He accepts her wish with no hesitation,
and is now her guardian after confirmation,
they will have a lot to recollect and predict,
but will soon face the beginning of a conflict.

~~~

Yoojung's POV

"Your wish is for me to be your guardian?" he asks, yet there's no hint of judgmental doubt in his tone of voice at all. It just sounds like pure curiosity.

"It might sound weird, but I had a vision. Well, it's not exactly a vision, I just saw us talking to each other from a mirror's reflection in a restroom. And we were in hanbok wear too. Anyways, I don't know why but I told you that I wanted you to be my guardian while I was stuck in the Goblin Realm, which I'm assuming is where you're from. I have some predictions, but they're just assumptions. Gosh, I sound so stupid and crazy right now. Maybe I am imagining things—"

"No. I believe you, so tell me more," he gives me an assurance that he isn't doubting my words at all as he gazes at me intently.

I perplexedly stare back at him, but his reassuring eyes tell me that he wants to know everything. I soon relax and regain back my composure, "I think what I just saw was my past life. I've never met you until yesterday and when I saw myself in the mirror, I looked like the same age as myself right now. That must've been me in my past life since I was in an old-fashioned hanbok. If my past life self told you to become my guardian, then surely there's a reason behind it. I think that reason has something to do with my wish as well. And I actually feel pretty content with this wish somehow, since I couldn't make up my mind on a wish before."

He nods, "Alright then. I believe everything that you're saying. And to be honest, I've been feeling weird ever since yesterday. It's a familiar feeling, as if we knew each other before. Maybe that has something to do with what you saw."

My eyes widen in surprise, "I felt that too."

Hearing my response, he shows me a small smile, "I'm glad I'm not alone then."

There's a pause of awkward silence. I take this time to rethink my rushing thoughts and internally frown to myself.

Even though everything makes a bit more sense after talking to each other, it still just doesn't feel right. If he had been the same Goblin that was talking to me in my past life, wouldn't he have recognized me? Or was that a Goblin who just looked like him? No... I'm certain that the Goblin from the mirror was him. Who else could it be if it isn't him?

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

He shows me another small smile, "Yeah, of course."

"If we had met each other before in my past life, wouldn't you remember me? Or recognize me?"

His smile slowly starts to disappear, "What do you mean by that?"

"When I saw you in the mirror, you had a different appearance. Blonde hair and pointy ears, but surely it was you. Hypothetically speaking, you must've been in your Goblin form or something, but wouldn't you have known me immediately if we did talk to each other before?"

He avoids my eyes as a glum look resides on his face instead of his smile from earlier, "Yes, that is my Goblin form but I'm sorry, I don't recognize or remember you at all. Yesterday was my first time meeting you. I've been stuck here for more than a thousand years after being banished from the Goblin Realm. I don't have a lot of memories that I can recall from when I was still there."

I knit my eyebrows together, "You were banished from the Goblin Realm?"

He lets out a soft sigh, "Remember what I told you yesterday? Well, Goblins don't have much of a purpose for stealing other Goblins' objects, but humans can if it ends up in the wrong hands. Those who lose their objects are banished to the human world until they find it and get it back. Once a Goblin fulfills the person's wish and retrieves back their object successfully, they can return back to the Goblin Realm to reclaim themselves again."

I look at him warily, "How did you lose your object anyway? If you don't mind me asking you that."

He just shrugs back at me, "I don't know at all. I just remember being forced to leave after I had lost my object. Like I said, I don't remember much of my time when I was still in the Goblin Realm."

He seems to be unbothered by my question, but I discreetly notice him tightly clenching both of his hands into fists as he continues to speak, "I think the reason why I don't remember much of my time in the Goblin Realm is because my memories have been erased or restrained for some reason. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense that I've actually met you before but I don't even remember our supposed encounter."

Before I can even react to his words, he flashes a smile that seems oddly forced for a split second before quickly changing the subject, "Anyways, enough of that. For now, we should sort things out regarding your wish. What is my first task to do as your guardian?"

I scratch my head and examine my room with a nervous smile, "Well, I need to move out of this place by the end of the week, but I also need help finding a new place as well."

