Haeyoung. My name is Haeyoung.

“Noona, do you want me to stay with you again?”

My name is Haeyoung.

“Noona? Are you feeling all right?”

“Sorry, I was thinking about something,” I apologize, giving my head a little shake. “What’d you say?”

Taemin smiles despite my inattentiveness, taking my elbow to prevent me from walking into the corner as we head back to our rooms at the end of the day. “I asked if you wanted me to stay with you again tonight since nothing’s happened since those flowers three nights ago.”

“Oh. You don’t have to. I’ve been feeling kinda bad with you sleeping on the floor.”

“It wasn’t that uncomfortable. I really don’t mind.”

Turning to our companions, I ask. “Any opinions from the peanut gallery?”

Minho and Jonghyun shrug, looking to Kibum, who continues chewing his apple contemplatively. Arriving at my room, he finally says, “I think it’s up to you and whether or not you feel safe.”

“I think... I think I can stay by myself tonight,” I volunteer, absently rubbing the lotus pendant. “Minho put the ward on my door anyway, right? So it’s not like someone can come in.”

“Not unless you invite them in,” Minho reiterates.

“If something happens, we’re all close by. Do you remember the way to my room?” Kibum asks. When I nod, he opens the door for me. “In that case, we will bid you goodnight, Lilly.”

Taking my small stack of drawings from Jonghyun, I step into the room. “Goodnight. Sweet dreams, guys.”
“Sleep well, noona,” Minho says, Jonghyun and Taemin smiling and waving as I close the door.

    My smile fades from my face as I lay the papers down and walk to my bed, flopping on my stomach onto the blankets. The last scene from the dream has been playing repeatedly in my head ever since I woke up from my nap.

Rolling over to stare up at the ceiling, I wonder aloud, “Why do I always have these weird dreams when I see Onew? It’s not like I remember any of the stuff Kibum and the guys are saying I should when I’m conscious. Does he put them there with magic or something?”

    Getting back up, I dig through my papers and sink to the floor once I find the two I’m looking for. The facial features on the first are rough and vague except for the eyes. Although they lack their amber color, the gaze is the same: warm and cajoling. The second drawing mirrors the first, but its eyes are possessive and fierce, as if they want to devour whoever looks at them. I shiver, remembering the constrictive grip that had left me gasping in Onew’s arms days before. The gentle eyes... unwilling as I was to admit it, I knew they are Onew’s, but whose were the devouring ones?

As I sit studying the pair, someone knocks on my door. “Who is it?”

“It’s me. Donghae.”

I scurry up to open the door, smiling at the beaming Donghae. “Hi. Come on in.”

“Thanks. I brought you that book we talked about, the one about the Monkey King,” he says, dumping his armful of books on the bed.

“Book? This looks like more than one to me,” I giggle, eagerly picking up the top book.

“I brought some others I thought you might like too.”

“Thanks. I’ve been dying without anything to read,” I reply, my fingers already itching to open the cover, but restraining myself to be polite. 

“Well, these should keep you busy for awhile, hopefully.” Laughing, he begins spreading the books out across the bed.

“Donghae....”

“Hmmm?”

“Thank you for the books, but ... have you found anything ... since last time?”

Donghae’s smile falters. “Found anything?”

I hug the book to my chest, absently its soft binding. “About countering me eating the peach. So I can go home.”

“Um, not really yet,” he answers quickly. Picking up a larger volume, he flips it open. “I think you’ll really like this one. It’s about a Buddhist pilgrim’s journey from China to India-”

“Donghae.”

“Or there’s this one. We got it from the Southern King’s library-”

“Has anyone ever told you how bad a liar you are?”

“Yes.” Donghae sighs and closes the book, putting it back down and turning away from me. “I’m sorry. It’s just- ...”

Placing on hand on his arm, I ask, “Just what? Donghae, please. Please tell me. You found a spell or something, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”

“I did, but I can’t tell you. I’ll keep looking.” In a softer voice, he adds, “It can’t be the only way.”

“What if it is? What do I have to do? Why can’t you tell me?”

