Baekhyun caught up to Zora soon enough, ignoring the bizarre appearance of the familiar tall boy as they walked back to the calligraphy store. Unsurprisingly, Zora remembered precisely where the store was, despite the fact that the moon was now greeting them and the bright baby blue sky had now gradually faded into a much darker, mysterious shade. Baekhyun would have figured as much, the girl can remember where a random calligraphy store is but not her own birthday.

As expected, no one was in the store when they got in. But he’d only figured it was open since the lights were still burning bright and the melodic music was still playing. The store was bigger than it’d looked on the outside and was, by far, more exquisite than both of them would have expected for a market store. The lights shone brightly beneath the columns and columns of glass ink cartridges, leaving a beautiful cascade of colours that gave a vivid illusion of stain glass windows on the bleached walls. Zora raced to the end of the store, not even a little suspicious as to why no one was there and feasted her eyes over the beautiful collection of fountain pens that spun merrily in a glass pillar. “Be careful” Baekhyun warned, worried that she’d break something and he’d have to pay for it…that is unless they could run away fast enough before someone could show up.

Baekhyun himself- although not particularly interested in calligraphy and drawing- found himself dazed by the beauty and eminence of the store. It was as though not a single person had even laid a fingerprint, a single pin-prick of dirt on the store. The concept reminded him of Zora’s room; for a store that sells items that could make so much mess, the irony behind the pristineness was shocking.

He watched her skip from corner to corner, her face lit up with captivation. If this didn’t make her day, then Baekhyun didn’t know what else would. Leaning his body onto the wooden counter table, a figure suddenly appeared beside him and he almost jumped out of his skin. "HOLY !" Baekhyun jolted almost a feet away from the counter. 

"Welcome, my lovely customers~!" Her voice sung in a tuneful melody. Baekhyun glared at the toothy grin plastered on her face, trying not to offend her by looking too alarmed by her arrival. 

The women was twinkling her cobalt green eyes at him, batting her eyelashes together as if to show off the chrome silver tips. Her layered short hair was an eye-catching and suspicious colour of ultramarine blue with a shimmery silver tint, fluffed and messy as if she'd just been out in the wind. "How may i help you today handsome boy?" She beamed, her elbows propped up on the counter top and her head resting on the multiple rings that clung onto her intertwined fingers.

Baekhyun blinked at her. "Er...N-no, we're fine, thank you" He dismissed her politely, acting as nonchalant as he could since he just cursed right in her face. She arched her blond eyebrows at him, making Baekhyun notice the tattoo-like black imprints from one corner of her eye all the way down to her fingertips. His eyes narrowed at the words, however found it difficult to read the jumbled words at such an angle without tilting his head.

The women had a strange appearance and aura, like a modernized fortune teller kind of impression…he couldn’t help but feel a resemblance of a ‘Luna Lovegood’ from harry potter- expect a little more perky and ‘in-your-face’. She gave him a look, staring her crystallized eyes at him with a message he couldn't decipher before redirecting them mischievously towards Zora. "How about your stepsister over there? Does she have any questions maybe?" She continued, her large peacock feather earrings tilting along with her head as she indicated towards Zora- the girl still too entranced at the pens section to be paying any attention. Baekhyun instinctively took a pace back.

"...How did you know she's my stepsister?" He questioned. The women suddenly erupted with laughter.

"Oh honey, i would tell you but i wouldn't want you to lose any brain cells now, would i?" She flapped her hand at him before eagerly leaning her body over the counter. "So talk to me! What do you want to get her? A book? Some ink? Oh! Maybe some limited edition brushes! Buy one get one free now- don't miss the chance honey- if it's gone- it's gone!" She enthusiastically suggested and after an awkward pause, erupted again. "Ha! I'm such a kidder! ‘Buy one get one free' Good one right? Buy whatever you want honey, no pressure, no pressure. Although the inks would be a good idea- that's just my opinion of course- you know who you remind me of? My son's friend, around your age, perhaps you've met him?" 

