"... And I would like I congratulate, once again, the graduating class of 2013. I look forward to hearing great things about all of you in the future."

 

 

A thunderstorm of clapping hands and lightning voices erupted on the school's football field after the principal finally finished his speech. Three girls jumped up and down happily, and taking an unexcited other with them. 

 

 

Tiffany, Yuri, Yoona, and Jessica have finally graduated high school and are now embarking on the journey that is life, at least that's the same schpeal the valedictorian said in his speech. The four girls really were finally free. 

 

 

They all separated from each other to go to their own families to be forced into taking pictures. Tiffany ran to her father and Jessica walked over to her sister. Krystal launched herself at her unnie and hugged her tight. As smart as Jessica is, the blonde girl was quite a troublemaker. So, her sister wondered is she would even be able to graduate. Jessica beamed at her sister and showed off her diploma. The younger looked back and forth between the paper and her sister and was nearly in tears. 

 

"Hey, Soojung, don't cry. I should be the one crying," Jessica commented jokingly to get her sister to stop the waterworks from happening. The blonde and her sister weren't really emotional people, unless you count sarcasm as an emotion. 

 

Wiping her moist eyes, "Sorry unnie. I was just thinking..." Krystal looked to the turf field beneath their feet. 

 

"It's okay. Why don't we go see them today. I want to show them," Jessica suggested. 

 

Krystal nodded and hooked her arm on her sister's shoulders. 

 

"Yah, just because you're a little taller than I am, doesn't mean you can demean me like this," the graduate complained. 

 

"Not my fault you're so short."

 

"I left my growth genes for you to have, you should thank me."

 

 

The Jung sisters walked to the bus stop and got on their propper bus. It has been a while since either one has gone there. 

 

 

 

 

 

******

 

 

 

 

 

Tiffany was immediately scooped into her father's arms when she reached the middle aged man. She smiled, he smiled back. Soon they were both crying in sheer happiness. 

 

"Okay dad, you can let go now," Tiffany chuckled at her father's sheepish smile as he let go. 

 

"I'm sorry my daughter. I'm just so happy right now." He held her by the shoulders and kept smiling, "If only your mother was here to see this..."

 

The redhead's smile dropped into a frown. Why did he have to bring her up now? "Well, she's not here dad, so too bad."

 

"She's still your mother Tiffany."

 

"If that's true for her, she'd be here right now."

 

Tiffany's father just shook his head. His daughter didn't understand. "Let's go out for a nice dinner tonight. Eh?"

 

"Sounds good dad!"

 

 

 

 

 

******

 

 

 

 

 

"I'll leave you alone first," Krystal said as she waited at the cemetery entrance. 

 

Jessica just nodded and threw a smile at her sister. 

 

 

 

The blonde walked down the seemingly endless rows of headstones until she reached her spot. She turned and walked down one of the rows until she got to her destination. Jessica bowed fully and placed flowers on each of the graves. 

 

 

Two headstones planted side by side, the left reading "James Jung" and the right, "Julia Jung." Jessica sat on the grass smack dab in the middle of the two graves, still wearing her cap and gown. Call her corny, but since she put them on in the morning, she hasn't taken them off once. 

 

"Hey mom, dad. I know it's been a while. You guys should know that I hate coming here, it's not that I hate visiting you guys, don't get me wrong. You know how spooked I can get, more so now that I can actually see spirits and demons now. 

 

"Ah... That's right. I haven't told you, I cane see supernatural beings now. You see, I died and came back to life a while ago. I was only allowed to come back because I agreed to be the protector of someone. Tiffany Hwang. You guys remember her? Mom used to tell me to smile more like her," Jessica chuckled remembering the various times her mother would rap her on the crown of her head for not smiling nicely. Always commenting on how 'that little Hwang girl could smile so nicely.'

 

 

"Well, I'm her protector now, probably until I die too. Ain't that peachy. I got to train with Jung Yunho Kwangjangnim! Dad, isn't that great? You would've gone berserk if you saw us during the training."

 

 

 

 

******

 

 

 

Jessica had just mastered the part of her training where she could continuously use her aura for hours at a time. The blonde was currently in a handstand, but her hands weren't on the ground. She was suspended in the air about 30 centimeters using her aura. Jessica had been doing this for about an hour so far. She was feeling pretty cocky with herself as she kept egging on her master. 