He shortly examines the room with me as well and approvingly nods, "That's no problem at all. I can help you with moving out of this place. I'll also ask someone to help us out."

He then slowly turns his head to my direction to look at me before continuing on, "And don't worry, I already know a place where you can move in and live."

I tilt my head to the side with my brows furrowed at him as I cross my arms, "Really? Where will I be living?"

The corners of his lips immediately go up, eventually forming a smile so broad to the point where I can see all of his perfect white teeth, "Isn't it obvious? You'll be living at my place from now on."

+++

"You've got to be kidding me."

I gawk at the humongous mansion in front of me with my mouth agape. I had thought that his place would be a simple and ordinary house, or maybe even an apartment just like mine. But the moment I saw the sports car that he drove to pick me up along with my belongings, I realized that I had completely underestimated him.

"What do you think?" he asks, and by the tone of his voice, I can somehow tell that he's smiling at me right now.

"I feel very overwhelmed right now. First, the expensive sports car that you drove to pick me up. Now, this ridiculously large mansion that I'm going to be living at from now on. And it's in the middle of nowhere," I reply back as I continue to stare at the building with widened eyes. I feel so worn out just by the sight of the mansion itself.

"You'll get used to it soon. Come to think of it, you never told me your name even after I answered all of your questions. We both must've forgotten about it, but I believe you owe me your name."

He immediately gets my attention with his words as I turn to set my eyes on him instead of continuing to lifelessly stare at the mansion in front of us, "It's Yoojung. Choi Yoojung."

For a moment, everything is deadly silent as we just gaze at each other absentmindedly.

There it is again. The feeling of familiarity that the both of us have every time these moments happen. I feel as if time has stopped for the both of us as we continue to stare at one another. Yet this time, I notice that his facial expressions are different from our first meeting. This time, instead of any signs of surprise or bewilderment on his face, he only looks at me with immense sorrow.

He looks as if he's emotionally hurt, and I feel a sudden need to tell him that everything is okay, that nothing is going to hurt him anymore. I'm about to open my mouth to say something, but something interrupts me from doing so and the short-lived moment abruptly ends right then and there.

"Jimin hyung!" a man calls out to him. Our heads snap towards the direction of the man, who is jogging towards us. I widen my eyes upon seeing the man's appearance.

The more I continue to observe the man, the more I can clearly see his dashing physical features. He's an extremely handsome and tall man with a fairly muscular build yet despite his macho-like appearance, his face appears innocent and gentle at the same time.

"Jungkook-ah!" he calls out the young man's name in response. The man eventually reaches us. He doesn't even seem to be physically tired from the jogging he did at all.

"This is my younger brother, Jeon Jungkook. I asked him to help us out so that you can move into the mansion quickly and he agreed. Jungkook, this is Choi Yoojung. She'll be living with us for the meantime."

"Wait, if he's your brother, is he also—?"

"Yes, Jungkook is a Goblin just like me," he replies before continuing on, "Jungkook has been living with me ever since he also got banished from the Goblin Realm."

I turn to look at the man whose name is Jungkook, who just nods quickly in response. He must be the type of person who typically doesn't engage in conversations and likes to keep to himself.

"Anyways, let's get all of her stuff inside. All of the heavier objects are in the back of the car's trunk."

And with that, the three of us work in silence as we bring everything into the mansion. Within about an hour of peaceful yet tiring work, all of my belongings are brought inside the mansion.

The two men then proceed to show me to my room. As I had expected from a mansion, the room is unsettlingly spacious.

"If you need anything, let us know," the older Goblin tells me. I express my puzzlement by scratching the back of my head, "Don't you guys have anybody taking care of the mansion for you? Like maids or butlers? Since you guys live in a mansion and all."

They exchange solemn looks before he turns to look at me again, "We both prefer to live in silence. We don't want any humans causing us trouble. Of course, you're an exception though."

"Fair enough," I reply back.

"Anyways, we have our own businesses to attend, but dinner will be ready in the dining room later."

I'm a bit displeased at first by them suddenly deciding to leave me alone here but I immediately remember my dad's journal about Goblins and Jung Hosung. On second thought, this is a good opportunity for me to find out who Jung Hosung is. I smile at the two Goblins, "Thank you for letting me stay here."