He didn't even answer yet and she already burst into another round of hysterics. "Pfft! I did it again! Ha, i crack myself up! Of course you haven't met, that would be creepy, right? But i can't really call him my son now since he's been adopted by another man, but still, a son's a son right? Speaking of which i think they're visiting this part of Korea soon, you think he's found a girlfriend yet? He is good-looking, what can i say- genetics, right? But his friends are just as handsome- what if they like the same girl?! Oh gosh, that'd be tragic!" She rambled on. Not only did her energy overwhelm him a little, but Baekhyun was also shocked that the women he'd thought had looked the age of her mid 20's already had a son his age. Baekhyun faked a smile, secretly concluding that despite being perky, she hadn’t lost any more or any fewer marbles than that Luna ever did.

She caught how terrified he looked and giggled. "Sorry, sorry, I'll stop now, but seriously- what are you planning on getting your sister? i would make suggestions but i could go on forever, inks, paper, pens, brushes, special repairs. etc."  

"Special repairs?" He repeated. The women nodded. Baekhyun gave it a thought before reaching into his bag where he had stored away Zora’s old, rusted fountain pen and sighed. "Could you fix her pen for her? It…kinda means a lot to her" Baekhyun asked, although secretly a little hesitant in handing it to the crazy women. She carefully pinched the pen into her fingers and after a single glance, looked over to the other girl squatting down on the floor to fully admiring the hundred collections of ink.

"You wanna see a magic trick?" She asked him in a whisper, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Baekhyun glanced left and right fearfully. But before he could reply, she wrapped her fingers delicately around the pen, displaying her long; glitter-gold painted nails as the pen veiled under her two hands. After a mere couple of seconds, she slipped her hands elegantly off the pen, the azure blue colour suddenly revived into its former beauty and magnificence, the rusted nib now glistening gold without even a small trace of the copper dirt.

Baekhyun glared at the fountain pen, dumbfounded and stunned by the witchcraft. “…Er…Thank you…” He said, cautiously taking the pen back after much hesitation and stored it back into his bag. “Come on Zora, we’re going” He called her over, drawing her attention away from the inks and to the women instead. The modern fortune teller grinned at her and gave a friendly wave, earning a bright smile from Zora in return as she skipped back to Baekhyun. “How much?” He questioned the women with a light sigh, but before he could reach for his more-or-less empty wallet, the women lightly tapped his arm for him to stop. 

“It’s on the house” She shone a friendly smile. “Consider it a birthday present honey” She winked at her, Zora blinking at Baekhyun for a few seconds, wondering what it was that she was talking about before she tilted her head to the women, doing her little ‘thank you nod-and-smile’ gesture. 

“Oh! Great! Closing time~!” She sung cheerfully, clapping her hands as she looked at the exquisite wall clock that hung on the other side of the wall that seemed to have showed up out of nowhere. Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrowed, looking at her like the crazy women she was.

“I thought you just opened a couple minutes ago-“

“Come on now! Let an old women like me rest!” She jumped out from behind the counter, showcasing her rather exotic metallic yet mythical clothing before she spun Baekhyun around by the shoulders, leading him out of the shop as Zora followed. “Have a lovely day dear by the way, hope to see you soon, tell me all about it later but for now, arigoto and sayonara!”

“Wait! You-!” Before he could even argue, she’d shoved them both out of the store and slammed the door in their faces. Baekhyun sighed hopelessly before glancing over to Zora. She hadn’t at all looked disappointed that she hadn’t brought anything from the shop, in fact, her eyes were still gleaming when they wandered their way back into the main market, making their way back home.

“You seem happy” He commented, watching her gleam over the stores she’d already visited. Zora nodded enthusiastically before looking around the beautiful night market. Baekhyun sighed for the billionth time today. “Enjoy it whilst it lasts, this is a one off remember, if I ever get caught then I’m sure to get bol-“

VIIIIINNNNG~

A vibration from his pocket made him jolt as he quickly reached for his mobile phone, reading the Caller ID, Baekhyun quickly ended the call. Zora glared at him curiously and tilted her head, almost to ask who the caller was. Baekhyun smiled at her before they stopped beside another accessories store that sold silver bracelets and mood rings. Whilst Zora was captivated by the magical colour-changing device, Baekhyun subtly stepped away from her to check his phone again.

