Minzy thanked the young women at the bon fire gathering that followed after the ascension. As she finished up thanking the last girl, she was startled to almost run into Mino. She was about to apologize, before she realized who it was. Quickly trying to find an exit, Mino stepped in her way to stop her, "I am so sorry for what happened earlier."

She was quiet for a moment as she tried to gather her thoughts, "You know, it's one thing to bring someone not of our pack. But it is another to put in her mind that she could be welcomed in my mother's ascension." 

"Do you think it's my fault that your mother is gone," he asked honestly. 

She coughed a laugh as she shook her head, "Is that why you came? To ease your consciousness and lighten your curse." 

"Curse? Mino are you cursed," the young woman looked at him in disbelief.

"You didn't tell her," Minzy scoffed. She then looked at the pathetic innocent young woman and told their sad tale, "Believe it or not, but we are bound to one another. He has fought fate and has brought a curse upon himself and his family." 

"Mino you never told me that you were bound to another person," the young woman looked defeated before turning to storm off. 

"Hmph...the curse strikes again," Minzy mocked him. "But don't worry, my mother passing is my own doing," Minzy revealed. Mino looked at her curiously, but she pushed past him and decided to end the fun of tell all. 

Minzy was surprised to be caught by the wrist. Hating how she felt as if she was glued in place, she waited as Mino still held her wrist and moved to face her, "What do you mean by it was your own doing that your mother passed?" 

She hated herself even more as she crumbled into tears and so effortlessly told him, "Her silhouette came to me the other day. It was a bad omen after falling in love with someone else." She cowered to the ground, as she began to sob hard. "I ed up. I let my guard down and fell in love and the Gods cursed me for it." 

"You can't believe every supersition," Mino sighed as he crouched down by her. 

"She told me to come home," Minzy revealed. Shaking her head, she knew he wouldn't understand, "It wasn't a warning, it was a premonition of what else I could lose if I didn't leave the man I loved." She cried harder, hoping the Gods would go easy on Bobby. It was her turn to take hold of Mino, searching his eyes in desperation, "Why can't we fulfill the promise of our fathers? Why can't you love me?" She wasn't really looking for him to answer, if anything she just wanted him to understand. 

"Love can't be forced..." he began. But Minzy didn't want to hear his go to bull lecture. Taking matters into her own hands, she took hold of his collar and smashed her lips against his. Silencing him with the pressure of her lips, she kissed him hard. It was bewitching to say the least as she felt the winds pick up and whirl all around them. Her vision became spotty at the sudden rush of light headedness. Kissing him felt so intense, so right as her heart lept with excitement. Her lips against his was like nothing she had ever experienced before. But just as she started to really get into the kiss it ended, with the call of his name. It felt like she was being ripped away from Mino, as he pulled away to see the young woman he had accompanied earlier staring at them in disbelief before running off. The intense rush faded as Mino went chasing after the young woman, leaving Minzy standing speechless at what had just happened. 

Minzy, pull yourself together Jiyong's voice echoed in her mind. Looking into the direction of where his voice was comin from he stood with a little crowd that was forming behind him. 

Then don't look, Minzy shouted in her mind as she stormed off. Folding her arms over her chest, she stayed glancing at the ground. Trying to process what happened, she felt foolish as she found herself comparing Bobby to Mino. Grunting at the poor comparison, she shook the thought and continued to walk. Listening to the crunching of the fallen leaves beneath her feet, she didn't notice the pair that was talking from a distance. Stopping to take a deep breath, she was startled as she heard Mino. 

"Do you think I wanted to be bound to her," Mino scoffed as he pleaded for the young woman to look at him. Though he didn't mean for it to come off rude, Minzy felt a jab to the gut. As insulting it was to hear of herself being talked about, she stayed glued in place like she was earlier. Why was she losing all senses when it came to Mino. Not having the common decency to walk away and allow them some privacy, she stayed and listened. It was like she was watching some kind of thriller or horror movie unfold right before her eyes. "CL please, I need you to understand. I love you," he said in desperation as he took her hand in his. "I don't want her, I want you." It was yet another jab at her, shaking her head. She wondered why she still became offended by Mino's words after all this time. 

