did this happen?”

Sowon stared blankly at her hands. Suddenly several scenes whirled around in her mind: the explosion of the door, the bald men wearing black, Chaewon’s face twisting in hopelessness as she called for help, the sharp pain from the glass shards on the ground…… Sowon uttered a groan and buried her head into her hands. It was too overwhelming in her just-awoken state of mind.

The boy stayed silent. Then he carefully removed Sowon’s hands from her face and lifted the mug to her lips. “Drink,” he said.

Trying not to think, for the memories were too painful, Sowon obediently drank the liquid inside. Warmth fused inside her. She felt her body relax. The drink tasted both bitter and sweet, kind of like the coffee Joonmyeon had once bought her. Strength seemed to be returning to her limbs.

She felt the couch sink in one side as the boy sat next to her. “I’m Chanyeol. Nice to meet you. I had no clue Joonmyeon was hiding a childhood friend.” His voice was soft, as though he was talking to a young, frightened child.

Sowon felt like her heart was being pinched. Joonmyeon had said that it was unsafe for them to live together, but was living with several people far away himself. If they had been living altogether, wouldn’t she and Chaewon have been safer?

Sowon looked towards the window. Chanyeol, the boy who was treating her with so much care, lowered the mug, stood up, and quietly walked away. Daylight streamed from between the yellow curtains. She must have fallen asleep for several hours after Joonmyeon had left.

Her gaze turned to a figure that was standing beside the window. A tall boy with sharp features was scrutinizing her while leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He seemed about Eva’s age. He had a wary expression on his face, and made no move to acknowledge Eva.

“Ah, that’s Sehun.” Sowon heard Chanyeol’s voice from beside her, as he sat back down on the couch. Chanyeol picked up one of her hands and began to spread a salve on the palm of it. Sehun moved his gaze to glare at him. He was obviously not the friendly type, so Sowon naturally felt intimidated by the boy.

“How… how many people live here?” Sowon asked.

“Only us three. Kris, Sehun, and me.” Chanyeol’s tone was comfortable, as if talking to a friend, not a stranger.

“How about Joonmyeon?” Sowon asked.

Chanyeol burst out laughing, as if the question amused him quite a bit. “Oh, he comes and goes as he pleases. He spends most of his time researching history of the Yin and Yang at the Library of Stone or reading in his little warehouse in the woods. Sometimes he spends the night there, which I’d say is a very dangerous thing to do.”

There the words were again. Yin and Yang.

“Could you tell me about the Yin and Yang?” Sowon ventured.

Darian shook his head. “It’s best if Kris tells you, as Max said. He’ll come back before it gets dark, so it’ll be best for you to rest until then.” Sowon felt anxiety surfacing. Why the long wait? She needed to know now where Chaewon was.

“What exactly is your relationship with Joonmyeon?” A sudden sharp voice interrupted them. The two turned to Sehun, who was still looking at Eva with suspicious eyes. As soon as Eva locked eyes with him, Sehun narrowed his eyes, looking even more formidable.

“I’m his childhood friend. We lived in the orphanage together with my little sister Chaewon until we escaped several years ago. He left Chaewon and me in an old house, where we lived quietly until the Yin, as Joonmyeon said, came and took Chaewon.”

Sowon could feel two pairs of eyes studying her. “An orphan?” Sehun’s eyes softened, but his arms were still crossed unwelcomingly. “We’re all orphans here.”

“Do you need help?” Sowon stood in the doorway of what looked like a small kitchen and dining room in one. Sehun was chopping carrots on the counter, wearing a white apron, which looked out of place over his khakis and muscle shirt. His brow was furrowed, as though he was concentrating as he was cooking.

“Do you think you can do something with those hands?” Sehun retorted, sharply, without looking back at her. With one swipe of his hand, he collected the neatly chopped pieces of carrot and tossed them into the pot on the stove. Then he proceeded to dice the onion. Sowon assumed that he was making vegetable soup, which was probably the lunch menu.

Sowon looked down at her bandaged hands. “They’re only my palms. I can still use my fingers,” she said, trying to adopt a bright and helpful tone. She had nothing to do but wait for Kris to come back, and, according to Chanyeol, he’d be late. “I did the cooking back when I lived with my sister.” A lump formed in when she thought of the old times.

Sowon felt an arm around her shoulders and jumped. She looked up to see Chanyeol. “You sure you don’t need help, Dragon?” Sehun finally turned slightly from his chopping to give them both a glare.

