‘M-Mommy!!’

A small voice cried, over and over sobbing as children would when they weren’t given something they wanted.  The small girl that was wailing in her father’s arms bounced up and down as he desperately tried to get the girl to calm down; multiple shushes passing his lips as he held the girl close, her head laying comfortably on his shoulder, the tears streaming down her cheeks as she babbled incoherently; the only audible word really being heard was Mommy.  Her father sighed with the roll of his eyes, but he held a smile on his face; his daughter was such a mommy’s girl, it was pathetic, but cute at the same time and he couldn’t complain, at least he still got to hold her when she wasn’t pitching a fit about wanting her mommy.  Petting the top of her hair, he wandered slowly around the room, gazing at whatever his eyes could find to help pass the time, the only things on the wall were the normal things though, paintings of past relatives, old pots that were too rusty and dirty to use now, a few crafts from kids…  He rolled his head around and prayed that whatever his wife was doing, she would hurry up, and there was only so much he could do to keep his daughter calm.

‘Suzy baby, it’s alright, mommy will be here soon and you won’t have to be in mean old daddy’s arms anymore.’

He cooed to the girl was hiccupping, she had calmed her crying and was wiping her face on his shoulder before turning her head so that her face was hidden within the crook of his neck.  This was a way of hiding herself when someone else was entering the room other than her parents.  Looking up from his daughter, the door to the house was being opened now and a young girl entered casually, a smile on her face as she bowed to him and Suzy.

‘Good morning Jae Hwa, I see Suzy is as fussy as ever.’

The girl spoke, approaching the two as Jae Hwa gave her a sheepish smile, adjusting Suzy in his arms, Suzy lifting her hand to brush her long hair directly in her face so that she could not be seen.  This was a funny habit that Suzy had picked up from her mother.  He liked to call it the hair wall, it was amusing when they did it, especially at the same time, and both of them liked their privacy apparently.

‘Morning Sunye, are you enjoying the weather?’

Jae Hwa asked, Sunye nodding her head enthusiastically while she skipped across the floor over to another door that lead into the spare bedroom of the house.  This was where Mi Hi was, with the Elder of the town also; they had gotten here early this morning to discuss some business that was unknown to Jae Hwa, the only thing he really knew was that it was about Suzy and her possible future…

It turned out when Suzy was born, Mi Hi wasted no time in figuring out whether her second child would hold any powers like herself, the moment the girl was in her arms after the delivery, Mi Hi had gone instantly pale, and she looked to him with horrified eyes.  Their daughter wasn’t completely normal, not like how Chansung had been, but Suzy held a small part of her mother’s powers.  The elder assured them though that it wasn’t anything major, she was still more human that she was witch, and any powers she had would be limited and not much.  It wasn’t much reassurance of Mi Hi, but she still accepted Suzy like she was human and refused to ever teach the girl anything when she got older, even though the elder thought otherwise.

And that’s where this meeting came along, Suzy had just turned three a few days ago and the Elder thought it would be best to discuss Suzy’s well being with her mother only…  Jae Hwa of course was a little upset, it was his daughter as well, but with the distressed look on Mi Hi’s face, he could only follow her and do what she wanted…  He just wanted her to be happy, even if it was a hard thing to do, even after all the years they spent without their first child.

‘Elder!  I’m home, can I come in?’

Sunye chanted, knocking lightly on the door, it only took a few seconds for it to actually swing open, revealing Mi Hi; who looked rather tired and drained as she stepped out, greeting Sunye with a half a smile…  She hadn’t given a real smile in years, hell she hadn’t talked to anyone years, besides Jae Hwa of course, it wasn’t until Suzy was born that she even began to say anything to even the Elder.

Suzy bolted upright in her father’s arms, hair whipping his face as she turned herself to look towards the door where she knew her mother had gone; she’d been reaching for it for the past hour and a half to recently when she finally calmed down.  Outstretching those tiny hands, Suzy made a whining noise towards her mother who stepped around Sunye and walked swiftly over to them, Suzy being given to Mi Hi who was petting the top of her head, Suzy laying her head down to rest on her mother’s shoulder.  Mi Hi looked up to her husband and  blew a huff of air past her lips, smiling a little bit wider up at him as he wrapped his fingers around her free hand, tugging her so that they could leave the house and go back to their own.

‘I’m so tired, I need more sleep.’

