Sungjong watched as Myungsoo dismounted in front of a brown house too small for two people. Without questioning why they have stopped, Sungjong rode forward until his horse was parallel to Myungsoo’s before getting off. Together, on foot, Sungjong scanned their surrounding as Myungsoo focused on seeking the inside of the shelter, which was filled with silence. And before Sungjong could catch the other in the act, Myungsoo was already inside with the wide open creaky, front door.

He noticed that Myungsoo’s gaze were keen on a certain direction, which drew him inches closer to the door’s entrance. Until the body of an older man spread across the bed, too tiny for the elder, came into his view. He observed the bottom half of the stranger’s body as Myungsoo had blocked the nameless face. Slowly he caught the motion of Myungsoo’s hand, his fingers spread apart and the center of his bare hand directed downward, toward the old man’s head.

Sungjong frowned. In a matter of seconds, the man had stopped breathing, or at least looked like he had. “What have you done?” Sungjong questioned.

At that, Myungsoo glanced over his shoulder, “I’m slowing the keeper’s guardian time by putting him into a deep sleep. His condition is not well and if we leave him be without a caretaker, he will not live when the keeper is gone,” though Myungsoo said so, the look on his face gave Sungjong a gut-wrenching feeling.

“He doesn’t look like he’s sleeping though,”

“I did say I’m slowing his time didn’t I? He’s sleeping and breathing just very, very slowly,” Myungsoo explained before looking elsewhere. Near the door he saw a young lady. Despite the gap between them, he can make out the tangles in her wavy dark hair. Her chocolate pupils glowed under the shade, she was quite tall and healthy despite the lack of food she and her father consumed.

“Father?” she called out softly. The slight tilt of her head showed Myungsoo and Sungjong that she was getting a hunch she and her father wasn’t alone in the room. “Who’s here?”

“We bring you no harm,” when Myungsoo spoke, the lass took a step back in surprised.

“Who are you?”

Sungjong watched closely. It was the first time he has ever seen a keeper in person and to him, she surprisingly doesn’t appear to be at all special. After hearing so much about keepers from Myungsoo, he thought they’d be beautiful creatures that carried some kind of irresistible, alluring aura. But he sensed nothing from the lass Jisoo. “I am a great wizard, I came to provide you guidance and protection,”

“Where is my father? What have you done to him?” She questioned in a panicked tone. As if she didn’t just hear that she was in the presence of a mage.

“He’s safe. He’s sleeping,” Myungsoo answered calmly.

Jisoo had no need to doubt his words, but she knew better than to simply trust intruders, “If he’s really safe then wake him up. I have to hear his voice to believe you,”

Studying on the side Sungjong thought Myungsoo would remove the spell and wake up the old man, but he didn’t. Instead he said, “I’ve relocated your father. He’s now in a better place. He’s also being cared for so I assure you that he’s fine,”

“That can’t be true, other than me my father has no one else. There’s no one here who will care for my father. Please tell me where he is, what did you do to him?” Unable to see, Jisoo’s worried tone has gotten worse. She was now trembling and weak from the thoughts of her father being left anywhere else but at home.

“I’ve got a person of mine to look after him. Don’t worry, she’s a healer and caretaker. Once she nurses him back to his normal state I’ll take you to him,” Myungsoo lied. Sungjong wasn’t certain why Myungsoo were coming up with the lies but decided to trust that the other knew what he was doing. “Now, can I explain why I’m here, Jisoo?”

The lass furrowed her brows, “You know my name?”

Knowing he now has all of her attention, a smirk was drawn across his handsome face, “Do you know what a Keeper is, Jisoo? Have you heard of the Keeper?”

“Keep-er?” Jisoo mimicked sluggishly.

“Yes, in other words a seeker.”

There was a long silence until Jisoo shook her head slowly, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,”

Myungsoo’s smirk has transformed itself into a proud smile, “A keeper, or seeker, is a human that possessed special abilities. Only one keeper exists every twenty to thirty years and they have the power to free Windy Hall's master,”

“Why are you telling me this..?” Jisoo asked.