“Do you really need to go back so badly? You’re happy here now, right? It’s not that bad. You’ve got friends and Onew’s not going to make you marry him-”
“Donghae, just tell me! I’m not her so there’s no reason for me to stay! You promised you’d help me! Please. Why won’t-”

“Because it’s too dangerous!” he chokes out. He finally turns so I can see his face is wet with tears. “There’s only one way to reverse the spell and it’s too dangerous for you and for others! I’m sorry, Lilly, but it’s too dangerous to even tell you. Too much pain.”

“I’m sorry, Donghae,” I say softly, taken aback and feeling a sudden stab of guilt for making him cry. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pressure you so much.”

“No, it’s fine. I know you miss your home. I can feel it,” Donghae sniffles, pressing a hand to his heart and wiping at his cheeks with his sleeve. “You were within your rights to get mad; I shouldn’t have said anything if I can’t tell you. I’m sorry for disappointing you.”

I feel even more guilty. “Donghae.”

“I’ll just keep searching.” He gives me a watery smile before starting to leave.

“Wait.” Catching up with him, I wrap my arms around his waist, pressing my face against his back. “Thank you. Thank you for trying for me.”

With a shaky sigh, Donghae lays his hand briefly over mine before unclasping them from around his waist. Keeping his grip on them as he turns back to me, he gives them a small squeeze. “I’ll talk with my teachers. Maybe they’ll know some way.”

“Okay.”

Donghae chucks my chin up with his thumb. “Don’t lose hope, Lily. It’ll all work out. I promise I’ll help fix this.”

“Thank you, really.”

Nodding, he opens the door. “Goodnight, Lilly. I’m sorry for upsetting you.”

“I’m sorry for yelling. Thank you for the books.”

“Anytime.” With that, Donghae disappears behind the closing door.

“Great,” I mumble, glancing longingly at the books. 

    Knowing I wouldn’t be able to read a single thing, I tug out an extra blanket I’d found under the bed and wrap myself in it before pulling open the shutters and settling myself on the wide ledge. The languid blue and caressing currents beyond the invisible border have a calming effect on my racing mind and heart. A way to return home and it’s snatched away before I even had a chance. A sudden tiredness steals over me; I don’t bother fighting it and lay my head on my folded arms, the blank ocean blue slowly fading to black.

Someone nudges my shoulder.

“Go away,” I mumble, turning my face further against my shoulder and the warmth of the blanket. When the person keeps at it, I finally sit up. “What?”

An empty room meets my half-closed eyes. 

I slide off the windowsill, still wrapped in my blanket cocoon. “Hello?”

    When something bumps into the back of my knees, I jump, almost falling over it. When I look, I can scarcely believe my tired eyes.

“T-Taemin?”

The black and white border collie stays still except for his cautiously wagging tail, watching me. His eyes make me catch my breath: one brown, one blue. I know only one dog with those eyes.

I kneel, my hand trembling as it reaches for the dog. “Sirius?”

    With a low, happy woof, the dog steps forward into my arms, pushing his cold nose into the crook of my shoulder. I in turn bury my face and fingers in his feathery ruff, inhaling his reassuring doggy smell.

Pushing his face back, I cradle it in between my hands and kiss his forehead. “Sirius, how did you get here? Baby, how’d you find Mama?”

     my nose, Sirius slips from my arms and trots to cracked open door, glancing over his shoulder at me. Bundling up the blankets around me, I hurry after him. By the time I creep out the door, he’s already at the end of the hall, silently waiting.

“Sirius, where’re you going?”

    He gives another woof, waiting until I’m within an arm’s reach to continue padding through the halls. The white of his coat gleams with a blueish light, helping me keep sight of him in the darkness. Finally, Sirius stops in front of a door, looking quite pleased with himself.

“You sure this is it?” I glance between the door and the dog, suspicious of the relatively short walk. “I’m sure we’re near Kibum’s room and that’s nowhere near the edge of the palace.”

    With an impatient snort, Sirius nudges the door open with his nose and slips inside. When he doesn’t come back, I cautiously follow. The room looks empty except for a flickering candle sitting on a low table, its light weak against the dark. Sirius already on the other side of the table, nosing his way through the books scattered across it.

“Sirius, quit it,” I hiss, trying to wave him back over. 

He ignores me, flipping through the pages of an open book, finally pausing to sniff one.

