"One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it." -Master Oogway

-Jinhae’s POV-

‘Hey, are you okay?’ I asked my sister the moment I heard her thoughts. I knew she wasn’t meaning to call my attention, but I heard her sighing a lot and I could already imagine her pacing around. I frowned when she didn’t answer as I stood by the cliffs, watching as the servants of the Electra Mansion loaded the huge boat that we will be using to get to the island where the Nephylus were kept for our journey northbound to Orodia. I thought it was too much for a half-day journey.

Everyone’s hurrying. They said that we were bound to get there at around nightfall and we should get there before that just as planned. You have got to be crazy to be wandering out at sea during the evening when all the creatures would come out. I have been meaning to ask Kris if he could just fly me all the way there since I was terribly scared. I wasn’t really up for travelling out sea at this time especially after I leaned about that, but no one seems to object so I guess I had to be brave for them. Water just wasn’t my element and I knew how Shinhye hated riding boats, too. We shared the same sentiments for open waters and floating vessels.

The moment Chen regained his consciousness he decided to leave immediately, insisting that we should not waste time. I thought he’d wanted to tarry longer to show his father his achievement, but he was doing the opposite of things. If my father has been treating me the way Lord Jong Sik did to him then I’d be gloating about how I’ve managed to achieve what I should. Anyway, I was glad to that the worst was over for Chen. There was just the question about Tao and Xiu Min. Once this is all over, we can all go to Elatus where the river was most evident.

Besides that, I was glad that Chen was finally awake. It had been most unsettling to watch him while he slept. I’ve never seen anything like it. The next day after the dreadful storm, his father sent out a search party for him and he was found lying at the bottom of the canyon with sparks flying around him. No one dared to touch him until Kris decided that he should at least try and after proving to everyone that it wasn’t going to hurt him, he flew Chen back to the castle where he continued to spark and steam. We needed to transfer him from one room to the other since whenever the maids would tend to him and give him his daily sponge bath, the room would be filled with steam as if we were in a sauna.

I guess that was the downside of absorbing too much force – you become a walking sauna. I chuckled at the thought. To be serious, one just becomes too burnt that ironically, one doesn’t get charred, just feverish…exaggeratedly feverish. It was amazing how he had managed to overcome that. I was proud of everyone for having the capability to harness such great power and remain on the good side, except for one person who seemed to have strayed away. Oh well. Everyone said he’s come back so I didn’t’ really have to get worked up. If he can manage without us then all the more that we can manage without him.

‘You’re asking me?’ Shinhye suddenly said, startling me. ‘You don’t even want to ride that boat over there,’ she commented harshly.

I blinked slowly. What the hell was wrong with her? ‘Yah! What’s with the barb, sis?’

‘Nothing. I’m just not feeling good…’ She heaved a deep breath. ‘Sorry.’

‘Are you sick?’

‘Going to be, I guess.’

‘Hey now. What’s bothering you?’ I asked, deeply concerned. If she was sick physically then that’s going to be a disaster. When she gets sick, it gets really bad and it was hard to take care of her since she doesn’t like a lot of things when she’s sick. I could already imagine the nobles scrambling to do as she says. Aside from that, she’s a big grump whenever she’s feeling ill, fighting with everyone around her. If she was just feeling bad then I had to find out what’s causing her agitation.

‘I think I’m going to get a cold.’

‘In the middle of spring?’

‘It’s autumn here, remember?’

‘Oh.’

‘Yeah, but it’s so damned balmy. Are autumns usually like this?’

I didn’t know. In the human world, it’s just cold and not balmy. Ugh. ‘Do you have a fever?’

‘Not yet.’

I shrugged. ‘What have you been up to?’

‘Nothing special.’

‘Did you play under the rain again?’ I heard her complaining about the rain one time.

‘Nope.’

‘Then what did you do?’ It was getting frustrating going around the bush with her.

‘Jinhae-ah…’

‘Yeah?’

‘I should have listened to you,’ she said.

I frowned. ‘High time.’

‘I’m serious. Please tell me I told you so.’

‘Okay. I told you so…Wait.’ What was she talking about? ‘What am I saying it to you for?’ To my utter surprise, she began crying, like sobbing and sniffling. Oh my. ‘Shinhye! What’s wrong? This is certainly something. Don’t tell me it’s nothing.’ Instead of answering me, she showed me her thoughts for the past weeks, playing like rerun in my head as images flashed from one thing to the other. I saw Park Chan Yeol’s face, how they kissed…because she asked him to then everything was dark, but I could hear her talking to someone. I let it all sink in and I’ve realized what she was trying to tell me and how afraid she was of it.

‘Jinhae, what’s happening to me?’ she asked after a few moments of silence.

‘You love the Flame Noble. Y-you’re in love with him?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘That’s a yes, but…’

‘What?’

It really got me puzzled. ‘Who was the person in the dark?’

At that, she began crying all the more. ‘I don’t know who he is…’

‘What?’ I shook my head. ‘That doesn’t make sense.’

‘Exactly!’

‘You know him, right?’

‘No, because I can’t see him. I don’t know who he is and I want to know really badly because… because…’

‘What?’

She didn’t speak and showed me again what has been happening and how she got involved with the unknown person. It was dark. I couldn’t see anything either, just voices and then…strange sounds. My eyes widened in shock.