CL turned to look at Mino with tear filled eyes, "You know as well as I do that being bound to someone is fate. You're trying to change your destiny, when it has already been chosen for you." She sighed as she slowly moved out of his grasp, "I will not let fate take me or others that I love too. I can't risk it." 

"So what are you saying," he hissed out in frustration. "Is this it? Are we really going to let destiny rip us apart?!" 

"It's better now, before we get too deep," CL offered. 

Mino was up on his feet, furious, "I'm already too deep. Didn't you hear me?! I love you CL! I love you with everything in me!" 

Standing to her feet, she moved to embrace him tightly, "Then this is me loving you just as deep to let you go and meet your destiny." CL moved up onto her tip toes and sweetly pecked his cheek before moving back. This allowed Mino time to storm away, leaving CL standing in place with Minzy still watching from afar. "You can come out now," CL said as she looked over at Minzy. Gasping she felt embarassed for being caught. Inwardly groaning, she moved to reveal herself from behind the tree.

Quietly moving towards the young woman, she was fairly impressed as she finally took a real look at the young woman's face. She was a beauty for sure, holding strength and power in her aura as Minzy neared her. When Minzy had come face to face with the young woman, she nodded. "I apologize for spying on such an intimate moment." 

"I will accept your apology, but there is no need for one. You needed to hear it. I needed your forefathers to hear it. I do not intend to curse myself nor my loved ones," CL replied. 

"Your intentions were heard loud and clear. I commend you for your strength and will power to not let love rule you," Minzy said sincerely. 

"I commend you for your patience. Being bound to a man as stubborn as Mino must be hard. But I am curious, how long has he been fighting fate," CL asked out of curiosity. 