 

Yunho grabbed five foot-by-foot cement, two pound each, blocks and placed them on his pupil's feet. She nearly dropped, but forced more of her aura out of her palms and smirked at her master. "Is that all you got, ahjussi?"

 

"It's master Yunho now!" The Jung master knocked the blocks off and jumped on her feet instead. Jessica didn't fall, but struggled to keep herself balanced.

 

"What the hell do you eat? You weigh like a ton?!"

 

Yunho chuckled, "All muscle kid!"

 

 

After another hour, the master got bored and started jumping up and down on his pupil's feet. Jessica struggled even more to keep herself from falling. Every time the man came down, her aura lessened and her nose squished into the floor. Another hour of jumping and Jessica's muscles and energy gave out. Her master jumped one more time and she face planted into the floor of the dojang, wooden floor. 

 

 

******

 

 

 

"Only ten more stacks and then you're done!" Yunho yelled happily at his blonde student. 

 

Jessica is using her newly developed aura sword to chop wood. Her master had taught her how to shape her aura out of her right hand into a sword. She was chopping wood to learn how to create a more well designed sword. At first, her sword was too dull to even break the skin of an orange. Chopping wood helped her realize that her sword had to be at a certain level of sharpness depending on what she's attacking. Jessica had been chopping block after block for a long time, all day actually. Her days during training started at 5 am. 

 

Finally finishing right at supper time, Jessica slumped to the ground and almost fell asleep. Yunho waltzed over to her and picked her up by her shoulders, shaking her back into consciousness. "Great kid, but you're not done."

 

"But I chopped all that wood!" she pointed to the 20 stacks of wood beside them.

 

"You have to take those into the back shed now."

 

"That's behind the outbuilding dojang!"

 

"Yeah," he smiled. "It is."

 

The blonde would have fought more, but she was too exhausted. She limply made her way to the wood stack and gather an arm load of wood.

 

"Why did it have to be wood?" she grumbled to herself. 

 

"Because we needed wood for the winter! This place doesn't have heating or air conditioning."

 

"You mean I was just doing your chores?!"

 

"No, no. You're training just so happened to resemble chores."

 

"I'm gonna kill you in your sleep, ahjussi," Jessica said before she ran away from her master's angry fist. 

 

 

 

 

******

 

 

 

 

"Dad, you and that ahjussi would've gotten along great, I know it. Anyway, the reason Krystal and I are here today, is because I graduated today! As you can see! I even have a diploma!" Jessica faced her diploma at the headstones. "And I swear it's legit! Your first born has made it out of high school and is on her way to big things!"

 

Jessica put her diploma on her lap and closed her eyes as she began to feel her eyes burn. "I really wish you were there today. It would've been nice... Having the entire family there, I mean. Everyone else did..."

 

 

Krystal came up from behind her sister and they embraced each other. After crying together, even when they thought they wouldn't, Jessica left her sister to speak with her parents. 

 

"Hi mom and dad. Jess graduated today, as I'm sure you know. I really didn't think they would let her. Honestly, you guys don't know how many times I've had to go to the principal's office because of her. You'd think as the older one, she'd be the more responsible one." Krystal bowed one more time and asked her parents before she left, "Whatever unnie is doing, watch over her? I can't lose her too. I love you mom and dad."

 

 

 

 

******

 

 

 

Tiffany laid in her bed after a great family dinner. Her close relatives joined her and her father at dinner. They all told her how proud they were of her and that they would  be so happy to have her as their own. She loved hearing those things, who wouldn't? But the sad thing about the dinner, was that it was only her father's side of the family. 

 

 

Her mother and father divorced hen Tiffany was about 10 years old. Old enough to realize what was going on, but still a bit too young to understand completely the situation. Tiffany's mother had barely made any appearances in her life since the divorce. Tiffany just learned to not depend on her mother for anything, even showing up for her graduation. Still, Tiffany hoped that this day, of all the important days her mother decided to skip out on, her mother would have actually showed up. Disappointing. Tiffany's mother will always be disappointing. 

 

 

Tiffany fell asleep due to a long day. 

 

 

 

 

******

 

 

 

"You have to have to be calm," Boa instructed. Tiffany's training had just begun today. Boa and Yunho had woken the redhead and her protector up at 5 am and told them that they would always be waking up at this time. Tiffany's not necessarily a sleepyhead like Jessica, but 5 am did seem like hell hour for her to be waking up at. 