Mi Hi lightly whined, allowing Jae Hwa to drag her from the Elder’s home and out into the sunshine that encased the entire village today.  It was about midsummer now, and even the trees had a hard time blocking out the sun and its heat, at least there was plenty of water for everyone to enjoy and play around with.

‘So, do I get to know what you two were talking about?’

Jae Hwa asked, slowing down their pace and intertwining their fingers together as their pace slowed; Suzy quietly played with her mother’s hair as Mi Hi let her expression soften, her cheek nuzzling the top of her daughter’s hair.

‘We were just talking about her future; about that it was our choice as to whether or not we want to teach her how to use what limited abilities she has, or keep her in the dark and allow her to live like normal child and only if she grows up knowing she has something special to tell her that she kind of is…’

Mi Hi explained, Jae Hwa watching her carefully as her expressions continued to change, her lips in, she looked genuinely depressed at the moment, and it was painful, but Jae Hwa squeezed his wife’s hand, pulling her a little closer to his side so that he could untwine their fingers and wrap his arm safely around her waist.  She didn’t look at him, but instead held her gaze in the distance.

‘What do you want to do Mi Hi?’

He asked softly, gently rubbing her hip area, Suzy was quite still in her mother’s arms, the girl seemed to always know the mood and knew when not to act like the child she was.  Mi Hi turned her head to Jae Hwa now, confusion clear in her eyes as she shook her head,

‘I don’t know, I never know anymore, what should we do?’

She asked, her grip tightening around Suzy, the little girl instantly wrapping her arms around her mother’s throat as if she was protecting her, it was crazy how protective the two were of each other, but then again, Suzy was just like her father when it came to their attitude, both of them would probably do anything for Mi Hi…

‘It’s not my decision alone to make Mi Hi; you know that I have to have your help.’

He implied, Mi Hi’s lips falling into a frown, it was hard to turn away with Suzy grasping at her neck, but she somehow managed and Jae Hwa only followed, keeping a firm grip on her hand as he only took a few steps so that he could look at his wife’s face properly.  The look she held was terrified and Jae Hwa felt his heart drop even further.  He did not want his wife to be terrified for his daughter’s future he wanted her to be happy, excited, all the things a mother should be for their child; whether Suzy was special or not that shouldn’t have mattered at all,

‘Mi Hi, you can’t be terrified, Suzy will have a wonderful life.  We don’t have to make the decision now, she’s still young.’

He explained; Mi Hi’s eyes meeting his again, she was nodding her head, her terrified eyes lessoning a bit, but Jae Hwa could tell the fear was still there, but he just gave her a soft smile; Mi Hi lifted her chin and smiled herself, Suzy’s grip around her mother’s neck loosening as she pulled back and patted Mi Hi’s cheek.

‘Mommy can’t be sad, and then I will be sad!’

She chanted randomly, earning a large smile from both her parents; Jae Hwa ruffling the hair on her head before pointing out forward.

‘We should really be getting home now; at least let you get some more sleep.’

Jae Hwa spoke, Suzy reaching her arms out for him this time; Jae Hwa of course willing to take the girl with the biggest smile on his face, Suzy snuggling him, Mi Hi chuckling, about to rub her daughters back when someone approaching caught her eye.  She looked a little surprised to see her as Sohee approached cautiously, eyeing the couple and their daughter, she seemed unsure if she was interrupting,

‘I’m sorry Mi Hi, Jae Hwa; I just need to talk to you about something, I think you’ll find it very important.’

She spoke softly, Jae Hwa and Mi Hi’s eyes meeting for a moment, both of them frowning a little before turning back to the girl, Jae Hwa adjusted Suzy so that she sat comfortably on his hip, her arms wrapped around his arm as she stared at Sohee with her parents.  Sohee seemed nervous now, her fingers fidgeting together, she always seemed like such a nervous girl around them, normally she was rather confident looking around everyone else.

‘It’s news… ‘

She began, looking unsure whether she could finish what she started, Mi Hi managed to gesture her to speak though, a small smile encouraging her that they weren’t going to hurt the poor girl or anything.  Sohee bit her lower lip,

‘Its news I heard when me and my husband went out of the village to Daegu to visit friends, we heard about a small child in Daegu, the leader of an infamous group called One Day was rumored to have a some new members that were very small children.  It was only simple things about these children though, like how they were so hard to catch,’

She explained; Mi Hi and Jae Hwa seeming a little confused, why in the world was she telling them this?  It didn’t really have to do with either and they didn’t particularly care about children besides Suzy or an infamous thief group that had children running around doing their dirty work.  Mi Hi was about to say something, but Suzy rose a hand, she wasn’t done.

