32 - Prankster

The seer left after a few days. Yoon Mi was thrown into frustration and confusion at the knowledge she had gained.

Especially her last words before Nara left.

"Don't always believe in what you see. Do not live by sight alone Yoon Mi" she said cryptically before she went out the door.

Everyone going about their own agenda, Yoon Mi wandered about the house very much like how she did when she first arrived.

*Except I won't be able to see Dae Hyun wandering these halls as well* she thought as she passed the library.

*W-what? Why am I thinking about him? Aish, I need to clear my mind* Yoon Mi shook her head.

Stopping in her tracks as she came across a wrought iron gate that went over a glass door *Strange...I've never seen this door before...how did I not notice something like this?* she stared at the gate in amazement; beautifully shaped with vines and flowers, it has a dark gothic feel to it unlike Elder Young's usual touch of extravagance.

Opening the gate out of curiosity, Yoon Mi went on and opened the inner glass door.

"Yoon Mi?" she heard a surprised voice from beyond the door.

"Jong Up?" Yoon me answered back equally surprised to see him. "Where is this?"

"The back gate to the green house" Jong Up said simply as he tipped the watering can; giving the plants their much needed water.

"I didn't think that you were the kind to be gardening though" Yoon Mi said as she eyed the watering can in his hand.

"It's my gift." he answered vaguely. "It's also the security system to the house. The roots of all the plants here, I see and sense what it does."

Eyes going wide at the extent of his gift "Does it mean that if I step on the grass outside you would know?"

"Yes, I would know but its unimportant information. People step on the grass all the time." Jong Up explained.

"Like Nara the seer?" Yoon Mi pointed out.

Wanting to disagree, Jong Up stopped just as he opened his mouth to speak. He remembered that he did notice a different presence on the grass but he dismissed it.

"Damn it" Jong Up ran his hand through his hair. "I did notice her! Why the heck did I ignore it for?"

Feeling strange about the atmosphere, Yoon Mi looked around her and saw that the plants were following the direction that Jong Up went. *this is so freaky* She thought as she watched all the plants in the green house turn left and right as Jong Up paced up and down.

"Jong Up? Why are all the plants moving like that?" Yoon Mi asked.

Suddenly stopping, he looked at the plants and went "oh? Them? They follow where I go because I control them" he said as if it was the most natural thing.

"I thought you said you can sense what they sense and what they see?" Yoon Mi questioned, feeling a different kind of confusion.

"I did" he answered. "I can do all of the above said. I can see what the sense and see because I'm controlling them." he went on continuing to water the plants.

Bending down to touch one of the flowers she said "You should have said that in the beginning"

"I did" he nonchalantly replied.

"No you didn't" Yoon Mi raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes I did" he answered in the same manner.

"No you didn't" she insisted.

"Pfft" Yoon Mi heard.

"Omo! Jong Up! I can't believe you played that with me!" She turned red in embarrassment for falling for such an old game.

"Didn't think that you would fall for that game either" he laughed lightly, his lips pulling into a bright smile.

"You should smile more often Jong Up" Yoon Mi smiled along with him, *if a smile could be contagious it's his* she thought.

"Same goes for yourself Yoon Mi" Jong Up smiled brighter after seeing her smile.

"It's getting harder to do with each passing day" Yoon Mi sighed, with all these new information weighing her down.

"When is doing the right thing ever easy?" he set down the empty watering can.

"So you're saying smiling is the right thing?" Yoon Mi repeated, confused by Jong Up's words that does and does not make sense at the same time.

Noticing the lack of an answer and the heavy presence of silence, Yoon Mi looked towards his direction and saw that he was snoozing under the grand tree.

*This has to be the strangest thing ever* Yoon Mi went up close to see if he really was sleeping.

Squatting next to him, she tried to take note of his breathing and heartbeat. *Hmm...he really is asleep...* Yoon Mi thought after awhile.

"BOO!"

Jong Up sprang to life suddenly.

"Ahh!" Yoon Mi yelped as she leaned backwards. "Ouch!!" she winced.

"Why didn't you catch me?!" rubbing her sore , the floor was anything but kind to her thin frame.

"Because I know you're able get back on your feet." he said as he stretched "if I knew that you wouldn't be able to get back up I would definitely catch you"

"What if I got hurt?"

"Who doesn't?" his answer came back quickly. Speechless, Yoon Mi hadn't been so ever since the last time she bickered with Hae Yong Oppa.

But now, here she was being speechless to the strangest and maybe most profound conversation she had in this house.

"You are such an enigma" She said laughingly as she sat next to him, leaning against the tree.

"I think you're more of an enigma than I am" Jong Up waved his hand before him and within seconds, flowers of all sorts bloomed in an amazing spectacle.

"Woah!" Yoon Mi's expression lit up entirely. Jong Up couldn't help but chuckle at how she looked like a kid in a candy store.

Not blinking for several seconds, Yoon Mi tried her best to take in everything. "This is so amazing Jong Up, I can't believe that you're able to do all this"

"As long as you're smiling" He gave a warm smile before waving his hand in a reverse direction, causing the flowers to slowly close up as if they were going to sleep.