He smiles back at me, "It's no problem. I'm your guardian after all. And Jungkook's happy to have someone else living in this boring mansion besides us, right Jungkook?"

Jungkook is surprised by the sudden comment and quickly sends a glare at him, "Please stop teasing me, hyung."

However, even though Jungkook seems to be shy from the teasing he's receiving from his brother but hides it by politely complaining, the moment he makes eye contact with me, he breaks into a flustered smile. His unexpected smile catches me off guard for a bit.

After a few more minutes of Jungkook getting teased, they both leave me alone. I close the door behind me and crack my knuckles, "I guess it's time for detective Yoojung to get to work."

+++

I let out a lazy yawn as I make my way to the dining room. I had spent most of yesterday looking through my dad's books and journals to find out more about Jung Hosung, but all my dad ever mentioned about him was how amazing and brilliant he is.

I let out a long sigh. It looks like I won't be able to find out who Jung Hosung is unless I have something that I can start with. Compliments for a particular someone isn't going to get me anywhere, but all I can assume for now is that Jung Hosung must've probably been a historian or someone interested in ancient Korean history if he had known my dad back then.

"You're up early."

I jump up a bit from the sudden interference with my thoughts. I quickly lift up my head to see him raising a curious eyebrow at me. I force a smile at him, "Y-Yeah, I have class today."

He shows me a small smile, "Really? Which university do you go to then?"

"SNU," I answer, although I have no idea why he asked me that out of nowhere.

"You should wait for Jungkook then," he nonchalantly says as he takes a sip from his mug.

I frown, "Wait, why?"

He places his mug down on the table gently, "So that you guys can go to the campus together."

I'm both surprised and confused by his sudden comment. Jungkook goes to SNU as well? But how and why?

Just right then and there, Jungkook enters into the dining room wearing a black bomber jacket over a casual black t-shirt and black jeans with a black mask on his face, although the mask is pushed down under his chin to rest on his neck. He looks at us for a brief moment.

"I heard someone say my name just now," Jungkook quietly says after staring at us for what seems like eternity.

"She's about to leave for her class at SNU," he tells Jungkook as he smiles at me.

Jungkook slightly widens his eyes before he replies with a simple, "Oh."

I turn to look at Jungkook to ask him why he's going to SNU, "Wait, you go to SNU? But why?"

He hesitates for a bit but ultimately answers my question, "For the art classes. I'm only going there to improve and work on my art."

"Jungkook's been going to SNU for about 20 years ever since he came here," he adds, seeing that Jungkook is still a bit hesitant to say anything else.

"B-But how?" I ask, perplexed by the fact that Jungkook's been going to SNU for 20 years.

He hesitates once again, but answers me in the end anyway, "I erase the memories of me from those I interact with by using my bangmangi so that I can keep going there."

"Bangmangi?"

Jungkook doesn't say much any further and turns to look at his older brother, who talks for Jungkook instead, "Dokkaebi bangmangi. It's basically a magic club that Goblins use. In other words, it acts like a magic wand."

I quickly flash back to yesterday's conversation with them, "I thought you guys didn't want any humans bothering you. So why are you going to a public place where a lot of humans are there?"

The two Goblins quickly glance at each other, "That's only when it comes to our personal lives. We just don't want anybody poking into our business when all we're trying to do is live here peacefully and privately."

"Oh," I simply say as I make eye contact with Jungkook, who only nods in agreement.

He then turns to look at Jungkook, "Anyways, can you go with her so that she knows the way to the campus from the mansion?"

Jungkook quietly agrees by nodding and turns to look at me, "I'll wait for you outside."

Jungkook then walks out of the dining room. I'm about to do the same as I proceed to walk out, but he stops me out of nowhere, "Wait. Before you leave, I need to ask you something."

I halt in my tracks and snap my head towards him, "Yes?"

"Did you sort everything out with your landlady yet?" he asks in a soft tone, although he looks a bit austere.

I lightly tap my index finger on my chin a few times as I take a minute to ponder, ""Well not yet, I still have to pay her back the rent money that I owe her."