‘My friend owns a small shop there; she sells fruits and every once in a while, the children would come to swipe fruit from the front of the stands.  Most of them were so small that I couldn’t see any of them, and neither could she, so sometimes she didn’t bother to yell at them…  But there was one child in particular that stuck out from the rest.’

Sohee was shifting where she stood now, rubbing the back of her neck;

‘He was rather tall for a boy his age, jet black hair, skinny limps, and he was really cute and kind of reminded me of someone that I couldn’t think of at the time.  But as he was grabbing a couple of fruits when I noticed him, and the moment he did, we met eyes.  I was about to scold him and tell him to put it back, but then another boy came out of nowhere, tugging him, he was telling him to come on, and as he was doing so, I managed to catch his name.  The other boy was saying, ‘Come on Chansung, come on Ahjumma will yell.’’

The moment the woman had finished, things went quiet; she had been looking down at the ground when she had explained the last part, and she finally managed to look up.  Mi Hi and Jae Hwa had gone an incredible pale; Suzy was on the ground and holding on tightly to her father’s pants, both of them staring only at Sohee.

‘T-There are so many people in this world, any child could be named Chansung…’

Mi Hi began, but Sohee quickly shook her head back and forth, now she seemed so sure,

‘No, I’m positive, I told you he looked like someone I couldn’t think of at the time, and as I saw him and the other boy running away; I remembered instantly!  He looked just like Jae Hwa…’

She mumbled, frowning as well, her fingers still wringing together, she swallowed hard, but kept her eyes on the couple in front of her.  Jae Hwa hadn’t said anything, but his body turned to Mi Hi who was reaching out a blind hand towards him, keeping her body steady with his help as she managed to turn to him.

‘Do- Do you think its true?’

She mouthed, Jae Hwa taking a moment to completely look at his wife, but his shoulders shrugged;

‘The only way we would be able to find out is if we go to Daegu and look for ourselves.’

He mumbled, he seemed so unsure, and it caused Mi Hi to look rather hurt, both hands wrapping around the man’s arm, holding it tightly.  He winced from the slight pain, and he looked away for a moment; straight down to Suzy who was looking towards her mother.  Mi Hi followed his gaze, Suzy frowning, reaching both arms up instantly; she wanted to be held, but neither of them moved to pick the small girl up, her arms slowly lowering as a whimper passed her lips, her eyes scrunching up;

‘Mommy…’

She whined, Mi Hi only looking away for a moment before circling her husband, grabbing Suzy into her arms before walking off towards their house without another word.  Jae Hwa looked to Sohee,

‘Are you sure you heard and saw right?’

He asked calmly, his face was the only thing giving his emotions away at the moment; his eyes looked as though they shook, and his fingers clutched at his pants legs.  Sohee seemed even more nervous now than she had to begin with, her head nodding up and down slowly.

‘Thanks…’

Jae Hwa replied, turning fast on his heels, running to try to catch up with Mi Hi who had just entered the house with a crying Suzy still in her arms.

--

‘Are you sure you guys want to do this…’

The elder asked, clutching Suzy’s tiny hand tight in her own, eye saddened by the couple who stood with full gear in front of them.  Mi Hi was looking down to the ground, her mind else were as Jae Hwa sighed and managed to nod his head.  It was a decision he and Mi Hi had made together, the day Sohee had told them the news, and he knew Mi Hi would jump right up and take the chance to go find the son she never knew.  Jae Hwa was still a bit hesitant towards the situation though.

‘The road is long and dangerous on foot…  We would take Suzy, but I don’t trust it, so I’m asking you to take care of her elder, just until we return.’

He explained, looking down at Suzy; her wide eyes looking up at him in confusion, she wouldn’t understand what was going on, and it pained him to think he was leaving her at the moment, unsure whether how long they were going to be gone or when they would be back… Slowly kneeling down, her opened his arms for his daughter to come to him; Suzy stumbled forward, but wrapped her tiny arms the best she could around her father, hugging him the best way she could.

‘Daddy and Mommy will be gone for a little while honey.  I need you to be a good girl for the Elder, alright?’