Minzy felt herself on memory lane as she pondered CL's question. "I guess...it was from the very start. When we first found out that we were bound to one another. You see, my parents died protecting Mino's mother and saving his father from a pack attack. Such great sacrifice deserves great payment, is how Mino's father explained it to us. As children we were taught that our lives would be connected from the vow made to my parents on. Now I did not know exactly what that meant. Being the naive little girl that I was, I was delighted to know that I would have somone after losing my family. I thought it meant that I would have someone to be friend since I was such a loner already," she smiled sadly. "I knew of Mino, but I never knew him personally. I knew that he was a friend of my now brother Jiyong, but that was it. I figured that if he was good enough to be a friend to Jiyong maybe he would be good enough to be a friend of mine. But I was wrong, he refused to show at our bonding ceremony. Disappearing until I found Jiyong and Mino in a yelling match in the middle of the night. I had come out to see what all the fuss was about, until Mino glared at me with so much hate as if I were to blame for the mess he was in. He said that no one could ever force him into such agreement. But it was too late, I showed him my left wrist that was freshly bandaged. Meaning his father took his place as proxy to seal our fates. Our blood was from that moment on one. He looked at me as if I was a traitor, that I had betrayed some kind of trust that I had no knowlege of. He spat some choice words that earned him a punch to the face from Jiyong and after that night he disappeared again." Minzy paused as she relived the sadness, "At first, everyone thought that Mino just needed some space to cool off and come to his senses. But when days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, everyone started to question Mino's parents. I never did though, how could I blame Mino's actions on his parents. They were trying to do the honorable thing you know." She sighed as she shook her head, "After a few years, his father broke. His father was filled with doubt and despair that he began to starve himself. Feeling too ashamed to leave the comfort of his home, he vowed a hunger strike until Mino's return and ended up starving to death. Mino didn't come home for his father's funeral, which led to his mother leaving soon after. Having both of his parents leaving this world so close together and no one to assume the responsiblities of burying them correctly, I stepped in. I felt it best to lead the ascension for his parents." Minzy thought of all the nay sayers of her assuming such responsibility, but she didn't care. Losing her own parents to something honorable helped her feel compassion if not for Mino at the very least the parents. "I hoped to send his parents off to the other side with no regrets. I blessed their ascension, letting his parents know that I would not hold a grudge nor curse them or their bloodline. But I guess my forgiveness wasn't enough," Minzy paused as she thought about that gloomy day so long ago. "I had finished my schooling and had started to work as a teacher here in town. Everything was going so good as I was finding my independance. That was until Mino had brought a dead young woman and laid her on my family's front porch. He had fallen on his knees sobbing and begging for me to stop tormenting him. That it was my fault that I had taken the love of his life away from him. It was my spirit mother and father that had answered the door. I had seen what they were seeing so vividly in my mind that I had to excuse myself from training. Racing home, I could see Mino crying to my parents to bring the dead girl back. I begged my parents to not say anything to him, as I would be home shortly. But it was my brothers that had to open their big mouths as they stepped out along side my parents. I cried out to Jiyong to not say a word, but he is too stubborn for his own good. Jiyong told Mino that it wasn't me or my family cursing him, but it was his parents. Jiyong revealed that I had given them permission of safe passage, but his parents refused to take it until their son honored their oath to me. It was like the wind was knocked out of me as I stumbled in person behind Mino. Gasping for air as I shot swear words towards Jiyong through my mind. It was silenced as Mino reached down to pick up the lifeless girl in his arms. Turning to face me, hot tears streaked down his face. I have never been looked at with so much hate in my life. It was in that moment that he told me that I could never force him to love me. Seunghyun and Jiyong started moving off the porch to make him eat his words, before I raised my hand to stop them. I told him that I never asked for his love and I didn't want it. I sincerely felt for him as I told him that he could live his life in peace because I didn't want anything from him." She grinned at the memories that followed there after, "A year later he sent me a letter. It was an apology letter that was pretty lengthy. It explained in detail how he felt when first hearing of being promised to one another, then how he decided to run away from it all. Too ashamed for getting word that he had missed his father's passing, the guilt kept him away from facing his mother. He had sought refuge in the young woman who had died from some freak accident and had heard his parents call out to him. Hearing and seeing that I took no interest in him for himself made him hate himself more. That was the nicest interaction I had ever had with him. So I thought why not write him back. Soon we became pen pals, writing each other back and forth. Talking about random things going on in our lives. It was in that time, that I honestly felt the happiest. Not so much that I was happy to be on okay terms, but my life seemed to be going smoothly. Watching my brothers marrying off and loving my career as a teacher in our little town, different aspects of my life were going well. Until I came home one day to see my parents with all my letters scattered on the kitchen table. I was embarassed when they questioned why, when and how long I was in contact with Mino. My mother urged me to pursuade Mino to come home and fulfill his scared bond to me. As silly as it sounded, I couldn't bare the thought of Mino looking at me once again with so much hate after we had come so far in our relationship through letters. I refused and stood my ground. I had always done what was asked of me until that night. Maybe it was Mino's rebellious nature that rubbed off on me, but I moved out and into the city. I wanted to see for myself what life would be like to do things I wanted for once." Pausing as she thought of the price she paid for being rebel, she shook her head, "Am I a horrible person to have felt blessed to experienced life and love even though it costed me the life of another that I loved?" 

"No, in fact you're far from it," CL smiled. 

Minzy let out a sigh of relief, "Wow, sorry for unloading my life story on you. I hope it wasn't too boring." 

CL shook her head and reached out to Minzy, giving her hand a comforting squeeze, "It wasn't boring, it was enlightening and inspiring." 

"Inspiring," Minzy chuckled. 

"Promise me something," CL asked. Minzy nodded, curious as to what was going to be asked of her, "Don't give up on Mino. He doesn't know this yet, but he does love you." 

Minzy was taken aback by the way CL said her words so confidently, "What? How can you say that so confidently? I don't understand..." 

"You will, just don't give up on him," CL said as she embraced Minzy tightly. "Thanks for giving me the courage to move on." 

Minzy stood speechless as she watched CL take her leave. She didn't know what to think as she moved the opposite direction. Too consumed in her thoughts, she didn't realize that there was someone following her from afar. "So, is that why you stopped writing me," Mino's voice called after her. 