"Thanks for showing me that"

"What did I show?" Jong Up looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"The flowers blooming!" she gestured to the now closed flowers.

"There's nothing blooming now" he stated the obvious as he turned and made his way to the front gate. “You must have been dreaming or something” He said as he waved her off.

*What?! I’not dreaming!* She yelled in her mind. *I seriously saw that he made the flowers bloom!*

Keeping silent after having made to look like a crazy person imagining things, Yoon Mi twiddled her fingers as she appreciated the feeling of the green house.

"Yoon Mi" Jong Up called, pointing to the flower bed; he gave a wink before disappearing through the doors.

Looking to the flowers, some of them bloomed and some of them didn't.

Staring at them more, Yoon Mi realized that the flowers formed words.

"Just kidding with ya"

"Mwohya?! Aish! This guy!" Yoon Mi ran her hand through her hair, feeling agitated that she had been tricked by him twice. *I would have never expected this quiet guy to be such a prankster!* She huffed as she watched the still blooming flower.

Realising something "Are you mocking me Jong Up?" she asked the flowers, as absurd the action was. Soon, the flowers shook and the formation changed.

"Yes" it said.

"You mad?" the next message came in and it was accompanied by a troll face.

"Aish! I can't take this anymore!" An infuriated Yoon Mi got up and left through the back gate.

*Seriously can't judge a person based on their looks* She huffed as she walked down the hallway with a angry and hurried pace

"Ah...I made her mad" Jong Up said sheepishly.

"She won't stay mad for long" Young Jae answered disinterestedly as he flipped through the pages of a thick book.

"You sure?"

"Nope, I'm just guessing" Young Jae said flatly. "Jong Up…"

"Yeah?"

"I know you're using your gift all the time. But could you spare me that and talk to me in person? I feel strange talking to a flower" Young Jae stared at the flower agitatedly, his hands itching to uproot plant and plucking it's petals out.

"Don't look at the plant like that!" Jong Up's voice echoed from the flower.

"Talk to me in person then" Young Jae got up and knocked over the flower pot and went up the stairs to the upper levels of the library where there were no plants to disturb him.

"I can't believe you knocked me over!" Jong Up called loudly from the plant.

The words "Believe it" appeared in mid air. Young Jae seriously didn't want to waste his breath talking to a plant.

"Yah! Yoo Young Jae! Put this plant back upright" the plant wiggled on the ground animatedly.

The words "Get lost" appeared in mid air.

"So unfriendly" the flower petals closed up as footsteps echoed down the library's corridor. The door opened and Jong Up walked in.

Bending down to clean up the dirt, brushing it back into the pot "You could be nice and help me put it back up you know" He said as he set the plant back on the table.

"I'm not a nice person then" Young Jae said pointedly as he walked down the stairs.

"You just don't want to get your hands dirty." Jong Up muttered. "That too" He agreed, setting the stack of books on the table.

Wandering down the halls again, Yoon Mi heard strange music coming from a room at the end of the hallway.

Her curiosity being piqued again, she headed towards the direction of the music.

Opening the door slightly, peeping through it. Yoon Mi saw a very engrossed Him Chan sitting on the floor, playing an instrument she had not seen before.

“You can come in if you want” He looked up at her with a playful smile.

“C-can I? I wouldn’t want to interrupt something.” She opened the door hesitantly.

“You’re not interrupting me, I promise” Him Chan gave her another smile. “Come on, sit in front of the instrument” He motioned her over.

Walking slowly over, Yoon Mi looked at the instrument intensely as she had not seen anything like it before.

“It’s called Jang Goo; it’s a traditional Instrument that I play from time to time” Him Chan introduced it to her, seeing her curious expression. He guessed that she had never seen one before.

“Jang Goo?” She repeated slowly after Him Chan’s pronunciation. “How do you play it?”

“I’ll show you” He gave a confident grin as he picked up the two mallets and started playing really quickly.

Giving a short performance, Yoon Mi clapped once it ended. It was a different side of the usual Him Chan that she saw. This Him Chan was more serious and somehow masculine…

“You want to try how to play?” He gave her an easy going smile as he placed the mallets into her hand before she even answered.

Helping her secure her grip over the mallets in her hands, Him Chan held her hands in his and led her hands to play a slow simple rhythm.

Yoon Mi’s cheeks were a tinted pink realising that his hands enveloped hers and the small distance between them.

*Omo, why is he so close to me?! I can even smell his cologne!*Yoon Mi struggled to keep her heart rate normal.

“Your hands are so small…” Him Chan said when he finally let go, getting the feeling that she played enough of the instrument.

“They’re normal for a girl’s hand” She mumbled looking away.

“Let me see them again?” He asked, holding his hand out expectantly.

Placing them to his again, Him Chan interlocked their fingers making her blush instantly. She hadn’t done this in a very long time and the feeling of their intertwined fingers brought back memories.

But the way he did it…was similar to how Ji Yong would brazenly hold hers. Without warning or reason, he would hold onto Yoon Mi’s hand. *I just wanted to feel your hand in mine* Ji Yong would always say as he gave her a silly smile.