13 missed calls…Eh oh.

VIIIIINNNNG~

His phone vibrated again, not surprised to see the same Caller ID. Uncle Max.

“” Baekhyun quietly cursed in hidden panic. He bit his bottom lip, hesitant in answer the call. He inhaled the icy air before pressing the answer button. “Hel-“

“[BYUN BAEKHYUN! WHERE’S ZORA!?]” A voice boomed from the other line, forcing Baekhyun to jerk the phone away from his ear before his ear drums could burst.

“Gee, glad to know you’re worried about me too gramps” He stated sarcastically, however the other line wasn’t amused.

“[BYUN BAEKHYUN! THIS IS NO TIME TO JOKE AROUND! Y-YOU’RE SISTER! SHE’S MISSING! WE NEED TO FIND HER! WHERE COULD SHE HAVE GONE!?]”

“Alright! Alright, take a chill pill for god’s sake, she’s with me. You told me to get her a present so I took her outside for-“

“[YOU TOOK HER WHERE?!]” Baekhyun had to jerk the phone away for the second time before sending secret evils back to the other line. If there was anything that he’d hated about Uncle Max, it was him raising his voice at him all the time.

“I said, I took her outside, don’t worry, we’re on our way-“

“[YOU FOOL! YOU ABSOLUTE IMBOCILE!]”

“Get a grip old man! So I took her out big deal, why are you getting so-“

“[Argh! You don’t understand anything! Don’t let her out of your sight Baekhyun! I am serious! Where is she now?! Is she alright?]” He asked in alarm. 

“Don’t worry, she’s right…” Baekhyun turned around, expecting to see the 5 foot teenage girl still bewildered by the mood rings…however found no such person. The image of the two suspicious men suddenly appeared in his memories and at that, panic suddenly tugged at his heart, his eyes broadening as he turned left and right for any sign of her.

“[Well?! Where is she?!” Uncle Max continued to scream down the phone. Baekhyun glanced left and right, subtly clearing his throat to clear off any nervous shakes he might have in his voice. 

“S-She’s right next to me…looking at…things” He lied as convincing as he could.

“[Really? Let me talk to her then]” Uncle Max ordered, obviously not trusting Baekhyun at that moment.

“Are you stupid? She’s a mute, she can’t talk.” He scoffed, trying his hardest not to let his quivering heart affect his voice and he twisted his head side to side. “We’re heading home now so don’t worry”

“[WAIT! BYUN BAEK-]” Before he could hear any more, Baekhyun quickly slapped the front screen of his flip phone and dashed to the accessories store, interrupting the lady who was having a bargaining conversation with the shop keeper.

“Excuse me ma’am, do you know where the girl who was just here went?” He urged, the old shopkeeper detecting his alarm. But the lady beside him wasn’t impressed.

“Er- Pardon me young man, I believe I was having a con-“

“The cutie with the glasses and bright eyes, honey?” The old lady interupted her, seeing as how panicked Baekhyun had looked. Although he wasn’t sure what she meant by ‘bright eyes’, he knew for sure the lady was referring to Zora. Baekhyun nodded to his rapidly.

“Y-Yes! Do you know where she went?”

“She saw something that caught her eye just a second ago and ran off that way, honey” She politely gestured towards the other end of the market and Baekhyun, remembering his manners, thanked her with a bow before dashing off.

Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay. He prayed to himself as he stuggled his way pass the crowd, coming to the far end of the market where the bright lights from the market could barely reach, he turned left and right, finally noticing the girl crouched down to the floor with her back facing him. Once again, for the second time today, the weight on his chest lifted. "Zora!" He called, but it seemed that she couldn't hear him since she didn't turn around. Baekhyun strolled towards her, ready to scold her yet again. "Han Zo-ra! What's the matter with..." He paused when he came closer, detecting something in front of her as he narrowed his eyes towards it...a fluffy white puppy...with a black mark on its neck.

---

A/N: And finally- the interesting bit may begin! Thank you to those who are subscribing, much appreciated ^^~