He spoke, grinding his teeth together when he heard the girl sniffle, he didn’t want her to cry, not when Mi Hi was in such a strange emotion now a days.  Pulling the girl away from him, he gave her the best smile he could muster, ruffling the top of her head, watching as the tears brimmed her eyes, the last thing a two year old wanted was for her parents to be leaving her with someone she wasn’t completely use to and no one to turn too.

‘We won’t be gone long sweetie.’

Mi Hi stated now, she had knelt down next to Jae Hwa and was reaching a hand out to the girl, she too held a smile on her face, though she looked more calm then Jae Hwa was…  Suzy mumbled something incoherent at the moment, using the back of her hand to wipe away the stray tears that were falling down her face, she wasn’t wailing, and it looked as though she was trying to keep a strong expression for them, and it was absolutely adorable.  Was this tearing Mi Hi apart like it was Jae Hwa?

‘Mommy… Daddy, come back soon.’

She spoke, sniffling one more time before both Jae Hwa and Mi Hi stood, both of them smiling down at their daughter who went back to holding the elders hands, her own small smile reflecting back at them,

‘We’ll always love you Suzy, don’t you forget that.’

--

Tears streamed down her face, she wiped them away with the back of her hand.  Inside the tent it was silent, the only sound being Chansung’s slow breathing, his chest rising up and down slowly.  He would have to be out for a while; Hyorin had given her specific instructions on how to begin the healing process from the inside since she wasn’t able to do anything else herself, and Suzy didn’t want her touching Chansung, she didn’t want anyone touching Chansung actually, not after the news Junho had delivered that sent her into a completely state of shock.  The brother that her parents had left her to go find was sitting here right in front of her…  She had found him, and yet her parents hadn’t, using her free hand, she wiped away more tears, her other free hand clutching Chansung’s hand.  It was so warm in hers; she now lifted it so that she could examine it a little more, her eyes trying to see some type of resemblance, she couldn’t remember her parent’s faces well, only the slight blur of them during times of days when they took her out, or the day they left to go find him…

‘I think you look like Daddy more…’

She mumbled, lowering their hands as she sighed, tilting her head just enough so that she could see his face a little better; with his eyes closed she couldn’t tell if they were the same color as hers. She hadn’t paid attention when she first met him, other things had been on her mind at the time, but now that there wasn’t much, it was swarming with questions and things that she wondered about the older brother she now had.

‘I wonder what your life was like compared to mine.’

She wondered, pursing her lips and slowly lowering her head, what would Chansung actually think about knowing that she was his sister, and that he had parents, but both of them were dead and all he had left was a sister he also barely knew;  would he even believe them if they did tell him? Shaking her head back and forth furiously, she placed his hand carefully down beside him before turning to crawl out of the tent, the last of her tears being wiped away as the flap was pulled apart and she emerged.

Everyone was sitting around in a small circle, staring down at the map Wooyoung had in hand, well except Hyorin of course, she had gone back to being bound by Junho, her eyes covered again, her entire body motionless; head bowed.  Suzy stood up completely straight, smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes; Junsu of course was the first to speak up as he had turned the moment she had exited the tent.

‘Is he doing better?’

He asked, his skin pale in color and he looked rather tired at the moment, but something did look as though he had changed, Suzy couldn’t put her finger on it right now.  She nodded towards him, stretching her arms over her head,

‘He’s stable, I’m sure any type of bleeding that had occurred is stopped and the wounds inside are healing with the small spell that Hyorin had taught me to use.’

She spoke, Junsu up and on his feet instantly; he’d been waiting to get into see Chansung longer than any of them have, and Suzy figured it was why he looked so pale, his mind probably going insane and stress draining what energy he had, the poor thing had been sick for so long and was almost over it until this happened.  She stepped aside, gesturing that Junsu could go in if he wanted to.

‘Just don’t move him…  But I want you to get some rest too, you’ve been sick, and I want you to stay better.’

She instructed; she wasn’t going to give him any medication, he just needed the rest right now.  Junsu wasn’t hesitant on the offer as he quickly made his way to the tent and ducked in with the flap swinging shut.  Suzy flicked her hair over her shoulder and turned back to the group just in time to see that all eyes seemed to be on her now.

‘What?’

She asked calmly, trying to keep the feelings neutral on the inside, she didn’t need everyone to know she was stressing just as much as Junsu, they were counting on her.  Wooyoung’s chin lifted now, eyeing her from where he sat as his eyes narrowed.

‘Are you alright?’