"Dragon?” Sowon murmured.

“Ah, that’s… kind of like a nickname. 'Cause he likes shiny stuff.” Chanyeol smiled, as though he said an inside joke. Chanyeol steered Sowon around, from the kitchen door. “Want to help me, then? I need practice on my aim. When we’re not doing household chores, we train. I’ll show you.”

‘Train?’ Sowon wondered as she amenably followed Chanyeol outside. It was late in the morning, so Sowon was able to study the surroundings that she wasn’t able to see when she reached this house late into the night with Joonmyeon. There were several trees spaced out from one another and thick patches of short shrubbery nearby, as if they were in a sparse forest. There were no houses in sight, or a road. From the outside, the house actually looked like a cabin in the middle of nowhere.

“How close are we to civilization?” Sowon asked as Chanyeol came over dragging a big bucket filled with water.

He scratched his head. “Hmm… we’re a few minutes from Reok Town, which is a small, peaceful village. I guess we’re located at the outskirts of Reok Woods. It’s quite a journey from where you live, as I heard from Joonmyeon.” He sat down behind the bucket, crossing his legs. He pointed to a tree about ten feet away. “You go over there.”

“Joonmyeon spoke of me before?”

“Well, he did say he had a couple of friends living near Polex Town and he was keeping an eye on them. He said that they were his only real friends, save us, of course. And then one day he says he’s going to go meet one of them and disappears, then reappears with you at our doorstep.”

Sowon hoped that Joonmyeon would come to the cabin soon to explain everything including every minor detail instead of Kris. With a sigh, she went and sat with her back leaning against the trunk of the tree. There was a pile of stones smaller than her fist stacked within an arm’s length nearby.

“You just have to throw the rocks into the air any way you want. You can throw it far, hard, or whatever. Just make sure you don’t hit me.” He grinned. “And don’t throw them too close to you.”

Sowon blinked, puzzled. Chanyeol just stared back at her, a hand on the surface of the water in the bucket and a peculiar smile on his face. She grabbed a stone. It was smooth and cold in her hand. With all her might, she threw it to the left, high.

A shot of water came whizzing out of the bucket and hit the stone perfectly, changing the stone’s velocity and making it smash into the next tree. As the glob of water smashed into the stone, Sowon could feel drops of water splatter onto her. Her eyes and mouth widened in circles at the same time. She stared at the boy in front of her, who was smugly smiling back at her.

“I’m pretty sure it’s not your first time seeing someone use their powers. Joonmyeon probably had to use his last night against the Yin guy. And he said that he felt that the Yin guy was also a Fire. You see, I’m a Water.” He sloshed the water by his feet with a hand. He held his hand with his palm facing upwards, and a globe of swirling water floated right above it. As he slightly lowered his hand, the globe collapsed, and the water fell, splashing onto his palm and into the bucket.

Sowon frowned. “Is this... magic?” If magic was real, she really had no chance against the Yin as a normal girl. “Then teach me,” she suddenly said, her voice hard.

It was Chanyeol’s turn to blink in surprise. “I’m sorry, but powers aren’t something you can just learn. It’s inherent – you can only train to strengthen your power if you have one. I’m pretty sure Kris will explain everything once he gets back.”

Sowon’s brows furrowed. “Does that mean I can’t use magic?” She felt a wave of hopelessness wash over her.

Chanyeol’s eyes narrowed and the blue of his irises seemed to pierce her soul as he studied her. “I don’t know,” he said, slowly. “You might be the Wood Yang the Yin are searching for; why else would they target you? If your sister isn’t the one, anyways – if she is, you’ll probably never see her again.”

A strong, low voice interrupted them. “Chanyeol, I told you not to tell her anything, nor shock her with such antics. She needs to know everything from the beginning.” Sowon looked up to see Kris standing right beside her. She gave a start – since when had he been there? Sowon had heard nothing and seen nothing until Kris had spoken.

Kris’s anger didn’t seem to faze Chanyeol in the slightest. “You’re quite early,” he commented, standing up coolly.

“The mission finished in a moment. Joonmyeon accompanied me.” He glanced at Sowon. “He’ll be coming soon enough, once he cleans up.” The girl frowned in confusion. Cleans up? Kris began walking with powerful strides to the door of the house. “We’ll talk after lunch.” Sowon noticed that the aroma of vegetable soup was drifting towards them from the half-opened windows.