“C-could you l-let go of my hand?” Yoon Mi tried shaking her hands to loosen his grip.

“Do you not like me?" Him Chan pouted cutely. “Is that why you don’t want to hold my hand?”

“A-aniyo…I like you…but…”

“But it’s not the way you like Dae Hyun?” He finished his sentence for her.

Turning beet red, she wasn’t expecting to hear Dae Hyun’s name. Especially not in the way and sentence that Him Chan said it.

“I knew it” He let go of her hands and . Pinching her red cheeks and going “Aigoo, shooo adorable” He cooed, making her entire face red in embarrassment.

“H-how did y-you come to that conclusion?” She covered her sore cheeks when Him Chan finally let go.

“Oh Please, I saw the two of you the day they left for the trip” He rolled his eyes at how obvious they were. It was a miracle how the rest didn’t say anything about it.

“I also saw this” Him Chan mimicked Dae Hyun reaching to touch her cheek.

Shying away in utter surprise “Y-you s-s-saw?”

“Ne, I saw.” He sighed sadly. “If only I could be the object of your affections like him…”

“H-he’s not t-the object o-of my a-affections” Yoon Mi stuttered further.

Raising an amused eyebrow at her “Aish, don’t be lying to yourself now. That’s the last person you want to lie to”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Yoon Mi got to her feet and ran out as fast as her feet could bring her.

“Ahh…I’ve accidentally chased her away” Him Chan hugged his Jang Goo sadly. “I’m sure she’s running to Yong Gukkie now…I can’t believe I’ve sent her to my competitor”

Sighing, he set down his instrument and continued playing.

This time with a hint of sadness in the music.

*What is this! What is this!!! I can’t believe what Him Chan said! I-I…I can’t have, no, I don’t have affections for Dae Hyun do I? Ahhh….I really don’t know.* Yoon Mi ruffled her hair in exasperation.

*Ottoke? What do I do?!* She hurriedly walked down another hallway turning this way and that. *What I’ve been avoiding has come back! Why did Him Chan have to say all those things!*

Hoping to distract her mind once again, Yoon Mi started venturing into the different rooms of the house. However, most of the doors she opened were to guest bedrooms and some bathrooms.

*Is this the guest wing?* She wondered while walking down the stretch.

Seeing a different looking door after so many wood doors, it made her curious seeing how it looked like it was made to be bullet proof.

Hearing a distinct voice inside, she hoped that the owner of the voice wouldn’t be mad at her for not knocking the door as she opened it.

The door was simply too thick for any of her knocks to be heard.

“Hello?” Yoon Mi said timidly through the open crack.

“Yoon Mi? Is that you?” The familiar deep voice called out from the room.

“N-ne…” She opened the door a little wider.

“Why are you here? I mean, it’s really far from the main building…”

“I was exploring the house…” She answered.

“On your own?” She heard, accompanied by footsteps that were slowly growing louder. The heavy metal covered door quickly swung open as if it was made of normal wood, even though it took quite a bit of strength for her to open, Yong Guk noticed that and held the door for her saying “Yoon Mi…even if you’re in the old man’s house, you can’t assume that every part of it is safe…”

Stopping in mid-thought, Yong Guk had wanted to continue to lecture her like how he would with the guys but he noticed that her head was downcast.

“Hey” He said gently and bent down to her level. “What’s wrong?” Yong Guk asked.

He saw that she had this lost expression on her face.

Shaking her head, Yoon Mi didn’t dare to tell Yong Guk about how she’s confused about whether she likes Dae Hyun or not.

“Have you not been sleeping well the past few days?” He asked suddenly.

Turning red when she felt his thumb lightly brushing over her dark eye rings “N-no…I haven’t…” Yoon Mi answered quietly.

Knowing her reasons, Yong Guk decided not to ask further about that. Instead, he ruffled her hair and gave her a small smile before he went back to what he was doing before she entered the room.

Training.

He’s not the best among the six of them without reason.

Annyeong!!

I'm back with another chapter! :) Phew! It's a long chapter! XD

I'm finally finishing my internship soon! I'm sooo glad!

And even celebrating it's end! I'm treating myself to a trip to malaysa! Do you know why?

Because BAP is having their showcase there!

That's right, you read me!

Since they're not having their POWER showcase in Singapore, I AM GOING TO THEM!!!

Thank goodness Malaysia is just a bridge away XD

But i'm not going to be in the country just for that, I'm still gonna stay over a few days to chill and relax on my own~

I hope you guys like Jong Up's character XD Cause I don't really know him very well so I've pretty much had fun creating something new XD

Also, I've read your comments~

You guys are missing our dear Kekemato~ Yeah I miss writing him and Totomato XD

Oh well, they'll be back when they're back.

A few series of events must happen before they can return. Either the next chapter or the one after I'll write about what's going on at Elder Yong's side at the slums. :) Don't be too sad.

Also if the transtitions are too jumpy I'm sorry>.< Let me know and I'll edit it again to make to flow smoother or to make more sense.

I'll share one of my favourite gifs that I found on tumblr :)