He looks at me more seriously, but his dulcet voice doesn't falter at all, "How much do you owe her?"

"Around $1,500. Why?" I ask him. His question seems a bit suspicious to me, contrary to his solemn and calm countenance.

"I'm just concerned as your guardian, that's all."

I furrow my brows, "Alright then..."

Then out of nowhere, he shows me a big grin as he changes the subject, "Anyways, don't worry about Jungkook, he's really sweet and nice so he won't bite at all. And remember to have fun at school! I'll pick you up later after your class ends, so wait for me at the front entrance of the campus."

I just give him a puzzled smile, "Gee, thanks... I guess?"

After saying a quick goodbye to him, I leave him alone in the dining room. I tilt my head to the side and gently rub the back of my neck as I walk to the front entrance of the mansion. He was acting so suspicious during the whole conversation. I wonder what was up with him earlier when he suddenly asked me questions about my financial problems.

However, I push these thoughts aside when I see Jungkook quietly waiting in front of the door. He looks like he's lost in his own thoughts; his hands are tucked in his jacket's pockets while he's busy staring at the ground and paying no attention to anything else, but he slowly lifts up his head and looks behind him when he notices my presence.

I force a smile at him, "Sorry for making you wait."

He pulls his hands out of his pockets and shows me a subtle smile, "I don't mind."

The walk to the bus stop is awkwardly quiet at first as both of us make no attempts to end the quietness. However, the uncomfortable atmosphere eventually gets on my nerves and I decide to break the ice by trying to start a conversation with him, "So you don't own a car like your brother does?"

He unexpectedly talks back to me this time with no hesitancy in his voice and actions at all, "I prefer to walk. I get some exercise and I get to closely observe the beauty of the city and nature. You can't really do that when you're in a car."

I nod in agreement, "You make a good point."

Everything goes quiet for a moment and I start to get a bit uncomfortable again. This time though, Jungkook is the one to say something, "I know that you and Jimin hyung probably had a bad first impression of each other, but Jimin hyung doesn't hate anybody at all. He's a good person, but he takes things seriously after what he's gone through. So please don't think that just because he's a Goblin, he's going to make your life a living hell like how some folklore say about us Goblins. Just try to understand him from his point of view."

Taken aback by Jungkook's words, it takes me a few seconds to reply back to him, "I'll do my best to keep that in mind."

"Thank you."

"This is random, but I think this is the first time you've talked for a long time without hesitating," I jokingly tell him as I let out a small laugh.

He rubs the back of his neck with a sheepish smile on his face, "I just deeply care for Jimin hyung, that's all."

The rest of the walk to the bus stop and the ride to the campus is relatively pleasant and enjoyable as the both of us talk about ourselves. Surprisingly, Jungkook is actually easy to get along with despite him being extremely introverted when we first met each other.

We eventually arrive in front of the campus and part ways. But before heading off to my class, I quickly glance at Jungkook and notice that the moment he pulled up his mask to cover the lower half of his face, he immediately feels unapproachable and cold as people on campus start to avoid him.

Compared to the previous classes, I'm able to focus in class today as I'm able to answer all of the professor's questions, much to his surprise.

"Your assignment is to observe a few paintings from the two dynasties. You will need to distinguish all of the paintings and decide whether each painting was from Goryeo or Joseon. You will also need to provide evidence, of course. This will be due at the beginning of the next class."

And with that being said, the class ends. After packing my things, I proceed to walk out of the classroom, but the professor stops me, "Yoojung-ssi."

Not again. Is he going to nag at me even though I actually paid attention and participated in class today? I stop in my tracks and look at him with a forced smile, "Yes?"

"I'm quite pleased that you were able to concentrate in my class today. I hope to see more of this diligent mindset for the rest of the course."

I'm surprised by his sudden change in personality, even though he isn't exactly complimenting me since I'm expected to take his classes seriously in the first place. However, I still feel happy from his words and flash an eye smile at him, "Of course, sir! I'll continue to do better despite what happened before!"

"Y-Yes, I suppose so," the professor uncomfortably replies, taken aback by my sudden burst of energy.

After excusing myself to leave, I make my way to the front entrance of the campus to wait for him, since he said he would pick me up after class was over.