    With a sigh, I tiptoe inside and across the room, reaching down to grab the dog’s collar. As my fingers close around the rough fabric, they suddenly clutch around nothing. I muffle my shriek with my hands as Sirius disappears into thin air. My fingers dig deeper into my cheeks when something stirs in the darkness. I sink to lie on the floor behind the table, barely breathing. Someone sits up, looking blearily in my direction. My breathing stops as I recognize Donghae, but restarts with a light sigh as he collapses over onto his bed and doesn’t move again.

Who-What just happened? my bewildered mind asks over my still loudly thumping heart.

    I stay still, listening to Donghae’s soft breathing until I gather the courage to slowly start moving. As I kneel to begin to stand, I glance down at the page Sirius had stopped at. The words make me pause and with a quick glance at Donghae’s sleeping figure, I pull the candle closer. The paper is soft with age, but the ink still stands stark against the pale yellow. 

Peaches plucked from the tree at the center of the Queen of Heaven grant whosoever eats of them eternal youth. A mortal partaking of this fruit shall be graced with this gift too, as well as immortality. However, mortals beware: once they eat one of these Peaches, they must forever stay in this heavenly realm. Should a single part of their body touch earth of the human realm, they shall instantly turn to ash.

This author warns against any attempt to repeat the sole method of retuning to Earth that he found in research: the man who succeeded was subsequently executed by the King of Heaven’s Imperial guards. The reason lies in the dire actions required: the mortal who wishes to return to Earth must obtain a dragon’s celestial pearl, the very heart of a dragon’s power and lifeblood. Parting a dragon from its pearl by force will kill him. 

----------------------------

“Lilly, look!”

I open my eyes from enjoying the sun to see Chanyeol and Yifan playing with the firebirds Chanyeol likes to create, seeing how close they can get the birds to the pond’s surface without extinguishing them.

“Want me to make one for you too?” Chanyeol asks with a bright smile.

Shaking my head, I reply, “I’m fine. Thank you though.”

    I watch the fire of the birds’ wings flicker against the water, tempted to return to the thoughts I’d been lost in before Chanyeol had interrupted. It had been four days since that strange night. Although both the puzzle of phantom Sirius and the passage from the book continue to dominate my mind, I haven’t told any of the boys. I need to figure this all out for myself first. I still want to get home, but if the passage is true and not part of an incredibly elaborate dream...I don’t have it in me to murder someone. There must be another way to get a dragon pearl.

“A pearl for your thoughts.”

Startled, I glance at Yifan, who gazes back, awaiting my answer. “What?”

“Just an expression. I was wondering what you were thinking. You’ve been quiet all morning.”

“Oh. It’s nothing really, just a flow of things. Don’t you get tired of hanging out with me? What about your other friends?” 

“Hanging out?” Chanyeol repeats with a frown. “But we’re sitting. I mean, I hung upside down from the tree yesterday to make you laugh, but-”

“She means spending time with her,” Yifan explains with an exasperated chuckle. Looking at me, he adds, “He’s only visited the human realm like once since yo- Haeyoung left.”

“Hyung, just because you’re 100 years oder than me doesn’t mean you’re smarter than me,” Chanyeol pouts.

“100?” I ask with raised eyebrows. “Just how old are you two?”

“In human years?” Yifan frowns a little as he calculates.

“I’m 2,100 years old!” Chanyeol states triumphantly, looking quite pleased at himself for figuring it out. “Yifan hyung’s 2,200.”

“Time works differently here,” Yifan admits with a shrug.

I feel a sudden lurch in my heart. “How different?”

“Every day here is one human year,” Chanyeol chirps, eager to continue redeeming himself. “That’s why we’re chingu: we were the same age in human years. I’m 21 and Yifan hyung’s 22. You’re 21, right?”

Numbly, I nod. “How many days have I been here?

“Ten, I think since we didn’t find you until your second or third. That means you’ve been here ten human years!”

Yifan, who’s been watching my face, abandons their game, giving a harsh, “Chanyeol.”

“What?”

“Be quiet. Lilly,” One of his hands cover both of mine, its warmth almost painful against my suddenly frigid skin. “Look at me.”

I look up at him. “I’ve been gone ten years. Ten years.”

He hesitates before nodding. “Yes.”

“What happens when a human comes here? Is there a doppelgänger that replaces them or do they...just disappear?”

“I don’t know.”