 

 

While Jessica would be with Yunho for training, Tiffany would be with Boa. It didn't seem to fit, at first. Boa is calm and collected, like Jessica, Tiffany thought that they would be training together. Yunho was a smidgen on the eccentric and energetic side, like Tiffany. 

 

 

So here she was, in one of the training rooms with Kwon master. Sitting in a meditative position, legs crossed and hands in a circle, Tiffany tried to calm herself. The redhead found it hard though, she was too excited to finally be training. 

 

 

She had knowledge that her family was connected to the spirit and demon worlds, but she never knew what that connection was. All she knew about demons, ghosts, and such was information and stories her grandmother had told her. Her mother's mother to be exact. Tiffany's father always had guards with her since she started primary school. 

 

 

Boa sighed out of frustration for the nth time. Tiffany was not calming down.  The Kwon master stood up and placed a glass of water on the top of Tiffany's head. "Calm and relax your body and mind, or else this water will give you a nice early bath."

 

Tiffany in air sharply when she felt the glass on her head. She closed her eyes and begun to clear her mind.  Slowly, her mind became blank. Tiffany was no loner even worried about the glass of water balancing on her head. 

 

 

Boa picked the glass up and drank some of the water. "Up," she commanded. 

 

Tiffany stood up.

 

"Now, you'll get into the first position I will show you. It's the praying mantis." The Kwon master chugged the rest of the water and set the glass down. She planted her feet on the ground, lower body facing away from Tiffany while her torso faced the redhead. Boa lifted her hands up, both arms bent at the elbows, hands limp from no wrist strength holding them up. "Do this."

 

 

Tiffany nodded. She mimicked everything the master did perfectly. Boa noted that she should not underestimate this girl. 

 

"Watch." Boa Shot her hands quickly at Tiffany chest. The redhead flinched and backed away, breaking her stance. "I didn't say move. Come back here."

 

The pupil did as told again. She went back into her previous position and waited for her master to do something. 

 

"Clear your mind. The praying mantis acts quickly, already having thought of all the possible outcomes. You need to be able to do that." Boa watched as Tiffany closed her eyes, to bring her meditative state, but leaving herself vulnerable. 

 

The master took advantage of this. With Tiffany's eyes still closed, Boa made another strike to Tiffany's forehead, but it was stopped. The redheaded pupil used the master's first attack on her master. Boa smiled, "Only once and you were able to do that. Nice. Though I am going easy in you since its the first day. Let's continue."

 

 

 

 

 

******

 

 

 

 

Panting heavily, sweating profusely, and constantly moving, was Tiffany. The redhead was currently in the midst of her training. At the halfway mark, Boa had decided to test her pupil's skill so far. And so far Tiffany was passing with flying colors. The girl quickly grasped onto the the many techniques Boa had taught her. 

 

 

Boa constantly attacked the redhead without mercy. She needed to see how long Tiffany could go. The Kwon master had taught her pupil how to control her aura, like Taeyeon taught Jessica. Tiffany's aura was quite erratic and unstable before, but now it's gotten a little better to control. Unlike Jessica at this point, though, Tiffany couldn't use her aura to boost her attacks. 

 

"Doing well, princess."

 

 

 

 

 

******

 

 

 

 

 

"I've emailed you both a copy of the file I need you to take a look at." Heechul said. The spirit guide, Jessica and Tiffany were sitting inside a cafe. 

 

The protector and her charge had made plans to meet here to relax, but the girly man showed up. 

 

The two girls checked their phones and read over the file quickly. 

 

"Why the hell are we doing this detective work?" Jessica asked after she finished reading the file. She was not happy about this. 

 

"Well, you see, the spirit world is actually a  little low on detectives at the moment, so we need someone to investigate this case. Since it's in the human world an you and Tiffany have finally trained, this is the perfect chance for you two. You can show the spirit world the fruits if your effort, and we get this case closed."

 

"Nope. No. Sorry, but not really. this isn't our job." Jessica shook her head and crossed her arms. 

 

Tiffany smiled brightly at Heechul, "We'll do it!"

 

 

 

 

__________________________________

A/N: I think this chapter is all over the place, but I like it. 

 

I'm not going to school on Friday, so maybe you'll all get a double update. Maybe. ^_^