I was expecting some kind of spectacle since he would drive here in his expensive sports car. I knew it was going to come at any moment, but I wasn't ready for it at all. I walk outside of the campus only to find a large number of people surrounding something.

As I had expected, it turns out to be him with his expensive sports car. He's leaning against the side of the car and I notice him wearing black sunglasses. Like Jungkook, he appears cold and unapproachable with his sunglasses covering his eyes.

However, his personality changes the moment he spots me within the crowd. He takes off his sunglasses and waves at me with a smile on his face. Everybody's attention that was once on him and his car now shifts towards me instead. I'm embarrassed by all of the unwanted attention I'm suddenly getting, however I just ignore the looks and murmurs from everyone as I quickly walk over to the car.

I frantically get inside and once I settle in my carseat, I place my hands on my face and quietly mumble to myself, "I'm going to die from embarrassment soon if this keeps going on."

"I think the commotion outside was for my handsome face," he playfully says with a smirk on his face as he closes his car door, but he ultimately ends up laughing from seeing my flustered face.

I immediately glare at him. He stops laughing and raises his hands up in defeat, "Alright, I got it. I'll stop with the joking."

I relax a bit hearing him and turn to look outside to see that people are beginning to walk away, although there's still people watching us, "Where's Jungkook? Is he not going with us?"

"Jungkook spends his time here until nighttime to work on his art," he replies as he puts his sunglasses away in a case.

I divert my eyes from the car window and place my backpack underneath my seat, "Oh wow, he's extremely passionate about art."

"Why'd you ask though?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

"I was going to ask him to help me with my history assignment, but I guess I'll ask him later," I say as I buckle my seat belt.

He grins at me, "Wow, look at you. I guess you bonded well with Jungkook earlier."

"Yes I did, unlike with a particular someone."

His face changes into a frown, "What do you mean? I'm very charming."

"I didn't say anything about you though," I reply back nonchalantly.

He continues to frown at me, "You're giving me a glare right now."

"What are you talking about? This is my normal face."

"Uh huh, totally."

I don't bother replying back and instead pout at him fumingly. He also doesn't say anything, but he tries to cover his mouth. I can obviously tell that he's trying to hold back his laughter from seeing my face though.

I take a quick glance at the window to look outside. There isn't a huge crowd compared to earlier, but there's still some people looking at the car. I grumble at the nosy group of spectators, "Can we go now? The attention we're still getting is making me feel extremely uncomfortable."

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say," he says and lets out a chuckle while he shakes his head. However, he immediately starts driving.

The car ride is quiet at first. I try to observe everything outside from the car window, but it doesn't quite interest me at all. I guess Jungkook was right about not being able to actually observe the beauty of both the city and nature closely when you're in a car.

I proceed to start a conversation with him to end the silence, but instead I feel a faint vibration coming from my pocket. He quickly glances at me and looks as if he's anticipating something, but he doesn't say anything and minds his own business, keeping his eyes on the road.

I pull out my phone and look at the caller ID. It turns out to be my landlady. I mentally groan to myself. What does she want to complain about this time?

Nevertheless, I answer the call anyway, "Hello?"

Surprisingly, she's not in a bad mood at all, "All of your unpaid rent has finally been paid off."

I widen my eyes upon hearing her words. That's not possible at all. I moved out of the apartment already but I still haven't even gotten her the money, "Wait, what?! I didn't do anything yet though!"

"Of course you didn't, that's why I called you. Someone paid it for you instead."

"But who would do that for me?" I ask her, although I have a feeling that I know who did it for me.

My landlady lets out a small sigh, "A young man stopped by and said that he was your guardian. He didn't want you to worry about your unpaid rent so he offered to pay it all off. Whatever you did to get a handsome and rich man to take care of your problems, you saved us both a lot of time."

"Ah... thank you for letting me know," I say before I end the call.

I place my phone down on my lap and look at him with pursed lips. He takes a glance at me and lets out a chuckle, focusing his attention to the front again, "What's with that look? You're kind of making me nervous right now—"

"Did you go to my landlady to give her the money that I owe her?"

All I can tell you is that someone changed your life, and you chose to abandon something in the end because of it.