Slipping my hands from Yifan’s, I stand. “Excuse me, I have to find Kibum. I’ll see you later.”

    I hurry out of the courtyard and through the halls towards Kibum’s room, ignoring the growing queasiness in my stomach. My family’s faces flash in my mind unbidden, rising from the deep place I’d banished them.

“Lilly!”

Turning my head without stopping, I see Donghae heading towards me, his smile fading as he sees my face. 

He blocks my way, putting his hands on my arms. “Lilly? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, Donghae, but not right now.” Ducking under his arm, I resume my way, my steps going quicker and quicker until I’m running.

Skidding to a halt in front of Kibum’s room, I pound on the door, calling his name until he opens it with a disgruntled face.

“Can’t a guy get his beauty sleep around here?” he grumbles.

“Kibum, that happened to my family?”

“What?”
“What does my family think happened to me? I thought it was only ten days but it’s been ten years! You do illusions; did you make a fake me or does my family think I’m dead?”

Kibum blinks cautiously, sensing his answer will push me one ay or another.

“Kibum, what did you do?”

“Lilly, I don’t have the kind of power to do a long-term illusion without being nearby to constantly supervise it,” he replies slowly. 

“What does that mean? They think I died in an accident or something?” The guilty look on Kibum’s face when he’d hesitated at my dorm room suddenly makes even more sense.

“I’m sorry, Lilly, but I didn’t have time to create any kind of illusion, when I took you or after.”

“So...I just disappeared? They don’t know what happened to me?” My stomach twists as an aching weight clenches around my chest. My family and I call each other every week, but here I’ve been gone for ten years...

“Lilly, I’m sorry.” Kibum’s voice breaks through. “For your own good, forget them.”

I shake off his sympathetic hand, stepping back. “Forget them? I left them without saying goodbye! For all they know, I got kidnapped or murdered, any number of terrible things! How would you feel if your loved one vanished and you never knew what happened to them? Do you know the pain you’d feel not knowing? That’s what happened to my family, Kibum! My family!”

    Grabbing up my skirt to my chest, I sprint back the way I’d come, ignoring calls of my name. Tears blind my sight as my breath grows ragged, but I don’t stop. When the floor drops from beneath my feet, I tumble down, hissing as my hand scrapes against a rock. Picking myself up, I stumble on along the path, finally collapsing against a willow tree. I distantly recognize this place as where I’d met Onew’s mother. I pull my knees to my chest, quietly sobbing. My family had been hurting the entire time I’d been here and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Frustration, my own suppressed pain, and helplessness fuel more tears even as a headache grows in my head.

“Lilly? Is that you?”

    Lifting my head, I find Onew crouched in front of me, eyes full of concern but his comforting hand outstretched uncertainly. Unthinkingly, I reach my arms out to him, letting them circle his neck as my face buries itself against his chest, taking the solace he had silently offered.

    He stiffens in surprise, but his arms gradually come around my still quivering shoulders, surrounding me in warmth. Onew slowly shifts his weight so he can sit, but I remain secure in his arms as I cry myself out. Thankfully, he doesn’t speak, only occasionally rubbing a reassuring hand on my back. Even after my tears have slowed and my breaths becomes longer then gasps of air, he waits quietly, leaving the decision to speak up to me.

At last, I murmur, “I didn’t get to say goodbye. To my mom, my dad, my sister. I just left. And I can’t tell them I’m okay.”

I feel and hear him sigh as one of his hands my hair. “I’m sorry, Lilly. If I had known my father’s plans, I would have stopped them. I never wished harm to come to you.”

I nod in acknowledgement, the wet silk of his shirt sticking to my cheek. “I just wish I could see them, just one more time,” I add quietly.

A few more moments of silence pass before Onew speaks again. “Lilly, you know what happens if you touch the ground in the human world again, right?”

When I nod, he tightens his hold. “Then stick close and do as I say. I’m taking you home.”

============================================

Hello my lovlies! I've missed you all so much! I'm sorry for not updating frequently, but it is all finally over! This girl is a college graduate! Woohoo! Hee hee. Anyway, I'm going to try to write more soon since I'm just job searching and enjoying my summer now. Plus, I'm working on fleshing out the rest of this story. Thank you for continuing to love this story and I hope you like it. 

<3 <3 <3