Startled by his sudden appearance, she jumped as she turned to look back at Mino, "Holy Mino, you scared me!" 

"You know," he started to say as he approached her. "You made me sound like a real ." 

Minzy scoffed as she looked him up and down in disbelief, "If the truth makes you sound like a real then yes you are." Mino chuckled as he shook his head, coming face to face with Minzy he sighed as he looked at her, really looked at her. It had been years he recalled as he pushed the thought away that still hurt him deeply. Standing in the forest under the night sky, he liked how the moon light made her face glow like an angel. Not to mention the way her eyes glimmered and her full lips looked so tempting, he shook the thought as Minzy now stood with a curious look on her face. "What is it that you want Mino?" 

Though she didn't know it, her question pierced right through him. Shaking him to the core, he was so confused as to why he had come back. Why he had eavesdropped, why he followed her and especially why he was standing face to face with her. He wasn't angry, he wasn't sad, he was confused. "I...don't know." 

Minzy chuckled as she reached out her hand with a smile, "Thanks for attending my mother's ascension." He was hesitant in taking her hand. To be honest, they had never had any physical contact. Mino made sure of it, especially since he was away from home for a good portion of the time. "Relax, I'm not going to try and kiss you again." It was like a light had gone off in his head, they had made contact. It was an intimate contact, a shared kiss. Now that he thought of it, it made him feel really sad. Her kiss was filled with her past, her present and her future that all felt so convolted no thanks to him. Thinking on their kiss and everything she told CL, he wanted nothing more to shrink in her presence. What was an idiot like him demanding attention from someone the likes of Minzy. She was way out of his league. Why would he consider her like a potential next lover after he had just professed his love to another woman a little while ago? Meanwhile Minzy stood seeing all the mixed emotions cross his face. Sighing, she reached out and took his hand in hers. Giving it a firm shake she smiled, "Thanks for coming." As she attempted to drop his hand, he took hers in his to stay her. Holding her hand tightly, he began to search her eyes. "Usually you release the other person's hand once the hand shake is done," Minzy teased. 

"How are you even real? How can you be so...so forgiving when I haven't," he asked in disbelief.

She pressed her lips tightly together as she looked at how he stayed holding her hand, "Well no one is really to blame. Yes, my parents saved yours and it was the honorable thing to sacrifice their first born as an offering. But like, it for that first born child to have their life already spoken for you know?" Amazed by her maturity in their circumstances, he didn't know how to react. Gazing down at where their hands linked, his eyes caught the sight of her scar where she had promised to be his and only his. His free hand moved to brush along her forearm in amazement. Meanwhile Minzy stood unsure how to feel about Mino brushing up on her arm. She couldn't lie that she felt like her scar tingled at his touch, but she didn't like how he so freely touched her scar after not wanting to get one along with her so long ago. Not sure what he was thinking, she pulled herself away from him completely. "Umm...I better get going. Good night Mino." Craddling her arm against her, she never felt her arm burn like it was burning at that moment. The burn wasn't painful, but the complete opposite, like his touch had awoken it. Shaking such weird thoughts, she walked out of the woods and towards the small town. 

Minzy didn't dare look back as she picked her pace. She had no idea what had happened in that forest outside of her mother's ascension of course. She had figured it must have been the spirits getting into everyone's heads. Those spirits always tried to meddle with the living's business, she thought. But the thoughts were cut short as she froze in place. Her senses were heightened as a warning of whispers were sent to everyone within the small town. Breaking into a dead sprint, the visions of what others were seeing started to flash in her mind. Hissing out of frustration, her senses told her this was her doing. Dashing home she ran harder knowing that things wouldn't be pretty if father was the one to answer the door. Racing down the road as the taxi pulled up to her home, she lunged at the taxi hoping she could stop the stranger from getting out of the car. But it was too late as the back door opened as she went stumbling into Bobby's arms as if she had planned it. 

"Minzy," Bobby gawked as he caught her in his arms. 

Panting as she took hold of his face, she shook her head in disbelief, "What are you doing here?" 

Pulling her further into his hold, he let out a sigh of relief, "What do you think, I'm here for you."