He asked, Suzy strolling over to the group and taking the seat Junsu had occupied just moments ago, she twisted a strand of hair in her fingers,

‘I’m fine.’

She replied, looking down at the map Wooyoung was holding down on each side, small places were marked with X’s, none of them Suzy really knowing, she would probably find out later.  Everyone’s attention was back to the map after a long moment, Wooyoung’s finger now sliding across a long squiggly black line that lead to another X,

‘This is Seoul, we still have quite a ways to go before we reach it, but that is where we have to go.’

He explained, his finger back tracking to a smaller X, everyone nodding their head, they understood,

‘This is our next destination, once it’s situated how we plan to protect both Chansung and Junsu with what little force we have, we can leave…’

Wooyoung continued, but raised his head when Taecyeon had chuckled, the knight all smiles like he knew something the others had not.

 ‘You don’t need to worry about Junsu, just take care of Chansung.’

He spoke, Wooyoung furrowing his eyebrows, even Junho didn’t seem happy with the light mood Taecyeon was having, Suzy was just a little confused, and only kept her eyes on the map; Min who had been sitting next to Wooyoung just showed her confusion for the strange tone and manner.

‘Taecyeon, you cannot take care of Junsu on your own.’

Wooyoung stated, rolling his eyes at Taecyeon who only did the same, his mood seemed even odder, it was nothing like the knight they knew.  Taecyeon shook his head now, leaning back on his arms, his shoulders shrugging.

‘I don’t have to take care of him; Junsu can take care of himself.’

He retorted, Wooyoung rolling the map up with a cocked eye brow, this time he was the one to chuckle, stuffing the map into a bag that he had at his side, he looked to Junho who only half frowned and chose to stay out of this part of the conversation.  Wooyoung turned back to Taecyeon, who was grinning wildly,

‘I don’t believe Junsu could even harm a fly.’

Wooyoung challenged, Taecyeon rolling his head back, amusement clear on his face,

‘Junsu could catch a fly if he really wanted to, but he finds it absolutely disgusting and un-prince like,’

Taecyeon continued, Wooyoung looking agitated towards the knight, his arms crossing over his chest the moment they were free.

‘So you are saying that suddenly Junsu has gained some kind of strength now and he doesn’t need our protection even though he has needed it for the past DAYS?’

Wooyoung asked, Taecyeon nodding;

‘Junsu’s always had strength, he just chose to hide it, and he chose to hide a lot of things just so you guys wouldn’t feel bad.’

Taecyeon continued to grin, even as Wooyoung’s face soured, the others seeming concerned over what they was sure was a mini fight.  Min was the first to open , words about to be spoken, but Wooyoung continued on,

‘I don’t believe you.’

He stated, Taecyeon seeming unfazed,

‘Just wait till he gets up, he’ll kick your if you ask him too.’

Wooyoung bit down hard on his lower lip, snatching the bag up into his hand, his body rising from the ground.  Throwing the bag over his shoulder, he stormed off towards his shared tent, literally throwing the bag hard into it before going in it himself, all while making a loud huffing noise to indicate that he was angry.  Min frowned,

‘Taecyeon you made him angry!  That’s not very nice, why are you being such an right now?’

She asked, Taecyeon pushing himself to his own feet, dusting his off and stretching his limbs,

‘He’ll be okay, I’ll go apologize or something, but don’t think what I said was not true; Junsu’s not your average untrained prince who had to hide behind everybody that can fight, we’ve trained together since birth…’

Taecyeon spoke, his voice a little quiet as he glanced towards the tent where Chansung and Junsu where, he only took a minute or two staring before scratching his head and placing a hand on his hip, heading towards the shared tent Wooyoung had stormed off angrily too, leaving the rest to just sit around unsure of what exactly to do.

‘Things have become so different within’ such a short time frame, it’s almost scary…’

Min shivered, rubbing her arms with her hands roughly.

--

A/N: UGH!!!!! I wanted to do so much more for this chapter, but I've been so busy, and I wanted to get an update so this is what it ended up coming too because I needed to update, you will figure out what exactly happened to Jae Hwa and Mi Hi in a much later chapter, I just figured them leaving was a sutible place to bring it back to the others.

Forgive my long absence by the way, I became super busy with taking care of my grandmother for two weeks, then leaving for another week for vacation and then spending time with another friend for a week. v.v;  I'm trying to squeeze stories in I promise! It's just a little hard!