“It has been twenty years. You’re the new keeper,”

If Jisoo’s face was a sketchbook, no one would be able to tell what was drawn across it. She was confused by his words. The lass know very well that she does not have any special abilities. “Me?”

As if Myungsoo had read her mind, he quickly answers, “Indeed you possessed special abilities. You’re just not used to using them yet,”

“But how?”

Myungsoo looked to Sungjong who was also dying to know the truth. It annoyed Sungjong how Myungsoo never gets to the point despite being knowledgeable and very wise. Ignoring Sungjong’s gaze, Myungsoo scanned Jisoo briefly. As if her outer appearance will re-confirm her identity. “You can see them, can’t you?”

Thinking he was referring to humans and things she instantly answered, “No. Ever since I was born I can’t see at all,”

However, Myungsoo was quick to correct her, “No, you may be blind but you can see them. Dark, hunch-back figures,” The images of what Myungsoo had just mentioned came to Jisoo slowly then like someone pressing fast forward, the eerily sight of said figures started running toward her. For a moment Jisoo can feel a wave of wind brushing past and up against her. She immediately covered her eyes and let out a scream before falling into a squat.

Taken aback, Sungjong stared down Myungsoo for an explanation. But the lad ignored him once again. It’s been awhile since Myungsoo paid him no attention. A little after Jisoo dropped to the floor, Myungsoo was beside her with a hand pressing against her arm. “You’re alright, I’m here,”

After Myungsoo succeeded in comforting Jisoo, he offered to make her dinner before he further explain what he needed from her. Jisoo did not decline his offer and while he fixed her meal, she can’t help it but wonder what it was that he wanted from her. It made her nervous as she has never given or provided for anyone else.

When Myungsoo brought over a bowl of cooked rice and a pigeon he had caught without much effort, Jisoo dug in quickly but quietly. She has been starving for the last few days and to finally get a proper meal made her crazy. Myungsoo even chipped in and encouraged her to slow down or she’ll get a stomachache.

It has been nearly half a day since Sungjong has become invisible to Myungsoo. At this point the blond even wondered why Myungsoo dragged him around if he didn’t care for him. He even nicknamed himself the Horse-sitter as for the past hour or so that’s all Sungjong has been doing. Babysitting their mounts. However, what really upsetted Sungjong was the fact that he was still a nobody, a ghost to the keeper. Someone Myungsoo often speaks so highly of. Feeling sour, Sungjong casted him and the horses aside while Myungsoo keep Jisoo company near a campfire.

Jisoo felt around her now empty plate, her fingers were coated with dried rice and the smell of meat was fresh on her fingers. Without any shame, she on her fingers until Myungsoo heaved a hearty laugh. “Want seconds?”

Hearing his voice again, Jisoo was reminded that she was in the company of a stranger and not her father. So clean up her image just seconds before, she straighten her back and wipe her lips with the back of her hands, “I’m fine thank you,”

Gently Myungsoo grabbed the plate from Jisoo and placed it on a rock beside him, “I suppose I should prepare supper in a bit,” he joked. For the first time Jisoo can hear his voice clearly, unlike her father’s deep and breathy voice, Myungsoo’s was soothing. “So, now that you’re full. Will you hear out my request?”

As calmly as she can muster she replied, “Sure,”

“The creatures you see, how often do you come across them?”

“This is your request?” Jisoo asked.

Myungsoo sighed, “To help shape my request, I need some key information from you. So out with it, how often do you see them?”

A low hummed can be heard from Jisoo’s throat before she answered, “Normally during the mornings? When I can feel the Sun’s warmth and its light. I don’t see them around here but when I go into the woods or out scavenging, I’ll see two to three of them. But why do you ask?”

It took Myungsoo less than a second to spill the beans, “Each seeker tends to see them in different places. Some only see them in or on water, others on land, some in grasslands, a few on dirt and stone roads,”

“What about the woods?”

“So far only you and one other has seen them in the woods,” Myungsoo answered with what sounded like a straight face.

Sungjong who has been eavesdropping found it interesting. Did the time of day and places matter?

“Just me and another..?”

It took a moment but Myungsoo answered in a low tone, “Yeah, the keeper before you,”