‘Oh my god! YOU DIDN’T!!!’

‘W-what? Did what?’

‘You did the deed with that stranger?!’

At that, she began laughing hysterically. ‘Is that how low you think of me? My goodness, I wasn’t expecting to hear that from you.’

 I calmed down. ‘Oh you’ll hear more than that if you did it.’

‘No. It’s not like that…’

‘Then what?’

She shrugged. ‘I don’t know what to think or what to do. I wish I could talk to you personally and I hope this would all be done and over with. I don’t know how I would face each day with this heavy feeling weighing on me every day. I think I’m tired of doing these things, constantly worrying. I don’t want to be here anymore. I don’t want to have problems and I really hate choosing!’ She began crying again and I was not going to doubt that she was actually saying those things out loud though she was alone.

“Wait…choosing?”

‘Yes!’ She sobbed more. ‘Damn it, Jinhae, it’s so difficult!’

I shook my head, confused. ‘What do you mean it’s hard to choose? You just admitted that you love the Flame Noble.’ What the hell was this girl thinking? ‘You’re not actually saying that you’re in love with that invisible person. Ahn Shinhye, you’re better than that!’

‘Maybe not.’

‘Okay…just…stop it! That’s madness. How can you even say that you’re in love with someone you’ve never come to know? Aigoo! No. This can’t be!’

‘I’m already confused, alright so stop yelling at me! I don’t know why either, but I think I know him and…and he’s just…I don’t know. I love him. I know I do and there’s no sense denying it.’

‘Think of what this might do if your suspicion that he is one of the nobles is not true. It might as well be a purist attack and you’re succumbing to it. Shinhye-ah! You know well that you cannot fall in love with someone outside the circle. It would be disaster!’

‘Do you think I didn’t think of that? I’ve looked at this through every angle and that’s what makes me so sad.’

‘You cannot! Don’t do this. I want to see you again and the only way is for you to fall in love with Chan Yeol or any of the nobles. I don’t care who, just stick to the plan.’

‘I am. I just thought of telling you, but no matter what –’

‘Don’t even tell me that you can’t fall out of love of that invisible maniac. I don’t care who or what he is, just don’t or I will cross the river right now and kill you! Fall in love with the tan guy or Baekhyun! Whatever! That’s the only choice you have.’

‘You make it sound so easy. Don’t worry. I’m not going to end up with someone I can’t see.’

‘What is your plan?’

‘It’s done. I told him to go away…after he told me he loves me…’ Her voice cracked as she told me about it.

‘You sound disappointed.’

‘Well, I am!’ She scoffed. ‘Look, Jinhae, it’s the first time I felt like this for someone and this is the outcome. What do you think am I going to say? How am I going to react? I’m trying my best to give my heart to Chan Yeol, but, it’s not going to be easy. I’m just telling you so you’d know.’

I felt sorry for my sister. She seemed so carefree about it, but now that she actually felt something, it wasn’t for someone who deserved it, at least not necessarily someone who didn’t deserve it, but someone who could possibly hinder things from going smoothly. Finally, she came in touch with her human feelings. She learned to love someone apart from our family. The ice walls she built around her heart thawed…finally.

‘What’s so difficult about loving him anyway?’

She suddenly laughed. ‘Should I ask you the same question where Lay is concerned?’

‘That’s a different thing!’ I retorted.

‘Yeah…I guess.’ She sighed. ‘You know what?It’s not even about Chan Yeol being difficult to love. It’s actually easy.’

‘So what’s the problem?’

‘I’m not in love with him…’

I snorted. ‘Yeah? He looks like a supermodel in case you’re blind.’

‘Ugh! Fine! Maybe I am…I am. There. But not as strongly as I feel for –‘

‘The Hollow Man. I get it.’

‘Sorry.’

‘Tell that to the nobles.’

‘I can’t. I’m still trying to prove my little theory.’

‘Yeah? Why? Because you’re so in too deep with Mr. Invisible Maniac?’

‘Hey!’

‘See?’ Aish! ‘You even come to his defense. You’re annoying me with your delusions.’

‘It’s not a delusion. It’s as real as it could get.’

‘Except that you can’t see the love of your life. Oh my god, Shinhye! Are you actually trying to make your life a living ‘Cupid and Psyche’? This is ridiculous!’

‘No.’

‘Then what the hell?’

‘You’re pretty upset about it, too.’

‘I’m not upset. Just worried. Look, Shin-ah, I want to see you again. That’s what’s important to me. Don’t take that away.’

‘Fine. I’ll stick to the plan and you’d better, too.’

That made me sad, but what choice did we both have? ‘Yeah.’

“Jinhae, let’s go,” I heard Tao’s voice from behind me.

“Right behind you,” I answered, taking in the breathtaking sight of the castle before turning away. ‘I’ll talk to you later. Please consider my words.’

‘Yes. Have a safe trip.’

‘Yes. I love you, Shinhye.’

‘I love you, too. Virtual hugs?’

I chuckled. “Sure…”

-Baekhyun’s POV-

I went inside Shinhye’s room the next morning to see if she wanted to go around Lumeria before we leave for Portia in the evening. I don’t know why, but I could feel that something was